i was hoping that current students at either school could give me some clue. i have been accepted to both schools and im having a difficult time deciding. so, if any of you have any advice i would surely appreciate it. (im 27 currently living in new england, my family is from the philly area, i would like to be involved in international health be it overseas programs or with projects based in the u.s.)
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philly vs. michigan com's
- Thread starter flu
- Start date
Hey Flu, I can tell you from experience that PCOM is an excellent med. school . At PCOM the basic sciences are great and the clinical rotations are "tops". From what I hear,MSU-COM is also a very good school. Now this might help you make your decision.MSU,for out of state residents,is about $33,000 p/y and PCOM is only about $23,000p/y.Philly is also a great town with "lots" to do.I can't say what it's like in E. Lansing,MI.-I've never been there.Whatever your choice is,I'm sure you will make out fine. Good Luck!
charlie, i m not too sure if ive heard of the term, medical missionary before. if you mean providing health care in underserved areas here and overseas, then yes, this is what i am hoping to get into during and after my med-school years. ive been doing only a little bit of research here and there and ive found numerous organizations that have programs for students and graduates alike. unfortunately, many are religiously affiliated, and i have my own personal objections about that. are you currently an osteopathic student or are you looking into schools?
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Flu,
I was talking about providing health care to underserved people overseas and I meant in a Christian light. If you don't mind my asking, what are your objections to religiously affiliated sponsors? I'm a hs student intersted in osteopathic medicine AND Christian missions.
Charlie
I was talking about providing health care to underserved people overseas and I meant in a Christian light. If you don't mind my asking, what are your objections to religiously affiliated sponsors? I'm a hs student intersted in osteopathic medicine AND Christian missions.
Charlie
Charlie,
I dont think that the discussion you are looking to have is appropriate for this forum. If you would like you may email me directly [email protected]. Otherwise, good luck with your goals and your studies.
--flu
I dont think that the discussion you are looking to have is appropriate for this forum. If you would like you may email me directly [email protected]. Otherwise, good luck with your goals and your studies.
--flu
2
2bdoc
Dear Flu,
Nobody has mentioned anything about MSUCOM. As a student here, I can attest to the many wonderful opportunities MSUCOM offers.
First of all, MSU has a world reknowned International Health Program. You can check it out on the MSUCOM website. Because we take our classes with the CHM (the MD school) during our first year, we have twice as many organizations as any other osteopathic medical school. The COM and CHM classes are very close - we study and social together.
Because MSUCOM is part of a university, we have access to all of the university's facilities. We have fundraisers at Big Ten sports events, for instance.
East Lansing may not be a metropolis but it has everything a medical student needs to survive; good coffee shops, tons of bookstores - you will always find a medical book you need, etc. At MSU, we have our own clinical center. We participate in many community health related programs including diabetes counseling, teaching elementary children about health, homeless clinic, emergency medicine, sports medicine, etc. etc. Because East Lansing is juxtaposed next to Lansing (Michigan's state capitol), there is also a lot of political activism here.
Osteopathically speaking, MSUCOM has Dr. Greenman - the new father of OMM. He authored the OMM text used at every osteopathic medical school. At MSUCOM, we also have more hours of OMM training than at any other school.
If you have any other questions about the school, please ask. The best thing about our program is that it's all pass/fail. There is virtually no competition amongst the other students. However, that's not to say it's not challenging. I have never worked so hard in my life just to pass before.
Good luck choosing!
Nobody has mentioned anything about MSUCOM. As a student here, I can attest to the many wonderful opportunities MSUCOM offers.
First of all, MSU has a world reknowned International Health Program. You can check it out on the MSUCOM website. Because we take our classes with the CHM (the MD school) during our first year, we have twice as many organizations as any other osteopathic medical school. The COM and CHM classes are very close - we study and social together.
Because MSUCOM is part of a university, we have access to all of the university's facilities. We have fundraisers at Big Ten sports events, for instance.
East Lansing may not be a metropolis but it has everything a medical student needs to survive; good coffee shops, tons of bookstores - you will always find a medical book you need, etc. At MSU, we have our own clinical center. We participate in many community health related programs including diabetes counseling, teaching elementary children about health, homeless clinic, emergency medicine, sports medicine, etc. etc. Because East Lansing is juxtaposed next to Lansing (Michigan's state capitol), there is also a lot of political activism here.
Osteopathically speaking, MSUCOM has Dr. Greenman - the new father of OMM. He authored the OMM text used at every osteopathic medical school. At MSUCOM, we also have more hours of OMM training than at any other school.
If you have any other questions about the school, please ask. The best thing about our program is that it's all pass/fail. There is virtually no competition amongst the other students. However, that's not to say it's not challenging. I have never worked so hard in my life just to pass before.
Good luck choosing!
I'm not sure about any of the other schools, but AZCOM doesn't use Greenman's text (it is listed a suggested reference). Our required texts are Digiovanna's "Osteopathic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment" (a waste of money), Hoppenfeld's "Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities" (an excellent book whether you are interested in OMM or not), and Ward's "Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine" (a bigger waste of money than Digiovanna).
2
2bdoc
Greenman authored "Principles of Manual Medicine" second edition. Since you are not satisfied with the other texts, you should take a look at it. I highly recommend it. We also use Hoppenfeld's "Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities." I haven't seen the other books your school uses, though so, I can not comment on them. What exactly don't you like about them?
dear 2bdoc,
thank you for your response. its getting down to the line and i guess ive been leaning toward pcom because its closer to home and i know that the program is excellent. but as far as international medicine is concerned, there really is not much established there.
are you involved in the international health institute. ive tried to get some info about it over the net but it seems that msucom only briefly mentions the work they do. i wanted to know how many students participate in it? do you have alot of time to be involved? is it a competitive program to go overseas?
the other question i cant seem to find the right person to ask is msucom has a joint program with u of m (mph-do). i called u of m and the only program that seemed to know anything about it was the policy and health management department. i was hoping to concentrate in the international health department but i have yet to hear back from any of the people ive called.... i hate to bug you with all of these questions but perhaps you know someone that could guide me in the right direction.
you also mentioned the pass/fail grading system. do you know if this makes it more or less difficult or no difference when it comes to applying to residencies and clerkships? while i was interviewing there, it seemed that the majority of students wanted to stay in the michigan area for their post graduate work. this is another concern for me since my family is on the east coast, i was hoping to get a residency here. do you know if this is a possibility or if anyone you know has done this?
"We participate in many community health related programs including diabetes counseling, teaching elementary children about health, homeless clinic, emergency medicine, sports medicine, etc. etc. Because East Lansing is juxtaposed next to Lansing (Michigan's state capitol), there is also a lot of political activism here" THis is very appealing to me. you have brought up a few points about lansing that i have overlooked. thank you for making this decision even harder (only kidding) it is really difficult to get a good idea about a town from a short visit, so i really appreciate your input.
Good luck to you in your studies.
flu.
thank you for your response. its getting down to the line and i guess ive been leaning toward pcom because its closer to home and i know that the program is excellent. but as far as international medicine is concerned, there really is not much established there.
are you involved in the international health institute. ive tried to get some info about it over the net but it seems that msucom only briefly mentions the work they do. i wanted to know how many students participate in it? do you have alot of time to be involved? is it a competitive program to go overseas?
the other question i cant seem to find the right person to ask is msucom has a joint program with u of m (mph-do). i called u of m and the only program that seemed to know anything about it was the policy and health management department. i was hoping to concentrate in the international health department but i have yet to hear back from any of the people ive called.... i hate to bug you with all of these questions but perhaps you know someone that could guide me in the right direction.
you also mentioned the pass/fail grading system. do you know if this makes it more or less difficult or no difference when it comes to applying to residencies and clerkships? while i was interviewing there, it seemed that the majority of students wanted to stay in the michigan area for their post graduate work. this is another concern for me since my family is on the east coast, i was hoping to get a residency here. do you know if this is a possibility or if anyone you know has done this?
"We participate in many community health related programs including diabetes counseling, teaching elementary children about health, homeless clinic, emergency medicine, sports medicine, etc. etc. Because East Lansing is juxtaposed next to Lansing (Michigan's state capitol), there is also a lot of political activism here" THis is very appealing to me. you have brought up a few points about lansing that i have overlooked. thank you for making this decision even harder (only kidding) it is really difficult to get a good idea about a town from a short visit, so i really appreciate your input.
Good luck to you in your studies.
flu.
2
2bdoc
Dear flu,
I'm glad to add some perspective to your decision process. I am currently not involved in IHP (the International Health Program). If you call the MSUCOM office, you can ask for the name of the student president of the organization and send him/her an e-mail.
As far as the MPH-DO program, I know a little about it. After completing your first two years at MSU, you only need to go for a year to U of M to complete your degree. Normally, the program is 2 years but as a medical student, you place out of a number of classes. The coordinator for this program is Dr. Teitlebaum. You should talk to him about it.
From my understanding of our coursework compared to other schools, is that our exams are a bit more difficult because they are pass/fail. They are designed to be challenging. However, there is virtually no competition for grades. There are no curves - everything is on a straight grade scale. The advantage to this system, besides the lack of competition, is that we are very well prepared for board exams. The style of the questions on all exams are like board exam questions. This may be why MSUCOM has a very high pass rate on the boards.
You are correct that the majority of students are from Michigan and plan to reside in the state. However, there are many students from out of state also. You will be tied to Michigan for at least 3.5 years. You can do 10 weeks of rotations out of state, or out of the country. The rest of the clinical rotations (years 3 & 4) must be done in Michigan.
Good luck deciding!
I'm glad to add some perspective to your decision process. I am currently not involved in IHP (the International Health Program). If you call the MSUCOM office, you can ask for the name of the student president of the organization and send him/her an e-mail.
As far as the MPH-DO program, I know a little about it. After completing your first two years at MSU, you only need to go for a year to U of M to complete your degree. Normally, the program is 2 years but as a medical student, you place out of a number of classes. The coordinator for this program is Dr. Teitlebaum. You should talk to him about it.
From my understanding of our coursework compared to other schools, is that our exams are a bit more difficult because they are pass/fail. They are designed to be challenging. However, there is virtually no competition for grades. There are no curves - everything is on a straight grade scale. The advantage to this system, besides the lack of competition, is that we are very well prepared for board exams. The style of the questions on all exams are like board exam questions. This may be why MSUCOM has a very high pass rate on the boards.
You are correct that the majority of students are from Michigan and plan to reside in the state. However, there are many students from out of state also. You will be tied to Michigan for at least 3.5 years. You can do 10 weeks of rotations out of state, or out of the country. The rest of the clinical rotations (years 3 & 4) must be done in Michigan.
Good luck deciding!
Flu,
I was really interested to hear the replies you recieved. I am going to PCOM next year, and although I am not choosing between the two schools, the information you posted was helpful because I am from Nevada and don't hear much about schools on the East Coast. Thanks.
------------------
Michelle
I was really interested to hear the replies you recieved. I am going to PCOM next year, and although I am not choosing between the two schools, the information you posted was helpful because I am from Nevada and don't hear much about schools on the East Coast. Thanks.
------------------
Michelle
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