KCU-COM Joplin vs. Kansas City

[leturbinator]

Hi all!

I hope everyone is doing well. Students that are applying to KCU-COM or are already there, which campus did you choose to apply to and why? I understand there are differences in the way that classes run (mandatory attendance, dress code, etc.), but aside from those, what else steered your decision to go to one campus over the other?

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[brachialplexus]

I just did some research on the respective cities, and chose the city I could see myself living in for min 2 years and max 4 years. Joplin has advantages -- as in it's a much smaller town so you're more closely intertwined with the healthcare decisions and trends of the town. At Kansas City (population 400k+) with 2 other major medical institutions, you can easily get lost in the fold, etc. There's obviously serious advantages to KC campus as well. Just be honest with yourself! That's the best policy.


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[AnatomyGrey12]

I chose Joplin because all of the students will be doing their core rotations in Joplin. Freeman Health has a number of residency programs which will allow for research access and rotations with residents, big pluses for me. These outweighed the cons of working with a new faculty that haven't taught the curriculum before.

Disclaimer: I ended up choosing to attend a different school, but KCU-Joplin was my second choice.

 

[Mo'MedMules]

I don't believe there is mandatory attendance or a dress code at either!

 

[DrRedstone]

KCU-Joplin's Anatomy Lab has 14 sinks; KCU-KC has 3. Just sayin'.
(Disclaimer: The choice of a medical school is an important decision and should not be based solely upon the Anatomy Lab.)

Based on those I have met, the faculty seem to be very good quality for the Joplin Campus. I know people who are teaching physician skills, OMT, and ophtho and I highly respect all of them. The ribbon cutting is on June 6th for the Joplin Campus and a lot of good photos should be available soon. They also have tour dates lined up for the summer/fall. If you have any questions about the Joplin area, feel free to shoot me a message, I am a long time resident and will be attending in the fall. Hopefully I will have more to say after orientation the last week of July.

As far as why I like the Joplin campus over the KC campus, we have access to two very large hospital systems - Mercy and Freeman. In KC, you have to compete with students from KU, UMKC, and I believe a few others. Mercy and Freeman both put a lot of time and effort into the new medical school in Joplin and might(not certain) become exclusive for the Joplin Campus. At the very least, we will be preferred. It is also important to note that our entire community is really excited about the medical school here. It has been a long time in the making and people love the fact that it is finally done. KC doesn't have that type of community support behind it. A second, much lesser good reason, housing is ridiculously cheap in Joplin. If you live anywhere on the coast, your rent will likely fall drastically.

 

[runotto]

KCU-Joplin's Anatomy Lab has 14 sinks; KCU-KC has 3. Just sayin'.
(Disclaimer: The choice of a medical school is an important decision and should not be based solely upon the Anatomy Lab.)

Based on those I have met, the faculty seem to be very good quality for the Joplin Campus. I know people who are teaching physician skills, OMT, and ophtho and I highly respect all of them. The ribbon cutting is on June 6th for the Joplin Campus and a lot of good photos should be available soon. They also have tour dates lined up for the summer/fall. If you have any questions about the Joplin area, feel free to shoot me a message, I am a long time resident and will be attending in the fall. Hopefully I will have more to say after orientation the last week of July.

As far as why I like the Joplin campus over the KC campus, we have access to two very large hospital systems - Mercy and Freeman. In KC, you have to compete with students from KU, UMKC, and I believe a few others. Mercy and Freeman both put a lot of time and effort into the new medical school in Joplin and might(not certain) become exclusive for the Joplin Campus. At the very least, we will be preferred. It is also important to note that our entire community is really excited about the medical school here. It has been a long time in the making and people love the fact that it is finally done. KC doesn't have that type of community support behind it. A second, much lesser good reason, housing is ridiculously cheap in Joplin. If you live anywhere on the coast, your rent will likely fall drastically.

Sorry for the bump but you seem to be knowledgeable on the topic. Trying to choose which school to apply to and I really can't find any good information on the website besides purely location which can obviously impact rotation sites. Are there really any differences in academic structure (like grades or pass fail, mandatory lectures for one, etc) and is there a better one for rotation sites? I don't care much about the feel of the town so I would be fine with a small or large setting, but I know that small towns usually are disadvantaged with rotations and teaching hospitals available.

 

[DrRedstone]

@runotto The curriculum and grading structure will be identical to the KC campus. As far as teaching hospitals and rotations, I believe we are actually at an advantage. Freeman Health System, one of two major hospital groups in the area, has several residencies (Psych, ENT, ER, etc). They are a well-established teaching hospital and have hosted medical students for many years now.. Mercy has been taking medical students for several years now as well. Another advantage is both of those hospitals have given significant funding to KCU to set up the Joplin campus, so it is likely they will prefer students from our campus. I would almost argue that we are in better shape as far as rotations are concerned. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[Dr.JMoon]

I chose Joplin because all of the students will be doing their core rotations in Joplin. Freeman Health has a number of residency programs which will allow for research access and rotations with residents, big pluses for me. These outweighed the cons of working with a new faculty that haven't taught the curriculum before.

Disclaimer: I ended up choosing to attend a different school, but KCU-Joplin was my second choice.

I am trying to choose between the Joplin and Kansas City campus, so I am trying to learn more about them. What steered your decision to rank KCU-Joplin as your second choice? Thanks

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

The only deciding factor that steered me was urban lifestyle verse rural lifestyle. I see myself close to a city.

 

[Isoval]

I have heard better things of Joplin.