Questions about PCOM

[Gator]

For those have applied and/or accepted. What are some of the advantages of going to PCOM? What made you decide on PCOM? Thanks.

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[bluphilosopher]

Originally posted by Gator:
•For those have applied and/or accepted. What are some of the advantages of going to PCOM? What made you decide on PCOM? Thanks.•

I can sum the advantages up in two words: clinical training
In all the medschools (MD or DO) that I have been to, I have not seen any that has the level of clinical based training and clinical resources as PCOM.
It has other advantages as well.
The teachers are very approachable and personable. Your bound to find one you love. ( To bad Dr. Nouenhous ,sp, retired.)
There is a strong contingency of dual degree programs and research experiences available. Not to mention, PCOM has the most variety of residency programs available than any other DO school.
And for some odd reason, the students don't seem very stressed. Well, in comparison to elsewhere.
Most importantly, the students are "real people". They seem to focus on becoming the best physician they can be, and not destroying the curve. Everyone comes off as being outgoing and active.
Oh, and the campus is "purdy" to.

Ok now the bad:
Not enough people seemed enthralled in OMM. More students than I would like don't seemed enthralled with this subject. However, it is still taught very well.
And right now, the school is attempting a fury of changes that sweep from the curriculum to the Financial Aid office. As always expect a migraine or two to accompany all this.

As for why I chose PCOM. They accepted me .
Well actually I did originally want to be a DO. And I read good things about this school. So it was always high on my list.

In good faith,
bluphilosopher
PCOM 2005

 

[Gator]

Thanks for your response. I have been reading PCOM's website and I like what I have seen so far.

 

[Bubba]

It was my first choice for several reasons.

Location: In PA somewhat close to my family.

Reputation: I have encountered several 60+ year old, old school MDs who say PCOM is a great school.
It is also 100+ years old and everyone here in Phily knows about it and think its great. Because of it's age, here in Phily, there seems to be a lot more DOs in the big city and there doesn't seem to be any people who look at DOs as lesser physicians. Also, my girlfriend has already started her job as a nurse here in Phily at one of the big hospitals and all the nurses really like the DOs that come from PCOM.

Size: I really wanted to go to a bigger school in a bigger city. No offense to anyone but I really don't think I could make it in a small place like Kirksville. Kirksville was my second choice until I went for an interview and saw exactly how rural it was.

Resources: Since PCOM has been around so long, it has a lot of places in Phily where you can do your clinical rotations and possibly residency.

And as a side note, when I went on interviews to all these other schools and went on their tours, all the professors had their diplomas on the walls and it seemed that all the professors from these other schools graduated from either PCOM or Kirksville.

 

[bobo]

Bluephilosopher is in the ballpark on most of his comments; however I must disagree regarding the OMM department. They are a bunch of clowns running the show at PCOM. Lecture attendance is very poor. When the "brothers" get up to lecture during lab they just ramble on and on and most people tune them out. Nobody studies for the finals until the day before when a small amount of cramming is done. Mostly by the time an OPP final rolls around you are too burned out to study too much. Class written averages are low, but everyone pretty much comes out OK because the practical grades are usually high. You have to REALLY bomb the practical to make a bad grade. Speaking of grades, the OPP dept. is really one big mystery when it comes to this matter. Grades were mailed earlier this summer but a notice soon followed that they were to be "readjusted". Kinda makes you wonder. Mine went up about 10 points, but neither practical or written grades were posted to my knowledge. Rumor had it that 10% of your final yearly grade was based on a single quiz given randomly during the year. Kinda sucks since class is such a drag. The poster is right - most don't take OMM that seriously at PCOM. There are a few who do if that is what you are interested in.