grapz Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'd like some opinion regarding my elective choices. Feel free to chime in. I plan on having two three week IM electives in toronto, and four two week radiology electives (2 in toronto, 2 else where in canada). Has any one had any experience in splitting electives? Is radiology competitive enough to require more than the four electives i've already chosen? Can I still be competitive for IM in Toronto given that I get good ref letters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Splitting electives may make you less competitive for IM, probably won't affect radiology application as much except that you will have exposure to fewer centres (a factor at programs that value on-site electives), and overall you will be spending 10 weeks in Toronto which may raise doubts about your willingness to match elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
move.along Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'd like some opinion regarding my elective choices. Feel free to chime in. I plan on having two three week IM electives in toronto, and four two week radiology electives (2 in toronto, 2 else where in canada). Has any one had any experience in splitting electives? Is radiology competitive enough to require more than the four electives i've already chosen? Can I still be competitive for IM in Toronto given that I get good ref letters? Ideally, you want to do all your electives, or the majority in the speciality you want. In your case, you cannot do that as you are considering two, and that's completely fine. I say go ahead and split- As you know, Radiology is no longer a sought after speciality, and it therefore not in the category of competitive specialities (Derm/Ophth/Plastics). You will have an equal shot at both provided you do well during your elective time. And you can always spin why you did a lot of internal electives for Rad residency - gives you broad depth of knowledge which you will need to use in Rad residency... And you can spin why you did so many rad electives in your internal medicine resid interviews.. radz is v important to know for internal medicine.. and its extremly useful to be able to interpret images way before the radiology resident gives you their input, which in some cases is quite delayed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbarry Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Most places want someone with a broad range of electives (you will see this phrase on every CaRMS program description page) Basically, they like well-rounded applicants. That being said, the best way to "showcase" yourself is to do on-site electives, and try to work with someone that will be able to advocate for you during the ranking stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theroadtorads Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 You think doing 10 weeks of electives in one city is a good idea? The value of elective is that the department gets to see you in action, and at the very least knows you went there on elective come CaRMS time. You better impress them big time when you spend those 10 weeks in Toronto, because you are putting all your eggs in one basket. A very competitive one too I may add... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapz Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll switch one of the two radiology electives in toronto to another city. Ideally I'd like to match into radiology, but I am very happy with IM as well, but I would prefer to do my residency in Toronto for IM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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