I was wondering if it was possible to do all of my clinical rotations in a different city/state from where i spent my first 2 years of medical school. if so, how hard is it and what steps would i need to take to get this accomplished. i just finished my first year and am clueless as to what i need to do. thanks a lot
question about doing rotations elsewhere
- Thread starter mhr2002
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Medical schools will often allow you to take a certain number of 4th year electives 'away' (and some may have that for 3rd year, too). That said, they will have quite a few required rotations (in 3rd and 4th year) that must be done at one of the hospitals affiliated with your medical school. I don't know the specific policies of your medical school, but I'm willing to guess that you would have to transfer in order to accomplish this goal.
Schools will sometimes take transfers (if there are spots available) between 1st and 2nd (probably too late for you) or between 2nd and 3rd year. A caveat, however - transfer students usually have to have a good reason for transferring, be in good standing at their current school, and have support from their current DoS. If you do decide to transfer, start considering schools now - most will have a very limited window of time in which you can inquire about open spots and then submit an application.
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I suggest you talk to your dean or an advisor at your school. Most med students do electives 4th year, allowing you to showcase yourself and get facetime
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If you are talking about a US school, the school itself generally has an arrangement where you will be doing your rotation. Those schools affiliated with hospitals tend to have their students do them at one of those. So probably the answer is going to be no, you won't be doing your clinical rotations in a different city/state. If a school has multiple hospital affiliates, you may be able to rotate to the various hospitals, and get a sense of teaching hospital vs community hospital. But if you are asking, do most people go to med school for two years and then set up rotations at lots of places around the country, then no, this isn't the way it works. Most people do all the core rotations at someplace local and usually the same hospital or family of hospitals. As people mentioned in 4th year, you might want to do 1-2 away rotations to "audition" for your residency interview in a particular specialty. But this tends to be elective and not so much a rotation like you would have in third year.
