Dr. Erkeda DeRouen talks to Dr. Chase DiMarco from Med School Coach. His passion for high quality and accessible educational resources led him to create FreeMedEd and co-write Read This Before Medical School. He is also the host of the Medical Mnemonist podcast and the Rounds to Residency podcast. Today, Dr. Erkeda chats with Dr. DiMarco about his latest venture: FindARotation. He shares the story behind its inception and the challenges in building the platform.
- [02:11] FindARotation
- [08:35] Revolutionizing Medical School Rotations
- [16:29] Research and App Development for FindARotation
- [25:00] Di Marco’s Advice to Pre-meds and Medical Students
The Story Behind FindARotation
Dr. DiMarco recalls that the rotation options set up by his school were very limited. As a result, he turned to rotation agencies for help. Agencies charge fees in exchange for helping you look for opportunities. In Dr. DiMarco’s experience, he spent thousands of dollars on different rotations up-front. Even though he didn’t complete his training, agencies didn’t allow for refunds.
Rotation agencies don’t always have a student’s best interests at heart. Dr. DiMarco believes that the service they provide isn’t anything special. Essentially, agencies form connections with physicians, hospitals, clinics, and academic institutions and then match them to students. With today’s technology, it’s easy to build your own network. And that’s exactly what FindARotation (FAR) is set out to do. It will serve as a platform that connects students and physicians directly, allowing for more autonomy, transparency, and affordability.
Revolutionizing Medical School Rotations
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, there were already huge gaps in the medical education system. The health crisis just made its flaws glaringly obvious. At the moment, a lot of students only receive basic hands-on training and then move on to licensure. FindARotation is meant to help all healthcare students get the clinical experience they need. Even pre-meds can take advantage of FAR to look for shadowing experience or to help build their CV.
About 80% of active physicians in the US are in community settings. FindARotation aims to empower this pool of doctors by giving them a platform where they can impart their knowledge and skills to others. It takes time and effort to look for students, to figure out scheduling, and to fill out paperwork. The platform automates these processes for the physician, all the while providing marketing for the rotations. Other advantages for physicians include CME credits, teaching recognitions, and tax incentives.
Visit FindARotation’s website for more information and helpful articles. Like and follow FindARotation’s Facebook Page, Instagram, and Twitter for new updates on the platform.
