BCOM vs PCOM-GA

[OrdinaryDO]

Hey guys I haven't been on to reply, but it seems as if the OP has made up his mind to go with BCOM! Welcome to the family As for what I said earlier, yes I am biased towards BCOM even though I try my best not to be, but the fact of the matter is it is natural to defend what is yours or what has a profound impact on you as a person. While all of my points were actually true you still have to think about it from another perspective. BCOM is amazing and it gives me hope for a bright future and a journey that I will never forget. I think of myself as an explorer of new things. I like to go and take risks and reap the rewards when possible. BCOM could be a so called "risk" depending on how you look at it, but for me...I see it as am opportunity!

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[Giovanotto]

Well, they are a for-profit school, so they want room for aggressive expansion!

Don't a lot of schools do this, like LECOM, PCOM, Touro, ATSU, Midwestern, VCOM etc.?

Generally,
1) Two (or 5) wrongs don't make a right
2) I think he is getting at the fact that with all that money, maybe it can be used to further improve the main school, instead of branching out.

For me the idea of branch campuses really leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding the DO education. It's my one pet peeve, if you will. It really puts the school's mission in doubt. Maybe I haven't thought about this enough, but if your schools' mission is to achieve academic excellence, and instead of funding a research wing, you go out and open a branch campus, where is the logic in that? Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive? I'd be interested to hear from others.

 

[mathnerd88]

Generally,
1) Two (or 5) wrongs don't make a right
2) I think he is getting at the fact that with all that money, maybe it can be used to further improve the main school, instead of branching out.

For me the idea of branch campuses really leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding the DO education. It's my one pet peeve, if you will. It really puts the school's mission in doubt. Maybe I haven't thought about this enough, but if your schools' mission is to achieve academic excellence, and instead of funding a research wing, you go out and open a branch campus, where is the logic in that? Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive? I'd be interested to hear from others.

Yeah, I understand. It just means that they only care more about money, and not really about the quality of education. I would rather the school concentrate all its resources on its students, and not finding ways to open new schools to make more money.

 

[RurouniKarly]

Generally,
1) Two (or 5) wrongs don't make a right
2) I think he is getting at the fact that with all that money, maybe it can be used to further improve the main school, instead of branching out.

For me the idea of branch campuses really leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding the DO education. It's my one pet peeve, if you will. It really puts the school's mission in doubt. Maybe I haven't thought about this enough, but if your schools' mission is to achieve academic excellence, and instead of funding a research wing, you go out and open a branch campus, where is the logic in that? Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive? I'd be interested to hear from others.

I think you've got the main point there already. It has to do with the purpose/mission of the school. A lot of DO schools aim to just train new physicians, and academic medicine isn't a goal/concern. For a school that wants to expand the number of physicians it releases into the job market every year, especially in underserved areas, it makes more sense to open branch campuses in areas with less medical education coverage than to open a research wing. I'm in the minority in that I don't see the expansion of osteopathic medicine as a bad thing, and it's easier for established schools to open branch campuses than it is for completely new schools to open.

My opinion? It's a good thing to have schools that are focused on research and academic medicine as well as schools that are focused only on training physicians. Most physicians do not engage in research during their careers and it isn't necessary for every school to make research a priority.

 

[mathnerd88]

I think you've got the main point there already. It has to do with the purpose/mission of the school. A lot of DO schools aim to just train new physicians, and academic medicine isn't a goal/concern. For a school that wants to expand the number of physicians it releases into the job market every year, especially in underserved areas, it makes more sense to open branch campuses in areas with less medical education coverage than to open a research wing. I'm in the minority in that I don't see the expansion of osteopathic medicine as a bad thing, and it's easier for established schools to open branch campuses than it is for completely new schools to open.

My opinion? It's a good thing to have schools that are focused on research and academic medicine as well as schools that are focused only on training physicians. Most physicians do not engage in research during their careers and it isn't necessary for every school to make research a priority.

I agree. However, BCOM hasn't even established itself as a name, and planning on opening up branch campuses when its main isn't even done yet doesn't look good. First it is the southwest in need of physicians, then now it's Montana?

68PGunner is just trying to point out that their actions may not reflect what they're really trying to do. I'm not really sure what to believe at this point. All I know is that most people who are extremely wealthy just wants to create more wealth for themselves. That's just a fact of life in America.

 

[Giovanotto]

I agree. However, BCOM hasn't even established itself as a name, and planning on opening up branch campuses when its main isn't even done yet doesn't look good. First it is the southwest in need of physicians, then now it's Montana?

68PGunner is just trying to point out that their actions may not reflect what they're really trying to do. I'm not really sure what to believe at this point. All I know is that most people who are extremely wealthy just wants to create more wealth for themselves. That's just a fact of life in America.

Correct, but I woudn't use BCOM as the example for your argument, given that we don't quite know whether or not it is actually BCOM that is opening a branch campus, or its investor. It's a small distinction with numerous repercussions.

 

[Giovanotto]

I think you've got the main point there already. It has to do with the purpose/mission of the school. A lot of DO schools aim to just train new physicians, and academic medicine isn't a goal/concern. For a school that wants to expand the number of physicians it releases into the job market every year, especially in underserved areas, it makes more sense to open branch campuses in areas with less medical education coverage than to open a research wing. I'm in the minority in that I don't see the expansion of osteopathic medicine as a bad thing, and it's easier for established schools to open branch campuses than it is for completely new schools to open.

My opinion? It's a good thing to have schools that are focused on research and academic medicine as well as schools that are focused only on training physicians. Most physicians do not engage in research during their careers and it isn't necessary for every school to make research a priority.

I would agree with this if I believed that we had a real shortage of physicians. And, if the new schools will sustain enough residency positions to train their own physicians properly. I believe that research and academic medicine IS integral to training a physician, especially when we regard specialties. BCOM, specifically, pushes both specialties and research, and so if they are opening a branch campus, I can't help but to feel a bit confused.

 

[RurouniKarly]

Correct, but I woudn't use BCOM as the example for your argument, given that we don't quite know whether or not it is actually BCOM that is opening a branch campus, or its investor. It's a small distinction with numerous repercussions.

Exactly. From what I've been able to find it seems that the Burrell Group is trying to finance another preexisting medical school project. It doesn't look like there will be any connection between BCOM and the proposed school in Montana other than having the same financier, but it's too early to know what the final plans are.

 

[RurouniKarly]

I would agree with this if I believed that we had a real shortage of physicians. And, if the new schools will sustain enough residency positions to train their own physicians properly. I believe that research and academic medicine IS integral to training a physician, especially when we regard specialties. BCOM, specifically, pushes both specialties and research, and so if they are opening a branch campus, I can't help but to feel a bit confused.

I'm thinking it's not a branch campus because every article about the Montana school just references the Burrell Group. The Burrell Group weren't involved in all the planning that the BCOM group did prior to approaching them for funding, and other than partnering with the BCOM group to provide the start up money for the school, they aren't really involved in the minutiae of implementing the school. It gets unclear/confusing since BCOM and the Burrell Group have the same name.

Still, BCOM already has access to research facilities at NMSU, so there wouldn't be much benefit in building their own research wing on the same property. BCOM is in a good position in that whatever they don't already have they can borrow from NMSU. What else is there to pour money into?

 

[mathnerd88]

I'm thinking it's not a branch campus because every article about the Montana school just references the Burrell Group. The Burrell Group weren't involved in all the planning that the BCOM group did prior to approaching them for funding, and other than partnering with the BCOM group to provide the start up money for the school, they aren't really involved in the minutiae of implementing the school. The confusion comes from the fact that the BCOM and the Burrell Group have the same name.

Still, BCOM already has access to research facilities at NMSU, so there wouldn't be much benefit in building their own research wing on the same property. BCOM is in a good position in that whatever they don't already have they can borrow from NMSU. What else is there to pour money into?

Research grants for their own students. In more competitive residencies and specialties, research is generally required.

They could also offer scholarships to students who excel academically and can promote the school's image.

What's weird is that BCOM does not want to be a part of NMSU, but rather, only "borrow" resources from them. I wonder why?

 

[RurouniKarly]

Research grants for their own students. In more competitive residencies and specialties, research is generally required.

They could also offer scholarships to students who excel academically and can promote the school's image.

What's weird is that BCOM does not want to be a part of NMSU. I wonder why?

I think I've said this before, but the reason the school is BCOM instead of NMSU-COM is that New Mexico couldn't afford to fund the school. It would have been the exact same program either way, but they had to go the private funding route due to New Mexico's inability to support a second medical school.

Those other items may come in time from BCOM's own internal revenue. Those seem like the kind of things a school would pay for out of its own profits rather than getting another cash injection from a financier.

Are there any schools that give students research grants out of their own pocket rather than getting government grants?

 

[mathnerd88]

I think I've said this before, but the reason the school is BCOM instead of NMSU-COM is that New Mexico couldn't afford to fund the school. It would have been the exact same program either way, but they had to go the private funding route due to New Mexico's inability to support a second medical school.

Those other items may come in time from BCOM's own internal revenue. Those seem like the kind of things a school would pay for out of its own profits rather than getting another cash injection from a financier.

Are there any schools that give students research grants out of their own pocket rather than getting government grants?

I know state schools do. They have some funding that they can give students to do some research, albeit not much.

Actually, most schools do with funding from donations of alumni. Perhaps since BCOM is so new, they don't have alumni to donate.

 

[RurouniKarly]

I know state schools do. They have some funding that they can give students to do some research, albeit not much.
Actually, most schools do with funding from donations of alumni. Perhaps since BCOM is so new, they don't have alumni to donate.

Yeah, it'll be another 8 years at least before any of us are in a position to make donations.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I think you've got the main point there already. It has to do with the purpose/mission of the school. A lot of DO schools aim to just train new physicians, and academic medicine isn't a goal/concern. For a school that wants to expand the number of physicians it releases into the job market every year, especially in underserved areas, it makes more sense to open branch campuses in areas with less medical education coverage than to open a research wing. I'm in the minority in that I don't see the expansion of osteopathic medicine as a bad thing, and it's easier for established schools to open branch campuses than it is for completely new schools to open.

My opinion? It's a good thing to have schools that are focused on research and academic medicine as well as schools that are focused only on training physicians. Most physicians do not engage in research during their careers and it isn't necessary for every school to make research a priority.

However, those branch campuses haven't all been in more rural parts (meaning < 100,000k) where the undeserved need is greater. Some have been in major cities (even close to cities) or states with a large amount of MD schools already.

 

[RurouniKarly]

However, those branch campuses haven't all been in more rural parts (meaning < 100,000k) where the undeserved need is greater. Some have been in major cities (even close too cities) or states with a large amount of MD schools already.

True. I think most of the schools opening branch campuses aren't doing it in a nefarious way, but then there are schools like Touro that seem to have different motivations.

 

[premedstudent100]

So I've been accepted to BCOM and PCOM-GA and I am torn between the two. PCOM-GA is about 30 mins from my house while BCOM is about 22 hours from my house. I think the rotation sites at BCOM are better than PCOM-GA's rotation sites. However, PCOM-GA is well established and BCOM has not had a class yet. I would appreciate any input from current PCOM-GA students and anyone else. Thank you!

Hi! I am a freshman in college and am also interested in going to GA-PCOM. What were your stats (GPA, MCAT, volunteer works you've done, extracurricular activities) that allowed you to be a good candidate to be accepted? I tried looking for updated stats on GA-PCOM but I couldn't find it anywhere on their site. Your information will help me out a bunch!!!

 

[FloresMD]

Hi! I am a freshman in college and am also interested in going to GA-PCOM. What were your stats (GPA, MCAT, volunteer works you've done, extracurricular activities) that allowed you to be a good candidate to be accepted? I tried looking for updated stats on GA-PCOM but I couldn't find it anywhere on their site. Your information will help me out a bunch!!!

GPA: 3.65
MCAT: 23(7PS/6VR/10BS)
Volunteer: Volunteer/Translator at local free clinic which allowed me to have a ton of patient contact, Hospice volunteer, volunteer at a local flea market doing free health screenings.

As a freshman, I would try to do as best as you can in all of your classes and try and get involved in the community. Try to really learn the stuff you need to know in your classes for the MCAT. It will make things easier when you study for it. Good luck!