I'm currently trying to decide which of two schools to secure a seat at, at least temporarily. It's between DMU-COM and LECOM. I love Des Moines' program and facilities, but I fear that the 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations in Iowa and the midwest will be far inferior to clinical rotations available in Pennsylvania, at LECOM and PCOM. As much as I like Des Moines, I feel that I would be short-changing myself in regards to exposure and clinical experience for reasons of applying to residencies upon graduation.
Pennsylvania is rich with quality hospital systems and advanced healthcare. I would feel more comfortable, I think, being in Pennsylvania, where clinical rotations are easily accessible in all specialy areas.
Is anyone else considering this issue? Does anyone have any input on the matter?
Hey there! I am attending DMU, and just thought I would share a little information: 3rd year, only ~50% of the class stays in Iowa, the rest of the class is predominately in Ohio and Michigan at hospitals that have many residencies affiliated with them. 4th year is actually a positive of DMU, in my mind, and a reason why I chose there. DMU lets you choose WHERE and WHAT rotation you do aside from 8 weeks of Family Medicine/International Medicine. That means your entire 4th year can be set up ANYWHERE across the United States. This is especially important for doing "audition" rotations when applying for residency. You are allowed to do up to 3 months in any area your 4th year. So, if you want Ortho for example, you could set up 3 consecutive months, like July, Aug, Sept. at 3 different hospitals (Lets say you choose to go "back east" and do a rotation in Philadelphia, do another in New York and a third at any other place). This allows you a lot of face time, which has been debated if it helps that much or not. However, I think a strong rotation and doing some impressing can go a long ways to get you in the minds of the PD's of any given residency.
I also was accepted at LECOM, but their rotations are a little more "set" in regards to 4th year, as you have more months of required selectives (meaning choosing a rotation within given group--such as primary care or ER).
Anyway, good luck deciding! I hope you come to DMU...the reputation plus the freedom sold it to me. Hope this helps!!
