Skip to main content
Logo
Menu

Mobile Main Nav

  • About AUC
    • About AUC
    • Residency Placements
    • Accreditations & Approvals
    • Meet Dean Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
    • St. Maarten Campus
    • UK Track
    • Events
    • Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine
    • Facts & Figures
    • News & Publications
    • Community Affairs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Request More Information
    • Admissions Assessment
    • Request An AUC Campus Tour
    • Non-US Applicants
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Scholarships
    • Webinars
    • MCAT Information
    • Events
  • MD Program
    • MD Program
    • Medical Sciences
    • Clinical Sciences
    • UK Track
    • Medical Education Readiness Program
    • Hospital Teaching Sites
    • Medical School Guides and Resources
    • USMLE Preparation
    • Meet Our Faculty & Staff
    • Student Handbook & Academic Catalog
    • Student Forms
  • Student Life
    • Student Life
    • About St. Maarten
    • Safety & Security
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Spouses Organization and Families
    • Housing
    • OSPD
    • Class Profiles
    • Alumni Class Notes Form
  • Apply
Logo

Secondary Navigation

  • Weather Alerts
  • Chat
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now
  • Current Students

Main navigation

  • About AUC
    • About AUC
    • Residency Placements
    • Accreditations & Approvals
    • Meet Dean Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
    • St. Maarten Campus
    • UK Track
    • Events
    • Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine
    • Facts & Figures
    • News & Publications
    • Community Affairs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Request More Information
    • Admissions Assessment
    • Request An AUC Campus Tour
    • Non-US Applicants
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Scholarships
    • Webinars
    • MCAT Information
    • Events
  • MD Program
    • MD Program
    • Medical Sciences
    • Clinical Sciences
    • UK Track
    • Medical Education Readiness Program
    • Hospital Teaching Sites
    • Medical School Guides and Resources
    • USMLE Preparation
    • Meet Our Faculty & Staff
    • Student Handbook & Academic Catalog
    • Student Forms
  • Student Life
    • Student Life
    • About St. Maarten
    • Safety & Security
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Spouses Organization and Families
    • Housing
    • OSPD
    • Class Profiles
    • Alumni Class Notes Form
  • Apply

Breadcrumb

  1. About AUC
  2. News & Publications
  3. How One Recent Grad Got the Most Out of His Clinical Rotations

How One Recent Grad Got the Most Out of His Clinical Rotations

For Brandon Lewko, MD '16, his AUC education was key in helping him develop confidence in the hospital.

“AUC did a lot to prepare me for everything I saw in clinical rotations, and it made me feel very comfortable in that environment,” says Class of 2016 graduate Brandon Lewko, MD.

We caught up with Dr. Lewko, a PGY-1 family medicine resident at United Hospital Center in West Virginia, to learn more about his clinical experience and his time at AUC overall.

Where did you complete your rotations?
I completed the majority of my rotations at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, and the rest at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) in East Meadow, New York.

What did you take away from your time at Jackson?
I got a great start at Jackson because my attendings made me feel like an equal part of the team. I never sensed any hierarchy between attendings, residents and students. They expected a lot from us, and as a result I got so much hands-on experience.

One of my favorite rotations was surgery. I worked with a urologist on a very small team—for five weeks, it was just her and me, and she treated me like a resident, having me see my own patients. Of course, we’d talk about the plan and she would have the final call, but as we worked more and more together, I could do more of the procedures on my own. It really gave me a great sense of independence and built my confidence.

Did you have the same hands-on learning at NUMC?
Yes—I did my emergency rotation at NUMC, and if you showed initiative, the attendings let you be as involved as you wanted. Among all the students from different schools—US, Caribbean, and DO—I felt like I was one of the most equipped to be independent because of the training I received in Miami. They quickly gave me responsibilities that were comparable to those of first-year residents, whereas some of the other medical students might just give a basic report and that would be all they’d do.

What did you find most valuable about AUC’s medical sciences curriculum?
My time in St. Maarten, as well as clinical rotations, have been some of the best years of my life. AUC has a wonderful community. As a general rule of thumb, you could tell other students really cared and were willing to help each other. Professors went above and beyond to become more like friends than just faculty. Since I’ve left the island, I still keep in contact with Professor Boyd, who taught pathology. They all really wanted to make sure we succeeded.

Why did you choose family medicine?
I have two passions—family and emergency medicine. I loved everything in medicine. I couldn’t see myself only treating a certain type of patient. With family medicine, I get to see everybody with no age limit or any limit on their condition.

Thu, 20 Jul 2017, 12:00:00
auc:news/alumni-news
 and auc:news

Share

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • email

Mobile Secondary Fixed Navigation

  • Weather Alerts
  • Chat
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now
  • Current Students
  • "Chat Now"
    Top
    AUC Med Logo

    Footer Nav

    • Careers
    • Student Email
    • Colleague Email
    • Contact
    • Sitemap

    Footer Social Media Navigation

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram

    Access ServiceNow

    AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF THE CARIBBEAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

    Administrative Office
    880 SW 145th Avenue • Suite 202 Pembroke Pines,  FL 33027 | Phone: 305-446-0600 | Toll-Free: 866-DR2B-AUC (866- 372-2282) | Fax: 305-444-6791

    Medical Sciences Campus
    1 University Drive at Jordan Road Cupecoy, St. Maarten | Phone: +1 721-545-2298 | Fax: +1 721-545-2440

    AUC is accredited through 2021 by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine (ACCM, www.accredmed.org), which is the accreditor used by the country of St. Maarten. The United States Department of Education, via the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA), reviews the standards that countries use to accredit medical schools. The NCFMEA has determined that the ACCM’s accreditation standards are comparable to those set by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which accredits medical education programs in the United States.

    © 2019 American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. All rights reserved. 
     Privacy Policy | Student Consumer Information