Author
Comment
CS
Local user
(4/19/00 8:32:37 pm)
Reply
How late is too late for away electives?
I've been screwed by my school's lottery and will be compelled to do 2 months of mandatory ambulatory care
during June and July, if I can't find someone who will switch with me.
I was planning an ortho elective/sub I at my home institution (where I did research and will know the new
chiefs pretty well) for July and two away electives for August and September (maybe getting letter #3 at one)
but now these might be delayed. The way my school is, you can't get any electives in until 4th year so I still
haven't done one in ortho yet! I'm getting worried.
How late can you do a "tryout" elective and still get some benefit from wowing them, especially if you want to
get your applications in early, say around September? Should I start trying to offer major cash rewards for
someone to switch with me?
mootalot
Global user
(4/19/00 10:11:08 pm)
Reply
timing
I think you are on the right track. The timing of your aways depends on what you plan to get from them. If
you are just trying to impress, doing your away up until october and november is still going to help you. If you
do them this late-be sure you make a personal call to the program to let them know you are coming after your
application is in. The potential problem being that they reject your application because they don't know you
yet. Your job is to make sure that they are aware that you are genuinely interested enough to come out
there.
I personally recieved a rejection letter from a program by email on my second day rotating at that same
program. I immediately ran to the chairmans office and he calmed me down. Make sure this doesn't happen to
you by intervening early.
If you need a letter from an away, it is simple...just do it before your application goes in. It is nice to get your
application in early. My rotation at my home program was in september! I got 3 letters that month, but that
meant that I had to put some serious pressure on the letter writers to get them done.
Remember that your eras application can be completed and certified before all your letters are in. Some
programs will begin screening the apps before all letters are in. Letter writers send their recs to your deans
office and the deans office downloads them into ERAS. this can be done at any time. Some programs will not
open your app until you have 3 letters in. For this problem, I had two ortho letters early and 1 very strong
gensurg letter. I initially sent these three and as my other ortho letter became available, I simply added it - so
the programs got 4 letters total. You can sen up to 5.
Dont take out extra student loans. I did my home program in sept, aways in oct and nov. I matched well. Good
luck.
slk
Local user
(4/20/00 7:31:39 am)
Reply
Re: How late is too late for away electives?
On the general subject of aways and letters, how common or likely is it to get a letter from a one-month away
elective? Obviously it depends on what you do and who you make an impression on, but are attendings
generally willing to write a good letter even if they've only known you for a month?
Also, is it detrimental in terms of trying to get a letter to do an elective at a program where you rotate
through 4 services in 4 weeks, and don't get to know one attending very well?
I am mainly more concerned because I noticed on FREIDA that some programs require 4 letters, so I might
really need a letter from an away. Thanks...
Scott
Unregistered User
(4/20/00 8:36:20 am)
Reply
how late is too late
To make an impression, anytime before the rank lists go in
is fine (ie february 15 or so).
To get a letter, you need to allow for extra time. its hard
to get any of us to write the letter or sit still for 10 min.
I would not worry about not doing ortho until your 4th year.
many schools are like that now, pushing primary care.
What kind of program are you looking for?
Scott Silverstein
Chief Resident, Orthopedics
WVUH
[url=mailto]
[email protected][/url]
Scott
Unregistered User
(4/20/00 8]
[email protected][/url]
CS
Local user
(4/20/00 12:17:26 pm)
Reply
how late is too late
I'm looking for programs that are strong in peds (like a program that rotates through a Shriners) and in trauma.
I kind of like the idea of a large-ish (4+/yr) program cuz I haven't got that Y chromosome and would like to
see at least one-two other chicks in the program so I don't feel like the token alien.
The away electives I'm looking at doing are at LAC/USC and Hosp. for Joint Dz (NYU) - both big programs. I'm
also thinking about ortho at UT-Houston or Baylor, ER/Trauma at Highland Hosp in Oakland and/or Plastics at
UT-Southwestern, mostly b/c I have geographic links to these towns and the hospitals/programs seem "good",
whatever that means.
From all your responses, it sounds like it will be OK to go into October/November with the others if I get the
letter writing ones in before September. Phew!
I also wanted to do some electives in stuff like radiology, anesthesiology and ID and really wanted to do an
elective in a developing country (like where they say, here, you do this appendix or C section) but a lot of this
might be out the window. Maybe in the spring after the interviewing frenzy (yeah, optimism!) is over.
scott
Unregistered User
(4/20/00 7:18:39 pm)
Reply
FYI
we actually have 3/15 residents with only X chromosomes
scott
=================================
