You get your rotations through a lottery in Feb. of your 2nd year....which basically consists of each person has a ball with their # on it and you go to each station and place your number in these cartons that have each rotation or block listed...if there are 6 spaces and 7 people place their ball in the carton, then all the balls go into a bag and the first 6 drawn get that spot. Hopefully that makes sense.
Your third year you basically have to stay in the LA/So.Cal area. You used to be able to go out of state for your 3rd year but the new clinical rotations dean did away with that, which has its pluses and minuses. The main plus is that there are now shelf exams and you have to come back to campus a few times throughout your rotations for lectures and shelf exams. Some people frown upon this, and I have to admit that I'm glad I'm a fourth year and don't have to deal with it, but I think it is for the better because the school is taking responsibility for the education of the third year, rather than leaving it on the hospitals shoulders, who really don't have that as a high priority.
So when you go to lottery night, you have to decide if you want to do your "Block" rotations fall of your third year, or spring. I personally chose fall and I think its the best. Your "Block" consists of FP, Surgery, OB/GYN, IM, Peds, and Psych. There are blocks throughout the area, including Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Riverside County Regional Medical Center, Pacific Hospital Long Beach, and Downey Medical Center. There are other blocks where there is more mix and match, but these are the biggies. You get to pick the block, but not the rotations IN the block, because those are already set up. As for your "Non-Block" rotations, you have to do an OMM month, two more IM's, a Primary Care Selective(something in Primary Care), and you get one elective that can be anything except research or ER. You used to be able to get a four week vacation, but I believe they did away with that. You'll have to ask a 2nd year or 3rd year for more details on that.
Fourth year you have to do 5 rotations: 2 IM, 1 Surgery, 1 ER, 1 FP or OMM, and then you get 5 electives, and again, I got a month vacation but I'm not sure that they do that anymore. Electives can be in anything, usually the specialty you want to go into, and most do these early the fourth year. You can go most anywhere for your fourth year, even for the required months.
All in all I think the way the rotations are set up and the numerous sites WesternU/COMP has is a plus for the program, although there will be a few that will not be able to get their #1 or #2 choices.
Different people have mixed emotions on the help that you receive from the clinical rotations office at WesternU.
I have had great rotations my third and fourth year...
Our grads go just about anywhere....the more competitive the specialty the harder you must work, and the better the board scores you must have, but that goes for anywhere.
