At the University of Iowa, you're able to do the vast majority of your rotations without leaving town if that's what you prefer. During your M3 year, students are given the option of completing several of the 'core' rotations in either Iowa City or Des Moines (Ob-Gyn, Int Med inpt, Int Med otpt, Pediatrics, Psychiatry). But as it is, there are very few of these slots available for students to do the rotations in Des Moines. So it shouldn't be a problem to do these in Iowa City. We have a Community Medicine month that will likely require you to travel to another city in Iowa. Also, our Family Medicine month is usually done at a community site somewhere around the state. But for those with families, they're good about placing them somewhere within a short drive of Iowa City for the Family Medicine month. The rest of the required rotations are only available at the university hospital in Iowa City. I believe your required Sub-I has to be done in the state. But your electives can be done anywhere.
The bottom line: If you want to travel the state and get an idea of how medicine is practiced at different hospitals, you can arrange your schedule as such. That's the route I chose. I've only done half of my rotations in Iowa City. On the other hand, I have plenty of friends who never want to leave town, and they've been pretty satisfied with their rotation schedules. PM me if you have any further questions.
