Dmu com

[doffish]

I know there are many, many other DMU students who feel the same way I do, so I am surprised there are no postings about the current conditions here.

While the students are treated OK, and the faculty who have not left are quite good, they (the faculty) are leaving in droves. I have been told that this is due to an administration that is not only inept, but is hostile to faculty. Faculty tell me that morale is the lowest it has been in 20 years, and that the general atmosphere on campus is one of fear, suspicion, and gloom. They worry that if they say something negative, it will be repeated to administration, and the faculty member could be fired, or denied promotion or tenure. The dean of COM was fired last summer because the president and provost saw him as a threat to their power. Other department heads have been fired or removed from their positions.

I'm a first year student, so I am extremely concerned that there will not be adequate, qualified faculty to teach me next year. DMU has very few clinical faculty (there has also been a mass exodus on their part), but my rotations will not be in the DMU clinic (if I can help it anyway) so the lack of clinical faculty hopefully won't effect me.

I am married and have a small child and my wife has a good job in Des Moines, otherwise I would be looking at opportunities to transfer to another med school. So I am stuck here. But I would caution anyone who is considering DMU to find out for yourself about the faculty turnover, before you commit to DMU.

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[Spikebd]

Was there a bad match from DMU this year? I am getting a sense that there was. I'm interested because I'm going to DMU this fall. I'm still excited about it, but I appreciate the concerns. Hopefully things can get better...

 

[kdur]

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[Dissected]

Was there a bad match from DMU this year? I am getting a sense that there was. I'm interested because I'm going to DMU this fall. I'm still excited about it, but I appreciate the concerns. Hopefully things can get better...

The match this year was actually the most successful in several years. Lots of sub-specialty matches and a lot more folks landed some impressive spots in primary care. We had a strong and hard working class. There is a private doc available for the 4th years only and about 75% of the class has reported, but it won't get published on SDN since everyone's names are on it. The official list may take a while, DMU has been slow with these.

The OP is talking about some internal unrest that has been going on at DMU for the past year or so. I am also surprised, actually, that there haven't been any posts about it on here. Kind of a weird transition phase with a LOT of faculty turnover.

OP - you will be fine. Work hard and learn your board material. On rotations it is your prerogative to learn anyway so the faculty who are on campus don't make as much of a difference. I doubt that they will be losing many of their rotation sites in DSM which are quite good. 4th year will still be what you make it. It's hard to see a few years ahead sometimes, but DMU still has a good name and if you make a strong resume you can and will succeed when it comes time for residency applications. 1st and 2nd year will seem like a (very painful) blip in your education..just gotta tough it out. Believe it or not it gets better

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I know there are many, many other DMU students who feel the same way I do, so I am surprised there are no postings about the current conditions here.

While the students are treated OK, and the faculty who have not left are quite good, they (the faculty) are leaving in droves. I have been told that this is due to an administration that is not only inept, but is hostile to faculty. Faculty tell me that morale is the lowest it has been in 20 years, and that the general atmosphere on campus is one of fear, suspicion, and gloom. They worry that if they say something negative, it will be repeated to administration, and the faculty member could be fired, or denied promotion or tenure. The dean of COM was fired last summer because the president and provost saw him as a threat to their power. Other department heads have been fired or removed from their positions.

I'm a first year student, so I am extremely concerned that there will not be adequate, qualified faculty to teach me next year. DMU has very few clinical faculty (there has also been a mass exodus on their part), but my rotations will not be in the DMU clinic (if I can help it anyway) so the lack of clinical faculty hopefully won't effect me.

I am married and have a small child and my wife has a good job in Des Moines, otherwise I would be looking at opportunities to transfer to another med school. So I am stuck here. But I would caution anyone who is considering DMU to find out for yourself about the faculty turnover, before you commit to DMU.

As a first year as well at DMU, this is bogus. OP- all of this has been addressed and if these were really your concerns, you could address this with your class leaders, attend the town halls, go to the open fireside chats with the president, go to the student lunches with the president, go the the president open forums, etc. etc. etc. where you can speak directly to the president, dean, provost, etc. All of this has been addressed. It is pretty obvious who i am on campus so come to me if you have questions because the answers are out there.

yes the faculty are leaving. yes we have a new president. look at any school anywhere and you will see similar problems when there is new administration. couple that with the opening of new schools and we have a perfect storm. half the faculty that have left are going to the new schools where they are going to be the chair of the department. seems like a sweet deal that many would be hard pressed to pass up. the COM dean being fired is a statement that comes from piss poor speculation. Where you there when he was fired? No. Nobody has any clue why he was fired but to sit here and say that administration is sitting there thinking, "who is a threat and who's life can we ruin today" is just plain stupid.

if the faculty are seriously concerned, tell them to bring it up. you are telling me that instead of the faculty going to say "hey, we have a problem," they are going to recruit students to fight their battles for them? yeah that seems legit. we also have no idea why department heads are being removed. we are first years. they could have sucked. but because people are telling you that they were good teachers, you think that equates to them being good chairs. They may have been, but they may not have been.

your job is learn medicine and DMU is making sure you do that. unless your previous career involved medical school administration, it is probably best that we leave running the school to them. if we are friends in real life and i come off as harsh, sorry about that. but honestly, this post shows that you haven't taken advantage of the 15-20 opportunities that have occurred to ease student concerns as well as the 5-10 more planned opportunities that are scheduled in the future, and that is all on you.

if you want to discuss these issues, i would be happy to do that. i can PM you my real name and meet you in the SEC and we can talk about this. The dean has monthly town hall meetings that you are more than welcome to attend. I am at every one of them, I take notes, and have even offered out to send the entire class notes on these town hall meetings if you don't go. if you have concerns, bring them up to your class leaders and if they don't have the answers, they will speak up for you. the answers are there but being that we are all in professional school, i guess it is assumed that they don't need to be spoon fed to you.

seek out information man. don't be so lazy about getting information.

 

[Dissected]

The information that we all want, the important information, is not being given to students at the town hall meetings. Whatever is going on behind the scenes is very strange. Many of the professors that are leaving were fantastic chairs and teachers who gained our trust during out time there which is why most of the 3rd and 4th years are caught off guard. I wouldn't even call this faculty turnover.. it's more like a mass exodus. Losing Dr. Reed was like a knife through most of our hearts and none of us still know for sure why he's gone.

Anyway, I won't say anymore about what is going on, but I will say that you can still receive great education at DMU and it can get you where you want to be as well as any of the top DO schools. It may be different than it was a few short years ago, but in the end it's the work ethic of the students that defines their success in the match. DMU's reputation in the community will be strong as long as it's students live up to the high standard that has been set by each graduating class before now. DMU isn't going anywhere and it will continue to produce great doctors year after year. It's a transition period and every institution goes through them.

O-Grady: I would go there again over any other DO school in a heartbeat. Good location (for med school), good rotations, great people on campus, great reputation, gives you the support and autonomy that you need to achieve your goals.

 

[Spikebd]

Thanks for the posts guys.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

dissected i had no idea you were at dmu.

i am sure none of us will ever really know why he is gone but a lot of stuff shouldnt really be student concerns. we have enough to worry about. and i understand that 2-4th years would be more worried, but to me it makes no sense when 1st years are upset because we have no clue. dean plundo is doing good and there is a lot of bitching from first years being sad about specific professors are leaving when we havent even had them. and it may appear as a mass exodus but many professors are leaving for really good reasons. sure there are going to be some for personality clashes, but couple it with new schools opening and our great faculty being recruited, there is a possibility that this is a perfect storm.

maybe it is easier for me being a first year because i dont know how it used to be, but that is never coming back any way we look at it so we need to move forward. if it was a 2-4 year that posted, i probably wouldn't have said everything in the way i did. but we do have president luncheons, fireside chats, and more that people dont go to and then bitch that there are no answers. and maybe some information isnt being disseminated to 3rd and 4th years, or maybe i am just starry-eyed because i dont know any different. but the OP is privy to the same info i am and i feel a lot of the issues were addressed on a level that is suitable for us as students.

 

[XCdude]

dissected i had no idea you were at dmu.

i am sure none of us will ever really know why he is gone but a lot of stuff shouldnt really be student concerns. we have enough to worry about. and i understand that 2-4th years would be more worried, but to me it makes no sense when 1st years are upset because we have no clue. dean plundo is doing good and there is a lot of bitching from first years being sad about specific professors are leaving when we havent even had them. and it may appear as a mass exodus but many professors are leaving for really good reasons. sure there are going to be some for personality clashes, but couple it with new schools opening and our great faculty being recruited, there is a possibility that this is a perfect storm.

maybe it is easier for me being a first year because i dont know how it used to be, but that is never coming back any way we look at it so we need to move forward. if it was a 2-4 year that posted, i probably wouldn't have said everything in the way i did. but we do have president luncheons, fireside chats, and more that people dont go to and then bitch that there are no answers. and maybe some information isnt being disseminated to 3rd and 4th years, or maybe i am just starry-eyed because i dont know any different. but the OP is privy to the same info i am and i feel a lot of the issues were addressed on a level that is suitable for us as students.

Stop drinking the koolaid and open your eyes. There is much that is not being discussed. I can tell you that many students and faculty alike are very disenfranchised. You should be concerned why so many clinical positions and basic science faculty are leaving in droves.

That said DMU is a good school.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

tell you what i am going to do. i am going to forgo sga next year so it isnt a concern of mine and then i am going to focus on learning medicine and spending time with my family. then i am going to rock my boards and not give a crap. then i will make koolaid and hang out on the deck. dmu is a great school and will stay a great school. i never go to class anyways. give me a book, tell me what i need to know, and hire the worst ones for all i care. my time will be well spent.

 

[abolt18]

Doesn't seem like anyone is arguing that it is a great school or that you will receive a great education there. Seems that everyone agrees. I'd just say that it appears they are trying to say that the things going on are not negligible and are worth noting, but not something to deter students because the school is still great.

 

[Dissected]

tell you what i am going to do. i am going to forgo sga next year so it isnt a concern of mine and then i am going to focus on learning medicine and spending time with my family. then i am going to rock my boards and not give a crap. then i will make koolaid and hang out on the deck. dmu is a great school and will stay a great school. i never go to class anyways. give me a book, tell me what i need to know, and hire the worst ones for all i care. my time will be well spent.

This is probably the best thing you can do second year. . Put your head down and do well while using any extra time you have with your family. SGA and extra curriculars are great and all..but honestly they matter very little in the big picture. Even class rank doesn't matter that much.

Good luck
-Dissected

 

[doffish]

This year's match at DMU was not good. And the prospects for the future look worse. I am very worried, but don't know what to do.

 

[272727]

This year's match at DMU was not good. And the prospects for the future look worse. I am very worried, but don't know what to do.

Why are future matches not looking good? I am planning on attending DMU in the Fall and now this post has got me nervous.

 

[deleted307836]

Why are future matches not looking good? I am planning on attending DMU in the Fall and now this post has got me nervous.

I don't know anything about DMU specifically... but all future matches for DO schools are likely to get more challenging as the number of residency positions remains stagnant. The amount of US grads applying for residencies is increasing considerably each year due to new medical schools and larger class sizes.

 

[2000 Man]

This year's match at DMU was not good. And the prospects for the future look worse. I am very worried, but don't know what to do.

What are you basing this on? I am a 4th year at DMU and from what I heard the match was actually very good this year.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Why are future matches not looking good? I am planning on attending DMU in the Fall and now this post has got me nervous.

Dissected, a 4th year at DMU who just matched with thousands of posts says the DMU match was very good this year. doffish with 2 posts and a 1st year says it wasn't. you choose who you wanna believe.

 

[Didierdrogba]

Dissected, a 4th year at DMU who just matched with thousands of posts says the DMU match was very good this year. doffish with 2 posts and a 1st year says it wasn't. you choose who you wanna believe.

you and doffish should duke it out

 

[Dissected]

This year's match at DMU was not good. And the prospects for the future look worse. I am very worried, but don't know what to do.

This, premeds, is what we call a troll. I have explicit access to our match list and is is quite good. Lots of happy 4th year students. So as frkybgstok mentioned...

:troll:

Why are future matches not looking good? I am planning on attending DMU in the Fall and now this post has got me nervous.

Future matches will be fine and so will you. Congrats on attending, now it's on you to reach your goals.