I no longer have a dog in this fight since I withdrew from my seat in favor of another school. That said, a number of my mentees will be attending SOMA and I will still be teaching in the MPH program through my own medical schooling (and may teach some of you should you decide to enroll in the DO/MPH program), so I feel compelled to say a few words about the coming curriculum changes.
First, as to why no one in admissions discussed these changes with you when you interviewed, unfortunately, they did not know. My wife sits on the admissions committee and up until a few days before the meeting with Dr. Coty, she and other members of the committee were very clearly and specifically told that no curricular changes were planned. The admissions committee did not engage in bad faith dealings with interviewees.
Regarding the PBL/case-based learning. Something like 80% of all U.S. MD and DO schools use this modality for part or all of their basic medical sciences. Apparently, when SOMA was founded, they were a 100% PBL/case-based learning school so if anything, this just gets back to their roots. The school that I will be attending, UIWSOM, uses a mix of case-based, small group, and lecture (very minor component of the curriculum) and being concerned about what that would mean for me and board exams, so I spoke with a couple of the faculty members at SOMA who have expertise in teaching case-based learning and who will be teaching you guys. The jist of what they shared with me is that students in PBL/case-based programs tend to do better, academically, in their basic sciences years, on their board exams, and they perform better as residents. They shared the following articles with me to help ease my concerns:
The effectiveness of the combined problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL) teaching method in the clinical practical teaching of thyroid disease
Case-Based Learning and its Application in Medical and Health-Care Fields: A Review of Worldwide Literature
Problem-based learning outcomes: ten years of experience at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine - PubMed
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/0142159X.2012.680939
Student Performances on Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination Following Implementation of a Problem-Based Learning Curriculum
Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Residents' Self-directed Learning
The way that Dr. Coty explained the way that he envisions PBL/case-based learning is somewhat different than what I’ve seen at other schools and it’s going to be very different than what UIWSOM does (particularly with exams) however, each and every one of you who has been admitted was admitted because the adcom saw something in you that suggested that you not only have the makings of being a great medical student but you also have the ability to adapt to the ever changing circumstances of medical school. I remember my wife speaking GLOWINGLY about a few of you. You’ve all got what it takes to do well no matter what is thrown at you and certainly, though I will be at a different school, I am willing to share what ever resources that I have if it’ll make your transitions easier (I’m already accumulating videos and other things that will help out); though I’ll be at a different school, I don’t see us as rivals. We’re all working towards the same goal. Someone above said it best, adapt and overcome. We’re all medical students now and our careers will be spent adapting and overcoming different challenges. This is just a minor hurdle on the way to our goals.