SonicHedgehogDO said:
On the other LECOM threads (both LECOM and LECOM-FL) there have been SO many negative posts. Please tell me some good things about the school. It IS possible to go to LECOM-FL, do rotations, get a good residency, and practice medicine right?
MHC said:
I am a first year student here in Bradenton. I am already so frustrated with the administration here that I am pretty sure that I'm going to cut my losses and leave. If you have any other option, take it. This place is totally disorganized and PBL here is a mess. Out of the three facilitators I've had, only one was qualified for the job. One was a secretary (she is gone now) and one a psychologist, who knows nothing about the basic sciences.
Many other students here hate it, but just keep quiet and try to get through. This of course is just my opinion, and others are probably happy here. To me, it is the worst institution of higher learning I've ever attended.
And before people step in with responses guessing that I am an unhappy bad student, or a troll, I am one of the better students here, and have the one of the highest entering MCATs at 29. But as I say, this is just my experience. I hope anyone coming next year will have a better time.
After posts like the one above, I find myself asking the same question, Hedgehog. During my interview at the school, I talked to a number of students (not just the sga reps from admissions) and they all had very positive things to say about the school. In fact, one of the things that sold me on LECOM-FL was how happy the students seemed relative to the other DO schools I've interviewed at. (Maybe they have to keep smiling while big brother is watching, eh?
) I'm not exactly sure how to resolve the disconnect between my interview experience and the negative posts here on SDN, but I'll share some of my over-intellectualized rationalizations for the fact that I am still turning down acceptances to attend LECOM-FL.
LECOM-FL is a new school. The first class is setting up rotations as we speak. It seems like this process can be frustrating even at well established large allopathic schools with dedicated teaching hospitals. There are bound to be some bumps due to the newness of the school. I think there is good reason to hope things will be running a bit smoother by the time we're ready for third year.
In regards to PBL, while the final product of PBL seems quite good, I'm sure the process can be exquisitely frustrating at times. Although I have never done PBL at LECOM, my undergrad curriculum was structured much like PBL - lots of small group learning with facilitators. I can say from that experience that some people become very frustrated and uncomfortable in this learning environment. You sort of have to let go and "go with the flow", trusting that it will take you where you need to go. It is a very different, "non-linear" form of learning and as such can seem disorganized and rambling when you are in the midst of it. In particular, it is hard to see your progress without the traditional linear progression from the front of the textbook to the back. However, at the end, everyone suddenly realizes how much they have learned and are usually very happy. As Dr. Kruger said, it is definitely not for eveyone.
With all due respect to the above poster and the validity of his/her negative experience, I do find myself questioning the idea that the school is
creating such a bad PBL experience. The strength of PBL is that you have the freedom to facilitate your own experience. As Dr. Kruger said during the interview, if it's not going well, look in the mirror, not for someone to blame. I'm not going in to PBL looking for someone to teach me anything - I'm going there to teach myself, with the support of my gifted colleagues. Anything the school offers is bonus.
It would be
nice to hear some positive stories from current students.
That's just, like, my opinion, man...
