Sub-I rejected day 1

[Capycapybara]

I'm currently one week into a sub-I away rotation at a program that rejected me on the first day at 9am during orientation. One month prior, I emailed the PD and PC with a LOI and reminder that I'll be there soon and that I'm looking forward to it. I never got a response from either of them. Instead, I got an automated noreply email from ERAS telling me that I was rejected. I have no idea what to do. I've considered talking to the PD about it, but I'm not sure what good that would do. Even if they offered an interview, at this point, it would be out of courtesy and a waste of everyone's time. I think I'm more upset about the thousands of dollars I spent to relocate for a month across the country when they could have told me ahead of time and spared me from moving here and wasting time and money.

I think it's one thing for a program to reject you closer to the end of your sub-I when someone has had time to evaluate you, but to reject you during orientation on day 1 is a different story. I understand that not all sub-Is are guaranteed interviews, but if they haven't even let me prove myself, why chose me for a sub-I in the first place? Make it make sense to me! Is this considered mistreatment? Any suggestions?

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[GoSpursGo]

Not considered mistreatment.

No clue why you were selected for the away or what metrics they did or did not have during the away selection process vs through ERAS. Maybe you now have a step 2 score that is below their cutoff. Maybe there is information in your MSPE about your class rank that hits you with a screen. Maybe they had an empty slot in the away schedule and nobody else to give it to.

Whatever the case, you're likely right that talking to the PD is not going to change the rejection. So instead, since you can't get into this program it's time to think about what you can potentially get from this rotation. If you're in a competitive specialty, or if this is a prestigious program within your specialty, then coming up with a strong performance outside of your home institution can still be helpful for you at the other places you're interviewing at. So I would approach the PD, but rather than trying to convince them to reconsider ask them if they could honestly tell you why you were rejected and, if you do well on your rotation, if they would be willing to reach out to the other programs you have interviewed at on your behalf.

Yes, that's a very expensive LOR, but if it's the best you can get then try to at least get that.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

My answer is similar. It's possible that you simply didn't meet their minimum requirements or otherwise just didn't make the cut. That's their prerogative. They may not have contacted you earlier because they were not certain whether they would be able to offer you an interview. And perhaps they thought you'd still want to do the rotation for other reasons.

Or, it's possible they forgot about you. The people who arrange away rotations may be completely separate from the residency program - so decisions about whether you should get a rotation may be completely different.

Reach out to the PD, express your disappointment at not getting an interview but that you'd like to get the most out of this experience anyway. I wouldn't frame it as "if I do well can I get an interview" or "tell me why I was rejected". If the former, simply reaching out to the PD should be sufficient without coming across as annoying. The latter isn't going to happen anyway, you'll be told it was a "competitive year" and "interview spots were limited".

 

[rokshana]

Why do an away sub I as an audition rotation so late in the interview season?
Do t people typically do these types of rotations in July-sept for them to be be able to influence interviews? They may have thought you were doing the sub i for other reasons.

 

[HighwayVagabond]

Not to give false hope but I also was rejected mid visiting sub-I for probably not meeting whatever minimum screening requirements they had. I was working my tail off and doing my absolute best to shine on the rotation and when the rejection came through the residents I was on service with approached the PD and said they thought I had been overlooked. The PD called me to his office and informally interviewed me with the chair and subsequently offered me a formal interview. It was genuine and not ‘courtesy’ as he additionally contacted me pre interview to coach me on what parts of my resume to highlight during the formal interview day. I ended up ranking another program higher after all that, so I don’t know if I would have matched, but the point is you have two options—one, mope around and prove to the program they made the right choice by rejecting you, or two, bring a positive attitude and great work ethic every day and demonstrate you are a capable and professional trainee they would be lucky to train or work with in the future, even if they made a mistake this time while making the most of this learning experience and becoming a better doctor out of whatever they teach you this month. I would pick the latter.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Not considered mistreatment.

No clue why you were selected for the away or what metrics they did or did not have during the away selection process vs through ERAS. Maybe you now have a step 2 score that is below their cutoff. Maybe there is information in your MSPE about your class rank that hits you with a screen. Maybe they had an empty slot in the away schedule and nobody else to give it to.

Whatever the case, you're likely right that talking to the PD is not going to change the rejection. So instead, since you can't get into this program it's time to think about what you can potentially get from this rotation. If you're in a competitive specialty, or if this is a prestigious program within your specialty, then coming up with a strong performance outside of your home institution can still be helpful for you at the other places you're interviewing at. So I would approach the PD, but rather than trying to convince them to reconsider ask them if they could honestly tell you why you were rejected and, if you do well on your rotation, if they would be willing to reach out to the other programs you have interviewed at on your behalf.

Yes, that's a very expensive LOR, but if it's the best you can get then try to at least get that.

I did an away at a decent institution for IM back in the day. I met two other students also doing aways on that rotation, and we became friends.

Dude #1 and I had similar step scores, and we got interview offers about a week into the away. Dude #2 never got an interview. He had a step 1 score that was much lower than ours, and we chalked it up to him being filtered out. He met with the PD etc etc, but it did not lead to him getting an interview offer.

He ultimately matched well at a good program elsewhere and is now an oncologist.