LECOM-Bradenton: No Basic Science or Clinical Faculty?

[Coastie]

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Huh?

I spoke with a friend of a friend who is currently a 4th year at LECOM-Bradenton. He told me that for basic sciences, they give you a stack of books, and no lectures. Oh, and no faculty to take concerns to. He also told me that clinical rotations are primarily at community hospitals with little to no teaching, and that you are required to wear a shirt and tie on and OFF campus your first two years in order to show professionalism to the surrounding town.

Please fill me in.

 

[scpod]

Huh?

I spoke with a friend of a friend ...

And you believed it? 😆😆😆

 

[TexasTriathlete]

There is only one employee at the entire school.

 

[DrMidlife]

He told me that for basic sciences, they give you a stack of books, and no lectures.

It's called PBL: problem-based learning. A lot of schools do some PBL, some schools do a lot. "No" lectures is not the case, but it's predominantly group work on case studies that thread through the basic sciences. Hawaii's heavy PBL as well.

Oh, and no faculty to take concerns to.

Sounds like somebody doesn't know what "faculty" means. There's a large faculty listed on the website. Faculty facilitate PBL groups. Faculty serve as advisers, with whom you're required to meet once a month.

He also told me that clinical rotations are primarily at community hospitals with little to no teaching,

Can't speak to that. I'll report back after I interview.

and that you are required to wear a shirt and tie on and OFF campus your first two years in order to show professionalism to the surrounding town.

On campus dress code, check. Off campus, at school events and during rotations, same dress code. It doesn't stop after 2 years.

Also attendance at all school classes and events including graduation is mandatory, and no food or drink is allowed anywhere except in the student lounge. And you have to wear your ID everywhere.

It's a lot to absorb. I'm still getting my brain around it all. I might have a detail or two confused with Nova, which is similar except for the PBL part. Must be a Florida thing.

 

[DragonWell]

Huh?

I spoke with a friend of a friend who is currently a 4th year at LECOM-Bradenton. He told me that for basic sciences, they give you a stack of books, and no lectures.

The fact that the school is predominately PBL is well advertised. PBL will guide you through a critical thinking process that, to me at least, greatly aids learning the basic sciences, but at the end of the day, it is true that you will be spending a lot of time reading some thick textbooks. One of the great things about PBL is that you are actually given time to read the books, unlike most lecture-based programs where the books are use more as a supplement to lectures.

If you want lectures, save yourself a lot of time and money and don't even bother interviewing here. Apply to any of the other 20+ DO schools that offer lecture-based curricula. PBL offers a different approach for students who are self-directed learners, want to learn the basic sciences in a clinical context, like to work in small groups, and want a more flexible schedule than a lecture-based curriculum allows.

Oh, and no faculty to take concerns to.

This one is laughably inaccurate. There are faculty in every discipline who are very accesible and happy to take questions from students who are struggling with a concept.

He also told me that clinical rotations are primarily at community hospitals with little to no teaching,

Like most DO schools, it is true that LECOM-Bradenton doesn't have a teaching hospital dedicated to training their students, so students are distributed into hospitals of varying sizes. As far as the amount of teaching/learning that takes place, I suspect it depends greatly on the specific site and the willingness/attitude of the student to learn. I'd encourage you to read some reviews students have posted here. By and large, most students who have submitted reviews and who I have personally talked to seem happy with their rotations and feel they are learning what they need to.

Although the hospital I will be spending 3rd year at is not large in terms of beds, it is the largest osteopathic teaching program in the SE. They offer residencies in Anesthesiology, Dermatology, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Surgery and have fellowships in Cardiology, Rheumatology, and Gastroenterology. There is also talk of a Rads program in the next couple years.

and that you are required to wear a shirt and tie on and OFF campus your first two years in order to show professionalism to the surrounding town.

Please fill me in.

Dress code - on campus during business hours. This hasn't been a big deal for me since, after anatomy, we are only required to be on campus ~10 hours a week. Many days I am home and in shorts and a T-shirt by 10:30am.

Off Campus - dress code is required at certain school functions. I think I've put on a tie about 3 times for off campus functions in the two years I've been here - one white coat ceremony, and two hospital days.

One day a week is OMM day and students wear shorts and a T-shirt.

 

[Coastie]

And you believed it? 😆😆😆

Um. Yes. Why not? You never know these days..

 

[Coastie]

Thanks for the feedback!

The fact that the school is predominately PBL is well advertised. PBL will guide you through a critical thinking process that, to me at least, greatly aids learning the basic sciences, but at the end of the day, it is true that you will be spending a lot of time reading some thick textbooks. One of the great things about PBL is that you are actually given time to read the books, unlike most lecture-based programs where the books are use more as a supplement to lectures.

If you want lectures, save yourself a lot of time and money and don't even bother interviewing here. Apply to any of the other 20+ DO schools that offer lecture-based curricula. PBL offers a different approach for students who are self-directed learners, want to learn the basic sciences in a clinical context, like to work in small groups, and want a more flexible schedule than a lecture-based curriculum allows.


This one is laughably inaccurate. There are faculty in every discipline who are very accesible and happy to take questions from students who are struggling with a concept.


Like most DO schools, it is true that LECOM-Bradenton doesn't have a teaching hospital dedicated to training their students, so students are distributed into hospitals of varying sizes. As far as the amount of teaching/learning that takes place, I suspect it depends greatly on the specific site and the willingness/attitude of the student to learn. I'd encourage you to read some reviews students have posted here. By and large, most students who have submitted reviews and who I have personally talked to seem happy with their rotations and feel they are learning what they need to.

Although the hospital I will be spending 3rd year at is not large in terms of beds, it is the largest osteopathic teaching program in the SE. They offer residencies in Anesthesiology, Dermatology, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Surgery and have fellowships in Cardiology, Rheumatology, and Gastroenterology. There is also talk of a Rads program in the next couple years.

Dress code - on campus during business hours. This hasn't been a big deal for me since, after anatomy, we are only required to be on campus ~10 hours a week. Many days I am home and in shorts and a T-shirt by 10:30am.

Off Campus - dress code is required at certain school functions. I think I've put on a tie about 3 times for off campus functions in the two years I've been here - one white coat ceremony, and two hospital days.

One day a week is OMM day and students wear shorts and a T-shirt.