I just read Willen's initial response and wanted to add a few things:
-I think Willen did a good job summarizing his points, and I don't think any of this should be held against him at all. Like he said, he thinks the education he's receiving is excellent and on par with MD students, and he did go into OMM with an open mind and didn't like it. Furthermore, I do feel bad that it's impacting his experience. Medical school is rough in a lot of ways, and it wouldn't be any easier with something continually rearing its head.
-However, I am a bit confused on how much time is spent on OMM/OMM studying at your particular school. At KCOM, the school and OMM department pride themselves on the amount of OMM we have in the curriculum. Essentially, we usually have 4 hours a week in labs, have regular practical and written exams, have quizzes, have a big final that involves models, a practical, and a written exam spread out over different days, and a huge, amazing OMM lab (our lab really is awesome and we utilize it for a lot of different things), and even with all this, I still don't feel like the amount of time dedicated to OMM is too much.
Like I said in my previous post, times when "OMM stuff" falls right before traditional med school exams is NOT fun ... and even the students who really like OMM aren't fans of this. However, on just a general weekly basis, I don't think OMM really ever messed with my normal studying and labs were always in the mornings before lectures (I attend lecture though, so it could be different for people who don't), and didn't affect my studying time either. Again, I'm sorry to hear about this, but I feel like my program is very, very involved with OMM and it just didn't cause the interruptions described in the post.
-I also wanted to touch on grades in OMM ... like Willen said, even if you aren't an OMM master, you'll do well in OMM. Most of the professors are very understanding about how long it can take to develop palpatory skills and even how subjective some of the diagnoses can be, and my experience is that if you try and learn the stuff ... you'll do fine. However, I do think certain professors/table trainers become irritated or frustrated (understandably) if they can tell you just aren't even putting in the minimal effort, so I do suggest demonstrating to them that you're giving it your best and doing what you can to learn and practice the techniques ... and you'll do well.
-Additionally, as far as what was said to you at the AOA convention, I definitely understand why this would be upsetting or seem like certain individuals aren't looking toward the future, but keep a few things in mind: 1. This gentlemen is a high ranking professional with the American OSTEOPATHIC Association ... he's going to be very pro-DO; 2. I do believe Dr. Levine (if that's who you spoke to) is the President elect (I think Dr. Nichols still has a bit of time left), meaning he's new and very gung-ho; 3. This was essentially a DO pride convention ... this type of "spirit" is to be expected. Granted, I completely understand what you're saying, but I also think some of the above explanations could have had something to do with it.
-As far as not going to a DO school because of OMM ... I don't agree with this. Like I said ad nauseum, OMM is a subject that DOs take and MDs don't. Plain and simple. You have to take it for 2 years ... know this, but I just don't see it as a reason not to attend a DO program if you love it for everything else. I personally know people who hate OMM, but are still very pleased with their school choice and are still doing very well because of everything else that they enjoy about the program.
-I also wanted to touch on a few of your comments with the OMM department ...
From my experience (and what I've heard from other students), even if people don't like OMM, they generally enjoy the OMM docs. They seem to be a very easy going, non-confrontational, respectful group of people, and I really had good experiences with our OMM department. Having said that, keep in mind that my comments were made based of our OMM department and although I do think most of the docs/departments are somewhat like this, it's ALL going to be a case-by-case basis, and it sounds like it's not the best situation in the initial post (again, sorry to hear this).
