AZCOM students any questions for a current medical student

[DRNickiTay]

I am currently a third year medical student at AZCOM and I saw there were many of you here. If you have any questions I wil be happy to answer them. Hope to see you all in the future.

Nichole Taylor MS 3
AZCOM

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[biofreak126]

Hi Nichole!

I think you were the student on the panel who interviewed me at AZCOM. Well, I got in, so thank you very much. Also, thanks for the offer to answer questions. Right now I pretty much have questions about housing because I'm trying to decide where I want to live. Did you live in the on-campus apartments your first year? If so, did you like it? and which kind did you have? If not, where did you live? and are you glad you decided to live where you did? I'm sure I'll have lots more questions in the future, but that'll do for now. Thanks again!

 

[fozzy40]

Hi Nichole!

I am also wondering about housing. I am debating b/w living on campus the first year vs. off campus. I am single and would like to live by myself for the first year until I meet some people. From looking online, it seems that you get the most bang for the buck off campus. Proximity is most important to me followed by money. Any suggestions for nearby apartment complexes? Do you know of any to stay away from? Thanks again.

Fred

 

[irish79]

Hi Nichole--thanks for answering our questions.

I am going to be a first year in the fall at AZCOM and had a question about our summer break after first year. I am interested in an internal med residency / cardiology fellowship (probably allopathic). Do you think it would be in my best interest to do research during that summer (since I probably won?t have a lot of time to do it other years)? I have heard that research is a big part of the cardio fellowship. Will it even matter that I did it back in my first year by the time I?m applying for a fellowship? I don't know if you would have an answer for this, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[DRNickiTay]

Housing is by far the most popular question I get.

I have heard that campus housing will be or already has lowered their prices to beat apartments in the area. If this is true then I think the first year it is not a bad idea to rent there. It is very convient and you spend a lot of time in the cadaver lab and going to campus your first year. A lot of the single guys and girls rented there and hung out a lot (barbeques and volleyball or basketball). A few married people also lived on campus. I know many of my friends have rented off campus and did get a better deal as far as rent. They tended to be older and lived alone in the past mosty or had animals.

As far as safety pretty much everything north of Thunderbird is great. I would not live south of Peoria, but this is me. If you have specific apartments in mind send me the name of the complex and I will run it by my husband (he is a Phoenix cop). People tend to live close to campus the first two years and then move more central into the city the last two because of clinical rotations are spread out.

I know some people have posted about buying and this is also a great idea now. Rates are good and there is a lot of available houses that are new or newer.

One thing to keep in mind is many students oveextend themselves financially. It seemed more common in people who lived off campus. I think this is because they initially give you free months in rent and not a lot is included (like water, internet, other things).

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!

One more thing, I did do two sets of interviews and it is very possible I did interview you!

Nichole Taylor
MS3 AZCOM

 

[DRNickiTay]

iris79 - I was posting my long post and then saw your post!

I am currently doing my cardio rotation, so it is interesting you should ask. One of the things about cardiology is there is a ton of research going on. I have a great plan for you. I am working out of the Arizona heart institute HUGE research going on here). Dr Dietrich master mind of the endoluminal graft (pioneer) he runs the clinic. I would HIGHLY suggest doing a preceptorship program there over the summer with Dr. VeJAY he sees patient and does a ton of research. A few of our students get published from the research they do with him during their third year rotation. So if you were to rotate with him over the summer and get 10 hours elective credit and get to do research. It would be an excellent move. I really recommend the summer elective for students in the area they are interested in.

Our clinical education department is great at getting you what you want as far as elective rotations over the summer.


Hope this helps!

Nichole Taylor
MS3 AZCOM

 

[irish79]

Nichole,

Thank you very much! That is great advice and I will be sure to check it out as soon as I get to AZ.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[fozzy40]

Nichole,

Have you heard anything about Arrowhead Summit?

Fred

 

[DRNickiTay]

Hey Fred!

I have known people who have lived there and they are very nice clean apartments. The best thing is they are relatively new ( a couple of years) and they are on the east side of the freeway so getting to school you will avoid a lot of traffic (specifically the loop 101). If you wanted to bike to school it would be a nice ride and relatively free of traffic if you took Utopia until you run into the campus). Commute to school in car is about ten minutes. It is close to the Arrowhead mall but not directly near the mall so traffic is not that bad. Mostly all the apartments in this area are very nice (another is the Park at Arrowhead). The only exception is COCHISE at Arrowhead. Even if they are cheaper they are not worth the hasssle. Many students ended up moving because of noise. These are very close to the mall and many young people have moved in here. I think they do a poor job of screening tenants.

One more general thing for people who have never lived in a warm climate. Try to get an apartment that has a majority of the windows facing north or better even south. It gets very hot and east and west facing places absorb more heat and cause higher electric bills and are uncomfortable at certain times of the year. I would also avoid apartments that face towards the freeway directly because of noise. It is one thing to inquire about when you are talking with the leasing office.

Hope this helps!

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[jhug]

nicole, thank you so much for the wealth of info you are giving us!! i have a few more apartments to run by you-- a simple, good area/bad area is enough
laguna@arrowhead ranch, sierra canyon, strayhorse@arrowhead, archstone deer valley village, camden sierra, and the retreat.
My wife and i are planning a trip down sometime soon (feb.) to get a feel for the areas but it always helps to have a cops opinion

 

[aallaei]

Hi.

I was wondering...is the weather bearable?!! How about for long term living?

thanx

 

[DRNickiTay]

JHUG

All the apartments you have listed are in good areas. There are no real bad areas around the school!

Hope this helps!

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[DRNickiTay]

aalleai

The weather is bearable. I have been here 10 years and I love the winters. The summers you spend most of your time inside and go from air conditioning to air conditioning.

Once medical school starts you won't notice the weather.

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[DrSmiles]

Hi Nichole,
I sent you a PM regarding aspects of Arizona not really related to AZCOM, but I forgot to ask one more question in my message- I have a lot of flexibility with where I can do my 4th year rotation. Are there very many rotation spots in Arizona for osteopathic students? Where do you typically rotate?
Thanks

 

[DrSmiles]

Please see above post. For some reason it didn't go through correctly. Thanks.

 

[Sonic Wig]

Bump

 

[bla_3x]

When I interviewed at TURO I asked Dr Height what he felt about the preceptor thing at AZCOM and he seemed very sincere. He said that he thinks that it is a strong program and a lot of really good residents come out of it. It can also, he said, be a "luck of the draw thing" as to if you have a good experience. I am curious about the notion that DOs are "shut out" of the area. Not that it is gonna bother me right now...I am going there this fall.

 

[DrZippy2b]

I have 1st and 2nd year friends at AZCOM that came to stay with me over their break. They are very upset right now because University of Arizona made all the hospitals that they are affiliated with sign letters saying that they would only allow U of A student rotate at those hospitals. And, they both said that they are worried about AZCOM not being able to pick those affiliations back up. I think one said AZCOM is looking into what they can do legally about the situation. You can rotate to other locations (like Chicago, etc) though.

Although I agree that the preceptor is a great learning experience (especially in your first two years when other school are just didactics), I think students need to have hospitals to rotate through, because they will need to understand the hospitals inner-workings when they get to their internship. IMHO, students who only rotated through preceptor-based offices would be at a bit of a disadvantage later in their training. But that's just my opinion.

 

[DRNickiTay]

WOW!! A lot of discussion. I think this is good.

I will be very honest about my feelings about rotations and the U of A situation.

I was very worried as a second year about getting enough hospital time and if I would be getting less of an education then others who do strict hopsital based medicine. I am interested in Anesthesiology and need to be comfotable in the hospital.

I have only had 1 rotation out of six that I did not get hospital time and the one rotation was peds. Of the upcoming four rotations I have left all will have around 40-60% hospital based experience. Most of the third year doctors are affiliated with area hospitals. I have been to Thunderbird Sam, Arrowhead, John C Lincold, AZ Heart hospital and these are all local hospitals. There are some hospitals that have agreements with U of A and these we can rotate in our fourth year. Keep in mind many schools do not allow their students to rotate anywhere but their hospitals third year and fourth year these programs will only let you leave for a certain amount of rotations.

AZCOM gives you so much flexibility. You can do all your rotations in the Phoenix metro area and get hopsital experience. You can do 6 months out of the state and they have some rural locations that are great to learn at. I did a FM rotation in St. Cloud Minnesota/ Mayo affiliated program. It was a great rotation, but to be honest I did not get to perform procedures because there were residents and intern ahead of me. During my Ob rotation I saw 85 deliveries and performed 17 as a third year with the preceptor gloved and gowned next to me. Not having to compete with interns and residents has advantages. I got to be first assist on all general surgery procedures.

There are many programs that you can rotate at out of state and have the traditional medical student experience. There are two great ones in Michigan (Botsford and Gensys), some of my friends have gone to Tacoma, California, Colorado, Doctors hospital in Ohio and many more listed in our library.

I have done research and planned my third year about 6 months in advance and I got great preceptors and a wonderful experience. I was able to tailor my schedule to fit my needs of more hospital exposure and get one on one time with my preceptors.

I hope this helps clear the air. Every one needs to decide for themselves if you will be happy with a program like this, it is not for everyone some want a traditional program and won't be happy with this format. I will be happy to add more if you have further questions. One last thing I know our school does not have legal action against U of A. Our class wrote a letter requesting access to these programs, but no legal action is being taken. To sum it up I feel I ended up worrying about nothing during my second year and have been happy with my rotations.

Nichole Taylor MS 3
AZCOM

 

[metsn02]

Originally posted by Sonic Wig
Dr NickiTay,


Thanks for your time. I was accepted at AZCOM but hesitated to go, because I have heard some horrible things about the 3rd year precetor rotations, basically that the training is inadequete from a number of sources, specifically one of the designers of the program that left and went to TUCOM. He told me that in a interview. He said AZCOm designed their program in the precetor fashion because DO's are basically shut out of Arizona because of University of Arizona. I felt sick to hear this because I loved AZCOM. What do you honestly have to say? Is that true that DO's are shut out in many areas and how are you coping with the shut out?

DO's shut out of AZ? Please tell me your joking here? This is one of the most important academic and professional decisions of your lives and you guys are relying on heresay for your information about medical school?

Do some research guys. In the span of 20 seconds I did a search on the AOA website for DO's in AZ and I came up with 980.

See it for yourself...click on the link and type in AZ for the state and see what you come up with:
http://directory.aoa-net.org/cfm/PublicSearch.cfm

Also, in order to dispel another myth about osteopathic physicians, the notion that DO's have a difficult time entering into ultra competitive specialties, here is a link to the 14 practicing DO Dermatologists in AZ.

http://www.aocd.org/cgi-local/membership/find_do.pl?State=AZ

Your only limits as a physician are the one's you place upon yourself. Don't let "friends" or so-called pre-med counselors influence your direction and goals for medicine.

peace

 

[jhug]

Your only limits as a physician are the one's you place upon yourself. Don't let "friends" or so-called pre-med counselors influence your direction and goals for medicine.

YES!!!!

i totally agree with this statement! the only place for worse advice/rumors than our pre-med brothers and sisters are our pre-med advisors!! I'm sure that they mean well, and that a select few may even know what they are talking about-- but, imo, the great majority have absolutely NO CLUE! (at least those that i have had experince with) I would hope that uofa would have many more important things to worry about than banishing osteopathic medicine from the great state of arizona.
Not that this has any real impact on the subject but the director of surgery at uofa stayed at an inn that i managed and he was excited to hear i was azcom bound and told me that he thinks the school is a great contribution to the state and that he was confident the school would prepare me as a physician.

 

[Azmedstudent]

Dr. Nikitay,

What do most of the students do during the summer in between 1st and 2nd year? Also, I heard something about a medical mission type thing where you can go to guatemala. Do you know anyone who went or any details about the program?

thanks

 

[DRNickiTay]

There are many options for your break:

1) Relax. Most people I knew relaxed and enjoyed their last summer break. For many of us this will be the last summer break until we retire!

2) Research. A few people did research in an area they were interested in. I know one student did research in neuro at Barrows. Some do research on campus, there are a lot of projects going on.

3) Elective. One thing I enjoyed and highly recommend is doing an elective rotation in any field you are intersted in. I chose Anesthesiology, but you can do anything for a week to three month your choice!

For the Guatamala trip you can do this during your third or four year in February it is usually done. Great trip form what I have heard. They discuss the trip during you orientation week.

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[DRNickiTay]

I forgot

4) Teaching Assistant for PA student during the summer.

Nichole Taylor
AZCOM

 

[jhug]

nikki-- selfish question but-- it that a paid T.A. position??

 

[bla_3x]

This is a great thread.

Question for anyone who knows (the one that I forgot to ask at my interview), how much of a say do you have in who your preseptors are? I understand that you couldn't have "much," but do you get to submitt a preference RE specialty, location of office, etc.?
Say, if you are really interested in specialty "X" then could you puch to get a preceptor in that specialty, given that there IS one?

 

[DRNickiTay]

Here is how it works:

1) Docs who are contracted with the school you have to enter a lottery and you select three choices and then find out who you get. Some get many first choices others don't, but you can always change in the future. I have gotten most of my first choices. Down the road people change and preceptors open up. It is not set in stone. Any many changes occur on your part when others cancel good rotations.

2) Set up your own rotations with doctors in the area or out of the state who are not contracted with the school. This does not require a lot of work on your part. You arrange the rotation dates with the preceptor. Next, you fill out a sheet of paper for clinical education and clinical education sends the doctor any info they need on you CV, immunization record and malpractice insurance info.

I did a little of both and fourth year I am arranging almost all on my own so I can do as many visiting rotation I can.

Hope this helps.

Nichole Taylor

 

[DRNickiTay]

JHUG

The TA position is paid .
Niki

 

[Sonic Wig]

Bump

 

[DRNickiTay]

Sonic Wig

I have been a student mentor for three years and really enjoy helping first year incoming students get situated and answer questions for them to make their transition from one location to another. I consider myself diplomatic and have tried to give new students information to help them reach their own conclusions about the school. Personally, you are not happy with your choice of school from the wordings of previous threads.

Originally posted by Sonic Wig
How hard is it REALLY to transfer from 1 med school to another from year 2 to 3?... What if your orginal med school won't let you go, can they keep you from transfering? Anybody?

Even though I disagree with comments that you have , I respect your opinion about what you have heard about our school. It my hope that this thread can go back to what it was intended and that is to help students who are relocating to AZCOM.

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[Sonic Wig]

Thanks for your response Nicki. But I don't appriciate the need to attack me personally for asking questions regarding concerns I had about AZCOM. And actually your assumtions are incorect, I am very happy with my school, but I just got married and would like to be with my guy, so I'm looking into transfering.

My point was I think that the preceptorship should be much more fully supported and prospective students should have access to the problems with U of A and why the preceptorship was created in the first place, and also to have a chance to talk with many 3rd years for the pros and cons.

 

[taseck1]

Hey all,

Nichole told me about your thread, so I've been checking it out. I've gotta get to the hospital right now, but if you have any other questions, send 'em our way, and I'll offer a second opinion.

I'll check back later today with my 2 cents on the previous.

Note of explanation...if you send me a private message about something I think will benefit all, I will post my reply on the board, minus your original message...

Peace,
Tom

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Originally posted by Sonic Wig

My point was I think that the preceptorship should be much more fully supported and prospective students should have access to the problems with U of A and why the preceptorship was created in the first place, and also to have a chance to talk with many 3rd years for the pros and cons.

For what it's worth, I'd like to address this for a second. It's important to bear in mind that the preceptor rotation idea for AZCOM was in the works back at Midwestern's place in Chicago long prior to the actul groundbreaking of AZCOM. To imply that the preceptorships are a result of tension fron U of A, is not only incorrect, but makes me wonder why you'd jump to a conclusion like that?

Concerning the U of A, I'd heard some of the same things you'd discussed previously in the thread, so I went to the source. Both in my interview, at my interview, and even later I've spoken with several members of the AZCOM admin about this thing. All have indicated that they have a good relationship with the U of A, that several things have been overblown, and that the medical students have been kicking butt on the boards. The also cited a survey of program director's about the preparedness of AZCOM students, and they were very happy with the results as well. (If you want more specifics, PM me). The proof is in the pudding, and there's no question that AZCOM's results are on par with every DO school in the country.

In short, they answered my questions well, but I still wondered if that was spin. So I talked to a few people that I know at AZCOM (students), and asked the same questions, point blank. All of them had heard about problems with U of A in the form of rumors, but all indicated that the prospects for rotations were very good. There are some minimal restrictions for 3rd years I think, but the preceptorships in the third year minimalize even further those restrictions. All in all, the general feel from the students was very positive.

In the end, it always makes me chuckle when people elsewhere say stuff about other schools. This happens all over SDN, and it usually is harmless. It always seems to be based on scond hand information (and most people, this thread included, can see through it). Best of luck to you at TUCOM or wherever you go, but please refrain from spreading second hand, and sometimes false, information about other schools.

 

[tedsadoc2002]

Hi Dr. Nicki and all going to AZCOM

First of all, congrats to all moving to my alma mater's state (wished I was there right now )

Secondly, Dr. Nicki has done a great job here with this thread. I just wanted to support her efforts by throwing my 2 cents into the fray (since I have a little time off before tonight's shift in the peds ED).

Some of you have e-mailed me in the past for info regarding the U of A thing and about preceptorships and I have told your my story.

As with any investment (and your medical education is a big investment) you must be well informed and PROACTIVE in your selection of rotations. As Nicki mentioned, there is a "lottery" but as I have mentioned before, it behooves you to reseach the preceptors and the rotations that previous classes have had before you. I will cut and paste some of the letter that I have sent via PM's to some of you. You may see a similarity between what Nicki has told you and what I wrote some months ago. I have already been through the process personally. Nicki is going through it now. We have more insight into the process than those who have never been through it or former employees of AZCOM (and PLEASE don't take this personally, what I am stating is FACT).

Glean from this what you will, but you do not need to fear about your future, because if we had a not so hot clinical program, we would not be residents in some of those U of A affiliates (please check class of 2002's match list at www.azcomstudents.org) and other premier institutions.

My best to all of you in your future careers.

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1
somewhere in the city
Proud alumna of the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
former Secretary of the Class of 2002

 

[tedsadoc2002]

Would be nice if I posted what I said I'd post

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Hopefully this will answer some of your questions, as I have answered this many times on various threads.

I think preceptorship has its place and here are the rotations where I think students will benefit the most from a preceptorship rotation:
1. family practice (office based is where most if not all of the practitioners are now, so students should be exposed to this environment).
2. pediatrics: most kids are well or have minor illnesses that are treatable in office. There should be some exposure to inpatient but the bulk is out patient.
2. psychiatry: it can go either way, but this is a good place to start (out patient)
3. gynecology: well women visits, etc.

Inpatient rotations: these medical fields I believe personally need to have a predominant focus in the hospital (don't get me wrong, there needs to be some outpatient focus as well, but in a minor way)
1. Surgery
2. Obstetrics (with a clinic component)
3. Internal medicine

I just stated my preferences. Remember there are pros and cons to both models. I was lucky enough to get excellent preceptors (all 10 of my core rotations were preceptorship based, but I went with my attendings to round on patients in the hospital and I wrote notes on the charts etc, I had NO RESIDENTS TO ANSWER TO OR HOLD ME BACK) but there are some bad preceptors too. Just as if you went to a teaching hospital, not all residents know what they are doing or how to teach. Your interaction with the attendings in some teaching hospitals can be almost non existent.
Now for the facts of preceptorship at AZCOM. Since there is a shortage (and this is well documented) of docs in the Valley and from my personal experience with preceptors in the Valley, there is no dearth of patients for the docs so you will have lots of patients to see (many offices are very high volume and it takes forever, say the patients, to get an appointment).

If you are still concerned about being in a preceptorship experience, 5 out of 11 of your core third year rotations and all of your fourth year can be taken out of state, so you may be able to get as many inpatient rotations as you desire. The hospitals in the Valley that are U of A affiliates, have been easing their restrictions on our students and AZCOM students (mainly 4th years) have been taking advantage of this. When I did my fourth year SICU rotation at Maricopa, I saw at least a quarter of my classmates doing other rotations there. I personally know at least 4 of my classmates that are PGY-1's there and it was their first choice. Getting third year core rotations at the major teaching hospitals (in the Valley) are still hard, but things may change by the time you are a third year (in addition to U of A, Kirksville and Western U in Pomona had already established rotations there before AZCOM came into existence).

Planning your clinical years can be overwhelming. My suggestion to you is to do the following early: Find one or more reliable students in the class before you (your big sis/bro and perhaps their big sis/bro, with similar work ethic, goals as you) and ask for advice (best hospitals, best preceptors, most teaching, best opportunities). The third year coordinator, Linda is awesome. If you ask her for advice or tell her what your goals are, she usually is able to steer you in the right direction.

I am very happy with my education, I would not trade it in for the world. I mentioned that I was rotating through OB right now and I am watching the medical students (and there are quite a few here now) vying for just one vaginal delivery. I had done at least 11 (7 unassisted) in a rural rotation where I was the ONLY student with an attending (NO RESIDENTS TO CONTEND WITH EITHER)

Did I do H&P's: Up the wazoo!!!
Pimped: Heck yeah!!! (but then again, all of my preceptors were into teaching, I have heard some of my colleagues had preceptors that were not)
Am I and was I prepared, hands down YES!!!

I hope this info is helpful, it may be confusing as you are not in the thick of it yet, but you will see more growth and improvement as the school has a stronger foothold in AZ. Don't worry about your education should you decide to go to AZCOM, my class personally, has made it to some of the best residency programs (in PHX as well as the rest of the country) and most got their first or second choice slots (go to www.azstudents.org and click on the link to Class of 2002 residency match). My best to you

PS I did my third year IM with an awesome hospitalist group in the Valley, if you can not get an inpatient IM, I strongly suggest going with a hospitalist group somewhere. Don't do an office based IM practice. I got a 4th year sub-i in IM at Mayo in Scottsdale and I was more than prepared.

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1

 

[DrSmiles]

I am currently attending UHS and one of their affiliated core sites for rotations is in Mesa, AZ. Can anyone tell me about Mesa General Hospital? Do any of the AZCOM students rotate through here?

Thanks for the help.

 

[kristing]

Hi -
I attend AZCOM and live about a mile or so from Mesa General. It's got some good rotations and some that aren't so good. (Sorry Ican't be more descriptive, but I am only an MS2 and that's all I know). I have heard that the Ob rotation there is good, though.

Hopefully one of our MS3s or 4s will answer you...

kristin

PS - shout out to Nichole (stud), especially for taking all of the flack!!!

 

[DrSmiles]

Hey, I have another question for the Arizona folks.
My husband and I are planning to buy a house in the Phoenix area this year. We have no clue where to live within a 30 min radius of Phoenix. We want a safe area, with good home values, and without a horrendous commute to Phoenix.
Here are some of the areas we came up with. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Chandler
Gilbert
Glendale
Avondale
Tempe
Litchfield Park
Peoria
Mesa

 

[DRNickiTay]

Thanks for all your appreciation and support!


To be honest the Phoenix area is HUGE. I know as a third year I have done a lot of rotations (in the hospital) with some of the UHS students. It seems to me a lot of your school's affiliation are in the general metropolitian and I have lsited all the hopsitals we also go to. It really depends on how much say you have in where you get to rotate at. When our rotations are being set we can pick parts of the valley we prefer. It is hard to answer your question so Ihave done the best I can. I hope this helps.

1) Chandler and Gilbert (nice area, affordable) - one heck of a commute for getting into the city and quite a haul if you need to go to the northwest side (Thunderbird Samaritian, Boswell, Del Webb, Arrowhead, JCL DV). Good for central hospitals (Phoenix Memorial and county). Great for east side hospitals (Mesa General, Tempe St. Luke's, Desert sam, and Chandler regional)

2) Tempe - college area more affordable, some parts are good other not so good. Nice central location for many hospitals.

3)Litchfield Park and Avondale - very affordable living, good area (Litchfield Park I would recommend over avondale for safety). Close to Maryval sam and Luke AFB hospital. Somewhat close to northwest hospital, but nice commute. Not close to east side hospitals.

4) Glendale and Peoria - northern part above cactus is consistently safe and nice to live in, very affordable. Close to all northwest hospital and okay commute to some centrally located areas (AZ heart hospital, Good Sam, St. Josephs, Phoenix Childrens, VA) and northeast Scottsdale Memorial Shea, Mayo and Paradise Valley). I live here and love this part of the valley, some months it has been a drag to go to Tempe and luckily I have not had to go to Mesa (this would be a long commute).

5) Mesa - way east, some good parts some not so good (Kritistin could help with defining this more). Heck of a commute into the city at rush hour . Close to east hospitals (listed above).

We have a ton of affilitations as you can see from above. Most are available third year, a couple (PCH, St. Jospehs and Good Sam) only when we are fourth years for AZCOM students reading post. Some of our students even go to U of A during third year for more hospital experience!


I have heard Mesa General has awesome OB/GYN and surgery (Dr. Anderson)!

Hope it helps!

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[DRNickiTay]

Dr. Smiles

Let me check around in my class and see if I can get someone to jump in and shine more light on Mesa General hospitals, because I have not been there! Give me a few days. Thanks
Nichole

 

[kristing]

Hey DrSmiles

I grew up here, so I know the area pretty well. I need more infor than what you gave me about a house purchase.

You picked a lot of suburbs.

Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, and Gilbert are East Valley. The rest are West Valley. Where will you be commuting to? I would say only Tempe and Mesa (and west MEsa, not East) are within a 30 minute drive to Phoenix, the rest you will totally get stuck in hellish commuter traffic on your way in. New houses are cheap cheap cheap, though, in Gilbert and Chandler (because of the horrendous commute and the distance), but there are good schools. Mesa has sketchy and nice parts, that's a tough call unless you were to come out and get a tour with me - I could never explain over a post what was good and what was sketchy.

Tempe, I think is your best bet out of what you listed. It's completely surrounded on all sides by other cities, so it won't have any growth, which is good. Plus, it's where ASU is, and so has a fantastic little downtown area (Mill avenue) where there is so much to do. You can even live on the other side of Tempe from ASU (south Tempe) and it's great. I lived in Tempe for 4 years in grad school, and I would move back there in a heartbeat, if I could buy right now. Plus, for the most part, EVERYTHING in Tempe will only get better. WE have seen some scary neighborhoods get very nice within a matter of years, so even the questionable areas will be good soon.

It also has quite a few coffee shops, indy bookstores and trendy bars. You'll also be just down the road from fabulous shopping in Scottsdale (don't cross that one of your list - people think it's too pricey, but if you look hard enough, it's not - fyi).

Litchfield Park is a hefty distance from the center of Phoenix, as is Avondale. Litchfield Park is also the area around Luke Airforce base, so there are a lot of Air Force people out that way.

You can PM me if you want more info. We have friends all over the valley, and AZCOM is in Glendale, so I have canvassed a decent part of the Phenix metro area, and I would never ever live on the WEst side (especially Glendale - totally totally scary - not just next to AZCOM, but go a few miles south, and woohee, better be careful). My husband and I have a saying - "all evil happens on the West side." But we are biased, since we grew up on the East side. Still, yuk, totally.

Anyway, PM me if you want more info. I can give you more info once I know more of what you want.

Good luck!

 

[DrSmiles]

Thanks a bunch for all the valuable info. I don't know if I will be rotating in my 3rd year there, but if we are moving to AZ then I will definitely be shooting for some 4th year spots (which I can do anywhere). The only 3rd year rotation in AZ for UHS students is Mesa General Hospital-that is why I was interested in what it had to offer. I know it is a smaller hospital, but I might get more hands on experience with something smaller than say Botsford or Pontiac in Michigan.
I am happy you informed me about the commutes with different suburbs. So the eastern side is the worst- how many minutes on a Monday rush hour morning?
We are from California, so we are used to dealing with traffic, but if we can eliminate some of the traffic it will make our lives easier.

Also, it seems there are 2 different opinions on Glendale. I interviewed at AZCOM and I seem to recall it was in a really nice area, but you had to go through a crappy area to get to the nice area. Is that something you would have to deal with when living in Glendale?

Thanks again for all the info-maybe I will see you in the next couple of years!

 

[kristing]

East Mesa/Gilbert/Chandler I would guess would be 45min - 1 hour to downtown Phoenix. Mesa General would be about a 30 minute commute I would guess. It's on the norht west side of Mesa. My guess, though is that the commute is bad even from the West side suburbs. One of our friends lives in El Mirage and his wife commutes to downtown Phoenix and her commute is about an hour.

Glendale is sort of biploar. The part by the school is totally nice, I agree. And then the very very scary area is more south and is super yukky. However, I know several different people who live there in the "nice" area right by AZCOM who have had random property crime (bike stolen, stuff stolen from the balcony, cars stolen, etc.). Plus a highschool kid was just shot to death who went to a "nice" school in the area of AZCOM at a convenience store by a robber when he went in to pick up his pay check. A 13 year old girl was recently killed in a hit and run right by her school very close to AZCOM.

The crime is fairly well distributed in Glendale, whereas out here in Mesa, the crime is done to and by the criminals in certain areas you know are sketchy. I think that is the main difference.

I met a 4ht year person from UHS over the summer at Starbucks in Mesa who was doing all her rotations in AZ. I thought she had said she did all of them out here. I may have misunderstood her.

Well, good luck! I'm sure we'll cross paths! Post again if you have anymore questions. I am actually feeling knowledgeable abot something (FOR ONCE!)
kristin

 

[kristing]

I forgot to add a few things. I live in the East Valley and commute to the North West Valley for school. My commute, although far (37 miles) doesn't take a lot of time (45 minutes) because I am going the OPPOSITE way of the commute into town (I take the outer loop - the 101). So although Nichole said East side (Mesa, specifically) would be a far commute to the West Valley hospitals, the commute is not as bad as living on the West side and commuting to East Valley hospitals since then you would be stuck in the traffic going to downtown. Get it?

just a little clarification

kristin

 

[jhug]

what do you think of the Agave Hall?? They were just starting the building of the hall when i interviewed and it sounded like a great addition to the school. I was hoping to see pics on the web site, but all they have is the name on the general map.

 

[DRNickiTay]

Agave hall is very nice. The OMM lab and cadaver lab are great additions! The anatomy lab had huge plasma screens and digital cameras are placed throughout the room in locations so the professors can video tape a dissection or a great specimen. You will definately have it better than your upperclass men. We had hardly any room and had a hard time seeing with all the people in the dissection room. We have had third year didactics in Agave and it is so nice. (I think this bilding was done when you interviewed it has been finished for awhile)

They recently opened up the third floor of the library and have many more study rooms and placed to do individual study. They have done some really nice and much needed improvements. I think they are working on getting a restroom in the library and that would be nicer than having to leave and check back in.

They are coming along with the new administaration building and this is starting to look nice. I do not know the name of it, but I know it will be very nice and is suppose to have a student louge and all kinds of other nice ammenities.

If I come a long a picture I can scan in I will email it to you individually!

Take care,

Nichole Taylor MS3
AZCOM

 

[jhug]

nicole, i was accepted for the 2006 group but in feb. last year found out my wife was having triplets
so i've been waiting/changing diapers etc.. for the last year!

With the addition/expansion, how many are there to a cadaver?

This is one of the many, many things i've loved about azcom. you really see where your tuition is going!!!

 

[DRNickiTay]

Congrats on your acceptance!

The white coat ceremony date has not been set as of last week. I would give student services a call sometime this summer to find out the date!

I am not aware of a case presentation class (maybe this is new?). I know for biochemistry, physiology and clinical correlates we did case presentations. There is other oppurtunities and electives where you will be doing presentations. I am glad I have had this experience, because many rotations require so presentation on your part and it is good to have been through it.

The clinical curses are good and the first year is mostly listening to heart sounds, looking in ears, perorming abdominal exams, female exam and male exams (not each other actual brought in models). First year focus in on physical skills and second year focuses on pathology as far as the clinical courses.

Hope this helps! I am happy to answer further questions!

Nichole

 

[DRNickiTay]

Second quarter for first year starts after Thanksgiving break usually in early December if my memory serves me correctly. Student services should have this available now.

Nichole

 

[DrSmiles]

Nichole and Kristin,
Just want to say thanks for all the info on Arizona. It will make my life easier when trying to relocate.
Hope to see you around!