Medical students at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine are gaining practical experience through clinical rotations at six different sites across North Carolina. These rotations, part of the Application Phase of their education, allow students to apply classroom knowledge in real medical settings under the supervision of experienced professionals.
Aaron Williams, a member of the UNC SOM Class of 2027, said, “Before I got accepted into UNC, I did my research and I knew that during third year, there were six different campuses being offered for rotations. I was excited about this because I researched the campuses and before I got accepted into UNC, I knew I wanted to go to the Charlotte campus for rotations because I read up on its emphasis on community medicine – specifically, the mobile clinics and community events offering to provide free health care.”
During these clinical clerkships, students work in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery. The training is spread across various communities in North Carolina so that students can gain exposure to diverse patient populations.
Mary Hauser, Senior Director of Curricular Affairs at the UNC School of Medicine explained how assignments are made: “We assign about half of the class to do Application Phase at one of the non-Chapel Hill sites: Wilmington, Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh, Greensboro. The other half will stay in Chapel Hill. We take a careful look at ensuring that the curricular experience is comparable across all sites. We also look at the different flavors of the campuses that students experience with the unique patient populations, as well as the unique relationships that they form with the care teams with whom they work with in those sites.”
Students select their preferred site based on factors such as proximity to family or interest in certain types of patient care. Regardless of location choice, all students meet uniform learning objectives and prepare for standardized assessments.
Williams added about his decision process: “I also considered the location and asked myself if I would be happy there. I was just true to myself when I ranked the sites. I made my list. After that, I just trusted the process, and it all worked out.”
The Asheville campus has grown since opening in 2009 and now serves 35 Application Phase students each year through partnerships like Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC). Jordyn Cowan from UNC SOM Class of 2027 said about her experience there: “I just wanted to get a hands-on experience in Asheville because it is a smaller campus. You get a lot of that. I’m able to work with my preceptors and get to know them on a closer level especially with the longitudinal curriculum.”
Charlotte’s program focuses on community engagement through Novant Health initiatives such as mobile clinics providing healthcare services beyond traditional facilities. Williams described this aspect: “Some of the opportunities that this campus has is the community bus where we go to local communities and offer healthcare to those underserved. That was a big plus for me. Additionally, an opportunity to get first-hand experience.”
In Chapel Hill or Central Campus—where students rotate through multiple health systems—Jeevun Kansupada from UNC SOM Class of 2027 noted: “The faculty at UNC Central is some of the best in the state — some of the best in the country. It’s been an amazing experience being able to work with them in a learning environment because they are able to directly pass on that knowledge.”
Greensboro offers hands-on training at Moses Cone Health and access to simulation centers like Ultrasound at Union Square Campus. Nate Adams from UNC SOM Class of 2027 highlighted mentorship opportunities: “The quality of instruction and ratio of faulty [faculty] to staff is incredibly tight…You’re going to get an immense amount of knowledge out these rotations…you are working with these people for an extended amount time…our new curriculum has 8-week blocks…often working with same attendings for those entire 8-weeks.”
Raleigh’s partnership with WakeMed gives students exposure to advanced healthcare services including heart care and neonatal intensive care units while serving diverse patient groups. Shernice Martin from UNC SOM Class 2027 stated: “The patient population is very diverse in many different ways…Being a physician in everyday practice is knowing and understanding community resources…WakeMed physicians do an amazing job at balancing those three things.”
Wilmington provides coastal living alongside medical training; since opening its campus in March 2016 it now hosts up to 30 Application Phase students annually who follow similar curricula as other locations but benefit from exposure to underserved populations needing language interpretation services.
Yasharth Singh from UNC SOM Class 2027 shared his perspective: “All residents here are great…They want help you improve as person professional…There patients every day see who need interpreter clinic help communicate…It’s great place people who want get exposure these underserved populations.”
Hauser emphasized efforts toward consistency across all campuses: “We’ve really aimed for comparability across our campuses and courses,” she said. “By streamlining structure assessments scheduling students can spend less time navigating logistics more time focusing on patient care.”
She also discussed broader goals: “We have some specific programs designed for students who already know they want pursue career NC through Community Health Training Program,” Hauser said.“In addition hope exposing students regional sites campuses inspires additional students see themselves practicing these communities.”
