New DO schools

[DCRATAMT2]

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Anybody have that list of proposed DO schools that was making the rounds on here? One version had a school in SF and Larkin U. With Minn. COM moving forward in January it looks like many on the list are a go and possibly the others in the future.

 

[Faha]

Anybody have that list of proposed DO schools that was making the rounds on here? One version had a school in SF and Larkin U. With Minn. COM moving forward in January it looks like many on the list are a go and possibly the others in the future.

CHSU in Fresno will be accepting applications next year for 2020. LECOM received approval for a branch school in Elmira NY. Also potential schools in Texas (Sam Houston State), Monroe LA (new VCOM campus). There may be schools opening further in the future in Utah, Colorado and Minnesota but those are uncertain at this time.

 

[DameJulie]

Will there be any new DO/MD schools that are open for application early next year for entering class of 2019?

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Facilities don't matter at all. I mean touro harlem is not ideal at all but it's literally location/how aesthetic it is to the eye that matters. And literally just that.

What you need in ms1-ms2 is a place to study that's quiet. The rest is nonsense. Sim labs? Don't matter, you don't know anything anyways to make use of it yet. Anatomy simulations? Screwing you out of a good anatomy education.

Boards? The school's job is to leave you alone as much as possible. Bonus points if they scare you into doing daily questions august of ms2 & buy uworld for you.

What REALLY matters are your clinical rotation sites. Are you supervised & taught by a physician (and not a PA/NP)? Are you exposed to pathology? Are you responsible for doing notes and seeing a high volume of patients entirely alone? Are you working in resident teams? Opportunity to do procedures/place orders?

Don't be fooled by fancy high tech crap. Clinical training is key.

 

[CJhooper123]

Facilities don't matter at all. I mean touro harlem is not ideal at all but it's literally location/how aesthetic it is to the eye that matters. And literally just that.

What you need in ms1-ms2 is a place to study that's quiet. The rest is nonsense. Sim labs? Don't matter, you don't know anything anyways to make use of it yet. Anatomy simulations? Screwing you out of a good anatomy education.

Boards? The school's job is to leave you alone as much as possible. Bonus points if they scare you into doing daily questions august of ms2 & buy uworld for you.

What REALLY matters are your clinical rotation sites. Are you supervised & taught by a physician (and not a PA/NP)? Are you exposed to pathology? Are you responsible for doing notes and seeing a high volume of patients entirely alone? Are you working in resident teams? Opportunity to do procedures/place orders?

Don't be fooled by fancy high tech crap. Clinical training is key.

I agree with a lot of what you said... especially with regards to newer schools. But... as someone going through the application process now, I find it challenging to learn about a school's specific clinical education. Especially when considering a school on the other side of the country and you're not familiar with any of their affiliated hospital systems.

During interviews, you only meet 1st/2nd year students who have never stepped foot on a rotation site. While they might say their school has good rotation sites... they literally have no idea. Some of the 2nd year students I met at certain schools didn't even know their selection process. If you ask the administration at a school, of course, they are going to be biased and tell you that their clinical sites are "strong" and provide students with the necessary tools. It's tough to get a good feel on things from a clinical perspective... and I wish schools/students/etc. were more transparent.

To my understanding, rotation sites that provide a mixture of residency-based and preceptor-based models are genuinely better... as are rotation sites that allow their students to see a wide arrange of medical conditions. What else should I be looking for?

This might be a silly question... but how can pre-meds/current applicants better evaluate a program's clinical education (for new AND old DO schools)?

 

[JDsfloatingheadDr]

This thread has me second guessing my only acceptance, which is to a newer school. Anyone else feeling the same way?

 

[CJhooper123]

This thread has me really second guessing my only acceptance, which is to a newer school...anyone else feeling the same way?

I mean, newer schools are going to have issues with pre-clinical and clinical education. Definitely, something to take into consideration when applying. That being said, if it's your only acceptance... it's your only acceptance. Make the most of it.

Also... not all new schools have huge problems with clinical education. ACOM, specifically comes to mind. It seemed like they had a solid grip on things (at least that's how it appeared during my interview). In general, I just think it's tough to evaluate a DO school's clinical education... especially if there's no formal teaching hospital (aka... the majority of DO schools).

 

[gensurghopeful]

PCOM - South GA starting first class next year I think... had a buddy get accepted to it, but is leaning to go to the older PCOM - GA campus rightfully so

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

I agree with a lot of what you said... especially with regards to newer schools. But... as someone going through the application process now, I find it challenging to learn about a school's specific clinical education. Especially when considering a school on the other side of the country and you're not familiar with any of their affiliated hospital systems.

During interviews, you only meet 1st/2nd year students who have never stepped foot on a rotation site. While they might say their school has good rotation sites... they literally have no idea. Some of the 2nd year students I met at certain schools didn't even know their selection process. If you ask the administration at a school, of course, they are going to be biased and tell you that their clinical sites are "strong" and provide students with the necessary tools. It's tough to get a good feel on things from a clinical perspective... and I wish schools/students/etc. were more transparent.

To my understanding, rotation sites that provide a mixture of residency-based and preceptor-based models are genuinely better... as are rotation sites that allow their students to see a wide arrange of medical conditions. What else should I be looking for?

This might be a silly question... but how can pre-meds/current applicants better evaluate a program's clinical education (for new AND old DO schools)?

There are a few ways around this. Some schools publish their rotation sites. You can always look them up and see what you find. Any residencies present in the listed hospitals? What sort of setting is it? Academic affiliations? Med student setup online?
How many beds? Is it a small 100 bed hospital? If so, your pathology exposure will be limited. Is it a 500 bed tertiary center? Is it more in the middle but in a good location without too many hospitals nearby?
Geographic research is important too. Diverse ethnicities in the area + fewer hospitals in the region + variable socioeconomic groups (ideally less wealthy people) makes for a better experience.

You won't know if you'll be hands on during rotations. Impossible to truly find out. But you can get an idea of the likelihood of being exposed to good pathology at least. If you're doing glorified shadowing then at least you can learn more vs seeing chf/copd/pna at the most.

 

[theriverman]

As someone in the midst of applying and interviewing right now, your (DO) school name means absolutely nothing beyond maybe a couple regional programs and I come from a school hailed on here. When you're sitting in a room full of MDs from big name schools and state schools and almost every single person, including faculty, asks oh Ive never heard of that where is it? It becomes obvious. You only get here by doing exceptionally well, including doing much better than the people you're sitting in the room with. People are definitely hurting for interviews this year in my class with some exceptions.

The next few years are going to be a massacre.

I tend to agree with all of this. In IM this year it seemed to be harder to get mid tier academic interviews this year compared to last. There's just going to be more applicants for the a similar number of ACGME spots. It'll take time to sort it all out. Eventually programs that take DO will start to take more, but it's a slow process.