I want to apply here too. I really liked Nova's profile as a DO school, but throughout my experiences I realized I didn't want to be a DO. So them opening an MD school is perfect for me. Posting in here so that I know when we can start submitting applications.
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Nova MD open!
Started by fldoctorgirl
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I read somewhere on their website that it should be open for application starting "late October" 🙂
Given how many Med schools are already in the south Florida area will NSU have access to good/stable clinical sites?
I would hope - they should already have stable affiliations from their DO program that they can build from
but what about OMM and holisticness and all the other things people allegedly choose DO over MD for?
Absolutely not. Not unless someone is accepted elsewhere and they are trying to entice them to come to Nova instead.
I was tagged to comment on how PD's see new MD schools. Obviously, there isn't a single answer, and new MD schools are relatively rare (although increasing in frequency). When Hofstra opened, I knew the people who ran it and didn't worry at all. If a school opens and I know nothing about it, that's a more difficult situation.
The basic sciences are easy. The USMLE is the great equalizer -- if you score well on that, you've learned the material, whether you attended HMS or HUMC (that's Hollywood Upstairs Medical College). The more challenging issue is the clinical years, and whether the school is affiliated with quality teaching hospitals and rotations.
Often new schools offer a full ride tuition scholarship to the first class, that way poaching some of the best applicants from other schools, to give their school the best chance of doing well.
The basic sciences are easy. The USMLE is the great equalizer -- if you score well on that, you've learned the material, whether you attended HMS or HUMC (that's Hollywood Upstairs Medical College). The more challenging issue is the clinical years, and whether the school is affiliated with quality teaching hospitals and rotations.
Often new schools offer a full ride tuition scholarship to the first class, that way poaching some of the best applicants from other schools, to give their school the best chance of doing well.
Yes, eventually-- they are planning on building their own research hospital on campus. When that happens, it'll be awesome.
The reason I am on the fence about being in their starting class, besides my unease about PBL, is that they haven't even broken ground on this hospital yet. So, in 5 or 10 years the program might be amazing because Nova will be the only school in South FL besides UM that has its own hospital. However, that doesn't help any of us who would hypothetically be in the first class. The oversaturation of med students here in South FL is a real problem....FIU even brings Carrib students over here, as if we needed more students for the limited spots available in hospitals.
I don't mean to knock Nova in any way, as I think some people might have thought when reading my previous comments. I think it has the potential to be an awesome program, but for me personally I am not a fan of PBL and would rather attend a school I love/is more established (even if it is a DO one). This is an awesome opportunity for those interested in South FL, PBL, or want a slightly easier shot at an MD school.
Isn’t PBL a mandatory part of medical education according to the LCME?
Would that be a huge no no? If so, why? Every prof doesn't have to have an MD, right? Some have PhDs, no? Would some being DO be a serious issue?
I'm not sure, but Nova's MD program is planning on utilizing the same curriculum as LECOM-B's. Not sure if you're familiar with it, but basically there are no lectures or classes at all. Students meet in groups of 7-8 with a "faculty preceptor" and decide what they feel is important for them to learn. They then go home, review those chapters that they assigned to themselves, and come back next time to discuss them and go through patient cases. This just personally isn't my preferred learning style. I think incorporating PBL sessions into a curriculum is awesome, but I don't wish to go to a school that relies on PBL 100%. Again, that is just my personal preference-- I know how I learn best, and for me that's not through PBL.
The tuition is the icing on the cake. You pay us, and you teach you. So much win!
What is the chance that this school might close or go bankrupt when I am M4 xd
No.
But I thought DO students wanted to be DOs, not MD
Here is the relevant LCME standard:
6.3 Self-Directed and Life-Long Learning
The faculty of a medical school ensure that the medical curriculum includes self-directed learning experiences and time for independent study to allow medical students to develop the skills of lifelong learning. Self-directed learning involves medical students’ self-assessment of learning needs; independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information; and appraisal of the credibility of information sources.
Schools are not required to use PBL, or any specific strategy, but most schools have turned to either PBL or TBL to meet this standard.
Didn't realize we had the honor of talking to Dr. Nick Riviera...running to perform a CABG now and thinking about what you learned in HUMC?
DO students want to be doctors.
Of course. So why switch to another program and start first yr all over again?
Everything written about this in this thread is pure speculation
True, I gotcha
Personally, I like DOs better than MDs and I like the DO model better than the MD model. Both of my physician letter writers are DOs, and they happen to be my two favorite physicians. If I could have had the same chances of matching into a competitive residency as a DO student, I would absolutely have applied 100% DO, but that's just not how things work.
There's more to consider with DO schools than just liking the DO model better than the MD model. The fact that one of those letter writers is a newer physician who just got out of her fellowship and is in my preferred specialty is encouraging, but not encouraging enough for me to hinge my career on going DO if I could possibly go MD instead.
Your career hinges on your boards, not your title.
This is false. Whether you want to admit it or not, PD bias against DOs still exists in many places. DO students have fewer options when it comes to research, which is also important for matching. There are far too many threads about this on SDN, so I won't go any further.
I will more than likely be attending a DO school, but it is false to say that there aren't disadvantages to going DO.
It is not false. Sure there may be some programs with bias, but that is not the majority, and if you perform well on your boards you're not going to be limited in what specialty you can go in to. There are research opportunities everywhere, it's your own personal problem if you're not motivated enough to act on them.
It's a little difficult to separate the exact reason DO students tend to score lower on their boards than MD students. Is it the way the schooling is done, or is it that the DO students are poorer test takers in the first place (lower average MCAT scores for most DO schools compared to MD programs)?
I tend to test well, but it still seems like a gamble to me.
So this thread took a turn....
You like what you like
You get in where you get in
In the end, hopefully we will all be called Doctor
You like what you like
You get in where you get in
In the end, hopefully we will all be called Doctor
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What's the DO model exactly
This is a very reductionistic way of looking at things. Maybe the majority of programs aren't biased, but with certainty, many are. This ratio only goes higher as you go into the prestige fields to the point where I would argue (just a sense, I have no data) that the majority of programs in some of these fields (eyes, bones, skin, plastics, and brains come to mind) are in fact biased against DOs. Realistically, most MDs are not going to be competing for these spots either so I don't think this is necessarily something one MUST consider, but it's what it is. Regarding your point re: research opportunities, suffice it to say there are research opportunities, and there are research opportunities.
I think it's pretty straightforward - DOs are on average poorer students at the time of applications.
I think of DOs as being more whole-person and being realists compared to MDs. The newer DOs I've worked with are immediately ready to jump into end of life and comfort care conversations with the families where appropriate, but the fresh off of residency MDs I've worked with tend to be more aggressive and argue for more lines, more surgery, more treatment when it is WAY past the point of being appropriate, and it seems to take them longer to figure out where the line between helping and hurting is. The newer MDs seem to think doing more things = doing the patients a favor, and it seems to take them longer to realize otherwise than their DO counterparts with similar experience levels.
n=1, I have no idea if this generalizes to all DOs/MDs, but it's just what I've observed personally.
That's a bunch of hogwash my friend; gotta step back from the koolaid a bit.
Moreover I take a skeptical side-eye to your opinion of appropriate care.
Practice habits form primarily in residency, not medical school.
So then he is arguing AOA vs. ACGME...
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Prior to the accreditation merger over half of DO graduates did ACGME residencies. I don't think the person is really making an argument, but articulating a very broad generalization based on very limited information. Foolish, perhaps, but not necessarily irrational.
I applied to Nova's DO program, any thought on whether it would "look bad" for me to apply to the MD as well?
I don't think so - you want to be a doctor, right? So you're applying to as many schools as possible. Many of us applied to Mayo MN and Mayo AZ because we want to go to Mayo and I've heard of people getting interviews for both.
Does Harvard qualify?
It’s no different than applying to other MD schools
Cal Northstate doesn't so it isn't unreasonable to ask. Thanks for the helpful post though
Wow, good point. Nova has a solid DO program that qualifies for federal loans, so I bet their MD program will as well.
Northstate qualified before their medical school was open. They simply haven't done it for some reason.
maybe i'm mistaken but aren't there certain data disclosures etc. that come with federal loans? pure conjecture but perhaps they don't want these things to be public.
This is the enduring mystery that is Northstate.
