LECOM - Bradenton Discussion thread 2007-2008

[Kateb4]

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Hi everyone! Can't wait to meet u all-- I'm in baby!! 😀 😀

Congratulations! I think that we're going to have some good times these next few years!

 

[Dreammona]

Hi guys, going to get my vaccinations required for first years. It will be good to meet everyone this July! Quick question for the current students, what are some of the good banks that are close to Bradenton, I might have to open another checking account with a new bank that's not 50 miles away!

 

[manual DO]

Hi guys, going to get my vaccinations required for first years. It will be good to meet everyone this July! Quick question for the current students, what are some of the good banks that are close to Bradenton, I might have to open another checking account with a new bank that's not 50 miles away!

Bank of America is all around and they have a pretty good student account. There is also Regions bank and RBC. There are local banks as well but i don't know much about them

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

When I was in the area, it seemed like there were an abundance of Wachovia banks. Does anyone use them? I'm pretty sure this is a national bank branch with offices in most states.

 

[zac16125]

Just something to add, I interviewed at an Allo school yesterday (that I am pretty sure I have a great chance of getting into) and I was so much more impressed by Bradenton. The facilities were nicer, the people were friendlier, and the PBL curriculum really makes this school stand out. Just thought I'd add that.

The benefit of the allo school though is that their facilities for first two years are attached to the hospital students round at during the clinical years (which I imagine most teaching universities are like) which means you don't have to worry about where your clinical years are spent, if you have to move, etc. Which I think is big drawback of Bradenton, IMO. Any thoughts/comments on that?

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

Curious, how do we learn biochem??? in PBL or lecture?? I am really bad at biochem (failed orgo first time i took it and then only got C's).. so I am worried.

 

[AtlantaGator]

Hey Guys, I was accepted to LECOM-B last month and really excited. It looks like we are going to have a great class.

I had that same question Thisisyourlife, and what I was told on my interview is that we learn only the essential biochem stuff during our PBL lessons. So no formal biochem class. I thought that was cool...since there is so much biochem...

 

[JahJah84]

I have a question for current students. I was looking at laptops to buy and I was curious if any of you guys think it is beneficial to have a tablet PC. They are going to be more expensive so just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject. Thanks!

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

I have a question for current students. I was looking at laptops to buy and I was curious if any of you guys think it is beneficial to have a tablet PC. They are going to be more expensive so just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject. Thanks!

I was wondering the same..

 

[Kateb4]

I was wondering the same..

My thought on this is not to get a tablet. For me, a tablet would be best in a situation where you are having to take alot of notes in a lecture. When we sat in on the PBL session, they were using their laptops to search the internet, and were taking notes on paper.

Also, I have a pretty new laptop, so I'm just going to use that for the time being, and I can always get a new one if need be.

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

oh, if anyone was wondering. I contacted Heather today about the biochem thing.. we learn it in PBL. Anatomy, she said, is the only lecture.

 

[nlax30]

Correct, no biochem lectures so you'll be learning it throughout PBL. I'm not a chem person either and it's not that bad. The required book is alright, and a lot of people use other review type books (Ex: Illustrated Biochem) as reinforcement after reading the chapter in our book.

Also keep in mind that this is "medical" biochem. It's not like in undergrad where you may have to had to draw the structure of a dozen molecules or draw out a mechanism. The focus is on learning the major biochemically pathways and then what happens when something goes wrong.

And this is just random, but it's actually one of the smaller books we have, so that helps it not be as intimidating as it could be.

 

[nlax30]

I have a question for current students. I was looking at laptops to buy and I was curious if any of you guys think it is beneficial to have a tablet PC. They are going to be more expensive so just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject. Thanks!

There's about a handful of students in our class that have/use tablets. I know during Anatomy I saw a couple of them make use of the tablet features, usually by marking up the powerpoint lectures using something like OneNote.

Not sure how much they use it now during PBL. I probably would have used a tablet quite a bit during anatomy with all the lectures, but I rarely take notes now during PBL reading so having a tablet probably wouldn't have been a big thing for me.

I think it depends on how you take notes and study. If you don't like paper/pencil and type a lot of notes or want to have a little more flexibility than a tablet would be nice. I don't have one but I still make use of OneNote. I'll import any powerpoint lectures into it and then just take notes and type on the slides. Only thing I'm missing is the ability to easily freehand draw/write something on the screen.

I already had a laptop anyway so I didn't really want to spend money on a new one. If you have one and it can run powerpoint, word, and get on the internet then it should be fine.

 

[DrMidlife]

I have a killer tablet (lenovo x61) that I use in undergrad classes to mark up powerpoints and PDFs during lecture. Which is great. But if you take away lectures with online handouts for markup, it's very hard to justify getting a tablet over a laptop. There's a learning curve with these machines too. So paying maybe $1000 extra, and learning how to use it, and then only having it be useful for anatomy makes no sense.

If LECOM-B was going to REQUIRE everybody to get a tablet, they could avoid doing so many printouts during PBL. If the facilitators were going to share the histology and radiology slides online during PBL, then you could mark them up with what you're supposed to see. So that's two things that would be nice to have, but hardly justification to make everybody get a tablet.

 

[lala83]

Hi everyone! Can't wait to meet u all-- I'm in baby!! 😀 😀

CONGRATS FABU1OUS!!!

I'm soo happy to hear that things worked out for you and that you'll be here in the fall!!

 

[fabu1ous]

CONGRATS FABU1OUS!!!

I'm soo happy to hear that things worked out for you and that you'll be here in the fall!!

Thanks!! Can't wait... I just wanna be like lala 😉 . Any words of advice for us newbies? Anything you wish you knew before you started last year, that, sheesh, would've helped?

 

[JahJah84]

Thanks so much for the replys about the PC. I am pretty set in my ways of not taking and studying. Maybe I should try to change things now. Plus, I also need to by a printer. So it looks like a basic laptop for me! Thanks for the help!@!

 

[DragonWell]

Curious, how do we learn biochem??? in PBL or lecture?? I am really bad at biochem (failed orgo first time i took it and then only got C's).. so I am worried.

IMO, biochem is the weakest link in the curriculum, and I don't think LECOM-B is the only DO school where this is the case. Whether true or not, COMLEX has a reputation for under testing biochem, and for asking very basic biochem questions, which makes students view it as less of a priority than path or pharm. Without a doubt, biochem is the subject I am least prepared for on boards.

Since we are in PBL, of course one can always say that theoretically we could have chosen more biochem learning issues, but there just wasn't as much emphasis placed on biochem as there was on anatomy, for example. There are a few biochem oriented cases, but not enough to really make students spend enough time with metabolism to learn it well. IMO, while the Marks text has some good points, overall, it is a rather terrible biochem text for med students simply because they include a ridiculous amount of minutiae. This scares some people off from picking many issues in biochem.

The skinny of my little diatribe is this: if you are taking COMLEX only, you are probably going to be just fine with the minimalist approach taken to biochem here. You'll hit most of the pathology oriented biochem at some point, which reportedly is the most tested aspect of biochem on COMLEX. In fact, based on what most people say about COMLEX, the greater focus on pharm, path, anatomy, micro, and phys is probably actually an asset for taking COMLEX. However, if you plan on taking USMLE, DEFINITELY plan on spending extra time studying biochem/genetics/molecular biology before the test.

I have a question for current students. I was looking at laptops to buy and I was curious if any of you guys think it is beneficial to have a tablet PC. They are going to be more expensive so just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject. Thanks!

I have a Acer C314, and while it is useful to have tablet functionality at times, I would focus more on reliability and durability as selling features. The tablet was nice for the first ten weeks of anatomy lab to mark up slides, but I haven't used it a whole lot since. Laptops during PBL really aren't as useful as you might think, since your goal is to identify what you need to learn in your textbooks rather than just finding info on a random website (although sometimes that is necessary). If money is an issue, you could easily get by with a pretty old laptop here since 95% of what you will do with it will be looking at powerpoints, checking email and surfing the web.

Thanks!! Can't wait... I just wanna be like lala 😉 . Any words of advice for us newbies? Anything you wish you knew before you started last year, that, sheesh, would've helped?

Some assorted questions and tips from last year are archived here.

If you want even more, stuff from two years ago is here.

You also might find this article interesting. Even though it's written about Erie, much of it also applies to Bradenton.

I know when I was in your position, I wanted all the info I could get. In hindsight, some of the advice thrown at me has turned out to be very useful, some neutral, and some really bad. Take everything with a grain of salt and and make up your own mind. If you got accepted you can succeed here, just arrive ready to devote a lot of yourself to your studies and you'll do great.

 

[LauraDO]

Just got an interview for March 14th! Florida here I come!!!!!

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

congrats Laura!!

eta. have you heard back from LMU yet??? call and bug them!

 

[DrMidlife]

Just got an interview for March 14th! Florida here I come!!!!!

Rock ON. I knew it.

Plus, if you've ever been to Illinois then you'll get in before I get off the waitlist. I do believe that's the pattern (TIYL, KB4, udsoccer, etc). The fact that I've been to Illinois doesn't count.

Dear LECOM-B,

I love you. You're so pretty. Call me!

Love,
Dr. Midlife

 

[digitlnoize]

Don't worry! I'm SURE you'll get in. The waitlist will really start moving soon, as the MD schools finalize their classes and people make up their friggin' minds!

It will happen.

 

[WndSrfr23]

I just got my letter in the mail yesterday saying I was accepted! I am so excited to meet all of you! I am currently a post-bacc. student at LECOM-Erie and so far there are only two people that have been accepted into LECOM-Bradenton from our class, but more people are still waiting to find out.

As for those of you that still have to interview or are on the waiting list, don't give up hope!! I was on the waiting list last year at Erie and ultimately was never accepted, but now just a year later and I have an acceptance to my top choice school!

 

[LauraDO]

Rock ON. I knew it.

Plus, if you've ever been to Illinois then you'll get in before I get off the waitlist. I do believe that's the pattern (TIYL, KB4, udsoccer, etc). The fact that I've been to Illinois doesn't count.

I've spent quite sometime in the Chicago O'hare Airport, I wonder if that will count?

Don't worry, I also have faith you will get off the waitlist

 

[Kateb4]

I've spent quite sometime in the Chicago O'hare Airport, I wonder if that will count?

Congrats Laura!! I would say that more than 2 hours at O'Hare would qualify you. I have a good feeling that you'll get in!

And Dr. Midlife, you know that they are saving a special spot for you! You'll get in!

Just a follow up to the LOI question that I posted last week... send it to June Flaim! She actually was the one that called me to let me know of my acceptance because of my letter!

 

[Kateb4]

I just got my letter in the mail yesterday saying I was accepted! I am so excited to meet all of you! I am currently a post-bacc. student at LECOM-Erie and so far there are only two people that have been accepted into LECOM-Bradenton from our class, but more people are still waiting to find out.

As for those of you that still have to interview or are on the waiting list, don't give up hope!! I was on the waiting list last year at Erie and ultimately was never accepted, but now just a year later and I have an acceptance to my top choice school!

Congrats! When did you interview? I got me letter yesterday also.

 

[LauraDO]

Congrats Laura!! I would say that more than 2 hours at O'Hare would qualify you. I have a good feeling that you'll get in!

Ha! two hours, I've had lay overs 5x that length, I mean honestly can anyone get in and out of O'hare in less then two hours, I think not

 

[WndSrfr23]

KateB4, I interviewed on Feb. 11th. But I interviewed in Erie for both LECOM-B and LECOM-E because LECOM-Erie does not allow their post-bacc students to miss class to go to Bradenton to interview. I did, however, visit Bradenton over winter break and I think the area and the school are incredible!! So...although it is impossible that we interviewed together, I really am looking forward to meeting you!

I am also really excited because the people in my post-bacc at LECOM-Erie are seriously the nicest group of people I have ever met and I expect the students at Bradenton will be more of the same!

So is there a facebook group started yet?

 

[LauraDO]

Not exactly. Chris Daughtry is an old buddy of mine and it's a LOT of luck involved there. When you go the stadium for the tryouts they basically have 2 groups of tables. One group of tables rejects EVERYONE that sings for them, no matter how good they are.

If you go to those tables, you lose. That's how they narrow those stadiums full of people down to the 100 or so in each city that sing for the judges at the hotels, like we see on TV.

Then they send another hundred+ to "Hollywood" week where you have to dance and sing more, and they cut it down the 24 that we see on TV when the show gets really rolling.

I'll take my med school odds any day.

Did you say Chris Daughtry is a friend of yours? Daughtry is my band of the moment, I love every song on his album, I think he is incredibly talented

 

[fabu1ous]

windsrfr- Congrats!! Will see u there!

Laura & Dr. Midlife Hoping all the best for u and everyone else waitlisted-- trust me, I know how you feel. Hang in there...

 

[Bonsante]

I am waitlisted here too. To be frank, good luck to everyone who is on the alternate list. Hopefully, people will start making their minds about which school to go to and the list will start moving. On another note, I can't help to wonder whether the admissions people look at the students that are on SDN and assess people here. For example, people who have pictures on their profiles are obviously easy to identify. Maybe, I am being paranoid but who knows...

 

[digitlnoize]

Did you say Chris Daughtry is a friend of yours? Daughtry is my band of the moment, I love every song on his album, I think he is incredibly talented

Yes. At the risk of losing my anonymity, I'll say that I lived in a town where Chris lived for a while...not in NC...We played in a few bands that played shows together.

His guitar player Brian is a very good friend as well.

Chris is good, don't get me wrong. I really like his album too, and think he's done an awesome job. What's interesting is that he is really not that good. It makes one realize how messed up the music biz is, because I know alot of people (we come from a fairly artistic town) who can write/sing circles around him.

When he was in town, we thought he was decent, but nothing "special". Better than alot, yeah, but not God's Gift...ya know...

Anyways, If the music industry could give opportunities to artists like Chris, I dream about what could happen if they opened the doors to all the people better than him.

Idol is just a COMPLETE crap shoot. Chris basically won the lottery by getting through that show. For all of Simon's talk about it being a "singing contest" it really isn't. It's a reality show. The producers choose people that they think will be good on the show, not for their voices. If you go to the stadium tryouts (not the ones shown on TV) you will see thousands of great, attractive singers turned away simply because of numbers. It's sad.

Anyways, I'm just proud to say "Go Chris" and that I now know another famous person...sigh...I just hope they can keep it up...I don't want him to become a has-been in 5-10 years. We'll see how good the next album is...I think it'll rock really hard, and scare a few people away, but still sell well.

Chris btw is a huge HARD rock fan. He wants his music to sound more like Tool...we'll see the AI fans like that now that he has some control over his music.

 

[BubblezGirl]

For example, people who have pictures on their profiles are obviously easy to identify. Maybe, I am being paranoid but who knows...

You've totally given yourself away with your picture. 😛

Dont be paranoid, especially if you don't act like a fool on SDN. Those that do get what they deserve from other SDN members.

And...I'm on the waitlist, too. Waiting oh-not-so-patiently......Good Luck to everyone!

 

[Thundercat9]

hey what's up guys - i'll be class of '12 too...i interviewed on jan 16th and i'm pretty stoked about movin down to FL. lookin at colonial grand or somewhere in heritage harbour for housing.

anybody lookin into military HPSP scholarships?

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

^^Thundercat9, I was in your interview group! Not sure who you are, though.

 

[Bonsante]

You've totally given yourself away with your picture. 😛

Dont be paranoid, especially if you don't act like a fool on SDN. Those that do get what they deserve from other SDN members.

And...I'm on the waitlist, too. Waiting oh-not-so-patiently......Good Luck to everyone!

It's the only decent picture I have. I don't know how to put this, but it looks pretty sexy.

 

[zac16125]

So I'm just starting to attempt to look for housing and from what I understand LECOM students tend to live at either the Yacht Club, Colonial Grand, or Heritage Harbour. Is that correct and does anyone have any comments about any of those places, or know of other places popular among students. I won't be able to go down to Florida to see these places in person, so any info from you all would be great.

 

[Thundercat9]

about the housing, yacht club is in the huge heritage harbour complex - i think it's their only section where you can lease apts (the rest are houses and condos that are privately owned). colonial grand was nice too. the great thing about practically every complex down in bradenton is that they're almost all gated with nice amenities like tennis courts, pool, gym, washer/dryer. i think it's just a matter of where the price is right and whether you wanna be in a quieter, more residential location or a more commercial neighborhood.

yacht club - PRO: really nice apts, very spacious, nice common areas, some apts have attached private garages, quiet neighborhood, near super-walmart. trash can be placed in receptacle right outside front door. CONS: quiet local scene, very few local restaurants, pricey.

colonial grand (based on one visit there) - PRO: nice apts (seem smaller than yacht club apts), good location near lots of restaurants/coffee houses. CONS - no apts with attached garages, may be busier on weekends, can be pricey depending on supply/demand of units, only dumpster trash pickup.

i think it would also be a decent idea to try and find some condo owners and negotiate renting from them - they would be more likely to negotiate and would probably rent out for less $$$.

the search for housing is mad annoying, but hopefully it won't take too too long to get that squared away....good luck everyone else 🙂

 

[Dreammona]

Guys,

I went into my PCP to get all the vaccines and found out that I might be needing more than I thought I would. I will probably be finishing up shots still once I'm down in FL so it's a pain in the butt! Get to your doc's office today before it's too late! Some shots have to have a waiting period of 3-6 months in between each!

 

[WndSrfr23]

Zac, as far as housing goes I would say your assessment sounds pretty similar to everything I have heard. I personally visited the Yacht Club at Heritage Harbour when I was down in FL and it was seemed practically brand new and was really luxurious. I think I may try and live at Yacht Club, although it was a bit more pricey compared to other places. Also, I am not sure if someone my age should be living in a "yacht club" yet-haha!! The realtor told me that around 40 LECOM-B students currently live there. I am not sure if Heritage Harbour itself has any other student housing unless you decide to rent a house with several other students. Also, there are new apartments being built within a 1/4 mile of the school, but I am not sure if they are supposed to completed by the time we start class. From what I was told by June Flaim, finding housing shouldn't really a problem since the area is over-built right now. Some places I even noticed in the local real estate guides offer one to two months free rent and/or a 32" plasma TV as an incentive to sign a lease (see Fountainlake.com & PlamCoveofBradenton.com)! Although one has to wonder what the area is like around these apartments if they giving these are including these incentives. I also drove by some other apartments, but none of them (atleast from the exterior) seemed to match up with the Yacht Club. In general I get the impression that there is an abundance of really nice housing options available and I think Florida living is of a different species from anything that I am used too. Hope this helps and I look forward to meeting you!

 

[NasPas]

Are there any places in Bradenton that you should absolutely stay away from? Due to high crime rate, etc.

 

[DragonWell]

There are a few links to some of the more popular places to live here and a couple more student opinions here.

Are there any places in Bradenton that you should absolutely stay away from? Due to high crime rate, etc.

There definitely are some places in the greater Bradenton/Sarasota area you probably want to stay away from; however, all the ones I can think of are a long way away from school. As mentioned above, due to what's happening in the housing market, there are a huge amount of homes/condos available for sale or rent around the school.

One thing I would suggest keeping in mind is that a lot of places, especially to the west of school, don't have easy free way access. This means you'll be commuting on surface streets to school, and traffic here, at least during "the season" can get very heavy. (This is coming from someone who's lived in Atlanta and Seattle). For example, even though I only live about 10 miles from school, my commute ranges from 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. So, be aware that although things may look close on a map, your commute time may be longer than you think.

 

[scpod]

...For example, even though I only live about 10 miles from school, my commute ranges from 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. So, be aware that although things may look close on a map, your commute time may be longer than you think.

I agree!!! When I lived west of the interstate on University (7 or 8 miles from school) it could easily take 30 minutes, most of which was trying to get onto the interstate itself. I live 4 miles from school now, but on the east side, and it takes 5 or 6 minutes. I lived at school the first year because it wasn't worth going home. Now, I can go home for lunch at noon and have plenty of time to be back for a clinical exam session at 1PM, for example.

 

[avalon18217]

Could anyone tell me what tests/titers are required while I'm waiting for the forms to come?

 

[Bonsante]

From what I have heard, the alternate list for LECOM Bradenton is not ranked until the end of the interview period. Once the interviews are over, adcom will rank people in a group of 10-15, and if spots are available, adcom will contact the cohort of people first. Sequentially, After the first 10-15 have been contacted by phone primary, they will group people on the alternate list like so again until all the spots are filled. This process ends in August.

 

[digitlnoize]

Could anyone tell me what tests/titers are required while I'm waiting for the forms to come?

All of them. Just go to your pcp and say, "give me the works."

Immunizations: DPT, Adult Tetanus or DT (yep...also), Polio, Hep B (3 doses), 2 step PPD.

Titers: Varicella, Mumps, Rubella, Rubeola, Hepatitis B, Urine 10 Panel Drug Screen, Alcohol screening (urine, blood, or breath). Ok to combine EtOH and Drug Screen.

Criminal Background Check.

I think that's it...sheesh.

 

[Kateb4]

Could anyone tell me what tests/titers are required while I'm waiting for the forms to come?

second this request! I'm bound to have to jump through some hoops to get my records straight here.

 

[digitlnoize]

second this request! I'm bound to have to jump through some hoops to get my records straight here.

Kate! I just posted them!

 

[AtlantaGator]

From what I have heard, the alternate list for LECOM Bradenton is not ranked until the end of the interview period. Once the interviews are over, adcom will rank people in a group of 10-15, and if spots are available, adcom will contact the cohort of people first. Sequentially, After the first 10-15 have been contacted by phone primary, they will group people on the alternate list like so again until all the spots are filled. This process ends in August.

Yeah I was on the waiting list since October and got off in mid-February. I talked to both Heather and June about it and they both said the list is not ranked, but they do review your file every month. To be completely honest, I think they review it more often if you show interest. For example, I got an email in the beginning of February telling me that I was still waitlisted and that my file will not be reviewed again until the first week of March. Well, I sent June a nice email about my updates (Volunteer work, conferences I was attending, the fact I was still VERY interested in the school) and then BOOM I got a call 5 days later with my acceptance. I think they will make an effort to get you in as long as you show the fact that you really want to go there. So, for those of you on the list, don't worry, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be pulling for you all.

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

^^I think you are right.. at my interview on the 16th they said that if you are interested to write them letters and they are more bound to look at and accept your file.. she said it pretty bluntly, so i dont think they are hiding the fact that they love lecom love!