LECOM Primary Care Pathway vs. KYCOM

[Bulba]

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LECOM Primary Care Pathway
Im not dead set on primary care but very much could see myself doing it. I like how general IM is and how flexible it can be should I want a fellowship down the line.

Pros:
37k tuition for 3 years
Better board scores
Start working sooner

Cons:
Harsher Weather
Locked into Primary Care
Stricter rules and regulations

KYCOM:

Pros:
More pleasant interview experience, seemingly kind people
I think I would be well supported here academically and beyond.

Cons:
50k tuition for 4 years
Very Rural

 

[Bulba]

@chilly_md @Goro
I would appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance.

 

[deleted1129181]

I will let the ones you tagged answer your post, but just my $0.02:

1) IIRC, with LECOM's primary care pathway you are only saving $37k overall? But I think it locks you in terms of location and where you can practice? It's honestly not worth it if it will lower your salary if you can get a better primary care salary elsewhere.

2) As a medical student, I can honestly say that mandatory attendance is T.O.T.A.L. B.U.L.L.S.H.l.T. It is straight up sabotage, and for most students it WILL get in the way of doing meaningful EC's which boost your residency applications as well as your board scores.

 

[Bulba]

I will let the ones you tagged answer your post, but just my $0.02:

1) IIRC, with LECOM's primary care pathway you are only saving $37k overall? But I think it locks you in terms of location and where you can practice? It's honestly not worth it if it will lower your salary if you can get a better primary care salary elsewhere.

2) As a medical student, I can honestly say that mandatory attendance is T.O.T.A.L. B.U.L.L.S.H.l.T. It is straight up sabotage, and for most students it WILL get in the way of doing meaningful EC's which boost your residency applications as well as your board scores.

Thanks for the response. I believe the pathway only locks in the specialty not location. You must practice primary care for 5 years. Also the pathway follows the directed study pathway meaning I wouldn't be going to class very much and instead would be studying at home.

 

[deleted1129181]

Thanks for the response. I believe the pathway only locks in the specialty not location. You must practice primary care for 5 years. Also the pathway follows the directed study pathway meaning I wouldn't be going to class very much and instead would be studying at home.

Oh that's good. Is the directed study pathway the PBL? Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I honestly think that lectures are the best way to learn in med school.

 

[chilly_md]

@chilly_md @Goro
I would appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance.

LECOM is a good school. Strict rules, but now you would only be there for 3 years. That goes by fast. You save about 75k in tuition plus the extra year’s worth of living costs if you want to throw that in there. If you are committed to primary care, then go ahead and do it. KYCOM’s mission though is to produce primary care physicians, so you wouldn’t exactly be opening up a lot more doors all of a sudden if you went there instead. Starting life as an attending a year early is a major plus.

There is an old thread about the Primary Care Pathway. The user hasn’t been active recently but shared detailed accounts about it:

LECOM Primary Care Scholar Pathway

I found some previous threads that were pretty old. I just want to know if anyone has any first or second hand experience regarding this program and how competitive it is. I'm very certain that I want to go into either FM or IM. I have no desire for anything surgical related. This is coming...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Goro]

LECOM Primary Care Pathway
Im not dead set on primary care but very much could see myself doing it. I like how general IM is and how flexible it can be should I want a fellowship down the line.

Pros:
37k tuition for 3 years
Better board scores
Start working sooner

Cons:
Harsher Weather
Locked into Primary Care
Stricter rules and regulations

KYCOM:

Pros:
More pleasant interview experience, seemingly kind people
I think I would be well supported here academically and beyond.

Cons:
50k tuition for 4 years
Very Rural

You have to ask yourself is it worth the extra $52K to have more freedom to go for other specialties.