Choosing electives...

[BDog]

Hey guys,

 

I think I've narrowed it down to two specialties: Emerg & Ortho. Unfortunately, both are competitive. I think I could be sure if I had more time, but my electives need to be set in the next few weeks. I've set up a bunch of extra shadowing in a desperate attempt to solidify a choice.

 

However, if I was still unsure between these two, I wonder if anyone has some insight as to how to approach this. From what I've been told, the biggest consequence of not being 100% sure is that I won't be able to complete electives at different schools.

 

I wonder if it's feasible to avoid spreading myself too thin and as a result being non-competitive for either. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Lactic Folly]

The good thing about your choices is that an elective in emerg is quite applicable to ortho, and vice versa, so it's easy to explain come application time. Someone else can give you an idea of how many electives you need to be competitive for each specialty, but I would try to have one away elective in each area.. helps reinforce the seriousness of your intent when you do aways. Also, if you have free time during an elective (say with emerg shifts), you can try and visit the other program while you're at the different school (I've done this - just explained I was undecided but very interested in learning more about their program).