FAQ Clinical Rotations

What are rotations?

During the third and fourth years at LECOM, students are required to complete a total of 24 clinical rotations (12 per year). Each rotation is four weeks in length and is classified as core, elective, or selective. All core rotations (internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and ambulatory medicine) must be with a LECOM affiliate. Electives can be in any specialty and at any domestic medical facility. “Other rotations (selectives, family medicine and rural/underserved) are similar to electives. All rotations are approved through the Clinical Education Offices.

How are clinical rotation groups assigned?

During the second year, the class is broken down into 12 clinical rotation groups of equivalent size (class size/12). Each group then chooses a group sequence (one through 12) that has been assigned a schedule of its upcoming third-year and fourth-year rotations. Bradenton students will be assigned a core site in one of the Florida sites.

Once you have selected a group, are you free to switch rotation sequence?

No. Once your selection is finalized (generally by the middle of second-year classes), your third-year and fourth-year rotations must be completed during the scheduled time periods of the assigned sequence.

How do you choose where you do your rotations?

This master list is compiled on a yearly basis by the Associate Dean of Clinical Education and it consists of hospitals, clinics, and physicians who have, through an affiliation agreement, accepted to train a specified number of LECOM students on a year-long or four-week rotational basis. The master list is available on the Clinical Education tab on the portal.
Every LECOM student is assigned to a year-long core site for their clinical training for both their third-year and fourth-year rotations.  LECOM uses the E*Value Optimization Scheduling (EVOS) tool to assist in the rotation assignment process.  EVOS is not a lottery tool. A lottery system is random and sequential; EVOS is mathematical and linear.

Lottery tools assign a random order to student preferences before creating a schedule:

  • The student randomly given the first selection receives his or her first choice
  • The next randomly selected student then receives the highest choice they made (so long as the first student did not already take it)
  • The student after that gets the highest choice they made that the first and second students did not take
  • … and so on.

In a lottery scheduling system, a few students might receive every assignment they request, while others might receive only a few—if any—of their selections.

The goal of the EVOS system is to create a year-long core site assignment with the highest possible level of student satisfaction by taking random chance out of the equation:

  • Each student’s preferences are reviewed by the optimizing program simultaneously to determine the best possible schedule for every student.

In the EVOS process, luck of the draw is not a factor. Every student is treated equally, and every student’s preferences are taken into account.

Students at each LECOM campus will have an updated list of all year-long sites available for that class.  Students will rank all available sites for that campus in order of preference.  Once the results of the EVOS tool is complete, it will be reviewed and approved by Clinical Education.  Students will receive an email confirmation of their assigned year-long core site by E*Value prior to the end of January.

Are you free to change your rotation sites during your third or fourth year?

No changes are permitted during the third year. There is some flexibility with elective and possibly selective rotations during the fourth year, but all core rotations are schedule at a core rotation site by the clinical education department.

How do you obtain information regarding clinical rotations?

During your first year, an overview of clinical rotations will be given by the Assistant Dean of Clinical Education. During your second year, the entire process of clinical rotation selection will be outlined in a very detailed fashion through scheduled meetings, as well as being listed in the Clinical Clerkship Manual. The manual contains general and specific information relative to clinical education, such as curriculum, rotational goals and objectives, student protocol, grading, rules and regulations, etc.

How do you obtain information regarding clinical rotation sites?

General information for all the LECOM Affiliates is available through the LECOM student portal under the Clinical Education tab or the Office of Clinical Education, as well as the respective websites and literature of the hospital. For student elective rotations at non-affiliated sites, other resources include:

Every core year-long site has a profile on the LECOM Portal. This will offer insights on each site, including residency programs, site contact information, features unique to that site, what students is a good fit at that site and a web-site link for added information.

Additionally, the LECOM Affiliated Residency Programs document in the LECOM Portal under the Clinical Education tab, has information on every residency program affiliated with LECOM.

I know a hospital or physician in my hometown that may be interested in offering student rotations. Can I complete some of my rotations there?

Several of our current affiliates evolved through student contacts. If a hospital expresses an interest in becoming a LECOM Year-Long core affiliate it must be willing to accept all LECOM students on a particular core rotation throughout the year. The hospital must sign the standard LECOM Affiliation Agreement, which is required by the AOA. Any interested hospital CEO or medical staff can contact the Office of Clinical Education for further information. Unfortunately, most teaching hospitals already have one or more medical school affiliations, and can only offer elective rotations, which you are always free to pursue on your own. Others that are not teaching hospitals may take several years to meet the requirements to become a LECOM affiliate.

Where do LECOM students go for clinical rotations?

LECOM has developed clinical education teaching agreements with more than 100 hospitals and clinics with more than 1600 adjunct faculty members. Click here for examples of current affiliates where LECOM OMS3 and OMS4 have core clinical rotations. Affiliate agreements are subject to change. The Clinical Education Departments at LECOM Erie and LECOM Bradenton will make the determination of available sites during the OMS2 year.