M3, M4 clinical rotations in TUCOM and WesternCOMP

flintstone: i, too, would like to know a little more about the third and fourth year rotations at TUCOM. i am currently on the waitlist there and it sure is hard to get info on TUCOM from anyone! i have called the lady who is in charge of clinical rotations (i forgot her name) and she tried to assure me that it is very possible to do most of your rotations around the SF bay area as many of students choose TUCOM because of its proximity to the bay. however, i also know that many students go to phoenix and las vegas for rotations. so it kind of makes me wonder. also, the rotations are given out on a lottery basis so it's not really guaranteed that you CAN stay in california. anyways, at the TUCOM website, there is a list of affiliated sites that you may want to check out. and to any current TUCOM students, please share what you know about the whole process. it would be greatly appreciated!

 

I'm from Touro. I can do my best to answer your questions. I'm going to be a OMSII, and I've gathered some info about the rotations systems. Yes, it is based on a lottery system... so you put your 1st, 2nd, 3rd picks. Most people end up getting their first or second. Some people end up going out of state due to family, etc. Lots of people choose to go to Las Vegas because their program is organized and good. Not that the other programs are not. If you want to say in California, I would say you would have a pretty good chance. If you have any other questions, just ask away and I'll do what I can to help out. I was once in your shoes. Good luck.

 

Flintstone,

I'm a 3rd year at COMP, for 3rd years... we have to choose one 6 month block of rotations and then choose the other 5 months at separate locations chosen by COMP. We get one elective where we could choose a rotation site at a place we choose either from a list of elective sites or independently, but there's a process involved for that. All these are chosen by lottery, just like my colleague at Touro mentioned.

Our rotation blocks are mainly in southern CA, but our class was also able to go to Florida & Las Vegas (one year), Oregon, Colorado, and Tempe (Where i'm at).

The 4th year students have much more freedom in what they choose... they have a lot more electives than we do.

-Eric

 

I'm a 4th year student at Western U/COMP. The major teaching hospitals that are affiliated with the school are Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Downey Regional Medical Center, and Pacific Hospital of Long Beach. They are rotations in Oregon, Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Arizona. Most of my rotations were centered at Arrowhead, and I was very satisfied with my clinical experience there. I have met many 4th year TUCOM students, and were not happy with their 3rd year clinical experience. TUCOM has not established as many hospitals as Western U/COMP, so remember this. Hope this helps.