I did a total of 3 ortho rotations during my 4th year. One of the four was at my home school. I knew one guy that I met on the trail that did 3 aways but didn't have a home program. I would suggest doing only two aways because there is a heavy financial burden as well as stress to impress at the locations. I was wore out after both of my away rotations (from working by A$$ off). Being away from home can take a toll after two months, and assuming your application is solid you should have plenty of interview invitations with only doing two aways.

That's my 2cents.

I did two aways and one home rotation. I contemplated doing a 3rd away rotation, but just couldn't put myself through the schedule. I was worn out after 3 demanding months (90-110 hrs/wk).

That being said, the more aways you go to and perform well, the greater the chance of you matching at the residency of your choice. If you can keep up that workload, I would do as many as possible (if financially possible too), because rotators just have a better opportunity to match because you are a known commotity. Work hard, don't get complasive, read up on all the cases you can. Don't let one bad day ruin a month of your time and work.

Good luck.

PS- don't apply for an away and then cancel it if its at a place you really like. I don't care what your excuse is, it will be extremely hard to get an interview.

Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate.

I did 4 months of ortho this year (home rotation and 3 aways). It can be done if you're really motiviated about it, but it gets pretty hard to keep the energy level up towards the end and so you may end up hurting yourself. Although, if you don't think you would get an interview at the program without rotating there, why not try? Worst case scenario: you don't get an interview at a place you wouldn't have gotten an interview anyway.

3 total ortho months. away/home/away. by the end i was pooped. that was enough for me.

I just want to throw another point of view out there to those who may be reading this worried that they're not going to get any interviews unless they do three aways. No disrespect to those who have, I think it's great that you had the time to do that, but this is not the only way to go.

Many of the folks from my home school have only done 1-2 aways, and some haven't done any. I think it's definitely a great idea if you are looking to "break into a region" or if there is another program that you really want have a good look at. By no means does doing only 1 away rotation reflect poorly on you as an applicant, at least that has been my experience on the interview trail.

Good luck to everyone next week.

BoneMaster...without a doubt it's possible to match without away rotations. But it's just not as likely, especially if you aren't a super stud applicant.

One thing you'll learn as you get out on the interview trail, is that even though a place offers you an interview, they are always searching to see if you just checked their box on your ERAS or do you really have interest in the program. One way to show interest is to do an away rotation, and then you become a known commotity to that program. It definitely gives you a better shot at that program, so the more aways you do the better chances you have. Plan and simple (unless you are a jack@ss who is horrible to work with).

Another good reason is to develop relationships with faculty members at other institutions..either for LOR for residency or maybe a LOR or position for fellowship.

So I will reiterate, you definitely can make it without aways, but it's just more difficult unless you're superman.

Have fun...go see a new city...work hard, but enjoy yourself.

I would like to lend a resident perspective to this forum. Aways matter. They do make you a "known commodity," which is particularly important if you have red flags in your application that you are trying to live down. Small residency programs in particular often are more concerned about weeding out potential "problem residents" (who often look fantastic on paper) than they are about how brilliant you may or may not be.

That said, most applicants apply to 20-60 programs and interview at 5 - 20 programs, whereas they rotate at 2-4 (including their home program). My experience suggests that most applicants match at a program where they DID NOT do an away rotation. The away is therefore not the most critical part of your application.

I urge you to remember that away rotations are not just an audition for you, but an opportunity to learn about the variety of training options that exist in Orthopaedics. Some programs are large, some small. Some are academic, some private. Some are "malignant" others are "benign." Some are trauma-heavy but swear "if you can do trauma, you can do anything in Ortho." Some are heavy on elective surgery. Some have minimal clinic time. Others have limited operative experience until the senior levels. Some emphasize research, some don't have labs.

Most applicants are advised by their program directors to look at other "good programs" that are very similar to their home program. It is difficult to have a meaningful understanding of the options available to you unless you look at programs that are significantly different from the one where you trained.

My suggestion would be to rotate your suspected first choice program, your home program, and 1-2 programs that you would seriously consider but that are by reputation very different from the other programs where you rotate. I believe this will prove invaluable when the time comes to create a rank list, and it will also give you meaningful experience to draw upon when responding to questions about "what you are looking for in a program" on your interviews.

I very much agree with the previous two posts and could not have said in better than NYC. I did not mean to undervalue the away rotation, in fact, my best interview experiences were at places where I did aways. I simply meant to state that the away is not the be all and end all of the ortho application. Many residents match each year (i don't know the percentage) at programs they did not rotate at.

are away rotations generally subi's? if not, which would be of benefit in terms trying to impress, doing a subi or just a reg rotation? thanks

are away rotations generally subi's? if not, which would be of benefit in terms trying to impress, doing a subi or just a reg rotation? thanks

That was also my question...some input from those who have gone through this process would be greatly appreciated

regardless of whether or not the away rotation is billed as a "sub-I" or an "AI" or whatever it's called - when you go do an away rotation, you should be acting as much like an intern as they will let you. remember, you're there to be enthusiastic and work your butt off and show people how great you'd be to work with. i have no idea if my aways were technically "sub-Is," as viewed by the away program (to my school, they were regular m4 rotations,) but you bet your booty i treated them as if they were sub-Is and did as much work as they'd give me. it's your big chance to make a good impression.

Do away rotations always have to be a month long? Some of the interns that I've talked to have said that you could do 2 weeks at one place, 2 weeks at another. You get the benefit of seeing more places but I'm wondering how that comes across.

I've been trying to find places that have 2 week visiting student electives and it seems like very few do. Anybody know which places will let students just 2 weeks?

I've heard about it more at community programs

two weeks may sound like a decent amount of time, but it doesn't really allow enough time for you to get to know a place and vice versa. the standard is four weeks at an institution-- be that one four week rotation or two two week rotations. im not sure how programs would view you as a rotator... whether two weeks really counts... it may be viewed as someone not really that interested in the program. or it may not matter. the most likely scenario is you wont be remembered at all. unless you can take only two weeks off, its probably best not to be different.

this issue has been discussed at length elsewhere on orthogate.

after looking further I found a topic that addresses the questions of 2 weeks vs 4. Doesn't say anything about identifying which programs would allow 2 week rotations, though.
http://www.orthogate.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3851