Gim: Ctu Vs. Consult Elective

[atomickitten86]

Was wondering if people could share their thoughts of doing a CTU versus a consult service as a GIM service. And of course how this ways in during CaRMS and as a representative of Internal Medicine residency. Thx in advance.

[samy]

GIM electives are seen as a positive thing I believe. Can't comment if CTU > than GIMCS or vice versa.

In my opinion, CTUs are usually more demanding in terms of hours ( I remember being there at 7:15 and leaving at 18:00-19:00 everyday Monday to Friday + 2 week ends calls 8am-8pm.) and in terms or workload.

[MD Consultants CA]

Hi,

 

It is essential that you do at least one CTU elective because while you may choose various consult services as electives during residency, CTU is required for every resident (8-10 blocks). Doing a CTU elective and getting a good reference letter really demonstrates your strong work ethics, management skills, and teamwork skills. GIM staff wants to see that you are a dependable and capable resident on call, as well as managing the team on a daily basis (these are basic competencies for all GIM residents).

 

Having said that, when you book a CTU elective, it is advised you book for at least 3 weeks. This is because some CTU staff only work 2 weeks at a time and before booking the elective it is unlikely for you to know the schedule of staff on service. If you book a 2 week elective and happen to be working with 2 staffs (one week each), you are unlikely to get a strong letter, as compared to a 3 week elective where you work for 2 weeks at least with one staff.

 

When booking a consult service elective, you most likely work with one staff only, and therefore a 2 week elective should be sufficient.

Was wondering if people could share their thoughts of doing a CTU versus a consult service as a GIM service. And of course how this ways in during CaRMS and as a representative of Internal Medicine residency. Thx in advance.

[bloh]

I think if you are interested in IM you should ideally do both. Consult GIM is still GIM and it's less demanding on hours and to be honest, actually fun. You get to do IM without the bullshit of CTU.