Chicago Clerkship Review

[titan25]

Please let me any one done externship with chicago clerkships

[Ivan_85]

has anyone made a rotation with Chicago clerkship?? opinions please...real? or fraud?

[jinxuanyi]

anyone participated the rotation through Chicagoclerkship, pleas give me some advice . Actually I just wanna make sure it really exists .....
Thank u

[Al-Saoudi]

yeah I did, i took 2 months with chicago clerkship and it was good, i joined a good doctors in chicago so my recommendation is they are good clerkship

[done with usmle]

when I heard my friends' experience with other people I said well chicago clerckship are the best. but I have to say nothing is perfect but overall is good. I did ob-gyn externship ,the doctor let us do everything u can imagine but the drawbacks were that the main hospital she was working in didnt accept students not sent by medical school so she were sneeking us in only to the clinic but we couldn't get into the OR and delivery ward. the other thing the doctor accepted 10 students at the same time so when she was st calling us all to the clinic each one got the chance to examine one patient only. but the good thing is that she was awsome in her LOR which what we all want ,right. good luck!

[judialjudi]

I did 3 months with chicago clerkships and the experience was a lot better than I hoped. Lori Ramos, the CEO, was very understanding and cooperative and their fees are reasonable.

[Jian]

If you are willing to relocate, chicago clerkships is the best. They have tuition information in the website, and there is no hidden fee. The application is straightforward and clear, and you get to know which hospital you are going before you pay and make final decisions. I have done two month of clerkship with them, and it was better than I thought. For the physicians that I was working on, I had a lot of hands on experience, especially in the outpatient clinic. Most importanly, I felt that the program really cares about their students. Throughout the whole 2-month clerkship, I can alway get hold of Lori Ramos whenever I have a question or concern, and she will try her best to help me out.

I actually contacted Americlerkship before I applied to chicago clerkships. Compared with chicago clerkships, Americlerkship has much higher tuition. The most annoy thing is that they put an offer for me and then want me to pay the tuition in 3 hours, but there is no detailed information about the hospital that I am going (they only put city names in the offer). If I don't accept in 3 hours, then the tuition is going to be higher because I will not have that much of discounts. In my offer, two month of clerkship is more than $5000. Besides tuition, there is another about $500 of membership fee. I have several friends did clerkship with Americlerkship, and they all doing exact the same thing as Chicago clerkship offered to me. So in terms of the quality of clerkship, there is not much of difference.

[PedsResident2013]

Hello everyone!

I have done 2 pediatrics rotations with Chicago Clerkships, the first one was 4-weeks long and the second one was 6-weeks long. Both rotations were at outpatient settings and the during the last one I had the opportunity to go on rounds at the floor and the hospital nursery.
Because of my good performance I was given letters of recommendation in support of my application to pediatrics residency programs.
Chicago Clerkships offers an excellent service, I highly recommend it!
They were very helpful in reviewing my personal statement and my CV as well as giving me an extensive career counseling including how to plan my application strategy.

Thank you Chicago Clerkships!

[drsudhirkaranam]

has anyone did psychiatry at chicagoclerships?if so plz do tell the experience..

[fnakbar]

i did a psych rotation with chicagoclerkships, and it went really well. The doctor i was with was really nice, he understands that i was studying for boards and allows me to do so. The rest of the staff is very nice, and i was able to accomplish everything i want to do. It is an outpatient clinic, so you get a calendar with the time and place of where you need to be. The doctor doesn't force you to do anything and it really is what you put in. He is happy to answer any questions and on a daily basis discusses patients with you. Their background medical history and asks you what medications you think should be given. Would recommend this rotation, especially if you are looking for some time to get a lot of studying done.

[drsudhirkaranam]

Originally Posted by fnakbar

i did a psych rotation with chicagoclerkships, and it went really well. The doctor i was with was really nice, he understands that i was studying for boards and allows me to do so. The rest of the staff is very nice, and i was able to accomplish everything i want to do. It is an outpatient clinic, so you get a calendar with the time and place of where you need to be. The doctor doesn't force you to do anything and it really is what you put in. He is happy to answer any questions and on a daily basis discusses patients with you. Their background medical history and asks you what medications you think should be given. Would recommend this rotation, especially if you are looking for some time to get a lot of studying done.

thanq for the reply. was there any inpatient experience?
does he take to any hospitals?

[Thewiseone86]

If you are looking to do clinical rotation in the US, Chicagoclerkships is very good. I did a psych rotation (outpatient) at Lombard IL. All I have to say is the rotation was wonderful and very interactive. The physician is always willing to answer questions and brings student up to date on every case.

[lolimacchiavello]

Hi everyone, I just finished doing my one month rotation through Chicago Clerkship and It was awesome.
I applied for the ED experience, and I had 3 shift a week, some night shifts, some day shifts. I get to go to two totally different hospitals: South Shore and Holy Cross. This allowed me to see not only different ways to work but also different population and of course, different pathology's.
The doctor that I shadowed liked to have an "academic hour" every shift, and sometimes you had to be the one presenting a subject or looking for information on how to manage something you saw.
If you are interested and you like it, you could have a lot of hands-on experience. I got to do: Full physical exam for every patient.
Follow up of the patient: labs, x-rays, CT. and with their needs.
Be up to date on how patients where responding to treatments on the ER and get back to the doctor every couple of minutes. Perform EKG's on every patient. Draw blood, first with nurses assistance, then on my own.
Clean wounds (stitches, lacerations, patient that fell down and had cuts and bruises all over his face). Assist with procedures such as pelvic exam, put central lines, give and remove stitches, put urinary catheters, drain abscess.
I actually did CPR on a patient and bagged the patient with an ambu mask, I got to put 3 stitches on the eyebrow of a patient!!
I was so excited with everything, I loved it!!
They even offered housing options for really affordable prices. I stayed at a house in Hyde Park for a month.
If you are looking for a great rotation, in a big city, but also in hospitals where you can have hands-on experience, this is the way to go!!

[lyl33]

as IMG i m looking for externship in surgery ...can anyone tell me what are requirements and cost ..

[anomali]

to all those guys who posted in this thread.....


are the doctors who evaluate us BOARD certified...?????
form what i heard from my seniors, majority of the times, the docs who write LOR's for us are not board certified....is it?????

[khan89]

Is there any one with experience of doing endocrinology rotation with chicagoclerkship?....i want to know in which hospitals or private clinics they offer this rotation....waiting for a reply!!!!

[Rookie]

It seems who ever wrote the reviews just created a fake forum a/c and wrote them.. all have only 1 post made by them.

The info given is by a single person with multiple ID. is there really some person who went through their service to get a USCE.?

[earthpole]

The reviews seem fake

[drbicha30]

So is chicagoclerkships the real deal how do you find out?

[jinxuanyi]

It is good, they guide u in some way. I think it is a good opportunity for IMG who have not taken any steps to experience the medical system in U.S. I also wondered if is real or not at first, which turns out to be excellently real. So , if u could not find other option to do clerkship, it is definately good idea.

[DrBear]

I'm interested in going to Chicago for a clerkship as I have family there. Has anyone gotten housing through chicago clerkships?

[drbicha30]

This is definetely the real deal. I just finished two rotation for IM and Fam.Med. On Jan. And Feb. 2013 And it was everything i was hoping for Hands on experience and LORs. Thanks chicago clerkships.

[Superfood]

Hi All,
I'm an IMG from Japan. Being a very old IMG (11yr since graduation), I had to have some USCE for my residency application. I chose Chicago Clerkship, after going through several websites, because their price was reasonable and the owner (Lori) was always professional and answered all of my questions. I can't believe some people wonder if it exists... it certainly does, and I recommend that you go to their website and contact Lori directly and speak with her. She will answer your call, or will return your call very quickly. She will try to meet your needs, and even picked me at the airport (don't know it it's going to be her in your case). She knows how USCE is important for IMGs, and knows how difficult match can be without it. Another lady, T.B. (not sure if I can put her name here so I'll use her initials), is so kind and helpful. If anything occurs, you can talk to her and she will listen to you very sincerely.
They also provide you a list of homes you can stay during externship. I enjoyed my home stay with a kind lady, and the neighborhood was safe. Supermarket and drug stores are all in the walking distance. To the clinic/hospital, there is a shuttle that comes right on your street or a block away, so there is no need to rent a car or use public transportation. There may be only you in the shuttle, or up to 3 other students at a time, depending on each clinic's schedule. I met many nice international students, mostly from India or China. Surprisingly, most of them were still students or fresh grads. I saw only one older IMG. The shuttle picks you up at the clinic before dinnertime, so you won't be waiting or working after dark. I was worried about the safety and cold weather in Chicago, but everything was so fine. I was there from early Feb to mid March 2013, very little snow, and you need one good coat but that's it. Inside the apartment, it was very warm. I attended IM clinics, and got a very nice LOR. I also ate well there, since there were two health food store/supermarket in my walking distance. Overall, I enjoyed the time in Chicago much more than I expected. Hope it helps, and good luck!!

[doktor]

I recently had externship with Chicagoclerkship and I was satisfied with its service. Chicagoclerkship wasn’t business minded but attended to individual preferences and needs. The price was affordable too. I was in rotations that Caribbean medical students rotated too. So it was the closest thing one could find to medical education system in US. During my stay in Chicago Lori was always there to help and she was more than happy to provide help. Chicagoclerkship provided help in all aspects. One of the best things was that it provided help in finding homestay that can be a real hassle without help. Overall I recommend using Chicagoclerkship service to all people.

[HOTdoc]

Originally Posted by Rookie

It seems who ever wrote the reviews just created a fake forum a/c and wrote them.. all have only 1 post made by them.

The info given is by a single person with multiple ID. is there really some person who went through their service to get a USCE.?

ey. very good observation. went through the posts again after i read your post. and you are right. those who post the good comments about chicago clerkships may not be genuine...they only have or 2 posts in their profile.

i was about to get carried away with those posts and was thinking of going for chicago clerkships. I'm currently in the process of figuring out where to get my externship. fmg portal or americlerkships. any help?

[ACA]

The organizations you listed are great options.

Our Medical Residency Track program may be a better option for you.

Contact us for a free evaluation.


Best - Victor

Originally Posted by HOTdoc

ey. very good observation. went through the posts again after i read your post. and you are right. those who post the good comments about chicago clerkships may not be genuine...they only have or 2 posts in their profile.

i was about to get carried away with those posts and was thinking of going for chicago clerkships. I'm currently in the process of figuring out where to get my externship. fmg portal or americlerkships. any help?

[doktor]

I just wrote about my real experience which well lived up to my expectations. We only can tell about our experiences and it's up to you to decide for yourself but the last 2 comments written in the same day just 1 hour apart seemed fake counter attack from the same person advertising for rival companies. I could choose the above advertising companies too at the same time that I applied for Chicagoclerkship and in fact I started up with their application process at the same time but they weren't as transparent and attentive as Chicagoclerkship is about its service and I found Chicagoclerkship more helpful in any aspect that I wanted and closer to my expectations.

[Chicagoclerkships]

Hello everyone! Wow, what a lively thread! First of all, thanks to all of you for your interest and your efforts in posting here. And thanks to USMLE-Forums for their excellent work in providing education and resources. Everything, even the controversy, is much appreciated because it stimulates people to research and get the information they need to make better choices.

Chicago Clerkships, Inc. is indeed a real company. We are a corporation registered in Illinois and with the IRS. We consider ourselves a "social enterprise" because our staff are from the non-profit sector and we were founded to provide a social benefit and be self-sustaining as well. Actually, the idea for Chicago Clerkships grew out of our personal experience of how IMGs are often exploited in their quest for USCE. We wanted to offer an alternative. Some of the posts speak to the fact that we are not all about the business or the money. I'm so glad that has come through because that is who we are.

When our clients complete their rotation(s), we ask all of them to review us on this forum because it is the largest and best organized (we think!). Naturally, not every rotation is going to be perfect so we are taking a risk in doing this. Some of our clients visit here for the first time when they write their review. You can see from above, not all the reviews are stellar, but most are positive. We try our best to make the experience excellent for each client, but in this business there are many moving parts and we cannot control every minute of every rotation (much as we would like to do so!).

That being said, we believe that our service is the best. We provide a localized, personalized, customer-focused approach that is honest and transparent. Our clients appreciate that we not only care about their training but about their housing and transportation needs, about their transition to a new culture, and about their professional development. That is to say, Chicago Clerkships strives to treat each client with the dignity they deserve as human beings, and the respect they merit for their goal of serving humanity as healers.

We invite you to view videos of our clients talking about their experiences (we've posted them on our Facebook page), and to visit our website. If you have questions or need information about rotations or preparing for the match, we are happy to help by phone, skype, email, or Facebook message. Best of luck to all of you and thanks for your interest in Chicago Clerkships. We hope to see you in Chicago, the great "City of Big Shoulders," soon!

Lori Ramos, CEO
Chicago Clerkships

[dr.e.m]

Originally Posted by ACA

The organizations you listed are great options.

Our Medical Residency Track program may be a better option for you.

Contact us for a free evaluation.


Best - Victor

Hi,do your company cover the visa invitation for IMG s?or we can apply for your course if we already have visa?
thanks for answer

[drkousigan]

I am currently doing the 3 months rotations with Chicago clerkships. I am done with my first rotation. I am doing my second rotation. My first one was in internal medicine. I never expected such a great hands-on experience. All my friends told me that none of the externships will be helpful. But to the contrary, I rotated with a IM physician who had more than 30 yrs experience. First the first 2 - 3 days i had to just shadow him, and i thought that it is going to be like this for the rest of the rotation. But to my surprise, my physician told me that, u saw me how I see and talk to patients, now go ahead and see patients. Man, I was totally amazed and by the last week I saw atleast 12 - 15 pts on my own! All I can say is that its worth your time and money and the best hands-on( i think i got it). I was very new to chicago and Lori Ramos helped me with Housing and travel. She is the best!! Thanks Lori for your help! Hope my next rotations will also be like this. Will keep posted.
I am used this forum for my step 1 and 2 CK prep, so to contribute from my side if anyone have any questions regarding rotations, DM me. Atleast I can do this help!!!!

[Dr. Mexito]

Originally Posted by done with usmle

but the good thing is that she was awsome in her LOR which what we all want ,right. good luck!

I'm thinking on doing Surgery rotation, but I'm wondering how's the LoR they give you? Is it a white paper or is it with the hospital letterhead?

[mim171]

Originally Posted by dr.e.m

Hi,do your company cover the visa invitation for IMG s?or we can apply for your course if we already have visa?
thanks for answer

they are too expensive..costs around 7.5k usd...if money is not a problem then u should go for it

[mim171]

Originally Posted by Dr. Mexito

I'm thinking on doing Surgery rotation, but I'm wondering how's the LoR they give you? Is it a white paper or is it with the hospital letterhead?

thats my question too

[Dr.Albert]

Originally Posted by mim171

they are too expensive..costs around 7.5k usd...if money is not a problem then u should go for it

7.5k usd for 3 months? Do you mean ACA?

[mim171]

Originally Posted by Dr.Albert

7.5k usd for 3 months? Do you mean ACA?

sorry my mistake.its now like this in aca...

MST is currently offering Tuition Assistance Grant Discounts and payments plans. If you qualify your total tuition for MST can be reduced to as little as $9,700-$10,500

[usmletaker2013]

Any more experiences on chicago cleriships? I'd it possible to get clinical hands on experience after graduation?

[r0ck_s0lid]

Of all the reviews posted here only two seem to come from people who did externship with Chicago clerkship. I'm interested in reading more REAL reviews; no 1-2 post history, or reviews from those who just joined the forum...

[GM90]

Anyone on surgery externship with chicagoclerkships?
I would appreciate your opinion.

[Emeli]

I recently had hands-on clinical rotations in psychiatry and IM with Chicagoclerkships and I was really satisfied with its services. I had inpatient and outpatient rotations in which Caribbean medical students rotated too. Actually I did not expect such a great hospital-based rotation before starting my rotations specially in psychiatry that is mostly clinic-based. During my stay in Chicago (3 months) Lori was always there to help me with everything specifically with reviewing my CV and PS that was critical to me. Nancy and Caitlin were also really helpful. Overall you never feel like you are alone until the last minute of your rotations. Lori answered my every questions even after finishing my rotations. Another point I found as an IMG was that the clinical rotations greatly helped me with my Cs exam. Doing clinical rotation just 1 month before exam made me more confident and less anxious about taking exam. The price was affordable too because you receive a lot of services that are included. Overall I recommend using Chicagoclerkships service to all people specially for those looking for USCE and IMGs who are about taking Cs exam. Thank you everybody in Chicagoclerkships

[victoria1]

Hi all. All the posts are positive. I just hope its true. Does anybody know which are the hospitals Chicago Clerkship puts the imgs in during rotations. I just want to have idea about it as I am thiking about doing externship soon. Thanks

[Chicagoclerkships]

Hi Victoria,
Please PM me or send me an email through our website, and I will be most happy to send you a link with a map that shows and describes all of our rotations.

All the best,
Lori Ramos

[victoria1]

Oh ok lori how can I get to you? Thanks

[Chicagoclerkships]

Hi Victoria,

It's very easy to contact us. Just go to our website and use this form:

http://chicagoclerkships.com/contact-us/

Mention this post and ask for the google map.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Lori Ramos

[noangel513]

Hi all, I recently had a one month externship with Chicagoclerkships. I just want to say it was really a good experience. I had a hands on rotation with a board certified physician who is very friendly and knowledgable. He would ask a lot of questions every day during rounding and we interact with patients a lot! It was so helpful to be involved like a real physician and u get good professional training. All the persons in the hospital were very nice and helpful. Lori is really nice and responded to each of my question timely and professionally. I want to say thank you to the people from Chicagoclerkships and in the hospital and my home stay lady!!

[GM90]

Hello everyone,
My experience with Chicago Clerkships is the following.
Surgery as everybody knows, is very difficult to get real "hands-on" experience. The "hands-on" experience offered is merely doing H&P's, that in my opinion is good for those who are going to take Step 2 CS soon, but for others is not. Otherwise, you can practice anywhere in your country with anyone that can speak English and can follow a script. No real hands-on experience due to the difficult getting it in the United States in general.
My experience was not the best, because the first rotation they did not give me what promised, the second was ok due to the doctors, great persons but just outpatient clinic and the third, outpatient with students and honestly, I would not recommend it and specially for the price. Probably for others specialties is ok, but fur Surgery is not. I recommend writing to faculty members in university programs and get some observers. More valuable because the rotation is in an university affiliated hospital and the LORs are from recognized US Surgeons and not just a letter to fullfill the requirements. And also, you can get the rotations for free in some of the universities. I did that, and I matched so probably you can benefit from my opinion.

[Chicagoclerkships]

Thanks, GM90 for your review. For IMGs, hands-on hospital surgery rotations are extremely difficult to find; there is a lot of demand and not a lot of options if you are no longer enrolled in medical school.

Due to the difficulties you experienced, Chicago Clerkships decided not to continue offering surgery as a rotation option. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality rotations to our clients, and thus far it has been impossible for us to find a surgery rotation that lives up to our standards.

I think your advice is sound. I'd like to add to it by recommending this option that we have come across:

https://depts.washington.edu/uwsurgap/fmg.html

All the best to you and congratulations on matching! It was a pleasure having you as a client.

Lori Ramos

[GM90]

Thank you Lori. And good luck to you too with your company.

For users, you can also try research fellows, there are some spots open every year.

Germán Mendoza

[Chicagoclerkships]

Getting the word out to everyone regarding our amazing pediatrics rotation: 100% hospital, pediatric ER, teaching rounds, grand rounds, at not just one but TWO teaching hospitals with a preceptor who is a member of the residency recruitment committee for one of the hospitals.

Lori Ramos

[Charsmd]

Hi

I so your post on chicagoclerkship and it was very helpful. I have similar score to you and to see at the end of your post that you matched was awesome congrats!
I have a couple questions. Did you try other services like american clerkships of FMG clerkships? did you matched to your first choice, surgery? any recommendations for a Colombian IMG, 2008 graduation similar scores on boards. I have being following some physicians but no hands on experience.

Thanks

Carlos Marin
[email protected]

[Chicagoclerkships]

In a hurry and highly motivated? Ask about our ROTATION BOOT CAMPS. You can do two rotations simultaneously and get two LORs. We will help you work out the schedule. Available Rotation Boot Camps: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Family Medicine with pediatric focus, Family Medicine with adult focus; Emergency Medicine, peds and general, Pediatric Boot Camp with baby focus.

[anu11]

Is anesthesia rotation available? I'm an IMG from India.. graduated in 2011 and have done MD anesthesia, completed in 2015.. currently preparing for step1..

[dabricej]

Originally Posted by anu11

Is anesthesia rotation available? I'm an IMG from India.. graduated in 2011 and have done MD anesthesia, completed in 2015.. currently preparing for step1..

I have sent you a PM. My friend Anaya may have contact info that will be useful. The search for rotations is tireless!

[anu11]

Thank you so much.. ya the search is tireless and stressful.. the uncertainty makes it only worse..

[izanetti]

Originally Posted by fnakbar

i did a psych rotation with chicagoclerkships, and it went really well. The doctor i was with was really nice, he understands that i was studying for boards and allows me to do so. The rest of the staff is very nice, and i was able to accomplish everything i want to do. It is an outpatient clinic, so you get a calendar with the time and place of where you need to be. The doctor doesn't force you to do anything and it really is what you put in. He is happy to answer any questions and on a daily basis discusses patients with you. Their background medical history and asks you what medications you think should be given. Would recommend this rotation, especially if you are looking for some time to get a lot of studying done.

thank you, would you have any tips to better prepare for the psych USCE?

[Chicagoclerkships]

Hi Anu11,
Yes, the anesthesiology rotation is available. We actually have two different options for this. Please email us through our website at www.chicagoclerkships.com.

Sincerely,

Lori Ramos Winther