LECOM Primary Care Scholars Program

[kito1906]

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I am wondering if anyone can give me some deep information about this especially members that are currently going to school there. I took my MCAT and just playing the waiting game until Oct. 7. I think I should/would get in with my background as PA,URM, and other factors discuss in my LOR.(Also is 25yo considered Nontraditional)

Hope to hear from members soon.

 

[NurWollen]

An Adcom from LECOM-Erie came to my undergrad school last year and talked a little about this program. He said that it's designed to take three years, I think by axing summers and starting clinicals during the second year. He said the idea was that you save money by only have to live off of loans for 3 years instead of 4 (kind of a no-brainer, I guess.) After graduating, if I remember correctly, you're contractually obligated to practice in primary care for at least 5 years, or you owe LECOM $50,000. That's about all I know.

 

[MossPoh]

So wait, you are obligated to practice primary care or owe 50,000 dollars to get out a year early. Ignoring the fact, that if you do subspecialize you have an extra year and will make upwards of 100k more per year than the primary care person? Is there interest on that 50k?

 

[DrMidlife]

So wait, you are obligated to practice primary care or owe 50,000 dollars to get out a year early. Ignoring the fact, that if you do subspecialize you have an extra year and will make upwards of 100k more per year than the primary care person? Is there interest on that 50k?

The whole POINT of this program is to assist students who WANT TO DO PRIMARY CARE. There are shortcuts such as elimination of electives, thus elimination of time for auditions or board prep, that will effectively cripple a student who wants to specialize. It would be exceedingly lame to go interview for a non-PC residency from this program. Imagine getting LECOM's dean to write you a non-PC LOR...

 

[kito1906]

Is Emergency Medicine considered a PCP spot. I am thinking of doing FP residency with EM fellowship. Yea 50K penalty to me for me practicing in a nonrural/PCP setting.... It does sound fair in my opinion for them to give you back a year of your life back(A long time considering you could go from 7years of no money to six years of no money.)
Plus the hospital I work at currently has agreed to pay for my schooling so I will be there at least 4 years.

Does anyone know the failure rate of this program?

E.J.

 

[primadonna22274]

If your hospital will pay for your schooling then this is a huge perk that you should not blow off. I've been a PA myself for 8 years and nobody has ever offered to pay for my schooling...but I hear sometimes it happens.

The PCSP is for people who are dyed-in-the-wool primary care. They are reasonably certain they want to be primary care doctors. Even I, after 8 years as a primary care PA, am not entirely sure that I want to lock myself into that kind of agreement to save $50k.

Also there are no guarantees that you will get into the PCSP track. There are a limited number of slots and people are kind of sorted out after the summer A&P (this is how it was explained to me). If you get PCSP, great; if not, then one of the other tracks for you.

As far as EM being primary care: no, but it should be IMO. There is so much primary care that goes on in the ED it's ridiculous. But really EDs are not set up to handle longitudinally primary care and prevention? Forget it. When you get into the sticky side of FP-plus-EM, that's a little harder to say. A very useful specialty IMO but I'm not sure if it would be approved or not for PCSP. Better question to ask the adcom when you get an interview.

Good luck

Is Emergency Medicine considered a PCP spot. I am thinking of doing FP residency with EM fellowship. Yea 50K penalty to me for me practicing in a nonrural/PCP setting.... It does sound fair in my opinion for them to give you back a year of your life back(A long time considering you could go from 7years of no money to six years of no money.)
Plus the hospital I work at currently has agreed to pay for my schooling so I will be there at least 4 years.

Does anyone know the failure rate of this program?

E.J.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

From James Moore, LECOM-E's Director of Recruiting (paraphrased):

--Family Practice
--Internal Medicine
--Pediatrics
--Gerontology
--OB-GYN
--Sign an agreement to complete the program and practice for at least 5 years as a PCP
--If you don't you must pay LECOM the fourth year of tuition (approximately $25K)
--16 clinical rotations instead 24
--Some non PC rotations are eliminated

 

[punkiedad]

I think they have 8 spotsw in this pathway this year, up from 6 spots last year. I think LECOM-E is the only COM in the ocuntrythat offers this pathway.