Anesthesia Chances & away advice

[Wobbler12345]

Hi all,

I was hoping to gauge my competitiveness for anesthesia for next year's cycle as I am looking into away rotations right now. My goal is to match back on the west coast where I grew up and went to college, but obviously, the primary goal is to match a quality anesthesia program.



My questions:

1. Do you all recommend I do an away rotation back on the west coast? (I have heard it can be risky, but I generally am pretty good with people)
2. If so, what tier of school should I be applying for aways? (top tier like UCSF & UW to get a strong letter OR something a step down like OHSU & UCLA OR something like Loma Linda?)
3. How competitive of an applicant am I for the anesthesia match? (my fiance & I are making a list of programs at the moment and she needs an idea of to better prepare for relocating as she is a pretty successful lawyer)

Quick CV:

• Lower tier MD school in NE
• Step 1 P/F (practice tests @ 255 on step 1 so hoping for same on step 2)
• 4/5 honors so far for rotations (H: Neurology, Surgery, Psych, Peds. HP: Family medicine)
• Research with two mentors
• 6 non-anesthesia publications (3--1st author, 1--2nd author, 2--3rd author)
• 3 non-anesthesia publications in-peer review, hoping to be out by march (3-1st author)
• 2 manuscripts in preparation that likely won't be published before ERAS in 9 months (1st & 4th author)
• 3 oral presentations
• 8 poster presentations (conferences & research days/symposiums)
• Leadership board for a school-run clinic for 1 year (plus some work stuff before medical school)
• Weekly volunteer with a program working with widows for the last 3 years
• Part of medical school 1st-year medical student mentor program
• Work as a research Consultant for a healthcare analytics company
• Work as Tutor for 1st-year medical students

Thanks for any help! I don't have any family in medicine and don't really know anyone who has gone through this stuff before, so all advice is appreciated

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[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Sounds like you have a very strong application as-is, and baked-in ties to the west coast since you grew up there and went to college there.

I imagine an away rotation isn't necessary. However, if you were keen on emphasizing your desire to match back home and wanted to get a feel for programs back there I don't think it would hurt if you're a strong clinical student with a strong personality.

As for what "tier" I could not tell you. Some would argue mid-tier as it helps you with "guaranteeing" a spot somewhere while some would argue top tier / slightly out of reach as it can help you get a spot where you might normally not.

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

Aways at a top tier are probably more helpful as you'll get better letters and make connections. I don't think anesthesia is quite as obsessed with school ranking as IM, so it's not like you're wasting your time. You likely won't need aways and inside connections for a mid-tier as you sound like a good applicant for those programs already (assuming you keep this level of performance).

• Work as a research Consultant for a healthcare analytics company

I'm curious, how'd you score this gig?

 

[Wobbler12345]

Aways at a top tier are probably more helpful as you'll get better letters and make connections. I don't think anesthesia is quite as obsessed with school ranking as IM, so it's not like you're wasting your time. You likely won't need aways and inside connections for a mid-tier as you sound like a good applicant for those programs already (assuming you keep this level of performance).

I'm curious, how'd you score this gig?

Thanks so much for the response. What programs are considered mid-tier on the west coast?

I got it through a connection I made with someone who collaborated on one of my manuscripts.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

i think your chances are good at top tier assuming you do well on step 2