hi guys,
im currently a ms4 at drew and although i rarely get the chance to post here, ill try to answer some quick q's that ive seen on the thread.
1. i really dont know much about the PRIME program, so not much help there.
2. there is nothing that differentiates the straight ucla md program from drew the first 2 years. this includes lectures, physical diagnosis, pbl, doctoring, etc. you're all there to get your basic physiology background and to pass exams. and to answer a q on a previous post, yes drew is pass/fail just like geffen.
3. the difference in the program is in years 3 and 4. yes, as previously pointed out, we now use the other ucla affiliated hospitals as rotation sites, including westwood, oliveview, west la va, santa monica, cedars, and harbor. most drew students choose county (oliveview and harbor) as these provide relatively the same experience as mlk did. as a drew student, you will also not do regular doctoring/preceptor (yay!) which is a total waste of time for regular ucla students. instead you will have your own primary care experience in an outpatient clinic in south central where you will follow your own patients and get teaching from faculty that primarily work with the poor. you will also be responsible for putting together a thesis research project, which is much more involved than the regular "scholarly" project most ucla students do. your thesis is a real research project which requires a protocol, irb approval, etc.
4. Drew faculty have taken a variety of jobs. you forget these people are accomplished academic m.d.'s that have a unique experience in treating the most underserved of the country, so it is of no surprise that their skills are wanted/needed. many either went out into the community or took faculty positions at usc, harbor, etc. there is certainly no shortage of jobs in LA county. some are also still at drew and do research out of there.
5. Where are the patients that mlk used to serve? being underserved! of course it is no surprise that these patients have to go somewhere, most are going to harbor (hence last years overcrowding citation on their ed) or usc where they have long wait times and barely adequate follow up. trust me, they did not disappear into thin air...
so you can be certain that now more than ever LA county's uninsured and underserved need physicians like us that are willing to get our hands dirty and work serving one of the most challenging yet grateful populations in medicine. theyre the reason the drew program has been so successful and will continue to attract the best in the country.
oh yea somewhere i saw a post that was asking about specializing if you go to drew...lets just saw 1/3 of the AOA class at UCLA (7 out of 21- which takes into account ucla/drew/riverside/mstp) was drew. and you can bet that were being highly recruited into every specialty from derm, rads, anesthesia, urology, em, etc. needless to say if youre one of the lucky 24, youre definitely in for the best 4 years of your life. good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBrzEVJwYFg
