Has anyone here done an audition rotation at University of Michigan?

[APDoc]

I was just curious what you thought of the experience, and if you received quality letters for your application from the attendings at UM.

Any of the residents at UM (Finally M3, Ligament, etc), please chime in too-- what is the experience like for 4th year away students doing an elective there? Do you think it helps there chances to match at UM?

Thanks!

- APDoc

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[Ligament]

I'm a PGY III at U of Michigan.

Rotation with us will either help you (oftentimes A LOT) or hurt you (has happened a few times).

I have sat on two years worth of PM&R applicant reviews so I know what we look for.

The residents review all applicants and submit a resident generated rank list to our program directors. The program directors then take our rank lists into account in *their* rank list. To what degree I do not know.

In general, we get great applicants on paper. I don't think I saw one poor applicant on paper this year. Most above average to outstanding. Lots of research, great boards, great med schools, etc. No, research is not manditory to match here.

Bottom line, your personality and the way you mesh with the current residents is one of our top concerns.

You'll hear it over and over, but PM&R is very concerned with your social skills. You will be dealing with yappy moms with funny looking kids, *irrational* brain injured people, and just plain horrific stories day after day. You need to be able to communicate with these people to help maximize their function.

I have repeatedly seen our residents really pull for applicants that have rotated with us and we like.

There have been a few that have rotated with us that were rude, disinterested, crazy, etc...they got nicked on the rankings. However, despite our loudest protest, Finally M3 still got into our program.

Again, we are getting tons of great applicants on PAPER. Your personality in this case really can set you apart.

Outside interestes/hobbies are also important. We don't want or need robots, we need people. Our patients need hobbies and fun things to do with their disabilitites, and being able to relate to that basic need is a good quality to have.

We are doctors of function, and we need functional doctors.

Best, Ligament

 

[axm397]

Yeah, I echo your sentiment about finally M3 - We fellow applicants also sent letters of protest to UMich when we heard they were considering finally M3 to be one of their top candidates.

Finally M3 was just way too good to be true - too nice, too helpful, too much of a team player, too social, too functional... just made us all look bad. We felt that Finally MS3 should stay just that, a perpetual MS3.

 

[DistantMets]

I'm doing my rotations in Toledo right now and I decided not to do a PM&R rotation here, but schedule one at U of M. I shadowed a month at OSU PM&R before starting med school, and I did neuro, ortho, two weeks of Peds PM&R and Pain Mgt. here. Am I going to be at a major disadvantage doing an audition rotation without having done a formal month of adult previously? I recently bought PM&R Secrets with the idea of chipping away at it before I do the rotation to hopefully offset things some. One of my interns is going to Emory and he seemed to think I'd be fine, but I wanted to get some feedback from the U of M boys. Thanks.

 

[Finally M3]

Thanks for the ringing endorsement, Ligament. Sure makes me feel welcome coming to A2 in 5 months! You could learn some things from Axm...see how nice she makes people feel?

I used my 4th yr rotation as an audition rotation. I spent 3 wks doing inpatient and 1 wk in the outpatient clinic. During my inpatient time, I thought of myself as a sub-I so the patients I followed I tried to know everything about, how they were doing in PT/OT, etc. I think I got a good letter of rec from one of the attendings at UMich.

Ultimately, I think doing the rotation there helped out a lot in matching at UMich. However, like Ligament said, it will only help you if you make a good impression. Be personable, be interested, try to help out the residents, try to answer questions from the attendings (even if you have no idea wtf they are talking about) and you should be fine.

With having done neuro/ortho/pain/peds PM&R rotations, you should be fine. Secrets is a good book, but I'm not keen on the format.

 

[Ligament]

I'm doing my rotations in Toledo right now and I decided not to do a PM&R rotation here, but schedule one at U of M. I shadowed a month at OSU PM&R before starting med school, and I did neuro, ortho, two weeks of Peds PM&R and Pain Mgt. here. Am I going to be at a major disadvantage doing an audition rotation without having done a formal month of adult previously? I recently bought PM&R Secrets with the idea of chipping away at it before I do the rotation to hopefully offset things some. One of my interns is going to Emory and he seemed to think I'd be fine, but I wanted to get some feedback from the U of M boys. Thanks.

DistantMets,

You sound like a smart person. I think you'll do great here. You will not be at a major disadvantage. Nothing could prepare you for Adult inpatient rehab at UofM (Zebras, all of them). PM&R secrets would be a good idea to get familiar with.

Best of luck, shoot me a PM when you get here we can meet up and I'll show you the ropes.

Best, Ligament

 

[Ligament]

Thanks for the ringing endorsement, Ligament. Sure makes me feel welcome coming to A2 in 5 months! You could learn some things from Axm...see how nice she makes people feel?

I used my 4th yr rotation as an audition rotation. I spent 3 wks doing inpatient and 1 wk in the outpatient clinic. During my inpatient time, I thought of myself as a sub-I so the patients I followed I tried to know everything about, how they were doing in PT/OT, etc. I think I got a good letter of rec from one of the attendings at UMich.

Ultimately, I think doing the rotation there helped out a lot in matching at UMich. However, like Ligament said, it will only help you if you make a good impression. Be personable, be interested, try to help out the residents, try to answer questions from the attendings (even if you have no idea wtf they are talking about) and you should be fine.

With having done neuro/ortho/pain/peds PM&R rotations, you should be fine. Secrets is a good book, but I'm not keen on the format.

Unlike you M3, we really pulled for Axm as she was stellar. Unfortunately we lost out to RIC! ;-)

 

[caedmon]

APDoc,

Also try PM&R Pocketpedia by Choi. I used it on my audition rotations and it really helped in a pinch. It fits right in your pocket and covers a lot of things. It's also not as voluminous as Secrets which at our stage is a good thing. From time to time residents would ask me to see it so they could look something up too.

C

 

[axm397]

Thanks for the endorsement ligament... you're just saying that cuz I asked for your autograph during my interview tour. It was fun to tell other sdners on the interview trail that I got to meet ligament himself...

I do have to say Ann Arbor had better sushi than Rochester Minnesota. I also remember the PD being one of the best PDs I met during the season - I also enjoyed Alice's home made cookies that day...

APDoc, Alice may hold the key for you matching at UMich. I think she may actually be the chair of the deparment - just staying incognito during the season as the program coordinator????

All joking aside, I dont' think PM&R attendings expect med students to know a lot of PM&R stuff - they understand that many med schools just don't give that kind of exposure to their students. Just act interested, try to be helpful to the residents, and read up on stuff as they come up. That was fine for me. PM&R pocketpedia is a good book if you want a quick reference - I ditto that comment above.

 

[APDoc]

Thanks for everyone's replies. You all have been very helpful and informative. Sounds like if I work my butt off on any away rotation and I'm easy to get along with, I can't hurt myself too badly : ). Thanks again to all of you!

- APDoc