Clinical Rotations at Touro -CA issues ?

[AKMCAT]

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Can anyone clarify the issues Touro-CA clinical rotation some people are writing about? also does anyone know a list of the clinical rotation sistes for 3/4 year?

 

[PlasticBag]

Would love to hear some opinions on that as well!

 

[AKMCAT]

• Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA
• Bay Area Local Hospitals, CA
• Chino Valley Medical Center, Chino, CA
• College Medical Center, Long Beach, CA
• Emanuel Medical Center, Turlock, CA
• Kaiser Permanente, Northern California
• Natividad Medical Center, Salinas, CA
• UCSF Fresno, CA
• St. John's Episcopal Health Group, Far Rockaway, NY

 

[AKMCAT]

I guess these are the affiliated hospitals- anyone know how competitive it is getting your preferred hospital choice and when do you get to know where you will go?

 

[karling]

What "issues" did you hear about? They are very spread out, which I see as quite a negative, but I haven't heard any other specific issues.

 

[yanks26dmb]

What "issues" did you hear about? They are very spread out, which I see as quite a negative, but I haven't heard any other specific issues.

Would like to know this also

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

The main issue people have is that you set up your entire 4th year with almost no guidance.

 

[HoboCommander]

There used to be issues but it's been fixed by the hiring of more staff at Touro. You pick a 3rd year rotation spot using a "match" system or you can set up rotation spots wherever you like. Many set up rotations spots near their folks. It's easy, you just contact the doctor you want to rotate with (sometimes you have to drive to their hospital and find them walking around in person), and then contact that hospital's GME office, and then contact Touro. Then you get all the required health screenings and go to orientation at the hospital. During 4th year, you set up all your own rotations.

 

[HoboCommander]

I guess these are the affiliated hospitals- anyone know how competitive it is getting your preferred hospital choice and when do you get to know where you will go?

Somewhat competitive at 2 sites. But you get your #1 spot reliably if you know how to play the "match" game. In other words, what you write for your #2-#5 choices will determine whether you get your #1 choice.

 

[PlasticBag]

There used to be issues but it's been fixed by the hiring of more staff at Touro. You pick a 3rd year rotation spot using a "match" system or you can set up rotation spots wherever you like. Many set up rotations spots near their folks. It's easy, you just contact the doctor you want to rotate with (sometimes you have to drive to their hospital and find them walking around in person), and then contact that hospital's GME office, and then contact Touro. Then you get all the required health screenings and go to orientation at the hospital. During 4th year, you set up all your own rotations.

Does it ever work to students' advantage, with people getting better sites that they might have gotten through the school? Like getting rotations in hospitals in SF? Or do people end up rotating through private practice offices in the middle of nowhere?

 

[HoboCommander]

Does it ever work to students' advantage, with people getting better sites that they might have gotten through the school? Like getting rotations in hospitals in SF? Or do people end up rotating through private practice offices in the middle of nowhere?

I'm not entire sure I'm reading your question correctly, but I will try to answer what I think you're asking.

The school just tries to make your life easier by setting up 3rd year rotations for you through a lottery. That's the 6 core rotations. If you don't like the result, you can cancel whatever places they place you and set up the rotations yourself. For example, Touro wanted to send me to Oklahoma for my pediatrics rotation. While it was a world class hospital, I simply did not want to travel outside California, so I set up a local pediatrics rotation myself.

You can rotate wherever you want, be it SF, Sacramento, LA, or Chicago. You can rotate at major hospitals associated with other DO or MD schools, like Stanford or UCLA. You can rotate in other countries, like Taiwan. Or you can rotate at small private practice offices. The best education is to rotate 1-on-1 with an attending. At academic hospitals, the residents run the show and they may or may not want to teach you. Though you get to pick up objects they throw on the floor and grab coffee and sandwiches for them.

 

[PlasticBag]

I'm not entire sure I'm reading your question correctly, but I will try to answer what I think you're asking.

The school just tries to make your life easier by setting up 3rd year rotations for you through a lottery. That's the 6 core rotations. If you don't like the result, you can cancel whatever places they place you and set up the rotations yourself. For example, Touro wanted to send me to Oklahoma for my pediatrics rotation. While it was a world class hospital, I simply did not want to travel outside California, so I set up a local pediatrics rotation myself.

You can rotate wherever you want, be it SF, Sacramento, LA, or Chicago. You can rotate at major hospitals associated with other DO or MD schools, like Stanford or UCLA. You can rotate in other countries, like Taiwan. Or you can rotate at small private practice offices. The best education is to rotate 1-on-1 with an attending. At academic hospitals, the residents run the show and they may or may not want to teach you. Though you get to pick up objects they throw on the floor and grab coffee and sandwiches for them.

Thanks! My question might have been confusing because I made the assumption that rotating at a big academic hospital is better than rotating at a private practice (which I hear, on SDN, is not uncommon at DO schools). It's good to know though that they give you the option of setting something up yourself if you're not happy with their picks.

 

[optimistic3]

Is it common to set up your own rotations at other schools? I've never heard of that before (I haven't done my school research yet as I'm applying next cycle). As a pre-med, that sounds terrifying to me.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Is it common to set up your own rotations at other schools? I've never heard of that before (I haven't done my school research yet as I'm applying next cycle). As a pre-med, that sounds terrifying to me.

Most schools have your core (third year) rotations set up for you. At most schools, you will set up most or even all of your 4th year rotations. This is good, because it is often helpful to do audition rotations at programs you would want to match into for residency. There is a centralized application service for this process: https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/vsas/