MWU-AZ vs. OHSU

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brochacho3

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Just wondering if anyone would be able to give any insight on either school. I am OOS for OHSU so cost between the two would be roughly the same. Leaning towards MWU-AZ though. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

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Just wondering if anyone would be able to give any insight on either school. I am OOS for OHSU so cost between the two would be roughly the same. Leaning towards MWU-AZ though. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
I have lived near OHSU for 10 years before moving for my undergrad. One thing I noticed was how much support the community has for OHSU and how prestigious it was to be associated with the university. Portland is an awesome place to live culturally and for food. There is live music in every flavor each day of the week.
 
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I saw this a while back in the summer. I cannot comment on its accuracy/validity. Perhaps someone from the school or is familiar with the program can chime in.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/read-and-give-serious-thought-before-coming-to-ohsu.1094439/

I have found it refreshing that nobody there now really has tried to downplay that changes made when the new dean came on caused a lot of frustration. The students I've spoken to seem happy and to think that the worst parts of the transition are worked out.
 
I have found it refreshing that nobody there now really has tried to downplay that changes made when the new dean came on caused a lot of frustration. The students I've spoken to seem happy and to think that the worst parts of the transition are worked out.
That's good to hear.
 
It was nice to see that they were honest about the changes being made. It seemed to me that the D3s and D4s were a little less enthusiastic to be there than the D2s (didn't talk to any D1s). Hopefully they have turned the corner on the transition between deans.
 
I've worked a few places going through mergers and big leadership changes. No matter how good the changes might be, there are always a lot of people who are pretty vocal about the change being bad. I get it. You have one set of expectations and are part of an institution with a particular vision and then it all changes. And it sounds like it might not have been done particularly gracefully at OHSU.

I kind of had some reservations after hearing about the new direction. It almost sounded like the new emphasis on research and raising the prestige of the institution was coming at the expense of the strong clinically-focused culture and reputation that already existed. And from the D3 and D4 experiences, it also kind of sounded like the role of the students was to throw themselves at the new goals and vision without regard for their own goals and needs.

After getting to go on a really comprehensive tour of the new building and talking to D1s and D2s, I feel like I kind of get what's going on more and that the changes make sense. The emphasis on training dentists to serve the needs of Oregonians is still there and the lower classes and incoming students have a clearer idea of what their four years will look like. The only negative that I heard repeated by multiple people is that they need more patients in the clinic. They're working on that, but have more work to do. Hopefully the opening of Tilikum Crossing will make the new building more accessible and take care of some of that problem for them.
 
Visited OHSU last month. The new clinic looks fantastic and was certainly decked out. The view from the ortho chairs almost made me want braces. And Portland is Portland. But none of that stuff matters. I spent the weekend with some students and the lack of patients and the direction the new dean is taking were the two standout issues I heard about. One of my clinical instructors also visited a couple weeks ago and pointed out that even with a nice new clinic, they still run it like they did decades ago when he was in dental school. I forget not all schools do it like we do. The way the clinic works at MWU is fantastic. I've never had to look for a single patient and just yesterday I was almost complaining that I'm booking into mid-April. It sucks when you have patients eager to get their work done but you can't get them in fast enough. It's a good problem to have.

EVERY school has issues and goes through phases of change and this and that and you'll always find some students who love it and students who hate it...even students at the same school in the same class. You'll thrive and end up being a dentist at either location. I'm sure OHSU will work out the 'kinks' and judging by the students I met, you'd be joining a good family. But, if cost is really going to be equal, come on down to MWU.
 
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If only MWU could be in Portland... *sigh*
 
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