3 Year School Advice

[flamingelephants]

For those of you in three year schools, have you realized you enjoyed a core rotation that was placed during or post carms more than the specialty you originally thought you were interested in/did you end up in a situation where your clerkship track placed preferred rotations during/post carms?

What can you do about it?

 

[flamingelephants]

bump, any advice?

[mm88]

You can try to change your electives if you have any left. Other options are to get a good references in the new specialty and REALLY impress your home school department. Make sure you write good personal letters explaining why the change has happened. I've seen it workout for some people but not for others. Invariably, it happens to people every year, even in 4 year programs -  they've had a change of heart late in the year and were unable to change all their electives over in time.

[flamingelephants]

Thank you for your advice. I have no more electives, as I just completed my last block of them. By the time I was having doubts earlier in the year, it was too late to change them and I doubt that any clerkship track changes could have been made so late in the game but perhaps I should have asked. I suppose I will have to be okay with whatever I end up getting.

 

The rotation I am interested in is only half completed but I hope that one or two of the preceptors I have worked with thus far will be willing to write a strong letter.

 

I feel it is especially a disadvantage at three year schools where some electives are done pre-core rotations and some core rotations are done during/post-carms...

[medaholic]

Nothing you can do about it. There is a disadvantage. I went to a four year school, so by the times CaRMS came, I had finished all my core rotations, realized what I wanted to do, and was able to do 9 weeks of electives pre-Carms submission.

 

I think three year schools are disadvantageous to people who don't know what they want to do. Sometimes, you can try talking to people (Resident, staff) in that specialty. See if there are any opportunities to get their perspective on what it's like. 

[holiday1001]

Be proactive. Do observerships, ask to join residents on-call, scrub in to observe.

 

Nothing you can do about it. There is a disadvantage. I went to a four year school, so by the times CaRMS came, I had finished all my core rotations, realized what I wanted to do, and was able to do 9 weeks of electives pre-Carms submission.

 

I think three year schools are disadvantageous to people who don't know what they want to do. Sometimes, you can try talking to people (Resident, staff) in that specialty. See if there are any opportunities to get their perspective on what it's like. 

[frozenarbitor]

Like others have said, be proactive, shadow as broadly and often as you can early on to narrow down your interest, then be purposeful in booking your electives. Many from three year school match to their ideal specialty. You just have to be more self directed earlier and work harder.