KSUCPM - ask me anything!

[Kf523]

Hello everyone! I’m a student at KSUCPM and I remember having so many questions/concerns during the application process last cycle. I'm more than happy to answer any questions that you guys may have about the school! Please do not hesitate to reach out. Asking questions and obtaining information can only help! Good luck everyone!

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[deleted1023325]

Hi, thank you for your time. Kent is currently at the top of my list, and I am currently waiting to see if they will extend an interview to me. What was the interview process like? They are all virtual, so that will be interesting.

 

[kirbyisboss]

How do you think the clinical experience for podiatry students at Kent compares to other programs ? Thanks in advance!

 

[J29622]

How do you think the clinical experience for podiatry students at Kent compares to other programs ? Thanks in advance!

This is probably difficult to answer for a 2nd year student, so I can throw in my two cents.

I am a recent graduate from KSUCPM. It's hard to speak to how our clinical experience compares to other schools as we don't really directly get to see what they rotate through. I would say some weaknesses are minimal medicine training if you don't choose it as an elective 4th year, which many don't. I also wish we had more OR experience 3rd year as well, which can be very hit or miss depending on which staff you're with and what their OR schedule is. Some people may be in the OR a ton, others (like myself) will not have that many cases.

We did have some attendings that brought in interesting cases at the college, all of whom were on staff at local residency programs. As far as in office procedures go (biopsies, nail avulsions, tenotomies, injections etc.) they typically let the students do the procedure with supervision so long as the student was competent. We also had pretty reasonable patient volume at the Cleveland VA, which is a mandatory 3rd and 4th year rotation and provides exposure to diabetic foot care, pre / post-ops, wound care, trauma, etc. Speaking to students at some of the other schools, it doesn't sound to me like my experience was way out of line in comparison to other schools.

 

[kirbyisboss]

This is probably difficult to answer for a 2nd year student, so I can throw in my two cents.

I am a recent graduate from KSUCPM. It's hard to speak to how our clinical experience compares to other schools as we don't really directly get to see what they rotate through. I would say some weaknesses are minimal medicine training if you don't choose it as an elective 4th year, which many don't. I also wish we had more OR experience 3rd year as well, which can be very hit or miss depending on which staff you're with and what their OR schedule is. Some people may be in the OR a ton, others (like myself) will not have that many cases.

We did have some attendings that brought in interesting cases at the college, all of whom were on staff at local residency programs. As far as in office procedures go (biopsies, nail avulsions, tenotomies, injections etc.) they typically let the students do the procedure with supervision so long as the student was competent. We also had pretty reasonable patient volume at the Cleveland VA, which is a mandatory 3rd and 4th year rotation and provides exposure to diabetic foot care, pre / post-ops, wound care, trauma, etc. Speaking to students at some of the other schools, it doesn't sound to me like my experience was way out of line in comparison to other schools.

Thank you so much for clarifying that!!

 

[MidnightSun32]

I definitely agree with what @J29622 said. I'm a 3rd year currently and some of the rotations just really depend on which docs you are being paired with. COVID isn't helping things but at least we are in clinic/on rotations. Some are hybrid (radiology is virtual except for some in person work), others are everyday clinic, and then some are just every other day or specific days during the week. I have done some in office procedures and have been pleased that the docs have let me do them. In my experience, when residents have been present, they have also let me do quite a bit which I was not expecting. It is really hard to compare it to other schools because I have no idea what their clinicals look like right now.

Because I don't get to go to clinic every day, I try and find academics or something to do that are shared by residency programs or that are shared with our school. I have not had surgery yet but some students got to do a decent amount in the OR and others didn't get to do anything. It really seemed to vary on the doc they were with and the hospital protocol due to COVID. Some hospitals did not allow students to scrub but they could observe. So far in my rotations, I've seen some pretty interesting cases and then I've seen the bread and butter quite a bit (nails, calluses, etc).

 

[Weirdy]

You also need to take the individual student into account.

Some will have significantly better hand skills and clinical common sense. Some will know every obscure pimp question down to the author.

Some will be extremely well versed in presenting a new patient. Others will have troubling learning how to scrub in and not break sterile field.

Even with clinical exposure equal among all students at your school - some will excel in certain areas and will need work in others.