Med Schools and Clerkships

[dhlee7570]

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Are there any med schools which require students to go to a city away from the school for their clerkship or for part of their clerkship? I'm planning to go to med school and live with my boyfriend and he'll be teaching at a high school near wherever we live. So moving far away for a long period of time is something I'd like to avoid. Thanks for your help!

 

[RecycleRinsed]

Are there any med schools which require students to go to a city away from the school for their clerkship or for part of their clerkship? I'm planning to go to med school and live with my boyfriend and he'll be teaching at a high school near wherever we live. So moving far away for a long period of time is something I'd like to avoid. Thanks for your help!

First let's get the dating advice out of the way: If you guys are moving somewhere together, he better put a ring on that ASAP! "This is your time with RecycleRinsed."

As far as clerkships, you need to read the websites of schools you're interested in. Any place that uses the words "satellite campus" or "regional campus" almost certainly will require or encourage you to do away clerkships. Unless you have kids you're definitely getting shipped out. Many places simply don't have enough room for all of the med students to rotate at once. Do your research.

That said, residency will likely involve several away rotations (not to mention you'll never be home) so prep yourself.

PS - Gotta get a ring, sister.

 

[fahimaz7]

If you're not married you will typically have to enter a lottery with your classmates for sites around the state that your school has a contract with. Is it possible to stay in the same town that your school is in? Possible.. but it's unlikely that you will have every rotation 3rd year, at your home institution, if you are not married or do not have a child.

Plenty married and engaged students do a month or two away from their home during the 3rd or 4th year. It's not ideal, but it's a necessary evil for matching at places you are interested in, or atleast getting letters of recommendation that are not from your home school, where all the faculty think their students are the best.

 

[Nymphicus]

First, I would make sure your priorities are in order. There are many more important things to pick in a medical school.

However, off the top of my head, University of Virginia and Dartmouth ship you around for rotations.

 

[dhlee7570]

Thanks for everyone's help! This isn't the only factor I'm looking at, obviously, but it is something I'm taking into consideration. My boyfriend and I are very serious and plan to get married in the next year or two which is why it would be ideal for me to be able to stay in the area with him.

Thanks again!

 

[mvenus929]

Look into the school websites. Some have the entire clerkship period available at a satellite campus (VCU comes to mind, I'm not sure if U of South Carolina has split up for pre-clerkships yet). Others, like UVA, will have you do a couple months away, but within driving distance of the home institution (and if you have kids, you're allowed to do all of your rotations at the home institution). Some schools have rotations on the other side of the country (I've heard of these schools, but am not sure which they are). Some will have a required rural medicine rotation (Colorado).

 

[mmmcdowe]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Any rotations that forces you to live elsewhere will ultimately only be a month or so, then you will be back with your SO.

 

[SnowyRox]

Try to look for schools with connections in a decent sized city.

My bff is rotating at Jeff and all of her sites are within a 5-40 min drive, except one month in Pittsburgh. You could definitely have 100% of your rotations within the city limits if you wanted.

 

[armybound]

Several schools in Texas have some clerkships away from the home campus.

 

[Praefectus]

You need to check with the school.

 

[Law2Doc]

Many schools are going to have some elective somewhere along the line where you have to commute or relocate for a month. And for many specialties, you are going to want to do one or several "away" rotations to audition for residencies. None of this happens in the first two years of med school.

 

[Mazdave]

If a school has one or many of its own teaching hospitals in the same city as where you do the preclinical years, then you will probably be able to do the majority of rotations without going elsewhere unless the school specifically has a program where you select a satellite campus for all of your rotations (like Temple and VCU). If a school doesn't have its own hospitals, and I think these are mainly DO schools, you'll end up going wherever the affiliated hospitals are, which could be on the other side of the country. Look under the "Facilities" tab in the MSAR for schools you're considering.

 

[Socrates25]

The bottom line here is that you need to run away from DO and low tier MD schools as far as you can -- these schools ROUTINELY ship off students for months at a time across the country because their home clinical institutions suck and they have no choice but to send people elsewhere.

The best medical schools have large academic medical centers that are not so saturated with med students that they can accomodate an entire class without forcing them to relocate for long periods. You may have to rotate at places like the VA or small community hospitals within the same city, but I laugh at the crap schools who make all of their students relocate across the state or country as a routine part of the curriculum.