LECOM-B question on third and forth years

[Soccer885]

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Hi, I was recently accepted to LECOM-Bradenton for the class of 2011. I am really excited about it. However I have one concern and was hoping that maybe some students could clear it up a bit.

How does the rotations work the 3rd year? Do you get to stay in the area or do you go all around the state and possibly out of state? When I asked about this at the interview, I was told that they can't guarantee that I would stay in state. I have grown up in the Tampa area and would really like to stay close by. I am also looking into buying a house with my fiancé and not being able to live there for two years will kind of kill that idea. If anybody can offer and information about this that would be great. Thanks for the help!

 

[scpod]

How does the rotations work the 3rd year...When I asked about this at the interview, I was told that they can't guarantee that I would stay in state.

It would be almost useless to tell you how things were done last year and this year because it was totally different in each case. We were also told to expect things to be different next year. No...they haven't even hinted at what the differences might be, but that's the problem you run into with a new school. They take the problems from each class and try to solve them the next time. It doesn't always work. There are some second years that are unhappy right now because a whole lot of people wanted to spend all their time in Orlando and there just weren't enough spots for everyone. Some people are stuck doing a month of rotations in Arcadia (and practically nobody want that) because there is an agreement in place and someone has to go. Some people, though, are really happy.

A lot of the people at Bradenton, though, don't want to do rotations in Florida. In my class there are students from 34 states. A lot of them want to go somewhere else. So...it's possible that you can do everything in Florida, but maybe not locally. There really aren't enough OB/GYN spots locally because so many residents are over childbearing years. Yet, they are continually adding affiliations.

 

[Soccer885]

Thankyou scpod for your input. Any other input or comments are much appreciated!

 

[Soccer885]

Also, what happens forth year then? Can you choose to stay in Bradenton or do you still have the chance to be somewhere else? Like I said before, I would like to stay in the area, a month here and there commuting a bit farther or even spending a month in another state isn't too bad, now I want to know what choices you have your forth year?

 

[lynx]

That's true - it is different for each class.
This is coming from 3rd year.
You probably will be OK if you want to stay in the area. You can't be too picky though since all of the local rotations are in NON-teaching hospitals (aka small community hospitals) or with preceptors.
It is very true about OB/GYN - very few spots are available in the greater Tampa Bay area for us right now. (It may change though if they'll find other places in Tampa/St. Pete where young people are more common than retirees in Sarasota/Bradenton).
4th year - you probably can do all (or majority) of your rotations here though I don't know why would you do that - you are supposed to do electives in the places where you're applying for residencies in the beginning of your 4th year. As I said, there are NONE in Sarasota/Bradenton. Tampa - yes, Orlando - yes, Miami, Jacksonville, Gainsville-yes. So, I would plan on going to places during 4th year. You are going to have 4 electives during 4th year - specifically for checking out residency places. And you also will have some core rotations that you have to do at our affiliates, hence you can stay in the area.
Hope that helps.

 

[rupsport]

Hi, current MS3 here...

It all comes down to one of two things...whether you want to do the bulk of your rotations in Florida or outside of Florida.

The thing that you will learn to understand that, as far as DO residency programs go, most of them are in the midwest (MI, OH, PA) and NY. More and more are sprouting up in VA, TX, OK, FL, IL, AZ, CA but the numbers are just not as high in FL as they are in other states. That put a huge bind on our current class as we had to choose where we wanted to be. In the whole scheme of things, third year is a learning year anyways, hopefully helping you to figure out what you want to do with your career. The fourth year is more important in figuring out which residency programs you want to look into and then rotate at those sites.

So, in summation, you have to figure out what is important to you. You will have the opportunity to take the limited sites in FL if you want to (BTW, the numbers are increasing as the school is developing more and more relationships with hospitals in FL). But, Tampa and the Tampa area is only home to a few hospitals and there are plenty of schools with students who need rotations. Hope this helps a little.

 

[slimshady83]

I'm bringing this thread back, hoping for some more updated info on the clinical years at LECOM Bradenton. During the interview, I wished I had asked more about the clinical years. It seems that the consensus is that although LECOM-B is the new kid on the block, they are actively establishing relationships with many hospitals in the area and across the U.S. Do you agree with this assessment?

I have a few more questions. First, will I have to commute 45 minutes to and from most rotations?

Will I have much choice where I do my rotations?

What types of rotation options are out there?

Will most rotations be at small community hospitals? I realize there may be better learning opportunities in this setting but I would like to spend time in large hospitals as well to observe the difference.

Peripherally-related question: is it wise to consider buying a condo in/near Bradenton?

 

[digitlnoize]

I'm not a student there (yet!) but I can shed some light on some of these based on what I know about the school from my interview and research I've done since being accepted...

First, will I have to commute 45 minutes to and from most rotations?

It depends on what rotations you pick. There are many, many rotation sites within a 5-20 min drive. See next question...

Will I have much choice where I do my rotations?

There are a shload of sites all over the country. There are alot of highly regarded sites in Penn and NY. Many in Florida. Others are scattered all over the place. They gave us this huge list at the interview. Also, on the SGA website there is a handy review section containing student reviews of many of them.

What types of rotation options are out there?

Also a lot, I think. From metro to rural areas. Not alot of teaching hospital rotations, although I hear there are some up north. I've heard that if you're picking a site that also get LECOM-Erie students, that they get 1st choice of those sites...You do get a good amount of elective time.

Will most rotations be at small community hospitals?

I would say most are medium-sized community hospitals. There are a good number of large hospitals (That Orlando rotation everyone wants comes to mind, as well as many up north. NYC and Penn.) But the bulk around the school are small-ish to med...with the largest "nearby" being Tampa...which is pretty big, if you ask me.

Peripherally-related question: is it wise to consider buying a condo in/near Bradenton?

Ahhh...the question. I am planning on renting at first. I have HEARD that the personal property taxes are really, really high in that area. Also, it is kind of a buyer's market, alot of people are trying to unload houses down there. People bought them thinking they could flip 'em, but now everyone's selling, so more supply = less demand = lower prices...that's good.

It may not be the best time to buy a home though, anywhere...the market appears to be in a bit of trouble.

RENTAL prices in the area are spectacular though. Go to sarasota.craigslist.org and see what I mean. Ask Scpod about his lanai...

It is not uncommon to find a large house for $1200 with screened in pool about half a mile from school in a great neighborhood. Lood for "Lakewood Ranch".

Hope this helped some. Anyone with real experience?

 

[Luba Licious]

I would say most are medium-sized community hospitals. There are a good number of large hospitals (That Orlando rotation everyone wants comes to mind, as well as many up north. NYC and Penn.) But the bulk around the school are small-ish to med...with the largest "nearby" being Tampa...which is pretty big, if you ask me.

Not quite. That Orlando Hospital (Florida Hospital East) is only 200 some beds. It's popular because it's a full year site. Most of our sites are around 200 beds, usually slightly more, but not even medium size would be accurate. Maybe a larger small hospital. But I don't think it's really a bad thing. Congrats on your acceptance.

 

[digitlnoize]

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I only checked out the Sarasota area while I was down there for my interview. I'm mostly assuming Tampa has a big hospital, since it's a pretty large city. I was assuming the same of Orlando, but I guess not...weird.

I'm headed down there in Dec for some further recon...

Do you like your experience there so far?

 

[nlax30]

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I only checked out the Sarasota area while I was down there for my interview. I'm mostly assuming Tampa has a big hospital, since it's a pretty large city. I was assuming the same of Orlando, but I guess not...weird.

I'm headed down there in Dec for some further recon...

Do you like your experience there so far?

Florida Hospital has several hospitals in Orlando, that "East Campus" one just isn't the largest, the main Orlando one on Rollins st. is good size. There's also ORMC (the lvl 1 trauma center there) but I don't think there are any core rotations there.

 

[Luba Licious]

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I only checked out the Sarasota area while I was down there for my interview. I'm mostly assuming Tampa has a big hospital, since it's a pretty large city. I was assuming the same of Orlando, but I guess not...weird.

I'm headed down there in Dec for some further recon...

Do you like your experience there so far?

Orlando has some big hospitals, but as a LECOM student the only one you have much of a chance of seeing is East campus, which is small. There may be a few preceptors here and there, but not really. Most of ours are in Bradenton/Sarasota (nothing big, FSU has Sarasota Memorial which is 600+), St. Petersburg, Pensacola and up north. There are a good smattering of preceptors throughout the country, but the meat and potatoes are what I listed above. Just like Tampa has quite a few big hospitals, but those are all either affiliated with no school (University Community, I believe) or taken up by USF (most everything else).

 

[scpod]

A lot of them are around 200 beds like Florida East. You can also do all your cores at Florida Waterman in the Orlando area and they have about 200 beds. Brandon Regional has 220 beds, but they have a heart center and spine center and a 64-slice CT, so you can see some neat stuff there. St. Pete has about 220 and they're a primary stroke center. DeSoto is pretty small, but nobody really goes there. Northside has 300. The Tampay Bay Heart Institute is there and you can do all your cores except OB there. If you want to go to Miami, Westchester has about 200 beds and you can do all your cores except psych there. Word is that you might want to brush up on your Spanish first, though 🙂. Sacred Heart has about 400 if you want to go to Pensacola, with a heart center, cancer center, children's hospital, etc. There are other scattered places in Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, and obviously you can go north if you really want to. I don't know a whole lot about the rotations in Philly, Pittsburgh, Michigan, Ohio and all of that because I never wanted to go there. There's also a list of a few hundred preceptors from all over that you can work from if you want to.

 

[malisa]

Can you do a lot of your rotations in Pensacola? That is only 45 mins from where my parents live so that would be nice.

 

[scpod]

Right now you can't do psych there but they are working on it. You still may not be able to do it at Sacred Heart (where everything else is) but eventually that should be there too. One of our docs started a treatment facility there quite a few years ago and sold it. He still has a lot of contacts in the area and should have something before long. They will probaby be expanding the housing for our students there too. They seem to have underestimated the number of students who want to go to Pensacola next year. I think it would be a wonderful place to go.

 

[malisa]

That's good to hear. I could probably have a place to stay in AL for free so it would work out nicely. I really like pensacola and the hospital is right next to my favorite mall 😉