LECOM-Bradenton Discussion Thread 2009-2010
Started by JRod72
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I don't feel as though I'm missing out, but I'm a non-trad--as I finished up my undergrad, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on-campus, either. One thing that I think would be easier to accomplish at a bigger university campus is getting involved in bench research... but since that's not something I'm interested in, I don't really worry about it. I'm told that some opportunities for research open up in second year, but I can't speak to that in any meaningful way.
No, there's no gym in the building. There's a YMCA next door that some folks belong to. A lot of the apartment complexes have small workout facilities that for the most part aren't great. A lot of the Anytime Fitness kind of gyms around here give a student discount, so that's another option for that sort of thing.
Realistically, the first 2 years of medical school are heavy on studying no matter where you go since the focus is on cramming in all the basic sciences knowledge you can. As far as that goes, the building works for me. The library is sparse (it reminds me of the Mars University Library from Futurama, which held 2 discs: Fiction and non-fiction), but it has all the books I need, and there's plenty of room to study.
Just had an interview here yesterday. Out of all the schools I've interviewed at so far (WVSOM, NYCOM, LECOM-Erie), this one was probably second in difficulty, with the NYCOM interview being the most awkward in my position. By "difficulty" I mean that there was somewhat more direct questioning than the others. WVSOM and Erie were both extremely relaxed and conversational. Bradenton was also pretty relaxed and conversational. I was interviewed by a panel of 2 (an anatomy PhD and a DO) and it was really chill. One of them had previously read my file while the other did not, although this may vary from panel to panel.
NYCOM was a bit more intense, although the interviewer was very nice. My main point is to just relax, be yourself, and be honest, and any interview you come across should go smoothly.
😕😕 points to think about before going in:
- why DO?
- why Bradenton?
- your strengths/weaknesses
- do you like to read?
- your learning style
- a couple of questions for them
They will make a decision very quickly (they're deciding right now, 24 hours after my interview) and will send out snail mail notifications on Thursday, but you are also welcome to call them ON THURSDAY (or later) for your decision. 🙂
Good luck to anyone interviewing in the near future! 😀
NYCOM was a bit more intense, although the interviewer was very nice. My main point is to just relax, be yourself, and be honest, and any interview you come across should go smoothly.
😕😕 points to think about before going in:
- why DO?
- why Bradenton?
- your strengths/weaknesses
- do you like to read?
- your learning style
- a couple of questions for them
They will make a decision very quickly (they're deciding right now, 24 hours after my interview) and will send out snail mail notifications on Thursday, but you are also welcome to call them ON THURSDAY (or later) for your decision. 🙂
Good luck to anyone interviewing in the near future! 😀
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I also don't feel like I'm missing out, but I am also a non-trad. I do know that some of our classmates complain, not about the school, but about Bradenton and how "small" it is (i.e. there's not enough people here for a great singles scene). So, if you love big, giant cities, and can't put up with a medium sized, suburban area...you might not like it too much.
Honestly, I think that at ANY med school you're going to be too busy to care much about where you are. I mean, I make time to get to the beach occasionally, and my family and I went to Disney a bunch of times last year with the annual passes, but honestly, there is SO much here that we haven't done yet that I don't understand how anyone can complain about a lack of stuff to do.
Not that they DO complain about that...again, I think it's mostly centered around the lack of a singles scene. There are tons of great bars though, but I guess it's what they're used to...I dunno.
I'll tell you what my favorite advantage is to NOT having that atmosphere: PARKING. I can park within sight of my building, and I don't have to pay extra for it. My undergrad parking was a couple hundred a month to park in a garage a 1/2 mile from my building IF I could find a spot, which took about 10 extra minutes. Here, I just park and walk in. Awesome.
It's also a lot less crowded, which is great. There are way fewer distractions than on a typical UG campus. We still have some clubs, and they're fairly active, so it's not like there's nothing to do.
We do have big-ish classes. My class is around 155 people, and so are the first years. There are still a crapload of people in my class that I don't know. I know, like, 5 first years...lol.
Some people do research. Honestly, I think most people that are going to do it save it for the rotation years. Also, everyone knows that DO schools are not heavy on the research, so if that's a huge interest, go somewhere else. I want to be a clinician, so it's not a problem for me.
Thanks for your replies. I appreciate it.
I've been thinking I will choose LECOM on the basis of tuition and PBL, with a bonus of sunshine. But today i had another resident at work telling me she knows people from the school who did not like it and did not feel prepared for residency. I have a strong suspician these were early graduates, though - class of 08. Maybe they were not suited to PBL.
Can anyone comment on this? It's my last day to put down a deposit at CCOM if I'm undecided 🙁
I've been thinking I will choose LECOM on the basis of tuition and PBL, with a bonus of sunshine. But today i had another resident at work telling me she knows people from the school who did not like it and did not feel prepared for residency. I have a strong suspician these were early graduates, though - class of 08. Maybe they were not suited to PBL.
Can anyone comment on this? It's my last day to put down a deposit at CCOM if I'm undecided 🙁
Tuition and PBL are two of the big reasons I chose LECOM, definitely. CCOM is a good school with a good reputation, but Florida weather, PBL, and the cost difference pushed Bradenton over the top for me, too.
As far as people from the school not being ready for residency... always beware of sample size of 1 or 2. Given that residency performance is probably more due to clinical rotations on years 3 and 4, as a 1st year I'm not in a great position to give you info about that.
A faculty member told my group last semester that there's been a big personality shift since LECOM-B started. He said every year the students get more serious and more driven (his exact words were "Type A" FWIW) compared with the class before, I assume because the school has somewhat of a good reputation now and is harder to get into. It may also be by design. There's not a lot of hand-holding here, so being self-motivated is even more important than at other schools.
Good luck as you make your decision. Don't hesitate to ask if you have other questions.
I agree with Altruist. I'd also add that, from what I hear, NO ONE feels prepared for residency, or at least, internship. It's a whole new level of responsibility.
I would also agree with your assessment that they MUST be early grads. LECOM-B has only graduated 2 classes. This year (class of 2010) will be the third. Therefore, anyone who has already started residency must be from those two classes.
Many, many things were changed after the first class. They scored poorly on their boards (COMLEX 1 pass rate of ~85% or something like that). The next year had, I think, 4 people fail, all of whom passed on their second try. That's a huge improvement. Last years' class had ZERO failures, which has, as far as I know, never been done before.
I know that's only COMLEX 1, but that's all the data I have for you. Bottom line is that it shows great improvement, and I don't doubt that the clinical rotations and other things have improved just as much since that first class went through.
I think they're preparing us just fine.
Thanks guys! I decided to make a more general post on pre-osteo about my matriculation decision, but you have really helped clear this up - certainly the part about those residents' opinions.
yeah I can tell you all about it. the resident is correct, those students are in every class. I am a 4th yr, some of my classmates are great in clinicals, some not so great....and the same for residents I've worked with. I think this is the bell curve everywhere. it all depends on how much you put into your rotations and your personality. true, there is no formal introduction to rotations. don't know of many that offer, so I don't blame LECOM for that. although we do have to shadow and get clinical exposure late 1st yr (at least my class did).
I taught clinical ER/ICU to students and residents for years. I can easily say begining 3rd yr, the PBL students are a little more ahead, by end of 3rd yr, it's an even keel for everyone. probably because of exposure to case studies. now that I've had PBL, sitting down for hrs and studying out of a review book, or scanning for a quick important topics before rounds is not a problem. you just get use to it after 2 yrs. you study a ton and it's nice to have the beautiful weather whenever I feel like having time off (huge reason why i stayed in southern schools). now that I've finished interviews, i am glad my 4th yr has extremely unrestricted rotations so I can visit places compared to other schools with a tight structure.
Bottom Line: don't worry about rotations. is PBL for you? that's the biggest question. i remember having to slap that check down...good luck in which ever school you choose. feel free to PM
ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Class of 2014 
Congratulations! I'll see you in a few months.
And may I just say, love the LECOM-B students and alums who frequent this page. Everything you say about the school, even though you're not trying to sell it, just echoes what I had thought and felt.
And may I just say, love the LECOM-B students and alums who frequent this page. Everything you say about the school, even though you're not trying to sell it, just echoes what I had thought and felt.
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good, glad I (we) could help. stick with that gut feeling. it'll serve you well in rotations and residency selections. if you end up coming here, let us (the students) know soon and we can set you up with the latest scoop on things
I have a specific question for any current students that might remember about what the first couple weeks are like. My best friend is getting married and picked August 7th (a Saturday, but still the second week of school) and asked me to be best man. My plan would be to drive up to Hilton Head, SC (~6 hrs) Friday after classes and drive back to Bradenton Sunday. What do you think, will I be totally screwed doing this so soon after school starts?
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Probably not if you prepare for this ahead of time. Get a bit ahead. Record the lectures and listen to them on the way. Better yet, if you can take someone with you, have them quiz you/each other. Get Dr. Krueger's one-liners and memorize all of those.
Anatomy does start off slow, and that's probably the 2nd weekend of school or so, so you may still be on "The Back" which is the easiest test, and also worth the least points. Again, just prepare well for your absence.
If it runs the same as last year, the first anatomy exam will be the Monday after that weekend. It was only worth 10% of the overall grade so that you'd get some idea of whether your studying is up-to-par... so if you bomb it, you can still recover. That said, it's definitely to your advantage to do as well as you can--IMHO they get harder as you go along. Digitl's advice might seem like overkill, but it's not. If you can make use of the driving time, you should try to; especially since some people seem to think it's rude to bring a textbook into a wedding ceremony. (Go figure.)
Overall, the first week is boring since there's a lot of orientation stuff you have to sit through in addition to the anatomy lectures; but it's a fast pace. To give you some idea, according my old syllabus, we were assigned ~170 pages of anatomy reading and 8 chapters of histology in the first 2 weeks. Welcome to medical school!
Or you can use your computer. I wouldn't say it's common (although we don't have many lectures, so it's hard to tell), but some people did record anatomy ones I think.
As an alternative, students may be able to hook you up with the Kaplan Videos which have some great anatomy lectures on them.
I don't know anyone that recorded any of the lectures, although it would have been handy for anatomy if you were travelling. For clinical exam or OMM lectures...not so much. Even so, in reality the best way to study during anatomy are the powerpoints of the lectures and memorizing all the pictures from the books. With that said, if you went away before the first exam it wouldn't be so bad, depending on whether you have had anatomy before. Even if you haven't, the first exam is only worth 10%.
also as long as you keep up with the book, anatomy recall or at least get a copy of krueger high yield anatomy, you'll be fine taking the weekend off. anatomy is all memorization.
mccumbi podcast 👍....if I would have known about these during 1-2 yrs, esp for boards, I would have ditched and traveled much more! there are plenty out there, another popular favorite is goljan.
mccumbi podcast 👍....if I would have known about these during 1-2 yrs, esp for boards, I would have ditched and traveled much more! there are plenty out there, another popular favorite is goljan.
PBL is off the phesheezy! lol
I love it, it gives the students so much time in the world and truly testing their motivation in becoming good doctors! The first years were really funny today. I had a great time. It's definitely my top 3 choices.
Hahahaha, I agree.
I have an interview Friday, and was curious how long it took for LECOM-B to notify you of an acceptance? Any advice for the interview?
They told us to call less than a week later, so it's quite quick. My only advice would be to prepare to explain why PBL is right for you. That seems to be their main focus.
You'll find out their decision within a week. They'll speak more about that at the actual interview. You should check out the interview feedback section of the site for specifics of other's experiences. Here is the link, it looks like they changed the format since I last checked it out, but it'll definitely help.
Hey, is anyone from the Jan 22nd interview group planning to attend?
I just got waitlisted at LECOM-B 🙁
I guess they were not too sold on my response to why PBL was right for me..
Any suggestions as to what additional material I should send them? (ex. LOI, another Letter of Rec.)
I guess they were not too sold on my response to why PBL was right for me..
Any suggestions as to what additional material I should send them? (ex. LOI, another Letter of Rec.)
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Couldn't hurt. If they are your first choice, don't be afraid to let it show. Try to have your recommender comment on qualities that would be conducive to PBL.
Has anyone gotten their full out monster physical blood IgG attack done yet? Haha, I'm doing mine over spring break. Just got my FAFSA and background check done.
I got the results of mine last week; I need to get the MMR vaccine - I guess it didn't take the first time around. I got the drug panel, as well as the background check, but just finishing the MMR (total of 7 weeks).
I need to get my tax return to finish FAFSA (submitted documents, probably done by next week). Good job on getting everything together!
Fyi: when I called student affairs to tell them my health stuff may arrive late due to the MMR thing, they said no problem. So, don't sweat it if things don't come back perfect - except the ROH and drug screen ; )
Ewww, I had the MMR vaccine when I was like... 10. They're probably just going to find that I'm terminally allergic to chicken pox, seeing as I've had it 3 times... 😱
Congrats!! WTG!! Did you do the ACCEPTED!! dance?😛ACCEPTED!!!!!
ACCEPTED!!!!!
Congrats! When did you interview? Did they call or snail mail?
can someone who interviewed on feb 23 get in touch with me? i want to send thank you emails but i don't have the paper with me that had their email addresses. thanks.
I got accepted today .. but its in the wrong pathway. i cant find anyone else on here this has happened to. I wanted LDP but they put me into ISP.
This is for the Bradenton Campus. We only have one pathway here, PBL. You're looking for either the Erie or Seton Hill thread.
actually, they are looking for Erie only. Seton Hill is only PBL.
Anyone got an interview this coming Tuesday (03/02)?
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DarienSere.... I do! I'm SO excited, can't wait!
My OCD checking of this board is sad because no one has said anything since the 26th. Come on people! Haha.
Last week was a test week for us 1st years, and the 2nd years are going to be a little occupied with studying for boards soon (if they aren't already). The 4th years are busy sweating over the ACGME match happening soon; I'm sure we'll hear from them once that's done.
Interviews are still going every Tuesday & Friday... that's about all the news I have right now. I'd like to think the silence on this thread means we've answered all the questions people have, but I know that's not true. So those of you who are lurking, don't be shy... we have a little more time to answer questions these days.
I have a question regarding rotations. does anyone know where all the rotation locations are for this school? or how much moving is required to complete all the rotations? Also, I am from california, so is there any chance I can come back to cali for rotations or residency?
You can do your Core rotations at any number of places, as long as they are approved. I know people that did their whole 3rd-4th years by their homes. There are several sites where you can do your whole 3rd year. There are several sites around the Bradenton Area that you can do Cores at as well. Electives and Selectives are up to you. I did my whole 3rd year at places commutable from Bradenton, then in 4th year towards the beginning, I did 4 months in a row up norht doing audition rotations, then came back and have been doing the rest in Bradenton/Sarasota. I'd say my experience was pretty typical, although there are outliers, to be sure.
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