LECOM - Bradenton Discussion thread 2007-2008

[scpod]

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Did you all recieve a 'confirmation' email when they recieved your $15K?

15K? I think you wrote the wrong amount on that check.

 

[scpod]

Price of the set is $760 vs. $1126 retail. I filled out the student price request form for LECOM and class of 2012 and that is what it gave me

This is so exciting

The question is, do you really want to spend that much on it. The panoptic is nice, and all the Lecom patient encounter rooms have them.....but you'll never see one in a doctor's office. They all have the traditional head, so you'll need to learn to use that one too-- and it's a lot tougher. Of course, opthalmascopes seem to be rarely used by physicians anyway. I think they don't get enough practice and just really don't like using them unless they abslutely have to. Do this little unscientific test. Go into any doctor's office and look at the set on the wall. You'll see that the otoscope cord is all stretched to heack and the opthalmascope cord looks brand spanking new-- they just don't use them all that much. It's a pitty, though, because a lot of pathology shows up in the eye before anywere else. Turns out the eye is more than just the window to your soul, it's the window to diabetes mellitus, increased intracranial pressure and hypertension as well.

You might also look at Allheart.com and compare prices on different sets-- this one, for instance:

http://allheart.com/wa97800c.html

As for me, I think those sets are all kind of bulky. Not too many people do it, but I bought the pocket scopes:

http://allheart.com/wa92821.html

I found that they both fit in my jacket pocket rather nicely, are less cumbersome and fit my hands better, didn't weigh me down, and saved me quite a few bucks. I actually located a place in Miami that sells an export version (not intended for sale in the US-- oops!) that was even less.

I really wouldn't buy any of these before you have a chance to try them out and talk to some other students or doctors about them. The reps will be on campus during your first semester. They'll tell you that you need them by the end of the first semester but that really wasn't true for us. One class session was all abot using them, but you really didn't need them yet. Get someone to buy them for you next Christmas. You'll start using them as soon as you get back from Christmas break....unless you just want to feel all doctorly ahead of time and just want them now 🙂.

 

[LauraDO]

15K? I think you wrote the wrong amount on that check.

Ha, ha, yikes.....no I just had to bribe my way in

Thanks for the advice, on the equipment, that is really helpful, all the cost start adding up

 

[avalon18217]

Get someone to buy them for you next Christmas. You'll start using them as soon as you get back from Christmas break....unless you just want to feel all doctorly ahead of time and just want them now 🙂.

Thanks, I will wait to get them so that I can pick something out when I have better knowledge of what I need. But feeling doctorly was appealing.🙂

I guess I'll sick to asking for the usual: money and gift cards.

 

[LauraDO]

Thanks, I will wait to get them so that I can pick something out when I have better knowledge of what I need. But feeling doctorly was appealing.🙂

I guess I'll sick to asking for the usual: money and gift cards.

You can tell your family that money and gift cards will be fine for me as well

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

Josh.. sorry to scare you. I have the Cost of Attendance sheet right here in front of me. Basically it is $54,070 for tuition, class fees, insurance, rent, utilities, food, supplies, etc. You will see once you interview.

As for your stats, they seem fine right now. Don't have so little faith in your MCAT-ability. If you have been practicing and studying, you should do fine. Don't panic, stay calm, and read carefully. You have a more than solid GPA for your application, but a lot hinges upon your MCAT score.

Good luck!

Well Im guessing its going to be higher than 54,070 this year since housing costs, food costs, etc costs have risen.. because that number was for the entering class of 2011..

i would like to find out soon, though.. but i think they said it wont be ready till June?? Anyone know?

Also.. WHEN DO WE GET OUR BOOK LIST!!!!!!????

 

[Dr. Josh]

Note that your cost of attendance is higher in the first year than any other year because they include a new laptop, medical equipment purchase and all of your books in the first year's budget. You won't have to buy any of those things again.

Do they specify a certain laptop or is any decent new one ok? I'm looking to buy one now and i won't be entering med school for a year if i'm lucky.

 

[DrMidlife]

Do they specify a certain laptop or is any decent new one ok? I'm looking to buy one now and i won't be entering med school for a year if i'm lucky.

Every school has a different standard, so trying to meet somebody's standard before you're accepted anywhere would be pointless.

 

[DrMidlife]

thanks, but I don't have mmuch faith in my MCAT ability. With my gpa (I know other things are important too), what do you think the lowest score I can get and have a half way decent chance of getting in?

Aiming for the lowest possible score? Come on. With your GPA you're shooting yourself in the foot to take the MCAT before you're ready. Don't take the test until you're scoring above your goal on practice tests.

If you can get a good score in August, then with your GPA, I think you can get away with a "late" application.

If you can't get a good score this summer, then spend a year working on your EC's and apply next year. What's your hurry? The average matriculant is over 25 now.

Best of luck to you.

 

[digitlnoize]

Aiming for the lowest possible score? Come on. With your GPA you're shooting yourself in the foot to take the MCAT before you're ready. Don't take the test until you're scoring above your goal on practice tests.

If you can get a good score in August, then with your GPA, I think you can get away with a "late" application.

If you can't get a good score this summer, then spend a year working on your EC's and apply next year. What's your hurry? The average matriculant is over 25 now.

Best of luck to you.

Agreed. Practice the MCAT until you can rock it! You'll be competitive at any med school in the country with a good (>32) MCAT score...

Practice problems, more practice problems, and MORE practice problems. I should have done WAAAY more than I did...but I'm happy.🙂

 

[nlax30]

Do they specify a certain laptop or is any decent new one ok? I'm looking to buy one now and i won't be entering med school for a year if i'm lucky.

LECOM-Bradenton doesn't require a certain brand, there's just a list of specs that the computer has to meet. But anything in the last few years will be fine. The big thing is having wireless, decent speed, antivirus software, etc... Anything you buy will be fine for here.

That said, some schools may require a specific brand/model, some may even "give" you laptop when you start, it all depends. Besides, I would wait until you absolutely need it because technology is changing so fast that if you can hold off for the year then you can get whatever is state of the art then.

 

[Dr. Josh]

Aiming for the lowest possible score? Come on. With your GPA you're shooting yourself in the foot to take the MCAT before you're ready. Don't take the test until you're scoring above your goal on practice tests.

If you can get a good score in August, then with your GPA, I think you can get away with a "late" application.

If you can't get a good score this summer, then spend a year working on your EC's and apply next year. What's your hurry? The average matriculant is over 25 now.

Best of luck to you.

I'm not aiming for the lowest possible score; I guess it's just something I need to know incase I bomb the MCAT. My goal is to get into med school, not a particular score on an exam. BTW, I've already delayed applying a year because there was no way I could take the MCAT a year ago. I was still taking pre-med requirements post-bac.

 

[OCHO]

😀😀 I see through your mind games Missy, you forget I used to work in politics, I know how to deal with people like you😀😀

What? VOTE for them? hehehe

 

[Dreammona]

Hey everyone,

been busy so it's nice to return to see the board is busier than ever! Anyway, quick question for Nlax, how big of a suitcase are we talking about? Typically how many of (say for example the Guyton Physiology book) do you need to fit into that suitecase? I don't want it to be small, but not too big either! Not going to vacation in Hawaii everyday, I wish! 😎

Kate, how's your house selling? Mine is up for sale too and the market is sh***y! I hate renting. How am I going to be a landlord in FL when the house is in OH? Uhhh......

 

[nlax30]

Hey everyone,

been busy so it's nice to return to see the board is busier than ever! Anyway, quick question for Nlax, how big of a suitcase are we talking about? Typically how many of (say for example the Guyton Physiology book) do you need to fit into that suitecase? I don't want it to be small, but not too big either! Not going to vacation in Hawaii everyday, I wish! 😎

Here's basically what I have (same size at least):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TXQFRA?smid=A1VC38T7YXB528&tag=dealtime-kitchen-20&linkCode=asn

I believe it's kind of around the "standard" size for rolling cases that you can still use as carry ons. So not the real big ones, but something you might use as a carry on.

I think right now I have close to a dozen books in mine. But they range in size from the big path book down to a small behavior science paperback.

I have electronic versions and online access to several of the books, so I really don't have all these with me, I just find it easier to read from an actual book instead of on a computer screen.

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

how do you get electronic versions of books rather than the actual thing? is there somewhere to purchase/download them?? because i would love some electronic versions!!!

 

[AmandaL444]

#15 on the list today guys, and I got an e-mail today saying that I will be getting my matriculation packet in the mail. Whoo hoo!!! 😀

 

[Kateb4]

Hey everyone,

been busy so it's nice to return to see the board is busier than ever! Anyway, quick question for Nlax, how big of a suitcase are we talking about? Typically how many of (say for example the Guyton Physiology book) do you need to fit into that suitecase? I don't want it to be small, but not too big either! Not going to vacation in Hawaii everyday, I wish! 😎

Kate, how's your house selling? Mine is up for sale too and the market is sh***y! I hate renting. How am I going to be a landlord in FL when the house is in OH? Uhhh......

Bad market! 3 weeks and 3 showings, no offers. We lowered the price today, so I'm hoping that things pick up. The rental market isn't even good here, so if we did rent it out it would still be for less than we pay in our mortgage and taxes (which really suck here!). Hope that things are better for you! What area of Ohio are you in? My in-laws live in Maumee, and a few of my husbands aunts live in Carey.

 

[nlax30]

how do you get electronic versions of books rather than the actual thing? is there somewhere to purchase/download them?? because i would love some electronic versions!!!

Some of the books come with access to some sort of online content. In some cases the whole text is available online and you just have to "register" your book on the site.

In other cases I've been told that with enough searching it's possible to get your hands on books in PDF format.

 

[BCLumas]

#15 on the list today guys, and I got an e-mail today saying that I will be getting my matriculation packet in the mail. Whoo hoo!!! 😀

Congratulations!!!

 

[DOwannaB]

Okay... I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not but you can get a really nice rolling suitcase at jcpenney for like 75% off. That's what I did. Just google JcPenney Outlet and when you get to the screen you can either search suitcase/luggage or scroll down and look for the option. Also, for the ladies at least, I bought my "professional" clothing at JcPenney (once again check on the outlet page) Macy's and Victoria's Secret... You can find some really reasonably priced stuff in the outlet section; clothes that are actually dress up and not just dress-off. Also, there are some Victoria's Secret and Macy's coupons on Retailmenot.com and they actually usually work. There's one on there now for 20% off your entire purchase at Macys.com, no restrictions. I hope that helps someone. 😀

 

[kwnet]

#15 on the list today guys, and I got an e-mail today saying that I will be getting my matriculation packet in the mail. Whoo hoo!!! 😀

Yeey! 🙂 You'll be one of us really soon!

 

[scpod]

Bad market! 3 weeks and 3 showings, no offers. We lowered the price today, so I'm hoping that things pick up. The rental market isn't even good here, so if we did rent it out it would still be for less than we pay in our mortgage and taxes (which really suck here!). Hope that things are better for you! What area of Ohio are you in? My in-laws live in Maumee, and a few of my husbands aunts live in Carey.

I still own a house in SC. I had it on the market for a year and finally decided not to sell it and wait out the real estate decline. Fortunately, it's paid for. I just refuse to sell it for what it will fetch today. couple of houses sold in my neighbor hood recently...one for $150,000 loss and one for $175,000 loss. They were purchased in 2006 and it's dropped that far since then. So, it's really bad all over right now.

On the flip side, this is a wonderful time to purchase a home if you can actually get someone to sell it to you. I just found a huge, wonderful home on the golf course near my rotation site, owned by a lady from up north who bought four houses on the golf course as an investment three years ago. She's lost a fortune, I'll bet. Many of the neighborhoods we looked at in the last few weeks have a "post-apocalyptic" feel to them because half of the houses are empty now. Many have "for sale" or "for rent" signs in front of them, but quite a few have foreclosure notices tacked to the door. It makes me wonder if people just walked away from them. It's a far cry from the Lakewood Ranch neighborhood where I live now.

But, I don't think you should worry too much yet. If you are motivated, you can still sell and not get burned too badly. Hopefully, you have an agent with a really good track record. Keep on top of them every day and make sure they are showing the property. Good luck!!!

 

[Dreammona]

it just makes me depressed. I'm in Cleveland, one of the worst foreclosure rate in the country. See the problem here is, the prices were never jacked up that high to begin with, so when everything went down in other parts of the country, it went down here by 25%. So if your house increased by 5% 2 yrs ago and just dropped 25%, what the h**l are you gonna do? I also hate the people buying now-a-day, they act like they own the world and wants to buy houses for $200. It's a house for God's sake, you still get what you pay for. Oh well, on a lighter note, I'm all done with the shots and paperwork, bought many textbooks already, and am ready for the financial aid package. Show me the money! 🙂

 

[digitlnoize]

So...I've got another (hopefully) quick question for the current LECOM-B-ers...

When you guys chose your rotation site for third year, what did you select as most important: Location? Vacation month? Rotation order?

Why? What was your reasoning behind your selection?

I'm sure everyone will have different reasons, but I'm still curious about the strategy involved here...

 

[thethinman]

I have a question about the academic calendar for current LECOM-Bers. Is there a spring break? Sounds like a slacker question but I'm recently engaged and trying to pick a date for the wedding. Also might be blindly optimistic as I'm still waitlisted. Ah, humanity...

Also, anyone who interviewed earlier in the season coming off that waitlist or becoming ranked? anybody...Dr. Midlife??

I checked a few weeks back and wasn't ranked🙁 and will probably call again this week to see if there is any movement...congrats to Amanda et al as it is looking good for the anointed numbered alternates👍👍.

thx for any help.

 

[DrMidlife]

I have a question about the academic calendar for current LECOM-Bers. Is there a spring break? Sounds like a slacker question but I'm recently engaged and trying to pick a date for the wedding. Also might be blindly optimistic as I'm still waitlisted. Ah, humanity...

Also, anyone who interviewed earlier in the season coming off that waitlist or becoming ranked? anybody...Dr. Midlife??

I checked a few weeks back and wasn't ranked🙁 and will probably call again this week to see if there is any movement...congrats to Amanda et al as it is looking good for the anointed numbered alternates👍👍.

thx for any help.

I'm still unranked yet hopeful.

Doesn't look like there's a spring break in last year's calendar.

 

[digitlnoize]

I have a question about the academic calendar for current LECOM-Bers. Is there a spring break? Sounds like a slacker question but I'm recently engaged and trying to pick a date for the wedding. Also might be blindly optimistic as I'm still waitlisted. Ah, humanity...

Here's the academic calendar for the 2008-2009 school year. You have to scroll down the page...it's after this years' calendar...

http://my.lecom.edu/bradenton/academics/AcademicCalendars.asp

There does not appear to be a spring break.
We get Nov 26-30th off for Thanksgiving.
We get Dec 19-Jan 4th off for winter break.
Jan 19th off for MLK Day.
Semester ends on May 22nd. One day before my birthday!

 

[zac16125]

i am living there too! my lease begins july 8.. but i am not going to move in until a week or so after that.. i have a 1bdrm. 755 a month.

Sounds like you lucked out on the price for Colonial Grand. I just called and the quotes prices are $790 for waitlist apartments and $830 for ones that are available with a view. Thats a big difference than $755. Looks like I may be going Carlton Arms

 

[thethinman]

thx guys. I'd seen the calendar but just wondered if there was a break that didn't find it's way on there for some reason or if PBL groups traditionally went on strike in the spring at some point. I think I'll be going with early Jan date and hoping that willingness to opt for cold wedding will bring good admissions karma

 

[thethinman]

and happy almost bday digitl! do I have it right that you play in a band in Cville? I'm in Richmond...would love to hear you guys if you're playin some time soon. Don't know what you're into musically but if you are in Cville you should check out the biscuit burners at the gravity lounge next Wed. Saw them in Ashland a while back and was blown away.

 

[digitlnoize]

and happy almost bday digitl! do I have it right that you play in a band in Cville? I'm in Richmond...would love to hear you guys if you're playin some time soon. Don't know what you're into musically but if you are in Cville you should check out the biscuit burners at the gravity lounge next Wed. Saw them in Ashland a while back and was blown away.

Hey...check your PM's...

 

[scpod]

We get Nov 26-30th off for Thanksgiving.

Note: last year we "unofficially" were off on Tuesday as well because the classes we were scheduled for were cancelled. can't guarantee that will happen again, though 🙂.

 

[scpod]

....When you guys chose your rotation site for third year, what did you select as most important: Location? Vacation month? Rotation order?

Why? What was your reasoning behind your selection?....

I chose mine based on vacation time, in theory. My fiancee died during the interview season a couple of years ago, so I really didn'tt care where I ended up. I really didn't care when the vacation was either (even though my birthday is then) but I wanted the sequence that my group had. Why?

My group has three straight IM rotations to begin. I figured that IM was really the basis of all other rotations, so learning the basics up front would be a good idea. It's also a good idea to make sure you do IM before Surgery because the Surgery shelf exam is mostly IM according to everyone who's taken it. I also wanted to make sure that I did OB/Gyn before surgery because you get exposure to the operating room and surgical procedures (knot tying, etc.) during your OB rotation. I thought it would be a good idea to get that experience first, in the very unlikely event that I did choose surgery. It also gave me an elective rotation for the very last one. The classes ahead of us have had to return to Bradenton for a week at the end of that rotation. I didn't want to miss one of my four weeks of an important rotation. Also, looking at fourth year it gave me two electives in Sept/Oct, when resident interviews are beginning and Dec/Jan, when many interviews are wrapping up. And I have two selectives between them, a medical and a surgical one, which gives me some flexibility as well. There are some other reasons (like I'm able to spend St. Patty's day in Las Vegas next year in the pub that sells more Guiness than any other place in the US 🙂) but that group really seemed like it would work out the best for me.

 

[Dreammona]

Oh my God, Scopd, I'm so sorry to hear that about your fiancee. How did you deal with that and go through med school is beyond me!

On another note, all I care about rotations when it comes time to do them is that I stay within FL regions, I want to be close to my boyfriend. I travel a lot for my current job and it gets old not sleeping in my own bed week in and week out.

 

[DragonWell]

how do you get electronic versions of books rather than the actual thing? is there somewhere to purchase/download them?? because i would love some electronic versions!!!

A lot of Elsevier texts come with access through here:http://www.studentconsult.com/

So...I've got another (hopefully) quick question for the current LECOM-B-ers...

When you guys chose your rotation site for third year, what did you select as most important: Location? Vacation month? Rotation order?

Why? What was your reasoning behind your selection?

I'm sure everyone will have different reasons, but I'm still curious about the strategy involved here...

My wife and I bought a house here so location was definitely the most important criteria for me.

 

[digitlnoize]

I chose mine based on vacation time, in theory. My fiancee died during the interview season a couple of years ago, so I really didn'tt care where I ended up. I really didn't care when the vacation was either (even though my birthday is then) but I wanted the sequence that my group had. Why?

My group has three straight IM rotations to begin. I figured that IM was really the basis of all other rotations, so learning the basics up front would be a good idea. It's also a good idea to make sure you do IM before Surgery because the Surgery shelf exam is mostly IM according to everyone who's taken it. I also wanted to make sure that I did OB/Gyn before surgery because you get exposure to the operating room and surgical procedures (knot tying, etc.) during your OB rotation. I thought it would be a good idea to get that experience first, in the very unlikely event that I did choose surgery. It also gave me an elective rotation for the very last one. The classes ahead of us have had to return to Bradenton for a week at the end of that rotation. I didn't want to miss one of my four weeks of an important rotation. Also, looking at fourth year it gave me two electives in Sept/Oct, when resident interviews are beginning and Dec/Jan, when many interviews are wrapping up. And I have two selectives between them, a medical and a surgical one, which gives me some flexibility as well. There are some other reasons (like I'm able to spend St. Patty's day in Las Vegas next year in the pub that sells more Guiness than any other place in the US 🙂) but that group really seemed like it would work out the best for me.

Thanks scpod. I'm really sorry about your loss...losing my wife is probably my greatest fear...You've handled it extremely well, it seems.

I guess you had no problems then getting your Waterman location? Do people that pick their blocks usually have trouble getting the location they want too? Or is Waterman not that hotly contested?

 

[Kateb4]

My wife and I bought a house here so location was definitely the most important criteria for me.

Me too. I'd really prefer to keep to the area if possible. (Although I really want to try to get one rotation in at the hospital here in IL that I used to work at)

SCPOD, so sorry to hear about your loss! I can't even imagine... my husband tells me that it's one of his biggest fears that he'll lose me (I found out I had cancer just after we met), but I always tell him that life is just a huge crap shoot. You never know what tomorrow holds, good or bad. Hopefully it all evens out in the end.

 

[scpod]

....I guess you had no problems then getting your Waterman location? Do people that pick their blocks usually have trouble getting the location they want too? Or is Waterman not that hotly contested?

That's a funny story because Waterman really wasn't my first choice. I have two roommates (one of them has a daughter) and we all share expenses. By doing that we've been able to afoord a really, really nice place to live and get by rather well. We wanted to all go some place together for third year, and wanted to go some place where the cost of living was a little lower.

Once everyone in class had made their picks (the overwhelming majority got their first choice, btw) all of the rotations at our hospital were cancelled suddenly. So, the six of us that had chosen to go there got an email that said call the clinical ed office and let us know what you want to do. When I called I asked if we could all go to our second or thrird choices and they were willing to do it, but they would have had to shift some other people around-- and we didn't want to do that to them. So, I asked her if she'd find a place for us where we could all go and spend the whole third year there. She called an hour later and said she could get us in at Waterman.

The reason why it was available, I believe, was that they don't have student housing there. A lot of single people (most of the class) picked places where they had student housing unless they were staying here in Bradenton. It didn't bother us because we were planning to find a place and move in together anyway. The current plan, though, is that the school is going to get housing there for students who want to rotate through there for just a few rotations, but I don't think it's been finalized yet. In the end, we found a really nice place to live on the golf course for practically nothing.

I really haven't found anyone yet who is truly unhappy with their rotation location. Like I said, most people got their first choice anyway. And I'd also like to say that the ladies who work in the clinical ed department have been really easy to work with and have helped me quite a bit. You'll probably hear that the clinical dean is a (pick your expletive), but the truth is that he just doesn't tolerate stupidity, lateness or laziness. He's been pretty nice to me personally, though. He was a surgeon in the military. What do you expect? But, the office staff have been wonderful.

 

[nlax30]

scpod: Hope you enjoy that area! I'm originally from Orlando so pretty familiar with that general area. In the past few years with housing getting insane "in" the city there a lot of people have been moving further out to where housing was still reasonable, away from the the main locations in the middle of Orange and Seminole Counties. Had a few old workmates that moved out to places like Tavares, Apoka area, Kissimmee, north near Deland, etc...

Will you be doing any "outside" rotations at other Florida Hospital locations there? I'm assuming the majority, if not all, will be there at Waterman. But like EM, do they send you to the one downtown or is there any sort of deal to rotate through ORMC for that? (Even though it's a different group)

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Scpod I'm sure you've answered this already, but when are you taking step 1? And are you going to take USMLE as well as COMLEX?

 

[scpod]

Will you be doing any "outside" rotations at other Florida Hospital locations there? I'm assuming the majority, if not all, will be there at Waterman. But like EM, do they send you to the one downtown or is there any sort of deal to rotate through ORMC for that? (Even though it's a different group)

You don't do core EM rotations until 4th year. But, since that's my first choice I'm doing an EM elective in a few months in PA at a place that I've thought about for residency. I'm not really planning on staying in Florida, so I doubt I'll do any EM rotations here. I haven't gotten the list of core EM sites yet, so I'm not really sure where I'll be doing them, but your two EM cores have to be done with an affiliate hospital. From what I know of Orlando traffic, I don't plan to be going downtown too often 🙂.

 

[scpod]

Scpod I'm sure you've answered this already, but when are you taking step 1? And are you going to take USMLE as well as COMLEX?

I'm taking it May 22nd. I prefer to think of that day as just a little nuisance that needs to be handled before I leave for Las Vegas the next day 🙂. I decided not to take USMLE. My goal is EM and the few ACGME EM residencies that I might apply to are DO friendly and take COMLEX. I'll admit that I'm curious about how well I'd score, but not curious enough to spend another 500 bucks on it.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I'm taking it May 22nd. I prefer to think of that day as just a little nuisance that needs to be handled before I leave for Las Vegas the next day 🙂. I decided not to take USMLE. My goal is EM and the few ACGME EM residencies that I might apply to are DO friendly and take COMLEX. I'll admit that I'm curious about how well I'd score, but not curious enough to spend another 500 bucks on it.

So here's a stupid question... what if you decide later on that you want to do XXXXXXXX, and you feel that taking the USMLE step 1 would give you a better chance at it. Could you take it like after year 3 if you wanted?

Yes, I realize how much this would suck balls, and that you wouldn't have much time to study for it, and that it wouldn't necessarily be a good idea. I'm just curious if it would be an option.

 

[scpod]

So here's a stupid question... what if you decide later on that you want to do XXXXXXXX, and you feel that taking the USMLE step 1 would give you a better chance at it. Could you take it like after year 3 if you wanted?

Yes, I realize how much this would suck balls, and that you wouldn't have much time to study for it, and that it wouldn't necessarily be a good idea. I'm just curious if it would be an option.

You could. You'd just have to print out a form and have the designated person at your school sign it to say that you're elligible.

 

[DragonWell]

So here's a stupid question... what if you decide later on that you want to do XXXXXXXX, and you feel that taking the USMLE step 1 would give you a better chance at it. Could you take it like after year 3 if you wanted?

Yes, I realize how much this would suck balls, and that you wouldn't have much time to study for it, and that it wouldn't necessarily be a good idea. I'm just curious if it would be an option.

I'm not so sure that your school would just sign off on this - it'd depend on the school I guess, but I think it's possible you could hit some resistance.

I know you probably know this already, but I'll say it anyway: if you have any inkling of taking the USMLE Step 1, I would definitely take it when you take COMLEX 1. The pass rate of DO students attempting USMLE Step 1 is not terribly great IMO, so there is a real possibility you won't pass without doing adequate prep, and not passing or passing with a crappy score probably isn't going to open any doors.

When third year comes, you have a whole other set of boards to study for, so the prospect of taking 8 weeks or so off (which you would almost certainly need) to study for Step 1 seems pretty unlikely without a LOA.

 

[LauraDO]

I'm not so sure that your school would just sign off on this - it'd depend on the school I guess, but I think it's possible you could hit some resistance.

I know you probably know this already, but I'll say it anyway: if you have any inkling of taking the USMLE Step 1, I would definitely take it when you take COMLEX 1. The pass rate of DO students attempting USMLE Step 1 is not terribly great IMO, so there is a real possibility you won't pass without doing adequate prep, and not passing or passing with a crappy score probably isn't going to open any doors.

When third year comes, you have a whole other set of boards to study for, so the prospect of taking 8 weeks or so off (which you would almost certainly need) to study for Step 1 seems pretty unlikely without a LOA.

Are more and more residencies taking COMPLEX in place of USMLE? does it depend on the speciality? Does this put you at a disadvantage? What is the conventional wisdom on all this right now?

 

[DragonWell]

Are more and more residencies taking COMPLEX in place of USMLE? does it depend on the speciality? Does this put you at a disadvantage? What is the conventional wisdom on all this right now?

It depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is who you are talking to about it. 🙄

It definitely depends on the specialty, and beyond that, quite possibly even on the specific program within that specialty. Beyond this broad generalization, I think you will have a hard time finding any concrete numbers, but anecdotes will abound. I don't know that there's any consensus about this right now - some people will tell you it's absolutely essential to take it, and others view it as a professional insult to even consider taking the "allopathic" test. It seems to be a very individual decision.

I really haven't decided on a specialty yet, so my feeling is just that more options are better, and in the grand scheme, $500 and one day of my life is not much. I'm also interested in going back out west, and there aren't many DO residencies out that way.

 

[ThisIsYourLife]

You'll probably hear that the clinical dean is a (pick your expletive), but the truth is that he just doesn't tolerate stupidity, lateness or laziness. He's been pretty nice to me personally, though. He was a surgeon in the military. What do you expect? But, the office staff have been wonderful.

lol. he was one of my interviewers!!! and i did think he was (quite) a bit tougher than my other interviewer!

 

[Kateb4]

Wow, sounds like fun getting rotations and stuff arranged! I'm glad that we have a little break before we have to start thinking about that next step! I am still reeling from the whole application process not to mention finishing my undergrad.

Anyways, I'm happy to say that I sent off my packet of info today!! Do they send you an email or anything when they get it to let you know that they're all set?