Marshall University SOM Class of 2008???

[Firebird]

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Just wondering if anyone on SDN would be joining me at Marshall this August...

 

[psi1467]

i'm a student there now.

 

[Hope 2 B A MD]

Firebird,
I just graduated from Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine @ Marshall University 2 weeks ago! I am so happy that I decided to go there. 🙂 The faculty and staff were always willing to help and it was really nice to have small classes. Everyone in my class became pretty close and I am going to really miss them!

If you have any questions just send me a PM or post them here!


P.S. I need to change my Username.... I am now a MD!!!! 🙂

 

[Firebird]

Thanks guys for the replies. I actually work in the department of pharmacology, Psi, so I've more than likely seen you in the hall or something.

Hope--congrats! I graduated from MU for undergrad, so I was there for your graduation, I guess!

Do either of you have any tips for the 1st year at MU? What is the IPC class like? Cindy Warren said I would be seeing patients about a month after classes began...how much patient interaction do we get in this type of setting?

Any tips on equipment? Cindy basically said get top of the line everything...Master Cardiology stethoscope, PanOptic diagnostic kit, etc. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Hope 2 B A MD]

Firebird,
Here are some tips for your first year/first semester.....

Gross Anatomy- Great course! Dr. Rhoten, Dr. Berk and Dr. Zill are wonderful teachers. If you have any questions just ask them! Make sure you pick up a Netter Atlas and the Color Atlas of Anatomy for the practical exams. I also used Grant?s Atlas of Anatomy and Langman?s Medical Embryology. Dr. Berk's handouts are easy to read, but make sure you know every detail in them! Before exams, try to get one of the instructors to go over your dissection in a small group. It really helps! Try to keep up with all of your lectures! Don't forget to review the CTs, X-rays ect. before the exam. The course is packed full of information and it is fast paced. The instructors are more than willing to help you if you just ask!

Biochemistry-Make sure you study for all of the quizes. It may seem like they are not worth very much (10 points a piece), but those 10 points add up really fast. They are also a great way to keep up with the material weekly. Dr. Reichenbecher is great instructor. Don't miss his lectures. Make sure you by the Lippincott biochemisty book for this course!

Cell Biology- You shouldn't have too much trouble with this course. Dr. Fish is great!

IPC Intro to Patient Care-Fun course. This is where you get to learn how to use all of the equipment you bought and you learn some of the basics of history and physical exam. You should probably buy a very good stethoscope and it seems like everyone is now buying the PanOptic kit (they were not available when I was a first year) Fourth year students will help during some of sessions. Be sure to ask them questions! You are also matched up with a Dr. in the community as part of the mentoring program. Make sure that you set up you mentoring sessions early, sometimes it is hard to get ahold of some of the doctors and you may run out of time towards the end of the semester. I had a great mentoring experience! My mentor allowed me to go into the room with the patient alone after our first session. I would go in and take a quick history and do a physical exam. The great thing was that my mentor understood that I was clueless and didn't make me feel bad when I forgot to ask a question or do part of the exam. I had the same mentor 2nd year and by that time she expected a lot more out of me!

I think that this is all of the classes 1st semester. I think that AMSA is having a book sale sometime during your orientation. You may want to see if you can get any of your books during their sale at a reduced price. I bought alot of review books that helped while I was studying for exams and for Step 1. Make sure that you relax this summer, go on vacation and try not to worry too much about next fall!! 😀

 

[craig2316]

Firebird,
I am starting MUSOM in August, too.......Also, I am an out-of-state resident (from PA) but I did my undergrad in Morgantown at WVU.....Are there any other WVU grads on SDN attending MUSOM in the fall?

 

[Firebird]

Craig,

Congrats on being accepted to MUSOM--the days of you climbing Morgantown's hills are over. I personally don't know anyone coming from WVU, but I suspect probably at least 20% of MU's matriculants are Mountaineers.

Also, congrats on being accepted as a non-resident. I am also out of state, being from Kentucky. However, I'm doing MD/PhD so I won't be graduating with the class of 2008.

By the way, you're probably better off buying your equipment online. I know they tell you to wait until the first week of class so the school can buy stethoscopes, etc. at a discount...but steeles.com has better deals than we can get from the reps.

Hey if you have any questions about Huntington or Marshall, I'd be more than glad to answer them...just let me know!

 

[craig2316]

Firebird,
Thanks for the info. I was told that the majority of the medical school students rent from JC Spence Co., and that they live at Park Place Properties out on Spring Valley Drive. I was wondering if this is true? Currently, I am waiting for an apt. to become available at Park Place Properties.

 

[Hope 2 B A MD]

craig2316,
It seemed that a lot of students in my class started out renting near the VA, but by the time they were 3rd years most students lived somewhere near Ritter Park/Cabell Huntington. The drive down Spring Valley Drive/James River Road, gets quite old after a while and the VA is quite a drive from St. Mary's hospital, where you may be spending some of your clinical rotation. Ritter Park is centrally located and a nice place to get away from the long hours of studying. My class would have flag football games in the park and you could always find one of us going for a walk/run to de-stress! If you do decide to live near the VA, you may want to move after your second year to be closer to a majority of your clinical sites.

😀 If you have any other questions either send me a PM or leave a message here!

 

[Firebird]

Actually I plan to live in one of the apartments across from the VA that is owned by JC Spence. Most of his tenants are med students so he has tried to make the apartments med student friendly.

However, the medical school will probably move closer to town in the next few years. So next year I'll probably be living closer to where Hope suggested...the park or some place like that. The VA is about a 20 min drive from any of the other clinical sites, which is relatively short compared to real metropolitan areas. But it would be better to live closer.

 

[Medic24]

"Hope2Be" Thanks for the great inside info and congratulations. I will also be starting at Marshall this year. I too am an out-of-stater. People I have come in contact with really love MSUOM. If anyone wants to find out more about Park Place - PM me.

 

[psi1467]

Flag football is fun. With luck, we sometimes get bloodshed, fist-a-cuffs, or both.

 

[Hope 2 B A MD]

Yeah! The new first year students must keep up the tradition of playing the second year class in flag football! 😀

It is a great way to meet other MUSOM students and get a few bruises in the process! If you don't play (I never did), you still still go and cheer on your class! It is a lot of fun! 🙂

 

[zeebs]

Hi, I'll be an M1 at MUSOM this fall -- just got the list of names for our class yesterday! I scan SDN daily but post infrequently. I graduated from WVU a while ago (Asian studies/Linguistics) but took all my pre-med coursework at MU. I have an 8 month old baby, and I'll be living in Charleston for at least the first two years of school.

I was wondering what the time frame was for the new facilities for the med school, will they be done in time for our class to use them do you think?

HopeMD -- Congrats and thanks for the thoughts on the classes!

 

[Firebird]

No, the new facilities won't be available for our class. The Biotech center is supposedly going to be finished in two years. I haven't really heard a time frame for the new medical school building. I don't think it's that big of a deal because the new facilities will be different only in that 1) they'll be newer and 2) they'll have some better clinical instruction rooms.

Granted, they will have new labs for the PhD and MD/PhD students, but that won't affect most MUSOM students.

Wow I would hate to commute from Charleston to MUSOM! That's going to be a long drive!

 

[Hope 2 B A MD]

There were actually a few students in my class that commuted from Charleston/Teays Valley area. It may seem like a long drive, but sometimes you may need that time to be alone and away from medical books 😀 .

 

[tennis201]

I will be starting MUSOM this august and I will be living at one of JC Spence's apartments across from the VA.

 

[Firebird]

Glad to have another MUSOM person on board here.