I've been very satisfied with my LECOM education thus far. There are definitely some annoying rules and overzealous upper-level administrators, but that's a small price to pay for a great education. LECOM uses a systems-based approach for semesters 2-4; this provides a nice mix of basic science and clinical medicine. The faculty have been excellent for the most part. The hands-on clinical training I've received so far has been very helpful; I've been told by several clinicians that LECOM students consistently out-perform both osteopathic and allopathic colleagues on clinical rotations. All in all, LECOM provides superb educational opportunities for motivated and qualified students.
That being said, I'm concerned that LECOM is growing much too quickly. It is the intention of our president, John M. Ferretti, DO to make LECOM "..the largest college of osteopathic medicine in the country." (LECOM Connection, Fall 2002) I can only hope that the admissions committee won't begin to sacrifice quality for quantity; to do so would be a detriment to a truly top-notch program. After all, any school is only as good as it's students, no matter how high it's profit margins might be.
