Pros and Cons of your DO School

[djd2187]

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Will be posting up my formal review of NSUCOM within the next couple of weeks. After finally matching...

congratulations on matching and can't wait for the review

 

[wannabeaDO]

+1 for MSUCOM update, would like to hear some more input with respect to quality of clinical rotations and preparation for boards

+2 still no update on MSUCOM?🙁

 

[samuraiR]

Is it possible to do all your rotations at VCOM/PCOM/Erie/UMDNJ at one rotation site? Or is it required that you travel around?

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Is it possible to do all your rotations at VCOM/PCOM/Erie/UMDNJ at one rotation site? Or is it required that you travel around?

I know UMDNJ does because they have there own hospitals.

Erie and PCOM, I think so but not entirely sure.

 

[samuraiR]

having to move around for each rotation doesnt seem to go over too well with the spouse. Are there any other options/schools (osteopathic) that seem to provide 4 years in one spot?😕

 

[bioman2006]

.

 

[ShyRem]

UNE has core sites where you do all of 3rd year. I did mine about 90 minutes away so I could come home weekends and holidays.

 

[samuraiR]

I guess thats a better question. "Zones"! I just didnt know the proper word for it. Any idea about erie or Erie - B?

Thanks 🙂

 

[MossPoh]

Geez Mikeylu, it seems like not too long ago I was reading your posts as an M1 or M2. Time seems to be flying by. But then, it is hard to believe that I only have half a semester left of my M1year now.

It is the same with you shyrem. 😉

 

[Everglide]

+2 still no update on MSUCOM?🙁

+3 for MSUCOM. Particularly about the base hospitals, even if hearsay.

 

[MikeyLu2010]

@mosspoh: Is it true NSU doesnt have dissection lab/cadavers anymore? I recently found this out, and i was shocked! No more practicals?

 

[p30doc]

@mosspoh: Is it true NSU doesnt have dissection lab/cadavers anymore? I recently found this out, and i was shocked! No more practicals?

They went back to full dissection this year for my class. We still have practicals and still have Conover!

 

[bleeker10]

Is it possible to do all your rotations at VCOM/PCOM/Erie/UMDNJ at one rotation site? Or is it required that you travel around?

At LECOM-E you pick either a rotation schedule as your top pick (i.e. IM first, surg in the middle, Vacation at christmas, etc) or you pick an area/city you want to rotate in. I know Pittsburgh and Cleveland have plenty of rotations/hospitals to choose from. You can also do some of them in Erie. I haven't decided if I want a certain city or rotation schedule. I'll probably go with rotation schedule because since I am HPSP, the military match is in December so I need to make sure I have fourth year rotations early on that I can use for AI or aways.

 

[Cybii]

+3 for MSUCOM. Particularly about the base hospitals, even if hearsay.

+4 I am curious, too.

 

[samuraiR]

At LECOM-E you pick either a rotation schedule as your top pick (i.e. IM first, surg in the middle, Vacation at christmas, etc) or you pick an area/city you want to rotate in. I know Pittsburgh and Cleveland have plenty of rotations/hospitals to choose from. You can also do some of them in Erie. I haven't decided if I want a certain city or rotation schedule. I'll probably go with rotation schedule because since I am HPSP, the military match is in December so I need to make sure I have fourth year rotations early on that I can use for AI or aways.

So you either pick your location or your schedule? If you pick location, do you still get to pick your electives/selectives?

Thanks!

 

[CheddarIsBetter]

Hey all,

I'd love if anyone can give more/updated reviews for Touro-NV and ATSU SOMA. I found out today that I am now accepted at both places, and I'm hard-pressed to choose, although I do have a little bit of time to decide.

If anyone of you know any strong reasons for one school or the other, I'd love to hear them; I'm also seeing how to get contacts for 3rd/4th years at these schools if I can.

 

[wannabeaDO]

Hey all,

I'd love if anyone can give more/updated reviews for Touro-NV and ATSU SOMA. I found out today that I am now accepted at both places, and I'm hard-pressed to choose, although I do have a little bit of time to decide.

If anyone of you know any strong reasons for one school or the other, I'd love to hear them; I'm also seeing how to get contacts for 3rd/4th years at these schools if I can.

I would live to hear from Touro Nevada also. Are they going to change the attendance policy anytime soon?

 

[bleeker10]

So you either pick your location or your schedule? If you pick location, do you still get to pick your electives/selectives?

Thanks!

So if you want a certain schedule, you would put down "Choice 1 is schedule and Choice 2 is location". I think they try to accomodate both choices though. Either way, you are put into a group of students. From there, you work with the other students to fill rotation slots so you work it out amongst yourself. For electives/selectives, you get to choose that yourself. Also, you can do FP at any DO in the country from what I hear. If you go on this thread and look back, there is a really helpful post by GoBuckeyes (?). I'm not sure of the whole name but I know it had that in it. It explains rotations better than I did.

 

[MossPoh]

@mosspoh: Is it true NSU doesnt have dissection lab/cadavers anymore? I recently found this out, and i was shocked! No more practicals?

My homie redrumi answered it. I actually didn't even know. I was accepted there, had my deposit in and was about to send my lease in when I got accepted into FSU. Considering my parents are 30 minutes away and my tuition is under 20k with cheaper housing, I jumped at the chance. I felt kind of sad about NSU though. I love my school, but it is natural to wonder once in a while. 😉

 

[nascardoc]

CURRICULUM: Overall, they have done a great job. It is systems-based and exams are about every 3 weeks or so. They have tweaked things a bit since the first class rolled thru based on feedback from the students, so it is always improving. Pharm is a weak teaching area, but improved with Dr. Babos, and will improve next year after more hires. Student feedback is extremely important to the school, so it is gathered constantly. Attendance used to be required, but that is no longer the case. We are surrounded by technology….actually, we may be the most technologically advanced DO school in the country, and probably more than most MD schools. Everything is done on computers (except exams), we utilize simulators, in fact, we have a wing dedicated to simulations. All of our lectures are video recorded (video shows the lecturer and powerpoint, so when he/she writes something on a slide, it shows up on the video). We are involved in clinical training from the start…we see our first standardized patient within a month of starting school. It is a very rigorous program clinically, so we are very prepared for rotations. I would put us up against anyone. We have 10 clinical exam rooms where our OSCE’s take place. These are setup just like a doctor’s office….in fact, this area of the school was used for the university clinic for the first 2 years. The clinic has now moved to a separate building and includes digital x-ray, labs and a number of examination rooms. Our OMM chair is amazing and makes the class/lab a lot of fun. You learn a lot and are VERY well prepped for OMM board questions. Anatomy utilizes prosection….students are the prosectors, so if you want to dissect, signup for that. Overall, I would call the curriculum evolving and adaptive to the student, but very demanding and challenging.

TESTING: We have block exams, so expect an exam every 3 weeks or so, depending on the system. OMM and EPC (clinical training class) are tested separately, about every 6 weeks or so. Exams are scheduled for the morning, usually starting between 8-9:00am. After lunch, you come back and take the same exam again, but this time with a group of 10-12 students. This “team exam” is used to assess validity of questions….so if a group feels a question was unfair, tested material outside the scope of the system, etc., the group writes up the question. The write-up is then assessed by the testing center thru stats, number of other groups complaining about the same question, and then a decision is made. The question will either count as is, be tossed out completely, or kept as a bonus question. The team exam is mandatory and you get a 2% bonus to your test by going. If you skip it, you lose 5%, so the extra hour or so is very much worth your time.

LOCATION: It’s Harrogate, TN. We have 4 stop lights, one of which was put up for the school, so there isn’t much traffic. There isn’t a ton around, but with school and studying, you don’t have much time to enjoy all that anyway. Knoxville is an hour away, so when those moments arise, you can go there and have a nice dinner, etc. Middlesboro, KY is the next town north of Harrogate, and it’s fairly large…for the area. There are a lot of fast-food joints, a cheap movie theater ($3) with the newest movies, a Kroger, Walmart, Big Lots, a small mall and other various stores. Anything you need for daily living is within 10 minutes of school. In terms of activities around campus, anything you can imagine doing outdoors, you can do here. We are minutes from a state park with miles of trails, canoeing, hiking, etc. The scenery is beautiful, especially during the fall. We have mountains surrounding us and when the trees change colors, its an amazing sight. Of course, they schedule the white coat ceremony during fall, so families will be able to take in the beauty as well. The university is in the process of building a small golf course too.

COST: Tuition = $33,000, so right in line with every other DO school. We do have the most awesome financial aid advisor…a gem of a lady. We are part of a university, Lincoln Memorial University, so we have all loan options available.

FACULTY: In terms of professors, I think we have some of the best in the country. We may be a new school, but we have recruited the best people to run the program. Those we have found who have never taught before have been absolutely amazing as well. I can’t imagine a better faculty, both on a professional level and a personal level. There is an open-door policy at LMU-DCOM with faculty. As long as the profs/docs are in their office and not in a meeting, they are there to answer any questions, or even just chat about life for awhile. The camaraderie among the faculty is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, the school got an accommodation from COCA during its last sight visit because of the faculty and the teamwork between them. Just a couple notable names….Dr. Leo, Dr. Cross, Dr. Wieting. As for our dean, Dr. Stowers, you couldn’t ask for a better person. He is the reason, along with the rest of the faculty, that we have such a family-like atmosphere. We have dean’s hour meetings periodically throughout each semester, so he is in constant contact with each class. We have 2 profs who are professional BBQ judges and competitors, so they cook for us a lot when we have class get-togethers. Let’s just say their food is AMAZING.

REPUTATION: We are a new school, so there isn’t much of one……yet. I honestly believe this is going to be one of the best programs in the country in the coming years (and it’s not just school-pride rah rah stuff either). There are a lot of passionate, hard-working people who are going to make this just an unbelievable education and experience. So far, the feedback from doctors about our 3rd year students (inaugural class) is very positive since we are very prepared for rotations. This feedback is both from local docs to attendings at residency programs around the country. The university, LMU, is in the process of building a brand-new science and research center as well. This building is planned to be as big or bigger than the medical school (which is 105,000 sq ft) and will be equipped with new labs and such, so research opportunities for both faculty and students will be increasing once that is done.

TECHNOLOGY: One of the most technologically advanced schools in the country, easily. Everything is done on the school supplied laptop (Lenovo tablets) except exams. All lectures are video recorded and put onto a server that is accessible from home so you can watch lectures as many times as you want, and at different speeds (up to 2x faster). The school also utilizes long-distance learning, so you can have a lecturer give a lecture from home, another office, etc. and it is displayed in the lecture hall. We are also in the process of implementing podcasting of lectures as well. We have a full simulation suite on the 3rd floor of the building. We have a total of about 7 suites, including 2 ER rooms, 1 OR, 1 OB/Gyn, 1 optho and 2 miscellaneous, where multiple things can be done. These rooms are equipped with cameras, so your scenario is taped and rewatched, with feedback, during analysis. We also have 15 study rooms on the 1st floor and about another 15 on the 4th floor that are equipped with 42” LCD flat-screen TV’s. You can hook your laptop up directly to the TV and watch lectures. It is great for group study and they are also utilized for group projects and other types of lectures. The anatomy lab is equipped with 9 flat-screens, light boxes and mobile dissection videocamera. The camera can be displayed on all of the TV’s making demonstrations to the entire class very easy. The OPP lab is equipped with around 9 flat-screen TV’s and has a nice stage area. There are 3 cameras surrounding the stage, so any angle can be shown. There is even a camera under the OPP table. The section of padding can be removed from the table revealing a clear plexi-glass top that the camera looks thru….so you can now see the patient’s back or neck or sacrum, plus of the hands of the examiner. This makes seeing hand-position when learning supine techniques incredibly easy to see. All of the tables are motorized for adjusting height. The clinical rooms, used for OSCE’s are equipped with cameras, so can watch your exam and get feedback (of course the cameras are not on while real patients are in the room).

CLINICAL ROTATIONS: My class is the first to hit the rotations trail, and so far most of us are very happy. We utilize community hospitals for the bulk of our training, so most of the hospitals are under 300 beds. There are not any residencies setup at these sites, YET, so it is just you and the attending. The thing that is nice about having community hospitals is we have a ton of hands-on experience. We are first-assist on all surgeries, close up surgeries, delivering babies and do all kinds of procedures. It is an awesome experience. In addition, we have a TON of elective rotations. You get 4 during 3rd year (2 electives, 1 IM selective and 1 Surg selective) and 7 during 4th year (4 electives, 1 IM selective, 1 Surg selective and 1 Other selective). These can be done anywhere in the country, which is very nice. Our CORE electives are Peds, Psych, OB/Gyn, Surg, IM x2, EM (4th year), Rural Primary Care (4th year), and Community Health x 2 month (4th year…basically a rotation at a smaller community hospital where you function like the house officer, doing everything from H&P’s to surgery to delivering a baby to the ER). You also get 1 month of vacation per year. We have around 13 CORE sites currently (with more in the works) and each takes anywhere from 8-24 students and the school sets up these rotations. Rotations are given out in a lottery system. You rank your top 50 sites and the computer gives you one of those. If I remember correctly, in the class below us, only 5 students got a rotation outside of their top 10 choices. One of the reasons for so many choices is because rotations are divided by cores….so you either have cores the first semester or second, and if you have them second, you get electives first semester. So let’s say you really want to go to Rotation Site A and they take 24 students (12 per semester)….you will rank that rotation site 24 times (due to 24 different schedules), thus you have 24 of 50 spots ranked. If you really want cores first, then you rank all 50 spots as cores first, but you will end up ranking 4-5 different hospitals. So there are a lot of options available. You can look at my signature below and see what my schedule looks like this year. Most of the core sites will require moving from the LMU-DCOM campus area. Moving is not required for other core rotations because everything required by the school is within driving distance from your core site. LMU-DCOM does have preceptors signed-up to take students, in rotations ranging from family practice to trauma surgery. You can choose to do your electives/selectives with those docs, or you can do them with other docs around the country. If you choose to do rotations with docs on the list, then the school will set those up for you…otherwise you setup your electives. Obviously, moving may be required for these rotations, but only for a month….but that is up to you depending on where you choose to do your electives. You can do all of your rotations without having to move fairly easily. In terms of residencies, the school is developing a couple right now….once they are finalized, I will post them on here.
HOUSING: Housing in the area is very cheap. You can find rental property ranging from $300-$1000 per month. Overall, finding a place isn’t too hard, especially when one of the classes moves for rotations. The hardest thing people have in finding housing is a property that allows pets. There are new houses being built all over because of the medical students, so options are always increasing. The school also bought and renovated a hotel, which is now housing for only the medical and PA school. There are single units (the size of your average Holiday Inn room) and double units (size of 2 Holiday Inn rooms) and they are equipped with a small fridge/freezer, stove, microwave/convection oven, desk and queen size bed. Common washer/dryer on each floor too, along with more study rooms on the 4th floor, which are equipped with large tables and white boards. The rent for the student apartments isn’t too bad (the exact amount is on the school’s website).

STUDY AREAS/LIBRARY: As talked about above, we have about 30 study rooms within the building, and these rooms can seat up to 12 people. So there is plenty of room at the school to study. Each of the rooms have white boards covering 2 walls, which are super nice. There is additional study space in the library, but I didn’t spend any time over there so I can’t comment on how much room is over there. Our librarian is incredible. She is always finding stuff on the internet to help us study and learn, plus is always willing to answer questions regarding searching for articles, journals, etc. She is a very useful person to know, plus she is a pretty cool person too. Students can also study in the lecture rooms until 9:00pm each night.
BOARD PREP: The school provides a 10-day Kaplan review, which includes lectures, books and Kaplan Comlex qbank. The amount of free study time has increased since my class went thru board study (they dropped a 2-week system that was not needed), so you have about 5 weeks now. I don’t know what the average comlex score was for my class, but the overall pass rate was around 92%. We also have some faculty members who teach for Kaplan, so they will give lectures covering topics the Kaplan review does not…..a very nice perk. Prep could have been better for our class, but looks like it has been fixed now.

ACCREDITATION: Until just prior to the first class graduating, the school will have provisional accreditation. Every year, COCA visits the school, assess the curriculum, clinical education, faculty, and talks to students and LMU-DCOM has always met and surpassed COCA standards. The last COCA visit was a week ago and the school passed with flying colors. There were no deficiencies noted, 3 accommodations (areas of excellence that go above and beyond COCA requirements) and 4 recommendations (areas that pass accreditation standards, but should be improved). The 4 recommendations were very minor and were in the process of being fixed prior to the COCA visit. I have absolutely no doubt that LMU-DCOM will become fully accredited in 2011, thus it is a non-issue in my mind.

SUMMARY: Overall, I have absolutely loved my time at LMU-DCOM. The school and faculty are amazing and there is such a great, family-like atmosphere here. The school is very receptive to student feedback, which is good for a new school. The technology is second-to-none and makes learning easier. The school is very progressive, adaptive and always striving to be better. Plus, there are projects in the works (that can’t be stated on SDN) that will make the school one of the best osteopathic schools in the country. It is a very exciting school to be a part of and it is going to produce outstanding doctors. I am very proud to be in the inaugural class and look forward to seeing the school grow.

GRADES
Curriculum: A-
*Anatomy: A
*Basic Sciences: B+
*Micro: B-
*OPP/OMM: A
*Pharm: C- (would be lower if not for Dr. Babos….she is a life-saver)
*Clinical Training: A+
*Physio: A-
*Path: B (looking for a new path doc, hence the grade….the previous doc was awesome…sad to see him go)
Location: B (great for studying and scenery, not for socializing or variety….need more restaurants locally)
Cost: B (on par with other schools….all DO schools need to decrease tuition)
Faculty: A
Reputation: B- (new school….but keep an eye out for us)
Technology: A+
Clinical Rotations: B+ (number of electives is awesome...core sites good but would like to see some bigger hospitals but still stay very hands-on like we have now….couple small kinks to work out since we are new)
Housing: B
Study Areas: A

OVERALL GRADE: A-

 

[PunkmedGirl]

CURRICULUM: Overall, they have done a great job. It is systems-based and exams are about every 3 weeks or so. They have tweaked things a bit since the first class rolled thru based on feedback from the students, so it is always improving. Pharm is a weak teaching area, but improved with Dr. Babos, and will improve next year after more hires. Student feedback is extremely important to the school, so it is gathered constantly. Attendance used to be required, but that is no longer the case. We are surrounded by technology….actually, we may be the most technologically advanced DO school in the country, and probably more than most MD schools. Everything is done on computers (except exams), we utilize simulators, in fact, we have a wing dedicated to simulations. All of our lectures are video recorded (video shows the lecturer and powerpoint, so when he/she writes something on a slide, it shows up on the video). We are involved in clinical training from the start…we see our first standardized patient within a month of starting school. It is a very rigorous program clinically, so we are very prepared for rotations. I would put us up against anyone. We have 10 clinical exam rooms where our OSCE’s take place. These are setup just like a doctor’s office….in fact, this area of the school was used for the university clinic for the first 2 years. The clinic has now moved to a separate building and includes digital x-ray, labs and a number of examination rooms. Our OMM chair is amazing and makes the class/lab a lot of fun. You learn a lot and are VERY well prepped for OMM board questions. Anatomy utilizes prosection….students are the prosectors, so if you want to dissect, signup for that. Overall, I would call the curriculum evolving and adaptive to the student, but very demanding and challenging.

TESTING: We have block exams, so expect an exam every 3 weeks or so, depending on the system. OMM and EPC (clinical training class) are tested separately, about every 6 weeks or so. Exams are scheduled for the morning, usually starting between 8-9:00am. After lunch, you come back and take the same exam again, but this time with a group of 10-12 students. This “team exam” is used to assess validity of questions….so if a group feels a question was unfair, tested material outside the scope of the system, etc., the group writes up the question. The write-up is then assessed by the testing center thru stats, number of other groups complaining about the same question, and then a decision is made. The question will either count as is, be tossed out completely, or kept as a bonus question. The team exam is mandatory and you get a 2% bonus to your test by going. If you skip it, you lose 5%, so the extra hour or so is very much worth your time.

LOCATION: It’s Harrogate, TN. We have 4 stop lights, one of which was put up for the school, so there isn’t much traffic. There isn’t a ton around, but with school and studying, you don’t have much time to enjoy all that anyway. Knoxville is an hour away, so when those moments arise, you can go there and have a nice dinner, etc. Middlesboro, KY is the next town north of Harrogate, and it’s fairly large…for the area. There are a lot of fast-food joints, a cheap movie theater ($3) with the newest movies, a Kroger, Walmart, Big Lots, a small mall and other various stores. Anything you need for daily living is within 10 minutes of school. In terms of activities around campus, anything you can imagine doing outdoors, you can do here. We are minutes from a state park with miles of trails, canoeing, hiking, etc. The scenery is beautiful, especially during the fall. We have mountains surrounding us and when the trees change colors, its an amazing sight. Of course, they schedule the white coat ceremony during fall, so families will be able to take in the beauty as well. The university is in the process of building a small golf course too.

COST: Tuition = $33,000, so right in line with every other DO school. We do have the most awesome financial aid advisor…a gem of a lady. We are part of a university, Lincoln Memorial University, so we have all loan options available.

FACULTY: In terms of professors, I think we have some of the best in the country. We may be a new school, but we have recruited the best people to run the program. Those we have found who have never taught before have been absolutely amazing as well. I can’t imagine a better faculty, both on a professional level and a personal level. There is an open-door policy at LMU-DCOM with faculty. As long as the profs/docs are in their office and not in a meeting, they are there to answer any questions, or even just chat about life for awhile. The camaraderie among the faculty is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, the school got an accommodation from COCA during its last sight visit because of the faculty and the teamwork between them. Just a couple notable names….Dr. Leo, Dr. Cross, Dr. Wieting. As for our dean, Dr. Stowers, you couldn’t ask for a better person. He is the reason, along with the rest of the faculty, that we have such a family-like atmosphere. We have dean’s hour meetings periodically throughout each semester, so he is in constant contact with each class. We have 2 profs who are professional BBQ judges and competitors, so they cook for us a lot when we have class get-togethers. Let’s just say their food is AMAZING.

REPUTATION: We are a new school, so there isn’t much of one……yet. I honestly believe this is going to be one of the best programs in the country in the coming years (and it’s not just school-pride rah rah stuff either). There are a lot of passionate, hard-working people who are going to make this just an unbelievable education and experience. So far, the feedback from doctors about our 3rd year students (inaugural class) is very positive since we are very prepared for rotations. This feedback is both from local docs to attendings at residency programs around the country. The university, LMU, is in the process of building a brand-new science and research center as well. This building is planned to be as big or bigger than the medical school (which is 105,000 sq ft) and will be equipped with new labs and such, so research opportunities for both faculty and students will be increasing once that is done.

TECHNOLOGY: One of the most technologically advanced schools in the country, easily. Everything is done on the school supplied laptop (Lenovo tablets) except exams. All lectures are video recorded and put onto a server that is accessible from home so you can watch lectures as many times as you want, and at different speeds (up to 2x faster). The school also utilizes long-distance learning, so you can have a lecturer give a lecture from home, another office, etc. and it is displayed in the lecture hall. We are also in the process of implementing podcasting of lectures as well. We have a full simulation suite on the 3rd floor of the building. We have a total of about 7 suites, including 2 ER rooms, 1 OR, 1 OB/Gyn, 1 optho and 2 miscellaneous, where multiple things can be done. These rooms are equipped with cameras, so your scenario is taped and rewatched, with feedback, during analysis. We also have 15 study rooms on the 1st floor and about another 15 on the 4th floor that are equipped with 42” LCD flat-screen TV’s. You can hook your laptop up directly to the TV and watch lectures. It is great for group study and they are also utilized for group projects and other types of lectures. The anatomy lab is equipped with 9 flat-screens, light boxes and mobile dissection videocamera. The camera can be displayed on all of the TV’s making demonstrations to the entire class very easy. The OPP lab is equipped with around 9 flat-screen TV’s and has a nice stage area. There are 3 cameras surrounding the stage, so any angle can be shown. There is even a camera under the OPP table. The section of padding can be removed from the table revealing a clear plexi-glass top that the camera looks thru….so you can now see the patient’s back or neck or sacrum, plus of the hands of the examiner. This makes seeing hand-position when learning supine techniques incredibly easy to see. All of the tables are motorized for adjusting height. The clinical rooms, used for OSCE’s are equipped with cameras, so can watch your exam and get feedback (of course the cameras are not on while real patients are in the room).

CLINICAL ROTATIONS: My class is the first to hit the rotations trail, and so far most of us are very happy. We utilize community hospitals for the bulk of our training, so most of the hospitals are under 300 beds. There are not any residencies setup at these sites, YET, so it is just you and the attending. The thing that is nice about having community hospitals is we have a ton of hands-on experience. We are first-assist on all surgeries, close up surgeries, delivering babies and do all kinds of procedures. It is an awesome experience. In addition, we have a TON of elective rotations. You get 4 during 3rd year (2 electives, 1 IM selective and 1 Surg selective) and 7 during 4th year (4 electives, 1 IM selective, 1 Surg selective and 1 Other selective). These can be done anywhere in the country, which is very nice. Our CORE electives are Peds, Psych, OB/Gyn, Surg, IM x2, EM (4th year), Rural Primary Care (4th year), and Community Health x 2 month (4th year…basically a rotation at a smaller community hospital where you function like the house officer, doing everything from H&P’s to surgery to delivering a baby to the ER). You also get 1 month of vacation per year. We have around 13 CORE sites currently (with more in the works) and each takes anywhere from 8-24 students and the school sets up these rotations. Rotations are given out in a lottery system. You rank your top 50 sites and the computer gives you one of those. If I remember correctly, in the class below us, only 5 students got a rotation outside of their top 10 choices. One of the reasons for so many choices is because rotations are divided by cores….so you either have cores the first semester or second, and if you have them second, you get electives first semester. So let’s say you really want to go to Rotation Site A and they take 24 students (12 per semester)….you will rank that rotation site 24 times (due to 24 different schedules), thus you have 24 of 50 spots ranked. If you really want cores first, then you rank all 50 spots as cores first, but you will end up ranking 4-5 different hospitals. So there are a lot of options available. You can look at my signature below and see what my schedule looks like this year. Most of the core sites will require moving from the LMU-DCOM campus area. Moving is not required for other core rotations because everything required by the school is within driving distance from your core site. LMU-DCOM does have preceptors signed-up to take students, in rotations ranging from family practice to trauma surgery. You can choose to do your electives/selectives with those docs, or you can do them with other docs around the country. If you choose to do rotations with docs on the list, then the school will set those up for you…otherwise you setup your electives. Obviously, moving may be required for these rotations, but only for a month….but that is up to you depending on where you choose to do your electives. You can do all of your rotations without having to move fairly easily. In terms of residencies, the school is developing a couple right now….once they are finalized, I will post them on here.
HOUSING: Housing in the area is very cheap. You can find rental property ranging from $300-$1000 per month. Overall, finding a place isn’t too hard, especially when one of the classes moves for rotations. The hardest thing people have in finding housing is a property that allows pets. There are new houses being built all over because of the medical students, so options are always increasing. The school also bought and renovated a hotel, which is now housing for only the medical and PA school. There are single units (the size of your average Holiday Inn room) and double units (size of 2 Holiday Inn rooms) and they are equipped with a small fridge/freezer, stove, microwave/convection oven, desk and queen size bed. Common washer/dryer on each floor too, along with more study rooms on the 4th floor, which are equipped with large tables and white boards. The rent for the student apartments isn’t too bad (the exact amount is on the school’s website).

STUDY AREAS/LIBRARY: As talked about above, we have about 30 study rooms within the building, and these rooms can seat up to 12 people. So there is plenty of room at the school to study. Each of the rooms have white boards covering 2 walls, which are super nice. There is additional study space in the library, but I didn’t spend any time over there so I can’t comment on how much room is over there. Our librarian is incredible. She is always finding stuff on the internet to help us study and learn, plus is always willing to answer questions regarding searching for articles, journals, etc. She is a very useful person to know, plus she is a pretty cool person too. Students can also study in the lecture rooms until 9:00pm each night.
BOARD PREP: The school provides a 10-day Kaplan review, which includes lectures, books and Kaplan Comlex qbank. The amount of free study time has increased since my class went thru board study (they dropped a 2-week system that was not needed), so you have about 5 weeks now. I don’t know what the average comlex score was for my class, but the overall pass rate was around 92%. We also have some faculty members who teach for Kaplan, so they will give lectures covering topics the Kaplan review does not…..a very nice perk. Prep could have been better for our class, but looks like it has been fixed now.

ACCREDITATION: Until just prior to the first class graduating, the school will have provisional accreditation. Every year, COCA visits the school, assess the curriculum, clinical education, faculty, and talks to students and LMU-DCOM has always met and surpassed COCA standards. The last COCA visit was a week ago and the school passed with flying colors. There were no deficiencies noted, 3 accommodations (areas of excellence that go above and beyond COCA requirements) and 4 recommendations (areas that pass accreditation standards, but should be improved). The 4 recommendations were very minor and were in the process of being fixed prior to the COCA visit. I have absolutely no doubt that LMU-DCOM will become fully accredited in 2011, thus it is a non-issue in my mind.

SUMMARY: Overall, I have absolutely loved my time at LMU-DCOM. The school and faculty are amazing and there is such a great, family-like atmosphere here. The school is very receptive to student feedback, which is good for a new school. The technology is second-to-none and makes learning easier. The school is very progressive, adaptive and always striving to be better. Plus, there are projects in the works (that can’t be stated on SDN) that will make the school one of the best osteopathic schools in the country. It is a very exciting school to be a part of and it is going to produce outstanding doctors. I am very proud to be in the inaugural class and look forward to seeing the school grow.

GRADES
Curriculum: A-
*Anatomy: A
*Basic Sciences: B+
*Micro: B-
*OPP/OMM: A
*Pharm: C- (would be lower if not for Dr. Babos….she is a life-saver)
*Clinical Training: A+
*Physio: A-
*Path: B (looking for a new path doc, hence the grade….the previous doc was awesome…sad to see him go)
Location: B (great for studying and scenery, not for socializing or variety….need more restaurants locally)
Cost: B (on par with other schools….all DO schools need to decrease tuition)
Faculty: A
Reputation: B- (new school….but keep an eye out for us)
Technology: A+
Clinical Rotations: B+ (number of electives is awesome...core sites good but would like to see some bigger hospitals but still stay very hands-on like we have now….couple small kinks to work out since we are new)
Housing: B
Study Areas: A

OVERALL GRADE: A-

Nice assessment.👍

 

[The Virginian]

What happened to using St. Mary's as the rotation site for LMU? When DCOM was first announced, it was stated that St. Mary's would be used for 3rd and 4th year rotations. Later, it was partially redacted stating that it would used for 3rd year rotations and community hospitals used for 4th, but that students could use St. Mary's for both years if they chose. Now, it seems that community hospitals are all that are being used for rotations.

 

[MikeyLu2010]

So, this thread has been around since i was in my M1 year, and at that time a lot of the beginning reviews were from M1 and M2's..which IMO doesnt mean squat. Only those that are at the end of their M4 or have already graduated are qualified to give proper reviews. So of course I have waited until I have matched to write this. Let me also say things have changed since my M1 year, so some of the M1/M2 info may not be accurate.


Curriculum: Mainly lecture based the first 2 years, with the first year consisting of basic sciences and the 2nd year broken down into systems (cardio, pulm, renal, etc). 2nd year incorporates PBL style learning thats held once every week or every other week to discuss a case with a preceptor. This mix in style of 90% lecture/10% PBL was a nice touch, better then the 100% lecture based for sure. Also in 1st year we have simulated patient exams already so by the time we take the COMLEX PE, its a breeze. Also during 1st year they start with patient contact from the beginning, shadowing docs once every other week on a friday, by 2nd year its one day a week, and of course by 3rd/4th year its everyday. Our school had a Harvey, so during 2nd year in the cardio section we would of course get to play with the simulator. It mimics tons of different heart sounds and breathing as well. I really wish i got to play with it more, o well. Everything else is pretty standard with anatomy labs and about 7 students per cadaver. The curriculum for M3/M4 years is setup so you have to do 3 months of IM, 2 months of Surg, FM, peds, 1 month of psych, obgyn,geriatrics during your 3rd year. There are different rotation sites for 3rd year which will be determined based on lottery. Most people get their first couple of choices. I got my 1st choice which was Mt. sinai. Other then Mt. sinai there is Broward general track, Florida hospital East in orlando, Suncoast hospital in tampa, Palmetto general hospital, VA/West palms/Columbia in west palm beach, and various others. Essentially 3rd year will be SET for you, so you dont have to worry about setting it up. I prefer it this way, a lot of stability. As 4th years you are required to do 1 ER month, 2 months rurals (suck), 1 month rural selective, and everything else you can select as electives but 2 months cant be the same thing. So if you are pursuing surgery then you cant have more then 2 months of general surgery rotations, but you can work around it and have an elective in laparoscopic surgery, colorectal, vascular, etc. Grading is numeric in M1/M2. And honors, pass, fail in M3/M4. The big negative in the curriculum is during 4th year. 3 months of rural? seriously? Sometimes the school schedules those rurals during audition months for residency which can be good or bad. Our year i believe was the last year they did NOT require students to have laptops. All the lectures are available online, which is why i dont really understand the attendance policy.

Location: No brainer, its South FL. The school itself is in Davie, which is about 15 min away from ft. lauderdale, 20 min away from ft. lauderdale beach/dania beach. About 45 min away from Miami/South beach all accessible by highway.

Cost: Tuition is increasing year by year. I started off at 32.5K for Out of State (cheaper for instate). This rate only lasted 2 years. By M3 i was paying over 35K, and M4 is where it reached 40K. Very classy NSU, hike up the tuition the years we dont ever use your facilities AND NSU is not known for paying hospitals to be affiliated with them SO who knows where the money is going, maybe towards a boat somewhere.

Faculty: Average i guess, Just like all schools some are good others arent. None were particularly malignant though.

Reputation: This isnt one of the oldest DO schools by any means. DMU, PCOM, CCOM, KCOM (and KCUMB i think) are the oldest ones. But i feel like our reputation is improving year by year. In terms of top tier DO schools i would put all the ones that get federal funding at the top with those previous mentioned. So schools like TCOM, OSU, UMDNJ. Then i would probably put NSU right under, if not right at that level.

Clinical rotations: The real strength i feel is in this category. Many tracks to choose from, each with its pros and cons. All are rather excellent. Most are big community hospitals with a wide variety of pathology. Speaking spanish will go a long way down here, but dont worry if you cant (i cant). Most attendings are pretty good, but i feel like you learn the most from the residents.

Housing: most students live near school in M1/M2, but in retrospect you can easily live in Las Olas (nice area near Ft. lauderdale downtown) in M1/M2 and it wont be a big deal. Cost of living is not bad at all if you have roommates. The most Ive paid for rent in the 4 years down here has not exceeded 600/month.

Study areas: The HPD (health professions dept) has its own library, which is of course shared by the DO, dentist, nurse anesthetist, PA, PT/OT, optometry, etc. NSU also has a ginormous library on its main campus not too far away (<5 min drive). Locally there are coffee houses, starbucks, barnes/nobles, etc. There are plenty of places to get your study on.

Social scene: Dont even need to comment on this. Miami + Ft. laudey FTW.

Preparation for boards: Like most other schools Kaplan is also offered. Other then that, not much. Not a big deal though, this is something you have to study on your own. They did however prepare us very well for the COMLEX PE.

Chances of specializing: In my class, So far (without the MD match because that hasnt happened yet), theres an ENT, Ophtho, 3 Ortho, Neurosurgery, Gen surg, many EM including myself, 3+ obgyn, Urology. So really its not bad.

Dress Code, Policies, Administration: Definately the weakest point of this school. There is a dress code, but i just wear scrub pants with a tshirt everyday. Attendance policy, many ways to work around this, use your imagination they take attendence based on swiping your id card. Its the popular thought that the school is trying to squeeze out as much money as they can from you. They also charge 220 for graduation! Thank god they didnt make us pay for cap/gown.


Report Card

Curriculum: B-
Location: A+
Cost: D
Faculty: B
Reputation: B+
Technology: A
Study Space/Library: B+
Library technology/Resources: B+
Rotations: A
Social: A+

Overall Grade: A-/B

I would come here again. Time passed by quick, made some friends for life. And matched into the specialty I wanted all along!👍

 

[DitchDoc73]

So, this thread has been around since i was in my M1 year, and at that time a lot of the beginning reviews were from M1 and M2's..which IMO doesnt mean squat. Only those that are at the end of their M4 or have already graduated are qualified to give proper reviews. So of course I have waited until I have matched to write this. Let me also say things have changed since my M1 year, so some of the M1/M2 info may not be accurate.


Curriculum: Mainly lecture based the first 2 years, with the first year consisting of basic sciences and the 2nd year broken down into systems (cardio, pulm, renal, etc). 2nd year incorporates PBL style learning thats held once every week or every other week to discuss a case with a preceptor. This mix in style of 90% lecture/10% PBL was a nice touch, better then the 100% lecture based for sure. Also in 1st year we have simulated patient exams already so by the time we take the COMLEX PE, its a breeze. Also during 1st year they start with patient contact from the beginning, shadowing docs once every other week on a friday, by 2nd year its one day a week, and of course by 3rd/4th year its everyday. Our school had a Harvey, so during 2nd year in the cardio section we would of course get to play with the simulator. It mimics tons of different heart sounds and breathing as well. I really wish i got to play with it more, o well. Everything else is pretty standard with anatomy labs and about 7 students per cadaver. The curriculum for M3/M4 years is setup so you have to do 3 months of IM, 2 months of Surg, FM, peds, 1 month of psych, obgyn,geriatrics during your 3rd year. There are different rotation sites for 3rd year which will be determined based on lottery. Most people get their first couple of choices. I got my 1st choice which was Mt. sinai. Other then Mt. sinai there is Broward general track, Florida hospital East in orlando, Suncoast hospital in tampa, Palmetto general hospital, VA/West palms/Columbia in west palm beach, and various others. Essentially 3rd year will be SET for you, so you dont have to worry about setting it up. I prefer it this way, a lot of stability. As 4th years you are required to do 1 ER month, 2 months rurals (suck), 1 month rural selective, and everything else you can select as electives but 2 months cant be the same thing. So if you are pursuing surgery then you cant have more then 2 months of general surgery rotations, but you can work around it and have an elective in laparoscopic surgery, colorectal, vascular, etc. Grading is numeric in M1/M2. And honors, pass, fail in M3/M4. The big negative in the curriculum is during 4th year. 3 months of rural? seriously? Sometimes the school schedules those rurals during audition months for residency which can be good or bad. Our year i believe was the last year they did NOT require students to have laptops. All the lectures are available online, which is why i dont really understand the attendance policy.

Location: No brainer, its South FL. The school itself is in Davie, which is about 15 min away from ft. lauderdale, 20 min away from ft. lauderdale beach/dania beach. About 45 min away from Miami/South beach all accessible by highway.

Cost: Tuition is increasing year by year. I started off at 32.5K for Out of State (cheaper for instate). This rate only lasted 2 years. By M3 i was paying over 35K, and M4 is where it reached 40K. Very classy NSU, hike up the tuition the years we dont ever use your facilities AND NSU is not known for paying hospitals to be affiliated with them SO who knows where the money is going, maybe towards a boat somewhere.

Faculty: Average i guess, Just like all schools some are good others arent. None were particularly malignant though.

Reputation: This isnt one of the oldest DO schools by any means. DMU, PCOM, CCOM, KCOM (and KCUMB i think) are the oldest ones. But i feel like our reputation is improving year by year. In terms of top tier DO schools i would put all the ones that get federal funding at the top with those previous mentioned. So schools like TCOM, OSU, UMDNJ. Then i would probably put NSU right under, if not right at that level.

Clinical rotations: The real strength i feel is in this category. Many tracks to choose from, each with its pros and cons. All are rather excellent. Most are big community hospitals with a wide variety of pathology. Speaking spanish will go a long way down here, but dont worry if you cant (i cant). Most attendings are pretty good, but i feel like you learn the most from the residents.

Housing: most students live near school in M1/M2, but in retrospect you can easily live in Las Olas (nice area near Ft. lauderdale downtown) in M1/M2 and it wont be a big deal. Cost of living is not bad at all if you have roommates. The most Ive paid for rent in the 4 years down here has not exceeded 600/month.

Study areas: The HPD (health professions dept) has its own library, which is of course shared by the DO, dentist, nurse anesthetist, PA, PT/OT, optometry, etc. NSU also has a ginormous library on its main campus not too far away (<5 min drive). Locally there are coffee houses, starbucks, barnes/nobles, etc. There are plenty of places to get your study on.

Social scene: Dont even need to comment on this. Miami + Ft. laudey FTW.

Preparation for boards: Like most other schools Kaplan is also offered. Other then that, not much. Not a big deal though, this is something you have to study on your own. They did however prepare us very well for the COMLEX PE.

Chances of specializing: In my class, So far (without the MD match because that hasnt happened yet), theres an ENT, Ophtho, 3 Ortho, Neurosurgery, Gen surg, many EM including myself, 3+ obgyn, Urology. So really its not bad.

Dress Code, Policies, Administration: Definately the weakest point of this school. There is a dress code, but i just wear scrub pants with a tshirt everyday. Attendance policy, many ways to work around this, use your imagination they take attendence based on swiping your id card. Its the popular thought that the school is trying to squeeze out as much money as they can from you. They also charge 220 for graduation! Thank god they didnt make us pay for cap/gown.


Report Card

Curriculum: B-
Location: A+
Cost: D
Faculty: B
Reputation: B+
Technology: A
Study Space/Library: B+
Library technology/Resources: B+
Rotations: A
Social: A+

Overall Grade: A-/B

I would come here again. Time passed by quick, made some friends for life. And matched into the specialty I wanted all along!👍

Thanks for your insight! Very helpful!

 

[gocatgo]

MikeyLu2010: thanks for your review too👍 Congrats on your match!

 

[doggydog1]

Could someone review CCOM please?

 

[JaggerPlate]

bump.

Any PCOM or UMDNJ-SOM students want to add a new review? 🙂

So weird ... I almost bumped this thread last night to ask for more KCOM reviews. Obviously I'm 100% set in my decision, but reading the reviews is helpful, etc.

 

[Bigdog2330]

Can someone on here to a review on OSU-COM????

 

[christina30]

Still nothing for the NYCOM lecture-based curriculum?!?

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Okay, so I guess I'll chim in with a request.....Touro-NV?

 

[FutureInternist]

1st link in my sig

 

[PunkmedGirl]

1st link in my sig

Thanks Future. I've read you review plenty of times, in fact it was a PM conversation we had that made me rethink my original opinion about Touro. I would like to get some current 3rd/4th yr students to chim in to see if there's been any changes/improvements/etc. I recently visited Touro and kinda felt comfortable with the school and could be potentially be happy there, but I just wanted some additional reviews.

 

[klmnop]

+4 I am curious, too.

+5

 

[dancingDO14]

+5

+6 🙄

 

[PeachyPhd]

bump.

Can we get some fresh reviews in for the new app season?

This thread goes back a looooong way and I'm sure some of the descriptions are obsolete.

Thanks! 😀

 

[HealingDoc]

Hi Everyone,

I just finished my second year at Touro CA. Here's my perspective on our school:

Curriculum: We have an integrated systems approach. For basic sciences: first semester- fundamentals, second semester- cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, third semester- neuro/musculoskeletal, fourth semester- GI, endocrine, reproduction, derm. I loved this approach- it made so much sense to learn about everything pertaining to each system, one at a time. The new curriculum started for the class of 2011, and there were definitely growing pains. My class, however, got the solid version of the new curriculum with a few minor bumps along the road. Some students are upset with the quality of exam questions coming from clinical professors, but that is a concern brought up at many schools. Each semester, you also have an OMM course and Doctoring course. In my opinion, both are excellent. I have had lots of practice doing physical exams and writing H&P's and SOAP notes so that I can shine on rotation. As far as OMM is concerned, in the last few years, our school has really taken the lead! We always have the most students at the annual osteopathic medicine convention. Our students have such a passion for OMM and many spend lots of time outside of class working on their skills. We have come up with many new opportunities for 1st and 2nd years to practice their OMM skills- health fairs, suitcase clinic in berkeley to name a couple.

Location: Mare Island, Vallejo. Many people are turned off by the campus because its located on a poorly maintained shipyard/military base that was closed in 1996. I have always been a fan because the location is so rich with history. The place was a ship yard during the Spanish American war- so you can only imagine how cool some of the buildings and houses look (of course you can't go in... because of the PCB's) But, a huge upside to the location is the fact that its in the Bay Area. A nice 30-60 minute drive to many desirable locations. Not to mention the amazing weather. Today I studied outside at a park next to the water for 4 hours because it was 74 degrees and partly cloudy. There are many, many days out of the year that I get to do this!

Cost: Touro is probably one of the more expensive schools. 35-40,000 per year depending on what year you are (I am paying more as a 3rd year than I did as a 1st or 2nd year).

Faculty: Outstanding! The OMM faculty really know how to teach osteopathic principles and practice, citing research and sharing wisdom from experience. There is always a little bit of drama going on, but its only because they care so much about what should be taught and how it should be taught. They're constantly meeting and brainstorming ways to make the curriculum better. The doctoring faculty are composed of practicing and retired physicians, so they have current clinical experience and life-long wisdom to share. There are very few basic science professors I could complain about. I will say that we lack big time in biochem and genetics.

Reputation: Touro is a new school, a little over 10 years old, thus we're still experiencing the growing pains associated with getting started. A couple of years ago, we had some major shifts in the clinical education department, which left many of the students high and dry, scrambling to advocate for themselves without much support. I think we went through three deans of clinical education in about a year. HOWEVER, recently we experienced a new hire and reorganization to the clinical education department. The new man in charge is the most genuine advocate for students that I have ever met, Dr. Walter Hartwig. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hartwig) (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32128181861) His opinion is highly valued by faculty and staff, and he is overall one of the most respected people on campus. Combine those qualities with being a student advocate and voila! Many, many more happy students than there were before. See the next paragraph for more details on rotations:

Clinical Rotations: To take a look at our rotations website, you can visit www.tourospin.com. Here is the basic structure of how our rotations work. You enter a lottery where you choose your 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice of where you want to rotate. Some people are exempted from the lottery for beging married, having kids, being care-givers, owning property, etc. This year, over half the class got 3rd year rotations in this region of California. There are core rotation sites in Fairfield/Vacaville, Turlock, Salinas, UCSF Fresno, and Santa Rosa. Other people have many of their rotations in San Pablo (30 min from the school) and then travel to other sites (we still have students going to St. Lukes for peds and Ortho Surgery). We have a solid core site in Bakersfield, and about 20 or so students will go to Colton (Arrowhead). We still have core sites in Michigan, Colorado, and a new site in York, PA. Some students in the bay area got to tweak their schedules for their own benefit because those sites come with a certain degree of flexibility. In the end, there were a few people who got their 3rd choice in terms of location, but most people I talked to were happy about the result. When we are on rotations, we have a quiz due at the end of each week and a final exam at the end of the rotation administered by the preceptor at each respective rotation. There are reading assignments listed for each rotation and clear objectives outlining the topics you should cover during each week of your rotation. You schedule your own 4th year rotations (your audition rotations, other required rotations, and any electives) which I think is a great deal- you get to go where you genuinely want to go. I am not sure what the 3rd and 4th years think of the new clinical rotations department changes, but from what I have seen, they are being just as wonderful to them. I saw them frantically helping students make calls during the residency scramble this year.

Housing: There are no dorms, but there are homes on Mare Island that many students move into together. Some people live in Vallejo and some commute from other places. Vallejo can be a pretty tricky city in which to find a place to live, because there are a few areas that are just not safe. The town has been on the verge of bankruptcy for a long time, has a diminished police force, and many bank-owned homes. As long as you know where the safe areas are, you'll be fine. I live in Benicia, which is a nice, quiet, safe little town about 15 min away from Vallejo.

Study areas: Not many. The Touro Library could probably fit into 1/4 to 1/2 of one floor of the library at my alma mater, UC Davis. There are few places in the main building to study. The pharmacy group study rooms open when their classes adjourn, and those are great for group studying. Many people just go to starbucks, panama red, or their favorite cafes in their hometowns to study.

Social Scene: Some one else said this- but you'll find it at many of the DO schools- "Post exam parties, open bars, sports, clubs, dances..." you're in the Bay, trick! Work hella hard, party hella hard. Its OK if you need to cringe after reading that

Local Hospitals: Not many- some people rotate at Kaiser near by, many rotate at Doctor's Medical Center in San Pablo. The new North Bay site in Fairfield/Vacaville is very close. Other people rotate at clinics (not hospitals) in the area.

Board Prep: My class is going to kick butt on our boards. We had a solid integrated curriculum. Many people chose to also do doctors in training or a comlex bootcamp prep course to guide their studies while classes were still in session. This year our school bought us COMSAE practice tests. Just wish they paid for us to take the boards... 🙁

Specialty: I had a chance to glance at the match list for the class of 2010, and its looking like- 15 EM, 15 FM, 3 Gen Surgery, 15 IM, 4 Neurology, 2 Neurosurgery, 3 OB/Gyn, 2 path, 10 Peds, 5 psych, 10 transitional, 2 PM&R... the list is not done, many people still need to put in their info, but you get the picture.

Grades:

Curriculum: A-
Location: A
Cost: C
Financial Aid: B
Faculty: A
Reputation: C+
Technology: C+
Study Space/Library: C
Library technology/Resources: A
Rotations: B
Social: A
Hospitals: C
Post Grad: B
Cafeteria Food: A (New Kosher kitchen chef making delicious food!)
Cafeteria Prices: C

Overall Grade: B+

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I am aware of the issues that bth has brought up in this thread regarding Touro CA and I can give you my two cents on them if you wish. As he has said, there are many things I wish I knew about Touro CA heading into my education, but they probably wouldn't have changed my desire to go to this school. Oversight from New York is still an issue, but it seems like things are slowly improving. I also wish that our tuition money was spent on securing more rotations (we'll start to see that more and more with the new changes), and helping to improve the learning experience. That said, I am heading into my boards and third year rotations feeling prepared and as confident as I can be this early in the game 😉

 

[pianoman511]

For those who are interested in LECOM-Erie, you can do all your rotations in one place. There are programs in place for University Hospitals (Cleveland) and York hospital (York, PA).

 

[AMEHigh]

bump.

Any PCOM or UMDNJ-SOM students want to add a new review? 🙂

I'm only a 1st year, but I'll do one for PCOM over the summer in a couple of weeks. If you have any specific questions about PCOM feel free to send me a PM.

 

[JessDO]

I've read through this entire thread and I don't remember anyone mentioning the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.

I'd love to go to that school, but it looks like they only take locals.

Can anybody review them or comment on that? Or did somebody already to that and I completely missed it?

Thanks!

 

[mechanictodr]

They give preference to those from or with ties to the NW. There are some attending there from states not in the NW, but not many.

Western's new campus in Oregon will also be doing the same thing according to their website. I'm a big fan of what they are setting up for the new Western campus since I work at the main core hospital. I have not been nearly as impressed with PNWU, but they are so new that comparing them to Western is hardly fair.

Edit:

What I like about Western is that they have set up rotations and residency spots before opening up a whole new campus. I think it shows that they have a plan for their students and will make sure there is a spot for them to train in somthing they like when they finish. PNWU has not really released any information other than what cities will be used for rotations.

 

[jasin]

They give preference to those from or with ties to the NW. There are many attending there from states not in the NW, but not many.

I see nothing wrong with that.

 

[mechanictodr]

I said "many" twice. I meant some for the first "many".

 

[JessDO]

They give preference to those from or with ties to the NW. There are some attending there from states not in the NW, but not many.

Western's new campus in Oregon will also be doing the same thing according to their website. I'm a big fan of what they are setting up for the new Western campus since I work at the main core hospital. I have not been nearly as impressed with PNWU, but they are so new that comparing them to Western is hardly fair.

Edit:

What I like about Western is that they have set up rotations and residency spots before opening up a whole new campus. I think it shows that they have a plan for their students and will make sure there is a spot for them to train in somthing they like when they finish. PNWU has not really released any information other than what cities will be used for rotations.

Thanks mechanictodr,

I didn't realize that PNWU was so new or that Western was building a new school up there.

Are there any current PNWU students on here that have a review of the school so far?

 

[sylvanthus]

Hmm perhaps I'll do one tonight for PNWU. I can say right now, the cost is getting out of control. It keeps going up more than we are told it will go up.

 

[mechanictodr]

Hmm perhaps I'll do one tonight for PNWU. I can say right now, the cost is getting out of control. It keeps going up more than we are told it will go up.

The cost is getting hilarious... but now they have your souls muahahahaha! I see 50K easily in the next two years.

Edit:

PNWU is already more costly than RVU which is a FOR Pofit school

 

[ShyRem]

Heck, UNECOM is more expensive than PNWU. UNECOM tuition last year was $43,120. Seeing as it goes up about 6% every year, it will be more expensive than PNWU this year (whose tuition is $44,650). No doubt.

UNECOM again proves why their students rank #1 in total student debt load. Way to go.

 

[mechanictodr]

Heck, UNECOM is more expensive than PNWU. UNECOM tuition last year was $43,120. Seeing as it goes up about 6% every year, it will be more expensive than PNWU this year (whose tuition is $44,650). No doubt.

UNECOM again proves why their students rank #1 in total student debt load. Way to go.

Just give it some time... this is only their third year and the tuition is up $14650 from where it started. UNECOM may have competition for "#1" sooner than you think.

 

[christina30]

Heck, UNECOM is more expensive than PNWU. UNECOM tuition last year was $43,120. Seeing as it goes up about 6% every year, it will be more expensive than PNWU this year (whose tuition is $44,650). No doubt.

UNECOM again proves why their students rank #1 in total student debt load. Way to go.

NYCOM is up there, too, in the tuition department. $44,405 BEFORE all the additional fees (like health insurance).

 

[csmittyB]

NYCOM is up there, too, in the tuition department. $44,405 BEFORE all the additional fees (like health insurance).

Damn. I just can't justify paying that much in tuition.

 

[NJWxMan]

My first year at LECOM five years ago was $23,500. I've got some debt now; I couldn't imagine paying back >$40,000.