LECOM - Bradenton Discussion thread 2007-2008

[DOC KHALSA]

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well im pretty sure having my secondaries completed at the end of February didnt help my case any!
my MCAT isnt impressive enough to be considered this late in the game by many adcoms.
I am just happy i got interviewed at PNWU. I really feel like i blew them away in the interview and I expect to hear some really good news by phone sometime tomorrow.
*here's hoping*
😀

matt, glad you kicked a** in you PNWU interview. Here's to hoping for the next go round. i will retake mcat aug 05. then a quick re-apply. i am still waiting to hear about lecom as well, but as of now, have not received an email or letter. i think we would need a 30+ mcat, and a 4.0 to be considered this late in the game. oh well, there is always 2009. best wishes

 

[DrMattOglesby]

Yeah....its officially a rejection letter!
i just walked out to my mailbox and had my suspicions confirmed just minutes ago.
"oh well"
🙄

 

[LauraDO]

Yeah....its officially a rejection letter!
i just walked out to my mailbox and had my suspicions confirmed just minutes ago.
"oh well"
🙄

They don't know what they are missing, they were just afraid that you would make all the rest of us feel badly about ourselves

 

[Kateb4]

Yeah....its officially a rejection letter!
i just walked out to my mailbox and had my suspicions confirmed just minutes ago.
"oh well"
🙄

Aw man, sorry Matt! PNWU will show you love though!

 

[Kateb4]

Update on status of paperwork.... I got my titer results back today, and I'm immunte to everything except for the Hep B! Had all three shots, but IGg was low, so I need to do all three again. And I was working in a hospital for several years (and a surgical office). Anyways, good to know now I guess, though I won't have the series finished until Oct sometime.

So, now I just need results from my criminal background check and I can mail the lot of it out. Of course, I still need to sell my house, and my husband needs a job, so there are still so many things in limbo. The next few months are going to be soo stressful, I just dread it. I'm so looking forward to July 27th!

 

[nlax30]

What does your husband do? You can PM or not if it's too personal. There's a good handful of us with working spouses around the area.

 

[LauraDO]

What does your husband do? You can PM or not if it's too personal. There's a good handful of us with working spouses around the area.

Kate, you shouldn't be embarressed if your husband is a male stripper, there is no shame in that, it is ok, we are family here

 

[DrMidlife]

No way Kate, your husband is David Hernandez? He's so hot. He was so cute on Ellen.

 

[LauraDO]

No way Kate, your husband is David Hernandez? He's so hot. He was so cute on Ellen.

shhh....dang it! you spoiled the 'surprise entertainment' for orientation! Way to go 👎

 

[nlax30]

Kate, you shouldn't be embarressed if your husband is a male stripper, there is no shame in that, it is ok, we are family here

Actually with a healthy population of older women (with money) down in Sarasota he could do quite well. No shame in having med school paid for. 😀

 

[Mochajonz]

Actually with a healthy population of older women (with money) down in Sarasota he could do quite well. No shame in having med school paid for. 😀

I'm a personal trainer so if he needs help staying in shape for his new job I can help. 👍

That or we could form our own little company that way I'd have a source of income over the summer!.

 

[DOC KHALSA]

Yeah....its officially a rejection letter!
i just walked out to my mailbox and had my suspicions confirmed just minutes ago.
"oh well"
🙄

sorry about that man, more time for ironmans over the year...if you didin't get in, i should be expecting my rejection shortly.

 

[Kateb4]

Kate, you shouldn't be embarressed if your husband is a male stripper, there is no shame in that, it is ok, we are family here

Darn it, you let out the secret! I only wish that I had married a male stripper! He's a runner, so I guess he has a good body, but man he can't dance!

No way Kate, your husband is David Hernandez? He's so hot. He was so cute on Ellen.

Well, I had to look up who David Hernandez is (I'm not watching this season of AI). But, the report that I read says that David performed at a club with a 'mostly male' clientelle.

I'm a personal trainer so if he needs help staying in shape for his new job I can help. 👍

That or we could form our own little company that way I'd have a source of income over the summer!.

So, are you saying that you want to start up a strip company? Hmmm.... I'm going to look at you differently in class (particularly OMM) and you'll have to dance to the board when we're in PBL.

 

[Kateb4]

What does your husband do? You can PM or not if it's too personal. There's a good handful of us with working spouses around the area.

He works in IT. He has been running his own development/consulting company, but all of our clients are here, so he is looking for a regular office job again until we can get established out there. He is looking for an IT Director position ideally, but will do what he has to do (I'll have to talk to him about the stripping though - he'd need lessons!)

 

[LauraDO]

He works in IT. He has been running his own development/consulting company, but all of our clients are here, so he is looking for a regular office job again until we can get established out there. He is looking for an IT Director position ideally, but will do what he has to do (I'll have to talk to him about the stripping though - he'd need lessons!)

Right "IT" is that what they are calling it now

 

[Kateb4]

Right "IT" is that what they are calling it now

Yup, he is an expert in several different 'positions'. Mostly, he does alot of 'developing', and alot of individual 'consultations'! He likes to wear all sorts of 'hats'. His specialty is in hardware interfaces.



I hope that he doesn't read this. not only would he be embarrassed that we are talking about him, but he would repremand me because the above paragraph isn't acurate.

 

[LauraDO]

Yup, he is an expert in several different 'positions'. Mostly, he does alot of 'developing', and alot of individual 'consultations'! He likes to wear all sorts of 'hats'. His specialty is in hardware interfaces.



I hope that he doesn't read this. not only would he be embarrassed that we are talking about him, but he would repremand me because the above paragraph isn't acurate.

hardware interfaces Wow, I'm going to need a memo on that....So hubby is going to be running with me and marathondude right?

 

[nlax30]

Yup, he is an expert in several different 'positions'. Mostly, he does alot of 'developing', and alot of individual 'consultations'! He likes to wear all sorts of 'hats'. His specialty is in hardware interfaces.

Haha...very nice. You'll fit in quite nicely here. 🙂 Yeah, I guess floppy drives are kind of outdated....sorry, had to go there.

I would think IT would always kind of be in the hiring mode. My brother-in-law and several friends back home are all in various forms of IT and just seems to be a field with a decent amount of turn over and people moving around. Hopefully he can find something around here or even in Sarasota. Even a commute to Tampa isn't THAT bad. My wife works up in Tampa and it's a straight shot on the highway, maybe about 50 min. Gas is a killer though.

Also seems like there's a few of ya'll who run. A few 1st years just started up an official running "club" that meets up on the weekends to run. There's also the big Sarasota Marathon (and half marathon) that we do medical coverage for each year and we had a handful of students run this year.

 

[LauraDO]

Also seems like there's a few of ya'll who run. A few 1st years just started up an official running "club" that meets up on the weekends to run. There's also the big Sarasota Marathon (and half marathon) that we do medical coverage for each year and we had a handful of students run this year.

That is great to hear! honestly I can't wait to get there it is really going to improve my running, it is pretty sad that it is april and I am still running on a treadmill because it is 32 degrees outside. NO ONE should live in this weather

Do you all have a wilderness medicine club?

 

[nlax30]

Do you all have a wilderness medicine club?

No club for that specifically. But at least a dozen of us just did the initial "Basic Wilderness First Aid" cert course a few weeks ago that one of faculty helped organize along with the local Florida Sheriff's youth ranch.
More info --> http://www.ashinstitute.org/wilderness.htm

Was very basic but fun. I think we'll probably look into doing some of the more advanced ones as well. So no club specifically but definitely some people who like the outdoors. Of course if you wanted to start something like that I'm sure you'd be able to.

There is the element, I guess to med school in general, of you'll get out of it what you make of it sorta "thing". We have some 1st years who have some strong interests and it's because of those that there's the little running group and the beginnings of some journal clubs.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I have a question a little off topic to the above (sorry laurado--hahaha), but anyways...

I saw another thread asking for advice for the first two years of medical school...and then I thought that it might not apply to lecom-b. So, do you current students have any advice about study habits and general dos and donts for a pbl curriculum such as lecom-b's? Is there any free time?

Thanks!

 

[LauraDO]

I actally asked the same thing a few days ago, but got nothing....

I was wondering if some of the current students could post tips, ideas, or simple, I wish I had known (been prepared for) ______before I started school.

There is so much to think about, especially with PBL being a fairly new learning structure for us all, it would be helpful to hear some of your thoughts

 

[Kateb4]

That is great to hear! honestly I can't wait to get there it is really going to improve my running, it is pretty sad that it is april and I am still running on a treadmill because it is 32 degrees outside. NO ONE should live in this weather

You mean you're not running outside in the cold?? JK, I wouldn't either. My husband is crazy though! He started running outside everyday about 2 years ago (his dad had a heart attack - young) and has not taken one day off since he started. He runs in the below zero and in the 90+, sick and well, he fell one day and had to get some stitches on his chin, but went out to run still. He keeps saying that he'll be glad when we're in FL and the weather is more even. The heat and humidity should be fun for conditioning.

Lucky for me, I am not a runner, but you can bet that we will be sure and get a house with a pool so I can swim!

 

[(nicedream)]

I have a question a little off topic to the above (sorry laurado--hahaha), but anyways...

I saw another thread asking for advice for the first two years of medical school...and then I thought that it might not apply to lecom-b. So, do you current students have any advice about study habits and general dos and donts for a pbl curriculum such as lecom-b's? Is there any free time?

Thanks!

DO keep up with the reading at a pace that works for you.
DONT expect anyone to tell you what to read, part of PBL is figuring that yourself.
DO find 1 or 2 books in each subject that work for you.
DONT buy 5 books on each subject and read scattered parts of each.
DO pick high-yield learning issues that are relevant to the Boards.
DONT waste many learning issues on things like histology (and DONT tell certain faculty I said that)

One of the great things about PBL is that there is a huge amount of free time. But it's only free in that you're free to spend it as you choose - whether that's studying or otherwise. After anatomy's over you're not at school much at all. So you have much for flexibility and control over your schedule, as opposed to those that are stuck in lecture all day and forced to study after that before going to sleep.

 

[nlax30]

I saw another thread asking for advice for the first two years of medical school...and then I thought that it might not apply to lecom-b. So, do you current students have any advice about study habits and general dos and donts for a pbl curriculum such as lecom-b's? Is there any free time?

I guess specifically I'll second the advice about staying on top of you reading. Make it your job and just read a lot and stay on top of the PBL reading. The test will sneak up on you and you'll be two weeks out from a test that over the course of 8 cases or so you've picked maybe like 25 chapters to be tested on. Soooo much nicer to be able to just go back and review stuff you've already read than to stress about trying to cram in new chapters at the last minute.

Much easier said than done, and I definitely haven't gotten to that level, but that's the "goal" anyway.

Also, do what works for you. Everyone will study a little different. Some people will take pages and pages of notes, some people will highlight the whole book with 20 colors, some will buy 4 review books for each subject, etc... But don't be frustrated when it takes some time to really get into some sort of groove. It's a learning curve. I read fairly slowly and found out that taking notes just slows me down too much, so I've totally given up on taking notes. Maybe an occasional note here or there if it's something specific I need to bring up about the case, but for the most part I'm just focusing on getting through the material. I'm horrible at memorizing. I can't sit and learn by just reading bullet point facts from a high yield review book, some people can. But I need to place things in a larger context and then work my way through a subject filling the details as I go. If I can integrate the facts into some sort of larger concept I can reason through it and not have to worry about trying to memorize every stickin' detail.

On a more general note.... be flexible and try and have some fun. It's med school, it's so far the hardest thing (academically) that I've ever done and people get stressed, and at times stress can just bring out the worst in people, just human nature. You'll get stressed, people around you will get stressed, the admin may make an un-popular decision that you don't agree with, and on and on. Just try and take it in stride and focus on what's important. I've got my close group of friends and we vent to each and definitely have our moments of complaining after a test or something for some sort of relief, but in the end I'm here to become a physician.

Anyway, just some thoughts I had. Have fun though, it's tough but I'm enjoying it....in some sort of masochistic way. I'm sure this post kind of sounds like a downer but we just had two tests this morning and I am fried, so I'll throw this in to cheer it up.... 😀

 

[DrMidlife]

Not a downer post at all, to me. I study the same way - if I can't integrate & reason through it, it doesn't stick. The more time I spend listening to LECOM-B students, the less I can stand the thought of sitting in lecture all day on the other side of the state...

 

[fabu1ous]

DO keep up with the reading at a pace that works for you.
DONT expect anyone to tell you what to read, part of PBL is figuring that yourself.
DO find 1 or 2 books in each subject that work for you.
DONT buy 5 books on each subject and read scattered parts of each.
DO pick high-yield learning issues that are relevant to the Boards.
DONT waste many learning issues on things like histology (and DONT tell certain faculty I said that)

How would you know what the "high-yield learning issues" that are relevant to the Boards?

One student from LECOM-B suggested to use the Board review series to get an overview of a topic, and then go into further detail with other textbooks to fill in details/get more background (He did warn that the Board review series should not be used solely and will reflect poor performance). What do u all think of this method?

 

[fabu1ous]

Also, couldn't help noticing that LECOM's student website is not updated. What is the best place to get up to date info... iow, where would the updated book list, important dates, etc. be posted? I don't want to be out of the loop 😉

I do check LECOM-B's SGA website, but I'm not sure if this is the official spot I should be checking...

 

[(nicedream)]

How would you know what the "high-yield learning issues" that are relevant to the Boards?

One student from LECOM-B suggested to use the Board review series to get an overview of a topic, and then go into further detail with other textbooks to fill in details/get more background (He did warn that the Board review series should not be used solely and will reflect poor performance). What do u all think of this method?

Look at First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. Basically - Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology. Add Biochem for USMLE (as opposed to COMLEX).

I wasn't really a fan of the BRS series. Goljan's Rapid Review Pathology book is amazing, I can't recommend that one enough. BRS Path, at least the edition I had, had a mistake in the first sentence. BRS Phys is decent. Pharm Recall is good. Micro Made Ridic. Simple is good. If I was going to get review books, those are the ones I would get.

And actually, as opposed to starting with review books and then using textbooks to fill in details, I liked going the other way. Read the textbooks to get the big picture and then use the review books to do just that - review.

Anyway, like nlax said, it's all whatever works for you.

 

[digitlnoize]

This is awesome. More please!

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yes...thank you! Keep it coming if you can. Also, if I can ask...what is a typical day after anatomy like (or during anatomy if you want to comment)...as I understand it, you have "class" thrice a week. How much do you study during the day? Is there free time, like, maybe to go to the gym? (I know that last question is sort of odd, but people give me this view of med school as life draining...so I'm just wondering what I am in for...but I am definately up for whatever).

 

[LauraDO]

Can I ask a slightly unrelated question? I am starting to get a bit worried because I have not received my accpetance letter yet? How long did it take you all to receive them after you found out?

I emailed June yesterday and have not heard back, I am slightly (ok totally) at the point of panic, that I may have been unaccepted?

 

[fabu1ous]

nicedream, thanks for your input! I'm always open to learning better and smarter ways of studying... 👍

^^^LauraDO, took almost 2 weeks for me, so don't sweat it! It took less time to get my info packet along with the go ahead for 10 billion shots. 😳

 

[digitlnoize]

Can I ask a slightly unrelated question? I am starting to get a bit worried because I have not received my accpetance letter yet? How long did it take you all to receive them after you found out?

I emailed June yesterday and have not heard back, I am slightly (ok totally) at the point of panic, that I may have been unaccepted?

Relax. Same thing happened to me. I must have called Heather half a dozen times too! Long story short, it never showed up and they had to write/sign a new one and resend it. It finally showed up and I was happy.

You can call and ask Heather when the letter was sent out. Then do your own calculations to see when you should get it. Give it a few days longer than that, then call her back and tell her it didn't come (unless it does 😀)

I'm sure you're fine. It happens.

Personally, I suspect my mail carrier of trying to sabbotage my attempts to enter med school. I often wonder how many other interview/rejection/acceptance letters failed to materialize due to her jealousy of my future career.

 

[fabu1ous]

^^^

 

[LauraDO]

Relax. Same thing happened to me. I must have called Heather half a dozen times too! Long story short, it never showed up and they had to write/sign a new one and resend it. It finally showed up and I was happy.

You can call and ask Heather when the letter was sent out. Then do your own calculations to see when you should get it. Give it a few days longer than that, then call her back and tell her it didn't come (unless it does 😀)

I'm sure you're fine. It happens.

Personally, I suspect my mail carrier of trying to sabotage my attempts to enter med school. I often wonder how many other interview/rejection/acceptance letters failed to materialize due to her jealousy of my future career.

Oh, my do I love you a ton right now. I honestly have not slept for two nights because all I do is lie in bed thinking "oh my gosh, I must have been unaccepted, I will now no longer be going to med school, I have officially been unaccepted" I am surprised I haven't been committed yet

....note to future classmates, Laura has a strong neurotic streak in her

 

[LauraDO]

^^^

You wouldn't laugh if it happened to you buddy

 

[fabu1ous]

Can I ask a slightly unrelated question? I am starting to get a bit worried because I have not received my accpetance letter yet? How long did it take you all to receive them after you found out?

I emailed June yesterday and have not heard back, I am slightly (ok totally) at the point of panic, that I may have been unaccepted?

If it'll make u feel better, I can write you one in the interim... 😀

 

[fabu1ous]

You wouldn't laugh if it happened to you buddy

Not at u, I was laughing at digitlnoize's mailwoman sabatoge... And it did happen to me, like I said before, it took almost 2 weeks to get my letter.

 

[LauraDO]

Not at u, I was laughing at digitlnoize's mailwoman sabatoge... And it did happen to me, like I said before, it took almost 2 weeks to get my letter.

opps sorry I missed that post. Ok, you guys are the best, I can feel my blood pressure going down as I type....

Fab, would you write me one, it would make me feel alot better, I need something to frame 🙂

 

[fabu1ous]

opps sorry I missed that post. Ok, you guys are the best, I can feel my blood pressure going down as I type....

Fab, would you write me one, it would make me feel alot better, I need something to frame 🙂

Totally understand how a frazzled mind can skip things! (from personal experience ofcourse). I thought the same thing when my letter didn't get there till my husband told me to chill out. And ontop of it all MY mailman always misdeliveries our mail... my neighbor had to hand deliver my tax refund check to me!!! 😱 wt-heck???

 

[digitlnoize]

Glad I could help.

 

[LauraDO]

Glad I could help.

Oh be prepared buddy, you will have many opportunity to snap me out of my neurotic over analysis. I am a master!

 

[Mochajonz]

Oh be prepared buddy, you will have many opportunity to snap me out of my neurotic over analysis. I am a master!

Fab fax her a letter stat!

 

[Kateb4]

Don't worry Laura! I kept thinking that I would get the letter and it would say something like... we regret to inform you, or you have been added to the alternate list...

I found out on Tuesday and got the letter the following Tuesday in Chicago. So, I'd say that it may take an extra day or two to get to the west coast maybe?

 

[LauraDO]

Don't worry Laura! I kept thinking that I would get the letter and it would say something like... we regret to inform you, or you have been added to the alternate list...

I found out on Tuesday and got the letter the following Tuesday in Chicago. So, I'd say that it may take an extra day or two to get to the west coast maybe?

Yes, my nightmares are much like that. "Dear Laura, we have made a mistake, you are a loser and will not be attending our school next year, best of luck, Love LECOM B"

 

[fightingirish]

Yes...thank you! Keep it coming if you can. Also, if I can ask...what is a typical day after anatomy like (or during anatomy if you want to comment)...as I understand it, you have "class" thrice a week. How much do you study during the day? Is there free time, like, maybe to go to the gym? (I know that last question is sort of odd, but people give me this view of med school as life draining...so I'm just wondering what I am in for...but I am definately up for whatever).

Typical day after anatomy? Well, it really depends on the person. Depending on the day, you either get out of anatomy lab at 3pm or 5pm (depends on your PBL group #, rotates weekly). So lets say you get out pretty late, 5pm or so. Anyways, I'd usually come home, and make dinner and eat/do the dishes/chores until about 6:30 or so. I'd then spend about 2-3 hours or so reading and going over the lectures and making flash cards. You've gotta review each anatomy lectures quite a few times before they sink in fully. I'd also usually just relax, watch some TV for a bit too. This is not advised. I'd make up for it on the weekends, usually studying for a full 12 hours a day.

If you're the type of person who takes awhile to absorb information, you might want to study longer. Also, if you want A's and not B's or C's, I'd recommend studying a bit longer as well. That said, if you want to go workout, you should be able to fit it in without any real trouble. Med students as a whole complain a lot. But you've got time to workout everyday if you want to and are disciplined enough. Overall, I'd say that the average student might be able to find about 2-3 hours of "free time" per day. Thats with a full 8 hours of sleep per night too.

I would personally recommend not wasting time reading the histology book, for either anatomy and histo or for selecting learning issues for PBL from it... all of the information for the tests is contained in the lectures. High yield is the way to go. You'll find out a lot more about that when you actually get into medical school.

Also, don't worry about things too much. The school is pretty relaxed. The administration wants you to pass. They might not want everyone to get A's, but they really do want you to succeed.

 

[scpod]

I would personally recommend not wasting time reading the histology book, for either anatomy and histo or for selecting learning issues for PBL from it... all of the information for the tests is contained in the lectures. High yield is the way to go....

Sorry, but I totally disagree with that. You'll find what you need for the Anatomy class in lectures, but in PBL tests reading histo is the way to go. Not only that, but reading histo prior to reading Path makes your path reading 200% easier. The histo book is also filled with lots of Physiology stuff and is a good review of it in second year when you pick 2 path chapters, 4 pharm chapters and 2 micros for one case. In second year you'll also be re-tested on Anatomy/Histo/Embryo of the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis in addition to your other pbl questions. The more pbl tests you have, the deeper the questions go into the material.

You can do OK using the lectures from anatomy, but to do really well you need a more thorough understanding, rather than just memorizing some high-yield stuff. 2nd year is less about facts and more about understanding how all the components fit together. Fully understanding the histology makes it sooooo much easier to understand the other stuff, IMO.

The time to really hit "high-yield" stuff is at board time-- as a review, and after you've learned the material well.

 

[fightingirish]

Sorry, but I totally disagree with that. You'll find what you need for the Anatomy class in lectures, but in PBL tests reading histo is the way to go. Not only that, but reading histo prior to reading Path makes your path reading 200% easier. The histo book is also filled with lots of Physiology stuff and is a good review of it in second year when you pick 2 path chapters, 4 pharm chapters and 2 micros for one case. In second year you'll also be re-tested on Anatomy/Histo/Embryo of the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis in addition to your other pbl questions. The more pbl tests you have, the deeper the questions go into the material.

You can do OK using the lectures from anatomy, but to do really well you need a more thorough understanding, rather than just memorizing some high-yield stuff. 2nd year is less about facts and more about understanding how all the components fit together. Fully understanding the histology makes it sooooo much easier to understand the other stuff, IMO.

The time to really hit "high-yield" stuff is at board time-- as a review, and after you've learned the material well.

Having not experienced second year yet, I'll concede a little bit.

I probably misspoke when I said not to pick histo for a learning issue- its fine for that, but as for testing issues, test me mainly on whats going to be on the boards. I personally think that testing topics for PBL should be based similar to how the boards will be... Heavy on the physio, path, pharm, and anatomy ; medium on the biochem (or heavy if you're taking the USMLEs), micro; lighter on the embryo, histology, nutrition, genetics, etc. At least thats how I feel, I might be completely wrong... Again, like someone else said for advice: don't let other people influence your learning/testing issues. Thats probably best, you'll figure out what you don't know and what you need to know when you get here.

Sorry scpod, I don't mean to give out bad advice. Really, for all the incoming first years, you'll have a big sib to go to for advice, and a whole class of 2nd years. And as you'll see, you'll probably get some conflicting advice. When in doubt, trust the second year student over the first year!

For some real advice- relax! We're all semi-neurotic, but enjoy some your time before you come here. And stay on top of your reading.

 

[scpod]

Sorry scpod, I don't mean to give out bad advice. Really, for all the incoming first years, you'll have a big sib to go to for advice, and a whole class of 2nd years. And as you'll see, you'll probably get some conflicting advice....

It's not necessarily bad advice because, like you said, people will disagree. There are probably plenty of people that will disagree with me. You really have to find what works for you as an individual when it comes to learning all this stuff. You also have to be fla=exible enough to change things if they aren't working quite right. The things you did in undergrad won't necessarily work here, for instance.

For the most part, what you will hear from people who have taken COMLEX is that our PBL tests are a good bit tougher. While I bitch about them from time to time, they are very good preparation for the boards.