Rotation schedule

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Powdermonkey

ninja doctor in training
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
2,079
Reaction score
1
Since I'm currently in the process of picking the next two years of my life, where I'll be and what I want to do, I've been thinking a bunch on how to set up my 4th year schedule. I know that I probably want July/August to late November as electives so that I can go on audition rotations (Is that correct?)

I have two questions. First, I have a handful of EM/peds and categorical EM residencies that I want to look at. Possibly some EM/FM and maybe EM/IM. I'm only going to have 4 months worth of elective rotations in the fall to check out those places. If I'm looking at 10-12 places, how in the world do I manage getting to all of the hospitals? I'm planning on trying to go to 2-3 places during my vacation month if that works out for a 2 or 3 day set of shifts as a kind of mini audition, but that still leaves a good handful of places that have never seen my face, and they are going off of just my application and board scores.

My top schedules at this point all have:
vaca in June (plan is to take step II and PE here)
4th year EM rotation in July
elective months from August-mid November
2 month 4th year community hospital rotation, mid Nov-early Jan (will that eat in to interview time?)

Is that too late to "audition"? Are June and July too early to Audition?

My second question is more for after the audition months, how do you take time off or find time to go to the interviews? We aren't allowed to miss more than 4 clinic days per rotation. Do they interview on weekends or just during the week? It just seems pretty difficult to get all of that stuff scheduled, how do you guys find a way around it?

I've also recently begun the debate with myself about COMLEX only vs. COMLEX + USMLE, but thats another topic altogether. Any tips on how I should get my schedule lined up and ways that have worked in the past would be awesome.

Thanks!

Members don't see this ad.
 
It is not possible to rotate at that many places, as you have already figured out.

A number of the places you have to examine from afar. Your only opportunity to visit will be during an interview. Program directors and residency staff are often willing to answer questions. Just make sure that you send the emails long before applications start coming in.

You really don't need 4 months of ED. 2 or 3 months is enough. You definitely do not want to do an extra month of ED in lieu of taking a month off to interview. Programs usually interview during the week, so you will need some sustained time off for interviews in either December or January. In terms of "mini-auditions," you can often shadow, but without some formal agreements, you will not really be able to see patients. Programs will often let you shadow for a night before or after an interview. This is often enough to get the flavor for a place. Lots of places go simply by your application, grades, board scores and interviews.

As for structuring the time, the first month should be at a "safe" place where you can learn what you are doing, and that will likely write you a decent SLOR. Your second (and potentially third) month should be at the places that you really think you want to go to. Then take a month in December or January for interviews. It is suboptimal (and likely impossible) to try and do the majority of your interviews, if you have more than one or two, during a scheduled clerkship. You do not want to fail a clerkship because you were interviewing.

June, July and August are not too early to rotate. Rotations in September can risk not getting grades and LOR submitted in time. October is really tough to get everything in your application in time, but possible. November is really late.

As for the COMLEX vs COMLEX and USMLE, DOs who take and do well on the USMLE are more competitive than those who only take COMLEX, even if they get an equivalent score. If you think you can do will on the USMLE, you should take it.
 
Ok, so, I'll be limiting myself to 3 or maybe 4 places to rotate through. Since I'll only be able to do EM at two places, what should I do for the other months? In other words, how do I meet the EM people I'm interested in doing a residency with when I'm at the hospital for say peds or surg? Should I basically try to get my vacation moved to Nov or Dec of 4th year to try and schedule my interviews then? I talked to the dean in charge of 3rd and 4th year, and he basically told me those two years are for education, not for getting a residency interview. While I understand this, how in the world do you get around to the 10 or 12 interviews some people have?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Ok, so, I'll be limiting myself to 3 or maybe 4 places to rotate through. Since I'll only be able to do EM at two places, what should I do for the other months? In other words, how do I meet the EM people I'm interested in doing a residency with when I'm at the hospital for say peds or surg? Should I basically try to get my vacation moved to Nov or Dec of 4th year to try and schedule my interviews then? I talked to the dean in charge of 3rd and 4th year, and he basically told me those two years are for education, not for getting a residency interview. While I understand this, how in the world do you get around to the 10 or 12 interviews some people have?
On one level, I understand where your dean is coming from, but going to enough residency interviews is obviously really important if you want to match. Doesn't your school offer some easy electives that will allow you to miss a day here and there? This month, I'm doing a research elective, which basically means reading some articles and writing a paper about them. I think the whole purpose of this elective is to give me time to interview. :laugh:

You should ask the MS4's at your school what the easiest electives are and schedule one or two of them for when you want to interview. If you have more required clinical rotations, you can take them in February and March, which is what I'm planning to do.
 
Ok, so, I'll be limiting myself to 3 or maybe 4 places to rotate through. Since I'll only be able to do EM at two places, what should I do for the other months? In other words, how do I meet the EM people I'm interested in doing a residency with when I'm at the hospital for say peds or surg? Should I basically try to get my vacation moved to Nov or Dec of 4th year to try and schedule my interviews then? I talked to the dean in charge of 3rd and 4th year, and he basically told me those two years are for education, not for getting a residency interview. While I understand this, how in the world do you get around to the 10 or 12 interviews some people have?

Vacation in November is too early. You want December or January.

Your Dean is right. Thus accommodations for interviews during rotations are rare. That being said, many medical students take a month off of rotations for interviews.
 
Vacation in November is too early. You want December or January.

Your Dean is right. Thus accommodations for interviews during rotations are rare. That being said, many medical students take a month off of rotations for interviews.
What about electives in 4th year? What type of electives prepare one well for an EM residency? Or should I just rotate in things that interest me?

If I cant do an EM elective rotation at somewhere I'm interested in, what are some other choices to rotate through so that you can meet/get exposure to the EM crowd? IM? CICU? MICU? Hospitalist? And do you mention that you're going to be applying to their program you just couldnt fit it into the schedule to do a clerkship with them?

Sorry for all of the questions, I'm at a new school and we dont have any MS4s yet, just MS3s so we're all still kind of in the dark about some things. You guys have been an absolute life saver.
 
Vacation in November is too early. You want December or January.

Your Dean is right. Thus accommodations for interviews during rotations are rare. That being said, many medical students take a month off of rotations for interviews.

Unless you are DO. If DO, you will want November for most interviews.
 
Top