Rotation choices and residency

[mustang sally]

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How important are your rotation choices to obtaining a residency? We only get to pick four electives, and I was thinking of doing industry, managed care, administration, and oncology. I guess my question is, do you need to do a lot of hardcore clinical rotations to look good to a residency program? Will it look unimpressive if my only elective clinical rotation is oncology?

My rotation lineup #2 that I'm considering is oncology, infectious disease, drug information, and ? research elective or insert something else here.
My problem is that I just want to try a little bit of everything! Wish we got to pick more than four electives.

 

[minette]

How important are your rotation choices to obtaining a residency? We only get to pick four electives, and I was thinking of doing industry, managed care, administration, and oncology. I guess my question is, do you need to do a lot of hardcore clinical rotations to look good to a residency program? Will it look unimpressive if my only elective clinical rotation is oncology?

My rotation lineup #2 that I'm considering is oncology, infectious disease, drug information, and ? research elective or insert something else here.
My problem is that I just want to try a little bit of everything! Wish we got to pick more than four electives.

We only get to pick 2 electives!! But industry is mandatory and we do a managed care rotation during P2 year

 

[bacillus1]

We get to pick 5 of our rotations (2 unrestricted electives, 1 patient care elective and 2 kinds of acute patient care), but we have no say over the timing of these rotations and what facility the rotations will be in, so we might not get the rotations we want before our residency interviews.

 

[janeno]

How important are your rotation choices to obtaining a residency? We only get to pick four electives, and I was thinking of doing industry, managed care, administration, and oncology. I guess my question is, do you need to do a lot of hardcore clinical rotations to look good to a residency program? Will it look unimpressive if my only elective clinical rotation is oncology?

My rotation lineup #2 that I'm considering is oncology, infectious disease, drug information, and ? research elective or insert something else here.
My problem is that I just want to try a little bit of everything! Wish we got to pick more than four electives.

The choice of rotations depends on your residency of interest. Today saying "I want a residency is not enough" - you really need to identify what type of residency you want and prove your interest in that field. Hospital? Ambulatory Care? Management? Managed Care? Community Pharmacy? Which one? I understand that it is hard to make a decision before you even had any rotations, but with the increasing competitiveness of residencies, you truly need to decide your main interests prior to choosing your rotations. After you identify your main interests, then choose rotations to accommodate these interests. For example, if you decide that you mainly thinking about either going into ambulatory care or management. Then I would definitely try getting rotations in these two areas, and then some variation of these areas - ex. oncology rotation primarily in ambulatory setting, management rotation focusing on initiation of new ambulatory care services, etc. As the residencies become more competitive, the directors become more picky. They want to see residents who have defined goals and who have sufficient exposure to show that this is the area that they are dedicated to. Also, having rotation at these sites will give you connections to the residency sites or possibly future employers after the residency.

Just a disclaimer - this is my personal opinion from my observations during my rotations and conversations with residency directors.

Your first choice of elective rotations seems to be very scattered - are you interested in all of these areas? Will you be able to defend the selection of these electives during your residency interviews and will these rotations prepare you to succeed in your desired residency program? Just some questions to think about.

 

[spacecowgirl]

Your first choice of elective rotations seems to be very scattered - are you interested in all of these areas? Will you be able to defend the selection of these electives during your residency interviews and will these rotations prepare you to succeed in your desired residency program? Just some questions to think about.

I'm going to disagree, although this is based on nothing but my opinion and looking at applicants one cycle during my residency I think it's good to see people that have a variety of rotations, especially when they are considered "challenging" or outside of the person's usual comfort zone. To me P4 year is about exploring what is out there; you may uncover an interest or talent you didn't know you had. Don't limit yourself to what looks best to a residency selection committee. That's why they are called electives, IMO. You really don't know jack squat before P4 year and only marginally more after that, so I think it's great to get a lot of different exposure.

FTR, it's been a few years since I was a resident and I know they are more competitive now. My electives were peds, geriatrics, psych, onc, LTC...I don't think we had much that was absolutely required other than one hospital and one community (we had IPPEs too). I got my first choice residency even though I had NO experience in that particular domain.

 

[aboveliquidice]

How important are your rotation choices to obtaining a residency? We only get to pick four electives, and I was thinking of doing industry, managed care, administration, and oncology. I guess my question is, do you need to do a lot of hardcore clinical rotations to look good to a residency program? Will it look unimpressive if my only elective clinical rotation is oncology?

My rotation lineup #2 that I'm considering is oncology, infectious disease, drug information, and ? research elective or insert something else here.
My problem is that I just want to try a little bit of everything! Wish we got to pick more than four electives.

I won't comment on the strength of rotation lineup... I went for the "sizzler" of rotations as well. I would recommend that you put your most difficult / interesting rotations up front. Interviews will be in January / feb. If you have them slated for March/April/May, you will miss a major opportunity to update your CV with relevant info (aside from place markers).

 

[mustang sally]

Thanks for all of the opinions! I just got back from Midyear, and between all that I learned there and this thread, I have a lot to think about over the holidays!

 

[NYer2012]

Hey guys, I know no ones posted here in awhile but I thought I'd reactivate this thread since I just found out what my rotations will be for next year. I'm really interested in doing a residency but I'm worried now since all of my rotations before January are either outpatient, ambulatory clinical or clinical research and my two intense inpatient rotations are after January. I've heard its best to have intense inpatient rotations before your residency interviews, so now I'm nervous this is going to hurt my chances in a residency. What do you guys think?

 

[spacecowgirl]

Hey guys, I know no ones posted here in awhile but I thought I'd reactivate this thread since I just found out what my rotations will be for next year. I'm really interested in doing a residency but I'm worried now since all of my rotations before January are either outpatient, ambulatory clinical or clinical research and my two intense inpatient rotations are after January. I've heard its best to have intense inpatient rotations before your residency interviews, so now I'm nervous this is going to hurt my chances in a residency. What do you guys think?

Depends on the type of experience you already have, the type of residency you want, the strength of relationships you have and hope to gain...I need more info than this.

 

[NYer2012]

I have interned at a local teaching hospital the past two summers but not during the school year and have pretty strong connections there. I am looking to do a pgy1 at an academic medical center and maybe pursue a pgy2 after that. My rotations before January are a clinical research rotation with a professor that I know I can get a recommendation from, Rite Aid, an ambulatory clinical rotation and a outpatient care oncology rotation at a clinic in a hospital. I have an ICU rotation and an ER/toxicology rotation after midyear, which I was hoping to get before midyear but I dont think I will be able to change it.

 

[spacecowgirl]

I think you'll be just fine but I didn't do a hosptial residency so maybe someone else with that particular experience can chime in.