NYCOMScrubs or any NYCOM student

[goldenjims]

Just wanted to get some advice about NYCOM. I think up to this point, I like it the best of the DO schools I have been to. Any thing else stick out to you about your experience thus far that you like, dont like. Are you happy with your decision? Did you have other choices? (DO or MD) Why did you choose DO over MD, if applicable? Those kinds of things. I am really mulling over some tough decisions. I have been accepted by NYCOM but it looks like I will also be accepted by my in state MD schools which are wonderful. However, I am very interested in the osteopathic way of medicine. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance and maybe I will see you in Old Westbury in the fall.

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[ychromosome]

hey goldenjims,

I'm a first year NYCOM student, so first off, congrats on making it in here. I realize your decision is a tough one in comparing DO vs MD, but dont lose sleep over it. You can do basically anything with either degree. I know fourth years here interviewing at prime hospitals, (Brigham in Boston, Cornell, etc) for competitive residency slots. Med school is totally what you make of it. Wherever you go, just make yourself stand out in some way, get good board scores, and you're golden for a 1st or 2nd choice residency. Overall, NYCOM is tough. The first 2 years are very intense, second year being especially draining. People are very friendly though and my classmates will bend over backwards to help each other out. You dont find that friendly, helpful atmosphere at alot of MD schools from what I hear. The faculty is incredible for the most part, honestly. They have the perfect mix of the old, established, well-known professors and the young, enthusiastic profs who can relate to what we're going through. The Deans will eat lunch with you and the anatomy faculty met us in the bar after the last anatomy exam. Help is abundant everywhere. The exams are on the block system and average between 5-10 exams for the week, every 5-7 weeks. The north shore of long island is quiet and pretty scenic, but expensive. About a third of the students live in the Glen Cove area (5 miles away), and the rest are scattered around the island and city. The city is about a 30 minute trainride, so we get to party after blocks are over. The rotations for 3rd and 4th year are truly second to none, and they have affiliations with about 25 hospitals all over NY and NJ. My only real complaint is that tuition is a bit high, around 27K for 1st year.

Lemme know of any other Q's. Best of luck.

 

[ychromosome]

Hi ligand,

First off, pathology is very much within reach as long as you do well. It's a competitive residency though because it's not as rigorous in terms of long hours and stress. I know one of our anatomy fellows right now is interviewing for path residency at some Ivy hospitals. If you're looking to teach one day, that's very possible too. Actually, one of our best professors is a DO pathologist who graduated from NYCOM. He's a relatively young guy who teaches anatomy, histo, and neurosci and works the rest of the time at North Shore Univ hospital. Great guy and an incredible teacher. Hence, if you do well, you can go anywhere and do anything. I wouldnt worry too much about the DO "stigma". That notion is quickly evaporating. Many students here will also take the USMLE in addition to the COMLEX and they do quite well, hence silencing any critics remaining. I know many students on the 7 year accelerated program and they seem to enjoy it. I wouldnt worry terribly about the PhD unless you want to do research or do nothing but teach. Any additional experience in terms of research, volunteer work, or summer internships would never hurt your resume. I dont feel in the least that NYCOM tries to push anyone into family practice. They want everyone to do what they want to do. OMT is stressed here somewhat, but I, for one, take it with a grain of salt. Our Dean wrote the book (literally) on much of OMT way back when, so some of the upper administration are strong supporters of the osteopathic philosophy and treatment, but I definitely dont feel like I'm pressured into going into family practice or employing OMT down the road.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hedwig]

The above pretty much sums it up. Generally, NYCOM, PCOM, and COMP have the reputation for not shoving primary care down your throat. And, particularly with PCOM and NYCOM, the grads go into every field of medicine. (Their match list is posted on here somewhere.) I prefer PCOM for a variety of reasons, but if you're a BS/DO just stick with it. I'm sort of in the same boat as you, though I'm not a BS/DO. I graduated from NYIT in August with a BA in a non-science field. Now I'm coming back for a year and a half to do the post-bacc basic science and then off to PCOM a year from August. Anyway, I have a tremendous record of grades and extracurriculars, and could probably have my choice of, at the very least, the SUNY schools, but I'm going DO because 1) I have a strong family connection with the profession and 2) although I'm interested in ER and rads, which generally aren't a problem for PCOM grads, the opportunity to have a cush OMM practice on the side--working outside of the managed care system, bringing in some substantial extra cash, etc--is very, very appealing. Remember, those OMM specialists bring in a TON of cash and have an enviably low malpractice premium. Just a thought.

Really, DO offers the best education possible in my opinion. First, we learn everything the MDs do. Then we learn OMM, which, at the very least, makes us more proficient in anatomy, neurology, etc. And in my experience, the DOs are simply a lot more fun to be around.

So stick with NYCOM. I know a lot of students there who like it a lot. And, from what administrators of various DO schools tell me, NYCOM, along with PCOM and the Texas school are the most well-respected of the 19 schools.

Personally, though, if I had to spend an extra 4 years on the Old Westbury campus I think I'd shoot myself.