Is Wright State REALLY all about Primary Care?

[CavsFan2016]

I've been hearing conflicting evidence on this - some people claim that this was just in the past and this school is now much more open to their students pursuing other specialties, while other students have told me their primary reason for NOT picking Wright State was because of this "primary care stigma".

I've been looking at previous match lists from graduates of Wright State, and they do send a few people into some very competitive specialties, but this is only 1-2 students in each speciality every year because the student population is not very large (~100 students total). I think last year they sent over 50% into a primary-care specialty.

So whats the deal? Would Wright State really limit me to pursuing other non-primary care specialties if I were to attend next year over another In-State Ohio school? The school is located in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio which is a huge plus, but I don't want to be limiting my options before I even start medical school.

Any advice or input really appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Keight]

As I have read through these forums, I have seen people talk about Wright State being focused on primary care and I have seen others refute the idea (often current med students). I am a current applicant and local. I personally do not believe that Wright State is ALL about primary care, but I do think that it is a small school whose main mission is to educate patient focused physicians. Like Dr. Tous mentioned during my interview, residency placement is more dependant on the student than on the recognition of the school. If you want to go into a competitive field, then you will have to work hard no matter what school you go to. I believe that Wright State will prepare you well for whatever field you want to go into, but it's your responsibility to make sure you get there. Also, Wright State has residency programs in EM, plastics, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, IM, etc. It would seem odd that a school would be so focused on primary care, but then have so many opportunities to specialize in their residency. I think that would be a big disconnect of the general mission. On another note, I know and work with many specialists in the area that graduated from Boonshoft. Just like with MD and DO, when you actually get out into the world, there isn't much of a focus on where you went to school. It's about the type of physician you are. The only reason I know where most of my doctors went to school is because I googled them or because I have talked to them about their experiences. Otherwise, I can't tell a difference between someone who went to WSU, UT, OSU, or UC.

If Wright State is where you would like to go or just where you end up going, be excited because you are going to be a doctor! If you have other opportunities that you would rather pursue, still be excited and go there instead! But, remember that the only thing that is going to limit your opportunities will be yourself*, especially if you start off with a mindset that you are already behind. I hope I am not coming across as harsh, or rude, or inconsiderate. To be honest, I find myself battling the same concerns about my current school options and I have to keep telling myself to adjust my mindset.

*unless you go to a non-accredited school, of course!

 

[studentdocftw]

Nobody can force you to pursue a particular residency (or not that I'm aware of). Sure, they may have more opportunities for primary care interests, but ultimately, you decide what you want to do. I go to a "mission" based school that had more Ortho matches than FP matches last year. The class will determine what the match list looks like...more primary care matches are indicative of a 1) a class that wants to do primary care or 2) a lower metric scoring class ....most likely a combo of the two. These mission based schools tend to admit applicants they feel will pursue primary care....again, this is an educated guess at best.

 

[Lannister]

Just cuz a school emphasizes primary care doesn't mean you have to go into primary care. If you like the school and feel like you'd be a good fit there, that's what matters.

 

[CavsFan2016]

Thanks for the advice everyone - I'll have to check out the school more on second look weekend in April. I appreciate all your help!

 

[Goro]

Y'know, just because a school has a commitment to Primary Care, it doesn't lock you into Primary Care. Even among my DO students, ~40% of them will go into specialties.

A very quick look at MSAR shows that for the graduating class of 2013-14, a minimum of 35% of the grads went into a specialty. As this from an incomplete list! Or, to put it another way, 51% went into FM, Peds, and IM.

And to all of you, stop acting like Primary Care is the 7th Circle of Hell.

I've been hearing conflicting evidence on this - some people claim that this was just in the past and this school is now much more open to their students pursuing other specialties, while other students have told me their primary reason for NOT picking Wright State was because of this "primary care stigma".

I've been looking at previous match lists from graduates of Wright State, and they do send a few people into some very competitive specialties, but this is only 1-2 students in each speciality every year because the student population is not very large (~100 students total). I think last year they sent over 50% into a primary-care specialty.

So whats the deal? Would Wright State really limit me to pursuing other non-primary care specialties if I were to attend next year over another In-State Ohio school? The school is located in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio which is a huge plus, but I don't want to be limiting my options before I even start medical school.

Any advice or input really appreciated!

 

[chibaddie]

And to all of you, stop acting like Primary Care is the 7th Circle of Hell.

Hahah seriously. People always romanticize other specialties, even though you'll be doing the most mundane crap 90% of the time.

 

[Eppur Si Muove]

Current student here. The best way to get information on a school is to ask the students

- I would have posted this in the allo forum instead of pre-med where med students could give you their input. Boonshoft is neither a "we're going to push you to go into primary care" nor a "primary care is our focus" school. People like to confuse "patient centered care" or "all-around competent clinician" with primary care focus. All US allo medical schools practice and are guided by LCME accredited curriculums, whether this be clinical or non-clinical education. You pretty much do the same thing anywhere you go. Students are actually ENCOURAGED to look into different specialties.

- Even if we were only focused on primary care, it DOES NOT limit you to anything at all. This is the case for any allo school. You score a 250+ (which a good number do every single year here) you can go into anything if you check the boxes. There was a pediatric neurosurgeon that publicly stated during a talk to the class he had a research project for anyone that wanted to get into research during the first month of school. You're not limited wherever you go. During late third/ early fourth year, you do away rotations at schools in your specialty of choice around the country that get you the recommendation letters you need for a specialty. This is how people beef up their applications for a specialty. You kill the away rotation, you get the killer letter. Doesn't matter if you went to OSU, Case, Washington, etc. You do the work and get the letters, you open the door to anything. Common practice at every medical school. Just because a school is more research focused doesn't mean you have a better chance at matching into a specialty. The ER and Trauma center at Miami Valley is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, emergency room in the whole state of Ohio. We are known for having a tactical response medical team here where we train military/ police/ SWAT emergency medicine. Very diverse experiences here

- Match lists tell you nothing about a school. About 50% go into a primary care field at just about every school. Also the program of choice does not directly correlate to that medical schools ranking as well. Just because someone goes to Mass General or Mayo doesn't mean that program was the best, or even top 10, in that field. Lots of variables go into the match that not even us pre-clinical students fully understand yet. We had someone interview at UCSF last year for anesthesia (Top 3 program) and he didn't rank it high because he did not want to go there; there are others that ranked a program based on the couples match. Last year one student went into ortho, because one student was interested in ortho. Sometimes 6-7 match into it. Also, a student that was AOA and top 5 in his class CHOSE family medicine, not because he was held back, but because he loved to do that. Looking at a match list is extremely overrated. Too many variables go into the match to even start talking about that here

 

[alcoholdehydrogenase69]

I just think wright state may get the rep of a primary care school because they don't have a formal teaching hospital and they don't have a lot of research going on. Both these resources are associated with academic medicine which is antithetical to primary care. My derm went to wright state though so I wouldn't say it limits you from anything.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Eppur Si Muove]

I just think wright state may get the rep of a primary care school because they don't have a formal teaching hospital and they don't have a lot of research going on. Both these resources are associated with academic medicine which is antithetical to primary care. My derm went to wright state though so I wouldn't say it limits you from anything.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Sure, that is one reason. Also the school was originally given the funding to be created because of the shortage of PCP's back in the early 70's. Were not affiliated with an academic hospital and don't have as much research as Case, OSU, etc but 90% of med students won't even get involved with most of that research. I've done research in a surgical subspecialty here and at a top hospital in the region (I'm trying to stay anonymous) and it is similar at both places. A lot of working with residents (aka collecting their data and reviewing their charts) and doing lit reviews/busy work. It's serious work but few med students are in the lab with the attending finding cures for cancer; those opportunities, while present, are few. Usually the top 15 schools will have a few students involved in this research. Also, regarding research while we are on the topic, a lot of research is done during summer breaks where you can find a spot in a lab at pretty much any place you want. We have residents at OSU and Cinci that had projects to get involved in but I wanted to get closer to home for the summer to save money. One of the advantages I think we have is how close our community is; Every Boonshoft attending and resident I have met has been willing to go out of their way to get me involved. We're a tight knit network.

 

[BeMD13]

Thanks for the advice everyone - I'll have to check out the school more on second look weekend in April. I appreciate all your help!

When is their second look? Did you get a seperate invitation? I got my acceptance email but haven't received my contract in the mail yet.

 

[CavsFan2016]

When is their second look? Did you get a seperate invitation? I got my acceptance email but haven't received my contract in the mail yet.

I'm not sure when their second look weekend is exactly, I'm just assuming its in April like almost every other medical school. Don't worry about not getting the contract in the mail right away, it took me a few weeks to get mine. Just relax!