Doctor G said:
Thank you LukeWhite for your perspective. Why do they get rid of the honors in rotations? Does FP mean "family practice"? Did you travel out of state for your rotations (e.g. California)? One of my friends at COMP told me that if you want to do specialities in the future, then he advised me to go to AZCOM. What are your opinions on this? I'm geared toward primary care more, in which area COMP is strong in. But given your comments on the strategic planning on rotations, I think whatever one is gonna do in the future (either primary care or speciality), everything is possible. Generally, how hard is it to set up rotations in "the way you wanted"?
Hey current COMPer's and AZCOMer's, what are your comments on this?
G,
My rotations are upcoming--I'm finishing up second year and start rotations in July.
AZCOM certainly does have a very strong match record, but I'm absolutely convinced it's as good as any school in the nation for primary care if you plan your rotations right. FP is indeed family practice; I knew coming in that I was going to specialize in FP and so had a bit of an advantage in terms of scheduling.
It's very easy to set up rotations how you want, provided you don't mind traveling a little or going a bit outside of Phoenix. I spent several hours researching the reviews of various preceptors, and also met individually with our rotation coordinator. I explained to her that I wanted as much practical experience as possible, and she was able to provide specific recommendations for me; she also made sure that housing would be readily available.
Setting up rotations will be a little more work when it comes to arranging rotations with hospitals out of state, but it's still not bad and far more than you can do in most schools. I'm planning on doing at least two rotations in third year at places I'd consider for residency; that's more or less unheard of for a third-year student at any other school. Additionally, I'm doing three months back at home in the Midwest at the hospital my dad practices in. I may do a rotation in Alaska just for fun. Flexibility like that just doesn't happen at other schools.
All in all, I've spent less time setting up rotations than I would studying for a particularly hard test, and I'm set up with rotations which, if past student reviews and our coordinator are to be believed, will give an amazing range of practical experience. This is fantastic for people who want to go into primary care; we've had students who have delivered thirty babies in one month of *family practice* rotation. You're lucky to get half a dozen anywhere else over the course of your entire education.
Actually, that rotation is an example of the virtues of AZCOM's setup. I had heard about this rotation and specifically asked for it; it was set up for me the same day and I was able to pick the month I wanted (and, like I said, set up some crucial rotations beforehand so I could get the most out of it).
Again, to get the most out of this sytem, you'll have to travel a bit, though travelling is by no means necessary--I have plenty of classmates who plan on staying in Phoenix exclusively. The great thing about the AZCOM system is that you can set it up how you want. Novacek, I think, tends to be a little disgruntled because he seems more or less to have set up his rotations to look as much like a traditional med education as possible. If you go that route, AZCOM requires a bit more work, and it may be worth it for people who want to stay in Phoenix. But if you're willing to be creative and proactive about your education, you can arrange opportunities for yourself that are really unique.
