When to take EM Rotation?

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Hi All,

Im sure this info is around here and I just can't find it, but when did most people take their home institution EM rotation? Our school lets us take it any time 3rd or 4th year (as long as you've taken IM before it).

Right now Im trying to decide if it'd be better to take it mid year (right around Xmas) or later in spring or early summer. What would be the latest I could take it without affecting aways?

Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[surely]

Hi All,

Im sure this info is around here and I just can't find it, but when did most people take their home institution EM rotation? Our school lets us take it any time 3rd or 4th year (as long as you've taken IM before it).

Right now Im trying to decide if it'd be better to take it mid year (right around Xmas) or later in spring or early summer. What would be the latest I could take it without affecting aways?

Thanks in advance!

Find out from your school/from your graduating MS4s if the school will write you a SLOE based on a rotation in third year. It's meant to compare MS4s. I'd take it at the end of your 3rd year, when you know the most.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Find out from your school/from your graduating MS4s if the school will write you a SLOE based on a rotation in third year. It's meant to compare MS4s. I'd take it at the end of your 3rd year, when you know the most.

Huh, didn't know that - thanks for the reply!

So what do most people do then...Take home EM at the beginning of 4th year? I feel like that'd get kinda tight in terms of getting 2 SLOEs by September 15th then, no?

 

[surely]

Huh, didn't know that - thanks for the reply!

So what do most people do then...Take home EM at the beginning of 4th year? I feel like that'd get kinda tight in terms of getting 2 SLOEs by September 15th then, no?

Every school is different (some even have a mandatory 3rd year EM rotation in addition to the AI that the 4th years do before applying), but yeah, most people do their home EM AI at the beginning of 4th year. Depending on when you start 4th year, it can definitely get tight in terms of getting 2 SLOEs by then. However, while 2 SLOEs by Sept 15 is probably the ideal case and may offer you some advantage, 1 SLOE by 9/15 should be sufficient to start getting you interviews as long as the 2nd one doesn't take months to materialize.

 

[Apollyon]

Right now Im trying to decide if it'd be better to take it mid year (right around Xmas) or later in spring or early summer.

If you take it mid year 3, you'll be missing OB/GYN, peds, psych, or pieces of IM or surgery. Don't do that. That's not the way you want to stand out.

Literally thousands of students have gone through this. Home in July, away in August and September, and you're golden.

 

[Elevencents]

If you take it mid year 3, you'll be missing OB/GYN, peds, psych, or pieces of IM or surgery. Don't do that. That's not the way you want to stand out.

Literally thousands of students have gone through this. Home in July, away in August and September, and you're golden.

This.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Awesome - thanks guys

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Get 2-3 in between June-October if possible. At a minimum one done before the beginning of september. Ideally 2 if possible. All at residency programs. All with sloes.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Get 2-3 in between June-October if possible. At a minimum one done before the beginning of september. Ideally 2 if possible. All at residency programs. All with sloes.

Somehow this knowledge has slipped through the cracks. I'll likely end up getting two SLOE's (home and away) but will I know the strength of my SLOE's before possibly needing to schedule a third? Like say God forbid, my first doesn't go as well as I'd like, will i have time to try and secure a third?

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Maybe. Depends on the feedback you get at rotation one or two. I mean dont get me wrong, programs arent always honest. But I doubt there are programs out there giving low 1/3 or dnr sloes to someone while at the same time telling them they are a top student.

Find out who writes the sloes. Ask them near the end of the rotation for advice on how they percieve your competitiveness for applying EM. See what your eval/grade is for the rotation. And make your best guess from there.

Will you ever truly know your SLOE grades? No, not unless an interviewee flat out tells you. Do some students get lower sloes than they expect? Sure. It’s not a perfect system and I do wish there was some way students could guage how competitive they are based on their sloes without ruining the blinded nature of it which helps keep them objective. With their flaws, i still think sloes are far and away the best evaluation tool compared to what every other field does.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Maybe. Depends on the feedback you get at rotation one or two. I mean dont get me wrong, programs arent always honest. But I doubt there are programs out there giving low 1/3 or dnr sloes to someone while at the same time telling them they are a top student.

Find out who writes the sloes. Ask them near the end of the rotation for advice on how they percieve your competitiveness for applying EM. See what your eval/grade is for the rotation. And make your best guess from there.

Will you ever truly know your SLOE grades? No, not unless an interviewee flat out tells you. Do some students get lower sloes than they expect? Sure. It’s not a perfect system and I do wish there was some way students could guage how competitive they are based on their sloes without ruining the blinded nature of it which helps keep them objective. With their flaws, i still think sloes are far and away the best evaluation tool compared to what every other field does.

Thanks for all you do! If you have time, can you briefly explain what med students can do to make sure they score in the top 1/3rd of rotating students (as well as how students end up scoring in the bottom 1/3rd)?

 

[Tenk]

If you are interested in EM, take it at the end of third year so you are basically a fourth year which means you are basically an intern because fourth year isn’t real.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Thanks for all you do! If you have time, can you briefly explain what med students can do to make sure they score in the top 1/3rd of rotating students (as well as how students end up scoring in the bottom 1/3rd)?

Check out the AMA thread, there's tons of good tips from me and others throughout that thread. In particular, here's a link to some of the tips I've mentioned in the past for doing well on rotation.

EM APD - Ask Me Anything