ATSU SOMA CHC

[AKMCAT]

Hi Does anyone know CHC works and how competitive it is getting the location of your preference for second year ? I would appreciate any input. Thank you

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[IslandStyle808]

Best person to ask is @SLC

It has changed from year to year. Some years you need to pick the site before you matriculate and others you pick before the end of first year. Your right in that there are some sites more competitive than others. So you may not get your first choice if it is very competitive.

 

[Buddy.the.Elf]

I was recently accepted at SOMA, and I chose my site now. In my matriculation agreement, it says I will attend my chosen site. It seems to be on a first come, first served basis. Earlier interviews and acceptances are given more options. I imagine later in the year, the "less desirable" places have more openings than the others. What's "less desirable" depends on you and your preferences.

 

[manotter]

Hi Does anyone know CHC works and how competitive it is getting the location of your preference for second year ? I would appreciate any input. Thank you

It is first come first serve now a days. When you apply you rank the sites in the order you want to go to, and they will match you into your highest available choice. You potentially can trade later on, but that is hard to do and very discouraged.

Typically the most popular locations are the more urban options. New York is traditionally the most popular and potentially the two new sites Washington D.C. and Chicago will also be popular. Seattle and Portland also tend to be popular, but not as much as New York. The least popular sites are typically South Carolina and Flagstaff. The remaining sites tend to be more in the middle for popularity: Ohio, California, Phoenix, Tucson.

 

[greenflash5]

For those of you that interviewed, Did they mention what academic things occur at the CHC during year 2? Which professors if any do they have at the CHC? I assume there is a full year of OMM at the CHC? What other in person classes are there? Are most of the lectures recordings?

 

[IslandStyle808]

For those of you that interviewed, Did they mention what academic things occur at the CHC during year 2? Which professors if any do they have at the CHC? I assume there is a full year of OMM at the CHC? What other in person classes are there? Are most of the lectures recordings?

I have not interviewed there, but I have visited one of their CHCs and can describe what I saw (until someone can accurately comment on the curriculum).

Question1: From what I remember they have video lectures they view online and part of the learning is from this.
Question2: There were two or three professors I had seen that were physicians. One was helping with the presentation based tutorial (not sure if this is correct) and they would sit around a table and discuss about a case. I liked this more than PBL actually, since the professor was straight up giving the answer if the students were having difficulties with the question.
Question 3: They do have classes with OMM (not sure how long).
Question 4: They have most of their classes modules online, with a few in class sessions at the CHC.
Question 5: It seems like most of them were online.

 

[keels99]

CHC's are first come first serve. The most competitive sites seem to have been the bigger cities (Chicago, Phoenix, Tucson, Seattle, etc.) I chose Flagstaff, which seemed to have been a less competitive site, but was still my first choice nonetheless.

 

[do15OBlove]

For those of you that interviewed, Did they mention what academic things occur at the CHC during year 2? Which professors if any do they have at the CHC? I assume there is a full year of OMM at the CHC? What other in person classes are there? Are most of the lectures recordings?

I went to the Flagstaff CHC for second year and LOVED it. It is a beautiful town with lots to do (indoors and out).
Each CHC is structured a little differently. Here is the run-down on the Flagstaff site
-Second year lectures are via podcasts (actually really liked this because you can go at your own pace and do lectures when it's convenient for you).
-There is class a few times per week
- one to go over that week's topics and clarify confusing concepts (this is with the second year coordinator, Dr. Bansal, who is amazing),
- another class session weekly is Biostat/Epidemiology- every CHC logs onto this virtual meeting software and have class together
- Small groups (was on Friday afternoons)- go over cases that involved lecture topics from that week's podcasts
-OMM is taught by Dr. Barbara Polstein- she is fantastic and patient and understands that students struggle with OMM sometimes. Yes, it is all year (weekly) and totally manageable.
- In addition to class, Flagstaff has has fantastic preceptors for your clinical requirements. All of second-year clinic is in Flagstaff. You will not be expected to leave town before third year for clinic. You will get to do a LOT and expected to improve throughout the year. The thing with ATSU that really sets it apart is this early second-year clinical exposure. We are light-years ahead of other students as far as history and physical and SOAP note skills come day 1 of third year. It carries through to fourth year and people notice this!
- As far as other professors are concerned- there is a third and fourth year coordinator at the Flagstaff CHC- he is in charge of rotation schedules and whatnot. (Again, each CHC is a little different- some CHCs don't have a designated second year coordinator and third/fourth year coordinator)
- Sites for rotations in Flagstaff for third and fourth year- NOT all rotations will be in Flagstaff, but all the rotation sites are exemplary and provide great experience
- Exams (block and OMM) are given at the CHC site on your laptop with testing software- proctored by the CHC site.

Hope this was helpful. It is specific to the Flagstaff CHC, and again, each site is a little different. The "popular" locations change every year. In my year, Ohio was really popular because a lot of mid westerners matriculated in to ATSU-SOMA. So, every year is different, every site is different, and the CHC selection process is now done upfront. Good luck, all!

 

[AKMCAT]

I went to the Flagstaff CHC for second year and LOVED it. It is a beautiful town with lots to do (indoors and out).
Each CHC is structured a little differently. Here is the run-down on the Flagstaff site
-Second year lectures are via podcasts (actually really liked this because you can go at your own pace and do lectures when it's convenient for you).
-There is class a few times per week
- one to go over that week's topics and clarify confusing concepts (this is with the second year coordinator, Dr. Bansal, who is amazing),
- another class session weekly is Biostat/Epidemiology- every CHC logs onto this virtual meeting software and have class together
- Small groups (was on Friday afternoons)- go over cases that involved lecture topics from that week's podcasts
-OMM is taught by Dr. Barbara Polstein- she is fantastic and patient and understands that students struggle with OMM sometimes. Yes, it is all year (weekly) and totally manageable.
- In addition to class, Flagstaff has has fantastic preceptors for your clinical requirements. All of second-year clinic is in Flagstaff. You will not be expected to leave town before third year for clinic. You will get to do a LOT and expected to improve throughout the year. The thing with ATSU that really sets it apart is this early second-year clinical exposure. We are light-years ahead of other students as far as history and physical and SOAP note skills come day 1 of third year. It carries through to fourth year and people notice this!
- As far as other professors are concerned- there is a third and fourth year coordinator at the Flagstaff CHC- he is in charge of rotation schedules and whatnot. (Again, each CHC is a little different- some CHCs don't have a designated second year coordinator and third/fourth year coordinator)
- Sites for rotations in Flagstaff for third and fourth year- NOT all rotations will be in Flagstaff, but all the rotation sites are exemplary and provide great experience
- Exams (block and OMM) are given at the CHC site on your laptop with testing software- proctored by the CHC site.

Hope this was helpful. It is specific to the Flagstaff CHC, and again, each site is a little different. The "popular" locations change every year. In my year, Ohio was really popular because a lot of mid westerners matriculated in to ATSU-SOMA. So, every year is different, every site is different, and the CHC selection process is now done upfront. Good luck, all!

Thank you for all your advice. Look forward to interviewing at ATSU

When exactly did you find out where matched?

 

[greenflash5]

Thank you both so much for clarifying. Looking forward to interviewing on Friday! I am just a little concerned about podcast lectures. I think they are great for some reasons and negative for a few others.

 

[keels99]

Thank you for all your advice. Look forward to interviewing at ATSU

When exactly did you find out where matched?

Once you get accepted you receive a link with information about every site and then you rank the them. I'm not sure how long confirmation of your site takes. If you don't get your first choice you have a chance of moving up. I was accepted in April so I was guaranteed my site

 

[do15OBlove]

Honestly, the podcasts lectures aren't a big deal. Most medical schools record all their lectures, anyway, and then post them online. Each year, every student will show up for classes at the beginning of the semester/year. Within a few weeks, I'd say about half the students stay home and watch the recorded lectures at their convenience. By the end of the semester/year/block/whatever maybe a quarter of the class will be there in person for lectures. Also helps because you can watch the lectures at different speeds. This is not just specific to ATSU. Med school is different from undergrad. There is so much material that needs to be learned- I like the analogy of someone turning on a fire hydrant and it doesn't get turned off until the end of second year. When third year starts, a different type of hydrant is then turned on. Being able to watch lectures at your own speed and convenience is sometimes the ONLY way to absorb all the information you will be required to learn.

 

[SLC]

Best person to ask is @SLC

It has changed from year to year. Some years you need to pick the site before you matriculate and others you pick before the end of first year. Your right in that there are some sites more competitive than others. So you may not get your first choice if it is very competitive.

Thanks for the shoutout, somehow I didn't get an alert when you tagged me, and I actually found this thread looking for other posts from @do15OBlove. I was trying to figure out which of my classmates thus was, and now that I know they transferred to TUNCOM I think I know who it is. Best of luck with the match do15OBlove!!!

Anyway, the CHC works as your 2nd year classroom, your base for rotations, and your home for the final 3 years of Med-school. It's an awesome environment; and the CHC'S really like having students there. It is their goal to be able to influence the best and brightest students to come back to practice so they treat us right.

I got financial support for travel, gift cards at holidays, and a strong effort to arrange good rotations from my CHC. I've been very happy with my CHC experience; I'm at the Portland CHC by the way.

I can't comment to much on the competitiveness of getting your preferred location; my class and the class below mine didn't have CHC assignments at admission; instead we had a "match" so a lot of it was luck of the draw.