Number of away rotations

[yoyohomieg5432]

Do you all have any advice on how many away to apply to? At the moment I've only been applying to VSAS for one month in particular to do an away. Is it very necessary to do 2? I was hoping not to because of the price and it'll make the rest of my M4 schedule pretty tight.. but would consider if it is very important.

I talked with the residency director at my school and they said that one is a necessity but two can help but wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't. anybody else agree or have different thoughts?

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[Hotei]

Personally I would do as many away rotations as possible as long as they don't come at the cost of your home derm rotation. They can help you get an extra interview, and in derm 1-2 extra interviews could be the difference in matching.

There are many medical students who match every year (myself included) without doing away rotations, but I probably would have gotten more interviews had I done aways. Good luck.

 

[asmallchild]

Do you all have any advice on how many away to apply to? At the moment I've only been applying to VSAS for one month in particular to do an away. Is it very necessary to do 2? I was hoping not to because of the price and it'll make the rest of my M4 schedule pretty tight.. but would consider if it is very important.

I talked with the residency director at my school and they said that one is a necessity but two can help but wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't. anybody else agree or have different thoughts?

A lot of it depends on your CV.

Are you a strong applicant with weak social / clinical skills? The more aways you do, the more you may be highlighting your flaws. You may actually cost yourself some interviews.

Are you a weak applicant with strong social / clinical skills? You may need to do more aways to impress people and secure courtesy interviews.

I did 1 and I think that was a perfect # for me as I was a quieter med student and more likely to just fade into the background on rotations. The general trend is to do more but I don't think it is by any means necessary to do 2.

 

[smartparts]

I agree., the usual number is 1-3 plus home rotation with weaker applicants doing more. Unless you're at a top program I would do at least one just to see what else is out there even if it's a middle-of-the-pack program. However, if you don't have a home derm program I would recommend at least 2-3 in order to get the requisite 4 LORs.

 

[testanxiety]

Agree with the above sentiment. I recently matched and I did 1 away rotation. Just make sure that you wherever you go, be on your A game, know your dermatology, and know how to be courteous and a team player. I think it's best to do away rotations at places with a history of interviewing their rotators, so that way the month is as productive as possible for you. The Dermatology google doc can be a helpful resource that delineates which programs are better at this than others.

 

[PhillyMed777]

know your dermatology

But how does one "know their dermatology" for an away
There is so much material one could possibly read...Any specific suggestions?

 

[testanxiety]

But how does one "know their dermatology" for an away
There is so much material one could possibly read...Any specific suggestions?

Good question. Of course, there's no way to know a substantial amount of dermatology prior to residency. I think to be a good med student, you should be able to describe a lesion and then take a stab at the differential diagnosis. Even if you are pointed to a lesion that is super basic/obvious and asked to name it, I was taught to always first describe the lesion (to demonstrate aptitude in morphologic description) and then diagnose it. For example, "On this patient's forehead, I see a pink, gritty, and scaly papule that looks like an Actinic Keratosis."

Knowing characteristics and risk factors of BCCs vs SCCs vs Melanomas can also be helpful. Knowing the steroid classes also looks good. To study, I used the AAD Dermatology Modules and supplemented with Bolognia's Dermatology Essentials (mini-Bolognia).

 

[smartparts]

But how does one "know their dermatology" for an away
There is so much material one could possibly read...Any specific suggestions?

Lookingbill and Marks is a great place to start.

 

[Dare2Dream]

Good question. Of course, there's no way to know a substantial amount of dermatology prior to residency. I think to be a good med student, you should be able to describe a lesion and then take a stab at the differential diagnosis. Even if you are pointed to a lesion that is super basic/obvious and asked to name it, I was taught to always first describe the lesion (to demonstrate aptitude in morphologic description) and then diagnose it. For example, "On this patient's forehead, I see a pink, gritty, and scaly papule that looks like an Actinic Keratosis."

Knowing characteristics and risk factors of BCCs vs SCCs vs Melanomas can also be helpful. Knowing the steroid classes also looks good. To study, I used the AAD Dermatology Modules and supplemented with Bolognia's Dermatology Essentials (mini-Bolognia).

Thanks for the invaluable advice. Now knowing how to approach rotations, the main challenge is time to prepare for it with so many other time demands. It is certainly very helpful to know how to approach it and prepare for it.

 

[PhillyMed777]

How much did you all have to work with attendings to ask for letters of recommendation from aways?
I feel like it may be quite hard to have enough time with one attending on an away to ask for a letter...

 

[blackblue]

How much did you all have to work with attendings to ask for letters of recommendation from aways?
I feel like it may be quite hard to have enough time with one attending on an away to ask for a letter...

I found that attendings expected it, especially PDs or big wigs. I set up meetings during my aways to ask for letters, and if they were only available in the middle of the rotation they said they would write me one after 1-2 more clinic days together, and then ask for my CV and personal statement. In total, worked with them maybe 3-5 half days at most. Another thing you can do to spend more time with one attending is to work on a research project or case report with them during your month. If one attending's interests are similar to yours or you really mesh with one attending, then those are the first people I'd ask.

 

[PhillyMed777]

I found that attendings expected it, especially PDs or big wigs. I set up meetings during my aways to ask for letters, and if they were only available in the middle of the rotation they said they would write me one after 1-2 more clinic days together, and then ask for my CV and personal statement. In total, worked with them maybe 3-5 half days at most. Another thing you can do to spend more time with one attending is to work on a research project or case report with them during your month. If one attending's interests are similar to yours or you really mesh with one attending, then those are the first people I'd ask.

That is an incredibly useful answer. thank you very much for the response.