AZCOM- Leave While You Still Can

[novacek88]

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I'm starting my fourth year and I can't tell you how frustrating an experience this has been. But before I begin my rant, I would like to say that there are many nice things that I have enjoyed about AZCOM. I love my classmates and they are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life and Phoenix is a beautiful place to study medicine. The weather is amazing.

That being said, I would not recommend this school. Someone wrote a scathing review of DO schools saying that osteopathic schools are essentially there to make money without contributing anything back to the well-being of the students. Like the author, I don't think all DO schools are like this particularly state funded schools and the quality private ones. But there are some DO schools that operate in this manner and sad to say but AZCOM is one of these schools. We are left on our own to do all of this planning and it can be frustating thanks to the delays caused by the administration. And now I basically need some elective rotations to stand a chance at possibly matching at my hospital of interest while the administration has handcuffed me and prevented me from doing so; all of this after paying ridiculous tuition hikes to support a podiatry school and a CRN program. Give me a break!

I almost feel like I wouldn't have been much worse off had I gone to an offshore medical school like Ross University in the Caribbean. Like Ross students, AZCOM students receive no help from their school whatsover in planning and organizing MS3 and MS4. Like other IMG's, we have to set up our own rotations and the preceptorship has not served me well. The amount of traveling I have done during third year has been intense not to mention EXPENSIVE! To be fair, some of my classmates have loved the preceptorship but most of these students are going into family medicine; a field I feel that a preceptorship most benefits. I too have aspirations in primary care but I am seeking competitive programs and the hospital based rotations are almost required for that. The preceptorship is a hassle for those of us who want to be competitive. It's an extra hurdle we must overcome.

I enjoyed being an MS1 and MS2 at AZCOM. The professors are great and the campus is beautifull. But that fairy tale ends after second year. That's when you see all the negative rumors come true. I read negative reviews of AZCOM before but I tried to stay impartial hoping that the worst part of clinicals would be over, but it never ended and it just got worse. There is nothing I can do to avenge the deception the administration has led on but I can warn future students considering AZCOM. If you were admitted to other osteopathic schools particularly ones with good reputations, I would go there in a hearbeat. Or if your ambition was to attend an MD school and you settled on AZCOM; wait a year and reapply. I definitely would have done that. I know many of friends would have done the same.

Something also needs to be said of the systems based approach at our school. I feel that our approach is detrimental to preparation for the boards. Our students do not perform particularly well on the USMLE Step 1. I think that is due in large part to the lack of an integrated approach in our courses. The board exams consist of questions that integrate others systems into one question. Of course, we have students that do excell on Step 1 but these students started studying for it during first year while most of learned the hard way.

I know many of my classmates will read this and be offended. In respect to my classmates, I will not respond to this thread and turn it into a flame. They deserve a fair opportunity to criticize my opinion. If any of you have questions about AZCOM, you can PM or e-mail me. Finally, I want to say that I'm not the only student who feels this way about AZCOM. Many AZCOM students are unaware of SDN or just don't feel like publicizing their dislike of the school. Many of the people on SDN are MS1's or MS2's at AZCOM so they haven't been through third year. I shared their same zeal of this school during my first two years.

 

[Luck]

I always thought that the first 2 years at AZCOM would be the best. However, I didn't like the idea of having to travel around everywhere for rotations and the preceptorship idea. Thanks for posting this information because it gives us an idea of what AZCOM is really about.

 

[Robz]

Each school has its good points and its bad points.

With that being said I say it takes a lot to say what you really mean. I personally loved AZCOM from my interview there. I liked the location, some of the professors I met, and the phoenix area. What I didn't like so much was the 3rd and 4th years that was presented to us.

I knew an AZCOM grad and I have talked to a few students on and off and it seemed to me like a hit or miss with the 3rd/4th years to me. Again I am speaking as a one-time potential student. Some loved the idea of traveling and setting up their own stuff...others not so much..like the OP. Me? I didn't really want to hunt down potential sites that might be far away from Phoenix and are in more rural areas. Yes you might get to do and see more but there was no guarantee of that. (I guess there never is anywhere either) It also kinda made me wonder that the University of Arizona had locked down the Phoenix hospitals pretty hard core so there wasn't a lot of options other than to go out of town.

Again, I liked the school and I think it has a lot to offer but those were just a few doubts I had. I did though like the 100% COMLEX step 2 pass rate a while back they had!

 

[daelroy]

I interviewed at AZCOM and I loved their campus. It was sunny and beautiful outside too but I didn't have the best impression of AZCOM. I also felt they were not telling the whole story behind their clinical years. It sounded very unstable. And when students asked them about their setup, they got angry in a very defensive way as if they didn't want to answer the question. Someone asked them point blank if students were able to rotate in local Phoenix hospitals during third year and they avoided the question and started talking about how amazing the preceptor program was. I can imagine that the first couple of years there would be good but I didn't want to go through that tangled mess of their clinical years. For me, the bottom line was matching my choice of residency and not whether I had a good time in the basic science years. So I didn't want to chance having my resideny opportunities to be limited so I decided that AZCOM wasn't for me. I talked to a couple of 4th year students and I learned a lot more about the school. Yeah, the University of Arizona pretty much had control of the area hospitals which made rotating there tough on AZCOM students.

 

[(nicedream)]

AZCOM's match lists are very impressive though.

 

[daelroy]

AZCOM's match lists are very impressive though.

Their match list didn't seem that much different from the majority of DO schools. I was impressed at first because most of their students match at allopathic residencies. But then I learned that this is the case with most DO schools. 5 or 6 schools' lists were much more impressive in my opinion which includes their Chicago school.

 

[Boomer]

Something also needs to be said of the systems based approach at our school. I feel that our approach is detrimental to preparation for the boards. Our students do not perform particularly well on the USMLE Step 1. I think that is due in large part to the lack of an integrated approach in our courses. The board exams consist of questions that integrate others systems into one question. Of course, we have students that do excell on Step 1 but these students started studying for it during first year while most of learned the hard way.

I graduated from AZCOM a week and a half ago, and I have aired very similar complaints in regards to rotations on this board in the past, which always turn into worthless arguments. Some people love it, some hate it. There seems to be no middle ground. That said, I will not re-hash things I and the OP have said.

The only point I would disagree with the OP on is the portion I quoted above, in regards to board exams. This is the one truly bright shining point for AZCOM. It is hard to say with any certainty how our students do on USMLE I (although I personally know of at least two in my class >245 on step 1) as AZCOM is an osteopathic school focused on COMLEX, and these results are not made available, so any information is based on rumor and discussion among classmates/friends.

On COMLEX, AZCOM has done extremely well. Our class (2004) has been the black sheep, with only a 93% pass rate on try one of step one. Step 2 has been even better. The stats are available at: http://mwunet.midwestern.edu/academic/AZCOM/Docs/azcomCOMLEX.pdf

 

[irish79]

What about those of us who are already students at AZCOM? So far I have liked AZCOM (I just finished my first year). I think the basic sciences are taught very well...but what should I be doing about third year? Should I start looking into places to go now? My only problem is that most other hospitals won't allow 3rd years to rotate there. I guess one advantage for me is that I don't want to do rotations in Phx. While this appears to be a bad thing to some people, to me it is GREAT (a PLUS). I would much rather go back East and do rotations than be required to stay in the hospitals in Phoenix.

 

[Boomer]

Should I start looking into places to go now? My only problem is that most other hospitals won't allow 3rd years to rotate there. I guess one advantage for me is that I don't want to do rotations in Phx. While this appears to be a bad thing to some people, to me it is GREAT (a PLUS). I would much rather go back East and do rotations than be required to stay in the hospitals in Phoenix.

Yes, start looking now...it doesn't have to be a high pressure search, but do some research on where you want to go.

Look at the osteopathic teaching hospitals, especially MI, OH, and Chicago area for places that will allow visiting 3rd years.

 

[daelroy]

I graduated from AZCOM a week and a half ago, and I have aired very similar complaints in regards to rotations on this board in the past, which always turn into worthless arguments. Some people love it, some hate it. There seems to be no middle ground. That said, I will not re-hash things I and the OP have said.

The only point I would disagree with the OP on is the portion I quoted above, in regards to board exams. This is the one truly bright shining point for AZCOM. It is hard to say with any certainty how our students do on USMLE I (although I personally know of at least two in my class >245 on step 1) as AZCOM is an osteopathic school focused on COMLEX, and these results are not made available, so any information is based on rumor and discussion among classmates/friends.

On COMLEX, AZCOM has done extremely well. Our class (2004) has been the black sheep, with only a 93% pass rate on try one of step one. Step 2 has been even better. The stats are available at: http://mwunet.midwestern.edu/academic/AZCOM/Docs/azcomCOMLEX.pdf

Pass rate is an overblown stat. What's more important is the average score. If everyone passed but averaged a 70% then it's not as impressive as another school with a lower pass rate and a higher average score. The true indicator is how those who passed fared on the exam. I wonder if there is a ranking based on average COMLEX score? It's not AZCOM's fault that your class had some slackers that failed the exam and brought your pass rate down to a 93%. That's going to happen in every class. What's more important is seeing the actual average score for those who passed. That's a better indicator of a school's teaching method than their pass rate. Passing the COMLEX shouldn't be difficult if you are anywhere close to being a serious student; that should be expected. Most people are concerned with far more than just passing their boards.

 

[Boomer]

Pass rate is an overblown stat. What's more important is the average score. If everyone passed but averaged a 70% then it's not as impressive as another school with a lower pass rate and a higher average score. The true indicator is how those who passed fared on the exam. I wonder if there is a ranking based on average COMLEX score? It's not AZCOM's fault that your class had some slackers that failed the exam and brought your pass rate down to a 93%. That's going to happen in every class. What's more important is seeing the actual average score for those who passed. That's a better indicator of a school's teaching method than their pass rate. Passing the COMLEX shouldn't be difficult if you are anywhere close to being a serious student; that should be expected. Most people are concerned with far more than just passing their boards.

I used to think like you, until I applied to residencies.

There is not a ranking based on average score, as these numbers are not computed by NBOME. The statistic that is released is passage rate. Some schools may compute the class's average score, but you will not find a "ranking" based on this.

Nobody ever said the 8 or 9 people that blew it off in my class was AZCOM's fault. Rather, I was using that point to illustrate that most of AZCOM's students have passed on the first try.

I would venture to say that most classes very likely have a bell-shaped distribution of board scores. And, if a class averaged 70% (I'm assuming you mean 70th percentile--as board scores are not reported in percentages), then this would be very impressive. It would be akin to an MD class averaging ~230 on USMLE I.

What I have found to be true is that board scores only matter in the most competitive of circumstances (Ortho, Uro, Derm, California, etc....), and the people who score high enough for these fields are going to score high enough whether they go to AZCOM, PCOM, KCOM, Ross, etc....Otherwise, passing is the issue.

And if pass rates that are consistently better than the national average are unimportant, why is it that you never hear schools advertise their mid-80% pass rate?

 

[Ice-1]

Passing the COMLEX shouldn't be difficult if you are anywhere close to being a serious student; that should be expected. Most people are concerned with far more than just passing their boards.

Have you taken the COMLEX yet? If not, I recommend that you reserve judgement about what is easy until you get to have the joyous experience for yourself.

 

[Globus P]

Do you know of any AZCOM students that have tried (successful or not) to transfer to Univ of Arizona for their 3rd & 4th years?

 

[VentdependenT]

3rd year sucks and sucks hard (time, money, and frustration to land a good clinical/educational experience)...if you take your time find good rotations at teaching hospitals then you come out strong. For me this took journies to the midwest and other places by setting almost everything up myself. if you leave it all up to clin ed then prepare for a bunch of preceptor based stuff which is totally hit or miss (had a good psych, gensurg, and fp...thats all i did in az that year). boondocks locales in az are supposed to be high on clinical material, but I wouldn't know first hand as I didn't do anything there.

4th year rocks, go anywhere you want the whole year...I spent the majority of it back home and loved it. rotated at all large allo places, feel comfortable with my skills, and am happy.

Board scores are individual dependent. slackers blow it off and do poorly while folks who want out of FP and want it bad usually work hard and score appropriately.

Its a do it yourself 3rd and 4th year. If you work hard these years, you've probably worked hard throughout med school and on your boards, and thus you'll land one hell of a residency and be one hell of a resident. All individual dependent you see. Like real life.

Laters on and I hope the rest of the OP's medical career doesn't suck. He/she made some good points but I'm trying to show the other side of things. Be smart yall.

Hopefully my UDS goes well after the trip i just had. 😀

 

[dancote]

I don't know much about how 3rd and 4th years go in medical school as I am only in the application process. It sounds like you can leave the state during those years and do training in hospitals in the midwest? I am from Michigan and would love that! How does this work? Do you just apply to a "teaching" hospital where you would like to go even though you are not a student of that state's D.O. school (I am thinking of MSU-COMs base hospitals here)? I hope to do as much rural training as possible, would AZCOM be good in this regard?

-DAn

 

[VentdependenT]

novacek88 great post. I officially pass my helper torch to you. Comlex scores don't mean poo. Just focus on USMLE by doing what novacek said...annotate and use review books along with your class notes to get the basic concepts down into your head.

 

[r90t]

Looking back, after being out for 2 years....it wasn't such a bad 3rd/4th year. The anger towards the administration and clinical education is gone, as myself and most of my friends are on the career path that we had planned.

If you work hard to make the best out of any situation, then you will learn the appropriate clinical material. If you want the school to hold your hand and arrange all of your rotations, you will get stuck doing an AOA FP residency in a city of 5000 people. I thought I had a solid foundation coming from there for internship and was right. Internship was relatively easy and had only a few stressful rotations. Damn vent settings!

Things that I would definitely do...
1. Make sure you do a hospital based IM, not preceptor based.
2. Do at least 1-2 rotations at teaching hospitals to get to know the "system" of teaching institutions. You don't have to rotate at places you plan to apply to in the allopathic world.
3. If planning on doing an allopathic residency, plan to study and rock the USMLE. Many programs will accept COMLEX, but some have a USMLE cutoff score for interviews. As above, they will see your scores 1st and they will get your foot in the door.
4. Do your academic best 1st/2nd year, as our class rank was locked in after 2 years.
5. Don't avoid hard rotations. The long hours may be the best learning experiences.
6. Remember the glass is half full. This will make you a happier MS/intern/resident/staff.

Good luck!
Rob

 

[BayesianDoc]

Should I start looking into places to go now? My only problem is that most other hospitals won't allow 3rd years to rotate there. I guess one advantage for me is that I don't want to do rotations in Phx. While this appears to be a bad thing to some people, to me it is GREAT (a PLUS). I would much rather go back East and do rotations than be required to stay in the hospitals in Phoenix.

You could probably do many of your rotations at Einstein in Philly.

http://www.einstein.edu/e3front.dll?durki=16344

 

[irish79]

Thanks raptor, I'll check that out...

You guys are really starting to scare me with all this talk. What is your opinion for categorical internal medicine residencies? I know it is important to get a good residency for a fellowship, but do you think it is important to ROCK the USMLE and be number one in your class for IM? I would understand the competitive fields (or TOP tier IM)...but what about a normal, good categorical IM program (like Loyola or UW)? Or am I just screwed because I?m an AZCOM student?

 

[r90t]

Across the board in my class, we have very, very few people scrambling after match day. Everyone that I talked to got into one of their top 3 ranked programs, both allo and osteo. Do your best on the boards, as that will be the first thing programs look at when interviewing you for a competative program. If you don't score well, you can still get a solid IM residency, however, it may not be at a prestigious name brand program.

 

[jhug]

am i mistaken or do many hospitals hesitate taking third year students?

 

[jhug]

one more question...pardon the ignorance- when you speak of "contacting the place you want to rotate"...how exactly do i find out who to contact? did you use the books in the clinical ed office, internet (how did you search for it), residencies...thanks for the help!!!

 

[Idiopathic]

Have you taken the COMLEX yet? If not, I recommend that you reserve judgement about what is easy until you get to have the joyous experience for yourself.

👍

 

[Idiopathic]

am i mistaken or do many hospitals hesitate taking third year students?

For elective visiting clerkships, many (most) hospitals require that you be a 4th year student.

 

[calidoc2004]

Great thread.

I have one question though, im confused.
So you can do your 3rd and 4th year rotations anywhere in the country?

Im from Cali but going to NJ for school. Itd sure be nice to come back to Cali and do both years here in San Diego. Is that possible? Whats the process to do that? Does it look bad to leave your school? Dont you have to be near the school for tests at least?

Hope someone knows.

 

[VentdependenT]

I did 3rd year rotations at St. Vincents in toledo (IM, insane and highly recommended), Henry Ford in detroit (obgyn, IM...both good), Illinois Masonic (FP, good as well) 3rd year, Doctors hospital in Columbus (pediatrics..I do not recommend it). Also did out of state 2 preceptor based rotations 3rd year. One at Sweedish with the chief of cardiology (in Seattle) and the other with one of my step dads best friends who is a gastroenterologist/medicine doc at Highland Park Hospital (Illinois). Smart guys. I probably learned just as much from them than at teaching hospitals. Thats just 3rd year. Yeah it was a pain in the friggen ass but I learned.

Other 3rd year rotators did their 2nd obgyn at St. Josephs/NWesternU in Chicago and at sparrow hospital in michigan. I guess I could have tried to land a couple more rural rotations 3rd year but I hate rural areas. Call up any other osteopathic school and they will hook you up with 3rd year rotations. Or at least point you in some directions.

You won't have much trouble landing IM at Loyola. Uwashington (is that what you meant by UW?) will be very tough. Its a highly academic institution and they definitely look for academic candidates. Just get yourself some great letters, land a good usmle score (agree with the above 220) and rotate there 4th year. Thats about all you can do my man. You'll be ok!

Vent

 

[amccague]

Very cool.

So you can go anywhere you feel like? Wont your school need to approve this stuff? Just curious.

Its be fun to travel around a little. Can you be gone for the whole 2 years of clinical?

 

[VentdependenT]

you can be gone (out of state) at least 1/2 of your 3rd yr clinical clerkships at azcom, possibly more depending on your case. All of your 4th year can be out of state.

Yes the school needs to approve this and coordinate the clerkships with the departments you work with. Yes they will check up on you. If you slack be prepared for consequences.

 

[Ice-1]

To all interested in AZCOM take a look at the business section of today's Arizona Republic where there is a big article about bringing a major medical school to the valley (as a part of UA of course). The article has a couple of sentences about Midwestern being osteopathic but the movers and shakers behind this article feel that a traditional (i.e. non DO) school should be in the valley to give those poor UA students a better deal (along with a teaching hospital where you can guess who won't be welcome there either).
Check it out

 

[Robz]

here is the article for those that don't want to search for it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

A Phoenix medical school?
UA, others intent on bringing full-fledged campus to Valley

Jodie Snyder
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 21, 2004 12:00 AM

Related story
? Medical school would give Phoenix economic transfusion


For decades, the lack of a major medical school in Phoenix has been a sore point. But now it's a hot topic as the University of Arizona starts to beef up its presence in Phoenix and others consider opening a school in the Valley.

The UA medical school, which could share a downtown campus with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, could be more than just classrooms and lab space.

It could be a beacon to attract medical researchers and boost efforts to develop biotech. And it could ward off potential competitors.

It could also bring a hospital to downtown Phoenix, as medical schools typically have teaching hospitals close by.

It's all up for discussion, said Dr. Keith Joiner, dean of the UA's College of Medicine.

Joiner said the UA expects to roll out its plans in three months.

"We are not tinkering around the edges. This will not be incremental," he said.

Currently, the UA trains 110 third and fourth-year students in the Valley. The students have just finished two years of basic science classes and come to Phoenix to train in clinics and hospitals. It is not the only medical school in the Valley.

There are two campuses that offer training in osteopathic medicine, but many have argued that Phoenix needs a traditional state-university-affiliated school that graduates medical doctors.

The Phoenix delegation represents about a third of the UA's medical school class. If the UA goes ahead with plans to build a medical school, about half of its students could come to Phoenix, said Dr. Jacqueline Chadwick, vice dean of the UA's College of Medicine Phoenix campus.

Currently, the UA's medical school students go through rotations at eight area hospital chains.

The arrangement works well, but a nearby teaching hospital could offer better integration, Chadwick said.

"It would be nice to have a teaching hospital. You might say that it would be optimal," she said.

It would also require some political finesse. Valley hospitals, which get extra funding, manpower and prestige from their medical school affiliations, aren't likely to want to give up existing teaching programs.

But if the teaching hospital could act as a safety-net hospital treating uninsured patients, other hospitals might not block it, Chadwick said.

"There are a lot of delicate politics," Chadwick said.

Joiner realizes that the medical school issue is a thorny one. In the past, Tucson leaders and UA professors have balked at expanding the UA presence in Phoenix.

"A lot of people said there would be pushback," he said. So far, UA medical faculty has been enthusiastic because they are being involved in the process.

"There are going to be lots of points of view," he said. "There will not be consensus from every single department chair or every single constituent, we realize. But (trying to appease everyone) is not the way to greatness."

There is also a ticking clock, Joiner said.

The Arizona Biomedical Collaborative, which is a collaboration of the state universities, has to be completed by 2006 if bond money is to pay for it. The $17 million building, which is planned to go near TGen in downtown Phoenix, could be an important link with a medical school, Joiner said.

The collaborative is a joint project between the UA, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. Researchers from the three universities will work with each other, as well as others from TGen, area hospitals and other research institutions.

The collaborative could offer med students opportunities to participate in research protocols, Chadwick said. She likened the facility to the Virginia Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, where patients can go for help if they don't respond to conventional treatments.

Politics and timetables aside, Joiner said he is getting a lot of feedback from Phoenix civic and business leaders about a full-fledged UA medical school.

"We are hearing that now is the time for the University of Arizona to make its vision clear."

As the UA starts laying groundwork to develop a Phoenix campus, there has been talk of other medical schools coming to town.

Chadwick believes that part of the talk has been fueled by the UA's relatively low-key presence in Phoenix.

"There is a perceived vacuum," she said.

Linda Hunt, president of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, said some private medical schools interested in opening campuses in Phoenix have approached the central Phoenix hospital.

She would not identify the schools and described the discussions as "preliminary." Hunt said she is happy with arrangements with the UA but it is still to be determined what is the right number of medical schools for the community.

Rumors also have swirled that ASU and the Mayo Clinic Hospital could join forces for a medical school since both institutions are focusing intently on medical research.

Dr. Anthony Windebank, dean of the Mayo Clinic Medical School, said neither Mayo nor ASU had any intention of starting a separate Arizona-based medical school. The school has about 20 students a year training at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.

But the two are looking at increasing collaborations, including having researchers work at both institutions and offering joint degree programs under which students get medical degrees through Mayo and law degrees through ASU.

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Sounds like pie-in-the-sky dreaming to me. Building another teaching hospital isn't nearly as easy as the article makes it sound. On the other hand, if it happened, I think it would offer good news for AZCOM students. Another hospital only opens up more residencies, and decreases the number of available UA med students for rotations. Of course, UA might just increase their number of med students, so it could all be a moot point.

 

[jhug]

Valley hospitals, which get extra funding, manpower and prestige from their medical school affiliations, aren't likely to want to give up existing teaching programs. But if the teaching hospital could act as a safety-net hospital treating uninsured patients, other hospitals might not block it, Chadwick said.

Yea, how long is that going to last???
uninsured = don't pay = no income = money pit
i don't know too many state schools that have millions to throw around...
i agree with sjs though, it could help the valley's medical needs.

 

[daelroy]

Have you taken the COMLEX yet? If not, I recommend that you reserve judgement about what is easy until you get to have the joyous experience for yourself.

I recommend you learn to pay more attention to details before you continue to put your foot in your mouth like you seem to do in many of your posts. I never said the COMLEX was an easy test. I did say that passing the exam (note: I didn't say scoring high on the exam) should not be difficult if one is a SERIOUS student. In no way did I say the exam was easy. I'm fully aware that nothing in medical school is easy.

 

[VentdependenT]

wait till you graduate! Muhahahahha. Steer clear of prelim medicine years. OUCH!

 

[Ice-1]

I did say that passing the exam (note: I didn't say scoring high on the exam) should not be difficult if one is a SERIOUS student. In no way did I say the exam was easy. I'm fully aware that nothing in medical school is easy.

"should be" sounds like you haven't taken the test yet. When you have taken it then you comments may have some credibility, otherwise you're just someone else speculating on what he hasn't experienced.

 

[Eyecon82]

am i mistaken or do many hospitals hesitate taking third year students?

I havn't even started yet..but from what I know, many are happy to take you in because they get a certain amount of money from the govt and or the school...

 

[bla_3x]

Some good news posibly on the horizon. I have talked with the deans along with some of the other SOMA oficers about the rotations thing. There is a new dean at UofA Med School, as some of you may know, and he is very open to talking with our deans about the issue. And although the deans wanted to make sure that we didn't think that a solution is under way yet, the issue is not static. We will meet with the deans more during the year to get the low-down on this.

And there really is no problem for us to get 4th year rotations at the phx teaching hospitals.

 

[daelroy]

I did say that passing the exam (note: I didn't say scoring high on the exam) should not be difficult if one is a SERIOUS student. In no way did I say the exam was easy. I'm fully aware that nothing in medical school is easy.

"should be" sounds like you haven't taken the test yet. When you have taken it then you comments may have some credibility, otherwise you're just someone else speculating on what he hasn't experienced.

Fair enough and we will leave it at that.

 

[Plinko]

I am a third year at TCOM. I had a quick question for you AZCOM people. Do you have a hard time finding places to rotate third year? That is, are there any that totally get left out in the cold, and have nowhere to rotate? The reason I ask is because while TCOM provides us with all of our rotation sites (we literally have to do nothing to set them up) I, like many students in my class, have one elective for us to go anywhere in the country. We have to set that up on our own. If we choose not to, then TCOM automatically sets it up for us here in Texas. I was going to go out of state for my surgery rotation, but I wouldn't want to take up any spots being that I have many options here in Texas, and that it might mean that one of my DO student colleauges gets totally screwed by not being able to go anywhere.

 

[Luck]

I am a third year at TCOM. I had a quick question for you AZCOM people. Do you have a hard time finding places to rotate third year? That is, are there any that totally get left out in the cold, and have nowhere to rotate? The reason I ask is because while TCOM provides us with all of our rotation sites (we literally have to do nothing to set them up) I, like many students in my class, have one elective for us to go anywhere in the country. We have to set that up on our own. If we choose not to, then TCOM automatically sets it up for us here in Texas. I was going to go out of state for my surgery rotation, but I wouldn't want to take up any spots being that I have many options here in Texas, and that it might mean that one of my DO student colleauges gets totally screwed by not being able to go anywhere.

Actually that would be totally sad if some AZCOM students literally have nowhere to rotate.

 

[VentdependenT]

hahah. doesn't happen

 

[Boomer]

hahah. doesn't happen

Hey numb nuts, shouldn't you be working?

I just found out today that there's a prelim guy in my program who's coming to Ross, I mean, Rush for anesthesia next year....email me for more....

 

[Globus P]

Some good news posibly on the horizon. I have talked with the deans along with some of the other SOMA oficers about the rotations thing. There is a new dean at UofA Med School, as some of you may know, and he is very open to talking with our deans about the issue. And although the deans wanted to make sure that we didn't think that a solution is under way yet, the issue is not static. We will meet with the deans more during the year to get the low-down on this.

And there really is no problem for us to get 4th year rotations at the phx teaching hospitals.

Good to hear Chuck, I am very interested in this issue, as are most of our classmates. Hopefully, good news will be forthcoming. Todd

 

[VentdependenT]

Hey numb nuts, shouldn't you be working?

I just found out today that there's a prelim guy in my program who's coming to Ross, I mean, Rush for anesthesia next year....email me for more....

Yeah I'm working. Ross? Rush? say what punk nuggets? Let me know who it is. Mulick is working with a guy in colorado who is going to Rush for gas as well. We're comming out of the woodwork.

How's the medicine comming along? LPB making things interesting I take it.

Vent

 

[Boomer]

LPB
Vent

Blow me. Blow me. Blow me. Thankfully, LPB is about a hundred miles away from me (still too close, but....)

Someday I'll email you the guy's name...until then, more trash to be talked here.