Are CTU electives mandatory for Internal?

[brady23]

Hi everyone, I'm applying to Internal and Family medicine this year.

I was unable to secure a CTU elective at my school (it's a very popular elective) 

I was wondering if anyone had advice on what to do in this situation and if anyone matched to Internal without doing CTU electives? 

So far: I have

1. Family Medicine (ROMP) x 4 weeks

2. Internal Medicine - Rheumatology x 2 weeks

3. Internal Medicine - Geriatrics x 2 weeks

4. Internal Medicine - Endocrinology x 2 weeks

5. Family Medicine - General x 2 weeks

[skyuppercutt]

They are not mandatory but highly recommended. Looking at your current elective schedule I would say that you are going to be in a good position as long as you are able to get strong reference letters from each of your internal medicine rotations.

If you also have a reference letter from your core internal medicine rotation then that would help to. I would recommend if possible using only internal medicine letters for when you apply to internal.

As a UofT grad and previous internal medicine interviewer I would not penalize you for not having CTU rotations. Good luck!

[LostLamb]

Not in internal, but I do note that all your internal electives are in the "slower" paced IM subspecialties. Is this intentional or just luck of the draw?

No idea how this would be perceived by folks in IM.

[Tullius]

Honestly had not considered the possibility that an internal medicine program would judge applicants on which internal medicine electives they did and whether they are "slower paced"...

[unmatch]

I would change one of your FM electives to something like cardio, nephro, etc that's more focused on inpatient work. You don't need 6 weeks of FM electives to match well in FM if you're appplying to that.