Anesthesiology

Students should focus primarily on understanding all that is presented during the preclinical years.

Research is not an absolute requirement. If a student pursues a research endeavor, it should be a focused, well-conducted effort that they can speak to, not a "formality" that serves to merely flesh out their application at the expense of more worthwhile pursuits.

We generally advocate no more than two anesthesia-specific rotations. The core rotation in clinical anesthesiology will give students the best representation of our specialty. In addition, student may elect to take obstetric anesthesia or pain medicine. We recommend a broad scope of clinical experience with some focus on higher acuity care and rotations that emphasize dynamic physiology. As such, critical care medicine (specifically neuro-critical care), cardiology and pulmonology are particularly helpful.

Away rotations are becoming more common in anesthesiology. The decision to complete an away rotation is made based on a balance between students' overall competitiveness (compared to their peers nationally) weighed against the relative prestige of the program they most desire to match at. This requires a very honest appraisal of their qualifications with their adviser and program director. For example, a third-quartile M4 with a Step 2 score at or below national mean (but within at least 1 SD below the mean) will very likely need to complete an away rotation to increase their desirability for a given program.

This again is related to the explanation for the above question. In general, more than two away rotations compromises an otherwise enriching experience that can be gained from the fourth-year electives and starts to look less than desirable on a transcript. Think of an away rotation like an audition; an opportunity to exhibit one's work ethic, fund of knowledge and personality in an attempt to increase the chances of a successful match. It is not to get further training in anesthesiology. That is, of course, what residency training is for.

To be effective, away rotations should be conducted between the months of June through October.

Very competitive candidates (first- or second-quartile students, AOA and/or Step 2 above the NU mean) can expect offers for invitations in December. Students in the third or fourth quartile with average to lower Step 2 should anticipate interviewing in January.

Decidedly not. The type of clinician writing the letter is completely inconsequential (though at least one letter should come from our specialty; it would be odd to have done an anesthesia rotation with no written validation of performance). We value a letter that clearly articulates the qualifications of a student from someone who really knows the person well. That is far more powerful and influential than a standard form letter from someone who happens to have a notable stature in academic medicine.

See above; there is no preference.

Well-written, personal letters are of greatest value, regardless of the rank of the author. That said, an applicant’s application would be more complete with some range of academic rank among the letters submitted.

During the winter of the M3 year, students should attend specialty sessions sponsored by the Anesthesiology Department to allow opportunity to learn more about the specialty as well as to meet attendings and residents in the field.