Seeking more info on Rocky Vista Utah

[fourandtwo]

Hello! I have just gotten an interview invite for RVU-UT. It's currently one of my favorite DO schools because my communication with the admissions team has been nothing but great, and I like what I have read on Vista View. Board scores are great too. But this is just superficial stuff- I want to hear from you- the medical students!

I know this school is still quite new, but since it's so much like it's parent school, it should be amazing right? Tell me what you think the pros and cons are about this school, please?

Also, are preceptor rotations a concern, are lectures mandatory, and how is the area around it?

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[AnatomyGrey12]

Southern Utah is a great location. The issue is that even though the school will be similar to the parent school it is still brand new. Ask about rotations in particular because Utah does NOT have enough rotation spots for all of the students, and the only residency programs in the state (outside of two small FM programs) are controlled by the UoU and they won't be letting RVU students rotate there anytime soon.

 

[Scrubs101]

I REALLY loved my interview at RVU-utah, and i have nothing but amazing things to say about the admissions staff and dean. But i concur with the above, solid location, shows some promise since theyre adopting the same curriculum as RVU-CO, and rotations should be a concern of yours when they do the Q and A at the interview


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[LutGholein]

Really loved the dean and staff when I interviewed last year. I think the school will be sharing many resources with RVUCOM-CO which includes rotations and lecture/curriculum-- I concur with what has been previously said above me-- I still expect them to do well in the coming years.

Southern Utah is beautiful.

 

[fourandtwo]

Thanks everyone for your answers, I continue to stay pumped for this school, but I will ask about rotations as advised

@LutGholein @Scrubs101 @AnatomyGrey12

 

[shifty_ut89]

I am a student at RVU-UT (should be studying but am taking a quick break in between 4 hour long study sessions). So far, I have no serious complaints. All of our biochemistry lectures have been broadcast from Colorado campus as of this point, but it hasn't made any difference to me. We are able to use our microphones to ask the lecturing professor in CO questions in real time - everyone in Utah hears the question, everyone in CO hears the question, and the professor responds immediately. I honestly forget that we aren't even in the same room as the professor so, for me at least, that's not a big deal. 40% of our lectures will be live here in Utah and 60% will be broadcast to us live from CO.
The building and campus are beautiful. There are tons of study rooms and we have a full 20 cadaver anatomy lab, three simulation labs (including one that the Parker campus doesn't have), an ultrasound lab that also doubles as a neuroscience lab, OMM lab, a student break room (complete with ping pong and billiard tables), and two large auditoriums. My only real complaints thus far are small things that you'd find typical of any new campus or school, mostly IT stuff.
The school is still working on a relationship with the hospital down here (Dixie Regional, now the third biggest hospital in all of Utah) but we have rotation sites all over northern Utah (Ogden Regional, Salt Lake Regional, Utah Valley Regional, McKay-Dee) and a few in the more rural parts of Utah, including Moab. Feel free to ask any other specific questions you might have and I'll see if I can squeeze in a few minutes to answer before my first exam on Monday. If not, next week.

 

[LutGholein]

I am a student at RVU-UT (should be studying but am taking a quick break in between 4 hour long study sessions). So far, I have no serious complaints. All of our biochemistry lectures have been broadcast from Colorado campus as of this point, but it hasn't made any difference to me. We are able to use our microphones to ask the lecturing professor in CO questions in real time - everyone in Utah hears the question, everyone in CO hears the question, and the professor responds immediately. I honestly forget that we aren't even in the same room as the professor so, for me at least, that's not a big deal. 40% of our lectures will be live here in Utah and 60% will be broadcast to us live from CO.
The building and campus are beautiful. There are tons of study rooms and we have a full 20 cadaver anatomy lab, three simulation labs (including one that the Parker campus doesn't have), an ultrasound lab that also doubles as a neuroscience lab, OMM lab, a student break room (complete with ping pong and billiard tables), and two large auditoriums. My only real complaints thus far are small things that you'd find typical of any new campus or school, mostly IT stuff.
The school is still working on a relationship with the hospital down here (Dixie Regional, now the third biggest hospital in all of Utah) but we have rotation sites all over northern Utah (Ogden Regional, Salt Lake Regional, Utah Valley Regional, McKay-Dee) and a few in the more rural parts of Utah, including Moab. Feel free to ask any other specific questions you might have and I'll see if I can squeeze in a few minutes to answer before my first exam on Monday. If not, next week.

You guys started early! Super jealous, my med school still hasn't had its orientation yet.

May I ask is Dean Dr.Park pretty active at the school? I really loved my interview and I am hoping Dr.Park is taking an active role in school via teaching etc.

 

[shifty_ut89]

You guys started early! Super jealous, my med school still hasn't had its orientation yet.

May I ask is Dean Dr.Park pretty active at the school? I really loved my interview and I am hoping Dr.Park is taking an active role in school via teaching etc.

Yes, Dr. Park is very actively involved at the school. Has not taught any classes and I'm not sure if he will or not but he's always around and usually sits in the back during our lectures.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Dixie Regional, now the third biggest hospital in all of Utah

Yeah that's not true... Dixie Regional is small and they ship all the acute pathology to UVH. Not sure who told you that...

Edit: DRH is the third largest hospital system in the Intermountain Healthcare network. Not the third largest in the state. UVH and IMC are the big intermountain hospitals in the state, with Dixie a distant third.

 

[ortnakas]

Yeah that's not true... Dixie Regional is small and they ship all the acute pathology to UVH. Not sure who told you that...

Edit: DRH is the third largest hospital system in the Intermountain Healthcare network. Not the third largest in the state. UVH and IMC are the big intermountain hospitals in the state, with Dixie a distant third.

Not trying to put down RVU's clinical sites because it sounds like they're doing a decent job, but even this isn't true-- McKayDee in Ogden and both LDS Hospital and Primary Children's are also bigger than Dixie Regional, and that's just within the IHC system. There's a few other hospitals in the state that are bigger as well, including St. Mark's in Salt Lake and (obviously) University Hospital.

@shifty_ut89 I'm absolutely not insulting your school-- it sounds like they're doing good work getting your class set up with quality education-- but don't let anybody lie to you. Med school administrations across the country are known for their tendency to exaggerate.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

but even this isn't true-- McKayDee in Ogden and both LDS Hospital and Primary Children's are also bigger than Dixie Regional

Haha right. I totally forgot about those..... as a former Intermountain employee I am ashamed.... all of their pictures are even on the mug I have.

 

[JamesPotterMS-3]

They don't need Dixie Regional as a site. They just want it because it solidifies their territorial mark on Southern Utah. That is why they are trying their best to get them on board. RVU already has UVH in Provo. I have a couple of friends that did their rotations there and they were all very impressed.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

RVU already has UVH in Provo

They share it with other schools. I talked to students from ATSU-SOMA, RVU, LECOM-B, LECOM-PA, Western, and KCOM during my time working there (multiple years). It is a great hospital, but there are only a few rotation slots available and I've been told some of the rotations are of better quality than others. RVU does have a good rep there though.

 

[JamesPotterMS-3]

They share it with other schools. I talked to students from ATSU-SOMA, RVU, LECOM-B, LECOM-PA, Western, and KCOM during my time working there (multiple years). It is a great hospital, but there are only a few rotation slots available and I've been told some of the rotations are of better quality than others. RVU does have a good rep there though.

RVU's Utah campus was originally planned for Provo, considering 10-20% of each class has been from BYU and the school's relationship with UVH. But UU intervened and the location moved to St. George.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

RVU's Utah campus was originally planned for Provo, considering 10-20% of each class has been from BYU and the school's relationship with UVH. But UU intervened and the location moved to St. George.

Yeah, the same thing happened when LECOM tried that a few years ago.

 

[shifty_ut89]

You guys get hung up on weird stuff. Either way - all I said was they were working on a relationship with Dixie Regional. I didn't say it like it was a good thing for us already because, obviously, we don't even have that relationship yet. But we do have McKay-Dee and we do have the new IHC Hospital they're building in Layton.

 

[shifty_ut89]

Also, I went back and looked... apparently what I read was that Dixie Regional was ranked #3 best hospital in Utah last year. Not 3rd biggest. My bad. Either way, the only thing I'm banking on are the hospitals they've already established relationships with. I'm certainly aware of the fact that many things said by the admin of a new school should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[fourandtwo]

Hey @shifty_ut89 thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Sometimes it takes just 1 person to advocate for their schools to make a difference in the way it's perceived. Speaking of which, I wish newer schools would have a housing program for their interviewees with current students during their interview, it would really help!

Anyway, I'm certainly much more excited to interview there now.


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[shifty_ut89]

I'm not even trying to say it's some marvelous program. But I like it so far and I like the professors and administrators. It's a good fit for me. And if there's anything I've learned from my 6 other buddies around the country at medical school (both MD and DO programs), it's that med school is what you make of it. Which is why we all know some terrible doctors who went to Ivy League med schools and some fantastic doctors who went to "No Name School of Medicine." If you want to learn everything you need to learn and become a fantastic doctor, you can certainly do that. If you want to be a slap**** and become a doctor whose patients can't stand them, you can do that, too.