MWU: CCOM vs AZCOM

[spaghettidoctor]

I know this thread has been done before but I wanted to start another one up since the DO landscape seems to be rapidly changing year by year.

I have been lucky enough to earn an acceptance from each branch of Midwestern and I wanted current and former students' takes on the pros and cons of each program.

A little bit about my situation... I'm currently living in Chicago (since June 2019) but grew up and have family and all that out west (Utah, Nevada and California).

So far I've come to find that...
The first two years are about the same or close enough that it's a wash.
CCOM has more history but I feel like that mostly applies to its surrounding area as far as name recognition goes.
CCOM has better rotation sites (which can lead to "better" residency opportunities -- specifically in the midwest/chicago region).
AZCOM seems to have better board scores but I don't know if that a) matters as much with STEP 1 going to P/F and b) has a much to do with the curriculum as it does the student body just scoring better
Weather/location goes to AZCOM (as I said, I have family in the area and am familiar with the location)
Price is outrageous at both schools but cost of living goes to AZCOM.

All I've wanted going into each cycle was options and now that I have them, I'm having a hard time making a decision. Each school has its own pros and cons so I'm hoping to gain a little clarity on whether certain aspects actually matter or if I should just go to the school where I feel most comfortable/is in the area I want to spend the next 4-whatever years.

Any thoughts, additions or disagreements would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

also, this is my first thread so I don't know if I need to add tags to make this more visible or what.

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[ERinspired]

Hi!

I go to AZCOM and chose it over CCOM so I can't say I'm not biased. But I am from the Midwest and had no connection to AZ and still made the choice so, interpret that as you will.

I also have the unique perspective of being in AZCOM's Chicago cohort for rotations so I actively rotate with CCOM students. In talking to them, it seems that our first two years are not actually identical curriculum. They have more OMM time and more required lecture time in certain subjects. With regard to 3rd and 4th year rotations, we are definitely not equal. The CCOM students on rotations have a different coordinator that they need to talk to for each specialty (ie a coordinator for OBGYN, a different one for FM, a different one for Surgery, a different for electives) which I've observed cause a lot of frustration and communications issues vs. I have one rotation coordinator assigned to me who handles all of my rotations. For your third and fourth year at any school which doesn't have its own base hospital and sends you around to several different sights, it gets stressful and communication and support from the school is key and I'd make the same choice again just for that reason.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

 

[spaghettidoctor]

Hi!

I go to AZCOM and chose it over CCOM so I can't say I'm not biased. But I am from the Midwest and had no connection to AZ and still made the choice so, interpret that as you will.

I also have the unique perspective of being in AZCOM's Chicago cohort for rotations so I actively rotate with CCOM students. In talking to them, it seems that our first two years are not actually identical curriculum. They have more OMM time and more required lecture time in certain subjects. With regard to 3rd and 4th year rotations, we are definitely not equal. The CCOM students on rotations have a different coordinator that they need to talk to for each specialty (ie a coordinator for OBGYN, a different one for FM, a different one for Surgery, a different for electives) which I've observed cause a lot of frustration and communications issues vs. I have one rotation coordinator assigned to me who handles all of my rotations. For your third and fourth year at any school which doesn't have its own base hospital and sends you around to several different sights, it gets stressful and communication and support from the school is key and I'd make the same choice again just for that reason.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

Thank you for your comment! Being from Midwest, what made you choose AZ over staying close to home? And while the coordination is simpler, how have your rotation sites/experiences been compared to the CCOM students and your fellow classmates that stayed back west?

 

[ERinspired]

Thank you for your comment! Being from Midwest, what made you choose AZ over staying close to home? And while the coordination is simpler, how have your rotation sites/experiences been compared to the CCOM students and your fellow classmates that stayed back west?

All but 2 of our Chicago rotations are within one hospital with multiple residency programs (OBGYN, FM, IM, EM) so we have a ton of exposure to wards based rotations (much greater than my classmates back west) and compared to the CCOM students, staying in one hospital is not possible for them — they are sent all over the city and sometimes into Indiana.

 

[Fishwithadeagle]

Here's something to look forward to if you pick AZCOM, shows what you get from the most expensive DO school around. Most schools around this time of year are celebrating the MS4 class and their achievements. Here's an email we were privileged to get from our associate dean:

"Not long ago I sent an email encouraging the class to continue to work hard and finish strong. I realize that for most of you the cores have been completed and the match will happen as it’s going to happen, regardless of your current and future rotation performance. That being said, we continue to get complaints from preceptors noting that many of our top performing students are “checking out”. Students not being on time to rotations, leaving early, or complaining of having to do work on their rotation.
I again urge and challenge each of you to finish strong. Please keep in mind that the school is required to produce and upload to ERAS an addendum MSPE prior to graduation for each and every student. Programs will be able to view any negative performance comments from rotations that a student completes during the time between the match and graduation. Students may also receive a professionalism complaint for failing to exhibit effort or following site policy. In recent years, we have had students excused from rotations for not showing effort, which results in an automatic failure for the rotation according to our policy. I am sure that no student would want to repeat an additional rotation this close to graduation. If for nothing else, your performance will determine how physicians, locally and nationally will view AZCOM students and their willingness as preceptors to accept future AZCOM students for rotations.
I truly only mean this message to be a warning and reminder that your effort or lack of effort can have consequences. Work hard, show pride in yourself and your profession, finish strong!!
Sean Reeder, DO
Associate Dean AZCOM"

TLDR: NO DAYS OFF OR WE WILL FLUNK YOU.

While he speaks the truth, that's a yikes from me dawg.