Best clinicals?

[ericmonty]

I'm applying this summer and I'm trying to narrow down my choices of where to apply. I'm curious as to what everyone thinks about whcih DO schools have the best clinical rotations/affiliations. I have not visited any DO schools, nor do I know anyone who attends any of them, but from what information I can gather via the internet, it seems that the following schools (private - accept out of state applicants) offer the best opportunity for a clinical education: KCOM, PCOM, CCOM, AZCOM, & NSUCOM. This sound about right, or am I way off? I appreciate any and all advice.

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[Dr JPH]

I agree with the schools you listed.

KCOM because of its age and importance in the community.

PCOM and CCOM because of their geographical location in large cities.

AZCOM and NSUCOM...not too sure about. AZCOM is still very new. This does not mean that they do not have great affiliations, but this is still an "untested" school, if you will.

Also, do not forget NYCOM. One of the best D.O. schools as far as clinicals go.

 

[JS-UNMC]

I would definately have to put DMU on the list for worst clinicals.

 

[ericmonty]

JP, I considered NYCOM, but I thought that they strongly favor state and regional applicants. This might not be, but I think I read that somewhere, and I'm applying from GA, so I might not stand a chance. I think MSUCOM and OUCOM have great clinicals, but they are state sponsored, so no out-of-staters welcome. I've read numerous times here on SDN that NSUCOM rivals PCOM in its clinicals, and it seems that they have many good hospital affiliations. Oh well, I'm just trying to decied on the top 5 or 6 DO programs to apply to as my stats may be good, put my pockets are shallow (no $$$ ).

 

[Doc Blondie]

I have recently been accepted at UMDNJ-SOM and from what I have heard from people at PCOM and NYCOM and UMDNJ is that it doesn't really matter where you go to school it is where you do your clinicals. But, you can request to do clinicals in other states and if you are near a city you can work at other hospitals. I know if i go to umdnj i am 20 minutes from pcom and have access to all the same hospitals and vice versa.

 

[Dr JPH]

eric - you may be right about NSUCOM, I do not know a great deal about their program.

Doc - you are right at far as the clinicals go. I think all the schools in the PA/NJ/NY area (the 3 you listed!) share some great hospitals. They basically have their own affiliations, but you can move around a bit. Plus, you can do a residency just about anywhere and the larger hospitals in these areas have seen graduates from all three schools.


As far as ranking the top 5 or 6 D.O. schools, I think that is very tough to do.

Here is my advice.

Go to <a href="http://www.aacom.org" target="_blank">www.aacom.org</a>

Go under their publication section. They will send you FREE copies of the AACOM reports that list the number of hospitals and beds that each school has in its ranks. They also have publications that give numbers on where graduates go after school and financial reports.

 

[ericmonty]

Cool, thanks JP!

 

[Sweaty Paul]

ericmonty,

Be careful of depending to heavily on the aacom website for information in making your decisions on where to attend based on the Hospital size that is affiliated with the school. For example, KCOM has a hospital associated with the school, however it is only 155 beds. However, this hospital is only a small portion of the clinical opportunities that are available to a 3rd and 4th year medical student attending KCOM since we have rotation sites with hospitals with 1,000 beds in our rotation system. In addition, we have both hospital based clinical rotations and preceptor based rotations so students have a wide variety of potential choices when choosing where and how to spend their 3rd and fourth years. The AACOM page is a great place to start, however, you might want to focus some of your efforts at contacting your top 5 or 6 schools and finding out about their rotations.
Lastly, don't get too hung up worrying about years 3 and 4, you still have to slog through the first two years.

Sweaty

 

[Dr JPH]

Doing well in yout first two years of school is very important, as is doing well on your boards.

However, it is during your clinical rotations that you will have an opportunity to establish connections in hospitals that can serve as potential residency sites. I think that this is very important as well.

I am not saying that a school that is not located in a large city does not have great clinical affiliations. What I am saying is that your options, although unlimited in many ways, may be slightly better at a school with more sites or better clinical sites. I don't know if it is just coincidence, but it seems that the osteopathic schools that are located in cities tend to have a higher percentage of graduates moving to more competitive, non-primary care fields.

This may be due to the differing tendency for schools to emphasize primary care, the differing attitudes of students who would rather attend a more rural school that an urban one, or it just might be due to the opportunities at urban-centered schools that may not be available at all schools.

An interesting thought.

 

[OldManDave]

I can only speak for KCOM, as that is the only school I have attended. The Asst Dean over the 3rd & 4th years at KCOM is very sharp and is currently refining the sites available for KCOM students. No longer will places simply get our students because they have for eons...

Plus, KCOM rotations sites offer a variety of experiences ranginf from larger medical centers to more community-based. I firmly believe that you will be best trained if you train in an environment that more closely mimics the environment you intend to practice in. KCOM sites range from tiny Joplin & Kirkvills, MO to Detroit; Newark, NJ; Pheonix; Denver; SLC & Saginaw, MI (not a big place, but it is a regional referral center with lots 'O' hosp beds and not too many students/residents to stand in line behind!)

 

[ericmonty]

OldManDave,
I notice that all of the sites affiliated with MSUCOM's OPTI also list KCOM as an affiliate. Can KCOM students choose to rotate through these sites, and if so, is it common? If KCOM students can and do rotate through these sites, are they second priority behind MSUCOM students when setting up rotations? Eric

 

[jimjones]

How hard is it to arrange your own clinicals? When I interviewed at 2 schools both times I had students say "I'm going to set up my own", I think one was planning Denver and the other New England somewhere. How common/difficult is this??

 

[OldManDave]

Originally posted by ericmonty:
•OldManDave,
I notice that all of the sites affiliated with MSUCOM's OPTI also list KCOM as an affiliate. Can KCOM students choose to rotate through these sites, and if so, is it common? If KCOM students can and do rotate through these sites, are they second priority behind MSUCOM students when setting up rotations? Eric•••

We, KCOM, & MSU-COM have several rotations sites in common & several that are unique. However, doing rotations in sites other than the one you are based in in MI is generally not a problem at all. In fact, I have heard of too many folks having trouble getting rotations from MI to other states either.

As fas as setting up your own, you don't do that @ KCOM. Now, you have lots of elective time your senior year (7 of the 12 senior rotations are an elective or selective) and those can be done anywhere you wish, even internationally.

 

[Amra]

Regarding NSUCOM and PCOM... I've always considered PCOM the "gold standard" when it comes to clinicals. Recently, this now includes UPennsylvania (woohoo Ivy League!)..

then I started looking at the quality offered by NSUCOM. Great affil's. (period) I did a list of affil's when I worked on the webpage. Check them out for a run down of the hospitals associated with NOVA.

<a href="http://www.nsucom2006.com" target="_blank">NSUCOM Class of 2006</a> ... Link through NSUCOM-&gt;AFFILIATED HOSPITALS.

Also, <a href="http://www.um-jmh.org/" target="_blank">UMiami/Jackson Memorial</a> is an option for NOVA students.

-A