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Concerned about Clinical Rotations in a Rural Setting


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I start my didactic year in a few months, but my school is in a small town, rural area.

I'm a little worried about having to travel far distances and not having places to stay during second year clinical rotations

 

 

Does any one have any experience having to travel far (150mile radius) for their clinical rotations? I assume the biggest concern would be finding a place to live for 6 weeks or having to commute hundreds of miles over the course of a few weeks. 

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I did several away rotations and did not have housing arranged at any of them. It was very stressful. Since then (13 yr later) my PA program has matured and has these niceties lined up for students doing away rotations--but I would call them necessities! I literally went to one rotation without a place to stay and the first day my preceptor asked for volunteers and a nice lady stepped up. Sure am glad she wasn't an axe murderer :)

Now in med school I have MANY away rotations and all of them provide housing if needed. Most is free or a very minimal fee--also a necessity when you're a poor student. I think this is an important thing to consider when choosing a school because you just don't have time to figure out safe housing when you're learning how to practice medicine.

As far as rural med goes, it's awesome--learn everything you can!

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My school had 50% of their rotations more than 8 hours away from the school.  Students were responsible for all their own housing except for international sites.  No one died, craigslist and alumni got a lot of use.

 

Arranging for your own housing should be a skill that PAs can be counted upon to manage.

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i did 3 out of state rotations. it was ok. the program set up housing for me at all 3.

 

Wow that would be nice. All of the programs I have interviewed at made it very clear that housing was entirely the student's responsibility and to expect a great deal of relocation. EMEDPA, I could be wrong but I believe that one of them is also your alma mater. It has changed a lot over there in Pennsylvania with all the programs that have popped up. There is a ridiculous amount of competition with other students for sites. But I was also told the same thing in Arizona.

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I went to Hahnemann, now drexel. I have heard they no longer find housing for students. I was the only student at all my away rotations:

Trauma in washington, DC

EM in rochester, NY

Peds EM in Hartford, CT.

 

Thought so. The faculty like to call it "the Hahnemann Physician Assistant Program at Drexel University".

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Right now I am travelling 40 min each way for rotation. Next rotation I will be travelling 1 hour each way, but only 3 days a week, for the sake of living at home. If your rotation requires you to be at your site 5 days a week and the commute is approaching 1 hour, check out airbnb.com

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