The panel says: Away rotations are crucial because they can bolster your residency applications, especially if you're trying to match to a competitive specialty or a specific residency program.
Elective clinical rotations allow students to get more experience in work environments or subspecialties they are interested in, and at some schools, students arrange their own elective rotations.
VSAS is the standard way to secure away rotations, but there are other ways that will require more personal inquiry. In general, current expert opinion suggests you should apply to 5–7 clerkships to get 1–2 invites. Consult with an advisor to confirm an application strategy that supports your personal situation.
When should I submit my application on VSAS? Space is limited, and students are placed on a first-come, first-served basis. Each time block will automatically close 60 days prior to the start date, after which no further applications will be accepted for that time. Please refer to the academic calendar.
Lasting between four and eight weeks, at most schools, the core clinical clerkships consist of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry, neurology and radiology. Students have autonomy in their clinical rotations in that they can schedule them as they see fit.
How to Choose the Right Electives During Your Clinical YearsChoosing electives during third year. ... Consider your future career and pick an elective that will align! ... Consider your future career and pick something unrelated! ... Consider away rotations/electives. ... Have fun!
Generally, the earlier during fourth year the better. July, August, and September are all excellent options for away rotations. July rotations may be somewhat difficult to obtain, since many departments give priority to their own medical students going into EM during the July rotation.
During an away rotation, you spend a predefined amount of time as a medical student outside your home institution. It usually occurs during your fourth or final year.
Away Rotations Are Expensive According to a recent study in the journal BMC Medical Education, the average cost of an away rotation was $958. But in some specialties, such as neurosurgery or radiology, the average cost exceeded $2,500 per rotation.
You can do aways up till end of january if you want, and I know of a couple of people who did this (one guy did ortho in September, November and January). It may actually be to your advantage to do them late because they'll be much more likely to remember you during interview season.
Regardless of whether you liked your away rotation, it is wise to obtain a letter of recommendation from the department, preferably from the program director or chair. It is typically understood by departments that rotators will need these letters.
The AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program is the updated version of their visiting elective rotations network. It combines the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) program and the Global Health Learning Opportunities (GHLO) program into one searchable format.
This is a question for your faculty advisor. If you haven’t been assigned one, talk to a professor you like and who would be sympathetic. Or you could contact the dean of your department (you’ll get an assistant) about how to handle it.
Find the same class at another school, complete it there, and transfer the credit to your school. Before you do this, make sure your school will accept it in transfer and that they will apply it to your degree plan. You will also
An independent study version of the class will take a bit of extra work to add to the schedule, and depending on how it is done may or may not cause trouble with your transcript.
Different schools may have different policies, but its worth a try!