Summer RIC Externship vs. MSSCE

[sardonicmedicine]

Hey guys, I wanted to ask for your all's opinions on the summer RIC externship vs. the MSSCE externship. I know applicants to the MSSCE program won't be hearing back until late February / early March, but I thought this thread might be helpful in generating some discussion sooner rather than later in case anyone is lucky enough to get accepted to both programs (both for this year and future years). Brief breakdown of the two programs below:


RIC Externship:
-$3000 stipend for 8 weeks
-2 four-week rotations on inpatient services
-research presentation and paper at the end of the program
-cohort of 10+

http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/pmr/education/extninfo.html
https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2010-ric-externship.699529/#post-9627591


MSSCE Externship:
-$4000 stipend for 8 weeks
-inpatient and outpatient clinical exposure
-case report to be presented at AAP's annual meeting
-every MSSCE site has only a single medical student

http://www.physiatry.org/?page=MSSCE_students


So here are the thoughts currently behind my personal decision-making process...

Chicago is a great city and I like that I'll be part of a cohort, but I think I want to eventually do residency in either Los Angeles (UCLA or UC Irvine) or NYC (any number of programs plus maybe Rutgers too). I applied for the NYC programs for MSSCE.

RIC is a "super six" program though, and I guess I want to know if I am making a mistake in prioritizing location over the training/network of a "super six" program (since none of the NYC programs are "super six" tho Rutgers is but it's in Jersey). Obviously, this is just a summer externship and I'll be fine either way (especially since it seems everyone who did RIC loved it), but for the sake of curiosity:

1) How much does a "super six" residency program better your future job prospects (if at all)?
2) If I want to work in place X, is it better to do a residency in place X or aim for a "super six" program instead because of the training/network?
3) How do your answers to the above two questions change if I am interested in peds PM&R?


Thank you for your patience! - a M1 in need of some guidance

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[sardonicmedicine]

Mmm interesting so it seems that I'll want to go the academic route then and at least make sure one of the NYC/LA residencies I'm looking at has a peds fellowship available.

And yep, I just heard the good news this week. Definitely excited.

Some additional questions:
1) Should I be treating this summer externship the way M3s (and I guess M4s) treat their rotations?
2) How helpful would reading PM&R Secrets be for a M1?

I've only shadowed a PM&R doc where I just asked questions and did some very minimal things (learn how a baclofen pump works, etc.)