Strategy for 4th year electives

[JKP]

Hi there,

Third year rotations are winding down and I'm trying to get a 4th year schedule together for general surgery apps. Does anyone out there have any good advice on which electives to take and in what order? Right now this is what I'm thinking...


July: SICU
August: Surgery sub i
Sept: (required primary care rotat - sucks)
Oct: Transplant elective / or away?
Nov: Medicine sub i / or Dermatology?

Down the road? maybe transplant, plastics, or trauma?

As for garnering letters of rec would it be better to do subspecialty electives (eg transplant, peds surg, colorect, etc) earlier or to do a sub i first?

Thanks in advance!!

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[Celiac Plexus]

Hi there,

Third year rotations are winding down and I'm trying to get a 4th year schedule together for general surgery apps. Does anyone out there have any good advice on which electives to take and in what order? Right now this is what I'm thinking...


July: SICU
August: Surgery sub i
Sept: (required primary care rotat - sucks)
Oct: Transplant elective / or away?
Nov: Medicine sub i / or Dermatology?

Down the road? maybe transplant, plastics, or trauma?

As for garnering letters of rec would it be better to do subspecialty electives (eg transplant, peds surg, colorect, etc) earlier or to do a sub i first?
Thanks in advance!!

it doesn't matter. there is no difference between a 4th year sub-i and a 4th year elective except on paper. if getting letters is your main focus, then do the surgery electives first. or if you would rather have a letter from a transplant guy, do that in july instead of sicu. you should try to get the letters as fast as possible so that you can complete your eras app as soon as possible. doing transplant in october is really too late if you want a letter from a transplant guy.

also, sicu is a useful rotation for learning icu management, sticks, fluids, etc... but you won't get as much or time as you would in a regular surgical rotation. best to save sicu for later in the year, and get into the or as much as possible on rotations that you need letters from.

best of luck.

 

[klubguts]

I did exactly what you posted last year...SICU in july and Surg SubI in august. These were the only two surgery rotations I did during the fourth year. It helped to get 'em done early, although i think celiac makes a good point about the SICU. Once I gathered my LORs and submitted my ERAS, I took other electives including radiology and anesthesia. Be careful about what you sign up for in Nov/Dec/Jan, as these can be busy interview months (my interviews began on 11/20 and ended 2/3). Since surgery interviews are mostly on Friday or Saturday, you may find the need to miss several days on a rotation during this time (which is probably fine as long as it is an elective). Best of luck and enjoy 4th year!

 

[lindyloohoo]

so rather than starting a new thread, I'll add to this one:

What if you can't do your sub-i until the last 2 weeks of oct/first two of nov.?! My stupid school is too damn small to have enough slots to allow half of the class to do a surgery elective and they didn't give preference for aug/sept. spots to people who want to do surgery (ie a person interested in peds who also wanted to do a surgery elective could possible get it before me).

How will this affect letters (I didn't get a chance to work with many of the gen surgeons while on 3rd yr rotations)? I wasn't planning on doing any aways and if I did want to do one, I would want to do a home elective before going away and that is impossible because there are no other earlier slots open. How bad does it look that my own surgery department won't let me do my sub-i early? And my case is actually better than some. I've heard of some of my classmates who didn't get the elective until January and another after the match.

Thanks
lindyloohoo

 

[SocialistMD]

July: SICU
August: Surgery sub i
Sept: (required primary care rotat - sucks)
Oct: Transplant elective / or away?
Nov: Medicine sub i / or Dermatology?

Down the road? maybe transplant, plastics, or trauma?

I wouldn't do more than three months in surgery if I were you. You will have at least five years of it. Do electives in something that will make you a better surgeon (cardiology, pulmonary, renal, radiology, gi, etc...).

 

[Ergo]

so rather than starting a new thread, I'll add to this one:

What if you can't do your sub-i until the last 2 weeks of oct/first two of nov.?! My stupid school is too damn small to have enough slots to allow half of the class to do a surgery elective and they didn't give preference for aug/sept. spots to people who want to do surgery (ie a person interested in peds who also wanted to do a surgery elective could possible get it before me).

How will this affect letters (I didn't get a chance to work with many of the gen surgeons while on 3rd yr rotations)? I wasn't planning on doing any aways and if I did want to do one, I would want to do a home elective before going away and that is impossible because there are no other earlier slots open. How bad does it look that my own surgery department won't let me do my sub-i early? And my case is actually better than some. I've heard of some of my classmates who didn't get the elective until January and another after the match.

Thanks
lindyloohoo

Away rotations in July/Aug at a low priority program and a higher priority or more competitive program in August/Sept. Get a letter from each. Pick places you would want to maybe go (so you can check them out) that also have a reputation for being the kind of place you are looking for. Screw your school- do theirs last then, but get letters from the best known persons who you work with at those away rotations.

 

[Ergo]

Also, as another thought - talk to the surgery chairman about getting help with the red tape. He/She has the ability to make a spot for you with no hassle, and is likely interested in helping a pre-surgical student achieve a competitive match as well.

 

[merlin]

Along these lines, when is it considered late to get letters of rec? Is October too late to do electives and still get letters from those electives? Although no one really knows, but do letters of rec seem to help people get interviews or are they really more about helping when it comes time for rank list decisions? Thanks everyone for your opinions.

 

[Ergo]

My understading is that letters should be in by Nov 1, as programs download apps after that day. Of course, it takes a few weeks or more for faculty to write a letter, so that may help you determine the timing of your rotation.
However, one friend from last year got a letter from a "big hitter" at a rotation he finished in late November, and when interview time and ranking came along the strength of the letter was remarked on by every interviewer - and he matched at a first tier program in a most competitive sub-specialty. But, I think he initially got the interviews scheduled based on the rest of his record.

 

[blue2000]

I did my g-surg sub-I in October of fourth year, and got a letter from it. If you are in this position, I would strongly suggest telling the faculty who you want a letter from early -- even the first day. They understand the game and the scheduling stuff of med school and are usually happy to oblige. That way, they can have it done by late October and you're good to go with ERAS. Good luck!