pod residency

[jconway]

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hey guys,
just curious
does anyone know what it takes to get a 3 year residency
is it all gpa,
do extracurrics count, board scores etc...
I am still a first year, so I have plenty of time to worry about this
but I am curious as to what it takes to get in
any info would be great
thanks

 

[Emo]

Hey J,
I was in pod school at Barry for 2 years starting in August of1997. I have quite a few friends who are now in their last year of pod residency (PSR 2+). From what I have gathered, I think that GPA is the most important factor to get a good residency. A buddy of mine is chief resident at West Penn in Pittsburgh and he had a perfect 4.0 when he graduated, he also our class SNPMA delegate. And he wasn't the only one with a perfect GPA. So, I think that grades are the key... Just my opinion. What school do you go to?

 

[jconway]

hi, thanks for the reply
i am over at nycpm, for beter or worse,lol
my gpa is def not going to be a perfect 4.0, hopefully I will be able to graduate with an a- average, currently its like a b+, but alot of that just came from getting used to studying, new school etc...
I was hoping the boards would have a big pull the way they do in traditional md programs, basically b/c there are alot of kids getting by on methods that are not completely honest, hence their grades are high, but the knowledge they are actually gaining isnt...
so you said before that you used to go to barry, how mcuh diff do you find the curriculm between there and DO school, barring of course the omm part...
I only ask because I find alot of the material we cover at nycpm is pretty much the same as what some of the local medschools cover, like I can study for my tests with friends at allo schools and we are focusing on the same subject matter for alot for our classes in the same detail, although our tests could be night and day the material presented is done to the same degree
i was just curious if this was the case at other places as well, and given that you prob have alot more perspective than I do, you might have some info to share

thanks

 

[Emo]

Hey J,
I would say the curriculum of the first year of podiatry school is similar to the first year of DO school and I would imagine at MD school. The classes are the same e.g. gross anatomy, histo, biochem etc and probably just as difficult. To be honest, at Barry, we had a lot of "shelf" exams or tests taken by previous students ahead of us. This isn't to say the material was not difficult to learn, you just knew that the profs would repeat questions. That's probably why a lot my class mates ended up with super high GPAs. My second year at Nova Southeastern was when I noticed the differences. The second year at Barry started to focus on LE anatomy, path, internal medicine and clinical didactics-good stuff. Second year at Nova was basically similar, in the fact that it was more clinically oriented...we learned systems e.g cardiolology, neurology, pulmonology, musculoskeletal, path, etc. OMM, of course, was taught throughout both first years and it was cool.
Well, I really don't know how much weight board scores have in the application process. I know that my class was pretty successful in aquiring their first or second choice of residencies. I have friends finishing if not already fininshed with their residencies at Northlake, Mount Sinai, Fla Hosp East, Miami VA, Palmetto, and West Penn to name a few. And all these guys had something other than grades going for them. So really I think these programs look at the whole applicant and also I think they may like the fact that you did an externship at the program and ya know, "audition" for the part.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Any other questions or comments please feel free to post. I've been "lurking" for a while and I've read a lot of nice and not so nice stuff...so I finally came out from under my rock. Take care
-Em

 

[efs]

Here is the important part.

So really I think these programs look at the whole applicant and also I think they may like the fact that you did an externship at the program and ya know, "audition" for the part.

Be well rounded. Be there (be attentive, be on time, be interested, extern or visit, etc.) Be interested, there are lots of ways to show this. Know the program. Why do you want to go there in particular? Know something about the people, who is there and what are their interests? Hope this points you in the right direction.

Grades are not that important (in my opinion). Nobody in my class had a 4.0, I think the top scores were around 3.8 but I'm not sure. I know mine wasn't. From what I was hearing, some other schools have 1/4-1/3 of the class with 4.0 GPAs. So what does that say?

Board scores are on a PASS/FAIL system. It only hurts if you fail or retest.

Extracurriculars can say a whole lot. The residency directors have been there. They know how to read between the lines. If you join a bunch of clubs just to have something to put on your CV it shows. If you have a few activities and are involved, that shows too. If you do things outside of school (in the community), that can be important too. (I.E. I was in the Reserves, and held part time jobs - which were medically related. I think it helped.) Bottom line is that they can figure out wether you might or might not be a good fit. In fact many of them will have a pretty good idea even before the interviews. That helps confirm their opinions.

Anyway, there are a few good pointers.

As far as this forum. Sorry, but I don't usually have time to visit often. There seems to be a lot of negative comments, a lot of which is unneeded. Don't worry about other people's opinions. Some of them do not deserve or need a response. Stay professional in your comments and responses, and they'll take care of themselves.

Take care.

Eric

 

[jconway]

thanks so much guys
its so good to see some actual solid info on this site
but ur right about keeping it professional, i know i have def let my emotions get the better of me and its gotten me nowhere

yeah as far as grades go, I can definatly see some of the how do you say "subjectivity" that goes along with it
for whatever its worth right

I had no idea the boards were pass/fail...
I guess I am a first year so no one has explained this to me yet

and the whole "joining 10 clubs thing" definatly seemed to me like something that is pretty superificial especially since we all join them freshmen year when we have no idea what our specific aptitudes are

anyways
great to hear from some people out there
and lets keep these kinda forums runnin

 

[ProdPod]

Hey jconway,
I assume that you go to the NY school, do you like it up there? How are the faculty etc. I would really like to hear this from you.

Prodpod

 

[jconway]

hey prodpod.....
yeah im at nycpm...i like it there..i do have some problems with some of the educational models, but all and all the faculty is pretty good
i went to suny stony brook (a really big state school) for undergrad though so for me being able to even speak to a prof is a huge deal....
i know im learning everything i need to know here, and im pretty sure more than i need...but i cant say the same about all of my classmates, whatever though its their choice....
all and all i like the faculty here, ive noticed that if you take a little bit of iniative, there is no limit to how much they will give back to you, and i think that makes a world of difference

the area could be better of course (harlem), but its really alot better than people think it is, there are definatly way worse areas to be in...great burger joint around the corner, and there always something entertaining going on in the streets(though not always legal)
hopefully though, the area will work to my advantage in the clinical years...i was torn between ny and temple for school, im from ny so i wanted to stay nearby..and while i hear temple has the best academics, im hoping that ill get a look at the nastiest patholgy at nycpm(which seems like the most impt thing to me right now), i definatly dont want a ny residency though, for the simple fact that ny and podiatry dont mesh so well
the kids here are pretty cool, i mean you have your normal batch of gunners and spacecadets, and a few tragically misinformed, but all in all we are a pretty motley crue of happy, hardowrking students who seem really enthused about where their lives are heading
all and all im happy here, though biochem def gave me a run for my money this semester, im glad to see that im finding my way through it all
so hows the situation for you...
i think you said you were from barry, and that u left ohio...love to hear about them both..
actually id love to hear any input anyone has about any of the schools, pos or neg (but of course lets try and keep it amicable between everyone here)
-e