Where do you stay during externing??

[j0ez0r]

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I know that the 4th year at DMU is spent mostly all around the nation. What are the travel prices like? Do you just stay at hotels for what amounts to at least 8 months or what? I'm probably way off here, but i'm sure SDN can clear this one up!

 

[Stafocker]

I know that the 4th year at DMU is spent mostly all around the nation. What are the travel prices like? Do you just stay at hotels for what amounts to at least 8 months or what? I'm probably way off here, but i'm sure SDN can clear this one up!

During my 3rd and 4th years, i went on Craigslist and found temporary housing. It's easy to find housing for 1 month (4 weeks, whatever) in bigger cities like Boston, NY, Chicago, than somewhere like cleveland. However, programs might have housing available at reasonable rates if not free.

Except to spend a lot during your externships for housing, and factor that into your loan when you need to make choices in financial aid amount.

Most ppl travel with cars, but there are a few who choose not to and risk it, esp in the bigger cities when you could possibly take public transportation everywhere (chicago, NY, Boston, etc). I brought my car to Boston and had to pay for parking at the hospital $75 for the month, and $800 for a room/month. The room rate actually was REALLY good deal considering almost all the other rooms went for $1000-1200 for 3-4 weeks!!!

hope that helps!

 

[NatCh]

I gave most of what I owned to the Des Moines battered women's shelter and to the Bosnian refugees, packed what i could into the back of my pickup truck and drove around the country seeing America for most of the year. I felt like a vagabond. I had my mountain bike and logged a lot of miles on the weekends. Many externships had some sort of student housing, but most were not exactly places where you'd want to be.

The Salt Lake City VA program had a large closet on a half-vacant floor of an office building! You had to walk past business people doing work then turn into your closet! Oh my heck! They'd be arriving for work in the morning and you'd be walking down the hall from the restroom in your jammies, toofbrush in mouf.

The Leavenworth, KS VA was haunted. What's that sudden putrid smell??? Why did my latched door just fly open in the middle of the night??? What just blew through the room??? How come the attic light just went on??? It sucked! And I was there for four months!!! I aged more that rotation than at any other time in my life.

Phoenix student house had a broken A/C and a severely leaking faucet. I was there in August so it was 120F during the day and 105F at night, but at least that faucet made the house humid. It was so hot that we students (even the pretty ones) were half-naked most of the time. That wasn't so bad. We sneaked into the ICU late one night and "borrowed" some fans.

Sometimes I was able to find an apartment for short-term rental.

Good times, good times...

Nat

 

[j0ez0r]

nm

 

[NatCh]

it sounds like some great stories are going to be told in this thread lol....those by natch sound quite miserable 😱

It was actually a good, productive, rewarding year with some great memories. I made sure to schedule rotations with several private practices and paid extra-close attention to the business side of things.

 

[jonwill]

A few of the places I went had dorms and usually, there are residents that rent rooms out. Many programs have deals with hotels/apartments as well.

 

[meats]

sounds a bit scary, if you ask me! 😱

 

[whiskers]

sounds a bit scary, if you ask me! 😱

and expensive.

 

[cool_vkb]

I gave most of what I owned to the Des Moines battered women's shelter and to the Bosnian refugees, packed what i could into the back of my pickup truck and drove around the country seeing America for most of the year. I felt like a vagabond. I had my mountain bike and logged a lot of miles on the weekends. Many externships had some sort of student housing, but most were not exactly places where you'd want to be.

The Salt Lake City VA program had a large closet on a half-vacant floor of an office building! You had to walk past business people doing work then turn into your closet! Oh my heck! They'd be arriving for work in the morning and you'd be walking down the hall from the restroom in your jammies, toofbrush in mouf.

The Leavenworth, KS VA was haunted. What's that sudden putrid smell??? Why did my latched door just fly open in the middle of the night??? What just blew through the room??? How come the attic light just went on??? It sucked! And I was there for four months!!! I aged more that rotation than at any other time in my life.

Phoenix student house had a broken A/C and a severely leaking faucet. I was there in August so it was 120F during the day and 105F at night, but at least that faucet made the house humid. It was so hot that we students (even the pretty ones) were half-naked most of the time. That wasn't so bad. We sneaked into the ICU late one night and "borrowed" some fans.

Sometimes I was able to find an apartment for short-term rental.

Good times, good times...

Nat

wow! amazing stories.