Rotation/residency question

[uniquerabbit]

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Hey all, question for ya.

I have been accepted to a couple of schools now and have a few questions regarding rotations and residency placement. Would it be beneficial to choose the school with the rotations available where I would want to obtain a future residency position? Or does that not matter as much.

For example...saaaay i was accepted to Colorado vs. California. Would I want to attend the school in Cali for the rotations if I felt I wanted to obtain a residency position there? Or would rotating in Colorado be okay even if I wanted a residency position in Cali?

Do rotations have a significant affect on residency placement?

 

[st2205]

You'll get a mixed bag of responses with this question that ultimately depends on numerous factors, none of which anyone really knows. If you are wanting to do residency at places that either school rotates through, that's completely different than wanting to do residency in the same location but not the same hospital. If it only be geographical, I'd say the benefit is negligible, as to rotate there you'd be doing a fourth year away rotation from either school you choose. Other huge variables include where you're wanting to do residency and what specialty. Each specialty (and even different programs within different specialties) place different values on audition rotations, though you tend to get a very generalized answer that an away is really important to get into your top choice. If you're wanting to do surgery at Bleeding Heart Community (~125 beds), and that is the base site for your rotations, then certainly with it being such a small place doing rotations there would be strongly to your advantage (if they like you). You can be assured that the faculty size for surgery at Bleeding Heart is small... very small, so much that they really need to find someone they can work with for the next 5 years, as they will be interacting with them daily. On the other hand, if you're wanting to do your internal medicine residency at Real Physician University Medical Center (a 700 bed tertiary care center), then it's likely that the internal medicine department will be huge... very huge. Doing a rotation there you may get to know some people, and though it is certainly important that they get good residents that they get along with, obviously Bleeding Heart's surgery program may place a much, much greater weight on someone being there for an extended period of time for them to really comb them over.

 

[painmd87]

Hopefully someone who has been through the process already will chime in, but here's what I understand about this.

Many residency directors would like to see you in action before they hire you on. This may mean doing a core rotation through their hospital or doing an away rotation with them. The more comfortable they are with you during rotations, the more comfortable they feel with signing you on for 3+ years of work. That's a generalization for "many" but not for "all."

See how good the schools are at getting away rotations, and see how current/past students feel about the quality of the core rotations. Do they get enough instruction? Are there good seminars? Do they spend a lot of time with patients and attendings? Ask a resident how well he/she felt prepared from his time at WhateverCOM.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Hey all, question for ya.

I have been accepted to a couple of schools now and have a few questions regarding rotations and residency placement. Would it be beneficial to choose the school with the rotations available where I would want to obtain a future residency position? Or does that not matter as much.

For example...saaaay i was accepted to Colorado vs. California. Would I want to attend the school in Cali for the rotations if I felt I wanted to obtain a residency position there? Or would rotating in Colorado be okay even if I wanted a residency position in Cali?

Do rotations have a significant affect on residency placement?

I'm assuming you are choosing between the DO schools in Colorado and cali

I urge you to make your decision based on reputation, quality of rotation and how you like their curriculum. New schools, especially ones with controversy surrounding them are probably not a place you should choose. Just keep that in mind. When you have no idea who program directors are going to react and you have limited data on board pass rate, you set yourself up to be a guinnea pig. You are playing with your future especially when rotations are only 1-2 years old and they are still working out the kinks.

 

[Altruisticism]

I urge you to make your decision based on reputation, quality of rotation and how you like their curriculum. New schools, especially ones with controversy surrounding them are probably not a place you should choose. Just keep that in mind. When you have no idea who program directors are going to react and you have limited data on board pass rate, you set yourself up to be a guinnea pig. You are playing with your future especially when rotations are only 1-2 years old and they are still working out the kinks.

I must say i agree with Instatewaiter. You want to be fully immersed in the experience, and that is based on quality and integrity of the curriculum and facilities. You would want a school that is affiliated and has been up and running for a while. You must research it heavily and don't be afraid to contact them several times if it means it will aid in your decision

 

[uniquerabbit]

I'm assuming you are choosing between the DO schools in Colorado and cali

I urge you to make your decision based on reputation, quality of rotation and how you like their curriculum. New schools, especially ones with controversy surrounding them are probably not a place you should choose. Just keep that in mind. When you have no idea who program directors are going to react and you have limited data on board pass rate, you set yourself up to be a guinnea pig. You are playing with your future especially when rotations are only 1-2 years old and they are still working out the kinks.

Actually I was not choosing between cali or colorado at all...they were merely examples. Sorry bout that.

 

[BCon902]

Do well in class, do well on boards, get great LORs, and write a kickass personal statement. No one cares where you do rotations, audition rotations are controversial, of course if you apply to 40 programs...you can rotate at maybe 3...who cares...