In the latest episode of Med Student Over Easy, hosts Patricia and Molly are joined by George Willis and Mike Kiemeney to delve into the world of away rotations for emergency medicine-bound medical students. This discussion offers invaluable insights into making the most of these pivotal experiences.
What are Away Rotations and why are they important?
- Away rotations = Sub-Internship (Sub-I) = Audition Rotation (AI)
- An important month(s) at an institution that is not affiliated with your medical school that has an EM residency program, where you have the opportunity to showcase what you can do while also getting a sense for the program.
- Often at a program you would like to do residency.
- Gets you out of your comfort zone.
- Essentially a month-long interview.
How many Away Rotations should you aim for?
- 2 SLOEs are recommended.
- 1 Home SLOE and 1 Away SLOE
- Unless you don’t have a home institution with a residency program, then you’ll have 2 Away SLOEs.
- In very specific circumstances, 3 SLOEs are recommended, but those circumstances typically have to do with red flags on your application. Consult with a mentor you trust before obtaining more than 2 SLOEs.
- 1 Home SLOE and 1 Away SLOE
- More is not always better. It is very hard to be on your A-game for three straight months.
- You don’t want that 3rd SLOE to hurt you because you’re not at your best.
How to obtain an Away Rotation?
- Apply on VSLO or on the program’s individual website, depending on the program.
- Rolling application, typically opens around Marchish, but is program-specific.
- Check out EMRA Match for more information.
- Create a top 10 list of programs you would like to rotate at, apply to the first 5, and have 5 back-ups you can apply to if you don’t get a rotation at your top 5.
- Ideally, these are places where you want to go for residency.
- The name or prestige of the program you rotate at is not as important as it being a place where you want to be and will shine.
- The month that you do your away rotation doesn’t matter as much as showing improvement from your first to your second SLOE.
- Often, students will do a rotation at their home institution where they are more comfortable first and then do an away rotation for their second SLOE, as home institutions are usually more forgiving.
- The best thing you can do in scheduling is to be flexible.
Interviewing after your Away Rotation:
- Your interview is often a formality, but you still need to take it seriously.
- Your interview should be the icing on the cake of your month-long interview, which is your rotation itself.
Take-Home Points
- Away rotations are critical for obtaining SLOEs for your EM Residency application.
- 2 SLOEs are recommended.
- Look into programs early and often so that you don’t miss the application opening date.
- Be flexible in scheduling.
- Put your best foot forward on this month-long interview.
- Have fun!
- Don’t let your guard down in front of the residents.
Post by Patricia Capone, DO PGY3
About Our Guest:
George Willis, MD
Associate Program Director at UT Health San Antonio Emergency Medicine Residency.
Mike Kiemeney, MD
Program Director at Loma Linda University Emergency Medicine Residency
Looking For More?
For more on this topic, check out one of our previous episode: Audition Tips and Red Flags
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