![]() ![]() This time has clear trade-offs – time spent in radiation oncology is time not spent in other fields. The consequence of these choices is that applicants can spend close to 25% of their medical school’s elective clinical rotations in radiation oncology prior to spending 3–4 years pursuing dedicated training in the field. Applicants often feel significant pressure to rotate at multiple programs with the goal of improving their chances for a successful match. One potential interpretation of these data is that applicants should consider focusing their 4 th year elective time on rotations that will provide them valuable medical experiences outside of radiation oncology. This also means that nearly half of applicants matched to a program where they did not perform a rotation. More than half of matched applicants did an elective rotation at the program they matched into suggesting that these rotations help some applicants secure their residency positions. ![]() These data provide an interesting view of the importance of elective rotations. Just over 50% of matched applicants rotated at the program they matched into (24% at home institution, 28% as away elective, Figure 1).Īpplicants’ elective rotation participation relative to their matched programsĪpplicants are often told that they have a better chance of matching into a program at which they have done an away rotation. The most common number of radiation oncology elective rotations (including one in their home institution) completed was 3 (range: 0–5 mean: 2.8, SD = 0.8). Students whose home institution was not in the mainland U.S. This analysis was deemed not-human subjects research by the University Health Sciences Institutional Review Board.Īfter the residency match for three respective years, 531 students revealed their matched programs, their home institution, and whether they did an away elective at the matched program. We assumed the good faith of radiation oncology applicants helping fellow applicants. A limitation of this analysis is that applicants input data which should be accepted with caution. We analyzed an open-access, self-reported database in “RadOnc Interview Spreadsheet” for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 radiation oncology match, accessed in J– available in Student Doctor Network (SDN ), an online forum for medical students. We hypothesized that participation in an elective rotation is associated with the applicants eventually matching into that program. To date, there is no data documenting the value of away rotations with regard to matching. Participation in elective rotations is seen not only as a method for gaining valuable information about potential programs, but also as a way of improving their probability of matching by “auditioning” with a program. Radiation oncology residency applicants invest considerable effort to improve their chances of a successful match. ![]()
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