where to rotate?

[hla]

If you had the option of doing a 4th year elective at one of the following locations which one would you choose and why(in terms of experience and gaining a quality LOR)? I am trying to figure out which programs to apply to for a spot during my 4th year.

University of Pittsburgh
George Washington
University of Maryland
UT-Southwestern
Jacksonville
Charity-New Orleans
Denver

thanks for the input.

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[Scrubbs]

Looking through your list, they are ALL great programs... and you'd prob get a great letter (that would carry weight) from any of them. They are also all over the country, so you may want to consider which location you would like to do your residency in, b/c wherever you rotate, you have a better chance of matching.

I haven't rotated at any of them, but I interviewed at Charity and Jacksonville. Charity is 4 years, Jacksonville is 3, but they have a similar feel program-wise. They also take a lot of students from each other (or so they told me), so rotating at either would help you with the other. Both are large, busy ED's, and both are considered "resident run" programs. Charity sees over 200K pt/yr. Personally, I felt that the attending presence was a little lacking at Jacksonville, but that was just an interview day impression. I really liked Charity - it was my second choice. Also, New Orleans is a GREAT city!

Good luck and I hope this helped to some extent!

 

[ERMudPhud]

I am of course biased having graduated in 2001 from Denver but I had a great time when I rotated there. There were plenty of didactics oriented toward the students. More importantly the clinical experience was great. It was the first time I felt almost like a doctor. Students and interns are treated identically. The patients you sign up for are yours and no one elses. You examine them and come up with a plan that you discuss with the senior resident or attending and then you do whatever is involved in their treatment. It was the first time that I felt like what I did or thought really mattered