A few questions about clinicals and beyond...

[RAMAIR57]

Im a little confused about how everything works after we leave st vincents. I know we have that summer to study for the usmle's (Ill probably take a review class), and I know that st georges places you in a hospital, but I was wondering if you stay where st georges places you for the final two years, or is it possible to set up your own clinicals (Id like to go back home to Buffalo to do them? Does anyone know aout this? Also, I was wondering how rotations work; do you get grades, etc? Another thing I was wondering is the affiliation with st georges while you are doing clinicals; once we are in our third year, are we for all intents and purposes done with st georges (how does med school graduation work for instance)? Last of all, when we finally do graduate, can we get a residency other than the place where we did clinicals (like I said, Id like to return to Buffalo), or do you just have to go where they tell you. As you can see, Id llike to hve a better idea of what my future holds, so if someone can set me staright about all of this, Id really appreciate it

[Nimitt]

To answer some of your questions: If you choose a clinical center then you will do your entire 3rd year there. If you choose a individual hospital then you run the risk of having to move around for rotations (including to another state). For instance you can do a medicine rotation in cali then a peds rotation in florida, etc. or you can stay lets say at methodist and do all your cores. As far as 4th year, you set up electives with hospitals either that are affiliated with SGU or those that arent. However, I believe SGU only allows 12 weeks of rotations outside of SGU affiliates. Then you have to keep in mind that certain states have policies (i.e. Texas) that if you do ANY rotations outside of school affiliated hospital you may not be approved for licensing once you have completed residency and wish to practice there. This does not mean you cannot get a residency in that state. There are also other requirements you must keep in mind when setting up your 4th year, for instance family practice is required for licensing in california and texas (which also requires neurology).
Now with all that said unless there are affiliated hospitals in Buffalo you may not do more than 12 weeks (I am 90% sure about this requirement but not 100%) there.
As far as rotations: your get grades A,B,C or F in your 3rd year and pass/fail in 4th year. The grades consist of written exam, oral exam, professionalism, clinical skills, and medical knowledge. The person grading you is an attending/preceptor of each rotation.
When you are doing rotations you are still an SGU student and have to abide by whatever rules set forth by the school and the hospital you are rotating thru. the written exam is created by SGU and given to you by the hospital where you are. The oral exam is created and given by the attending in charge of you.
As far as residency: you can apply to any hospital or program you wish however you should keep in mind that you are a foreign grad, your scores (cant apply to harvard say with a 183) and LOR. With all this in mind alot of our graduates do get residencies with SGU affiliated hospitals which would make perfect sense. So for residency you can apply to say SUNY Buffalo if you want to go back there.

WOW that was a mouth full and I hope it made sense! :?
If you want more details feel free to PM me.

Nimitt
4th year
SGU SOM

[geoff]

Well honestly...you'll probably be able to find most of the information thru SGU's main office or this forum. Basically... you finish in Vinnie's and if you're clever.... you study like crazy for the step 1.... all as you have to do is look at residency application web pages to see that they have cutoffs for their applications. Usually that affords you about two plus months.....and then you write. In Vinnie's you select five hospitals in order.... and then they place you..... generally trying to match those with families back home...and other things... if you select a clinical center like I did...essentially you're locked in for the duration of your five cores(42 weeks of rotations)...surgery, internal medicine, psych, peds and surgery. Those five cores have rounds...and teaching sessions with attendings and SGU faculty... they have written and oral examinations that show up on your transcript and count toward your GPA...also residency apps. If you select a hospital that has only one core... you have essentially decided to 'move' around for your clinicals...SGU will help you schedule rotations... you may select a center and then settle down for a while for more rotations in one hospital.... or you can continue to only select certain rotations at certain hospitals......and skip around... though some enjoy doing that..and it does I imagine provide some depth to your hospital experiences....it also requires more paperwork...for each hospital.... more scheduling.... more housing arrangements...more plane flights and others... There are clinical coordinators at each hospital that help you with documentation...letter's of reference and interaction with the school. You also continue to work with SGU for documentation, degree requirements, and advice for apps, career guidance...finances ...graduation...etc.... so you're not stranded by any means and SGU helps you along the way. I hope that's a bit of what you're looking for... the remaining 38 weeks of req'd rotations are up to you to select...generally with some req's in fields...which you can do at the same hospital or others...... depending on what you'd like...or need for state licensure....at the end you smile. Some states will require you to have your step results in before starting rotations...or allow twelve weeks first...and then must have the results...or you can go to UK with no step timing issues.... Best of luck...it's a long process...riddled with paperwork and long hours...but fun...and for the most part...quite a bit more enjoyable than just book study. I opted for one hospital and have been at Jamaica now for over one year...moved within 15 mins by subway..... and have settled in...keeping things simple.
Geoff