Okay, here's what I thought about the school and my interview...
The day was pretty efficient. Not a lot of sitting around. Started out with a little intro, and talking about the school. Then we pretty much went right into the interviews. Two profs interviewed me, and it was a pretty nice discussion. I don't know how much they liked my answers, but I just tried to be honest.
The PBL session was kickass. I would punch my mom in the face if she stood between me and a PBL curriculum. Then again, we sat in on 2nd-year students who already knew what they were talking about. But they all seemed extremely smart and well-prepared. I'm sure it starts off a little rough, but once it gets rolling, I think you can learn a ton.
LOL....I think at this point I'm just reading your posts on here for comic relief during the day.
It does start off a little rough but it does get better fairly quickly, especially once anatomy ends.
I'd actually like to sit in on a 2nd year session.....hmmmm......will have to ask.
After that was over, we took a little tour of the building. It was nice. Looks brand new. Nothing eye-popping, but the facility is more than adequate, and very well-maintained. Everyone who complains that "its only one building" knows absolutely nothing about medical schools. The building is way bigger than what Drexel has at the Queen Lane campus (and I believe that facility is also more than adequate). How many buildings do you really need for a medical school? You have students there for two years, about 150 in each class, and everyone in each class is taking the exact same things. So its not like you need a million classrooms, labs, etc..
I came from a large state university so I did have some withdrawals from a big campus "feel"..... but being able to park next to the building EVERY DAY and not drive around for like 30 minutes and then walk 15 minutes is worth it to me. And just like you said, what really is needed for a medical school? After two years you're out in rotations anyway. Did they show you any of the labs being worked on? Don't think they're up and running yet but we've got a few faculty that are getting some research projects going, I think they're still getting the labs finished up though.
I thought the dress code would bother me, but it really didn't at all. Everyone looked nice and professional. I'm a pretty casual dresser, but I can live with that.
Everyone seemed to get used to it pretty quickly. I don't mind, it makes getting dressed easier as I go and pick out whatever clean dress shirt and matching tie I have for that day.
The students who came down to eat with us, Marta and Megan were great. Very informative. Marta is a great talker, and very much a no-BS-type. I felt like I was getting the straight scoop from her.
After lunch, we wrapped up with a couple of the profs coming in to talk a little more about PBL with us. I didn't really feel like they were trying to sell me on it. They flat out said that it might not be for everyone, but that if you can get into it and motivate yourself, then you can really benefit from it.
There isn't much to Bradenton. Don't care. In fact, it might even be better that way. At this point in my life, I don't think I'll be distracted too much, regardless of where I end up. Bike lanes on all the main roads is a huge plus.
Yea, if you're coming from a large city then Bradenton could be a shock. But, I haven't really had time for much else so far, and there's nothing really that I have missed that I can't live without. The nice thing is that the area on this side of the interstate is all fairly new so there are some nice restaurants and the small town "town-center" types of areas down in the Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota areas.
Absolutely the only concern I have... rotations. I am really thinking hard about trauma surgery, and I want to go to a school where I can be reasonably sure that I can do my ER and surgery rotations at a busy trauma center. I will research this more later, and if any current students could shed some light on that here, that would be great.
I think that's probably one of biggest questions that they'll get in the next couple years just being the new kid on the block. The good thing is that we're only 45 minutes or so outside of Tampa/St. Pete area where there are lots of large/busy hospitals...... Tampa General (Level1), St. Joseph's(Level2 and Peds), Bayfront/All Children's (Level2 and peds), Northside.
Hopefully one of the 2nd years can elaborate more on where the core rotations will be at as they're starting to prepare for that, but you'll be able to do your electives anywhere and as of right now I'm interested in EM and will probably try and do at least an elective at Tampa General since they have a relatively new EM program (allopathic). Suncoast and Northside hospitals both have some DO residencies, and even heard rumors of the local Manatee Memorial hospital down the street looking at starting some residencies in the next few years. I've talked with some of the admin/faculty and I know they're continuing to work on building the relationships with these area hospitals and it's only going to get better. And really, unless you're shooting for more academic positions, I'm looking forward to doing some of these rotations at some of the area's smaller non-academic/teaching hospitals where you may get some more one-on-one time with the attending and not wait in line behind several residents and interns.
Overall, I really like what they are doing there. I would go to school there in a second. I'm going to take my other interviews and make an informed decision, but I think that these guys are definitely the early frontrunners. I am more impressed with them than either of the two allopathic schools that I have interviewed at.
I am on hold at DMU and KCUMB, and I will be visiting both schools in a few weeks. I am interviewing at KCOM and PCOM-GA too.
We'll just have to see how it all shakes out.
Anyway, good luck! Let us know what you hear.
...thanks
