How common are away rotations during 3rd/4th year?

[yanks26dmb]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Meaning, whats the likelihood I could leave whatever godforsaken town I may potentially end up in for med school.

I realize all schools are different but is it common to be able to move for 3rd and 4th years?

 

[QuantumJ]

Honestly you'd have to look at a school to school basis. In Texas, students at UTMB can spend their 3/4 year in Austin or Houston. A&M students can choose from a total of 4 different cities for 3/4 year as well. Texas Tech Lubbock students have the chance to spend 3/4 year in amarillo or odessa. There's always the chance to do a rotation at an affiliated hospital during 3rd year as well.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I realize all schools are different but is it common to be able to move for 3rd and 4th years?

You need to differentiate what you mean. Typically speaking, "away rotation" is a term for an elective rotation done at another institution (e.g. I attend Emory, and I do a month long rotation at UCLA). Your education for the month is under the umbrella of that school's LCME accreditation. These are typically done only in fourth year. Students do anywhere from zero to (in extreme cases) four-ish such rotations. These rotations are generally considered audition months for students trying to land a residency spot.

There are also schools that do not have the infrastructure at their home hospital to support ALL of your required/elective clinical rotations. These schools will then have "satellite" rotations. These are not truly "away" rotations as they are still under your medical school's LCME accreditation and are affiliated with your institution. Some examples of this if I remember from like 10 years ago when I applied were UVA where they send students to the Roanoke VA which is almost two hour away.

Some schools also have structures where there are different tracks/choices for where to do your clinical rotations - as mentioned with the texas school above.

In very extreme cases (carib schools, some DO schools), the school itself puts the onus on the student to find some/all of their clinical rotation sites. This is obviously undesirable.

So as to your bolded question - the likelihood that you will "move" somewhere else for your 3rd/4th year is extremely low. It's not like you're going to be attending medical school in Chicago and say to your school - you know what, I'd like to do my clinicals in California, I'll see you in two years for my diploma. You may do a couple of aways as a fourth year (and most students don't do more than one away at the same institution since, as I said above, the most common reason for doing them is as an audition for residency). Your school may ship you around a bit - but it will be locally or at least semi-locally and fairly regimented.

 

[Catalystik]

For elective rotations, I've rarely seen students spend nearly their entire 4th year at nonaffiliated institutions. Some such schools have a limit of how many months they allow each visiting student to stay, so to remain in one area that entire year, you may have to set up a schedule that utilizes multiple nearby schools.

For audition rotations, practically speaking for most schools, there are mainly late summer and fall months available to try out, make an impression, and get a supportive LOR in the bag that would make a positive impact on your residency application. That application system opens in July, with interviews offered starting in August and generally scheduled for fall.

Because the logistics are difficult, due to outside schools offering rotations on a set schedule unlike your school's (you can't just drop in when it's convenient for you), a lot of required paperwork/getting permission, and interference with residency interviews (a dim view is taken of visiting students taking time off), most students visit nonaffiliated programs for 1-2 months only. Also, be aware that for each school you "visit" for an away rotation, you will have to abide by their individual standards for immunization and titers, which may vary from your home institution's. I've seen some major scrambling (and expense) related to getting this done before deadlines. Hint: Public Health Clinics are your friend.

 

[girlofgrace7]

Depends on the school's required number of units that must be taken at your home institution during fourth year (and how many weeks of vacation you have to use for interviews/steps/etc). I have a friend who spent about 10 weeks of fourth year at our school and spent most of the rest of it in California. Although individual programs may have limits on how many rotations a student from a different school can do at their program, many (if not most or all) med schools allow their students to set up self-designed electives that may include working with a doctor who's a family friend, etc. While the most common reason for away rotations is for an audition rotation and most students only spend a month or two away, many just self design one where they want to be for a given time period, will take random electives at a hospital near there (I took a peds genetic rotation just to hang out with my family back home for a month), take a few online courses, or spend a month studying abroad.