what's the consensus?

[sweetmelody]

just trying to get an idea of the opinions out there about not applying to the program at your school....dumb move since they train you?

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[gutonc]

just trying to get an idea of the opinions out there about not applying to the program at your school....dumb move since they train you?

Don't bother applying to a program you know you don't want to go to. You're wasting your time and theirs. If you're not sure, go ahead and apply...maybe you'll be surprised by it on interview day.

FYI, this was advice given to me by an Asst. PD of the IM program where I went to med school. I didn't apply there (since they didn't offer the Research Pathway program I wanted) and all was fine.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Since this is a medical student issue, not a resident one, it is being moved to the Allopathic forum.

 

[mmmcdowe]

just trying to get an idea of the opinions out there about not applying to the program at your school....dumb move since they train you?

I think the first reply is good advice for any program besides your own school. Rank it last or not at all after you have experienced it, but it's the cheapest interview on the menu and the closest equivalent to applying to all of your in state medical schools during pre-med.

 

[Jolie South]

I find it hard to believe that you can learn everything about a particular specialty during the few months that you rotated as a student on that service, so much so that they would have nothing to offer you as a resident.

On the contrary, I think the program you trained in medical school at would be a particularly good choice if you know that you have a good patient variety, supportive awesome faculty, and a collegial environment. Those are the things I'm looking for and that's what the program is like in my specialty of interest at my school.

 

[MossPoh]

I find it hard to believe that you can learn everything about a particular specialty during the few months that you rotated as a student on that service, so much so that they would have nothing to offer you as a resident.

On the contrary, I think the program you trained in medical school at would be a particularly good choice if you know that you have a good patient variety, supportive awesome faculty, and a collegial environment. Those are the things I'm looking for and that's what the program is like in my specialty of interest at my school.

Agreed.

I also think it depends on the competiveness of the speciality. If you are gunning for something considered competitive, then take the interview if offered. It will be cheap, quick and something to put on your rank list, even if it is lower, unless you'd absolutely refuse to go there, even if it meant putting your goals on hold. (I think very few people are in that category)

 

[deleted311769]

Maybe it's not the same for all specialties... and maybe it's different at different institutions where how well they know you varies... but it seems very rude not to apply to and interview at your home program, especially if they have helped you at all through the process. It is 100% expected at my program that I would apply no matter what my level of interest.

 

[peppy]

Programs only have so much time to interview people (don't forget that every interviewer has to make time in their schedule to interview you). I would expect most programs would prefer not to waste their time on someone who has no intention of going to the program when they could have used the time on a candidate who was sincerely interested. It seems kind of childish to me for a program to take it personally if you don't want to interview there. Everyone has different priorities and not every residency program fits everyone's needs.

 

[Encephalectomy]

just trying to get an idea of the opinions out there about not applying to the program at your school....dumb move since they train you?

I think that it is a dumb move because they are the ones writing your letters and potentially going to bat for you when the time comes for programs to make match lists. Like people have said, you can rank them last or not at all, but I think that the time would be worth not burning your bridges (more so for smaller fields). Also, if you already live there its basically free food

 

[odieoh]

I find it hard to believe that you can learn everything about a particular specialty during the few months that you rotated as a student on that service, so much so that they would have nothing to offer you as a resident.

On the contrary, I think the program you trained in medical school at would be a particularly good choice if you know that you have a good patient variety, supportive awesome faculty, and a collegial environment. Those are the things I'm looking for and that's what the program is like in my specialty of interest at my school.

You don't need to know EVERYTHING about your school's program when deciding not to go there- If there is some striking feature that is a dealbreaker for you, that one thing is enough.

That being said, I would still interview, most likely you will be getting letters from people within the department and they will notice if you don't apply with them. Its always good to stay in the good graces of your letter writers as people may be calling them as references.