Pikville-COM

[jephyboy]

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Does anyone know anything about Pikville-COM? That's not a school that appears on this forum much. Thanks.

 

[D.O.'s rule]

Its a new DO school in the southeastern part of Kentucky. I just chose PCSOM over MSUCOM. They apparently have a strong program and have a strong emphasis on OMM and primary care. They just graduated their first class in May and have received full accreditation from AOA. They are not going to be as popular as most of the other DO schools because of their location. Their primary goal is to recruit and graduate doctors that will stay in Appalachia, so that means alot of students won't even apply there.

 

[D.O.'s rule]

I forgot to mention that Pikeville College is a very small school and the DO class is only about 60 students per class.

 

[Jamier2]

While I don't know much else about Pikeville, all the students I've talked to who go there seem to be very happy with the school. 🙂

 

[jephyboy]

Thanks for the posts. Anyone else?

How are the 3rd and 4th years? Since it's such a small school, are the rotation locations similar in that respect?

 

[D.O.'s rule]

They've got their rotations set up about like other schools. They have a list of core locations around the state, some in Pikeville and most about 1-2 hours away from pikeville, and you spend the majority of your rotations in one of those locations. You have 4 months of electives and during these you may choose to go elsewhere in the country. They also have initiated a program called A-Optic for postgraduate training (internships and residencies) that allows students to stay in KY for all of their educations. This was a real problem for them when they opened because usually doctors end up staying where they have residencies. They moved on this pretty quick because they didn't want their graduates going somewhere else for postgrad training and never coming back.
I know when I interviewed there everyone was extremely happy and helpful. One student I spoke to chose PCSOM over the UNECOM program because she said they were very stuffy and stuck up in New England. (her words, not mine) and that Pikeville was very friendly and the students were not all out to get each other.
It is a pass/fail system, which helps to eliminate competitiveness and they are very student oriented. Tuition includes all your texts, a new Pentium III laptop, all instruments, and a portable OMM table. Most lectures are on their computer network, which means you can plug your laptop in and watch the lecture over again. I have heard on the PCSOM thread that the OMM course is awesome and I know their instructor has a great rep in the circles. One of their students just won a trip last year to Europe, I believe, because of his skills in OPP. Just a little more info for ya.

 

[Pikevillemedstudent]

Actually we are not a pass/fail school. We go mainly on %'s. However, I do not agree that pass/fail eliminates competitiveness. Our school does not have a comp. atmosphere. Also, 3rd and 4th year occurs at one of 9 sites. These sites can be found at the website www.pc.edu One new site was added and that was Dayton, OH at Grandview Medical Center. Also, the Covington, KY site was eliminated. You will not have to travel to a new location every month during 3rd and 4th year like you do at other schools, but you can choose to do some out rotations if you desire. With the exception of Dayton and possibly Paducah, KY, most of the sites are rural like Pikeville. What better way to train rural docs?

 

[phd2b]

Hey Pike,
What is the clinical rotation site in Paducah? I didn't find it on the web-site. I think I heard that there was one in Mayfield. Please advise.
phd2b

 

[D.O.'s rule]

Hey Pikevillemed,
I must have been misinformed about the pass/fail. So are we on a standard leter grade system? Is everything else I wrote pretty accurate? I will be there soon!!!!

 

[Pikevillemedstudent]

phd2b,
The official name fo the site is Mayfield but several in the class refer to it as Paduach. I am not sure if this has to do with the fact that it is close to Paduach or that rotations actually occur there. Sorry for the confusion. I am sure that if you wish one or two rotations could be done in Paduach if they are not available already.

John,
Everything else you wrote was correct. The grades I recieve in the mail from the school are %iles. There are some P/F classes like Ethics, Comm/Behavoiral Med, and PCSOM rounds just to name a few but the biggie's like biochem, gross, and OPP are all %'s.