Be careful about valueMD forum!

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Hi guys,

Be careful about ValueMD. I was a natural inhabitant there for months, nearly for a year, and had a serious contribution. When I woke up to something, the moderators began to unfairly peck and try to sweep me out.

The point I see is trivial for the world, important for the prospectives, especially the American/Canadian kids. They run a business there :

School advertisements+benefits>ValueMD moderators+so-called students(read:sales people)>persuading the naive prospectives>prospectives moneys to the schools>more ads+benefits>hop! we turned to the beginning point.

They have a platform that they run by taking advertisements from the schools and sponsorship for forums, so naturally they have financial ties with the schools. Thats understandable. BUT! they also have some guys who are presenting themselves as "fellow American student" and make an illusion of "happy, successful student" of any school which is giving advertisement to the forum. The official representatives are doing their job over honorable ways, but those so-called students are cajoling the naive American prospectives with a belief of finding successful students there. Yet the real quality of the school doesnt make him or her successful, but pay a truck-load money to the partners of this business.

When I see this first the sales people of one of those schools began to peck me for I talk a lot and betray them. Later they withdrew him, he hushed, albeit he was in the forum, and "the nice face" of the forum began to peck me with rude remarks about me. Of course moderators too joined and rained infractions arbitrarily, despite I didnt make tude remarks or insult. Surely they banned and turned back to their business now.

Obviously they dont want anybody to wake up the prodpectives. Just be careful, there is a very cheap business over prospectives.

Oh, by the way, one of those company/schools is HMI/Lublin. I woke up to the business running there for that company/school too late. They admit losers who hope an easy way to get in US health system over HMI and its affiliates, but they pay extreme amounts of money (extreme for that region) and at last cannot get a decent USMLE score, and a residency.

By the way, just be aware, some of those so-called "fellow american student operatives" are devildoc8404 and drhokie.

Devildoc8404: He presents himself as a 43 year old, married with children, an "old US marine", a "good Christian" in his private messages, a medical student in Sofia Med, in internship year, and preparing for USMLE, but how come so? you can never see him studying! Everyday and all day long he works pretty hard in ValueMD and creates an ambiance with a warm welcome to the new members, replying the questions with long answers, giving hope to everybody and keeping the hopeful prospective and student circulation high, besides giving many little positive, yet many time untrue, informations about the sponsoring schools. He would nearly suck my blood too for his own plans here in my country, he can fool anybody, such a professional he is! Just I woke up too late.
He tried very hard to make HMI/Lublin look good, VERY hard!

DrHokie: He presents himself as a last year med student in HMI/Lublin. For years his posts are full of typical sales rhetoric and a positive picture of HMI/Lublin. His typical stance is tihs: "Hey felloow Americans.. you see how I am happy and successful here?.. just follow me"
He is so young, a sales rookie and betrayed himself in a very short time.

Just be careful. I regret for my trust and respect for those guys, dont you too.

Sorry, I dont want to make spam, just its because I couldt see at the beginning where exactly put this.. besides its related with many people in different forums..

Pictures are sweet btw

What's new, many businesses and people pick on the desperate and gullible. Caribbean institutes will continue to scoop up large class sizes, because the students can easily be diluted with a sliver of false hope. These guys from HMI or whatever the hell, aren't just trying to advertise, they have honestly diluted themselves into believing everything is ok to reduce potential dissonance. And they will laugh or insult you if you attempt to introduce dissonance as their fragile egos are easily damaged by any evidence that their route was somehow non-ideal.

Originally Posted by serenade

What's new, many businesses and people pick on the desperate and gullible. Caribbean institutes will continue to scoop up large class sizes, because the students can easily be diluted with a sliver of false hope. These guys from HMI or whatever the hell, aren't just trying to advertise, they have honestly diluted themselves into believing everything is ok to reduce potential dissonance. And they will laugh or insult you if you attempt to introduce dissonance as their fragile egos are easily damaged by any evidence that their route was somehow non-ideal.

Let alone to be "non-ideal", HMI is outright driving you to the schools which are seriously low quality even in Poland. The schools are at borderline in USMLE passing rate which is necessary to get loan eligibility, their affiliate US clinic, Wyckoff Heights, was busted just recently for the administration was sucking the moneys of foreign students illegally, and you spend at least a $170K to see that you wont have a residency with those scores.. and those valuemd operatives were nearly fighting to suppress those facts! They are such brazen types!

The point is that, I woke up to the business they run over us toooooo late.. I was hanging out there with all of my good intensions and "helping!!!" to the kids.. such a jerk I am .. they would nearly suck my blood too!

Spend less time worrying about other people. You cannot save everyone, and while that is unfortunate it is simply the way life is.

I constantly get emails/calls from students asking about off shore schools and invariably have to warn them, not to simply check in the educational side (where clinicals are, where students match, etc) but the business side as well. These schools being for-profit is not my concern but rather how solid is the business that runs its? will they have the capital to survive, improve, keep campus in shape, and pay the ever growing fee to break into more US states via the california state medical board approval. This is important as many these schools are seen as investment by owners and in a shaky economy get sold off, bled of cash and go down in quality or even bankrupt. There is more pressure on these schools on becoming accredited by 2023 as per ECFMG has decreed. Some schools will do so at expense, others may fall to the wayside. Which group of schools do you think would try to bled students of money before shutting down and how much would they put back into a school that will never be accredited?

the other thing I keep track of are which schools are deeply involved in the department of education process and policy, which requirements input and comment from outside ( http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/ncfmea.html ) I think this gives some indication of which schools will be stick around

Spend less time worrying about other people. You cannot save everyone, and while that is unfortunate it is simply the way life is

You're right. Actually it started as somewhat a research, later turned into a socialization ground and helping people. I was available for that for I had time, and I liked to help people.. if they would be honest and havent pretend "good Christians", "helping people", or "fellow students", if I would know that they were running business over all of us, I wouldnt feel exploited and get that angry.

I've read ValueMD sometimes for the lol value. I cant imagine how anyone takes anything on that site to do with IMGs and especially the caribbean seriously.

Originally Posted by gonnif

... There is more pressure on these schools on becoming accredited by 2023 as per ECFMG has decreed...

Please they do it! There is certainly a need for it. There are seriously good schools abroad as well, but you can tell which gives what from their admission criteria, USMLE scores etc.. HMI is outright playing the game at C or D-class and they immediately finish you if you talk about it in valuemd! It came out to be a total communist-minded place which is very much in compliance with the schools they cater prospectives. In Lublin, they get the classes apart by the race/country of the student, not their merits : Americans class, Arabs class, Asians class!

The new med schools in US too is good for the prospectives, this increase in supply inside US will get the bar higher for the schools abroad.. I hope.

Originally Posted by serenade

Spend less time worrying about other people. You cannot save everyone, and while that is unfortunate it is simply the way life is.

No, YOU'RE WRONG SERENADE. EVERYONE CAN BE SAVED. EVERYONE.

When did you stop believing man? When did you stop believing in the cause?

I'm disappointed in you.

#lifeisafairytale

Originally Posted by mipp0

...No, YOU'RE WRONG SERENADE. EVERYONE CAN BE SAVED. EVERYONE...

I am losing my faith as well.. in such situations, while the people expand recklessly their own kids, and I try to keep them, at least one life, safe from danger, and evetually I see that nobody cares, I fell so little because of my feelings and effort. Like a moron.

Originally Posted by Holy FranZ

We have a lounge lurker in da houssssse


Tell the world bidiboom. Don't let the pre-osteo students fall for that trap either!

Actually, I think you should remind all of the people in the allo threads about valuemd. Many of them need this information.

I guess that explains the anti-DO sentiment that is so huge on that forum.

Originally Posted by user3

I guess that explains the anti-DO sentiment that is so huge on that forum.

Everyone wants to feel like they're on top of someone, Carib MD's really like to pretend that DO's are below them and what not.

Originally Posted by user3

I guess that explains the anti-DO sentiment that is so huge on that forum.

It should be noted that SDN was originally hosted as Osteopath.com and one of the founders and long-time executive director of SDN, Dr. Lee Burnett, is a DO who is on at least his 3rd, if not 4th, combat tour as a physician with the US Army in Afghanistan.

Originally Posted by gonnif

It should be noted that SDN was originally hosted as Osteopath.com and one of the founders and long-time executive director of SDN, Dr. Lee Burnett, is a DO who is on at least his 3rd, if not 4th, combat tour as a physician with the US Army in Afghanistan.

I've never heard that about Dr. Burnett.

Are these tours by choice? We have a recruiter who comes around and he makes it out like one wouldn't really have to be in a combat zone and would get to work in the US. I wonder if that's just a recruitment spiel.

Originally Posted by user3

I guess that explains the anti-DO sentiment that is so huge on that forum.

Originally Posted by gonnif

It should be noted that SDN was originally hosted as Osteopath.com and one of the founders and long-time executive director of SDN, Dr. Lee Burnett, is a DO who is on at least his 3rd, if not 4th, combat tour as a physician with the US Army in Afghanistan.

Not stating this as my own opinion, but I've met a couple physicians who consider the major Carib schools (esp. SGU it seems) to be better than most (perhaps all, not really sure) DO schools.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Not stating this as my own opinion, but I've met a couple physicians who consider the major Carib schools (esp. SGU it seems) to be better than most (perhaps all, not really sure) DO schools.

You should look up the school they attended, you might be surprised.

Originally Posted by Roguelyn

I've never heard that about Dr. Burnett.

Are these tours by choice? We have a recruiter who comes around and he makes it out like one wouldn't really have to be in a combat zone and would get to work in the US. I wonder if that's just a recruitment spiel.

why would you ever want that?

A doc i shadowed, did 2 tours (not really by choice- if you're in the military you only have so much "choice") over there and now is in the reserve. He joined during his residency, basically paid off most of school with the extra stipends.

Originally Posted by user3

I guess that explains the anti-DO sentiment that is so huge on that forum.

because I told bidiboom to inform the pre-osteos about valuemd?




lol wut?

I am fairly sure by choice. I am under the impression that he has left private practice completely and is now with the military full-time.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Not stating this as my own opinion, but I've met a couple physicians who consider the major Carib schools (esp. SGU it seems) to be better than most (perhaps all, not really sure) DO schools.

The quality of the education of the best Caribbean schools vs. the lower quartile of US DO schools is debatable. You chance of becoming a practicing physician at a top Caribbean school vs. a lower tier DO school is not debatable. US DO schools maintain the same high 4 year graduations rates for matriculatants as MD schools, and their matriculants maintain approximately a 100% match rate. You might match into Family practice in the middle of nowhere, but you match.

Top Caribbean schools recruit students with similar stats, fail a lot of them out, and then a significant percentage of the students that do graduate never get a medical license. Its just the way the match is set up: there's a huge bias towards grdauating from a US school. If you're taking out 300K in nondischargable loans you can't afford to go somewhere where a matriculant has a significant chance of not becoming a practicing physician. That's why so many people here warn pre meds away from the islands

Originally Posted by Roguelyn

Are these tours by choice? We have a recruiter who comes around and he makes it out like one wouldn't really have to be in a combat zone and would get to work in the US. I wonder if that's just a recruitment spiel.

All active duty military personel are deployable, and all deployable personel deploy (for as long as we're fighting a war, anyway). There's a chance he was trying to recruit you for something else, like the public health service. If he was recruiting you for the military that was insanely dishonest, even by recruiter standards.

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

The same goes for HMI/Lublin as well. Not all of the schools abroad are easy bite, many dont even admit the ones admitted by HMI affliates, but dont lead them to a life without residency and with a loan debt neither. Some schools are academical, and some, totally professional.. and their sales people come close to you as friends and get in your mind as role models, "successful, American students studying in that school"!

I want to spread the word as much as I can, one life is one life.

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

are those DOs replying from SDN? lol

Originally Posted by Roguelyn

I've never heard that about Dr. Burnett.

Are these tours by choice? We have a recruiter who comes around and he makes it out like one wouldn't really have to be in a combat zone and would get to work in the US. I wonder if that's just a recruitment spiel.

Hahahaha! How ca you tell if a recruiter is lying? His mouth is moving.
Deployments are part of life in the military. Active duty and reserve. You might not be on the front line, but if you're in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. you're in harms way.
You may have some control of deployments, by volunteering to go on one for example.

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

At least most of the people there are trying to be realistic and telling him to cut his losses. Excessive optimism and unwillingness to accept harsh reality can really be detrimental. It was looking like the guy was gonna accept it for a minute, but now looks like he went back and is looking at what will likely become a dismissal.

now he is considering lying on an application to get in another carribean school... wow

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

At least most of the people there are trying to be realistic and telling him to cut his losses. Excessive optimism and unwillingness to accept harsh reality can really be detrimental. It was looking like the guy was gonna accept it for a minute, but now looks like he went back and is looking at what will likely become a dismissal.

IMO, when you fail out of your first year of medical school at the carribean, it is time to change careers. I really hope that guy just moves on, because he is only creating a bigger hole of debt for himself...

Originally Posted by gatorade848

now he is considering lying on an application to get in another carribean school... wow

LMFAO Did you even read the post?

The poster asked would it be shown on their record that s/he was dismissed from Ross, not that s/he was considering LYING on their SGU app.

Originally Posted by Dionysus007

LMFAO Did you even read the post?

The poster asked would it be shown on their record that s/he was dismissed from Ross, not that s/he was considering LYING on their SGU app.

one dude said dont hid anything, and then the dude replied the decision is his. that sounds like he is considering the possibility

Originally Posted by Dionysus007

LMFAO Did you even read the post?

The poster asked would it be shown on their record that s/he was dismissed from Ross, not that s/he was considering LYING on their SGU app.

Originally Posted by gatorade848

one dude said dont hid anything, and then the dude replied the decision is his. that sounds like he is considering the possibility

yeah i definitely inferred that he was considering applying to SGU and not mentioning that he failed out of Ross

I dont understand how someone is planning on passing step 1 and 2 if the failed everything in their block...I mean this is someone studying 12 hours a day, everyday.

Originally Posted by sportsperson

I dont understand how someone is planning on passing step 1 and 2 if the failed everything in their block...I mean this is someone studying 12 hours a day, everyday.

if he's not smart enough to pass a single block, perhaps some other cognitive faculties are lacking as well...

ok, now I'm being mean. I'll stop

Originally Posted by AngleWold

These guys from HMI or whatever the hell, aren't just trying to advertise

AngleWold I cant see the pictures you placed, there are only 5 boxes on my screen.. can you develop your point please? I didnt understand what exactly you mean with "they arent just trying to advertise".

Originally Posted by bidiboom

AngleWold I cant see the pictures you placed, there are only 5 boxes on my screen.. can you develop your point please? I didnt understand what exactly you mean with "they arent just trying to advertise".

It was spam. Carry on

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

wow!


a perfect example of blind optimism.

where did the hawt chix pix go?

Originally Posted by Holy FranZ

wow!

a perfect example of blind optimism.

Or a perfect sales tactic.. to keep the forums warm and increase the member visits. I saw this unrealistic comments from some specific forum dwellers a lot.

Originally Posted by bidiboom

Or a perfect sales tactic.. to keep the forums warm and increase the member visits. I saw this unrealistic comments from some specific forum dwellers a lot.

Perhaps. But there certainly are people like this who will keep pushing with no hope in sight at all. There's some blog about some dude who's failed out like twice and is going to try again.

Originally Posted by sportsperson

Perhaps. But there certainly are people like this who will keep pushing with no hope in sight at all. There's some blog about some dude who's failed out like twice and is going to try again.

There's also a point buried in there about the over-accessibility of federal student loans.

Originally Posted by sportsperson

Perhaps. But there certainly are people like this who will keep pushing with no hope in sight at all. There's some blog about some dude who's failed out like twice and is going to try again.

Twice! Its too expensive to spend two chances.. its really sad for them. Self-honesty and insight are necessary for that reason.

Originally Posted by sportsperson

Perhaps. But there certainly are people like this who will keep pushing with no hope in sight at all. There's some blog about some dude who's failed out like twice and is going to try again.

I think he actually failed a third time too. Personally, at that point I'd flee the debt in this country and immigrate elsewhere.

Originally Posted by mmmcdowe

I think he actually failed a third time too. Personally, at that point I'd flee the debt in this country and immigrate elsewhere.

lol. I just dont understand why someone would put themselves in that situation. It's one thing to get a 3.0 gpa while being lazy at a very hard university/program and then succeed into the carribean ... this happens sometimes. But when people who truly achieved a 2.5 gpa or whatever, they really need to re-evaluate their ability.

ValueMD has uses for people willing to read between the lines, and to socialize, of course.

Hope Medical Institute and its affiliates Lublin, Silesia, et al. were one of the company/schools ValueMD have tried to sell and suppress the negative aspects, very hard. It came clear that Lublin is not eligible for loan this year. In 2010 too the Lublin students were in the same distress about their loans in these times of the year:
http://www.valuemd.com/medical-unive...ml#post1447225

Not to be eligible doesnt mean only loan problem, it means lower USMLE scores, which means low/no chance in residency match.

Originally Posted by bidiboom

Hope Medical Institute and its affiliates Lublin, Silesia, et al. were one of the company/schools ValueMD have tried to sell and suppress the negative aspects, very hard. It came clear that Lublin is not eligible for loan this year. In 2010 too the Lublin students were in the same distress about their loans in these times of the year:
http://www.valuemd.com/medical-unive...ml#post1447225

Not to be eligible doesnt mean only loan problem, it means lower USMLE scores, which means low/no chance in residency match.

But I thought the student and not the school as responsible for USMLE scores

Originally Posted by sliceofbread136

It's people like this that make me sad: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...ss-advise.html

You know they want to succeed, but they never will, and they'll probably struggle with that fact and pointless debt for the rest of their lives...

Man, that's a juicy thread. I especially love the guy getting called out for BS'ing being an ophthalmology resident at UChicago.

Originally Posted by VisionaryTics

Man, that's a juicy thread. I especially love the guy getting called out for BS'ing being an ophthalmology resident at UChicago.

rofl, you mean to tell me it's unlikely they have 5 positions but only three are listed per year and he is magically not one of them?