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To all those considering the Florida State University College of Medicine:
I am currently a medical student at FSU, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with it (presumably most, since it is still very new). I would like to provide you, the premed, unsolicited, unedited information, to make your journey better.
First, FSU in an incredible institution. I've never seen an institution where the faculty is as willing to go out of their way to help you. If at any time you're having any trouble (which everyone, yes, everyone will... even right now, as you're thinking "I know he says everyone, but surely I'm the exception, after all, I got straight A's in all of my organic physical engineering for chemical physics of black holes," yes, med school is tough, and even you'll need help at some point), they'll gladly go out of their way, or even stay late to help you out. When people say FSUCOM is state of the art, they're not kidding. We're totally wireless integrated. No microscopes, professors provide all the notes to their classes, and you electronically keep track of every patient you see from day one. And while the manditory PDA sessions are a pain in the ass, it's really nice to be able to look up any drug, any disease, and any statistic any time you want. And while FSU is new, the match results are spectacular. If you're worried that FSU will make you go into primary care, last year we had as many general surgery matches as FP. Also, one guy matched at UNLV plastics. Talk about a place to learn to do boob jobs... Also, the only competition that takes place is good spirited between like minded classmates. There is no malicious gunning, no study session disruption, and no stealing of femurs from the anatomy lab. The clinical experience is great. From day one, you're practicing history and physical exam skills. While it may seem touchy feely at first, by the time you get to third year, you're a pro while most med students are still drooling on their reflex hammers. I think that once FSU get's rid of it's "new school" reputation (which will be helped by UCF and FIU), then it'll become a school known to produce good clinicians. Also, if you DO want to go into primary care, there is nothing but support for you. There are limitless opportunities for clinical experience, conferences, and instruction/guidance. Every student does a biweekly clinical with an FP or IM every semester starting in the spring of year one, and a 3 week long, every day, shadowing over the summer. If you want to see patients, you'll be able to... easily.
If this sounds like one big cheering section for the school, let me assuage you.
The bad:
If you want to do research, this is not the school for you. The only research opportunities before year 4 are during the summer btw yrs 1 and 2. Most people do it just for an easy paycheck. A friend of mine tried to keep it up during year 2, only to have to drop it due to time constraints. I personally was a TA for the year 1 anatomy (yes, it starts in the summer), and I felt I got infinitely more out of my experience than pretty much everyone that did research. It's simply not emphasized. Even the course material strives to be clinically relevant (save the one professor that drones on about the role of serotonin in jet lag). Also, if you would rather not be a doctor than be a family physician, then you might want to think about your choice. While the stated mission of the school is to provide primary care physicians (which, I don't care, I define this as FP, OBGYN, IM, Peds, Gen Surgery, maybe even Neurology and Derm, but I digress...), the administration itself does nothing but praise the righteousness of family practice and condemn the evil that is the subspecialist. One administrator, while speaking about planning for the match, refered to a "good family practice" student, and said that a student choosing to go into family practice was making a "right decision." A friend of mine, during his aforementioned 3 week experience, received a notation on his final evaluation saying "with a little encouragment, I think we could get him to go into family practice." Telling... One club, the Surgery and Anesthesiology Interest Group, repeatedly receives a lack of funding, has horrible red tape in regards to both activities and fundraisers, and had a horrible time finding a faculty sponser. A friend of mine who is president of a specialist interest group repeatedly runs into red tape, and had one great idea of integrating everyone into hospital HIPAA meetings shot down like the slow duck. He also wanted to initiate a shadowing program, and the admin just sat on the idea for months, eventually rejecting it. I completely agree with the notion that the US needs more generalists. That being said, having FP shoved down your throat for years only makes you resent it more. I personally think that by "encouraging" people to go into FP, you only degrade the specialty, playing to the notion that many med students have about it being lowly.
Speaking of red tape, one friend of mine tried to start a medical finance seminar/club, only to be told that there was no need for it and the school was doing a "good enough" job at it (which, according to him, it was sorely lacking). Why not have it? Dunno...
So, long story short, it's an incredible place to be. The teachers and students are laid back, and you'll learn everything you need to know clinically, and you'll learn it well. From FSU you can then pursue any specialty you want, and most often successfully (yes, we've had our fair share of derm matches, and a ton of ophtho). However, it's not the best research school, and the admin is pushy regarding FP, not to mention the red tape... so good luck, and hopefully I'll see you out at preceptor while I'm on rounds one day!
I am currently a medical student at FSU, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with it (presumably most, since it is still very new). I would like to provide you, the premed, unsolicited, unedited information, to make your journey better.
First, FSU in an incredible institution. I've never seen an institution where the faculty is as willing to go out of their way to help you. If at any time you're having any trouble (which everyone, yes, everyone will... even right now, as you're thinking "I know he says everyone, but surely I'm the exception, after all, I got straight A's in all of my organic physical engineering for chemical physics of black holes," yes, med school is tough, and even you'll need help at some point), they'll gladly go out of their way, or even stay late to help you out. When people say FSUCOM is state of the art, they're not kidding. We're totally wireless integrated. No microscopes, professors provide all the notes to their classes, and you electronically keep track of every patient you see from day one. And while the manditory PDA sessions are a pain in the ass, it's really nice to be able to look up any drug, any disease, and any statistic any time you want. And while FSU is new, the match results are spectacular. If you're worried that FSU will make you go into primary care, last year we had as many general surgery matches as FP. Also, one guy matched at UNLV plastics. Talk about a place to learn to do boob jobs... Also, the only competition that takes place is good spirited between like minded classmates. There is no malicious gunning, no study session disruption, and no stealing of femurs from the anatomy lab. The clinical experience is great. From day one, you're practicing history and physical exam skills. While it may seem touchy feely at first, by the time you get to third year, you're a pro while most med students are still drooling on their reflex hammers. I think that once FSU get's rid of it's "new school" reputation (which will be helped by UCF and FIU), then it'll become a school known to produce good clinicians. Also, if you DO want to go into primary care, there is nothing but support for you. There are limitless opportunities for clinical experience, conferences, and instruction/guidance. Every student does a biweekly clinical with an FP or IM every semester starting in the spring of year one, and a 3 week long, every day, shadowing over the summer. If you want to see patients, you'll be able to... easily.
If this sounds like one big cheering section for the school, let me assuage you.
The bad:
If you want to do research, this is not the school for you. The only research opportunities before year 4 are during the summer btw yrs 1 and 2. Most people do it just for an easy paycheck. A friend of mine tried to keep it up during year 2, only to have to drop it due to time constraints. I personally was a TA for the year 1 anatomy (yes, it starts in the summer), and I felt I got infinitely more out of my experience than pretty much everyone that did research. It's simply not emphasized. Even the course material strives to be clinically relevant (save the one professor that drones on about the role of serotonin in jet lag). Also, if you would rather not be a doctor than be a family physician, then you might want to think about your choice. While the stated mission of the school is to provide primary care physicians (which, I don't care, I define this as FP, OBGYN, IM, Peds, Gen Surgery, maybe even Neurology and Derm, but I digress...), the administration itself does nothing but praise the righteousness of family practice and condemn the evil that is the subspecialist. One administrator, while speaking about planning for the match, refered to a "good family practice" student, and said that a student choosing to go into family practice was making a "right decision." A friend of mine, during his aforementioned 3 week experience, received a notation on his final evaluation saying "with a little encouragment, I think we could get him to go into family practice." Telling... One club, the Surgery and Anesthesiology Interest Group, repeatedly receives a lack of funding, has horrible red tape in regards to both activities and fundraisers, and had a horrible time finding a faculty sponser. A friend of mine who is president of a specialist interest group repeatedly runs into red tape, and had one great idea of integrating everyone into hospital HIPAA meetings shot down like the slow duck. He also wanted to initiate a shadowing program, and the admin just sat on the idea for months, eventually rejecting it. I completely agree with the notion that the US needs more generalists. That being said, having FP shoved down your throat for years only makes you resent it more. I personally think that by "encouraging" people to go into FP, you only degrade the specialty, playing to the notion that many med students have about it being lowly.
Speaking of red tape, one friend of mine tried to start a medical finance seminar/club, only to be told that there was no need for it and the school was doing a "good enough" job at it (which, according to him, it was sorely lacking). Why not have it? Dunno...
So, long story short, it's an incredible place to be. The teachers and students are laid back, and you'll learn everything you need to know clinically, and you'll learn it well. From FSU you can then pursue any specialty you want, and most often successfully (yes, we've had our fair share of derm matches, and a ton of ophtho). However, it's not the best research school, and the admin is pushy regarding FP, not to mention the red tape... so good luck, and hopefully I'll see you out at preceptor while I'm on rounds one day!
