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Clinical Rotations
During the third year, you are fully immersed in clinical training. You complete 40 weeks of clinical training over the course of the academic year. Rotation sites include the Des Moines University Clinic, the Des Moines Veterans Administration Medical Center, Broadlawns Medical Center, and rural community hospital-based clinics.
The clinical objectives are designed to develop basic clinical skills required to properly evaluate and manage the podiatric medical patient. You draw upon information learned in the previous two years, satisfying a standard of clinical achievement developed by the faculty. Clinical faculty members verify your successful completion of third-year clinical objectives by observing you interacting with patients and supervising the delivery of medical care.
CPMS recognizes the paradigm shift in medical education resulting in greater external educational affiliations. Although this concept has been embraced by osteopathic and allopathic medical institutions for years, it has not been widely accepted by podiatric medical education. CPMS has established affiliations with more than 25 medical centers throughout the United States, which serve as core hospitals.
The fourth-year educational goals and objectives are designed to give you an opportunity to use and further develop cognitive and practical skills related to:
- Podiatric and general medicine
- Podiatric surgery
- Biomechanics/orthopedics
- Podiatric radiology
During the fourth year you complete 11 months of clinical rotations that begin in June of your final year. You complete a minimum of six months (24 weeks) of podiatric medical/surgical rotations. All students complete a four-month "core hospital rotation" during the 24 weeks. In essence, the core hospital is the hospital extension of CPMS, designed to provide a similar clinical training experience for all students. CPMS core hospitals include the VA hospital at Yale University, The University of Texas Health Science Center, and Western Pennsylvania Hospital.
Additionally all fourth-year students participate in one month of podiatric private practice. You complete the remaining portion of the fourth year by participating in elective rotations.
