Thread: How are the Clinical Rotations?

That's a very loaded question. With regards to scheduling of the rotations - it is excellent, our coordinator expects us to give him at least one week advance notice as far as which rotation we want but if a rotation is available they will schedule you even one or two days before. The quality of the rotation really depends on what you ask for. If you are the type of person who wants to be in the rotation 6 out of 7 days of the week it can be done, but if you need an easy rotation which only meets three days out of the week because you are studying for an exam it has also been arranged. All the preceptors I have had so far are great. Most will teach, but all will answer your questions associated with the rotation. Ultimately is up to you on how much you want to learn and how much you want to get out of the rotation. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. What semester are you?

Clinical Rotations with CMU are very organized and well prepared for the students. Scheduling is done in a timely manner. CMU rotations can be done back to back without waiting for weeks to set up between each rotation. Coordinators are always available and quick to respond to questions and concerns, they are personable and easy to talk to. All the doctors I've rotated with were accommodating, understanding, and passionate about teaching. As long as you have common sense, be professional and take initiatives to learn, you'll be fine. I never had any problems with rotations at all.

Hello MDOnly,

Welcome to the forums!
I had a terrible experience with the other schools and i didn't like the professionalism the schools displayed and I felt lost because of it. They never answered phone calls, emails, and when they did, you never felt sense of security and confidence in their abilities.

I transferred into CMU at the beginning of this year and let me tell you its been a world of difference.
The reason for my transfer was after I spoke to the clinical director at CMU.
He was very honest from the beginning and kept his word about how my experiences would be and everything he stated was truthful.

Honestly, I was surprised because like with everything in this world, you gotta take what people say with a grain of salt.

He schedules your rotations, giving you a great deal options of what you would like to do, is helpful with any task, always responsive (I cannot stress that factor because it has made my rotations even better experience), and is available via telephone (email backs almost within minutes to hours).


I got many options on how to proceed with my studies (for steps) and rotations. I could do a rotation that was every single day, long hours, to get experience or do short hours and balance that with my studies.

For my first rotation, I choose ophthalmology at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
Like CMU always does, I receive my schedule weeks before hand with the preceptor name/number/address and all documentation required by CMU for that rotation (Student Evulation/Case Write-Ups). I contacted the doctor and he told me to study anatomy of the eye.
I was a bit afraid at first, but when i met the doctor and 3 other students I was rotating with, it turned out to become one of my favourite rotations.
I thought he would grill me on anatomy of eye and diseases associated but he took time to explain everything in depth (so i really didn't need to prepare LOL but its good i did though). I like having a small group to rotate with and it was in a hospital not a clinic which was even better experience. There were students from other schools as well but I chose the rotation because i spoke with the Clinical director at CMU before and he told me i would attend few days a week for 4-6 hours so I knew how to balance my studying. Other students didn't have a clue till they asked the doctor how long was the rotation and what days. So you can see what I mean, the clinical coordinator keeps you prepared for sure!
Whenever i had a question about medicine, rotations, or just even getting around he has always been helpful and honest. And its the honesty that has sold me and makes me proud to be part of CMU. Because at least now I know that my school (especially my clinical coordinator) looks out for their students well-being and success.

I thought since its an elective (ophthalmology), I wouldn't learn much, you know, since its a caribbean school it wouldn't THAT much of a good experience. (I learned coming from Caribbean, you always kind of have to downplay your expectancies).

I couldn't have been more wrong. I learned actively A LOT. I saw patients that had cataracts, signs of Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma and much more through many equipments got to see the diagnosis first hand. The Doctor gave us presentations to do and that helped a great deal in reinforcing what was learnt. It was an active experience and I got to ask a lot of questions and the Doc was so resourceful and helpful in answering too. Not only did I enjoy the rotation but I made a great mentor from the Doc. He offered his experiences, advice and how to approach the next few years of medical student life and was very kind personality to be around (especially he since he was 65)

I am going to do now Radiology at another hospital, then Internal Med rotation but meeting other CMU students told me of their experiences with other Docs and I can't wait to have similar experiences. Excellent Docs, Excellent Rotations, and I can't stress how Helpful the clinical coordinator and the department.

I don't come back to these forums much, but i always like sharing my experiences because when I was struggling in other medical schools, no one was there to give me honest advice. I stumbled my way a lot so I rather you don't do the same.

If you need any more information about anything at all, feel free to PM me anytime or post right here!

I hope i answered your question.
I can safely say that my experiences are not a needle in the haystack but concurrent with a great deal of CMU students.

Take care!

First off, let me commend my fellow colleagues on their attentiveness to detail.

Caribbean Medical University (CMU) prides itself of strong educational foundations that lead to success not only in your clinical career (rotations), but also in your future as a Physician.

I am currently a 4th year Medical Student with CMU, to assist in your interpretation of my posts direction.

All CMU rotations are in or are associated with Teaching Facilities, whether in the inpatient setting or the outpatient setting. I personally have completed rotations in Chicago, IL., and can share my perspective for these rotations.

Completed:

Family Practice - CORE - Norwegian American Hospital
OB/GYN - CORE - Mercy Hospital
Surgery - CORE - Thorek Hospital
Pediatrics - CORE - Norwegian American Hospital
Ophthalmology - ELECTIVE - Mercy Hospital
ER/Urgent Care - ELECTIVE - Northwest Community Hospital

All my rotations were in safe and easily accessible locations and my Attending's were extremely interested in assisting in my learning. As stated by my fellow colleagues, you will get out of your rotations as much as you are willing to put in, for instance, if you want to learn and be treated at the intern level, your Attending's will assist you in this, as long as you take the initiative to read and prepare yourself to discuss cases and learning objectives with them. Do not expect by any means in any rotation to be spoon fed material. Your path is your own and you must meet your Attending's along the way to assist them in molding your thought process and your young clinical judgement skills. Every single one of my Attending's, encouraged my thirst for knowledge as well as assisted in refining my though process as a student Physician to better understand the diagnostic and treatment processes.

In many of my rotations, I was an integral part of a team, including senior students, Residents, as well as my Attending's. I was involved in the diagnosis through to the treatment plan, and during the process learned to better myself through didactic teaching as well as guided learning objectives. Of course, where would we all be without being questions from time to time, the good old pimping, yes it happens and CMU prepares you to answer back appropriately. I find my clinical colleagues do not even know they are being "pimped", as we are fully prepared with strong backgrounds.

From an institutional point of view, my personal clinical coordinator has been an extreme wealth of knowledge as well as assistance. Assisting in the right elective options to assist in my future career goals, as well as to round out my education.

Medical Education is a journey, it involves a lot of trust in your self as well as your institution. I will say this, I was with CMU on the Island and am still with CMU now in my fantastic rotations in the USA.

As a Canadian CMU has also scheduled rotations in Canada, to assist in my objective of returning home to practice. I know of fellow colleagues that are in the United Kingdom as well for rotations and many in other areas of the USA.


As an end note, if you are researching CMU as an Institution, congratulations on your future career path goals, if you are a fellow CMU colleague, add a post and share your experience with the world.

Feel free to ask questions or join into the conversation.

Sincerely,

JVE/PhD.

Which rotations have you done so far?

Which rotations have you finished so far?

I've done IM, FM, Surgery, Peds, Psych, Urgent care, Radiology, ER, Cardio
Currently doing OBGYN then have 1 more elective left

Some were very hands on and I learned a lot from patient interaction. I interviewed and performed PE, wrote notes, ordered labs and drugs, given shots, performed CPR, placed GI and NG tubes, sutured, done over the phone consultation with patients and other doctors, learned different insurances, how office is run (i think it's good to know all aspects of hospital/clinic), examined psych cases, cut, drain... etc. Of course all were under guidance and confirmation of the preceptors. I've been having a blast

Some were not so hands on due to the nature of the specialty, such as cardio, surgery and radiology. But I still learned about patient care, how to be a compassionate doctor, and even how to run your own clinic/business. In these cases your preceptor will give you important things to read about, discuss, lecture, answer any questions, and share their experiences. I never felt cheated of anything even with my not so hands on rotations.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

Is CMU acredited school.

Originally Posted by sorry6976

Is CMU acredited school.

The school is accredited by various organizations, is there one in particular you were looking for? As of now the school is accredited or recognized by WHO, Avicenna, IMED, ECFMG, MCC, GMC, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. This means you are able to apply and take your USMLE exams, Participate in the Match, if you have student loans you can place them on forbearance etc. One thing I am not 100% sure is if they are approved by the department of education of the U.S.A. apparently U.S. military veterans are able to get GI Bill assistance while at CMU and the only way you can do that is if the school has been approved by the U.S. Department of education but I'm not 100% sure about that. Finance would probably answer that question for you quickly.