Aways/letters during pandemic

[Guest]

While nobody knows what will happen for sure, it does seem that most places are still hoping to host subI's starting in July/August.

[Guest]

I would even caution students with home problems are subpar apps to continue research. A lot of competitive IMGs last cycle

[Guest]

What would be a competitive app in terms of research productivity?

[Guest]

30+ Pubmed Indexed papers.

[Guest]

Above poster is definitely on the higher side. Most people, with the exception of PhDs, have 5-10 papers. Just be sure to have a couple first author papers, and be ready to speak confidently about those papers.

[Guest]

Got this today, seems like a bad omen

We recognize that the visiting student process has been greatly impacted by COVID-19 and as a student, you are concerned about the timing and impact on away rotations you may be considering. Away rotations, particularly in the coming months normally play a role in the residency application process. We are also aware that travel restrictions and variations in rotation availability may create inequity among students as you seek elective experiences in a compressed timeline.

The AAMC wants to assure students are given equal consideration in an academic and clinical training cycle that may be different in the months ahead. Therefore, after broad consultation with the academic medicine community, we will suspend access to the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) from Wednesday, April 15th until Wednesday, April 29th. During this time, students, Home and Host institutions will not have access to the system.

This two-week suspension will allow the many stakeholders within the medical education community – medical students certainly among them – to have important discussions about the complexities of providing away rotations considering COVID-19's impact on education, patient care, learner safety and travel.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as the process moves forward in the coming weeks. Visiting Student updates can be found on the AAMC’s Coronavirus Resource Hub and in the VSLO Coronavirus FAQs.

[Guest]

Should reapplicants use their old away letters? Assuming they’re good letters

[Guest]

(04-14-2020, 07:32 PM)Guest Wrote: Should reapplicants use their old away letters? Assuming they’re good letters

I was told this is okay as long as a specific letter isn’t a particular weakness.  Probably good etiquette to reach out and just ask permission for re use.

[Guest]

Doesn't inherently seem like a bad omen. Just giving 2 weeks for programs to get themselves together so that rotators aren't screwed out of slots late in the game after previously being accepted. Letter I saw explicitly said, "We expect this two-week suspension will allow for additional community conversations and decisions and will not negatively impact your decision-making regarding student rotations anticipated for the late summer/fall window." (emphasis mine)

Slots very well may be overall decreased or eliminated, especially in heavily-hit areas. Wouldn't be surprised if a lot of programs restrict or prefer applicants to be within their own state to limit quarantine restrictions getting in the way of scheduling. But ultimately, I think all stakeholders have a vested interest in getting students to rotate, at least for 1 or 2 aways if possible. Perhaps this will be later than usual this year (bulk perhaps in Sept/Oct 2020) but better late than never.

[Guest]

Where did you see that? It wasn’t on my email