Scheduling your entire 4th year through VSAS/"auditions"

[Espressso]

Is this a thing? Maybe not 100% through VSAS, but I put the auditions in quotes because I'm referring to "away electives", but after the time period of auditions (say, post-November).

I'm at a school that doesn't really provide solid rotations for fourth year, and almost all students go back home for fourth year. Well technically, they just prioritize third year students in the region. Ideally, I'd be back in my home state for my entire fourth year with the exception of 2-3 auditions out of state.

What's the most efficient way to do this? I've heard that you can schedule vsas rotations through the holidays and into the spring. Is that a thing people do?

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[MusicDOc124]

Not all of the locations you may want to go to will be offered through VSAS, thus some you have to email directly, or submit through their own forms. You could stick with just VSAS in that regard though if you are not so keen on specific places that may have a different form/app process.

Be aware that just because you apply for a location/date doesn't mean you will get it either.

I'm unaware of anyone who has set up their entire 4th year through VSAS. Most schools still have a few required rotations to be completed in 4th year, and often have requirements for where they can be completed (i.e. home institution, affiliated sites, the same site you did 3rd year, etc.).

For instance, when I previously scheduled my 4th year, I set up only 2 electives through VSAS. All else were via email directly to a given institution and through my home institution for rotations that were required to be within my home institution or an affiliated site.


Whether or not it's possible will depend on your schools policies and availability of electives that are offered. Keep in mind that sites offering electives outside of "audition season" are not the most common and may not even be where you might want to go. Some sites also have limits as to how many you can complete at their location (usually a max of 2 rotations/8 weeks for those that I've seen that actually list it).

 

[BorntobeDO?]

All of 4th year as aways. Just shoot me now... What a terrible idea.

 

[darknecrosforte]

With the exception of a study month and 2 affiliated sites, I did 100% VSAS. Apps and fees about 1k, and the OOS rotations cost about 2K total/month for travel and other expenses. Brought wife and kids to the "worst" location to provide informed consent to the family. 1 sub-I in desired specialty and 3 other mandatory sub-I's in the medicine, EM, and surgical subspecialties with the remaining being relatively chill electives at university programs. Based on my amateur observation and whisperings through grape vines, some of my classmates who relied primarily on preceptorships offered by the school currently regret chilling out too early. My wallet cries...

 

[Espressso]

All of 4th year as aways. Just shoot me now... What a terrible idea.

For clarification, I'm not asking about doing a whole year of aways. That's my fault for not originally explaining this thorough enough.

What I'm saying is if anyone's used VSAS to schedule their entire fourth year. My school expects all students to do fourth year back in their home state. If you don't, the rotations you can get through our school are often bad and in unfavorable locations, because they prioritize the third year students at each base site.

So I'm brainstorming to schedule my fourth year as "visiting electives" at various hospitals (after 2-3 actual auditions in the early bit of 4th year).But I'm realizing many of these hospitals schedule through VSAS; which seems to be a more efficient way to schedule for these hospitals. Obviously a 4 week rotation in rads in March while match day is about to happen is not an audition. But I'm curious if anyone's scheduled through VSAS after the rush of auditions.

With the exception of a study month and 2 affiliated sites, I did 100% VSAS. Apps and fees about 1k, and the OOS rotations cost about 2K total/month for travel and other expenses. Brought wife and kids to the "worst" location to provide informed consent to the family. 1 sub-I in desired specialty and 3 other mandatory sub-I's in the medicine, EM, and surgical subspecialties with the remaining being relatively chill electives at university programs. Based on my amateur observation and whisperings through grape vines, some of my classmates who relied primarily on preceptorships offered by the school currently regret chilling out too early. My wallet cries...

This is more of what I'm talking about. I'd imagine it would be hella expensive. But if you do it, it seems like it'll be easier to schedule those rotations through VSAS because you can do it all at once. And the rotations after the Holidays aren't really the ones everyone's gunning for because that's after interviews so they're not auditions.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Don’t do it. The sites you get through VSAS can cancel your spot at anytime, and give it to an MD student instead from their home institution (it happens all the time), so have back-ups from your DO school-affiliated sites!

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Don’t do it. The sites you get through VSAS can cancel your spot at anytime, and give it to an MD student instead from their home institution (it happens all the time), so have back-ups from your DO school-affiliated sites!

Has this happened to you? I haven't heard of this.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Has this happened to you? I haven't heard of this.

Not to me but many of my classmates who had booked “aways” such as a Sub-I or EM elective far away from home, in larger cities, found their rotations suddenly canceled a week before because an MD student needed that spot to graduate, or fulfill a new requirement, etc. It happens, so good to have back-ups.

 

[Espressso]

Has this happened to you? I haven't heard of this.

Our admin has warned us about that it's definitely possible and happens to people. I'm unsure how it's possible to have back up rotations set. Other than your own school but those are so variable. I'm desperate to make sure my entire fourth year is away from my school

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Our admin has warned us about that it's definitely possible and happens to people. I'm unsure how it's possible to have back up rotations set. Other than your own school but those are so variable. I'm desperate to make sure my entire fourth year is away from my school

You could overlap with non vsas aways.

 

[Espressso]

You could overlap with non vsas aways.

Good point. But then wouldn't bailing last minute on one burn a bridge almost? Or at the very least not look good?

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Good point. But then wouldn't bailing last minute on one burn a bridge almost? Or at the very least not look good?

Man you just have to decide which paranoid scenario you want to give into. Canceling and possibly missing an interview, or late notice cancelation by a program that apparently happened to some DO somewhere.

Or you could just get aways at places you want to goto without overlap, and just deal with a possible cancelation. Any program that does that to you probably isn't a place you want to go anyway. I can't imagine the 'I need this requirement excuse' would even matter before dec.

 

[Neopolymath]

Man you just have to decide which paranoid scenario you want to give into. Canceling and possibly missing an interview, or late notice cancelation by a program that apparently happened to some DO somewhere.

Or you could just get aways at places you want to goto without overlap, and just deal with a possible cancelation. Any program that does that to you probably isn't a place you want to go anyway. I can't imagine the 'I need this requirement excuse' would even matter before dec.

MD schools protect their students. I know it's hard to imagine at our schools given how foreign decent support is but this does absolutely happen.

 

[NecFasc92]

MD schools protect their students. I know it's hard to imagine at our schools given how foreign decent support is but this does absolutely happen.

I’ve been blown away on sub Is how awesome the admin is at MD schools (by comparison). Truly night and day.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

MD schools protect their students. I know it's hard to imagine at our schools given how foreign decent support is but this does absolutely happen.

Trust me I have been there on aways, I know they protect. However, I have a hard time believing that many of them are scummy enough to cancel aways like that based on how I have been treated. I was treated better by faculty at my aways than I have been by my own program.

I think this probably does happen at some places, but I can't imagine it happening anywhere decent, or before December.