Traveling for rotations?

[illegallysmooth]

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Hey everyone.

In choosing a school, I've realized the rotation sites are very important. I find myself already looking at certain sites that are definitely far enough away to have to move for 4 weeks. What do most students do in this situation? Try to find a sub-lease? Or a rented room in someone's house? Pay a monthly fee for a cheap hotel?

I'm probably going to attend LECOM-Bradenton, and I've noticed they don't have any nearby affiliated sites that are larger acute care facilities (by that I mean > 800 beds or so). I see myself going for more of their larger affiliates further away, and maybe electives in Orlando and Miami.

 

[J1515]

Do not be fooled by the common misconception here on SDN that you will always learn the most at the 1000 bed tertiary care centers. Yes, if you know what field you want to enter you should rotate in that field at hospitals that have a larger residency program in that field, if not to impress them then at least to get LOR from the program director. With that said, you absolutely do not need an 800 bed hospital to have a good learning experience. One of my best experiences was at a 300 bed hospital - I learned a ton and was treated like a resident, following/managing 6 patients (as a 3rd year), calling consults from different specialties, and signing out those patients to the night float residents during afternoon signouts. Compare this to a certain 800 bed hospital i rotated at where they would only let students carry 2-3 patients and even on those patients my input was worthless as the residents rewrote the notes and called all the consults. You can't necessarily tell anything about the educational experience at a hospital based on the # of beds. Your best bet is to talk to upperclassmen and ask about their experiences at each hospital. You might not have to move as much as you think. If you choose to move around, check with the hospital's clinical education dept as many hospitals provide housing for rotating students.