anesthete Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Hi folks I am in the midst of trying to plan the summer after my first year and coming up against some road blocks with preceptors who are not willing to take students on for periods longer than a day or two to shadow. I am wondering if it is necessary to make sure I shadow / work extensively with specialists in the two or three competitive fields I am interested in at this stage in my training, to ensure I stay competitive. Is summer of first year still too early to be worrying about this? Many have assured it me is, but I am trying not to be "taken out of the game" in being competitive for anesthesiology or ophthalmology. I am going to be doing research (more internal medicine related than Anesth/Optho) and that's about it this summer. Am I going to be way behind? Thanks for any perspectives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I'm PGY-1 in a surgical specialty. All I did first summer was to chill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermviser Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I'm PGY-1 in a surgical specialty. All I did first summer was to chill. netflix and chill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I drank and hung out with my buddies. It was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W0lfgang Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 I did research. It sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermviser Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 I did research. It sucked. It help you get into rad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W0lfgang Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 It didn't hurt but my opinion is that research is overrated. If I can go back, I would spend it on the wards and gain a ton of clinical experience to prepare for clerkship. I would do electives in at least CTU and gen surg. I'd be better equipped to impress preceptors, which would reflect in my evaluations and reference letters. Assuming you're a normal person, work hard, care about patients etc. What is written about you in reference letters and clerkship evaluations, and what is said about you when you're not around is the new grading system for Carms. I'm probably not as smart as NLengr to chill out and still get into surgery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 It didn't hurt but my opinion is that research is overrated. If I can go back, I would spend it on the wards and gain a ton of clinical experience to prepare for clerkship. I would do electives in at least CTU and gen surg. I'd be better equipped to impress preceptors, which would reflect in my evaluations and reference letters. Assuming you're a normal person, work hard, care about patients etc. What is written about you in reference letters and clerkship evaluations, and what is said about you when you're not around is the new grading system for Carms. I'm probably not as smart as NLengr to chill out and still get into surgery How else to get a good rad letter? I suppose there are projects done during the school year, or one could try to arrange an elective spent mostly with one person... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 It didn't hurt but my opinion is that research is overrated. If I can go back, I would spend it on the wards and gain a ton of clinical experience to prepare for clerkship. I would do electives in at least CTU and gen surg. I'd be better equipped to impress preceptors, which would reflect in my evaluations and reference letters. Assuming you're a normal person, work hard, care about patients etc. What is written about you in reference letters and clerkship evaluations, and what is said about you when you're not around is the new grading system for Carms. I'm probably not as smart as NLengr to chill out and still get into surgery It's easier to get into surgical specialties in a way. For rads, you don't get a whole lot of exposure and chance to demonstrate you talents and personality on elective(at least that's what I understand). Other things like research, deans letters and undergrad grades are used to try to separate candidates. In surgical specialties, you are given loads of chances to shine and show what type of person you are (clinic, OR, consults, rounds etc). That means a huge portion of the decision on where to rank you comes from that elective you did. People will trust their own experiences far more than a deans letter, reference, research paper or grades. That means all that stuff counts for way less when you apply. It's all about the elective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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