Scheduling electives?

[doctr1]

hello,

I will be starting my intern year in three weeks. My first rotation is an elective one and our chiefs have send us the list of core elective that we can chose from. Two of them are something I am really considering for a fellowship, but at the same time hesitant to chose them as a start!. I know I need time to adjust to the new environment and I feel that starting with something I am thinking about as a fellowship may not seem a good idea.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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[Step Up]

Elective in a field you will be consider for fellowship will be a fantastic opportunity to get letters of recommendation, build connections, and potentially discuss starting research project. Personally, I would not start off on sed elective. The pros and cons will vary person to person. So I think it's a very personal decision. My first rotation of intern year was also an elective. I did pedi pulmonology, a field that I was completely uninterested in. At the time I felt like I learned loads about asthma. However, in hindsight, it honestly seems like most of the learning that month simply went in one ear and right out the other one! On the bright side, it worked out totally fine starting on elective!

What are the options??

 

[mvenus929]

What fellowships are you considering? You can do complimentary rotations so you still learn stuff that will apply later on, but not impact your perception amongst attendings you will later be asking for letters from.

 

[doctr1]

I am thinking about Heme-ono or genetics. I do not want to start with Heme-ono, although it is a second year match and I may lose an elective but I don't think it is a good idea to start with it.

 

[mvenus929]

Endo would be fairly useful for heme/onc, given the risk for endocrinopathies in cancer survivors, diabetes due to treatment with steroids, etc. A couple of our Endo docs have clinic in conjunction with heme onc a could times per week. Nephrology would also be useful, given sickle cell nephropathy, fluid management, and the effects of chemo in the kidneys.

I can't think of specific examples of rotations that would help for genetics, because the field is different than most others in Peds (referral is from newborn screening a good portion of the time, there is a focus on diagnosis rather than management--though there is still a significant amount of management, etc.)

 

[settingqt31]

I'm going into heme-onc and would suggest: infectious disease or nephrology as those are both frequently consulted services when on oncology. As long as you can do 1-2 months of heme/onc before letter needed (next Nov) you should be fine but I think getting your feet wet in medicine will be helpful as it is hard to focus on learning lots about patients when you are also trying to learn a new system.