NOVA-KPCOM clearwater campus?

[yogadoc98]

I had a recent interview at NOVA-KPCOM at the Fort Lauderdale campus. I enjoyed the interview day and liked what they had to say (which makes me nervous as the school seems to have a bad rep on SDN). I am still a bit weary because of their COMLEX scores not being too great, which I am confused about since they make their students take a practice one before they can even take the real exam.

Anyways, if accepted, it would be at the new Clearwater campus because the FD campus has filled up. Based from my interview day, it seems like they have lectures and faculty basically split 50/50 between both campuses and all lectures and exams are on the same days and time. Curriculum seems standardized between both schools.

However, what worries me most is it not being established in the area. The Fort Lauderdale campus has established connections with various clinics and medical sites. Would it be too big of a risk going to the new campus where the opportunities would still vary? It carries a hefty price tag so I want to be confident that it would still provide me with beneficial clinical experiences.

**Any current students at clearwater or Fort Lauderdale are welcome to give any input/what they have heard regarding the expansion/personal experiences. It would've been nice if the interview day was at Clearwater if the Fort Lauderdale campus was full and admissions knew that.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Iux]

I had a recent interview at NOVA-KPCOM at the Fort Lauderdale campus. I enjoyed the interview day and liked what they had to say (which makes me nervous as the school seems to have a bad rep on SDN). I am still a bit weary because of their COMLEX scores not being too great, which I am confused about since they make their students take a practice one before they can even take the real exam.

Anyways, if accepted, it would be at the new Clearwater campus because the FD campus has filled up. Based from my interview day, it seems like they have lectures and faculty basically split 50/50 between both campuses and all lectures and exams are on the same days and time. Curriculum seems standardized between both schools.

However, what worries me most is it not being established in the area. The Fort Lauderdale campus has established connections with various clinics and medical sites. Would it be too big of a risk going to the new campus where the opportunities would still vary? It carries a hefty price tag so I want to be confident that it would still provide me with beneficial clinical experiences.

**Any current students at clearwater or Fort Lauderdale are welcome to give any input/what they have heard regarding the expansion/personal experiences. It would've been nice if the interview day was at Clearwater if the Fort Lauderdale campus was full and admissions knew that.

I believe this person needs your all encompassing wisdom @Goro

 

[Spectreman]

I had a recent interview at NOVA-KPCOM at the Fort Lauderdale campus. I enjoyed the interview day and liked what they had to say (which makes me nervous as the school seems to have a bad rep on SDN). I am still a bit weary because of their COMLEX scores not being too great, which I am confused about since they make their students take a practice one before they can even take the real exam.

Anyways, if accepted, it would be at the new Clearwater campus because the FD campus has filled up. Based from my interview day, it seems like they have lectures and faculty basically split 50/50 between both campuses and all lectures and exams are on the same days and time. Curriculum seems standardized between both schools.

However, what worries me most is it not being established in the area. The Fort Lauderdale campus has established connections with various clinics and medical sites. Would it be too big of a risk going to the new campus where the opportunities would still vary? It carries a hefty price tag so I want to be confident that it would still provide me with beneficial clinical experiences.

**Any current students at clearwater or Fort Lauderdale are welcome to give any input/what they have heard regarding the expansion/personal experiences. It would've been nice if the interview day was at Clearwater if the Fort Lauderdale campus was full and admissions knew that.

Nova 3rd year doing rotations in North Florida. Pass rates suck because you take THE EXACT SAME practice exam if you fail it the first time. So naturally up goes a google doc with all the answers, you sit for it, pass it, and then get killed on the real deal. The onus is still on you though, and they don’t require attendance + they teach HEAVILY toward step 2. They prepare you well for rotations and step 2, they just suck at the basic science courses.

The FLD campus has the connections to great rotation sites in soflo, pretty sure those sites will also be fair game to clearwater students, the lottery will get more stressful. Tampa and Orldando have good sites too, but Broward and Sinai are truly excellent places to rotate. If you have no other choices then go there. If you are bent on ortho/derm/whatever and will kill yourself if you get pigeon holed into primary care, then please for the love of god do not go to Nova. Since starting here I have received THREE emails about students who committed suicide, each form a different year. If being a PCP is not enough to make you happy then re-examine your life, evaluate your app, consider a gap year, and don’t settle.

 

[pre_med_2020]

Nova 3rd year doing rotations in North Florida. Pass rates suck because you take THE EXACT SAME practice exam if you fail it the first time. So naturally up goes a google doc with all the answers, you sit for it, pass it, and then get killed on the real deal. The onus is still on you though, and they don’t require attendance + they teach HEAVILY toward step 2. They prepare you well for rotations and step 2, they just suck at the basic science courses.

The FLD campus has the connections to great rotation sites in soflo, pretty sure those sites will also be fair game to clearwater students, the lottery will get more stressful. Tampa and Orldando have good sites too, but Broward and Sinai are truly excellent places to rotate. If you have no other choices then go there. If you are bent on ortho/derm/whatever and will kill yourself if you get pigeon holed into primary care, then please for the love of god do not go to Nova. Since starting here I have received THREE emails about students who committed suicide, each form a different year. If being a PCP is not enough to make you happy then re-examine your life, evaluate your app, consider a gap year, and don’t settle.

Thank you for the informative reply! If you were to compare Nova's Clearwater campus and a school like ARCOM, which hasn't graduated its first class yet, which do you think would be the better choice? Considering ARCOM is 100k cheaper after 4 years, but also had a 85% pass rate last year in its first available stats for comlex compared to the 92% at Nova with the new curriculum.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spectreman]

Thank you for the informative reply! If you were to compare Nova's Clearwater campus and a school like ARCOM, which hasn't graduated its first class yet, which do you think would be the better choice? Considering ARCOM is 100k cheaper after 4 years, but also had a 85% pass rate last year in its first available stats for comlex compared to the 92% at Nova with the new curriculum.

Thanks in advance!

So many factors to consider. I’d go where you think you are most likely to succeed. If quality of rotations matter then Nova definitely has that to offer, Broward/Sinai/Palmetto are pretty legit. 100k is a lot of money, but more important is if they have mandatory class and if they pay for Uworld and other test prep. It all depends on priorities.

 

[ILikeFood]

Nova 3rd year doing rotations in North Florida. Pass rates suck because you take THE EXACT SAME practice exam if you fail it the first time. So naturally up goes a google doc with all the answers, you sit for it, pass it, and then get killed on the real deal. The onus is still on you though, and they don’t require attendance + they teach HEAVILY toward step 2. They prepare you well for rotations and step 2, they just suck at the basic science courses.

The FLD campus has the connections to great rotation sites in soflo, pretty sure those sites will also be fair game to clearwater students, the lottery will get more stressful. Tampa and Orldando have good sites too, but Broward and Sinai are truly excellent places to rotate. If you have no other choices then go there. If you are bent on ortho/derm/whatever and will kill yourself if you get pigeon holed into primary care, then please for the love of god do not go to Nova. Since starting here I have received THREE emails about students who committed suicide, each form a different year. If being a PCP is not enough to make you happy then re-examine your life, evaluate your app, consider a gap year, and don’t settle.

Medical students? What was admin's reponse?

 

[Spectreman]

Medical students? What was admin's reponse?

We just get a very short email saying “we are sorry to announce that so-and-so has passed away, please see the counseling center if you are going through anything. Out of respect for their family’s privacy we will not be holding any vigils or other events on their behalf.”
To be fair, 1 Student was a first year resident who had JUST graduated. The other 2 were a 4th year and 2nd year.
Nova tries to accommodate struggling students, but in many ways I think they are too loose about letting students press on when they’re digging deeper holes for themselves.

 

[ILikeFood]

We just get a very short email saying “we are sorry to announce that so-and-so has passed away, please see the counseling center if you are going through anything. Out of respect for their family’s privacy we will not be holding any vigils or other events on their behalf.”
To be fair, 1 Student was a first year resident who had JUST graduated. The other 2 were a 4th year and 2nd year.
Nova tries to accommodate struggling students, but in many ways I think they are too loose about letting students press on when they’re digging deeper holes for themselves.

When I was in residency, a well known nephrologist killed himself. The same type of email was sent out, his profile on the hospital website was scrubbed the same day, and no one was allowed to talk openly about it. I just really dislike the approach, in the nephrologists case he was married with kids and at the height of his career. Also, while one suicide may be an anomaly, that is too many over a short period of time. Nova's dean and her one hundred assistant deans should re-evaluate things.

Anyways, thanks for sharing, people should know about this stuff.