Away Rotations: Sereena Jivraj, MS4, Shares Experiences at Tufts, Stanford

FORT WORTH, Texas (October 20, 2023) – Away rotations are two to four-week programs where fourth-year medical students in the U.S. can audition for a Graduate Medical Education (GME)/residency positions at a hospital or health care center. Although away rotations are not required to apply to a residency program, it gives medical students an opportunity to distinguish themselves from other candidates and make a lasting impression on residency directors.   

Sereena Jivraj 

Hometown: Plano, Texas 

Classification: MS-4 

Medical Specialty: Obstetrics-Gynecology (OB-GYN) 

Away Rotations: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts; Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts; Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto, California 

Growing up as the youngest of four siblings, Sereena Jivraj, MS-4 at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, never had the opportunity to be the big sister. 

“I always wanted to play big sibling or big mentor,” Jivraj said. “That played a role in me becoming a physician because I knew I would always have that big sibling role and have someone I could impart knowledge on.” 

Medical knowledge is currently growing at a rapid pace. As recent as 2020, it is estimated that medical knowledge doubles every 73 days, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). To make sure that knowledge is transferable, and sticky requires medical students to get more hands-on training with physicians early and often, according to Sereena Jivraj, MS-4 at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. 

“I was fortunate to be one on one with my OB-GYN preceptor for a long time,” Jivraj said. 

Students are paired with physicians from their first day at the Burnett School of Medicine . Jivraj also spent extra time with her Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) preceptor whenever she had free time. 

“Besides the traditional 20 weeks that we are with our preceptors I was able to follow her afterwards.”  

In their second-year, students get 10 weeks of inpatient hospital immersions and 40 weeks of clinical ambulatory rotations in 8 medical specialties (Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery). Each year, medical students in the United States are vying for residency positions at hospitals and health care systems during away rotations.  

Jivraj had already delivered 30 to 40 babies during her LIC experience prior to her away rotations. She was able to establish trust with her attending physicians very quickly, she added.  

 “They felt comfortable having me help them with deliveries in the operating room,” Jivraj said.  

The skills she sharpened during the LIC curriculum helped her take on more of a big sibling role while on her away rotations.   

“With residents and other learners I was able to impart the knowledge that I had received in this educational setting,” Jivraj said.