street_med Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey everyone, I am a radiology hopeful in the midst of planning my electives. However, my med school requires me to complete clerkship electives in 3 different specialties and so I am limited in where I can go for rads electives. In order to maximize my exposure to different rads programs across the country, a few people have suggested that I meet the radiology program directors at schools where I am doing non-radiology electives? What are everyone's thoughts on that? Good idea? A little too much? Thanks in advance for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey799 Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Hey everyone, I am a radiology hopeful in the midst of planning my electives. However, my med school requires me to complete clerkship electives in 3 different specialties and so I am limited in where I can go for rads electives. In order to maximize my exposure to different rads programs across the country, a few people have suggested that I meet the radiology program directors at schools where I am doing non-radiology electives? What are everyone's thoughts on that? Good idea? A little too much? Thanks in advance for the replies! You should definitely drop by the rad departments to see how things are run and get a sense of what the program is like by talking to residents in the reading room. I will suggest you do electives in (1) schools you really want to go for residency and (2) schools that will not interview applicants who have not done an on site radiology elective. As for meeting program directors, you can give it a shot and see how far you can get. Be warned that some program directors do not like to meet med students. One rumor is that UBC's rad program director has a policy of not interacting with med students. Also besides program directors it'll helpful to meet the other rads and residents on the selection committee if you can find out who they are through the grapevine. If you are an otherwise strong applicant, not having the elective will not affect you much in securing interview invites at most places. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Be warned that some program directors do not like to meet med students. One rumor is that UBC's rad program director has a policy of not interacting with med students. Also besides program directors it'll helpful to meet the other rads and residents on the selection committee if you can find out who they are through the grapevine. Hi there, Yes, certain PDs have strict policies not to interact with medical students on electives or via request, and UBC's PD is one of them. Some PDs are only happy to meet and/or answer questions. What's most important about interacting with members of a program is to ascertain whether the residents are happy (and if not, why, and is that factor a detractor for you). If residents don't seem happy then that should set off some alarms. Unfortunately, I encountered this when I contacted a number of rads residents while I was doing my legwork in medical school. It was a bit off-putting to hear some of their comments. Thankfully, however, most residents did seem quite happy with their programs. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street_med Posted November 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 solid advice guys! thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svp2k5 Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 I am in the midst of finishing my electives tour. I think it is a great idea to meet with the program director at every spot you do an elective. I found that all four spots I visited, the PD was happy to meet with me. Be prepared to answer some questions though. A couple of the meetings were pretty informal, but the PD at Toronto started grilling me with interview type questions (i.e. why do you want to go into the specialty, why Toronto, what makes you qualified, etc.). I found it very useful to use the CaRMS program info to discuss the program with the PD. It makes you look very interested if you can ask specific questions regarding the training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0nsp Posted December 6, 2008 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 The PD at TO never got back to me during my elective, so I never met her. Howver, the PD at Mac was only too happy to schedule a meeting on short notice and answer all my questions. I think its a good idea to try and meet with them if at all possible, but LOTS of people get an interview/get in without ever having met with them. If you can, I would, but if you can't, don't sweat it. If you DO meet with them, try to have an idea as to WHY? Do you have any specific questions for him/her? and, as the above poster pointed out, be prepared to answer some questions yourself. What I've found is that, instead of meeting with the PD, try to work with them on a day where they are reading films. That way, you can show off your knowledge, and they just start talking about their program naturally. It has a better flow, rather than a formal meeting where it seems more interview-like in nature. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceprobe Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Hi, I was wondering what are the schools that require a radiology elective at their school before they will consider you? (i'm not sure if what the programs put on the carms description is necessarily representative of what they actually look for). thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceprobe Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 also, if i do an elective at that school, but in a different specialty, does that count for anything in the eyes of the radiology program at that school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I don't know if there is any school that absolutely requires an elective to be considered. However, if the program description mentions that local electives are beneficial, I would believe that they weigh them more heavily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 To answer your second question, probably not in of itself (unless you get a reference from someone well known to the program), but the overall trend of your electives is noticed. For example, if you do multiple electives in one location, you will appear to be motivated to match to that location. If you do electives all across the country, you will appear more mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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