How have your experiences rotating at ARMC and other regional sites been?
You get a lot of autonomy at ARMC for most rotations. You see the patient, write the note, and present an assessment and plan to the attending physician in most rotations. That being said the hours during 3rd year can be rough, upwards of 80+ hours a week on heavy surgery rotations. It's a safety net county hospital so everyone you see is generally lower income and has several poorly controlled chronic health problems that complicate diagnosis and treatment. It's a level 1 trauma center so you'll be busy on trauma service. I'd say it's a great training experience, but I wish the workload was lighter. ARMC has been hosting students from nearby DO schools and Caribbean students for decades, so they are used to having students around. Most attending physicians are friendly and willing to teach. They understand your limitations as a student and work with you to improve. The only other site I've been to was Inland Valley Medical Center in Temecula, which I enjoyed as well.
Do you feel like you have had a lot of flexibility to explore what you want to?
One of the biggest things I don't like about this school. As someone who is applying to a specialty that isn't part of the 3rd year core rotations, there is very little time between the end of 3rd year and the start of residency applications to explore that specialty. However, with Step 1 moving pass/fail our school has been rapidly shifting around the curriculum. The way my experience was structured is very different from what it is now. Last I heard the M2s finish a semester early and have a distinction semester, and you may be able to start 3rd year earlier. I may be wrong. If you already know what specialty you're interested in, there's plenty of support and resources to get you connected with the right people. ARMC has almost all the major specialties.
Is there support from admin to help you seek out away rotations?
I will say there are attempts to support you, but you'll have to do 95% of the work yourself. That being said, that's how your experience will be at almost any med school you choose. The faculty advisors and most admin at this school do not understand the current state and technology of medical education. Medical school admin is always 10-15 years behind the times. For example, almost everyone across all medical schools uses the same 2-3 board prep materials to learn the foundations of medicine instead of in-house lectures.
