Starfish31415 Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 Hi all, I'm a current 3rd year medical student looking for electives in Anesthesia. Unfortunately, after 6 rounds of applying at 12:01am, and about $2000 in application fees, I have only managed to secure 2 anesthesia electives, and numerous rejections. I have a few still pending, but I feel it would be foolish to rely on those at this point. My question is: a) can anyone give an *honest* opinion on how many anesthesia electives it will take to make you a strong competitive applicant, and furthermore to show that you are interested in anesthesia (so they don't think i'm backing up with it). I heard from previous year applicants that 3 or more is enough, but Im not even sure if i can secure 3 at this point what alternate electives should I apply for in all my free slots? I currently have 1 CTU and 1 plastics. Considering ICU but heard that it can be difficult to shine and get a reference letter in ICU since med students won't get to do much. c) are other ppl having similar experiences? with electives in general and with anesthesia specifically? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethease Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 That sucks dude. The portal system is a total price gouge (and unfairly favours students with more financial resources). Do ICU though, it's definitely the most relevant to Anesthesia. You might not "shine" by doing procedures or managing your own patients, but you can still work hard, be knowledgeable for your level and be easy to work with. If it turns out you can't get any more Anes electives, explain the situation in your personal letter and try to get multiple reference letters from the electives you do have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 Try to do one in your home school too, 3 electives in the field looks much better than 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfish31415 Posted May 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2017 Thanks for the advice everyone! Most of the programs says they want a 'broad range of electives' so hopefully they actually mean that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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