Got a burning question that you want answered? Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!
Away Rotations
A third year medical student asked me, “should I have all my away rotations done before ERAS opens or nah? I’m concerned with whether I did aways before Sept 15th [when ERAS opens] or if they went into late Sept or October too. Is prior to Sept better?”.
Short answer: Depends if you want a letter of recommendation or not. If you do, then ideally you should be done with your elective before ERAS opens. If you are not looking for a letter then you should still rotate through any away hospital before hospitals are required to submit their rank list in January. I highly suggest reading, or at least skimming through, “The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match“. It talks about all of this in much greater detail.
Long answer: Away rotations are perfect ‘extended interviews’. They let programs see who you really are and, anecdotally, can help or conversely hurt your chances at matching at a specific program. In my mind, if you are a third year who is already planning out your fourth year electives then you likely have a good head on your shoulders. When you go to your away rotation just work hard and take care of your patients. Everything else will fall into place.
There are a few caveats pertaining to when you should perform away rotations. First off, are you trying to secure a strong letter of recommendation? If so, then you likely want to start an away rotation in July or August to ensure you get your letters in on time. You can still get letters from rotations during September and October but these should not be your first letters. Programs can filter you out if your application is not complete so you ideally want to have your letters in by September to ensure you have all of the appropriate documents ready to go.
Okay so I submitted my residency application- what now? Away rotations are even more valuable than ever. Hopefully you’re rotating somewhere that you applied because you basically just got a month long interview (congrats!). Away rotations are a golden opportunity to show a program who you are and also a great way to see if you like the hospital. Is this somewhere you can see yourself working for the next three years? Anecdotally, a lot of students get interviews at places they rotate through and even match there too. Be careful though because as much as an away rotation can help it can also hurt you.
This should go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: don’t forget to work hard and take care of your patients! If nothing else, my very expensive medical education has taught me that common sense isn’t so common. Showing up isn’t enough. Take care of your patients, show interest in what you’re doing, and freaking learn something! You’re still paying them to be there so you might as well get your money’s worth. Okay, done ranting. Hope that answers your question!
tl; dr: Rotate through hospitals early, ideally with the elective ending before September 15th if you want to secure letters of recommendation. Away rotations are also valuable ‘extended interviews’ that can strengthen or weaken a program’s interest in you, and visa-versa.
*Image taken from The Happy Hospitalist
Does Ross Support You During Third Year?
“For clinicals, did Ross University provide adequate support and RUSM teachers to support you in your third year? Thanks for any advice you may have!!”
Short answer: Yes. Ross has instituted clinical track programs for our third year of medical school. Clinical tracks keep you in one hospital for either 6 or 12 months. Each hospital is different. As such, every clinical track is unique. Most of the clinical tracks are in NYC, Chicago, Miami, Maryland, Atlanta, Michigan, and California.
Long answer: Many people told me, “Med school is all downhill after you finish your second year and you take step 1 of your US medical licensing exam (USMLE)”. That’s a whole lot of bullshit. Third year is tough. You have to go through clinical rotations while you simultaneously study for USMLE step 2. Don’t get me wrong, its a lot of fun and I enjoy it way more than being cooped up in a classroom. Just know that it doesn’t get any easier. Though I hear most people truly enjoy fourth year. Especially after their application is sent to programs and interview season is over. Then its truly just waiting to match. But I digress.
Back to Ross and clinical rotations during third year. I personally have never had trouble with Ross during my third year. I earned the New York Methodist track and will be completing much of my fourth year here as well. Its one of the more competitive tracks and I enjoy being there. Before the end of your second year, everyone applies for a track. You submit all your information like your exam scores, GPA, resume, where you are from, and why you want to go to that specific track, etc. So I’ve had relatively smooth sailing during my third year. I was accepted to the track I wanted and I signed up for my fourth year electives on my own without Ross helping me (they will help you but I just didn’t need it).
You also have a team of advisors. Ross implemented a team based approach to your advisor so you speak with the same six people throughout your four years with Ross. So if you have questions about financial aid, professional development, or clinical advising, you always speak with the same six people. Check it out: http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school/blog/12/431. Its a major improvement and it works well. That being said, a lot of medical school is you figuring it out for yourself.
The student body has a saying, that ‘Ross’ stands for ‘Rely On Self Study’. Its a jab at the fact that sometimes you don’t have the best professor and you have to teach yourself an entire lecture. But after speaking with students in US schools it seems an issue that every medical school deals with. Stateside schools aren’t exempt from having terrible professors. The same is true with advising. As for Ross providing me with advising and support? Most of my advise has come from students in upper semesters or graduates, a friend or two of mine who are way more on top of their shit than I am, and my own research into whatever I needed to get done at the time.
Lastly, I am quite certain that there are disgruntled students out there who will disagree with me. So maybe try and find someone who isn’t so chipper and optimistic. They might be able to give you a different story from other side of the same coin.
Comment below if you have any follow up questions. And good luck!