Things are moving way too quickly...

[protooncogenes]

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I feel like I've been caught in a whirlwind. I'm in the midst of deciding where to do my third year rotations. I didn't think it would be difficult, but all I've been hearing from DME's and other students is "what residency are you thinking about? where do plan on applying? do you want to live here or there?do you want a fellowship? well, then you better do your residency where fellowships are available. and if you want that residency in the first place, you better rotate there during your third year. because getting rotation spots for fourth year are tough and if you rotate here third year, you may have an advantage."

I can't even see what my life will be like a month from now; forget about two years. I don't have a friggin clue of what I want to do. I have a few ideas in mind: infectious disease, heme onc, rad onc, rads. But those are all based on the little experience I've had in lectures and readings. Who knows what they'll be like on the wards.

How the heck am I supposed to set up my third year schedule when I don't know what I want to do or where I want to do it? Am I supposed to be looking for letters out of third year rotations? Should I do rotations at places that will work me like a animal? All the fields that I listed are relatively competitive and I feel like I'm at a disadvantage since everyone else seems to know exactly what and where they'll be doing. These decisions will affect me for years to come and I don't feel prepared to make them yet. Any advice from the peanut gallery? Anyone thinking about the fields I mentioned? Thanks for listening.

 

[doc05]

of the fields you've listed, rad onc>rads>>heme onc>ID. Both in terms of competitiveness and overall awesomeness of the specialty. I suggest you do both medicine and surgery 1st semester of 3rd year, and decide which suits you best.

spend time w/the radiology and rad onc attendings whenever you've got free time, since few schools give you any real exposure to these fields.

for heme/onc and ID, you'll need IM first, so don't worry too much about fellowship - at least not just yet. also be sure you're realistic about your chances for matching, as rad onc and rads are competitive matches.