DungeonMan Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Hello everyone. I have a question: I have discovered that I am very interested in a certain field in medicine. However, this realization has come late and I have not had much success in securing electives. I only managed to get one elective and it starts in mid November. The due date for CaRMS letters is usually early december. In other words, i have around 2 weeks to impress an attending enough to write me a letter. I think Ill need letters from more than one attending too... Is this cutting it too close? Should I just give up and go for something else more feasible? Is there any way for me to manage this in my favor? Suggestions are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallguy408 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Tough man...is there any way of you getting in on a research project or anything else related to your field now? How competitive are we talking here? Like internal med competitive, or ophtho competitive? Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DungeonMan Posted May 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 It is not possible for me to get involved in research projects related to this field now. I have research experience in subjects other than this field. I will be able to secure a letter or two from people in this field who I have worked with in a non-research context. However I know I will be needing more letters to stay competitive. My question is whether or not it is possible for a student to get a good letter of reference at the tail end of the CaRMS application process from a 2 week long elective. I was unable to secure any longer electives earlier in the year. My personal feeling is that it is an unrealistic goal, but I feel it may be beneficial for me to get other opinions before canceling my elective and pursuing another field entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Provided your elective is before the CaRMS deadline (adding in time for receipt of the letters), I think you should be fine. Are you able to get any letters from your core rotation from clerkship? Those count too. I don't know what your elective schedule is like, but if you are signing up for electives Sept-Dec, there is still tons of time to book electives. I switched an elective in June for a Sept elective. UBC is known for scheduling electives at the last possible moment, so you could still secure something even a month before the elective. Furthermore, I bet it would be easier to snag an elective at your home school, especially if your classmates are backing up before external electives are confirmed. It is hard to offer more concrete advice without knowing the whole story. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 It is not uncommon to get letters from a 2 week elective, but it depends on how your elective is set up - if you will be able to spend sufficient time with a staff person so that they can write you a good letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I say go for it! But I'd also apply to a second choice specialty if you're particularly concerned. That way, you at least have the possibility of more interviews and then it's up to you how you rank things or if you choose to not go through with the match itself. You don't have much to lose by deciding to apply to the specialty you really want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 On the bright side at least you have 1 elective in the field. So that demonstrates interest. And most programs usually state "at least 1 LOR" should come from specialty-x. Unless you are talking about a crazy competitive specialty then you seem to be in a decent position. As for 2 weeks....I've set up all my electives for 2-3 weeks. From what I was told, 2 weeks is fine to get a letter, 3 weeks is better and anything more than 3 is a waste of time. I know of 1 person who matched to OBGYN and 1 to peds and neither had any electives in it as it was a last minute decision. So keep trying to get more electives, but if you don`t , don`t stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalslacker Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Just echoing the above-2 weeks is fine for a letter. I wouldn't count out doing research just yet either. I changed my mind Apr/May last year and, if I hadn't been too lazy, could have definitely gotten some research going. In the end I did manage to at least get a case study done, which helped some. Your best chance is going to be your home school-make sure they know you and that you are interested. Go to rounds as much as possible. Get in touch with the program director and ask for advice on how you should go about matching to "x" as you've recently changed interests. If it is a specialty where work ethic matters, find out if there are some nights or weekends when you could be on call. I know that extra call sounds crazy but it gives you a chance to get to know the residents and shows you're interested (plus you learn alot). I was on call for Paeds one Saturday, with nothing to do, so I worked my way into the OR to scrub for a few cases. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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