NYCOM Discussion Thread 2008-2009

[Semicolon]

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There was one student I know of who left DPC class of 2012 before fundamentals ended. She didn't believe it would be compatable with her learning style. In the end, it's all about how you learn. DPC requires a lot of out of class discipline. It also requires patience and trust. You have to trust that the faculty is going to present you with cases that are eventually going to lead you into learning and understanding how to practice medicine. After experiencing DPC, I can't imagine attending lecture all day long or even going home and streaming all the lectures later. The case presentations are interesting, interactive and stimulating. I'm not saying lecture isn't, but for me DPC is much more so. Good luck

Thank you for the response.

I assume you're in DPC? How is the grading done in the DPC curriculum?

One thing that has bugged me about DPC/PBL is how you know exactly what to study. Do you specifically pick out chapters and other readings during your sessions? Or are you expected to figure that out yourself?

 

[Eudjinn]

from what I understand and what I've heard, DPC basically works like this: you get a clinical case presented. patient history, vitals, labs, films, w/e. your job is to go home and use all of your books to learn about everything possible about the problem the patient is presenting with

ie if your patient has a hand/arm problem you might need to go home and learn about all the upper limb anatomy, physiology, innervations, blood supply, pathology, tests, lab work, etc.

you basically get a case and have to go educate yourself on everything in the case on all levels to understand how to solve it and such

if i'm wrong, dpc kids step in and school me please

 

[emlopez2]

Thank you for the response.

I assume you're in DPC? How is the grading done in the DPC curriculum?

One thing that has bugged me about DPC/PBL is how you know exactly what to study. Do you specifically pick out chapters and other readings during your sessions? Or are you expected to figure that out yourself?

Well I wasnt a DPC student but here is my two cents. If I had it over to do again I would have taken the lecture based route just as I did, but would have integrated more streaming early on rather than later on when you're sick of school. You should start out by going to most of the fundamentals classes to get a sense of which lecturers you can actually learn from, once you've done this you can use streaming more efficiently along with the course notes. Oh and dont forget to start integrating board review material early along with other books so that you're not restricted only to NYCOMs info. They seem to cover only about 75% info you need and throw in another 40% BS that you dont. Not sure what your attendance policy is but we didnt have one. If you do I guess DPC is the way to go so you dont get held back by the lecture material which is mostly junk.

 

[drwilson]

Hey coolhand...any word from NYCOM yet? Also, does anyone know if the AdCom has met again since the last batch of acceptances?

 

[Hokie06]

futuredrandwife, congrats on getting into NSU! You must feel so relieved now that you got into your top choice! We're going to miss you at NYCOM next year haha but I hope you the best at NSU! Great School! : )

 

[Hokie06]

when I interviewed at LECOM-BRadenton, they had us sit in a PBL class. Overall I was very impressed. It was very dynamic and comprehensive. But they told us that you need to be very driven to learn on your own. This will definitely be something I will look into. But I will most likely stay with the lecture based curriculum. Both curriculum looks like they have been proven to work

 

[metalmd06]

Thank you for the response.

I assume you're in DPC? How is the grading done in the DPC curriculum?

One thing that has bugged me about DPC/PBL is how you know exactly what to study. Do you specifically pick out chapters and other readings during your sessions? Or are you expected to figure that out yourself?

Well, to be honest with you I'm not exactly sure how the grading goes in DPC. I know that the majority of our grade comes from content exams and group facilitator assesments. Content exams are basically 4 cases worth of "learning issue" material that each group decides. The common learning issues are the most prevalent concepts on the exam

In addition to that, we are responsible for the OMM and Anatomy faculty curriculum. Every time the lecture based students have an exam, we also have an exam that is scaled down to include only the material from those department's lectures.

As far as how the curriculum goes, Eudjinn had the basic idea. We have three group sessions a week, for two hours at a time. Each session the group discusses what they learned during their studying over the past two days in the context of our learning issues for that day. We begin with a case presentation, formulate a differential diagnosis, evaluate the patient's physical exam and then devise learning issues from our discussion about the patient's presentation.

As the case progresses and we learn more about the anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and so forth about the patient's presentation we can begin to order our differential and request laboratory tests to confirm our suspicions. When we feel we are done with a case, i.e. that we have learned as much as we could from the patient, we move on to the next one.

With DPC, it's really up to you to figure out what learning issues are appropriate. I was a little concerned, as I would understand that most are, about learning everything that I need to learn to be a great physician and succeed on my boards. Now I am confident that if I trust in the curriculum and in the experts that wrote that curriculum, I will be more than prepared.

It's just a matter of preference. Do you prefer to rely on what the experts present you in lecture? If so, then maybe that's the road for you. I really wanted to be in an interactive environment where I could choose relevant topics that intersted me. In the process, I'm learning medicine.

 

[francais7979]

AFter doing alot of research I would love to go to NYCOM. My gpa is around 3.2 and science is 3.5. What MCAT score would I need to be competitive for acceptance?

 

[Hokie06]

Hey francais7979, I was told from the admissions office that the entering class class year had an overall GPA of 3.5 and an average MCAT of 27. Over 5000 students applied for admissions. 700 were interviewed and 2/3 of the interviewees were accepted to fill a class of 300 students.

 

[francais7979]

Thanks Hokie06, I'm instate so I hope that helps me, and I hope I get 30 MCAT!!!

 

[futuredrandwife]

futuredrandwife, congrats on getting into NSU! You must feel so relieved now that you got into your top choice! We're going to miss you at NYCOM next year haha but I hope you the best at NSU! Great School! : )

Thanks so much!!!! I'll miss everyone, too 🙁 but it just turned out that NSU was a better fit for me. I'm glad you got into your top choice as well!! I'm really excited for med school to start... cannot believe we are finally at this point. We should keep in touch!

 

[CoolHand]

Hey coolhand...any word from NYCOM yet? Also, does anyone know if the AdCom has met again since the last batch of acceptances?

Hey DrWilson - nope, no word yet. I'm thinking either something got screwed up in the process or my interviewer hasn't submitted my paperwork yet?? Or maybe I'm still being impatient... I dunno. Seems like we would've heard something by now, though. You haven't heard either, I'm assuming. Who did you interview with, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[CoolHand]

If anybody out there is interested, just called admissions and they said that not all of the applications from November have been to committee yet, but we will hear by the end of January. The committee is meeting the second or third week of January to finish up the November batch.

 

[drwilson]

Hey DrWilson - nope, no word yet. I'm thinking either something got screwed up in the process or my interviewer hasn't submitted my paperwork yet?? Or maybe I'm still being impatient... I dunno. Seems like we would've heard something by now, though. You haven't heard either, I'm assuming. Who did you interview with, if you don't mind me asking?

Nope I haven't heard anything. I interviewed with Dr. Leheste...I think that's how you spell it anyway. I know of another person who interviewed with him though who got in already. I have also heard of people interviewing in the beginning of Nov. and not hearing anything until the end of January, but as I have mentioned before it doesn't matter for me anymore. Is NYCOM your #1 choice?

 

[Semicolon]

I sent out my deposit to NYCOM last Monday morning. Do they give you any confirmation that they received the deposit?

 

[Hokie06]

not sure, I'll be sending out my deposit in a few days.

For those that are currently @NYCOM, is it true that the white coat ceremony is during the end of your second year? I thought they were traditionally started at the beginning of your medical education.

 

[Semicolon]

not sure, I'll be sending out my deposit in a few days.

For those that are currently @NYCOM, is it true that the white coat ceremony is during the end of your second year? I thought they were traditionally started at the beginning of your medical education.

No, I'm pretty sure it's done at the end of second year for all medical schools. It's meant to be symbolic of your transition into clinicals. You don't really need a white coat before then. At least that's what I think.

 

[jp104]

not sure, I'll be sending out my deposit in a few days.

For those that are currently @NYCOM, is it true that the white coat ceremony is during the end of your second year? I thought they were traditionally started at the beginning of your medical education.

The ceremony is around April of your 2nd yr. I prefer it this way; I feel like I earned that white coat.

You will get a white coat at the beginning of your 1st yr that is of slightly cheaper quality and no embroidered name sans ceremony. This coat is used for your standardized patient encounters.

The timing of the white coat ceremony varies from school to school.

 

[futuredrandwife]

For those who were interviewed in Nov. and haven't heard yet, remember that NYCOM interviewers give you a score and also do a short write-up on you. So if they had a lot of people whom they interviewed, they may not have gotten all the write-ups done by the time the ADCOM met.

 

[Hokie06]

awesome, I guess my family should hold off on buying plane tickets until 2011 : )

VCOM does their white coat ceremony in november of their first year I believe. I guess it doesn't really matter hahah but you are right, you don't need it during your first two years since your time will mostly be spent studying from books

 

[engineeredout]

For those who were interviewed in Nov. and haven't heard yet, remember that NYCOM interviewers give you a score and also do a short write-up on you. So if they had a lot of people whom they interviewed, they may not have gotten all the write-ups done by the time the ADCOM met.

They told us on 12/3 we'd get decisions by christmas. Guess if it doesn't come today then they're behind that goal.

 

[Semicolon]

The ceremony is around April of your 2nd yr. I prefer it this way; I feel like I earned that white coat.

You will get a white coat at the beginning of your 1st yr that is of slightly cheaper quality and no embroidered name sans ceremony. This coat is used for your standardized patient encounters.

The timing of the white coat ceremony varies from school to school.

I stand corrected.

Haha, I don't care if it's of lower quality; I'd be honored to receive ANY white coat. 😀

Also, I didn't know that the white coat you get during the ceremony has your name embroidered on it. 😱 Awesome!

 

[em73837]

i know at nycom the convocation is at the beginning of the first year. you wear the white coat they give you and its with the entire school of health professions 🙂.

 

[futuredrandwife]

They told us on 12/3 we'd get decisions by christmas. Guess if it doesn't come today then they're behind that goal.

Yeah, they had told our group that as well. My acceptance was made on Dec. 3rd so I got lucky, but others from that week have not heard. Perhaps they're meeting today!!! 😉 I hope you all receive a great early Christmas present in the form of an acceptance.

 

[dannyboy1]

I sent out my deposit to NYCOM last Monday morning. Do they give you any confirmation that they received the deposit?

why don't you just call them ?

 

[futuredrandwife]

i know at nycom the convocation is at the beginning of the first year. you wear the white coat they give you and its with the entire school of health professions 🙂.

I'm pretty sure the convocation at NYCOM is after the 2nd year. I believe it was mentioned earlier on this page.

 

[jp104]

I'm pretty sure the convocation at NYCOM is after the 2nd year. I believe it was mentioned earlier on this page.

Convocation is around the first month of your first year. It's kind of a ceremony where they get all the different allied health classes + the med students together in a big auditorium. You stand up and say your name. Then they give awards to different professors. It's fun in a way, but usually the day before a test or quiz so most people would rather be studying 🙂

 

[futuredrandwife]

Convocation is around the first month of your first year. It's kind of a ceremony where they get all the different allied health classes + the med students together in a big auditorium. You stand up and say your name. Then they give awards to different professors. It's fun in a way, but usually the day before a test or quiz so most people would rather be studying 🙂

Ohhhh I stand corrected! I could have sworn the med students on Interview Day said that the white coat ceremony was held after second year... unless what you're saying is that convocation and the white coat ceremony are completely different events. I'm probably all screwed up! lol

 

[jp104]

Ohhhh I stand corrected! I could have sworn the med students on Interview Day said that the white coat ceremony was held after second year... unless what you're saying is that convocation and the white coat ceremony are completely different events. I'm probably all screwed up! lol

Yup, the white coat ceremony and convocation are two different events 🙂

Oh btw, Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[Semicolon]

why don't you just call them ?

I can call. I was just wondering because some schools do that.

Thanks jp104! Happy holidays!🙂

 

[EMDOC4sure]

hey guys...quick question.....

i'm currently a senior going into my last sem of undergrad....i took my MCATs in sept for the first time and got an 18!! i have a 3.5 GPA, work at a hospital, do EMS, involved in tons of administrative positions in various clubs, minister at church and got plenty of shadowing experience.

I was wondering if i had the slightest chance into nycom with this mcat score for fall 09? My primary apps were sent in Sept and i've gotten a confirmation e-mail from them.

The DO who i'm shadowing, is a clinical profesor at NYCOM. I told him about my stats and he assured me not to worry and that he will put in a few words and get me in. To what extent should i believe that?

i'm really worried and hopefully somebody here could help me. 🙁

 

[countthestars]

I was wondering if i had the slightest chance into nycom with this mcat score for fall 09? My primary apps were sent in Sept and i've gotten a confirmation e-mail from them.

Honestly, an 18 isn't gonna help your chances much. But I suppose its still possible. If I were in your shoes, I would try to have some hope, but prepare for the worst (that is retaking the MCATS and just reapplying next year). But, you never know, the average MCAT for NYCOM is a 27 or 28...so who knows

 

[Semicolon]

hey guys...quick question.....

i'm currently a senior going into my last sem of undergrad....i took my MCATs in sept for the first time and got an 18!! i have a 3.5 GPA, work at a hospital, do EMS, involved in tons of administrative positions in various clubs, minister at church and got plenty of shadowing experience.

I was wondering if i had the slightest chance into nycom with this mcat score for fall 09? My primary apps were sent in Sept and i've gotten a confirmation e-mail from them.

The DO who i'm shadowing, is a clinical profesor at NYCOM. I told him about my stats and he assured me not to worry and that he will put in a few words and get me in. To what extent should i believe that?

i'm really worried and hopefully somebody here could help me. 🙁

Honestly, if I were you, I would definitely plan to retake the MCAT and reapply. You seem to have A LOT going for you; it's just that darn MCAT that's causing all the trouble. If you could take care of that, you'd be golden.

I'm curious who you shadowed; I shadowed an assistant professor of NYCOM (who is also an ER doc), so it could be the same person for all I know, haha. However, I would not place too much dependence on his words; I know of someone who interviewed at NYCOM and the DO I shadowed called in on her behalf...she ended up getting a rejection anyway. It really depends on how much "pull" the DO you shadowed has.

In any case, I wish you the best of luck. 🙂

 

[Eudjinn]

hey guys...quick question.....

i'm currently a senior going into my last sem of undergrad....i took my MCATs in sept for the first time and got an 18!! i have a 3.5 GPA, work at a hospital, do EMS, involved in tons of administrative positions in various clubs, minister at church and got plenty of shadowing experience.

I was wondering if i had the slightest chance into nycom with this mcat score for fall 09? My primary apps were sent in Sept and i've gotten a confirmation e-mail from them.

The DO who i'm shadowing, is a clinical profesor at NYCOM. I told him about my stats and he assured me not to worry and that he will put in a few words and get me in. To what extent should i believe that?

i'm really worried and hopefully somebody here could help me. 🙁

i'm not sure if this is a troll post, but i'll bite if it's not...

i'm not going to sugercoat it for you. you have slim to no chance at most DO schools including NYCOM with an 18. connections will only get you so far so unless your DO is the dean of nycom (which probably still he would not be able to help you). i had the pleasure of having lunch one on one with him once in the cafeteria and he basically said that under 24 need not bother to apply pretty much.

retake MCAT. otherwise you are wasting money on apps.

 

[Hokie06]

I agree with everyone else. with an 18 mcat... you really have no chance at any medical school in the U.S. I'm sorry for being so harsh but this is the reality. The average MCAT score amongst DO schools is a 25-26. NYCOM in particular is 27. With a 18 MCAT, you MUST retake the MCAT if you want to go to medical school in the U.S. Your GPA is definitely good and your experiences tells the adcoms a lot about you. But a 18 is too low to be forgiven no matter how strong your other credentials are. If I were you, I would plan to retake the MCAT some time next year. Take a MCAT class such as kaplan and make sure you do all the assigned homework, even the recommended ones. Then take all 9 aamc practice test and be sure to review each one of them in depth. If you do all this, you will without a doubt get a score of no less than a 23. The MCAT is doable. If you put in the effort, a lot of the times it will show on your score. Good luck!

 

[EMDOC4sure]

thanks guys....i'm currently registered for the jan 30th MCAT...hopefully, ill do better......if i pull in the 20s, do u think its too late for the fall?

 

[Hokie06]

definitely. Try to get the highest grade possible. I would let the school know you are currently registered to take the MCAT again so they can follow up on your application after they see your new scores. Also make it known to NYCOM that they are your number one choice. Maybe you can write a letter expressing your interest in their school and how you are planning on retaking the MCAT after more preparation. Best of luck to you buddy and hope you can join us this coming august!

 

[Eudjinn]

thanks guys....i'm currently registered for the jan 30th MCAT...hopefully, ill do better......if i pull in the 20s, do u think its too late for the fall?

if you already have an application on file for fall at nycom, give them a call and let them know or ask them to hold off on making a decision on your app if they can until they get new mcat scores. chance is still there, even mid feb.

 

[Semicolon]

Just to give all of you future classmates a heads up:

NYCOM WILL send you a letter confirming that they have received your deposit. I sent mine in last Monday, December 15th and just got a letter from them today (dated December 22nd) that they're confirming receipt of the deposit.

Along with the confirmation letter, they also sent the DPC Curriculum Application Form, which consists of two questions with space for about a paragraph underneath each. It also states that a maximum of 40 students will be allowed into the DPC curriculum.

Because I'm so nice, I'll give you the questions so that you can get started on them if you so wish: 😀

1. Why do you believe the DPC, structured around Problem Based Learning, is the preferred curriculum for you?

2. What (if any) previous Problem Based Learning activities have you participated in, for example in an educational, military, work, or social environment?

You're welcome. Good luck to all of you DPC hopefuls.

 

[Semicolon]

I have a question in light of what I stated above.

I understand that there is a two-week "trial period" during which you can opt to go into the LDB curriculum. However, if you send in this DPC application form, and they accept you into the curriculum, do you HAVE to go into the DPC curriculum, or do you still have the chance to choose LDB before you matriculate?

Thanks!

 

[countthestars]

I have a question in light of what I stated above.

I understand that there is a two-week "trial period" during which you can opt to go into the LDB curriculum. However, if you send in this DPC application form, and they accept you into the curriculum, do you HAVE to go into the DPC curriculum, or do you still have the chance to choose LDB before you matriculate?

Thanks!

Basically, you can drop the DPC within 2 weeks of school starting. You wont be missing anything since for the first 7 weeks, the DPC and LDB have the same curriculum during the intro period.

 

[engineeredout]

1. Why do you believe the DPC, structured around Problem Based Learning, is the preferred curriculum for you?

2. What (if any) previous Problem Based Learning activities have you participated in, for example in an educational, military, work, or social environment?

Man I'm glad I don't want DPC. MY answer for the second question would already be in the first

 

[Semicolon]

Basically, you can drop the DPC within 2 weeks of school starting. You wont be missing anything since for the first 7 weeks, the DPC and LDB have the same curriculum during the intro period.

Thanks for responding. I knew about that initial 2-week period, but what if you got accepted into the DPC curriculum and you wished to withdraw from it BEFORE matriculation? Can you still do that, or are you obligated to do the DPC curriculum once you are accepted into it?

 

[countthestars]

Thanks for responding. I knew about that initial 2-week period, but what if you got accepted into the DPC curriculum and you wished to withdraw from it BEFORE matriculation? Can you still do that, or are you obligated to do the DPC curriculum once you are accepted into it?

I don't think you are obligated since you can drop it anyways. So if you are faced with that situation, then I would just wait till the first day and then go over to the DPC office and tell them you want to do LDB. It shouldn't be a problem since there is usually a wait list for people to get into the DPC around that time.

 

[Semicolon]

I don't think you are obligated since you can drop it anyways. So if you are faced with that situation, then I would just wait till the first day and then go over to the DPC office and tell them you want to do LDB. It shouldn't be a problem since there is usually a wait list for people to get into the DPC around that time.

Thank you; that makes me feel better about this decision.

I figure, as long as I have LDB to fall back on, I can give DPC a chance. But if both tracks take the same class in the beginning, are there even any DPC sessions during this initial period? If not, this seems sorta pointless... 😀

 

[countthestars]

But if both tracks take the same class in the beginning, are there even any DPC sessions during this initial period? If not, this seems sorta pointless... 😀

don't quote me on this since I'm not DPC. But I remember hearing that the DPC kids got a case before school started and they had meetings during the first 2 weeks to discuss that case. They also had their own orientaion along with the orientaion required for everyone else in the incomming class.

 

[Eudjinn]

if you do DPC, you will have more work/school in those first few weeks because you will have to attend all LDB stuff and then have your group meetings at the end of that (when the LDB kids go home). I remember a few times being dead tired from the day and speaking to a DPC friend who said "I still have a dpc meeting at 5"

i'm sure you can opt out of DPC at any time with a phone call once you are accepted and before you have begun classes. as mentioned, i'm positive there will be people trying to get into it.

 

[Semicolon]

if you do DPC, you will have more work/school in those first few weeks because you will have to attend all LDB stuff and then have your group meetings at the end of that (when the LDB kids go home). I remember a few times being dead tired from the day and speaking to a DPC friend who said "I still have a dpc meeting at 5"

i'm sure you can opt out of DPC at any time with a phone call once you are accepted and before you have begun classes. as mentioned, i'm positive there will be people trying to get into it.

You do a great job at making LDB much more tempting.

 

[MDbear]

Hey guys, so I interviewed Nov 5th and was offered the Med Prep program. Anyone else going through Med-prep 2009? I read in a few threads that this is more of a conditional acceptance. Apparently, you have to go through a 5 week intense summer program and if you do well they offer you an acceptance. I really hope this is the case because NYCOM is also my number one choice!!! Regardless, I'm still psyched and ready to give it all in this program 😀

 

[Semicolon]

Hey guys, so I interviewed Nov 5th and was offered the Med Prep program. Anyone else going through Med-prep 2009? I read in a few threads that this is more of a conditional acceptance. Apparently, you have to go through a 5 week intense summer program and if you do well they offer you an acceptance. I really hope this is the case because NYCOM is also my number one choice!!! Regardless, I'm still psyched and ready to give it all in this program 😀

Congratulations on getting into the Med Prep program! Good luck; it's going to be tough but I'm sure you can do it.

Hope you see you in the fall. 👍