core clerkships prior to away rotations?

[Guest]

I am currently an M2 and my school is about to start scheduling our 3rd year clerkships. At my school our 3rd year clerkships cannot be completed in the 3rd year. So one (of our choosing) is deferred to the 4th year and can be completed at any time during the 4th year. Neurology is the most popular choice to defer since it is the shortest at only 4 weeks. The second most popular is psych which is 6 weeks. What I’m not sure about is what implications this has on scheduling away rotations and if there is a best strategy on which clerkship to defer and when to complete it during the 4th year.
 
I have checked the requirements on a handful of medical school websites and it looks like most of them require visiting students to complete the core 3rd year clerkships prior to the visiting rotation. At my school neurology is considered a core 3rd year clerkship. Should I interpret this mean that most programs will require me to complete the neurology clerkship prior to doing my away rotations? If so, I think the best strategy would be to start my 4th year with neurology in June, then do my home sub I in July, then away rotations in August and September. Alternatively, if it other schools won’t mind that I haven’t completed one of my clerkships due to our requirement to defer one, I could start my home sub I in June then do a couple aways and come back to complete my deferred clerkship whenever it is convenient. If I am going to do the deferred clerkship after my away rotations, does it make any difference whether I defer neurology or psych? I think most schools consider psych a core clerkship, so maybe they will be less forgiving about not having it completed prior to visiting?
 
Has anyone had any similar situations at their schools? Any other potential problems I haven’t considered?

Thank you for helping me figure this process out.

[doctorK]

(02-01-2018, 11:25 AM)Guest Wrote: I am currently an M2 and my school is about to start scheduling our 3rd year clerkships. At my school our 3rd year clerkships cannot be completed in the 3rd year. So one (of our choosing) is deferred to the 4th year and can be completed at any time during the 4th year. Neurology is the most popular choice to defer since it is the shortest at only 4 weeks. The second most popular is psych which is 6 weeks. What I’m not sure about is what implications this has on scheduling away rotations and if there is a best strategy on which clerkship to defer and when to complete it during the 4th year.
 
I have checked the requirements on a handful of medical school websites and it looks like most of them require visiting students to complete the core 3rd year clerkships prior to the visiting rotation. At my school neurology is considered a core 3rd year clerkship. Should I interpret this mean that most programs will require me to complete the neurology clerkship prior to doing my away rotations? If so, I think the best strategy would be to start my 4th year with neurology in June, then do my home sub I in July, then away rotations in August and September. Alternatively, if it other schools won’t mind that I haven’t completed one of my clerkships due to our requirement to defer one, I could start my home sub I in June then do a couple aways and come back to complete my deferred clerkship whenever it is convenient. If I am going to do the deferred clerkship after my away rotations, does it make any difference whether I defer neurology or psych? I think most schools consider psych a core clerkship, so maybe they will be less forgiving about not having it completed prior to visiting?
 
Has anyone had any similar situations at their schools? Any other potential problems I haven’t considered?

Thank you for helping me figure this process out.

I don't know of any schools where psych and neurology are not considered core clerkships, but some programs might be forgiving. If you choose to defer one, definitely defer psych and not neurology. Neurology is helpful for learning the complete neuro exam and refreshing neuroanatomy/pathology. Also, a poor grade (or no grade, in your case) in neurology could be a red-flag on your application to some readers.

Right now, you should identify programs that you are considering for away rotations and ask them what their individual policy is. The opinions of people on this forum are irrelevant unless you have this info

[Guest]

You're thinking way too far into this... no away rotations will care. Defer OB/GYN. Don't think any further into it.

[Focus]

agree. do not care. also neuro isnt a core at some schools believe it or not.

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling a I was overthinking it, but I was paranoid that I could make a bad decision now and close doors down the road. I'll get in touch with a few programs to get a feel for whether or not deferring until after away rotations will be a problem.

Thanks!

[bregma]

Having combed through many many programs websites and emailed quite a few visiting student coordinators, it's probably around 50/50 that do and do not require neuro. I have been told by a couple that say "all core clerkships must be completed" that neuro is the only one they make exceptions for because it's not a standard core across all schools like say surg, IM, etc.

[Guest]

Coordinator here. Keep in mind too that the VSAS application side of sub-internships are often managed by the medical school's administration, not the individual department you're applying to. If you are unsure about anything, absolutely make sure you are contacting the program coordinator - the person processing your actual application likely doesn't know or care about why some of the broad requirements might not be applicable in a specialty-specific situation. And there's always ways for programs to work things out in the background too.