Dr. K said:
How does Arrowhead Regional compare to the UC's and USC for internal medicine and surgical residencies? Do they prefer COMP graduates?
coming from a transitional intern at ARMC...
ARMC has an internal medicine residency...they take 4 a year and its a new program with the first four residents getting ready to finish their internship. You will see a lot at ARMC with respect to internal medicine because it is a county institution and most patients don't take care of themselves and come in with all sorts of issues. There is scut work like most places but the biggest thing lacking at ARMC in my opinion is evidence-based medicine in the IM program. It is improving now that their is a residency in IM there but they still have a long way to go in my opinion and can't compare to UC schools or USC. With respect to what you will see there and the types of pathology, there is plenty and it does compare well with university institutitions. There is no cap on admissions or anything so the medicine months are the most brutal of all the services and the four internal medicine interns get worked...hard.
The general surgery program is pretty good for a DO program and I think you'll come out being well trained. There are a couple surgery attendings who don't teach much, but for the most part they do...and there is plenty of pathology and experience to be had. It also helps that the Loma Linda surgery residents rotate through ARMC so it has a more academic feel to the program. It is a well-respected surgery program in the DO community I think and hard to match there as they only take 2 a year.
They also have a family practice residency at ARMC and both DO's and MD's are in the program because it is dual accredited and they take both MD's, FMG's, and DOs.
There are two internships at ARMC, the traditional rotating internship in which they just take DOs and there are 6 spots I think. There is also an ACGME internship (12 spots), the transitional internship year, which has paralleled the DO internship in the past but this coming years interns will have a nicer schedule, having 5 electives and not having to do OB/Gyn as an intern..also Peds was cut back a week, and general surgery 2 weeks. The ACGME transitional year internship often takes DO's...they took one the last two years, and this year there are two other DO's in the program with me. Our program director is fabulous and is a great advocate. I am not sure if the DO internship will still only have two electives next year, and have to do OB/Gyn or not...but the ACGME internship will be pretty nice now and I have a feeling it will be quite competitive in the future. I hear that there is one DO who matched to the ACGME internship for next year, 2006-2007.
There are also other DO residencies at ARMC...Emergency Medicine, Neurosurgery, and OB/Gyn.
There are COMP graduates in every program.