Hellllloooooooo SDN! It has been a long time since I've last perused the forums, but with Step 2 and almost all shelf exams as a thing of the past, it only seemed appropriate. I still get a lot of random e-mails and PMs, and I do my best to answer them quickly, but I'm afraid to say I've failed you all lately. In order to get you the most accurate answers to you questions, I recommend turning to those in their first two years of schooling at this point. Now don't get me wrong...I'm still more than happy to help when I can and many of your questions are very pertinent to me vs. them (ie. rotations, boards, residency stuff etc)...although your loyal friend CopToEM obviously stays very well informed and can usually field a lot of the upperclassman type questions. DCOM has just undergone a major overhaul since I didn't my first two years. Between the new building, new curriculum and new class size, I'm just afraid some of my advice may be inaccurate.
However, what I DO want to respond to is some of the concerns of the rotations sites. It appears as though the post that was quoted in the first post that
I quoted above didn't transfer over. It was a post by a recent grad that was less than impressed with our rotation experience. It's worth going back and finding in this thread, but to be perfectly honest, I'm a little too lazy to do it right now
🙂 The basic gist of it, though, was that students that were not placed at the bigger city sites got really jipped and the students never got experience writing notes and stuff like that.
I just want to offer a different perspective. Now let me preface all of this by saying, I do NOT think that DCOM rotations are where they need to be. Not even close. I went to one of the new core sites last year and when the first batch of kids showed up, there was not a set preceptor for the second month of IM, general surgery, psych or peds. That's not good, people. Another site that is new this year is experiencing similar issues. There are problems, no questions asked. However, every DCOM rotation experience is going to vary slightly, even from month to month. For example, I HATE the fact that one of our core sites never puts you in the clinic for Ob/Gyn. How are you supposed to get the pelvic exams, OB visits, etc that are crucial to experience if you have any interest at all in OB? If you want it, you have to ask for it there, which is very doable since many surg days are very, very short. However, in exchange for that, there are NINE or so doctors there and you have the opportunity to be at every single delivery. There's pros and cons.
Despite all the hardships of my core site, I absolutely have LOVED my experience. Enough so that I have opted to do extra months with other docs here because I appreciate the comfort level I've established in the hospital. People know your face, they know what experiences you're getting and they hand you opportunities left and right because of it. The graduated mentioned never writing a "note," which may not mean a ton to you right now, but is really important for part of the step 2 boards. In contrast, on my second month of IM, I wrote at least 10 progress notes every day. On my first month of IM, as well as my surgery month, I did consults at least a couple times a week, sometimes 2 or 3 a day. None of my docs have been disgruntled or uninterested in having me. In fact, the only time that I HAVE felt that way was when I DID rotate at a medical center with lots and lots of residency programs...by the end of the month, none of my attendings knew my name. With that being said, I think it is CRUCIAL to rotate at an academic medical center during your third year in order to prepare for audition rotations for residency, and for residency itself. You have to learn the hierarchy and expectations of that environment in my opinion.
I guess my point with all of this is I don't think it's worth eliminating a school based on this. Yes, I think it's VERY important to consider. Yes, I think DCOM is doing a disservice to their students in several regards and I worry for the first increased class size to be going out on rotations. However, it WILL work out. It always does. Prepare for more stress in the process, but if this is the school you love, the first two years of training are fantastic, truly. The faculty, staff and overall learning environment can't be beat. There's a reason you hear the term "DCOM family" thrown around quite a bit
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Another reason not to totally stomp on the rotation experience here, I think, is just the great amount of flexibility it allows you. During third year, there are 7 months required out of 12. Unless it has changed, 3 of your 5 free months have some restriction to them in specialty choice, but all in all, you have FIVE months of freedom in a sense. If you're from across the country, you can head back home or at least close to it. You can go to those academic centers like I referenced. Fourth year is similar...right now, we have 4 required months, but even one of those is fairly open as far as location goes. And while you do a LOT of legwork in getting months set up, when you get them, you are almost always with a doc that WANTS to take you, as opposed to one that HAS to because they work in an academic medical center. Please don't misinterpret...I don't mean to say doctors at residency sites are all awful and hate students. But just consider some of the things I've mentioned here before assuming you're destined for a terrible experience. Also, on the note of the Memphis and Knoxville sites, I've heard quite a few negative comments on those sites...so don't assume those are necessarily the best. Ask around when you get here and based on YOUR interests (ie, if you want to do OB/Gyn, make sure you get that full experience!) rank what sites you prefer highest based on that.
Also, the quote above about the student rotating with Vandy med students....we do not currently have a site in Nashville or the surrounding towns. My site is the closest and it's about 70 miles. Whatever rotation that student was doing was either an elective or selective month, just FYI.
This is one of the many reasons I fell in love with the school. I applied twice and the second year, Bob was rooting for me. It's not often the tour guide sends you a "Congrats" card in the mail with a personal handwritten note inside. If you're reading, Bob, see you at graduation in May!!!!
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Also, as a shameless plug....you all may have seen and looked at the blog link in my signature (or CopToEM's, as he is also a student blogger)...today marks the official date of our blog stuff going "live" on the DCOM website. I'm providing the link below. Click on it, scroll down past the undergrads and there you have access to a student from each of the 4 current classes at DCOM!!
http://www.lmunet.edu/campuslife/blog.shtml
Good luck to all this year in the application process! You've worked hard to get to this point. Take it from someone who thought they'd never get in...and is about to graduate this year....you CAN do this if you put your mind to it and want it badly enough!
). The topics were all over the place and we honestly just sat there and chatted, laughed and had a good time. Don't stress about this part at all.
