Originally posted by gas-x
after going through two years at KCOM, i seriously doubt any curriculum change is going to make a significant impact on the overall outcome. if you think about it, board scores will probably remain the same anyways. just pick a program that gives you as much "free" time to do other things. you don't want to be in class all day. when i was there, most of our days were booked solid. i actually hated it. it didn't matter whether it was cased-based or subject-based. made no freakin' difference. all you need is to get the notes, figure out what's important, and have the time to learn it well. that's all that matters. KCOM screws around with curriculum all the time. we were stuck in the middle of some change. we had anatomy for about 5 quarters, i think. it's completely ******ed. we didn't have the first summer off, unlike many other schools. i think having one summer off is very important for you to pursue other interests (research, preceptorship, travel, etc...). we also don't have enough vacation time during our clinical years. i've met so many other students across the country (MDs mainly) who have anywhere between 2-4 months off during their 4th year. we got 5 weeks! these are the things that will matter most to me. everybody, regardless of curriculum type, will do just fine. you'll forget most of the information anyways because a siginificant amount of it is extraneous.
good luck. you'll cherish med school more as long as you make sure you have time for other pursuits.
Fortunately they've learned from some of their mistakes with your class, and while the day is still pretty packed the first 3 quarters, anatomy is done at that point and things lighten up quite a bit over the summer and through second year as it stands now (mostly a clinical rehashing of the first year)- giving you plenty of time for extracurriculars. It sounds like they have been putting some effort into making the curriculum more efficient and class hours are dropping bit by bit.
Our new dean (Dr Osborn- also our psychiatry prof) is likely to try several semi-dramatic new things, though it may not affect every student. He is pushing very hard for an optional new style of independent curriculum for those that want it- specifically for students that want to organize all their own studying and testing, as well as those that struggle and need to re-do coursework so they dont have to wait all the way to the next year to re-take classes. He took this so far as to suggest efficient and highly motivated students could use this style to graduate in 3 years, or do a masters+DO in 4 years.. and you entirely skip the in-class busywork etc. Basically it would be PBL, consulting with profs, and self-study, and you would do it in modules. I don't know how they planned to do testing and grades, nor do I know when they wanted to offer these options. I didn't think they were ready to offer this option to the incoming class, but who knows.
The dean has also been pushing hard for more international rotation sites, such as in Europe and a few 3rd world countries. A rotation in Belize will probably be available for class of 2005 or 2006 (was already in process before the new dean).
There may be more optional pass/fail classes offered (in addition to cranial) such as medical spanish, but that isn't currently available for our year.
The only other change I know of is the possibility of a mandatory OMM rotation, which several other DO schools do already. Some dislike this, others think it is critical for every DO to know what real OMM looks like in practice on a daily basis (and to develop skills in this environment). Again, it isnt clear if or when this will happen, but it could happen as early as next year.
All this said, i doubt they will make the independent curriculum option the mainstream teaching style at KCOM- in fact most students will probably continue to learn as we have. Memorization, notes, tests, rinse and repeat.... We learn a ton this way, but I wish I could have taken the independent option- it sounds pretty cool (though I doubt i would try to graduate in 3 years!).
Since none of this stuff is really public yet, who knows what will really happen or when. If you've already selected KCOM though, keep your ears open- you might just see some of this stuff.
well gotta go study... 2 more exams before break!
hope this answers some of your questions,
-bones
KCOM '05/'06 (OMM fellow in training)