MUST DO away rotations

A large number of the residents at University Mississippi in Jackson were rotators. I have heard that to get interviews there you should rotate

I think these posts should be clarified. There are people at both institutions mentioned in the first post that did not rotate at those institutions, however, both are very heavy towards rotators. When I was at Northwestern, I believe there was only 1 resident in the whole program that didn't rotate.

While it is true that Northwestern does favor rotators, they do interview quite a few non-rotators. A non-rotator matched this year.

all programs prefer rotators....you should have figured that out by now

I'll have to respectfully disagree on this point. There are times where I feel like rotators are at a disadvantage. There are so many good applicants that subconsciously residents and attendings are looking for things wrong, not right, with the applicant. The one time you don't appear to be excited about a case, don't take that extra "non-mandatory" call, etc..., residents and attendings alike will make comments. People form quick opinions based on very short interactions with you. Some people are just better interviewers, and may benefit from not rotating at certain institutions. I have witnessed this phenomenon at many programs, and several friends I have made across the country attest to this fact. There is no easy way to do this, and every decision has risks and benefits. If you rock an away rotation, you have the upper hand, but being average or below average will almost guarantee you won't be looking at a spot at that program unless they drop in their rank order list.

everything you said is true. when it comes down to 2 strong applicants a good rotator has advantage over nonrotator

It seems that most of the people that matched into ortho didn't do an away at the place they matched. Strange I guess.

Its true that rotating at a program can be risky, especially if you have friction with the staff and residents. However, you cannot look at it that way. You are rotating not only to please staff and residents, but also to see if this program is right for you. If the program is right for you, then sure, show your interest, butter up the staff and do the right things to make them smile.

Most of the orthopaedic residents I know rotated at the programs they matched to and had a good sense of what they were getting themselves into when they made their rank list. How can you base what a program is like on 1) a half day tour or 2) what you heard from other years 3) what Joe Step 1: 270/99 AOA on orthogate (who you never have or ever will meet) said? That's completely ridiculous! Why take a big gamble on such unreliable information?

And as for being better interviewers...its all about practice. Practice your interview until you feel confident. The best interviewers aren't public speaking experts who can walk into a bar and instantly become the life of the party...you were a sharp suit, look clean, know the name of your interviewer and recite your answers in a cool calm fashion.

I matched this year at a program I rotated at, as did 3 out of the other 4 members of my class that went into Orhto. I believe that there is a good chance I wouldn't have recieved the offer to even interview at the program I matached at without having done an away. However I think applicants need to be honest about their own strengths before deciding to do aways.
To succeed on an away you need to work hard, including finding the things to do to help out the residents without being asked to do them. You need to be polite to everyone you work with not just the attendings and residents in the ortho department. And lastly you have to be well prepared for your cases, which means first always knowing what cases are schedules and preparing for them beforehand. You dont have to become best friends with the residents or to know everything about the cases you are going to do, but to be energetic and eager to help out where you can.
If you have some concerns about your ability to go to these programs and get along with people and work hard then you should consider the possibility of not doing an away.

Do students usually get LOR's from institutions where they did away rotations at?

UTSW used to strongly favor rotators; however, after they got a new chairman, the rules definitely changed a bit. My year interviewing was the first year for the new chairman, and the residents commented on how many of us were nonrotators compared to years prior. Not sure how it settled out regarding the match but it was made pretty clear beforehand that it would not be as rotator-heavy as prior years.

Mt Sinai, being a small compact program, tends to mainly interview and match rotators.

orthotiger88, please check your private messages--i sent you one

In regards to LOR, I would say that LOR from away rotations by far carry the best weight.

What's up lsuhsc?