DMU OMS-1 AMA

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spenguin

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Hey,
I am a first year at DMU, Ask me anything

I have a physiology exam tomorrow but I will try to answer afterwards.

Hopefully this helps people decide on whether or not to attend/apply to DMU
 
What would you consider your favorite thing(s) about DMU?

Least favorite?

Do you have or know many students that have families that attend DMU?

I'm sure I'll have a bunch more questions, but these are the first I can think of.
 
Did you have to choose between DMU and other schools? Why here?

How is the transition to living in the middle of iowa if youre not from the area?

What's the class like and how do you guys get to know each other? I know some schools do students societies or something like that.

Is there anything you feel the school is missing, or do you feel comfortable and well prepared for residency apps in the future?

Thanks for doing this!
 
1. How many exams do you have per week?
2. Can you describe your "typical" day?
3. Are you happy with your decision to study at DMU?
4. What are somethings you wish DMU could improve on?
5. What steps has DMU faculty taken to address concerns about the weaker second year curriculum? (Weaker as in lack of boards-relevance.)
6. Have you adjusted your study habits since starting medical school? How?
7. What kind of activities do students do for fun in their free time?
8. How do you feel about the 1st year curriculum so far?
 
austintr said:
What would you consider your favorite thing(s) about DMU?

Least favorite?

Do you have or know many students that have families that attend DMU?

I'm sure I'll have a bunch more questions, but these are the first I can think of.
Click to expand...

Favorite-
Community feel- location and the fact that many of us moved here from far away = forced us to get to know each other
Campus- lots of places to study, actually feels like a real campus which not all schools have
The people- everyone shares quizlets, helpful youtube videos, objectives, etc on our facebook group.

Least favorite- Some of our classes are set up in ways that I think are inefficient and I don't like how things are tested. The exam schedule can be intense at times. But I think these are common issues.

There are so many students with families, like tons. Several classmates are married, have kids and one of my classmates is pregnant.
 
saabbro said:
Did you have to choose between DMU and other schools? Why here?

How is the transition to living in the middle of iowa if youre not from the area?

What's the class like and how do you guys get to know each other? I know some schools do students societies or something like that.

Is there anything you feel the school is missing, or do you feel comfortable and well prepared for residency apps in the future?

Thanks for doing this!
Click to expand...

I did, I turned down other acceptances and interviews to come here.
Well established school- which means we are guinea pigs for less things (new schools are still figuring out what works).
We have decent rotation sites for a DO school (from what I have heard).
We have a really flexible 3rd/4th year and lots of electives- which is good if you potentially want to specialize or don't want to do mandatory _____ rotations, you have more input in what you are exposed to
Students seemed happy when I visited for interview
I didn't realize how a big of a deal this was but Ultrasound. We get a ton of training in it and its super useful in ways you wouldn't have expected if you didn't work in an ER


Des Moines is ...interesting. It is much smaller than what I am used to. We have good Mexican Food but the Asian food is kind of lacking. There are a ton of bars but only 1 or 2 clubs. It has a decent amount going on for a city of its size. There is an amazing Farmer's market every Saturday with lots of live music, and tons and tons of vendors. We do have less young people then other cities.

The class is nice. Most (like 99%) are super friendly and everyone is smart. At the beginning of the year, people make an effort on the facebook to do little get togethers- like going to a restaurant or a bar. You also meet people through your apt (alot of students live in the buildings around school). Orientation week has some events that encourage people to get to know each other. Student clubs. We also have groups of anatomy, cell biology, etc. And we have different partners in OMM each week. You also meet people through volunteering events. Some people are social, some cliquey, some are a bit antisocial.

I'm only a first year so I am not sure about residency apps.
I think one disadvantage we have is we don't get 8 weeks designated board studying time like some schools.
 
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nevermind8l said:
1. How many exams do you have per week?
2. Can you describe your "typical" day?
3. Are you happy with your decision to study at DMU?
4. What are somethings you wish DMU could improve on?
5. What steps has DMU faculty taken to address concerns about the weaker second year curriculum? (Weaker as in lack of boards-relevance.)
6. Have you adjusted your study habits since starting medical school? How?
7. What kind of activities do students do for fun in their free time?
8. How do you feel about the 1st year curriculum so far?
Click to expand...

1. THIS VARIES SO MUCH. Anywhere from 0 exams to 3 exams/week. First semester is mostly 1 exam a week with some 2 exam weeks. Second semester is mostly 2 exams a week.
2. Again, this varies even if you plan on attending classes. I don't attend classes but we do have some mandatory ones. This is/was my day today
8am wake up
9-12 Study in the library for tomorrow's exam
12-12:30 Lunch meeting
12:30-1 Food + Coffee
1-3 Anatomy Lab
3- whatever time Study for tomorrow's exam

Some days there are no mandatory things and other days there are many mandatory things. Campus opens at 5am and closes 12pm/1am. First semester is more chill than second semester but there also more mandatory classes.

You kind of plan your day based on what exams coming up and what things are mandatory.
Classes usually start at 8 but not always. We have grand rounds at 7am a couple times a semester.

3. Yes I am, it's not perfect but no medical school is.
4. Curriculum, will explain more later and I wish we had dedicated board studying time
5. I dunno anything about this, just a first year, but from what I can tell, classes are relevant to board material.
6. OMG YES! Of course. Studying for more hours, watch lots of videos at 1.5x-3x speed, flash card programs like Anki/Quizlet, etc etc. I personally have a different study strategy for different classes. Some classes are more about the details, others are more about concepts. It is all about repetition.
7. Mostly drink honestly. Get food with friends. Go see a movie. Depends on the group of friends, some people do potlucks and movie nights and other people do poker nights. Grey's Lake Park for frisbee, walking, etc. They have intramural sports in the gym- soccer, volleyball, basketball. Random events around town- Octoberfest, Food festival, Iowa state fair,
8. Will have to get back to you on this one, I have alot to say and not much time right now
 
DO2015CA said:
Is it true osteopaths are better docs because they're holistic and more patient centered
Click to expand...

Very subjective. I do think that learning OMM helps a bit with Anatomy and understanding muscle movements and locations

I think that we do have a patient centered curriculum but many MD schools do the same or are starting to
 
GypsyHummus said:
Is it true that the Physical Therapy students are the best looking?
Click to expand...

Subjective I guess
Don't really see PT students often, they have classes in another part of the building
 
Htxrockets said:
1. Do you currently have a roommate? If not, did you find it harder to make friendships?

2. Has there been any new policy changes since the new dean started this year? (mandatory lectures or dress code now?)

3. Do you usually go to class or stream lectures from home?

Thanks for doing this!!
Click to expand...

1. Nope, I live alone. It is not harder to make friends but definitely more lonely especially if you don't attend classes. We spend so much of the day quietly studying

2. The new dean is stricter on professionalism. Showing up on time and being dressed appropriately. No change in dress code or mandatory lectures so far.

3. I download lectures but usually watch them on campus. I find it hard to focus at home. I go to some lectures, depends on the teacher/material honestly
 
Ok, now back to serious studying of renal physiology. I will try to answer more after the exam tomorrow.
 
spenguin said:
Very subjective. I do think that learning OMM helps a bit with Anatomy and understanding muscle movements and locations

I think that we do have a patient centered curriculum but many MD schools do the same or are starting to
Click to expand...

Troll 10/10.

No is the correct answer. OPP is great for getting us comfortable touching people we don't know but not a better doctor
 
My condolence to you for having to suffer through the slow kill in Anatomy. Being done w/ Anatomy in 7 weeks was the best thing that has ever happened to me.
 
nevermind8l said:
5. What steps has DMU faculty taken to address concerns about the weaker second year curriculum? (Weaker as in lack of boards-relevance.)
Click to expand...

Current third year, I'll speak to my experience with the second year curriculum last year. I didn't feel the curriculum was weak by any means. It definitely isn't lacking boards relevance either. For my year, more lectures were being taught by the two pathologists on campus and that meant covering the must know stuff for boards. They covered more than you think. Classes that I think needed more board relevant material: Cardio and Respiratory. I otherwise felt all he other systems adequately covered a large chunk of board relevant material. It showed in our classes board scores, average was well above the national on COMLEX and exactly the average for the USMLE.

They can't be expected to cover all of it and they can't be expected to tailor your education to boards because here's the fun part, boards are nothing like clinical years. I would honestly be more upset if they included more boards material while sacrificing covering clinically relevant material. I would rather have a remote ability to think clinically when starting third year than have my head chocked full of the nonsense tested on Step 1/Level 1. Just my two cents.




Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Hey! I am currently trying to make a decision between DMU and KCU and am really struggling to make a decision! Can you expand on what you did and did not like about the curriculum? Also can you tell me a little bit about rotations and how you were assigned your rotations (i.e. did you get a say in where you go?)?
 
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tern5915 said:
Hey! I am currently trying to make a decision between DMU and KCU and am really struggling to make a decision! Can you expand on what you did and did not like about the curriculum? Also can you tell me a little bit about rotations and how you were assigned your rotations (i.e. did you get a say in where you go?)?
Click to expand...

KCU main or KCU Joplin?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
1. How do you cope with stress?
2. What are some new ways you study now?
3. How would you describe the fast pace of medical school to people who aren't in it?
4. What are your feelings about being in debt? (assuming you took out loans)
 
What are you wearing?
 
How do you like their Ultrasound lab? DMU was my first acceptance but I don't like corn on the cob enough to go to Iowa (lel).
 
spenguin said:
1. THIS VARIES SO MUCH. Anywhere from 0 exams to 3 exams/week. First semester is mostly 1 exam a week with some 2 exam weeks. Second semester is mostly 2 exams a week.
2. Again, this varies even if you plan on attending classes. I don't attend classes but we do have some mandatory ones. This is/was my day today
8am wake up
9-12 Study in the library for tomorrow's exam
12-12:30 Lunch meeting
12:30-1 Food + Coffee
1-3 Anatomy Lab
3- whatever time Study for tomorrow's exam

Some days there are no mandatory things and other days there are many mandatory things. Campus opens at 5am and closes 12pm/1am. First semester is more chill than second semester but there also more mandatory classes.

You kind of plan your day based on what exams coming up and what things are mandatory.
Classes usually start at 8 but not always. We have grand rounds at 7am a couple times a semester.

3. Yes I am, it's not perfect but no medical school is.
4. Curriculum, will explain more later and I wish we had dedicated board studying time
5. I dunno anything about this, just a first year, but from what I can tell, classes are relevant to board material.
6. OMG YES! Of course. Studying for more hours, watch lots of videos at 1.5x-3x speed, flash card programs like Anki/Quizlet, etc etc. I personally have a different study strategy for different classes. Some classes are more about the details, others are more about concepts. It is all about repetition.
7. Mostly drink honestly. Get food with friends. Go see a movie. Depends on the group of friends, some people do potlucks and movie nights and other people do poker nights. Grey's Lake Park for frisbee, walking, etc. They have intramural sports in the gym- soccer, volleyball, basketball. Random events around town- Octoberfest, Food festival, Iowa state fair,
8. Will have to get back to you on this one, I have alot to say and not much time right now
Click to expand...


dmu doesn't give you dedicated board studying time?
 
tsmleague said:
do you still feel this way? KCU main is better than DMU?
Click to expand...

Yeah if I had the decision to make now I would probably lean toward KCU still. There’s just a ton of things up in the air at DMU currently. But I don’t think career trajectory is going to be significantly affected by one over the other really.
 
ShowtimeKaner88 said:
Yeah if I had the decision to make now I would probably lean toward KCU still. There’s just a ton of things up in the air at DMU currently. But I don’t think career trajectory is going to be significantly affected by one over the other really.
Click to expand...

Care to elaborate on that? Kcu just seemed way higher stress to me
 
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tsmleague said:
Care to elaborate on that? Kcu just seemed way higher stress to me
Click to expand...

That may be true, but med school is high stress regardless of where you go. I think the trade off of pre-clinical stress at KCU would be improved by having better access to research opportunities and better relationships with the other med schools in the area.

We get along fine with u of Iowa students, but the University doesn’t necessarily get along well with DMU.
 
Htxrockets said:
1. Do you currently have a roommate? If not, did you find it harder to make friendships?

2. Has there been any new policy changes since the new dean started this year? (mandatory lectures or dress code now?)

3. Do you usually go to class or stream lectures from home?

Thanks for doing this!!
Click to expand...
Would highly highly recommend not getting a roommate first year, it makes life super ****ty when you get someone who’s a... bad fit... and you’ve signed a year lease
 
tsmleague said:
dmu doesn't give you dedicated board studying time?
Click to expand...
Yes they do. It’s close to 4 weeks but we do have a couple mandatory board review things we have during that time. I think that’s what people are complaining about because they were under the impression dedicated meant no school activities.

If it’s a board review thing then it’s studying for boards anyway...this year we’re done with classes early- mid May
 
Chibucks15 said:
Yes they do. It’s close to 4 weeks but we do have a couple mandatory board review things we have during that time. I think that’s what people are complaining about because they were under the impression dedicated meant no school activities.

If it’s a board review thing then it’s studying for boards anyway...this year we’re done with classes early- mid May
Click to expand...

Just 4 weeks? We were told 6. :/ @Blanky
 
Last edited:
They mentioned 6 as long as you finished something or scheduled it early I cannot remember otherwise it was 4-5. Either is fine as long as it’s at least 4 weeks.
 
tsmleague said:
Just 4 weeks? We were told 6. :/ @Blanky
Click to expand...
I haven’t looked into the exact things with our schedule but yeah it’s closer to 6 besides like 1 or 2 odd things we have to do. 4 weeks of pure nothing though
 
There was some stipulation they mentioned it being 4 weeks plus one thing we had to do or finish or something and they mentioned it kind of stretches to 6 weeks besides that one thing I just don’t remember what it was.
 
If you are that concerned about dedicated board study time don’t take a summer vacation. I studied from May 18th-July 25th. It kind of sucked as I took it and had 3rd year orientation at Mercy the next morning. For me, that’s how long it took me to get through everything multiple times. I did well, just graduated residency in my #1 ranked specialty/program, and Im now an attending. Most people peak way before I did while studying and going that long would have been detrimental. Good luck!
 
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