The Away Rotation...

OK, so I have to promise to start posting regularly. Right now, as I am in between graduating, closing on a place to live and finally starting, there isn't a whole lot that is exciting to talk about. I thought, however, that in honor of the beginning of June, I might talk about the away rotation. This is going to be a stream of thought kind of post, so I apoligize in advance if it rambles on a bit.

I matched at the place where I did my away rotation, so I believe that this can be an important experience. The important thing is to work hard, but not to over do it. In many ways, the 1.5 day interview that you will have for most residency spots is too short. In many more ways, the 30 day interview that you might have during an away rotation can be WAY too long.

The most important advice would be to just be yourself. No reason to concoct some fake personality to try and impress the people you are working with. If it turns out that your personality matches with the attendings and residents at your visiting program, that's the person people will expect you to be when you show up for your interview, and if you match there, for day one on the job.

Once you've gotten in touch with your inner self, if you are given the choice of who to work with, do a little homework before you submit your preferences. Is it possible to work with the program director? Do you know what sub-specialty(ies) you have an interest in? Do you know anyone who goes to that school? Just like doing a rotation at your home institution, it is important to look for someone who will be enjoyable and productive to work with. Spending a month in a temporary place is an expensive investment. I spent about $7,000 on my away rotation, but it got me a job, so I guess it was worth it. Make sure you make a good investment.

If there is a resident at the program who graduated from your home institution, try to contact that person ahead of time. Ask them questions about who to work with, where you can stay, etc. They can provide you with lots of good information, and in the end, can be an excellent advocate for you when it comes time to make the rank list. In my opinion, it is a good sign if there are multiple people from your home institution in the program. This means that the program trusts graduates from your school, and that will be a positive when it comes time to make the rank list.

The rest of the advice is pretty self-explainatory, or at least I think it should be. Be the first person there and the last person to leave. Help out whenever possible in the OR, take call and find a way to be an asset to the residents that you are working with instead of a ball and chain. Be prepared for the operating room. Know what cases you will be participating in. If you don't already own these books, I would recommend you gets your hands on them: Hoppenfield's Guide to Physical Examination and Hoppenfield's Approaches Book (or some other approaches book) to help you with surgical anatomy. You might want some text to read about orthopaedics as well. There are several out there - and I don't think I can recommend one over another.

One last thing to think about is timing. I did my away rotation after I had already turned in ERAS, and too late to ask for a letter of recommendation. The upside to making that decision was that I had already done a couple of ortho rotations and was much more familiar with things. The downside, if you are looking for letters, is that it's too late to make that happen. I only did one rotation, and at the cost that I mentioned above, I'm not sure that I could have done many more. I know, that in some situations, residents will offer to let you stay in an extra room. I have to say, that seems like an extra risk, and extra pressure that I didn't want to deal with, but it would be one way to save some money. Of course, if you know someone in the area where you are going to do a rotation, you might be able to save money by crashing with them.

Well, I think that's all of the advice that I can think about for now. Have fun and happy hunting!