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I'm a first year medical student at AZCOM. If any of you have any questions about AZCOM please feel free to post them. Either my classmates or I will answer them as soon as possible.
Questions about AZCOM???
- Thread starter Aloha Kid
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Yes it is possible to do clinicals in hospitals far away from arizona. Most of these hospitals will require to apply for clinical rotations. Some even charge a fee. AZCOM reccomends students stay in AZ their third year. Of course, students don't always follow recommendations. Fourth year students are encouraged to get out of state, establish contacts, and start getting a feel for where their opportunities for residency will be at.
Your attendings can be either DO or MD.
Your attendings can be either DO or MD.
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How long ore students in class daily? Does it include labs, or are you just sitting in the same lecture hall all day? Do you feel you have plenty of time out of class to do your work? One last question, how do you like the Monday testing schedule? 
Monday tests are great, especially if you like to cram (like me). That way, you have the whole weekend (or, even, the whole week before) to concentrate on the immediate upcoming exam. Personally, I almost never look at a test's material, unless it's the next one (except when finals are looming).
Since attendance isn't required, I was seldom there last year, but if you like to go to every class, you will spend alot of time in lecture first year. 2nd year isn't quite so bad...yet.
Since attendance isn't required, I was seldom there last year, but if you like to go to every class, you will spend alot of time in lecture first year. 2nd year isn't quite so bad...yet.
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Some days are long and some days are short. On average, you're in lecture 4-6 hours a day. Then you spend about 3 more hours in lab 3-4 days of the week. I think there is ample time to study and relax. For myself, I put in about 4 hours of solid study every day. I usually take the wekend off unless there is an upcoming test. This works well for me. Like Boomer said, you don't have to go to all of your classes. Professors really go through a lot to make sure their notes is exactly what's going to show up on the test.
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Hey it's great for you AZCOM students to answer all our rampant questions!
I have been accepted to the class of 2006 and was wondering why is it that AZCOM has such a great board pass rate? Is it the students helping each other out or the curriculum organization and presentation, etc? Also, is it more popular to live on or off campus. Thanks a lot!
I have been accepted to the class of 2006 and was wondering why is it that AZCOM has such a great board pass rate? Is it the students helping each other out or the curriculum organization and presentation, etc? Also, is it more popular to live on or off campus. Thanks a lot!
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You know,
I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the quater system we are on that gives us lots of intermittent breaks. Maybe it's the Summer that we get off during our first year.
Anyway, to be serious now. I think third and fourth year do well in general becasue of the quality of teaching docs in the rotations they do. For the most part it is a one on one situation. Students also get sent out very early in their first year to begin their clinical experience.
As far as part first and second years, I think the teachers do a good job of identifying individuals who need help or who are lagging. If you are lagging in Anatomy and Histo. for example, they'll come talk to you and assign a tutor to you whether you like it or not. They care. Take into consderation that not all the faculty are like this. There are one or two who would rather spend time in their labs doing research.
In general, I think students also have high expectations of how they perform on the boards. No class wants to be the class to screw up AZCOM's reputation.
As far as living on or off campus goes, both are great. I think the biggest difference is that living on campus is much more convenient. I'm on campus and I love it. 2 minutes to school and back. It doesn't get any better than that.
I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the quater system we are on that gives us lots of intermittent breaks. Maybe it's the Summer that we get off during our first year.
Anyway, to be serious now. I think third and fourth year do well in general becasue of the quality of teaching docs in the rotations they do. For the most part it is a one on one situation. Students also get sent out very early in their first year to begin their clinical experience.
As far as part first and second years, I think the teachers do a good job of identifying individuals who need help or who are lagging. If you are lagging in Anatomy and Histo. for example, they'll come talk to you and assign a tutor to you whether you like it or not. They care. Take into consderation that not all the faculty are like this. There are one or two who would rather spend time in their labs doing research.
In general, I think students also have high expectations of how they perform on the boards. No class wants to be the class to screw up AZCOM's reputation.
As far as living on or off campus goes, both are great. I think the biggest difference is that living on campus is much more convenient. I'm on campus and I love it. 2 minutes to school and back. It doesn't get any better than that.
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Thanks Aloha Kid! It's so good to hear that students don't get lost by themselves when they start having difficulties with course material, although I'm not planning on being one of them. How's the first year coming along?
How's the first year coming along?
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So far we just finished up classes. Everyones studying their butts off trying to get ready for finals next week. I should say trying to study. The Diamond Backs keep losing and we keep wasting our time watching them lose.
We just had an introductory lecture on the female invasive exam. As soon as school resumes after Thanksgiving we move onto the male invasive exam. Then we'll have real people that will come in and let us practice on them. Super Freaky. Most of us have been hit with the realization that we are in the process of becoming doctors and that we can do this stuff. For some of us, we have been hit with the realization that we do not want to become OB/GYNs.
We just had an introductory lecture on the female invasive exam. As soon as school resumes after Thanksgiving we move onto the male invasive exam. Then we'll have real people that will come in and let us practice on them. Super Freaky. Most of us have been hit with the realization that we are in the process of becoming doctors and that we can do this stuff. For some of us, we have been hit with the realization that we do not want to become OB/GYNs.
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Aloha Kid & Boomer
Would you both, and any current AZCOM students explain the best three things about the school, and then state anything that you dislike about the school, or wish would be changed.
Thanks.
Would you both, and any current AZCOM students explain the best three things about the school, and then state anything that you dislike about the school, or wish would be changed.
Thanks.
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Alright WT,
To me the best three things about AZCOM are first, knowing you will receive a good education that will allow you to do well on the boards. Second, being at a beautiful school where students respect each other and their is a sense of community among students, faculty, and administration. Third, Being on a quater system that allows intermittent breaks and summer off your first year.
Here are some things I think the school could improve on. Opening up more 3rd and 4th year SCHOOL ARRANGED rotations out of state. KCOM does well on this area even though they don't have opportunities available in every state. The present system is inconvenient to students who don't want to stay in AZ their 3rd and 4th year becasue if you want out, then you have to set it up yourself. I must say, however, that AZCOM students are learning a lot on their 3rd and fourth year rotations and it shows by the way they are performing on their step 2 boards. The past class who took step 2 had an average 9% above the national average score.
I wish the school had a snack bar or a cafeteria. The only thing we have are vending machines and a book store that sells junk food. I shouldn't complain though, there's a Jack in the Box, Panda express, Sub way, Albertson's Deli, Pizza shop, and other restaurants 3 minutes up the street from the school.
To me the best three things about AZCOM are first, knowing you will receive a good education that will allow you to do well on the boards. Second, being at a beautiful school where students respect each other and their is a sense of community among students, faculty, and administration. Third, Being on a quater system that allows intermittent breaks and summer off your first year.
Here are some things I think the school could improve on. Opening up more 3rd and 4th year SCHOOL ARRANGED rotations out of state. KCOM does well on this area even though they don't have opportunities available in every state. The present system is inconvenient to students who don't want to stay in AZ their 3rd and 4th year becasue if you want out, then you have to set it up yourself. I must say, however, that AZCOM students are learning a lot on their 3rd and fourth year rotations and it shows by the way they are performing on their step 2 boards. The past class who took step 2 had an average 9% above the national average score.
I wish the school had a snack bar or a cafeteria. The only thing we have are vending machines and a book store that sells junk food. I shouldn't complain though, there's a Jack in the Box, Panda express, Sub way, Albertson's Deli, Pizza shop, and other restaurants 3 minutes up the street from the school.
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Aloha Kid, i know you live on campus, but do you know how early students have to secure off campus housing. i have a dog, so I need to live off campus. Do you have any suggestions for places?
Thanks
Thanks
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I know people started securing spots off campus around April or May. Some even later. Early summer is a good time to look and find a place. If you want the best places then try to start as soon as possible. A lot of students who have pets live in Sage Stone apartments. Check out the AZCOM class of 2005 listing 2-3 months previous. People were talking about where they were going to live etc.
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From what I understand, setting it up yourself means calling a doctor up and asking him if he would be willing to take you for rotations for a said period of time. Third years need to rotate through a number of areas including Family practice, rural family practice, Internal med., OB/GYN, Pshychiatry, pediatrics, surgery, and on and on. For each of these areas, you need a docor since it is very unlikey a doctor would be practicing as a pediatrician and a psychiatrist. To add upon the problem, docs sometimes will only take you for a month, which means you have to switch off to another doctor. For example in family practice you have 3 months. That means you need to sometimes hang with three docs. That's some of the stuff you have to deal with trying to set it all up on your own. BUT, If you stay in AZ and within some adjoining states, AZCOM can do it for you and set up all the arrangements. OHHH! Realize too that since CCOM is our sister school, we get to jump in on their rotation sites and they ours. (I'm pretty sure. I'll have to check.) SO that means there may be rotation site available in Illinois as well.
Realize also, that you don't necessarily have to do it one on one with a doctor. You can get your clinical exposure at training hospitals throughout the United Sates. So for example, If I want to do a family practice rotation at Stanford hospital then I need to apply through their application process they have there. Then, I need to pay the fee lots of these hospitals require for rotating through. On top of it all, some of these hospitals will only let you rotate through within a given field for only 1 month. SOOO, that means if you have two more months of the field to go, you need to go and find docs, or hospitals who will take you for the remaining two months.
It's important you pick good hospitals and good docs who will actually teach you stuff. AZCOM has a test waiting for you after each field is done. SO yes, there's a family practice test, and Internal medicine test, surgery test, etc.
It seems really difficult, but the truth is, schools can't cater to every student by provide rotaions within every state and city. This goes for MD schools as well. If you want to rotate in Alaska for example, then good luck, you are on your own. SO in this respect, you can go anywhere you want in whatever city you want just as long as the rotation you set up was approved by AZCOM.
What you can begin to do is ask third and fourth year students about their rotations. Ask them if there's any doc who would be willing to take you and whether or not they are good teachers. You may also want to check out the web sites of various hospitals. They usually have a section on medical education. Under that section you can usually find info on whether or not the hospital will let you rotate through.
That's seriously all I really know at this point. If you need more info. try posting up on the residency/rotation forum.
Realize also, that you don't necessarily have to do it one on one with a doctor. You can get your clinical exposure at training hospitals throughout the United Sates. So for example, If I want to do a family practice rotation at Stanford hospital then I need to apply through their application process they have there. Then, I need to pay the fee lots of these hospitals require for rotating through. On top of it all, some of these hospitals will only let you rotate through within a given field for only 1 month. SOOO, that means if you have two more months of the field to go, you need to go and find docs, or hospitals who will take you for the remaining two months.
It's important you pick good hospitals and good docs who will actually teach you stuff. AZCOM has a test waiting for you after each field is done. SO yes, there's a family practice test, and Internal medicine test, surgery test, etc.
It seems really difficult, but the truth is, schools can't cater to every student by provide rotaions within every state and city. This goes for MD schools as well. If you want to rotate in Alaska for example, then good luck, you are on your own. SO in this respect, you can go anywhere you want in whatever city you want just as long as the rotation you set up was approved by AZCOM.
What you can begin to do is ask third and fourth year students about their rotations. Ask them if there's any doc who would be willing to take you and whether or not they are good teachers. You may also want to check out the web sites of various hospitals. They usually have a section on medical education. Under that section you can usually find info on whether or not the hospital will let you rotate through.
That's seriously all I really know at this point. If you need more info. try posting up on the residency/rotation forum.
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About third and fourth year rotations: allow me to give you the straight poop. First of all, AZCOM is new. I will soon be part of the third graduating class. What does this mean? Well, the school is working on improving there rotation schedule. For example right now I am at the VA hospital where I am seeing quite a few of my classmates. The last two months I was at the county hospital where AZCOM is basically becoming their main medical school affiliation (though they are affiliated with KCOM and UofA as well). It was almost exclusively AZCOM students while I was there. The school sets these up for you.
Now you can set up your own rotations as well in or out of state. This is great especially for those who want to end up somewhere else for their residency. Most people set these up with various hospitals who rarely charge a fee. Most want students and many offer free food and even free housing. Others offer very cheap housing.
Although I feel the school needs to have a core hospital (or hospitals) for some of their core third year rotations, I really have enjoyed the option to setting up rotations myself. I think the school is working on this and in the near futures will have this system in progress. It has really already started.
In short do not let the rotations hold you back from applying to AZCOM. Though they are money hungry (tuition $27,000 and rising), they are putting out some fine doctors and are proving it by there residency slots and board scores. I personally think what they have done in such a short time is pretty amaazing. Their objective is to be the best and they are doing it!
Now you can set up your own rotations as well in or out of state. This is great especially for those who want to end up somewhere else for their residency. Most people set these up with various hospitals who rarely charge a fee. Most want students and many offer free food and even free housing. Others offer very cheap housing.
Although I feel the school needs to have a core hospital (or hospitals) for some of their core third year rotations, I really have enjoyed the option to setting up rotations myself. I think the school is working on this and in the near futures will have this system in progress. It has really already started.
In short do not let the rotations hold you back from applying to AZCOM. Though they are money hungry (tuition $27,000 and rising), they are putting out some fine doctors and are proving it by there residency slots and board scores. I personally think what they have done in such a short time is pretty amaazing. Their objective is to be the best and they are doing it!
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