Update: How do 4th year courses matter?

[MyGenome]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have heard different things on SDN and my school - from "make sure your SubIs are in July-August-Sept" to "it doesn't matter to anyone what you take 4th year, just take things that interest you".

I have all my letters or rec from third year.

Currently I have my Sub Is in Sept-Oct-Nov because I didn't get them at the time I wanted, I have nothing scheduled for July-Aug, other than Step 2CS, doing my application, and making last minute decision about which of two fields I will apply into (I am later doing SubIs in both fields in which I am interested).

So how much do your 4th year courses matter? Is Sept-Oct-Nov too late for SubIs? Is it not okay to have the first 6 weeks of the year vacant? Should I just add a non-SubI filler?

My school sends in our transcripts Late Sept/early Oct.

 

[sylvanthus]

Depends on the specialty.

 

[MyGenome]

Depends on the specialty.

How about for IM? Anesthesia?

 

[mvenus929]

I'm applying to peds, so grain of salt and all that.

A couple of the programs I have looked at strongly recommend that one letter comes from your sub-I. Also, depending on when your school write th deans letter, some of the evals from fourth year may be included in it.

Other than that, do what interests you.

 

[235009]

Having 6 weeks of vacation at the beginning of 4th year would look really bad!! If you absolutely can't do your subI in July or August then you need to take step 2 CK in that time period. Take 4 weeks to study for it then fill in the extra 2 weeks with an IM sub specialty rotation (or something related). You can't just take 6 weeks off for contemplation, you need to either decide on what to apply to now or work toward applying to both.

In my biased opinion I recommend you stay as far away as possible from anesthesia. The job market is crumbling as hospitals realize they can get the same quality care for half price by hiring CRNAs. IM on the other hand is growing and the hospitalist movement is not only creating more jobs/opportunities for those who decide not to subspecialize but it is also making IM a more lifestyle friendly specialty for inpatient and outpatient docs.

 

[survivordo]

It might be too late but 6 weeks off to begin 4th year is poor planning. Wouldn't you rather have this at the end of the year, when you are matched, your boards are done, and you can truly relax?

You should take your boards as soon as you can. You should do a sub-I/Audition rotation regardless of your chosen specialty. They are a pain to setup... (for future reference you should start planning this out as soon as Jan/Feb of 3rd year!)

Survivor DO

 

[inmyslumber]

In my institution, Anesthesia prefers a LOR from your specialty SubI. This does not seem possible in your case.

Hopefully you were able to get a LOR from an Anesthesiologist. If not, do the best you can on Step 2 and submit what you think are your strongest LORs.