I am currently a third-year medical student and have some questions about away rotations. When do I need to start contacting schools and setting up the rotations? How many away rotations do people generally do? What are the positives and negatives of away rotations?
Thanks for your help in advance.
definitely do a search of this forum, as this topic has been discussed extensively.
you probably should start thinking about it sooner rather than later. some places require you to apply at least 6 months in advance. however, certain programs wil make you apply early, but not let you know if you got the rotation or not until april-may, when their current MS3, soon to be MS4s, have finalized their schedules. also, many programs don't want students in july, as they may feel that having a student would negatively affect the learning of their new CA-1s.
i think most people do 1-2 aways maximum, if any. i suppose the quality of your home program might determine how many you do. some people (like myself) do not have a home program. there a probably a few schools of thought on where to set them up. if you have your heart set on a certain program, it might be beneficial to do an away there - but it HAS been argued on this forum that a possible negative of that strategy is that it is essentially a one-month interview, and that there is a chance you may make a bad impression if you are anything short of a rockstar.
i personally feel that another good option is to do an away at a top-notch institution, especially if you are coming from a school with a program that is not well known, or if you are a DO, and do your best to get a generic letter from there. as far as who to get the letter from, that is a whole different topic, but i feel anesthesia is unique in that if you put the effort in during the month, you will most likely get to work directly with someone of importance (PD, chair, bigshot, etc.), as compared to some of the other specialties like IM or surgery, where you may be stuck on someone else's service. this would give you the chance to get a letter from a well known individual that you worked closely with (probably the best letter you can get). on my rotation, I got the chance to work with the PD a couple of times, and several interviewers on the trail have commented on his strong letter.
another thing to keep in mind, is that you most likely will have little to no skill and/or knowledge in anesthesiology until you do a rotation. before going to that big-time place, or your top choice, it might not be a bad idea to do a practice rotation at your home hospital, or a place you don't care about (maybe even a place with no residents). try to get some procedures under your belt, and do a lot of reading, so when you go to your dream place, hopefully people will mistake you for a CA-1.
😀
finally, again, i can't stress enough to search this forum for what other people might have to say. the above worked for me (well, i guess we'll find out in march
🙄 ), but i'm sure there are many options that would be just fine. talking to your advisor might also not be a bad idea.
i hope this helps you. feel free to PM me if you want.
