Best Osteopathic School?

[medhacker]

Which one's? Perhaps a better word would have been most. Doesn't change much.

I've said what I think and anyone can disagree with it, but it has yet to be disputed by anything other than personal opinion which isn't what the OP was looking for. Anyhoo...

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/webextras/brief/sb_med_primarycare_brief.php

It has been quoted year after year on this forum

anyhoooo

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[Westardly]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/webextras/brief/sb_med_primarycare_brief.php

It has been quoted year after year on this forum

anyhoooo

Thats one school in the 30's. This further proves my point when the #1 and #2 schools for primary care are 46% and 48% respectively, and one of the schools with the lowest % of the students going into primary care, Utah at 36%, still happened to make the list. Hmmm... maybe there's more to it?

Spank you, spank you very much

 

[pguin]

Thats one school in the 30's. This further proves my point when the #1 and #2 schools for primary care are 46% and 48% respectively, and one of the schools with the lowest % of the students going into primary care, Utah at 36%, still happened to make the list. Hmmm... maybe there's more to it?

Spank you, spank you very much

USNEWS has a long article on exactly how they come to each ranking (both research and primary care) heres a short summary

25% Peer Assessment - Rating by MD and DO deans and heads of internal medicine on a scale of 1-5

15% Assessment score by Residency Directors - Residency directors rate the programs on a 1-5 scale

30% Primary care rate - Percentage MD/DO entering primary care

15% Student Selectivity - Combination of 9.75% Mean MCAT, 4.5% Mean GPA, 0.75% Acceptance Rate

15% Faculty Research - ratio of full-time science and clinical faculty to full-time MD/DO students


This shows that DO schools will struggle in the rankings because of low student selectivity and student to faculty ratios. They are however, helped a good deal by their high primary care rates

Michigan State is on the list because they have a high percentage entering primary care COMBINED with good assessment scores from residency directors.

 

[Dr JPH]

the always popular ""my top 5 even though I secretly only have attended one of them but like the name of the others".

With all due respect, you get a clear sense of where grads from each osteopathic school end up and you can also comapre yourself to students from other schools when you are on rotations.

Looking at rank lists and examining the top programs to see where their residents attended can give you an idea of the strength of schools as well.

I have had the opportunity to visit and speak with representatives from many different schools. My opinion on the "best" schools is my own. It doesnt reflect poorly on schools that I didnt list nor is it an end-all be-all list.

I have rotated with students from most of the osteopathic schools, taught workshops with other students and spoken to residents about their programs...my opinions are based on some sort of educated input...not just because I like their name.

And BTW, there would have been other schools on the list had there not been so much recent controversy over internal financial and social issues.

 

[It'sElectric]

USNEWS has a long article on exactly how they come to each ranking (both research and primary care) heres a short summary

25% Peer Assessment - Rating by MD and DO deans and heads of internal medicine on a scale of 1-5

15% Assessment score by Residency Directors - Residency directors rate the programs on a 1-5 scale

30% Primary care rate - Percentage MD/DO entering primary care

15% Student Selectivity - Combination of 9.75% Mean MCAT, 4.5% Mean GPA, 0.75% Acceptance Rate

15% Faculty Research - ratio of full-time science and clinical faculty to full-time MD/DO students


This shows that DO schools will struggle in the rankings because of low student selectivity and student to faculty ratios. They are however, helped a good deal by their high primary care rates

Michigan State is on the list because they have a high percentage entering primary care COMBINED with good assessment scores from residency directors.

Thank you for that. And spank you very much, westardly. I simply said that number of graduates entering primary care fields was a major contributing factor and since it makes up 30% (the largest factor), I'd say that is basically in line with what I said. Also, all of the osteopathic schools that made the U.S. news rankings were sending at least 70% of their students into primary care fields, which is incredibly high. Sorry to point out the obvious, but 75-80% is a much bigger number than 45%. It makes a big difference.

 

[Dr JPH]

Its hard to be ranked high on the "Best Primary Care" list when the majority of your graduates do not enter primary care residencies and 5 years after graduation have specialized or are in the process of completing specialty fellowships.

A ranking in the Primary Care arena gives little idea as to the overall quality of education of a particular school. Just as the amount of research funding a school recieves poorly correlates to the educational quality.

Board pass rates is a fairly strong number for assessing the educational value of a school, but that is also assuming that the board exams are a fair way of evaluating education as a whole. Some would argue that. Regardless, its one of the most concrete things we can look at.

I dont think looking at MCATs and undergraduate GPAs of the class makes much sense. If you look at the incoming classes for the different schools you will quickly find that a good percentage of students are older, non-traditional students who are chosing medicine as a second career. Is it fair to compare them apples to apples with students right from college? I dont know.

Again...what I look at are the following:

- National board exam pass rates
- Match lists
- Opinions from graduates (NOT admissions, NOT recruiters, NOT professors)
- Advancement of graduates in their respective field
- Opinions from non-associated physicians in the community (assessment of performance in a clinical sense)
- Amount of funding available to the school for direct student education (NOT research grants, NOT scholarships)
- Technology available to ALL students who attend a particular school (Library resources, patient simulators, laparascopic simulators)

 

[Jamers]

With all due respect, you get a clear sense of where grads from each osteopathic school end up and you can also comapre yourself to students from other schools when you are on rotations.

Looking at rank lists and examining the top programs to see where their residents attended can give you an idea of the strength of schools as well.

I have had the opportunity to visit and speak with representatives from many different schools. My opinion on the "best" schools is my own. It doesnt reflect poorly on schools that I didnt list nor is it an end-all be-all list.

I have rotated with students from most of the osteopathic schools, taught workshops with other students and spoken to residents about their programs...my opinions are based on some sort of educated input...not just because I like their name.

And BTW, there would have been other schools on the list had there not been so much recent controversy over internal financial and social issues.[/QUOTE]


OH SNAP!! NO YOU DIDN'T!!

 

[Westardly]

Thank you for that. And spank you very much, westardly. I simply said that number of graduates entering primary care fields was a major contributing factor and since it makes up 30% (the largest factor), I'd say that is basically in line with what I said. Also, all of the osteopathic schools that made the U.S. news rankings were sending at least 70% of their students into primary care fields, which is incredibly high. Sorry to point out the obvious, but 75-80% is a much bigger number than 45%. It makes a big difference.

You're right that it is a factor, but when so many DO schools are up high in the primary care percentage, this factor (30%) becomes negligible. We now can compare DO schools based on the remaining criteria(70%, which by the way "is much bigger than" 30%). Sorry to restate the obvious.

I guarantee MSU-COM gets more respect than Pikeville-COM or any other NEVER-HEARD-OF-THAT-SCHOOL-BEFORE-COM, regardless of any real value of this comparison. The rankings have influnce. To deny this is ignorant.

 

[Nate]

HA, I am going into mourning because my school didn't make JP's list

 

[Dr JPH]

You're right that it is a factor, but when so many DO schools are up high in the primary care percentage, this factor (30%) becomes negligible. We now can compare DO schools based on the remaining criteria(70%, which by the way "is much bigger than" 30%). Sorry to restate the obvious.

The argument you are making could very easily be turned the other way.

These schools that have such high primary care rankings (and send MOST of their grads to primary care residencies) have a lesser quality of education because their grads could not match into specialties and therefore were forced into primary care spots (which are less competitive).

I know that is not the case but it points out that your logic is flawed.

A hospital ranked "Best for Cardiology" doesnt make it a better hospital than one ranked "Best for Oncology". If the focus is different the outcome will be different.

One comment you made is that all areas of medicine have a primary care basis. That is true. But tell me how that equates to a stronger education?

One of the other schools (allopathic) that is ranked highly on the primary care list is far from a household name. If you do some research you find that nearly half of its student body are 2nd time applicants to medical school. You also find that their composite MCAT hasnt been above 27 in the last 5 years...theres a number many people use for calculating strength of school, and for MD schools that is extremely low. You also search and this school is not found on any other "best of" list published in the medical community.

Does this make it a top 10 school nationally?

Harvard isnt on the list of top 10 primary care schools...does that mean the schools that are on the list are better than Harvard?

You cannot take a ranking of one type and use that across all lines to judge the quality of a school. Should it be part of it? Sure. But to stand so strongly on one criteria...an objective one at that...is comical.

 

[scpod]

One of the other schools (allopathic) that is ranked highly on the primary care list is far from a household name. If you do some research you find that nearly half of its student body are 2nd time applicants to medical school. You also find that their composite MCAT hasnt been above 27 in the last 5 years...Does this make it a top 10 school nationally?

I don't think an out-of-state student has matriculated there in over ten years, though. In a way, it's a good idea for the state, since it keeps students that might have gone Carribean or DO in the state, and maybe they'll end up practicing there as well. A lot of schools have caimed that they want to increase the supply of primary care physicians to their region or state. This one seems to have found a way to actually do it. No, it'll never be a "top ten" school, but it seems to serve a purpose.

 

[medhacker]

The argument you are making could very easily be turned the other way.

These schools that have such high primary care rankings (and send MOST of their grads to primary care residencies) have a lesser quality of education because their grads could not match into specialties and therefore were forced into primary care spots (which are less competitive).

I know that is not the case but it points out that your logic is flawed.

A hospital ranked "Best for Cardiology" doesnt make it a better hospital than one ranked "Best for Oncology". If the focus is different the outcome will be different.

One comment you made is that all areas of medicine have a primary care basis. That is true. But tell me how that equates to a stronger education?

One of the other schools (allopathic) that is ranked highly on the primary care list is far from a household name. If you do some research you find that nearly half of its student body are 2nd time applicants to medical school. You also find that their composite MCAT hasnt been above 27 in the last 5 years...theres a number many people use for calculating strength of school, and for MD schools that is extremely low. You also search and this school is not found on any other "best of" list published in the medical community.

Does this make it a top 10 school nationally?

Harvard isnt on the list of top 10 primary care schools...does that mean the schools that are on the list are better than Harvard?

You cannot take a ranking of one type and use that across all lines to judge the quality of a school. Should it be part of it? Sure. But to stand so strongly on one criteria...an objective one at that...is comical.

Good points in this and your other replies in this thread JP

 

[Dr JPH]

I don't think an out-of-state student has matriculated there in over ten years, though. In a way, it's a good idea for the state, since it keeps students that might have gone Carribean or DO in the state, and maybe they'll end up practicing there as well. A lot of schools have caimed that they want to increase the supply of primary care physicians to their region or state. This one seems to have found a way to actually do it. No, it'll never be a "top ten" school, but it seems to serve a purpose.

I agree, and you support my point by stating that the purpose of this school (as is the purpose of several DO schools) is to increase the number of primary care docs locally.

Again, not bad schools but simply because they have a strong primary care focus doesnt not mean they are the "best" academically.

 

[kaikai128]

I agree, and you support my point by stating that the purpose of this school (as is the purpose of several DO schools) is to increase the number of primary care docs locally.

Again, not bad schools but simply because they have a strong primary care focus doesnt not mean they are the "best" academically.

Everyone is forgetting something very important...

I go to NSU...therefore, NSU is obviously the best.




Note: (Joke).

 

[Jamers]

Everyone is forgetting something very important...

I go to NSU...therefore, NSU is obviously the best.




Note: (Joke).

I don't know, you have failed to prove your hottness again and again. I think NSU has lost some points because of that.

 

[Dr JPH]

 

[kaikai128]

I don't know, you have failed to prove your hottness again and again. I think NSU has lost some points because of that.

I have failed to prove my hottness? WHAT? I have sent pics privately to anyone who has asked....I don't want to hear a word out of you. haha.

And besides, who says that I have to be hot?

 

[jbone]

I have failed to prove my hottness? WHAT? I have sent pics privately to anyone who has asked....I don't want to hear a word out of you. haha.

And besides, who says that I have to be hot?

uh, that would be me.

 

[Jamers]

uh, that would be me.

I second that.

 

[Claymore]

Going by US News 2007
The 4 DO schools to make the top 50 in primary care were:
4. MSU-COM
28. TCOM
45. OSU-COM
50. WVSOM

So I guess you have the top 4 DO schools right there.

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything other else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

 

[Claymore]

Going by US News 2007
The 4 DO schools to make the top 50 in primary care were:
4. MSU-COM
28. TCOM
45. OSU-COM
50. WVSOM

So I guess you have the top 4 DO schools right there.

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

 

[Taus]

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

while there could be something to that....you have to apply that same logic to the other schools at the top of that list (ie the 46 MD schools on it...including Duke, UWash, UCSF in the top 10)..... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/med/brief/mdprank_brief.php

 

[Hardbody]

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

Easy, rank the schools with the low % higher up on your list (the inverse).

 

[Dr JPH]

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything other else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

Exactly. This is the point I was trying to make above as well.

 

[beastmaster]

Easy, rank the schools with the low % higher up on your list (the inverse).

lol

 

[ladpm]

Seeing as how primary care (FP/Peds/IM) is generally considered the least competitive and often least desirable of specialties, how can you use this ranking to name the "top" schools? If your goal is to do a residency in anything else, perhaps other schools would offer a better opportunity if their goal is not so focused on primary care.

I agree...DO schools are made to cater to the shortage of primary care docs in areas that are typically underserved (just look at the locations of half the schools). Since primary care is the least paid ($120,000/year) out of all the specialties and most, if not all MD's know this fact thus they prefer to go into specialties that make more money and not as tedious. Thus the DO schools focus on primary care to accomodate for the demand. Don't ge me wrong. There are plenty of MD's who love primary care...it just so happens that as baby boomers are getting older and not many young MD's are going into primary care, there is a greater need for DO's to step up to the plate

I know this sounds like a broken record, but go to the school you that fits your needs the best whatever your personal reasons. It doesn't matter about the best primary care school in the US (besides those US news polls are based on the amount of dollars given to those schools geared for primary care) unless that's what you want.

Graduate at the top of your class then out-shine MD students for the residency of your choice (ortho, derm, surg, ER, radiology). Otherwise do the primary care residency then a fellowship afterwards for infectious disease, oncology, nephrology, rheumatology, or whatever your heart's desire. Unfortunately, the reality of it is that you will HAVE to work harder than MD's to get your goal, but its very possible...so CCOM for me then hopefully an anesthesia residency

 

[Doc2007]

Anyone know what the best osteopathic schools are. Not opinion, but does anyone know the facts? Thanks.

The ones that accepted me are the best.

 

[Freshnstylin]

It would be wrong to think that most people think the US News rankings are total crap, regardless of how random it may seem. Top 50 schools get respect, the closer to #1 the better. It's kind of like the top 25 in college football, maybe USC should be #1 and maybe they really are #3. It may be "abstract" to a point, but no one would argue the assertion USC is better than Stanford or Duke. On the same token, who in here really believes MSU-COM is less deserving of #4 than say, pikeville? There is no way to rank schools perfectly, so US News is like our Associated Press. I'm happy there's some DO schools out there getting respect whether they really are #4, #28... or not.

westardly westardly westardly...what happened to your trojans on saturday...big loss to an UNRANKED team...hahaha (put USC in the SEC and they would be lucky to be .500)

 

[Freshnstylin]

I agree...DO schools are made to cater to the shortage of primary care docs in areas that are typically underserved (just look at the locations of half the schools). Since primary care is the least paid ($120,000/year) out of all the specialties and most, if not all MD's know this fact thus they prefer to go into specialties that make more money and not as tedious. Thus the DO schools focus on primary care to accomodate for the demand. Don't ge me wrong. There are plenty of MD's who love primary care...it just so happens that as baby boomers are getting older and not many young MD's are going into primary care, there is a greater need for DO's to step up to the plate

I know this sounds like a broken record, but go to the school you that fits your needs the best whatever your personal reasons. It doesn't matter about the best primary care school in the US (besides those US news polls are based on the amount of dollars given to those schools geared for primary care) unless that's what you want.

Graduate at the top of your class then out-shine MD students for the residency of your choice (ortho, derm, surg, ER, radiology). Otherwise do the primary care residency then a fellowship afterwards for infectious disease, oncology, nephrology, rheumatology, or whatever your heart's desire. Unfortunately, the reality of it is that you will HAVE to work harder than MD's to get your goal, but its very possible...so CCOM for me then hopefully an anesthesia residency

Ladpm...hey there...true story for you. You want anesthesia? at allopathic school? that has a respectable name....well, i went to an anesthesia meeting last year (i go to kcumb) and a 4th year spoke about what he scored, ranked, and did to get a "good" allopathic residency(keep in mind this guy had no connections whatsoever). Ball park figures....Well within the middle of the class...round 50th percentile (he said maybe a little under)....had round 3.0 (he said maybe a little under after 2nd year)...brought his gpa to 3.2 a/f third and fourth year so he didn't SMOKE up his rotations (probably did a little above average)...and scored 212 on USMLE (average score)...did fine on COMLEX (obviously cause you cannot grad from KCUMB without passing step1 and 2 of comlex). He got into St. Louis University's anesthesia residency program (he interviewed at Vanderbilt and I forget the other allopathic school...KU, maybe?). There are only a few allopathic specialties and specific schools where osteopaths have to truly "out-shine" their allo friends. And then there are even fewer schools/programs that will not accept osteopaths what-so-ever (very rare and most allopathic students don't get these spots either). This is becoming less and less true because us osteopaths are actually capable of holding a stethoscope. Everything will all work out in the end...no matter what school you go to.

 

[Westardly]

The argument you are making could very easily be turned the other way.

These schools that have such high primary care rankings (and send MOST of their grads to primary care residencies) have a lesser quality of education because their grads could not match into specialties and therefore were forced into primary care spots (which are less competitive).

I know that is not the case but it points out that your logic is flawed.

The reason it's not the case is exactly why my logic stands. The schools that made the 50 have other reasons than %PC that landed them there. As far as I know, the schools I've mentioned have consistently high pass rates, which would make them at least as competetive in gaining specialty fields as any other DO school with a lower %PC. I can understand why PCOM didn't make the list. I have no idea whether or not its a good school because I have no experience with it nor have I heard much out there about it (which means I have nothing good or bad to say about it).The schools I've listed have positive peer assessment of deans and heads of internal medicine, residency directors, and faculty rating. This says something about these schools. Pikeville and others with similar high %'s going into primary care appearantly lack the other factors. Does it make these schools bad? Probably not. But it doesn't give us a reason to think they stand out for any reason.

There are schools that made the list with very low %'s of PC, ie. UCSF at 34% made #10 on the list. This is a perfect illustration of great training regardless of specialty.

Another point I can make is if schools like PCOM have high %'s of grads pursuing specialty programs, where are they in the rankings of schools with high specialty %? The percentage is there. Doesn't that mean they should automatically be there? Or are there factors lacking?

I have never said the rankings are perfect. All I have argued is that they have some basis in reality, whether it's peoples' (deans and residency PD's) opinions or not. They are not as useless as people have asserted.

 

[Westardly]

westardly westardly westardly...what happened to your trojans on saturday...big loss to an UNRANKED team...hahaha (put USC in the SEC and they would be lucky to be .500)

I know. It sounded good at the time. Maybe I jinxed 'em.

 

[CatsandCradles]

Anyone know what the best osteopathic schools are. Not opinion, but does anyone know the facts? Thanks.

Let see, you spelled "Boy" with "Boi" and your from California. This means you're another one of those Viets who live in Sacramento, San Jose, and LA.

Did I guess right??

 

[Dr JPH]

I can understand why PCOM didn't make the list. I have no idea whether or not its a good school because I have no experience with it nor have I heard much out there about it

So youre arguing a point about the best osteopathic schools...yet you know nothing about one of the largest, oldest most established DO schools in the country? And is in a state where there are more DOs than anywhere else in the nation? And at the same time you rank West Virginia as one of the top DO schools?

OK...now I see who I am debating against.

It is hard to have this conversation with someone who is so misinformed about the entire osteopathic community.

Where do you go to school?
What year in school are you?
How many national conventions have you visited?
How many schools (not including going there for an interview or tour) have you visited?

My guess...newer school, first year, none, none

I would be interested in knowing the above info.

 

[Kuba]

I think PCOM deserves to be on the list because the residency directors I have spoken to all regard PCOM as the most prestigious osteopathic school. However, I have visited PCOM, have not liked it very much so it is not right for me. My own personal research puts MSUCOM and UMDNJSOM at the top.

 

[Kuba]

And I dont think anyone on here knows enough about every school to make a reasonable reliable top 5. Yes, even JP and Nate.

 

[JonnyG]

And I dont think anyone on here knows enough about every school to make a reasonable reliable top 5. Yes, even JP and Nate.

umm I would give very high credence to anything JP says since he interacts with many of the schools as a fellow and meets lots of their student and professors. He is probablyt he most reliable source of information about osteopathic schools on SDN.


I am not just saying that because he is grading my pratical tomorrow.

 

[ladpm]

Ladpm...hey there...true story for you. You want anesthesia? at allopathic school? that has a respectable name....well, i went to an anesthesia meeting last year (i go to kcumb) and a 4th year spoke about what he scored, ranked, and did to get a "good" allopathic residency(keep in mind this guy had no connections whatsoever). Ball park figures....Well within the middle of the class...round 50th percentile (he said maybe a little under)....had round 3.0 (he said maybe a little under after 2nd year)...brought his gpa to 3.2 a/f third and fourth year so he didn't SMOKE up his rotations (probably did a little above average)...and scored 212 on USMLE (average score)...did fine on COMLEX (obviously cause you cannot grad from KCUMB without passing step1 and 2 of comlex). He got into St. Louis University's anesthesia residency program (he interviewed at Vanderbilt and I forget the other allopathic school...KU, maybe?). There are only a few allopathic specialties and specific schools where osteopaths have to truly "out-shine" their allo friends. And then there are even fewer schools/programs that will not accept osteopaths what-so-ever (very rare and most allopathic students don't get these spots either). This is becoming less and less true because us osteopaths are actually capable of holding a stethoscope. Everything will all work out in the end...no matter what school you go to.

I agree with what you're saying about not having to worry so much about getting an allo residency...in fact my MD friend in his ER residency at USC county hospital told me that they have at least 3 DO's in his year that kick butt...I've also ran into a DO anesthesia resident at an allo institution too. My point is directed to those who want those non-primary care allo residencies in ortho, gen surg, etc. Its a bit limited in these cases. I've met a 4th year AZCOM student who match with an osteopathic orthopedic residency in Michigan...he wasn't thrilled about it but that's what he wanted in the end.

In general, my recommendation to which school to go to is to check their 'match day' as a barometer to where their graduates are going. Some schools don't have this info published which is sketchy. And look at the location and the name of the hospitals they get into. Some are allo, some osteopath, some out in the countryside and some in the metropolitan areas.

 

[Westardly]

So youre arguing a point about the best osteopathic schools...yet you know nothing about one of the largest, oldest most established DO schools in the country? And is in a state where there are more DOs than anywhere else in the nation? And at the same time you rank West Virginia as one of the top DO schools?

OK...now I see who I am debating against.

It is hard to have this conversation with someone who is so misinformed about the entire osteopathic community.

Where do you go to school?
What year in school are you?
How many national conventions have you visited?
How many schools (not including going there for an interview or tour) have you visited?

My guess...newer school, first year, none, none

I would be interested in knowing the above info.

I didn't do the rankings. I just passed them along. Sorry PCOM didn't make the cut, bra'.

Who says PCOM is one of the best? You? Somebody forgot to tell US News. I dont really care if it's one of the oldest. All the more time for it to have established a farther reaching reputation outside of Philedelphia if its as good as you claim, and not just among DO's at a convention. US News has nothing to do with the "Osteopathic community". They just rank med schools based on what PD's and Deans think. Not me or you. I think I struck a little nerve with the point I made about PCOM not gettin any love from PD's and Deans in whatever area of medicine your school specializes. Sorry about that.

This isn't about me or what I know of the "Osteopathic community", or what school you think I go to. You can try to attack my credibilty because you think I'm a first year and haven't been to a convention or because I dont have a picture of some old dude holding a bone as my avatar.

 

[Kuba]

I didn't do the rankings. I just passed them along. Sorry PCOM didn't make the cut, bra'.

Who says PCOM is one of the best? You? Somebody forgot to tell US News. I dont really care if it's one of the oldest. All the more time for it to have established a farther reaching reputation outside of Philedelphia if its as good as you claim, and not just among DO's at a convention. US News has nothing to do with the "Osteopathic community". They just rank med schools based on what PD's and Deans think. Not me or you. I think I struck a little nerve with the point I made about PCOM not gettin any love from PD's and Deans in whatever area of medicine your school specializes. Sorry about that.

This isn't about me or what I know of the "Osteopathic community", or what school you think I go to. You can try to attack my credibilty because you think I'm a first year and haven't been to a convention or because I dont have a picture of some old dude holding a bone as my avatar.

dude, you're a med student and you actually care about US News Rankings? They are the most idiotic rankings I have ever seen. As much as I like UNECOM, cmon, it probably isnt in the top 50 medical schools in the country.

 

[Westardly]

dude, you're a med student and you actually care about US News Rankings? They are the most idiotic rankings I have ever seen. As much as I like UNECOM, cmon, it probably isnt in the top 50 medical schools in the country.

Seriously, what was I thinking? I'm so glad you cleared that up for me. Now if you all will excuse me, I have to go study for the DAT.

 

[Westardly]

honestly, on paper it lookes like MSU-COM is the best. BUt it costs an arm and a leg

 

[Jamers]

Wow, this debate has gone on longer than I thought it would. Here, I will put an end to it, my penis is bigger. There..wait...

 

[scpod]

Wow, this debate has gone on longer than I thought it would. Here, I will put an end to it, my penis is bigger. There..wait...

It is a measureable thing...but here's the right way to do it:

 

[Dr JPH]

This isn't about me or what I know of the "Osteopathic community",

When you state your choices for the "top DO school" as per your opinion, then I think it becomes about your credibility.

I can make blanket statements all day but in the end I have more personal experience than you in a number of ways.

Whether PCOM is the best Primary Care school or not means very little to me. My residency applications and interviews are completed and they have nothing to do with primary care.

When you tell me that Pikeville is more highly regarded than PCOM, well then I need to call bull**** on that because its simply not true in any osteopathic specialty.

Look at the faculty from many of the newer DO schools...where did they go to school? What DO school were they recruited from? Not your school my friend.

You find me a PD from a specialty program that would overlook at PCOM, CCOM, MSUCOM, NYCOM student in blind favor of a student from one of the newer DO schools and I will leave SDN for good. Its not going to happen.

At the end of the day, I know what DO schools have Neurosurgery, Surgery, Urology, OB/GYN, Plastic Surgery, EMED and ENT residencies...and I know the ones who only have FP and IM residencies, if they even have those. If that isnt a marker of quality then I dont know what is.

Thats pretty much all I have to say about this topic. You can toss your opinion around all you want, but the bottom line is you are speaking blindly while I have experience on my side.

 

[czanetti]

What are your comments about TCOM?

 

[Dr JPH]

What are your comments about TCOM?

Well established (40ish years I think), strong OMM program with good OMM Fellowship, good sized hospital affiliates.

They also have great residency programs. If I am correct they have a Radiology residency program as well...not common in the DO world.

I had the opportunity to work with 4 TCOMers over the past few years (2 students, 1 intern and 1 attending). All had positive things to say about the school. It seemed the only concern was lack of rotations outside their immediate affiliations...I would imagine thats because of location.

 

[Westardly]

When you state your choices for the "top DO school" as per your opinion, then I think it becomes about your credibility.

I can make blanket statements all day but in the end I have more personal experience than you in a number of ways.

Whether PCOM is the best Primary Care school or not means very little to me. My residency applications and interviews are completed and they have nothing to do with primary care.

When you tell me that Pikeville is more highly regarded than PCOM, well then I need to call bull**** on that because its simply not true in any osteopathic specialty.

Look at the faculty from many of the newer DO schools...where did they go to school? What DO school were they recruited from? Not your school my friend.

You find me a PD from a specialty program that would overlook at PCOM, CCOM, MSUCOM, NYCOM student in blind favor of a student from one of the newer DO schools and I will leave SDN for good. Its not going to happen.

At the end of the day, I know what DO schools have Neurosurgery, Surgery, Urology, OB/GYN, Plastic Surgery, EMED and ENT residencies...and I know the ones who only have FP and IM residencies, if they even have those. If that isnt a marker of quality then I dont know what is.

Thats pretty much all I have to say about this topic. You can toss your opinion around all you want, but the bottom line is you are speaking blindly while I have experience on my side.

What posts were you reading?

I'm sorry I gave my opinion. I'll never do it again. It will never be as valid as yours oh great JPHazelton, master of all things medical school. I hope one day when I'm in my fifth year of medical school doing a fellowship in the hyper-competetive, evidence-based "specialty", OMM, I can be half as wise. Please forgive me and the folks at US News.

To the OP: I take it back. JPHazeltons list is right and I was wrong. Sorry for any confusion.

Pikeville #1! GO BEARS!

 

[Kuba]

What posts were you reading?

I'm sorry I gave my opinion. I'll never do it again. It will never be as valid as yours oh great JPHazelton, master of all things medical school. I hope one day when I'm in my fifth year of medical school doing a fellowship in the hyper-competetive, evidence-based "specialty", OMM, I can be half as wise. Please forgive me and the folks at US News.

To the OP: I take it back. JPHazeltons list is right and I was wrong. Sorry for any confusion.

Pikeville #1! GO BEARS!

dude, get over yourself already and do something better with your time.

 

[Taus]

What posts were you reading?

I'm sorry I gave my opinion. I'll never do it again. It will never be as valid as yours oh great JPHazelton, master of all things medical school. I hope one day when I'm in my fifth year of medical school doing a fellowship in the hyper-competetive, evidence-based "specialty", OMM, I can be half as wise. Please forgive me and the folks at US News.

To the OP: I take it back. JPHazeltons list is right and I was wrong. Sorry for any confusion.

Pikeville #1! GO BEARS!

I'm suddenly reminded of the old quote:
"opinions are like a$$holes....everyone has one and most of them are full of $hit"...or if you prefer "...and no one wants to believe that theirs smells as bad as the guy next to them"

Its hard to fault a person for speaking from experience and being a straight-shooter....yet some people find a way...

 

[Jamers]

I'm suddenly reminded of the old quote:
"opinions are like a$$holes....everyone has one and most of them are full of $hit"...or if you prefer "...and no one wants to believe that theirs smells as bad as the guy next to them"

Its hard to fault a person for speaking from experience and being a straight-shooter....yet some people find a way...

Man, these threads always get so damn violent. This is why I love SDN: "Where the nerds can act big and tough and take everything personal," if only we had 12 year olds that dressed up to look like they were 20 we could call ourselves "myspace..."