COMP Class of 2008 part 01

[arlsoonDO]

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😳 ups, when i said 'i do have to be present for mantdatory meeting" I meant you, well all of us have to be there. sorry for the confusion 🙂 .

 

[that dr. jack]

oh man, i'm getting so nervous guys. it just hit me today- less than a week, and everything will be changed forever.

 

[kpax18]

Hey people, I just got rejected from Loma Linda so I'm off to Western next year for sure. I felt more a sense of relief than sadness because I at least no where I'm going to be and where I belong. Can't wait to finally get this thing going. 😀

hey man, sorry to hear bout the rejection, but hey, you can always do residency and rotation at LLU. best wishes at COMP next yr

 

[Adapt]

hey man, sorry to hear bout the rejection, but hey, you can always do residency and rotation at LLU. best wishes at COMP next yr

It's cool. Hey kpax i wanted to ask you a question and maybe melancholy or other COMPerz can chime in. I read in the COMP book that COMP allows an international rotation in the 4th year as long as you keep your grades up. Have you heard of anyone doing this? I'd like to go to South Amercia, Central America or Mexico to do a rotation if I could. Thanks.

 

[kpax18]

It's cool. Hey kpax i wanted to ask you a question and maybe melancholy or other COMPerz can chime in. I read in the COMP book that COMP allows an international rotation in the 4th year as long as you keep your grades up. Have you heard of anyone doing this? I'd like to go to South Amercia, Central America or Mexico to do a rotation if I could. Thanks.

you;re absolutely correct, there is international rotation. The exact detail Im not so sure since I only heard it during orientation and interview time.
But as far as I know if you have a above 3.0 GPA you can do rotations in Asia, South America....etc.. There are other places but I misplaced my sheet of paper that has the info. But no sweat, you will get it during orientation.

 

[Adapt]

you;re absolutely correct, there is international rotation. The exact detail Im not so sure since I only heard it during orientation and interview time.
But as far as I know if you have a above 3.0 GPA you can do rotations in Asia, South America....etc.. There are other places but I misplaced my sheet of paper that has the info. But no sweat, you will get it during orientation.

That sounds good. I guess I'll just have to wait then. Do you think getting a couple of Cs in my last quarter for grades will make COMP think twice about my acceptance? I'm assuming no but the paranoia is kicking in. 😎

 

[kpax18]

That sounds good. I guess I'll just have to wait then. Do you think getting a couple of Cs in my last quarter for grades will make COMP think twice about my acceptance? I'm assuming no but the paranoia is kicking in. 😎

hey, dont worry bout it, I'm 99.99% sure that you're fine 👍

 

[efhuang]

you;re absolutely correct, there is international rotation. The exact detail Im not so sure since I only heard it during orientation and interview time.
But as far as I know if you have a above 3.0 GPA you can do rotations in Asia, South America....etc.. There are other places but I misplaced my sheet of paper that has the info. But no sweat, you will get it during orientation.

This may sound obvious, but another requirement is that you must be able to speak the language spoken there. At my interview they related the story of a student that had everything set up for a rotation in Thailand until they realized she didn't speak a word of Thai. "What? You mean I need to know Thai ???"

 

[efhuang]

Just wanted to say thanks to fried, and also Hey to Erik for the NorthwestTrack folks. As far as I know this is the first year, which makes me wonder about the 3rd and 4th rotations even if they are a ways off. Anyone have an info about that?

Trey

I'm afraid I can't add much additional information re: NWtrack. I did get a list of tentative rotation sites which I don't know if you got. They looked pretty good (at least for WA), but the key word is "tentative." Hopefully, once classes start, we NWtrack folks can all get together and figure out a plan to work closely with the school to ensure our 3rd and 4th years are the best possible.

Erick

 

[Adapt]

This may sound obvious, but another requirement is that you must be able to speak the language spoken there. At my interview they related the story of a student that had everything set up for a rotation in Thailand until they realized she didn't speak a word of Thai. "What? You mean I need to know Thai ???"

Really? What if you're intermediate meaning you understand much but have some trouble speaking well. Do you have to be fluent? I was hoping to go to improve my spanish.

 

[arlsoonDO]

hi everyone,

I was wondering do we have access to the blackboard. I tryed my ban web username/password and e-mail account. But it didn't work. Do you guys know if it's a separate account we need to creat and how? 😕

thx,

 

[here atlast]

It's cool. Hey kpax i wanted to ask you a question and maybe melancholy or other COMPerz can chime in. I read in the COMP book that COMP allows an international rotation in the 4th year as long as you keep your grades up. Have you heard of anyone doing this? I'd like to go to South Amercia, Central America or Mexico to do a rotation if I could. Thanks.

I remember during the interview, I asked about it and they said that you can even pick a country that they dont have on their list, but you have to find a teaching hospital there and see if they would welcome you there, once you do that and find a contact person, COMP will arrange for paper work and stuff with that hospital. I think it is pretty cool....It was one of the small factors effecting my desicion to put COMP on the top of my list 🙂 I am thinking about going to a third world country with this opportunity....so hopefully it works out...But you do need to be fluent and be able to work without help of a translator...bec someone asked that question during our interview and they said just knowing a little is not enough...
but hey, you got two years to work on your spanish speaking skills 😉

 

[Adapt]

I remember during the interview, I asked about it and they said that you can even pick a country that they dont have on their list, but you have to find a teaching hospital there and see if they would welcome you there, once you do that and find a contact person, COMP will arrange for paper work and stuff with that hospital. I think it is pretty cool....It was one of the small factors effecting my desicion to put COMP on the top of my list 🙂 I am thinking about going to a third world country with this opportunity....so hopefully it works out...But you do need to be fluent and be able to work without help of a translator...bec someone asked that question during our interview and they said just knowing a little is not enough...
but hey, you got two years to work on your spanish speaking skills 😉

Thanks a lot for that info here atlast. Yes I guess I do have at least 2 years to practice. 🙂

Arlsoon, the banweb account was given to us through an email on your western email account. First see if you have that and then they will give you an email with your ID and password for banweb.

 

[arlsoonDO]

Thanks a lot fot that info hear at last. Yes I guess I do have at least 2 years to practice. 🙂

Arlsoon, the banweb account was given to us through an email on your western email account. First see if you have that and then they will give you an email with your ID and password for banweb.

Adapt thanks,

I have both banweb and westernu e-mail, but there is another online thing called blackboard. Professors post their lectures and syllabi on it for students to view and download. I guess we don't have access to it yet. 😕

 

[Adapt]

Adapt thanks,

I have both banweb and westernu e-mail, but there is another online thing called blackboard. Professors post their lectures and syllabi on it for students to view and download. I guess we don't have access to it yet. 😕

Oh.

For some reason I thought you said banweb. Yea I don't think we have access to the blackboard yet but I'm not sure.

 

[2sno]

I'm afraid I can't add much additional information re: NWtrack. I did get a list of tentative rotation sites which I don't know if you got. They looked pretty good (at least for WA), but the key word is "tentative." Hopefully, once classes start, we NWtrack folks can all get together and figure out a plan to work closely with the school to ensure our 3rd and 4th years are the best possible.

Erick

Thanks Erick for the info. I asked was only given the email and name of someone doing the coordination when I interviewed, so that wasn't very helpfull. I do like the option of getting to move around the pacific northwest as well as maybe get a chance to go to Alaska. I wouldn't mind coming back to Wyoming for some rural medicine, but other than that there isn't much to be had in this state. I guess we'll have to group together with the other NWtrack folks and worry about crossing that bridge when we get there.

Trey

 

[Ryan]

Hey, did we all move to the "ESPN Happy Hour (or lack therof) thread"....hmmmmm...seems to say something about us....

 

[arlsoonDO]

Hey guys, lets not move to "Happy Hour" thread and forget about our long lasting w/ five star rating "COMP 2008" thread 🙂 .

I have a big question for our current med. students. I heard that some students suggest starting to use board exam prep books asap, like Step-Up, First Aid and BRS series. Has any of you used them in your MS1 and MS2 years? Which ones? and was it helpful?

any word of wisdom/advice will be great, 👍

thank you so much,

arl

 

[friedcfood]

Question? When do we register?

A story...Went on Banweb and saw that I had some holds that I cleared up months ago and the "status as of" date was april 2031...so i thought it was some bug in the system they've been telling me about. So i called them today and they told me I didn't complete my English requirement. I was WTF? I nearly crapped in my pants...thinking I'm not gonna be in the COMP Class of 2008. Anyhow, to spare you the details, they checked my transcripts and clear everything up. So I'm once more a COMPer! Whew!

 

[friedcfood]

nm...found the answer to my question here
Reg

 

[Adapt]

Question? When do we register?

A story...Went on Banweb and saw that I had some holds that I cleared up months ago and the "status as of" date was april 2031...so i thought it was some bug in the system they've been telling me about. So i called them today and they told me I didn't complete my English requirement. I was WTF? I nearly crapped in my pants...thinking I'm not gonna be in the COMP Class of 2008. Anyhow, to spare you the details, they checked my transcripts and clear everything up. So I'm once more a COMPer! Whew!

Wow that's tough. Glad to have you back. 👍

 

[arlsoonDO]

yeah, what' a screw up on their side. Has anyone registered? They say you can register online as soon as all your holds are cleared.

 

[here atlast]

I thought registration starts July 1st, isn't that what it says on that link? the one Friedcfood posted!!!?

 

[arlsoonDO]

I already registered, but again, I am doing ISAC so maybe it's different 😕

 

[Vince]

It's cool. Hey kpax i wanted to ask you a question and maybe melancholy or other COMPerz can chime in. I read in the COMP book that COMP allows an international rotation in the 4th year as long as you keep your grades up. Have you heard of anyone doing this? I'd like to go to South Amercia, Central America or Mexico to do a rotation if I could. Thanks.

There are numerous opportunities currently to do international rotations your 4th year, and yes, you have to have a 3.0 GPA to do them. A popular one recently I believe is Ecuador, but there are other opportunities such as Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, and there are numerous agencies that you can likely set up a rotation with and get approved by the school. I hear rumors(I REPEAT... RUMORS!!) that some want to do away with international rotations, but I think that's a bad idea. There is a committee at the school on International Rotations and its good if a responsible student can get on the committee and help keep things going....in recent years the committee has had two great students on it, with really significant international experiences. I would like to add that you should join IMC (International Medicine Club) when you get there because they have a Spain Exchange Program for the month of June in between 1st and 2nd year which is great. I was one of the fortunate 8 that went a couple years ago and it was fabulous. There are other international programs out there and you can find out about these if you join the IMC when you get to school. There will be a "Club Day" at the beginning of the school year where you can sign up.

 

[Adapt]

I would like to add that you should join IMC (International Medicine Club) when you get there because they have a Spain Exchange Program for the month of June in between 1st and 2nd year which is great. I was one of the fortunate 8 that went a couple years ago and it was fabulous. There are other international programs out there and you can find out about these if you join the IMC when you get to school. There will be a "Club Day" at the beginning of the school year where you can sign up.

That's really great info. Is it hard to get into that Spanish Exchange program. Could you give me more information about it. How long was it for, who did you stay with, and did you get to practice medicine in the hospitals? You can pm me if you want. Thanks.

 

[FowlersGap]

That's really great info. Is it hard to get into that Spanish Exchange program. Could you give me more information about it. How long was it for, who did you stay with, and did you get to practice medicine in the hospitals? You can pm me if you want. Thanks.

what are the opps at western like to learn spanish; i don't speak it but i pick up languages quickly

is there just one class or several?

 

[Seputro]

what are the opps at western like to learn spanish; i don't speak it but i pick up languages quickly

is there just one class or several?

According to the tour guides i had when i interviewed, they said there was no class, but there is a medical spanish club that learns and discusses...well...medical spanish stuff i guess.

=)

 

[melancholy]

Hey guys, lets not move to "Happy Hour" thread and forget about our long lasting w/ five star rating "COMP 2008" thread 🙂 .

I have a big question for our current med. students. I heard that some students suggest starting to use board exam prep books asap, like Step-Up, First Aid and BRS series. Has any of you used them in your MS1 and MS2 years? Which ones? and was it helpful?

any word of wisdom/advice will be great, 👍

thank you so much,

arl

Arl- Yeah, I suppose in a perfect world it would be great to study with the board-prep materials during the course of the first two years, but frankly it is a big feat in itself to even keep up with board studying during the last semester of the second year while studying for boards. It is true that some like to use BRS or Lippincott books to help study for the courses though. Ideally, it would be nice to follow along your courses in a First Aid/Step-up-type book so that the second time around (when you are studying for boards) you already have notes and some idea of what they look like.

That being said, very very few people were able to do that sort of thing throughout both years, so the main priority should be to concentrate on classes and go from there. You'll be busy enough. =)

 

[arlsoonDO]

thanks, melancholy. It makes sence what you said about being busy enough with classes. I guess I thought it would ease the process of studying during first 2 years. I definately don't want to make it any harder 🙂 . I really appreciate your advise.

Have you taken COMLEX only or USMLE too? Do you need USMLE to get into allopathic residencies? I know it's kind of early too ask 😳 I haven't even begum my MS1 year, but I just want to know what is ahead of me 🙂

thanks, again.

 

[melancholy]

thanks, melancholy. It makes sence what you said about being busy enough with classes. I guess I thought it would ease the process of studying during first 2 years. I definately don't want to make it any harder 🙂 . I really appreciate your advise.

Have you taken COMLEX only or USMLE too? Do you need USMLE to get into allopathic residencies? I know it's kind of early too ask 😳 I haven't even begum my MS1 year, but I just want to know what is ahead of me 🙂

thanks, again.

I took both Step 1 for COMLEX and USMLE. It is not essential to take the USMLE to get into allopathic residencies. You can get into some great residencies (both allopathic and osteopathic) without taking the USMLE, BUT that varies widely on all your other factors as well as those being considered by the residency programs. That being said, I get the feeling that it is highly recommended to take the USMLE if you want to be competitive for allopathic residencies.

 

[arlsoonDO]

I took both Step 1 for COMLEX and USMLE. It is not essential to take the USMLE to get into allopathic residencies. You can get into some great residencies (both allopathic and osteopathic) without taking the USMLE, BUT that varies widely on all your other factors as well as those being considered by the residency programs. That being said, I get the feeling that it is highly recommended to take the USMLE if you want to be competitive for allopathic residencies.

thanks again, are they similar/different? Did you have to use different prepmaterials(separate USMLE books and COMLEX books) to study for both or one set is sufficient?
thx, 🙂 😳

 

[rsinha]

Hey everyone..I just found this forum!..pretty cool. Anyone found a place in Chino Hills yet??

I met a guy from the International Club. It seems pretty easy to get into the (all paid for!) exchange program to Spain, provided you're a super active member. However, it sounded like you spend most of your time there travelling around rather than learning spanish or medicine...

 

[Adapt]

Hey everyone..I just found this forum!..pretty cool. Anyone found a place in Chino Hills yet??

I met a guy from the International Club. It seems pretty easy to get into the (all paid for!) exchange program to Spain, provided you're a super active member. However, it sounded like you spend most of your time there travelling around rather than learning spanish or medicine...

Oh really. I'd rather learn spanish than travel but if all expenses are paid for that's kind of nice.

 

[rsinha]

I could be wrong..sorry Vince!!

 

[Seputro]

Isac Starts In 9 1/2 Hours!!!

Ahhhhh

 

[tkim]

Isac Starts In 9 1/2 Hours!!!

Ahhhhh

Where is everyone meeting tomorrow?

 

[here atlast]

Hey everyone..I just found this forum!..pretty cool. Anyone found a place in Chino Hills yet??

I met a guy from the International Club. It seems pretty easy to get into the (all paid for!) exchange program to Spain, provided you're a super active member. However, it sounded like you spend most of your time there travelling around rather than learning spanish or medicine...

I don't know about spain, but i know for sure that it is not paid for, and you have to pay from your own pocket.

ISAC people how was it! how did it go?!!!!

 

[friedcfood]

I'm almost jealous ISAC people got to start medical school...almost seems unfair they get a head start...but then again...maybe not. the rest of us will enjoy our summer. lolz.

But for reals, congrats to you all...see you when school starts.
👍

 

[DoHzA]

the weirdest thing just happened
i received an email notification that this forum has a new message and i read the preview in my email then when i came in the forum...that same message from "bro" was nowhere to be found.

SDN has been TRIPPIN!

 

[bro]

If you're jealous of ISACers now, wait until you have your biochem final and gross final a week apart. then you'll really be jealous. Just sit back and enjoy your summer, the work will come soon enough.

By the way - are there any Southern folk coming to COMP this year. I graduated from Auburn Univ and would love to see more people from the south out here. Let me know.

Brian
DO 2007

 

[Seputro]

whassup everyone

ISAC is well...let's just say we'll have no real summer. Oh well. At least we can surf SDN and chat online during classes!

ok...back to paying attention in class.

 

[that dr. jack]

whassup everyone

ISAC is well...let's just say we'll have no real summer. Oh well. At least we can surf SDN and chat online during classes!

ok...back to paying attention in class.

so which one are you seputro? i was the one that spent most of today sitting in the back row, wanting to hide under the desks and cry for my mommy. i'm rarely that shy, but it felt so scary not to know ANYONE- it was on par with my first day of kindergarten. it was wonderful to talk to arlsoonDO at the end of the day and realize that we do, in fact, sort of know each other. we're even in the same lab group.

ISAC was ok. the cadavers begin tomorrow, and we're studying the osteology of the vertebral column and the scapula in preparation. we have about 50 pages to read on stupid $hit like anatomical planes and disarticulated half-skeletons that leave bone dust all over everything. it's gonna be a a$$ kicking 6 1/2 weeks, but at least i won't be bored out of my skull all day like dohza was today.

 

[Adapt]

so which one are you seputro? i was the one that spent most of today sitting in the back row, wanting to hide under the desks and cry for my mommy. i'm rarely that shy, but it felt so scary not to know ANYONE- it was on par with my first day of kindergarten. it was wonderful to talk to arlsoonDO at the end of the day and realize that we do, in fact, sort of know each other. we're even in the same lab group.

ISAC was ok. the cadavers begin tomorrow, and we're studying the osteology of the vertebral column and the scapula in preparation. we have about 50 pages to read on stupid $hit like anatomical planes and disarticulated half-skeletons that leave bone dust all over everything. it's gonna be a a$$ kicking 6 1/2 weeks, but at least i won't be bored out of my skull all day like dohza was today.

You have to read 50 pages? 😱

Crazy. I wonder if regular class will be like that. That's cool that you got started with it. I kind of wish I started already. Oh well...

 

[DoHzA]

yeah i was bored SO WHAT!

i wanna be bored all i can now while I STILL HAVE THE CHANCE!

 

[that dr. jack]

You have to read 50 pages? 😱

Crazy. I wonder if regular class will be like that. That's cool that you got started with it. I kind of wish I started already. Oh well...

it's just the first chapter, nothing huge, just anatomical planes, terminology and a general introduction. but i can imagine, get used that reading that much and more.

the reading is nothing compared to "know all the vertebrae and scapula by tomorrow". at this point i'm glad i took osteology, even if i'm a bit rusty becuase they don't teach you the bones- you have to teach yourself. those vertebrae have many different parts, my friend.

 

[arlsoonDO]

I agree with Dr. Jack (nice talking to you too 🙂 ), a lot of stuff. At first I didn't even know where to begin. I am going to bed right now, my brains are as dry as prunes 🙁 . After a year w/out school. I guess it'll come back after a while. Well, no more whining .

good night everyone, 😴

 

[kpax18]

You have to read 50 pages? 😱

Crazy. I wonder if regular class will be like that. That's cool that you got started with it. I kind of wish I started already. Oh well...

if you really want to you can start viewing the Netter book and memorizing all the bones and the muscles. and if you got time, nerves and arteries/veins as well. start with upper and lower back muscles/bones, then upper extremities, that'll take you right thru the 1st exam. if you're gonna be gunning, read the Moore clinical anatomy book on UE as well, which makes it more interesting instead of just pure memorization.
and if you done all that in about a week, go into major organs i.e. GI, heart, lung, etc...those are the stuff for 2nd exam. and finally the pelvis and Lower extremity... that's about the 1st semester of anatomy in a jist.
happy studying 😀

or...you can jsut enjoy your summer cuz when classes start you'll wish you have enjoyed your summer 🙂

 

[Adapt]

if you really want to you can start viewing the Netter book and memorizing all the bones and the muscles. and if you got time, nerves and arteries/veins as well. start with upper and lower back muscles/bones, then upper extremities, that'll take you right thru the 1st exam. if you're gonna be gunning, read the Moore clinical anatomy book on UE as well, which makes it more interesting instead of just pure memorization.
and if you done all that in about a week, go into major organs i.e. GI, heart, lung, etc...those are the stuff for 2nd exam. and finally the pelvis and Lower extremity... that's about the 1st semester of anatomy in a jist.
happy studying 😀

or...you can jsut enjoy your summer cuz when classes start you'll wish you have enjoyed your summer 🙂

Wow, that's some scary stuff. I'll probably just enjoy my summer for now and worry about that in August. I guess I knew it was coming.

 

[Vince]

That's really great info. Is it hard to get into that Spanish Exchange program. Could you give me more information about it. How long was it for, who did you stay with, and did you get to practice medicine in the hospitals? You can pm me if you want. Thanks.

You need to be active in the IMC in order to be considered. I interviewed the applicants for the following summer and there were about twice as many applicants as spots available. It can vary from year to year, based on the demand. It really is more for those that have at least some basic conversational spanish. If you don't speak Spanish at all, it is harder to get. It is true that it is more of a vacation month, but you get what you put into it.....you can really learn alot if you do the Pediatrics rotation because they expect alot of you and in return you learn alot. You could also do ER, Surgery, or Internal Medicine. It depends on how the IMC will set it up for the next year. It is a month long, about all of June, and there is a coordinator from Spain who sets up housing and stuff, so likely the boys will stay in one apartment and the girls in another. It is mainly observation only, which it should be because between your 1st and 2nd year you don't know anything anyways. Often the coordinator and other medical students from Spain will hang out with the COMP students a couple of times while you are there, but the Spain students have finals about that time so sometimes they are busy. You are pretty much on your own with the other COMP students to find things to do and travel on weekends if you want. Overall it was a great experience and I would do it again, especially now that I have more clinical experience. I started out with beginner Spanish and it definitely gave me a more solid foundation, but I would have enjoyed it alot more if I was fluent. Note: Each student that gets to go to Spain is assigned a task for the Spain students when they come to the states in July, like housing, setting up rotations, transportation, etc....so if you want to be gone the entire summer and won't be willing to be in the states for when the Spain students come, you might want to consider something else. You can arrange who will come back to the states when, because most students, including myself, traveled to other parts of Europe immediately before and after the Spain Exchange Program. It's just a matter of designating responsibilities so everything's covered.

For other opportunities to learn Spanish, yes, the IMC or the LMSA(Latino Medical Student Association) sometimes team up and put on a medical spanish class. This is an informal class after regular class hours taught by someone willing to teach it. Most students sign up and pay the $10 fee and then end up not going...its hard to go when you have other stuff to study that you are graded on. There are other clubs such as PCHAT(Pomona Community Health Action Team) that do these little clinics where you can get some exposure in speaking spanish. You could also look into other outside groups like Doctor's without Borders or something I guess.