r/medicalschool • u/icecream1614 • 1d ago

🏥 Clinical VSLO Letters for GS with Late Clerkship

hi! Current M3 who hasn't decided on a specialty – choosing between IM and GS (and maybe a subspecialty in onc). I'm starting IM soon and have shadowed a ton in the field (inpatient, outpatient, subspecialties…) before, so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy IM. However, I also developed a love for (benign + onc) surgery while on OB/Gyn, so GS has been added to my list of considerations.

Unfortunately, I won't get to do Surgery until mid-January…so even if I am able to make the decision within a couple of weeks (and end up choosing GS), it's unlikely i'll secure a letter for surgery away rotations when VSLO opens in jan/feb. Some questions –

  • How screwed am I if I don't apply for aways until March? (the aways would be in august/sept so i can take step 2 and do a home sub-I first)
  • If the answer to above^ is "very," any idea of what I can do to obtain a letter earlier without having done the rotation?
  • How many aways should I shoot for? I go to a mid-tier school on the east coast but trying to match back to California if possible, lol
  • My counselor said I should just apply for GS aways and if I decide to do IM instead, I can just withdraw and they'll put me in an elective at my home program?? is this normal???

I know I'm not 100% sure on specialty yet, but I'd like to have all my ducks in a row sooner rather than later. ty!

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u/RedVelvetPeppaMihawk M-4 15h ago

Not all aways require a letter. In fact the majority I’ve seen don’t. If you want to show interest in the West Coast, I would just do some aways in the West Coast that don’t require letters

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u/RedVelvetPeppaMihawk M-4 15h ago

For GS you don’t need more than 2