clinical rotations

[fd]

Would someone please explain the process of setting up clinical rotations. I would like to understand this long before I'm required to do so.
Does Ross publish a list of hospitals that I will be eligible to go to?
If not, where exactly can I get the CORRECT info?

[jim]

they have most listed on their webpage. you tell them where you want to go. thats no guarantee that is where you will end up, but my experience and my firends is they send you where you want. if you want an outside hospital, then you have to do the leg work. hope this helped. as long as you are at one of their sites, you do nothing more then send them your preferences, and your step 1 scores.

[atth]

I know Kern County is very competitive and that I would need to have a certain GPA and Step 1 score. Does anyone know how many students are sent to kern county each semester? people start their rotations at different times depending on when they take their step 1. Would I be at an advantage if I finished my 5th semester and took the step 1 score early whereas other people who also wanted kern took their step one a month or so after I did? Would I get kern county or would I have to wait for a certain amount of time before they assign me there? I'm from California and I want to go back there. The thought of moving around every few months or is not very appealing to me.

[MitchDC]

Keep this is mind. From what I've heard and read on the Kern website, rotation start there in July only. So you are on an equal paying field with everybody else. Another interesting pearl is that Kern only lists Ross University and St. George's University (in that order) on their site.

-M

[Iubito]

Beg to differ. They list four affiliations:

Touro
Ross
St. George
AUC

http://www.kernmedicalcenter.com/body.cfm?id=61

:)

[thechanting]

i recently finished most of my third and fourth year rotations at kmc and can offer this much. first off, all myths can be laid to rest by contacting medical education there. if you want to apply, i believe there are forms available in the dominica office somewhere.

there is an academic criteria, and while i'm not sure of the exact cutoffs, i wouldn't even think about applying if you don't have at least a 3.0 and 200. if you make it past the application phase, there is a phone interview involved. kern prefers to have their core students do all of their third year rotations there, so if you do a rotation prior to going to kern for your third year, you may have a tougher time getting in unless you're willing to repeat that rotation as an elective. at least, that was still the policy when i left a couple of months ago. however, if you wish to do one of your third year rotations at another hospital after you've gotten in, they may make some allowance for that.

i believe kmc accepts third year students twice a year in the summer and winter. if you're dead set on going to kmc, call and find out when they accept students, then plan on taking step 1 at least 8 weeks before. unlike the st. george students who win their way to kmc via a lottery, ross students have to have their step 1 scores in before they are accepted and are accepted based on merit. however, if you aren't accepted as a core student, you can always ask them to do part or all of your fourth year there. they generally have more space available to accomodate fourth year students. i would recommend doing most of the legwork yourself as clinical science (at least, one person in particular) in ny (at the time, now nj) was pretty useless and had in fact assigned me to rotations on the east coast.

i have heard reasons from other students for going to kmc during my days on the rock from i want to go to the beach everyday to i don't want to move around. the attractive thing about kmc is that you can do your entire third and fourth years there. however, some of their rotations leave something to be desired. if you plan on doing peds or psych, i'd think about setting up those rotations outside of kmc if you're set on going there. or if you do those rotations at kmc, find a good supplemental source for step2 (i personally recommend the blueprints series). the other four core rotations (ob/gyn, med, surg, and fp) are fairly strong at kmc.

kmc is located in bakersfield. look that up on mapquest, it is nowhere near a beach. in fact, bakersfield is located in a hot, desolate, god-forsaken section of california whose main claim to fame is that you can contract coccidiomycoses there. not unlike a certain carribean island, except for the fungus part. no offense to bakersfield residents. but, it is within driving distance of l.a., s.f., l.v., yosemites, etc. for those of us who live in california and miss home. and it is a county hospital, which means you get lots of hands-on experience, but you should also brush up on your spanish if you want to take a decent h&p without hunting for an interpreter. also, most of the residents there are fmg's so they are more intimately aware of our situation and the hoops we have to jump through for residency, which is helpful.

hope this helps.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

So much info about KMC. Thanks very much!!! Thats where I want to go to.

Do you know how the interview works if I will be overseas? I am planning to take the USMLE in India and wait until Ross assigns me the rotation.

[atth]

First of all, I'm just a first semester student, but I really want to go back to California for rotations for a number of reasons. I just wanted to know when I should apply for the rotations there. Also, you mentioned that there are 2 start dates, what are they? If all goes well, I'll be down with 5th semester by the end of November. Would that be too late for the winter start date? About the GPA and Step 1 requirement, their website said a minimum GPA of 3.2 and 210 on Step 1, but they didn't say the exact start date for the rotations.