Benefits of taking a year off:
1. Research experience
2. Possible publication
3. Network
4. Take a year off without the constant worry of coming exam, etc
5. See other aspects of medicine
6. Take care of things outside of medicine
Possible cons:
1. If you don't do official fellowship or something connected to education, you may have to start repaying your loans
2. Some are afraid of being behind as compared to those just coming off of taking the boards going right to third year
3. Taking a year off means delaying/prolonging your training for an additional year when med school and residency are already long enough
4. Lots of work with no published paper
I personally took a year between med 2 and med 3. I'm now in med 3, and I'm doing just fine. I think I'm doing better than I would have had I just gone from med 2 straight to med 3. I personally did do a fellowship in pathology. I have a friend that's doing a fellowship at NIH, and she got to pick the specialty. Another guy from my class went to Cali to work in Cardiology. There are plenty of fellowships, but your salary (if offered) can vary. My friend at NIH gets a furnished apartment in DC, and close to $38k for the year...as much as a resident. My fellowship only paid me about $20K, but I got lots of perks like huge book/computer fund, decent travel fund, etc.
You gotta look for them as soon as you are interested in taking a year off. I decided late, but thankfully the application wasn't due till late into my second year. In any case, think about it, you may like it or need it.
sscooterguy