S.O.L? Help with cost benefit ratio

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promotemma

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After placing too many eggs in one basket it looks as though I will not have an away for the month of September. That leaves me with only having 1 away rotation for psych by the end of September. I can find some rotations that I probably don't care that much about for October and better ones for November and thereafter. Should I scramble for whatever I can get for October/November in hopes of at least having more to talk about than one away rotation on interviews or just cut my losses, do other rotations that are required during that time period, save some money and do some better rotations come spring time just for the training? If someone could help with the cost/benefit ratio, taking into consideration it's not just the financial cost but leaving the wife and kids.

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If you are solid in your decision to go into psychiatry, then more rotations are not necessary. You will be doing plenty of psychiatry very soon. If you view away rotations as a strategy to get your foot in the door, then there is no point to rotating in places you don’t want to go. If you get your interviews at places you want and then you rotate there in November or December, your performance can always move you up or down their list. This can be a very good thing because you might learn you don’t want to be there and they may learn they don’t want you. Either way you wouldn’t want to be there anyway.

Come to think of it, of the four possible outcomes in this, the only bad one is if you learn you like the program and they learn they don’t want you.
 
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Unless there's some unique reason why you need away rotations, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd also try not to do an away during interview season because that cuts into your interview time. I'd vote for getting some required stuff out of the way, freeing up more time for interviews and for end of the year time off, which you'll want.
 
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Here is a conversation that has never happened in a selection committee:

“Let’s see, here is an applicant who has already done 3 psych rotations, and this one has only 2. Let’s take the first guy.”

If we paid attention to this, it would suggest that a good strategy would be to schedule 6 psych rotations, then cancel all of them after the match.
:shifty:
 
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If you are solid in your decision to go into psychiatry, then more rotations are not necessary. You will be doing plenty of psychiatry very soon. If you view away rotations as a strategy to get your foot in the door, then there is no point to rotating in places you don’t want to go. If you get your interviews at places you want and then you rotate there in November or December, your performance can always move you up or down their list. This can be a very good thing because you might learn you don’t want to be there and they may learn they don’t want you. Either way you wouldn’t want to be there anyway.

Yes I'm solid with psych so that's not an issue. I think I'm going to take the the collective advice and not worry about it. Furthermore, I'm done checking boxes! I'm just going to do what I want to do and see what happens. Thank you.

Unless there's some unique reason why you need away rotations, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd also try not to do an away during interview season because that cuts into your interview time. I'd vote for getting some required stuff out of the way, freeing up more time for interviews and for end of the year time off, which you'll want.

Thanks for your help. I'm just going to do some required rotations and if I can find a rotation that I WANT to do, I'll do it. Aside from that, I'm done trying to force things.
 
You're clearly overvaluing the need for away rotations. The only situation in which it would provide a significant benefit is if you're applying to a very competitive program and you want to audition there. Otherwise, it wont' have a meaningful impact on your application.
 
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