radiology electives

[medcan15]

Hi there!

I've been told and also have come to realize that radiology electives are much more passive compared to other rotations. I don't really see how the usual advice given to clerks applies to a rads elective. I was therefore wondering how does one hope to impress or stand out in the hopes of getting a good LOR.

Thanks !

[W0lfgang]

Show up, be interested, be polite, be affable, don't be annoying (ie too keen). When they talk about you pre interview, you want the conversation to go like this:

Program director: Okay next is medcan15. Anyone remember this guy?
*silence*
Attending1: Nope.
Attending2 : Ya I think he spent an afternoon with me. No red flags.
Program director: Okay well he did an elective with us so he must be interested in us. Let's give him an interview.
 

Know your imaging anatomy. Things I've gotten pimped on as a med student: carpal bones, borders of the mediastinum, chambers of the heart at the top slice of an abdo CT, the pineal gland, the 4th ventricle. You get the idea.

[Lactic Folly]

At a school that gives more weight to elective performance, it would be better to have people really pull for you at the pre-interview stage if they were really impressed by your performance during the elective (i.e. knowledgeable with strong interpersonal skills). This would help you be ranked highly - the above applicant sounds rather forgettable and it's not clear how they would rank in the end, unless they really blow the interviewers away or have an impressive CV.

If someone offers you a case to write up, take the opportunity. As you've noted, many electives are rather observational in nature otherwise.

There have been previous threads of advice on this topic in this forum that should be retrievable via search.