Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

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Long time reader, non-traditional applicant finally chiming in here...

I interviewed on Jan 29th and received the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds today. I've been dreaming of this day for a long time.
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intheorionspur said:
Long time reader, non-traditional applicant finally chiming in here...

I interviewed on Jan 29th and received the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds today. I've been dreaming of this day for a long time.
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Congrats! Non-traditional myself and I can understand the relief. Drink a beer and relax, you earned it.

Dr. Reynolds said they were a week behind due to Dr. Lenz's trip last week. Looks like you all are getting called early this week. Hopefully that means they'll catch up and Feb 5th interviews will hear this Friday.
 
intheorionspur said:
Long time reader, non-traditional applicant finally chiming in here...

I interviewed on Jan 29th and received the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds today. I've been dreaming of this day for a long time.
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Congratulations from a fellow non-trad applicant!
 
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intheorionspur said:
Long time reader, non-traditional applicant finally chiming in here...

I interviewed on Jan 29th and received the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds today. I've been dreaming of this day for a long time.
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Congrats dude!
 
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Who do I email to give up my spot? (have already paid first deposit) Maybe it doesn't matter? Will it get forwarded to the right person? Thanks!
 
Finally got my deposit in! How long does it take to receive the matriculation packet?
 
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Received a call from ACOM student services at 4:54 today, wasn't around my phone. Left no message. I called back at about 5 and Ms. Goodson said she has no idea who called, and even checked around the office and noticed nobody else was still there.

Kinda bizarre, I thought they called on Fridays. Any clues?
 
Looks like they have called on Thursday before. What the heeeeeelllll, why couldn't I have been by my phone. Gonna be a fun night of sleep wondering
 
jgphillips said:
Received a call from ACOM student services at 4:54 today, wasn't around my phone. Left no message. I called back at about 5 and Ms. Goodson said she has no idea who called, and even checked around the office and noticed nobody else was still there.

Kinda bizarre, I thought they called on Fridays. Any clues?
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I was at the 2/5 interview and got my acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds at 4:45 CST today, so he may have called you too around that time and maybe he will call back tomorrow?
 
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stp2637 said:
I was at the 2/5 interview and got my acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds at 4:45 CST today, so he may have called you too around that time and maybe he will call back tomorrow?
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Thanks for letting me know, I'm thinking I was one of the last calls before leaving the office.

And congrats! Do you plan on attending or waiting on other options?
 
jgphillips said:
Thanks for letting me know, I'm thinking I was one of the last calls before leaving the office.

And congrats! Do you plan on attending or waiting on other options?
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Yeah, a call at the end of a business day ~1 week after interviewing seems like it would probably be a acceptance call. Cross our fingers atleast..and yes I do plan on attending next year. Super excited!
 
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Anyone who just interviewed have any thoughts on how theirs went? I thought we had a decent group for the most part.
 
Accepted today at 2:40 by email. Non-traditional student, this has been a 4 year process for me. I'm elated right now
 
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Prairiepalmeri said:
For the most part?? Lol. What did you think of the school?
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I'm saying overall it was a pretty solid group of applicants. I really liked the school. It was small, but you get the idea that the faculty really cares. I liked that they take OMM seriously and use a systems-based approach. To be honest, I would have a tough time choosing Western over this school...and I'm from California so that's saying a lot. I hope I get in. Any others?
 
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DantheManimal said:
Anyone who just interviewed have any thoughts on how theirs went? I thought we had a decent group for the most part.
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Yeah, everybody seemed real cool - faculty and applicants. I left with a really great impression of the school. I feel like it's not super fair to consider it a brand new school since, being AMEC's successor program, it already has a very strong network of rotation sites.
 
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I was really impressed by this school. I'm skeptical about Dothan despite driving around to check things out, and the lack of developed research is a major hit. The facilities, faculty, personality of the student body, community opportunities and overall feel was better than some MDs I've seen. The interview day was a great experience - very laid back and loaded with information.
 
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billeboi31 said:
I was really impressed by this school. I'm skeptical about Dothan despite driving around to check things out, and the lack of developed research is a major hit. The facilities, faculty, personality of the student body, community opportunities and overall feel was better than some MDs I've seen. The interview day was a great experience - very laid back and loaded with information.
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Dothan is what it is. To be honest, you aren't really doing much outside of school when you're here. we have lots of chain restaurants since 231 is the main thoroughfare to the beaches of Panama City. This town has the things to meet your needs as a student but it is not a major metro area with millions of things to see and do.
 
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hiijakd said:
Dothan is what it is. To be honest, you aren't really doing much outside of school when you're here. we have lots of chain restaurants since 231 is the main thoroughfare to the beaches of Panama City. This town has the things to meet your needs as a student but it is not a major metro area with millions of things to see and do.
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Preach on brother. Dothan had everything I ever needed and more... If I really needed to get away for a day or two it was a quick 97 miles to Panama City Beach.
 
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Did they start building the research facilities on the third floor yet? They said they were also going to put in a group study/event space in that wing, I can't seem to recall.
 
echo87 said:
Did they start building the research facilities on the third floor yet? They said they were also going to put in a group study/event space in that wing, I can't seem to recall.
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Our student guide informed us that it's going to be ready to go by the time the class of 2020 starts :D
 
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Hi! OMS 2 here! I was happy that they accepted me and am appreciative for being in medical school but being a 2nd year now and looking back at my selection I truly regret picking this school. There aren’t any in depth reviews on ACOM and reasons probably being many of the students are probably scared to speak their minds for fear of the administration. So, here is a short review …
Education- Biochemistry is pretty well taught here, anatomy –not so much (aka poorly taught). Dr. PR’s pharmacology lectures are awful to say the least, and you are pretty much reduced to learning it by nitpicking a few things here and there from certain lectures. If you kiss up well he might provide you with some tips about exam questions though. There are multiple other occasions where it appears they manipulate grades to their likingwhich just unnerves some people. The OMM crew is humm…let’s say…dudes with very low morals who deliver a mediocre job. The OMM course director was let go from Vandy before he was hired at ACOM a few years ago. Surprisingly, he was appointed to a position of leadership here in spite of his less than borderline achievements. I guess it’s all about the magic of being of ferocious osteopath and the hierarchy benefits coming along with that. Anyways, he keeps reinforcing his low morals with his inconsistencies, immature attitudes and arbitrary judgement. However, if he nods “yay” or “nay” everyone else here will say the same as him. So, you better know who’s who before you step foot in here.

There are a few other ones (including DO docs) here with shady backgrounds who spoil the reputation for the rest, the very few respectable ones we have. In spite of that, these characters wrong our students the way they like to, when they like to. Overall, ACOM picks and chooses who they help, who they screw; who they accommodate, who they won't tolerate.

Administration is by far my biggest complaint and many students will agree. It is like a sort of medieval inquisition. They rule with an iron fist and work by scaring their students into doing things out of fear. I could go on and on there are just too many things to honestly write down. There is a rift between administration and students. They say they work for their students but the fact is that they care more about their own reputation and the big money they get than they do about their students.
 
ryanpat53 said:
Hi! OMS 2 here! I was happy that they accepted me and am appreciative for being in medical school but being a 2nd year now and looking back at my selection I truly regret picking this school. There aren’t any in depth reviews on ACOM and reasons probably being many of the students are probably scared to speak their minds for fear of the administration. So, here is a short review …
Education- Biochemistry is pretty well taught here, anatomy –not so much (aka poorly taught). Dr. PR’s pharmacology lectures are awful to say the least, and you are pretty much reduced to learning it by nitpicking a few things here and there from certain lectures. If you kiss up well he might provide you with some tips about exam questions though. There are multiple other occasions where it appears they manipulate grades to their likingwhich just unnerves some people. The OMM crew is humm…let’s say…dudes with very low morals who deliver a mediocre job. The OMM course director was let go from Vandy before he was hired at ACOM a few years ago. Surprisingly, he was appointed to a position of leadership here in spite of his less than borderline achievements. I guess it’s all about the magic of being of ferocious osteopath and the hierarchy benefits coming along with that. Anyways, he keeps reinforcing his low morals with his inconsistencies, immature attitudes and arbitrary judgement. However, if he nods “yay” or “nay” everyone else here will say the same as him. So, you better know who’s who before you step foot in here.

There are a few other ones (including DO docs) here with shady backgrounds who spoil the reputation for the rest, the very few respectable ones we have. In spite of that, these characters wrong our students the way they like to, when they like to. Overall, ACOM picks and chooses who they help, who they screw; who they accommodate, who they won't tolerate.

Administration is by far my biggest complaint and many students will agree. It is like a sort of medieval inquisition. They rule with an iron fist and work by scaring their students into doing things out of fear. I could go on and on there are just too many things to honestly write down. There is a rift between administration and students. They say they work for their students but the fact is that they care more about their own reputation and the big money they get than they do about their students.
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Wt...?This sounds pretty terrible…what did you mean by: Administration is by far my biggest complaint and many students will agree. It is like a sort of medieval inquisition. They rule with an iron fist and work by scaring their students into doing things out of fear. I could go on and on there are just too many things to honestly write down. There is a rift between administration and students. They say they work for their students but the fact is that they care more about their own reputation and the big money they get than they do about their students.
 
It boils down to the school feels very oppressive and administration is not friendly at all, education is very poor overall. They even hired some of our upper class students to help with the OPP labs and other things around. These poor fellows are far from being knowledgeable. No one has the courage to state that overtly but almost everyone thinks so at the end of the day. So just to give you more insight into the quality of education at our school – the class before ours had a very high percentage of failure rates at COMLEX. Also, those that did not pass their BLS and ACLS exams have received their certificates of passing, without ever having to retake them. We talk about half of a class or even more.

I am sure some people will say that I am one of those disgruntled medical students or whatever but fact is I appreciate ACOM for accepting me and giving me the opportunity. However, they are oppressive, multiple courses are taught very, very poorly, administration is not friendly at all or helpful, sometimes even the opposite of helpful. The school is run like an awful business by incompetent, lazy, inconsiderate staff who does not give a damn about neither our education nor the taxpayers’ money.

Again, believe me or not it does not matter to me but just wish someone had put this sort of information out there before I made my decision on ACOM because I would have 100% percent chosen somewhere else or not gone to medical school. Unless you are looking to become a crappy physician, I'd stay away unless you have no choice or you like this kind of system. If you have multiple choices for schools I would think long and hard before attending at ACOM. The school is the perfect illustration of the “medical Caribbean school” in DO version. Being a medical student is stressful enough let alone dealing with the incompetent and lazy administrative staff, personal vendetta, arbitrary grading and so on. Hard to describe unless you’re here.
 
It seems that your education there is way below average of what is expected from a medical school. They could show some consideration towards our taxpayer’s money, too, and convert their awesome DO school to a PA or NP school instead. These health professionals can also offer very qualified care for the people in need from the southern areas of the state. It means half the price of a DO education expenses. There are many young, smart Ph D’s out there willing to get a job in their field and who could do a wonderful job for you, the students. It seems that your administration would rather throw these money in their pockets and hire students instead. Greediness and cheap workforce it is.




ryanpat53 said:
It boils down to the school feels very oppressive and administration is not friendly at all, education is very poor overall. They even hired some of our upper class students to help with the OPP labs and other things around. These poor fellows are far from being knowledgeable. No one has the courage to state that overtly but almost everyone thinks so at the end of the day. So just to give you more insight into the quality of education at our school – the class before ours had a very high percentage of failure rates at COMLEX. Also, those that did not pass their BLS and ACLS exams have received their certificates of passing, without ever having to retake them. We talk about half of a class or even more.

I am sure some people will say that I am one of those disgruntled medical students or whatever but fact is I appreciate ACOM for accepting me and giving me the opportunity. However, they are oppressive, multiple courses are taught very, very poorly, administration is not friendly at all or helpful, sometimes even the opposite of helpful. The school is run like an awful business by incompetent, lazy, inconsiderate staff who does not give a damn about neither our education nor the taxpayers’ money.

Again, believe me or not it does not matter to me but just wish someone had put this sort of information out there before I made my decision on ACOM because I would have 100% percent chosen somewhere else or not gone to medical school. Unless you are looking to become a crappy physician, I'd stay away unless you have no choice or you like this kind of system. If you have multiple choices for schools I would think long and hard before attending at ACOM. The school is the perfect illustration of the “medical Caribbean school” in DO version. Being a medical student is stressful enough let alone dealing with the incompetent and lazy administrative staff, personal vendetta, arbitrary grading and so on. Hard to describe unless you’re here.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I definitely did not pick up on the oppressive vibe at interview day. That darn administration must be putting up a great front!!!!


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Yeah you dont seem disgruntled at all
 
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I've been on the Facebook 2020 page and I have not gotten that vibe at all from the oms 1-2s there. I'd consider myself pretty good at spotting a program that horrible.

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Can anyone offer some insight into this? Maybe someone who knows a current student or even a current student. Is the quality of education less than stellar in any ways? Because that's definitely my biggest concern
 
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The first time COMLEX pass rate was 89% (per the info given by faculty) -- one of the highest in the country for DO schools, historically. That isn't achieved without exemplary preclinical education.
 
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argle_bargle said:
Can anyone offer some insight into this? Maybe someone who knows a current student or even a current student. Is the quality of education less than stellar in any ways?
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I think it is a troll post. I am an OMS II and have had the complete opposite experience from the garbage posted. If it is from an actual student i don't know who it could be. I would happily listen to them vent in person but I have a feeling whoever it is posting either is not a real student or is too afraid to stand behind their wild accusations.

Every school has issues. If I had to state one at ACOM it would be that not all professors are great lecturers. Not everyone has the gift of being a great educator. That is something you will find at every school but the information is still being conveyed. Part of medical school is doing what you need to do to get where you need to go. The school has done everything possible to set itself and its students up for success. We are given COMBANK and another question bank. We are given the chance to take NBME practice exams as well as 4 COMSAE practice exams. The school provided us with Pathoma including the book and web access. They are also giving us almost 4 dedicated board study weeks. That's a lot of resources that the school is paying for. The first class had a 1st time COMLEX pass rate around 91% although I do not know the exact number.

The personal attacks on the administration and professors seem just that, bizarrely "personal." Sort of like someone has a grudge.
I know that I have had no issues at ACOM. They have provided me with the tools that I will need to become a successful physician. I am going to be doing the "fellowship" that was referenced so I guess that in the OP's opinion I am just a know nothing shill that is there for the free labor. I would love for OP to make the same assertions directly to me. If it is really a current student making these absurd accusations, then quit hiding behind your computer. Do the right thing and back up your feelings with actions and forfeit your seat in class. With your attitude, I'm sure no-one would be sad to see you go. Before you go though, I'd love to see some evidence to back up your claims.

Sincerely
a proud ACOM student, fellow, and future "crappy physician."
 
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I'm an OMS-III at ACOM currently on rotations. It sounds like to me this individual probably got in hot water for something and was upset that the administration wasn't lenient enough for their liking. We lost several from our class for non-academic reasons but they were all justifiable.

There are so many accusations he/she is spouting out that are just plain wrong. The OMM education we get is definitely one of the best out of all D.O. schools as long as you try to learn. The fellows applied to do what they are doing so that they could learn more and get really good at anatomy and OMM. Obviously they aren't that much further in their education than 2nd years so I wouldn't expect the knowledge of an attending. My class, being the first, obviously had our fare share of road bumps. We did have a few professors that needed to go and consequently they are no longer there. As far as COMLEX goes, I'm pretty sure we did much better than you are speculating.

Medical school is really not fun during the first two years no matter where you are (for example you see parody videos on youtube from students at harvard, etc... complaining of the same things as us). Ultimately it comes down to the individual to learn how they learn themselves and do well on boards (which is 90% of what matters).
Third year is the bomb and is when you really start to learn and understand medicine. I can also tell you that our core site and regional coordinators have been consistently told that we are the best group of students that they've had rotate with them.

Like our disgruntled friend I am very happy and appreciative of ACOM to have been given the opportunity to become a physician. I just hope he or she figures out whatever is going on in their life right now
 
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Prairiepalmeri said:
Yeah I definitely did not pick up on the oppressive vibe at interview day. That darn administration must be putting up a great front!!!!


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Agreed - I didn't get this vibe from either the administration or any of the students we came across, both ambassadors and randoms that I talked to. Assuming this isn't a troll/WL, I will say that anybody can have a bad experience and try to amplify it to an institutional level. But the results thus far (board scores, preceptor feedback, etc) contradict some of the claims up there and like I said previously, ACOM seemed to have their stuff together better than MDs I've been to. It's hard not having the match list though!
 
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There was someone the GA-PCOM app thread who said their interview there was terrible and they left really hating the place. Everyone else in the thread essentially responded with, "Uhhhm, what? Our interviews were great." So, who knows? That said, I'm not really inclined to give this poster much credibility.
 
I agree with @hiijakd on this matter. That came out of left field. Never have I had this experience nor has anyone expressed these views.
 
DO2015CA said:
I agree with @hiijakd on this matter. That came out of left field. Never have I had this experience nor has anyone expressed these views.
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But that's obviously only because the admins have the student body tightly held in their iron grip of tyranny.
 
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