To answer some of the rotations questions that have been recently posted:
- CORE sites are selected via lottery based on your list you put together (see post above, which gave a great explaination).
- Electives: You get 2 during 3rd year and 4 during 4th year. You can do those with whatever doc you want in whatever specialty.
- Selectives: Rotations you have some flexibility in which specialty you want to do. DCOM provides a list of docs in specialties who have agreed to have DCOM students. I believe almost every specialty is an option and spots are all over the country, with most of them in the TN area. During 3rd year, you have 2 selectives, one in medicine, another in surgery. What this means is you can do any rotation that fits under these categories. So, with medicine, you can do IM, FP, cards, nephro, neuro, GI, endo, ICU, , etc. With surgery, you can do Gen surg, ortho, ophtho, ENT, Ob/Gyn, trauma, plastics, etc. During 4th year, you have an additional selective, classified as "Other." This can be done in any specialty that doesn't fit under either of the previous categories, like EM, rads, path. If you want to do a selective with a doc that is not on the list provided by DCOM, then you have to go thru a process to have that doc become adjunct faculty, which is very easy. DCOM with help you with that when you get to that point.
- Also, you have the option of having one 4-week rotation split into two 2-week rotations. This can be done only once, and I believe only during your 4th year.
- Once you get your 3rd/4th year schedules from the lottery results, remember that your electives/selectives are flexible, meaning you can switch those around. So if your elective is scheduled for Sept but the hospital doesn't have an opening until November, which is when your selective is scheduled, you can switch those. So remember, you can switch electives with selectives and vice versa, but you CAN'T switch electives/selectives with CORE rotations or with other required rotations since all students have to go thru those sites.
- Required rotations = 7 core rotations in 3rd year (Ob/Gyn, IM, IM, Surg, Peds, Psych), these are all done back-to-back during either 1st or 2nd semester at your core site, the other required rotation is FP, which is done during the other semester. During 4th year, required rotations are EM, rural primary care and community health x 2. EM is at your core site, community is near your core site and rural primary care is close too. When these are scheduled are set in stone, so you can't switch these with electives/selectives.
- There is a restriction in how many rotations you can do in a specialty each year. You are only allowed to do TWO 4-week rotations in the same specialty per year (excluding core rotations, meaning if you are interested in EM, then you do your EM core and 2 other EM rotations during 4th year, for a total of 3). I can tell you from experience that this is plenty of time for audition rotations, etc. Plus, if you want to get face time at a residency program but don't have the ability to do another rotation in that specialty, do another rotation at the institution and use your off days to spend time with the program you are interested in. It works quite well.
That's about it for the basic info on rotations thru DCOM. There is a ton of other info but this is what you need to know to make a decision about DCOM. My biggest piece of advice is to not get crazy with rotations during 1st and 2nd year. You are given plenty of time to setup rotations, etc and have more electives than most schools.
I am currently a 4th year from DCOM, so if any of you have questions about rotations, etc, please don't hesitate to ask. I can tell you I am happy with DCOM and the education they provided me. Good luck everyone. Starting in January, I will be seeing you interviewees, etc since I will be back in TN then. Should be lots of fun!!!
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