Aways

[tws257]

I have an interesting situation for my aways. Due to my schedule, I have only 1 month to do an away rotation before ERAS officially opens. The problem is, I won't have a chance to do an ortho rotation at my home program before then. I do have 2 months to do more "audition" rotations before interviews really start. Do I do an away rotation and hope for a good letter, or do I do a home rotation, get my feet wet, then "audition" with my aways? Thanks for the help.

[wayfool]

General rule of thumb, you should always consider doing your home rotation first. They have a vested interest in you doing well, and your home residents will generally cut you more slack. Also, you know the computer system, hospital layout, and general functioning of the hospital, which gives you a chance to focus on learning orthopaedics rather than expending a lot of mental energy getting oriented. The one caveat I would add, is if you have no interest in staying at your home program, or there is one specific location or program that is clear #1 choice for you, then you might consider doing an away first. Otherwise, killing your home program rotation is more valuable than killing an away 9 times out of 10 because it will show up on your Chairman's letter.

[cdbones]

I agree with the statements above except one thing: if you have an opportunity to do an ortho rotation at a home/friendly program, do it. This also includes doing a little extra time with a community ortho guy that wouldn't mind having a student tag along one or two times a week. One of our interns did that and he shined in his away rotation cause he knew what he was doing. On the other hand, we have had a few medical students at my institution that have never done an ortho rotation and it showed negatively in their favor. So that being said, if you know what you are doing you should be fine. In my opinion, for whatever that is worth, the key to a good rotation is to show up, not complain, work hard, get along with the residents, and don't be an a-hole. And to elaborate on the last part, don't try to show up other students/residents with knowledge or skills, especially in front of an attending. While it may impress the attending, it only reflects negatively on you from everyone else's standpoint; most importantly the residents who usually end up making the rank list. All simple things but you'd be amazed at how many students don't understand that. So good luck to you. Trust me, if I can match at my #1 spot, anyone can.