4th year stuff - letters, aways, etc.

No. I didn't get my CS score back until after match day.

That being said, take CS early. It's easy and you don't want to be stressing about it late b/c it takes forever to get your score.

Do residency programs ask about CS score? Do they need them before they invite you for an interview or rank you?

I did four in a row this year. I was a little tired at the end of the fourth month but I'd do it again if I had the chance. You never know if that fourth one could be the place you match at. Also, you become pretty comfortable as someone else said with the bread and butter ortho, and anatomy they expect you to know, after the first few so it gets a little easier.

Haha, I don't care as long as you aren't trying to rotate where I'm trying to rotate!

Noted; that was kind of hoggish of me; my bad.

Stop hogging all the rotations.

If it were possible logistically and financially, would it be advantageous to try to do more than three away rotations? How about four? It seems like this would give us, as the students, the chance to: 1) learn from/about at least one more program and 2) increase our chances by potentially having the opportunity for one more interview, if that institution grants interviews to rotators.

Thank you for your opinions.

Stellar; thanks so much. This has been a huge help to me as newbie.

It's institution specific.... I know WashU, Rush, and some others actually have you see a few services, while others have you on one service the entire month. Just break it up or you'll get bored and maybe know a little too much for your own good by the time your third away rolls around.

So for a single sub-I, would a student typically spend the entire month at that institution on one service, e.g. sports, spine, etc.? And then do another sub-I at another institution, doing, e.g., hand for the entire month?

Thanks.

1) Is it possible to hide Step 2 CK scores? ie opt out of sending them to schools.

2) If so, can you later reveal them, e.g. if you do well or better than on Step 1?

Three Ortho aways back to back aren't too hard provided you don't do three trauma rotations or something like trauma, spine, joints back to back... Give yourself a break and do sports or hand or the like during one or two of them. You will still work hard but the hours will be better and the residents you work with will be in a better mood.

The general consensus here is that you are only responsible for anatomy. The rest is gravy. I got the book Gowned and Gloved a little while ago. Went in on a total hip this morning after reading about it last night and was able to follow what the surgeon was doing step by step. I like this book. There is also another forum for textbooks and such. You might check that.

Does anyone have any advice on things to study before going into the sub-I? A resident I talked to said to definitely get Netter's Ortho Atlas and Koval's Handbook on Fractures, and to know some high yield things like Salter-Harris, Lauge-Hansen, radial fractures and some commonly used blocks. Since a lot of us have almost no exposure to Ortho before the sub-I, is there anything else that's worth studying up on to get a good foundation and really hit the ground running?

I can only give some anecdotal experience on the "Should I/Shouldn't I take Step II" question.

I personally didn't do well on Step 1, as I had my ACL reconstructed a month before I took it. However, I decided to take Step 2 early and killed it, and included it on my ERAS. I know that I didn't get interviews to some of the top tier programs because of the Step 1. But more than one interviewer commented on the difference between Steps 1 and 2 and it gave me an opportunity to explain why my step 1 score was sub-par.

I think Dr. Levine's answer merits some consideration, especially in light of your application as a whole.

Came across this on another message board site from Dr. Levine in response to my previous question - hope it helps anyone that's interested. Would appreciate other input if there is any. From Dr. Levine:

I am unaware of any program making interview decisions based on step 2 scores. If you nailed step 1 then taking step 2 might pose problems if for some reason you do particularly poorly. On the other hand, if you did poorly (or relatively poorly) on step 1 and want to show the programs that you are in fact a good standardized test taker (step 2 MAY correlate better with orthopaedic in-traning scores and board passing rates) - then you really have nothing to lose. If a program didn't like your step 1 score they may not pay attention to your step 2 score no matter how good it is. On the other hand, if you do phenomenally well on step 2 perhaps it will get the attention of someone and you may get some interviews that you otherwise wouldn't have.

good luck and hope this answered your question --

wnl

In follow up to step 2 CK question:

What are recent grads' thoughts on taking step to as late as, or later than December, assuming one's happy with their step 1 score. Do any schools look down on this?

Thanks in advance.

asmallchild,

Aways do depend on what kind of service you are on. Orthopaedic trauma is usually the heaviest. Call responsibilities can be determined already by the program or can be left up to the rotator. My experience is generally 1 in 3-5 call. Rounds are also program specific.

Student responsibilities are usually to see new consults in the ER, and help the staff with clinic/OR. Your routine could change each day depending on where people are needed.

Just go where you are told to go, and do a good job. There's no board exam at the end, so read for your own knowledge.

Any schools, other than Duke, that require step 2 CK completion in order to interview/rank you?

How tough is your typical away rotation? Hours/call schedule/responsibilities-wise? etc..