Advantage of attending a school in a rural area

[tiffxp]

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Hey,

Do you think students get more attention and subsequently a better recommendation letter for residency from people teaching you during your rotation?

Thanks!

 

[Goro]

Are you assuming that Faculty in rural areas are more friendly? Or that such schools have fewer students? ??

Hey,

Do you think students get more attention and subsequently a better recommendation letter for residency from people teaching you during your rotation?

Thanks!

 

[DrBowtie]

Hey,

Do you think students get more attention and subsequently a better recommendation letter for residency from people teaching you during your rotation?

Thanks!

Problem is that a LOR from a random community internist isn't going to hold as much weight compared to an academic medical center professor or chairman.

 

[tiffxp]

Are you assuming that Faculty in rural areas are more friendly? Or that such schools have fewer students? ??

I mean the number of students...I just feel that less students = more opportunities for them to know the students. I am not sure though haha

 

[tiffxp]

Problem is that a LOR from a random community internist isn't going to hold as much weight compared to an academic medical center professor or chairman.

But I mean there must be someone within proximity who is/are in charge of running a program or something? There must be at least one big hospital/research facility within that state who can give you a great recommendation.

On a side note, is there other potential advantages other than personal choice for going into a rural program?

 

[CastleG8]

You mean less competition with other med students and residents for 1 on 1 time with attending physicians. 4 weeks isn't long to make an impression.
I would not want to compete for the physicians time.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I mean the number of students...I just feel that less students = more opportunities for them to know the students. I am not sure though haha

Rural schools can have more students than urban schools. There is no rule saying otherwise. Some rural schools will be looking to graduate between 162-300 students before long and my urban school is graduating less than 100.

 

[Goro]

How do you know that rural schools have less students?

I mean the number of students...I just feel that less students = more opportunities for them to know the students. I am not sure though haha

 

[dwgrubbs1s]

I would say that you wouldn't necessarily have less students at a rural school. However your rotations are likely to be in smaller hospitals (just depends on the school) and therefore there could be less students overall going there for medical school rotations. This wouldn't directly mean a better LOR is guaranteed either. It is all dependent on where you are at. Getting a LOR will likely depend on your competency and work ethic no matter if you are in a rural or urban school.

 

[Wjldenver]

[QUOTE="DrBowtie, post: 18266976, member: 62964"Problem is that a LOR from a random community internist isn't going to hold as much weight compared to an academic medical center professor or chairman.
This is why you need to get some audition rotations in an academic medical center in your 4th year. You probably did not spare any expense to get into a DO school, so you should not spare any expense in regard to getting some quality audition rotations either.

 

[tiffxp]

so is there any advantage of going to a rural school?

 

[OrdinaryDO]

so is there any advantage of going to a rural school?

Yeah, a medical degree.

 

[tiffxp]

Yeah, a medical degree.

maybe I should re-word it...What are the advantages of going to a rural school compare to a urban school.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

What are you looking for? You're not going to find any advantages except to your personal preference of school curriculum and living conditions. Ever school has a rural track if you so choose to do that.


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[TheBoneDoctah]

maybe I should re-word it...What are the advantages of going to a rural school compare to a urban school.

Some things that I can think of off the top of my head:

1. Trees
2. Maybe a little easier to get into a rural school since, as a whole, more people want to be in urban areas
3. Grass
4. Trees
But in all seriousness, I interviewed at Campbell and loved the school.
But like people said before, I think it comes down to personal preference.

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[angeloflogic]

I feel like some of the arguments here aren't really rural vs urban training, but more on the lines of preceptor vs ward based training. I'd venture that there would be a lot more preceptors in rural areas relatively.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I feel like some of the arguments here aren't really rural vs urban training, but more on the lines of preceptor vs ward based training. I'd venture that there would be a lot more preceptors in rural areas relatively.

The OP is asking what "advantages" there are to attending an urban medical school, but that is subjective to what one thinks is "advantageous." It comes down to if you like rural environments or not. Preceptor based rotations and residencies shouldn't be that big of a deal for our classes since the merger will be in place by 2020. My school is located in an urban area, but has a specific "rural track" for physicians who want to practice rural. Rural = population of >25,000 residents.

 

[Ho0v-man]

so is there any advantage of going to a rural school?

Lower cost of living. Folks going to wvsom, lmu, or kcom likely take out significantly less in terms of COL for at least the first two years when compared to a school in a more urban area.

Or you could take out the same amount and live a bit more lavishly I suppose.


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[tiffxp]

I was thinking what @dwgrubbs1s stated...there will be likely less people doing rotation at the same hospital as you and you get more one-on-one time with the physician and have higher chance of obtaining a better recommendation letter.
However, there could be more medical student in the area with less hospitals, quality or diversity of exposure to different cases will likely be less and the reputation of the person writing your recommendation may not hold as much weigh as the head of a big name research hospital.

I guess the consensus is that there is not much advantage between attending a rural school or an urban one...it is all about personal preference right? @Goro

I'm sorry if my post sounds stupid but I am making a huge decision on where I will live for the next few years and what my future career will be like (As the December deadline is approaching).

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Goro]

Absolutely!

I guess the consensus is that there is not much advantage between attending a rural school or an urban one...it is all about personal preference right? @Goro