Real look at Barry University school of podiatric medicine

[barrypod22]

cxb

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[Ferocity]

Nice edit.

 

[heybrother]

Why is the education horrible?

 

[DrMarx]

cxb

Ah! You must of learned a lot about those three letters. I'm so proud of you!

 

[Ferocity]

Ah! You must of learned a lot about those three letters. I'm so proud of you!

Speaking of learning...

 

[JetsFan]

what does cxb mean?

 

[golfandmedicine]

what does cxb mean?

I am thinking the original poster edited what they had wrote to be changed to three random letters.

 

[JetsFan]

Thanks!

 

[Life Sucks]

I'm lack and I find this I.Q.

 

[anklemortise]

why was the op's post "edited"?
The following is MY experience at Barry. Hopefully it will give others who are interested in Barry an insider look.... after the smiles, the welcome greetings, etc...


Things I learned about Barry that I wished I knew BEFORE I started ____ for those who are interested in matriculating there.
New anatomy professor from a DO school in Kentucky for class of 2016. We started out with 70 students, we now only have 50 students. We were told the c/o 2016 have the highest GPA and MCAT ever in the history of the school. So why so many failed???
Most (majority) of the dropouts/fail outs were due to gross anatomy class. His exams are beyond what I've seen sample of board questions. His exams are full of tertiary and quaternary questions .I wondered if this approach is really necessary.
It is almost as though he takes pride in seeing how many students he can fail. Absolutely no curve, unless of course he likes you. I found out at the end of 2nd semester that some students got curves while others did not. The no curve rule is in our syllabus so no surprise there but the selective few who he did curve was unprofessional, IMHO.
You might want to ask your interviewers about the high dropouts/ fail out rates they experienced here during the first semester and the reasons. Ask about the anatomy professor. (This is his first time teaching at a DPM school.) For our lower anatomy class, he scanned the book and post it on blackboard when we asked him for powerpoints lectures. This was after he promised to post powerpoints for us. A few students asked him for powerpoints lectures, he refused, saying that would be too much work and he doesn't have the time! When he taught us gross, he use his materials from the previous school so no issues with powerpoints but he did not have any previous premade materials for lower. That would be so bad if he would just lecture during our regular class time since the school has lecture capture capacity in the classrooms. The worst part is that he would lecture during lab time (in the lab). There is no lecture capture in the lab nor are we allowed electronics.
Ask about what kind of help one would get should you find yourself in an academically challenged position. I.e…you need help in a particular class.
If you had interviewed and visit the campus, you noticed the "Barry Cares" sign all over campus. As a current student, I can tell you that is far from the truth. The basic science professors at Barry does NOT care about you. The basic science chair/physio prof is almost an emotionaless kind of person. A classmate started the new semester with a death in the family( her mother died). I am sure that is a traumatic event for most of us. When she talked to him and inquired about a LOA. His response to her was that he cannot guarantee her a spot for her return. His advice to her was to just move on.
The physio and biochem professors are the worst. If you have trouble in their classes, try to ask a classmate or youtube what you don't understand. Don't bother going to them. I went to bio chem prof after my first exam and he basically told me that if I did not major or at least minor in biochem then I would have a very had time passing his class. Made it out with an 88 for both semesters. As far as physio goes, the guy can't teach without misspoke when classmates asks him questions. I don't doubt the man knows his subject but he did a poor job at teaching it. This is not my personal opinion alone. Other classmates have expressed frustration when they attend his "review" sessions.
Histology /Neuroanatomy prof is fair. Very fair. There is no surprise with his exams or materials. He is very approachable and non judgmental.
I might have chosen one of the other 5 schools that I got accepted had I known a little "behind the scene". I am just sharing my experience and hope that the info might help you decided.
I wish you all the best.

There are folks in my class who are happy with Barry.

 

[heybrother]

The OP deleted his own post... just like you probably will.

 

[itsallgood19]

but this is just one person's experience...

 

[phannamd]

After reading the above posts regarding education at Barry, I feel I should shed some light on the matter with regards to the class of 2016. After all, practically every pre-med student comes across SDN at some point in time, and IMO if you're going to spend close to 300K on your future, you damn well better have the facts. I in no way mean to bash the previous posts or whomever posted them as everybody is indeed entitled to their opinion, just simply shedding some light on the matter.

First of all, medical school is no easy task and it is certainly not for everybody. No matter what philosophy of medicine you choose to study or are studying, anatomy; physiolgy; pathology; and pharmacology have always been terms that strike fear in the hearts of every medical student. . This is no different at Barry than it is at Temple, Touro, or any other institution. We spend countless grueling hours on these subjects and that will always be the case as a medical student. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when you read on a forum how challenging these courses are. Secondly, when it comes to professors, they come in a wide variety. Sometimes the more letters they have after their name the worse a teacher they are, other times you'll be fortunate to have a professor who has a passion for the course he/she is teaching, and is able to help you grasp it with ease. The bottom line is, regardless where you choose to pursue your education, you will encounter both types of professors. It is up to you to do everything in your abilities to learn the required information. I for one believe that if I should be allowed to grab a scalpel and cut into another human being one day, then teaching myself Anatomy or Physiology shouldn't be too difficult. This also will apply to Barry as it does to any other school.

To address our high attrition rate for the class of 2016 I'm going to have to bombard you with a bunch of numbers.

Facts: We entered the Class of 2016 with 67 students. We gained 3 students in the spring semester who matriculated into our class. Today we stand at 51 students. Now granted an attrition of 19 students in the first year is significant, but it can't all be blamed on the institution. Of those 19 students; 3 suffered a death in the family which greatly impacted their performance as it would any one of us; 4 left for medical reasons mid-semester (3 of which are-admitted in the class of 2017); 1 person decided that podiatry school was no longer their goal, and chose to not show up for finals; 1 person left after successfully completing first semester due to complications with being an international student, 1 left middle of second semester for family reasons; lastly, 1 person left for military deployment after successfully completing their first semester and is readmitted in the class of 2017 to continue their education. That totals to 11 students with justifiable personal reasons for leaving. As for the other 8 students, most were given an opportunity to reapply and 2 were granted readmission into the class of 2017.

As for the change in the anatomy professor which my class encountered coming in. Dr. Soneira is an Anatomist (that means he is a Doctor who went to medical school and chose to do his residency in ANATOMY) who has taught at MD and DO schools. I have to say I am truly astounded by his level of knowledge and his attention to detail. We were his first DPM class and his first class at Barry. He was brought in by the school to make our board scores for lower extremity even higher. After all we're going to be foot and ankle specialist we should be producing students who know everything about the foot and ankle. Dr. Soneira prepared us for exactly that. Indeed this is his first time teaching anatomy at a podiatry school, but I can guarantee that my classmates and I know our anatomy better than any other class. It is unfortunate to have lost so many intelligent people, but as I mentioned before, not all our losses can be blamed on the school or because of the changes in our anatomy professor. So take everything you read with a grain of salt.

The fact of the matter is that life simply doesn't stop when you start medical school and frankly s**t happens. Medical school is definitely not for everybody otherwise everyone would be a Dr. Moreover, whether you choose to go to an MD/DO or DPM program, understand that it is a very tough journey that will require sacrifice and tremendous commitment on your part. But ultimately you will reap what you sew with your education. As I mentioned in the beginning, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if your forming your opinion of BUSPM based on the information you read here, make sure you know the facts. Hope this helps.

 

[CaptnDamnSkippy]

Dr. Soneira is an asset to our school. End of story. We may not perform as well and we may be challenged to our limits, but I am confident we know as much if not more about human anatomy than any medical student out there. Period.

As for the evaluation of Dr. Sesodia, I agree that teaching is one of his weaknesses and he is certainly a poor public speaker...but I believe he means well. As for physio numbers on the national boards, we are doing just splendidly.

Barry challenges me to my limits and I feel (with some exceptions, which can be said of any institution) that I am getting the education I need to be successful. I'd recommend this program to anyone.

 

[darklabel]

While I agree that medical school is tough, how come MD/DO schools don't have near the attrition rate as DPM schools? And compared to the other schools, Barry seems to have quite an unusually large attrition rate.

For me, high attrition rate = some blame on the school as well. It's tough, but it seems like Barry doesn't have much of a support system in place.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

While I agree that medical school is tough, how come MD/DO schools don't have near the attrition rate as DPM schools? And compared to the other schools, Barry seems to have quite an unusually large attrition rate.

For me, high attrition rate = some blame on the school as well. It's tough, but it seems like Barry doesn't have much of a support system in place.

Well that question has been addressed many times. It is simply 1 of 2 reasons, or a combination of both. One is that the student did not expect podiatry school to be nearly as time-consuming and rigorous as MD/DO school, and two, some students had atrocious entrance MCAT scores or GPA, meaning they were likely not able to handle the course work that was given to them in the first place. MD/DO students KNOW what to expect, more or less, and generally have the academic prowess to succeed. Simple as that. Yes, podiatry schools want the best students for their programs, but to be honest, they would accept sub-par applicants. It is in the nature of the system: A student in their early 20's would pick MD/DO school 9 times out of 10, because the podiatric specialty is set in stone (and not many students can say they want to practice podiatry at that age), and the schools need students to remain active.

 

[jonod1107]

While I agree that medical school is tough, how come MD/DO schools don't have near the attrition rate as DPM schools? And compared to the other schools, Barry seems to have quite an unusually large attrition rate.

For me, high attrition rate = some blame on the school as well. It's tough, but it seems like Barry doesn't have much of a support system in place.

I agree on the American MD programs but I wouldn't say ALL DO programs have low attrition rates. For example, at the GA campus of Erie DO school, the class was 200 students and 20 of them either left or had to repeat after just the first semester.

 

[jonod1107]

why was the op's post "edited"?
The following is MY experience at Barry. Hopefully it will give others who are interested in Barry an insider look.... after the smiles, the welcome greetings, etc...


Things I learned about Barry that I wished I knew BEFORE I started ____ for those who are interested in matriculating there.
New anatomy professor from a DO school in Kentucky for class of 2016. We started out with 70 students, we now only have 50 students. We were told the c/o 2016 have the highest GPA and MCAT ever in the history of the school. So why so many failed???
Most (majority) of the dropouts/fail outs were due to gross anatomy class. His exams are beyond what I’ve seen sample of board questions. His exams are full of tertiary and quaternary questions .I wondered if this approach is really necessary.
It is almost as though he takes pride in seeing how many students he can fail. Absolutely no curve, unless of course he likes you. I found out at the end of 2nd semester that some students got curves while others did not. The no curve rule is in our syllabus so no surprise there but the selective few who he did curve was unprofessional, IMHO.
You might want to ask your interviewers about the high dropouts/ fail out rates they experienced here during the first semester and the reasons. Ask about the anatomy professor. (This is his first time teaching at a DPM school.) For our lower anatomy class, he scanned the book and post it on blackboard when we asked him for powerpoints lectures. This was after he promised to post powerpoints for us. A few students asked him for powerpoints lectures, he refused, saying that would be too much work and he doesn’t have the time! When he taught us gross, he use his materials from the previous school so no issues with powerpoints but he did not have any previous premade materials for lower. That would be so bad if he would just lecture during our regular class time since the school has lecture capture capacity in the classrooms. The worst part is that he would lecture during lab time (in the lab). There is no lecture capture in the lab nor are we allowed electronics.
Ask about what kind of help one would get should you find yourself in an academically challenged position. I.e…you need help in a particular class.
If you had interviewed and visit the campus, you noticed the “Barry Cares” sign all over campus. As a current student, I can tell you that is far from the truth. The basic science professors at Barry does NOT care about you. The basic science chair/physio prof is almost an emotionaless kind of person. A classmate started the new semester with a death in the family( her mother died). I am sure that is a traumatic event for most of us. When she talked to him and inquired about a LOA. His response to her was that he cannot guarantee her a spot for her return. His advice to her was to just move on.
The physio and biochem professors are the worst. If you have trouble in their classes, try to ask a classmate or youtube what you don’t understand. Don’t bother going to them. I went to bio chem prof after my first exam and he basically told me that if I did not major or at least minor in biochem then I would have a very had time passing his class. Made it out with an 88 for both semesters. As far as physio goes, the guy can’t teach without misspoke when classmates asks him questions. I don’t doubt the man knows his subject but he did a poor job at teaching it. This is not my personal opinion alone. Other classmates have expressed frustration when they attend his “review” sessions.
Histology /Neuroanatomy prof is fair. Very fair. There is no surprise with his exams or materials. He is very approachable and non judgmental.
I might have chosen one of the other 5 schools that I got accepted had I known a little “behind the scene”. I am just sharing my experience and hope that the info might help you decided.
I wish you all the best.

There are folks in my class who are happy with Barry.

i do have a question about Barry. Someone told me that Pod students take courses with other students there? Is that true? I am assuming that if they do it's with the Post bac students or the PA students?

 

[Hoth Rasiley]

i do have a question about Barry. Someone told me that Pod students take courses with other students there? Is that true? I am assuming that if they do it's with the Post bac students or the PA students?

yea its the post-ball students. dont underestimate them tho. lots of them eventually will go on to be md's and dentists

 

[jonod1107]

yea its the post-ball students. dont underestimate them tho. lots of them eventually will go on to be md's and dentists

No, I'm not knocking on the post bac students, I was considering doing a post bac before myself. I was just curious because someone told me that the pod students at Barry took classes with undergrads but I didn't think that sounded right. I know At western pod students take some classes with dental or DO students but Barry doesn't have a DO school so was just curious about who he other students were.

 

[Hippocrat]

After reading the above posts regarding education at Barry, I feel I should shed some light on the matter with regards to the class of 2016. After all, practically every pre-med student comes across SDN at some point in time, and IMO if you're going to spend close to 300K on your future, you damn well better have the facts. I in no way mean to bash the previous posts or whomever posted them as everybody is indeed entitled to their opinion, just simply shedding some light on the matter.

First of all, medical school is no easy task and it is certainly not for everybody. No matter what philosophy of medicine you choose to study or are studying, anatomy; physiolgy; pathology; and pharmacology have always been terms that strike fear in the hearts of every medical student. . This is no different at Barry than it is at Temple, Touro, or any other institution. We spend countless grueling hours on these subjects and that will always be the case as a medical student. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when you read on a forum how challenging these courses are. Secondly, when it comes to professors, they come in a wide variety. Sometimes the more letters they have after their name the worse a teacher they are, other times you'll be fortunate to have a professor who has a passion for the course he/she is teaching, and is able to help you grasp it with ease. The bottom line is, regardless where you choose to pursue your education, you will encounter both types of professors. It is up to you to do everything in your abilities to learn the required information. I for one believe that if I should be allowed to grab a scalpel and cut into another human being one day, then teaching myself Anatomy or Physiology shouldn't be too difficult. This also will apply to Barry as it does to any other school.

To address our high attrition rate for the class of 2016 I'm going to have to bombard you with a bunch of numbers.

Facts: We entered the Class of 2016 with 67 students. We gained 3 students in the spring semester who matriculated into our class. Today we stand at 51 students. Now granted an attrition of 19 students in the first year is significant, but it can't all be blamed on the institution. Of those 19 students; 3 suffered a death in the family which greatly impacted their performance as it would any one of us; 4 left for medical reasons mid-semester (3 of which are-admitted in the class of 2017); 1 person decided that podiatry school was no longer their goal, and chose to not show up for finals; 1 person left after successfully completing first semester due to complications with being an international student, 1 left middle of second semester for family reasons; lastly, 1 person left for military deployment after successfully completing their first semester and is readmitted in the class of 2017 to continue their education. That totals to 11 students with justifiable personal reasons for leaving. As for the other 8 students, most were given an opportunity to reapply and 2 were granted readmission into the class of 2017.

As for the change in the anatomy professor which my class encountered coming in. Dr. Soneira is an Anatomist (that means he is a Doctor who went to medical school and chose to do his residency in ANATOMY) who has taught at MD and DO schools. I have to say I am truly astounded by his level of knowledge and his attention to detail. We were his first DPM class and his first class at Barry. He was brought in by the school to make our board scores for lower extremity even higher. After all we're going to be foot and ankle specialist we should be producing students who know everything about the foot and ankle. Dr. Soneira prepared us for exactly that. Indeed this is his first time teaching anatomy at a podiatry school, but I can guarantee that my classmates and I know our anatomy better than any other class. It is unfortunate to have lost so many intelligent people, but as I mentioned before, not all our losses can be blamed on the school or because of the changes in our anatomy professor. So take everything you read with a grain of salt.

The fact of the matter is that life simply doesn't stop when you start medical school and frankly s**t happens. Medical school is definitely not for everybody otherwise everyone would be a Dr. Moreover, whether you choose to go to an MD/DO or DPM program, understand that it is a very tough journey that will require sacrifice and tremendous commitment on your part. But ultimately you will reap what you sew with your education. As I mentioned in the beginning, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if your forming your opinion of BUSPM based on the information you read here, make sure you know the facts. Hope this helps.

Out of respect for my former classmates and the reputation of their future alma mater, I've refrained from posting anything about my experience at BUSPM in the past 6 months since I left. However, this thread was brought to my attention and as the person mentioned above who "decided that podiatry school was no longer their goal, and chose to not show up for finals," I would like to say that this is anything but the truth and I have good reason to believe that the high attrition rate currently being seen at BUSPM is not as easily attributed to "justifiable personal reasons" as the class president would have you believe.

I have a suspicion that this thread will be deleted, but in an effort to inform those considering attendance at BUSPM, I'll share my thoughts as objectively as possible.

First, a little about me:
I applied late, really late. I was interviewing this time last year. I applied to every school because I didn't think I would get in anywhere. Yes, all of my stats were above average and I graduated from a reputable institution, but I thought my chances were slim so late in the year. I was wrong. I was accepted or wait listed everywhere I interviewed and was offered scholarships at several schools. It was a difficult decision. Ultimately I chose Barry for 3 reasons: their strong reputation based on recommendations from a variety of podiatrists, a very positive interview experience involving kind people and impressive facilities, and (naively) its location in beautiful, sunny Miami. This is a decision I have since come to regret.

I have to say, Miami is extremely nice. If you're a strong, fast, independent learner who enjoys sunshine and beaches, Barry is the place for you. Just be sure that you are a very independent learner. My experience with Barry is that they are strong on expectations and weak on support. During my time there, they lectured for hours about what you need to know but neglected to give you anything but the most basic tools to learn it. The curriculum was very unstructured with only the slightest bit of coherence or organization of material. It seemed as though the teaching staff had little to no accountability and took full advantage of their freedom to do their job however they wanted. While I confess, in some educational settings that can be a good thing, in this case it resulted in a substantial discrepancy between academic demand and academic support. It's easy to tell someone what they need to know, the BRS does that. When I pay tens of thousands of dollars to attend an institution, I expect to have a majority of the information that I'm required to learn organized in some coherent manner prior to my being required to know it. This, unquestionably, did not happen during my time at BUSPM. This, in addition to a multitude of strange practices and policies (hours of lecturing in lab but no electronics allowed, the need for a unanimous class vote to have a test date changed from a week with tests in every class to an adjacent week without any tests, even with professor approval weeks in advance, etc) and unfair treatment of classmates (several instances that I won't go into) made my brief stint at BUSPM unbearable.

I certainly did not decide that podiatry was no longer my goal. I invested a substantial amount of time and energy down this road and still, would like very much to become a podiatrist. However, the lack of concern, compassion, and support that I experienced at BUSPM, not only towards myself but also toward many of my former classmates, has infected my once healthy enthusiasm for medicine. Admittedly, I'm a compassionate, organized person and a bit of an overachiever so these issues bothered me more than others. I'm just not the type of person who would be okay with barely scraping by and facing the very real possibility of myself and large portion of my classmates not passing boards. (In an effort to not have this post deleted, I won't share the first time board pass rates for last year, but I will say that if it were my final grade in a class at BUSPM, I would have to remediate).

That being said, I'm not writing this to put BUSPM down. I can't say that there is no good at Barry. I think that there are many truly great students (though fewer now apparently) and among the faculty there are many good intentions. When I left though, it's my opinion that there were some very serious issues in the academic department. Serious enough to cause me to doubt my lifelong dream of becoming a physician. I'm told, however, that they've made some significant changes to the curriculum since I left, which is undoubtedly a good sign. Clearly, they're making an effort, but I'd be concerned about how motivated they are to improve while they continue to deny that there's a problem.

The bottom line is that despite my best efforts, I chose the wrong school for me, but BUSPM is definitely not the wrong school for everyone. As I said above, if you're a fast, independent learner or you have a strong enough background in medicine that you don't have much to learn, then being in Miami for 3-4 years might be a great thing for you. If that doesn't describe you though, I suggest giving Barry a couple years to iron out their academic issues before you invest in a school that may not invest in you.

If you are considering enrolling at Barry and want to ask me any questions or get more information about my experience there, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[flyhi]

i do have a question about Barry. Someone told me that Pod students take courses with other students there? Is that true? I am assuming that if they do it's with the Post bac students or the PA students?

Pod students only in classes. Post bacc has their own program and so do PA students. No undergrads either, lol. There were 2 exceptions...they were MS students and only in the first two semesters.

 

[PodStudent2013]

Barry is not easy as what from the post I have read or heard from other students. It is a lot of work and majority of it was memorizing! A lot of students struggled to pass and the professors are horrible at teaching. Majority of the time, I end up going back to my apartment researching online. Some of the things being taught is not 100% accurate and could be one of the reasons why students are struggling to pass their boards. If you have a chance at going to another school, I would highly recommend it! I have friends at Iowa and New York and they absolutely love it! Brag about the newly and updated instrumentations, how everyone helps one another, and the faculties are great and passionate about what they are teaching. Yes, the location is nice but do not trade beautiful weather for your education. If no other school accepts you, and you had no choice then good luck here at Barry. It's a lot of work and know that not everyone will graduate. I personally think Barry put on a nice show for me during my interview date and offered a "scholarship" which sounded great at that time, but I did not receive any scholarship money until later in the semester when I kept requesting aid from Ms. Robinson and Ms. Pinto. No student should have to go through this! I wasted a lot of time contacting and writing emails about this but I was told to keep waiting!

 

[Hoth Rasiley]

even Barry's masters program is pretty horrible. avoid barry grad school at all costs.

 

[pod101]

Podiatry forums are really depressing sometimes. In the midst of all this doom and gloom does anyone like Barry? They must graduate someone?! I know 2 graduates I shadowed that I really like.

MD - MD schools can not guarantee 100% matriculation. The students that are accepted are academically the cream of the crop and know how to study. Even that population has drop-outs, repeats (very common and its also a hidden stat), and people who did not match.

DO- are slightly worse on both fronts.

DPM - even worse but not as bad as...

Caribbean MD - your odds are 50/50 or less and you take out $300,000 loans. (20% of practicing MDs in the USA come from here)

 

[PODstudent101]

Barry could be a great school if they iron out some of the problems.

 

[PODstudent101]

How can a teacher be an asset when teaching is not a strong point?

 

[hughesn2]

I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but over the last 8 months or so on this site I have learned that there are many trolls on this site.
And most of those trolls tend to be people who have less than 5 posts.

For my sake, I hope you are incorrect because Barry is one of the places I would love go to. I live in Michigan, but the podiatrist I shadow and have known since I was in 8th grade did go to Barry in the early '90s and the dean at Barry is one of his classmates and good friend. He tells me the dean is a great guy, but again why would a friend talk down on a friend who just so happens to be the Dean at a podiatry school I am looking at.

 

[Pine757]

The Dean Dr. Jensen is an amazing guy. He is really down to earth and very approachable. I think the people on here are speaking about the professors and more of the academic side of Barry POD. The guys and girls writing on here about BUSPM are not trolling. There is always some truth behind every story and these people are sharing their experience. BUSPM had a really bad semester last year and a lot of peoples dreams of becoming a physician were crushed. Honestly, there were some organizational issues and the word disconnected was used a lot. With that said, Miami is extremely nice and if you are an independent learner with a memory like an elephant you will do great here. Then you can post your BUSPM experience and tell all of the future PODs to stay away or come aboard.

 

[Pine757]

lok

 

[Telekinesis]

Anyone know if Barry uses GPA cut-offs to screen people out?

 

[hughesn2]

The Dean Dr. Jensen is an amazing guy. He is really down to earth and very approachable. I think the people on here are speaking about the professors and more of the academic side of Barry POD. The guys and girls writing on here about BUSPM are not trolling. There is always some truth behind every story and these people are sharing their experience. BUSPM had a really bad semester last year and a lot of peoples dreams of becoming a physician were crushed. Honestly, there were some organizational issues and the word disconnected was used a lot. With that said, Miami is extremely nice and if you are an independent learner with a memory like an elephant you will do great here. Then you can post your BUSPM experience and tell all of the future PODs to stay away or come aboard.

The podiatrist I have known for over a decade always told me that being from Michigan going to undergrad at South Florida then another 4yrs at Barry he said he was so glad to get out of the state of Florida. He says the campus was great, but just growing up in Michigan and then spending 8yrs of schooling in South Florida it takes a toll.

I know for a fact that my top 3 places to apply to are Barry, Kent, and Scholl's. Other than these 3 I may not even waste my $65 per application at any other places, but again I am taking my MCATs on Friday I have to wait to get the score back, but just hope my few teachers I am asking for LORs don't take their jolly time to write it. I want to apply ASAP so it has a better chance

 

[hematosis]

Barry is a great program. I'm always impressed when i work with some of their externs and residents. They're strong in biomechanics and wound care. They have some of the best teachers the profession has to offer. The wound care guru Dr. Snyder, Dr. Armstrong who is todays leader when it comes to radiology and, of course, Dr. Sutherland who is a master of biomechanics. I think that the program is getting more competitive than before since Jeff Jenson took over and students are starting to complain. Perhaps there is some discontinuity with the basic science teachers but their clinical science teachers are top notch.

 

[briannn]

....a more RECENT REVIEW, compared to these other people:

Barry's podiatry school is an absolute failure at the moment. they had to fire the anatomy professor, soneira, after 2 years of teaching because he was incapable of following/completing the syllabus. An entire year/class was not taught ANY anatomy on the FEET in the 2 years of schooling before the boards. This problem stems from the administrative incompetence. The chair of the department, sesodia is a total douche (more on that later). Apart from the firing, the dean, Jensen has left the university. Barry is in a state of instability.

Pros:
Florida weather is nice.
The clinical faculty is EXTREMELY strong.
The basic sciences faculty is relatively good.

Cons:
There is no current dean.
Basic science department faculty is in a state of instability since there's new professors.
The chair of the department, Sesodia is ridiculously incompetent, arrogant and rude. Therefore, not many things will change in the basic sciences department. And if you're stressed out he's the absolute worst person to approach.
The infrastructure is lacking, particularly our basic sciences' labs.
The courses are not structured well.


What to do when applying to Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine :
Before you apply to this school, you should go talk to the current dean (armstrong), and also the basic sciences chair, sesodia. One meeting with sesodia will be enough to discourage you from applying to this school.
Ask about professors. eg. How long have the professors been teaching? What happened to the previous professors? (facts: there are 3 new professors, with no experience of teaching a podiatry course. note: they have full control over the course, because they are NOT assistants, they are the SOLE, PRIMARY professors, with no guidance from the professors that left before)
Ask about boards part II drop rate? Barry hates to release these figures (I wonder why?)
Ask whether you get time off to prepare for the first Boards I exam. We have classes summer, spring, fall per year (due to: more money towards tuition and professors pockets, some professors will split a ONE semester course into 3 SEMESTER courses eg. sesodia's physio class). This only detracts your attention away from other courses.
Ask about average GPA's in 1st year and 2nd year and how it affects you scholarship money.
Ask about how well do they stick with the boards I learning objectives, and what steps they take to ENSURE it is being followed. The chair of the department, sesodia, teaches physio and he teaches whatever he wants to teach. He DOES NOT following the learning objectives.

 

[skierbum]

Thanks for this...does anyone else have current input on this school?

 

[that1guyfromFL]

My advice is to take anecdotal experiences posted anonymously on the internet with a larger than average grain of salt.

 

[BUSPM Admin]

Response to the more RECENT REVIEW

My name is Amy Major, I am the director of Admissions for BUSPM. I normally let these posts go by, but I do like to clarify if there is untruthfulness to a post.

Barry's podiatric medicine program is going through a transition at the moment. However, being part of something that is evolving is much better than being part of something that is stagnant. It means there is growth. And growth can only mean bigger and better. It is true that Dr. Soneira is no longer part of the university. However, Dr Singh, who has been here for years has taken over the anatomy program and has been doing a great job. She has been teaching anatomy here at Barry and is highly trained and qualified. Plus, she's a DPM.

Dr. Jensen has not left the university, Dr. Jensen has assumed a new role. He is the Director of Research. He is out and about in the community and across the country working on funding so that we are able to be at the top when it comes to research. We just finished up with a $2.8 million DARPA grant, and we are looking on towards the next level. He is currently having meetings with the NIH as well as the Cleveland Clinic to see what opportunities we will be able to collaberate on.

Regarding the pros and the cons, I do feel that it is imperitive for you to take a moment and make your own notes before basing a decision on one person's feelings. I feel that you should do that with as many schools as you can.

The basic science departmemnt is not in a state of instability since there are new professors, we actually don't have any new professors in the basic science area. All of our basic science faculty have well over 10 years experience, if there is anyone that is new, it is not a full time faculty member.

We do have a "current" interim dean, Dr. Armstrong. Interim dean entails that there is someone sitting in the office running the school. Dr. Armstrong has not only BUSPM but also the students interest at heart.

Boards Part I : 100% pass rate (class of 2015)
Boards Part II: 92% pass rate (class of 2014) those results were released today.

Regarding preparation for Boards part I, you do get time. There are several reviews that professors give, however, they are not mandatory and not everyone decides to take the time to go to them.

Course load and how it comes to be financially, we do not charge per course. BUSPM is a flat rate program. Physiology is a HUGE chunk of what you need to know, it is a 2 part class, not 3. If everything that is needed to know for physio was put into 1 - 16 week semester, it would not be doable. Plus, it gives you a great refresher for Boards Part I.

We do not go into GPAs for 1st and 2nd years due to FERPA regulations. However, if you receive a scholarship and do not maintain your GPA, you will lose your scholarship. This is currently being assessed by myself and the department of financial aid.

Please, if you have any questions, feel free to contact the admissions department at 305-899-3123 or you can reach me on my cell 305-458-9373.

Best of luck on your interviews

Amy

 

[briannn]

Untruthfulness? Notice how the previous poster's "truth" is basically paraphrased and contorted to meet her agenda. I still have not seen where I was untruthful.

Let me redefine some of the words used in the previous post.

"Barry's podiatric medicine program is going through a transition at the moment."

Transition = instability. Dr. Soneira's "departure" was a huge deal. He was the professor of gross anatomy AND lower extremity. He was FIRED. It took two years of him destroying the student's grades, focusing on his material (instead of Boards) for the basic science administration (Sesodia) to do something. In his final semester of teaching, he was forced to add a massive curve to previous exams lest be faced with countlesss fails, leading to a decrease in tuition money. There are so many things wrong with that scenario: why would the administration wait so long to change things after extensive pleas from the student body? And guess what, he was fired abruptly, MID-year. Therefore, his name was originally in the roster for gross anatomy, class of 2018! His departure was far from peaceful also. This was dealt with in the worst possible way. FYI about Dr Singh: she was forced to be the assistant to Dr. Soneira. PLEASE do not tout Dr Singh as this great teacher now. Why was she initially demoted then? Also, this is DPM school; saying that she's a DPM shouldn't be out of the ordinary. But clearly being a DPM was not an advantage or else she would have been chosen to lecture. She was chosen because of the vacancy that resulted. She should have been the professor initially.

"Dr. Jensen has not left the university, Dr. Jensen has assumed a new role."

Fuel to the fire was the dean, Jensen's departure. His departure was based on "personal" issues. Covering up his departure by saying he is the "Director of Research" will not fade the wise. Give him a fancy title and we'll assume nothing has changed right? This transition was to evolve? or devolve? Change isn't always a positive thing. I'm personally sure that YOU also believe Dr Jensen as Dean would be signficantly more advantageous to Barry than uh...director of research. Change is eventually inevitable, but this change occurred way to fast... How long has he been dean? Less than 5 years?

"We do have a "current" interim dean, Dr. Armstrong"

The whole point here is that he is NOT the dean. No real changes can be made while he is acting. I think the issue is NOT about who's sitting in the office at this very moment, but who's going to lead the university in the right direction. Dr. Armstrong does have the students' support. However, in the upcoming months that can easily change. Then what? Why come to a university where professors/deans are leaving? This is OUR future, and the reality is that we need stability. How can a new dean seek our best interest if he does not know us?

"Physiology is a large chunk" .....is an outright lie.

If anything, it is a relatively smaller chunk.
It comprises 13% of Boards I. Whereas, gross anatomy and lower extremity is 38%, pathology- 12%, immuno - 15%, pharmac - 15%. Stating that its a huge chunk of the boards is ENTIRELY misleading, and clearly an excuse to validate your agenda. And the last 3 of those have not been taught yet btw. Class of 2018 will see the inefficiency of the professor. There are too many things to say about this person and this course. For further information just shoot me a msg. Also, how can this course be a "refresher"....lol.. its NEW material being taught because he spaces it out so much. Some of the stuff he covers is not even on the boards. He has being doing this for too long. It amazes me how he is still teaching. Regardless, a refresher would be closer to boards, NOT a year away..lol.. Contact anyone from previous classes about sesodia, and you will hear what they have to say. This is not just a single angry student making a post. If most of the students agree that a professor is inefficient..then...something is wrong!

Also, we DO have new professors. I have sat in the classes. I have heard what they had to say. Clinical neuro is a brand spanking new professor for this year...as in, not last year...but this year.

Boards part 1 pass rate....does that include do students who fail on the 1st try and try again? Boards were made to be EXTREMELY EASY. Other universities all have over 90% pass rate.


This account is firsthand and current. This is a real review. This is not the administration of the school. This is not the ADMISSIONS department writing a review to sell their product. This is not a failing a student.

...will our classes pass 100% boards I pass rate? will we all graduate at the end of 4 years? will we go on to become great podiatrists? Probably, yes......but why endure all this extra burden? I am just giving you a heads up. There is a lot more than can be discussed here. But as I said in my previous post, go to the school and ask questions. If you need anything verified in my post, then ask questions; ask the professors, ask the deans, ask the students.

PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me for the real scoop. The facts need to be out there. Had I known, my choice would have been very, very different.

 

[Mr.Miagi]

All,

I want everyone who reads this to know a few facts. My goal is not in responding directly to user briannn’s viewpoint, but to rather give a perspective I feel is more indicative of the majority in the Barry Class of 2017, for which I am a member. The purpose of the SDN threads is to inform and answer questions that incoming students may have to our program. Most of us in my class, over 50% which is a majority can honestly sleep at night saying we are happy or at a bare minimum satisfied with our decision to stay in this program despite numerous challenges.

We all had a rough first semester adjusting to the immense challenge of Medical School and after the first semester, we didn’t lose many students thereafter. Most left for personal/family reasons, but a small minority did leave for academic reasons. When I asked around at the other schools at the end of the semester I saw a similar trend (percentage wise). You have to account that Barry is a smaller class size than others so small issues are magnified from the exterior view.

There are always minor problems with any program you go into, and ours is not perfect. What I do acknowledge is that the faculty and administration both have tried to improve and ask for our “appropriate” feedback which we are happy to provide for them off of the internet and in person by suggesting changes politely when asked. Those people in our class who hold leadership positions or are open and sharing with other students have obviously been heard by faculty. This is why I have seen the administration working with us more and they have implemented changes for the positive.

That being said, it is above and beyond what I have heard occurs at other schools. A lot of the issues posted previously about Barry have been fixed. Many postings have blatantly incorrect information about reasons why a professor left or was demoted (when no such demotion occurred). Speculating about issues you are not concrete on just makes your own speculation = instability. Firings and resignations occur in every field and there is not some mischief going on at our school. I just want to point out that another DPM school lost a dean recently and that has not been an upheaval for them either.

My class is hard working and very intelligent. I was humbled during our first semester and everyone makes me want to just work that much harder so I can continue to be a part of it. I am disappointed when I hear people say negative things about “everyone in the class hates this…” as most people are professional enough to acknowledge small issues do happen and shouldn’t be made into a big deal. Anyone considering applying to Barry should keep a neutral position (as I would recommend for any school). If you want to be a notable podiatric surgeon then Barry is something you should consider.



Your classmate, 2017 DPM Candidate, and ever so eager to cross that out and write DOCTOR.

 

[Toadesque]

While I think their may be some truth to brianns comments, I'm always a bit skeptical when someone can spend that much time criticizing someone or something else, and not accept any responsibility for their own struggles. It's just everything is Barry's fault and they are incompetent which is why I didn't do well. Very rarely is someone else 100% to blame for your problems.

 

[TimmyTurner]

Current Barry student here. C/o 2020. Two weeks in. I remember reading this thread during the application process. I have just read through it again , and have a new perspective, now that I can put some faces to the aforementioned names.

Overall, the doom and gloom from the earlier posters on this thread is largely absent from the class culture. The collective experience of my classmates, as well as the C/o 2019 have been extremely positive so far. The academic program concerns related to anatomy have been quelled. Our professor is a polarizing individual but the consensus among both sides is that she, along with her incredibly attentive and talented assistant, are preparing us sufficiently and in accordance with the expectations of boards part 1. Physio I cannot speak to as that is several semesters away, but I have heard some of the same rumblings echoed on this forum from the upperclassmen.

Dr. Armstrong is no longer the interim dean. He is now full time. He is a commanding figure (quite literally, he spent 8 years in the air force).
I trust he can continue to lead the school in the positive direction it is headed.

Barry has plans to build a brand new School of Podiatric medicine. It should be completed by the time I graduate (figures). Consider this a vote of confidence from the University to the school of Podiatric medicine

I am not totally satisfied in terms of pedagogy- I feel that the methods from some of the professors are rather archaic.

Beyond that- based on a small sample size of lectures+labs, candid feedback from upperclassmen, and experiences of friends at other programs- I have no doubt I will be provided an education that will allow me to pass the boards. Which is all that really matters for your didactic experience.

What separates you as a residency applicant is your clinical training . Impossible to be totally objective here, but Barry is second to none .
Armstrong- radiology .
Losito- Orthopedics/podopeds
Southerland- Biomechanics.
Numbah-1. Numbah-1. Numbah-1. Best of the best, crem de la crem.
We also have our own clinical sites. It's the Barry University clinic AT Jackson , Mercy , etc. No pandering to different clinics every year to let our students follow a disinterested physician around around like ducklings (which happens at some schools).

I post here to extend the narrative forming from previous posts. Several years ago, the school made some major gaffes. Students paid the price for it . The school has taken decisive action to see that it doesn't happen again. I consider myself to be the benefactor of their previous mistakes, as they seemed to have learned from them.

Take this post, as with any other, with a grain of salt. But do PM me with any questions you may have.

 

[anonymouspodstudent]

Current Barry student here. C/o 2020. Two weeks in. I remember reading this thread during the application process. I have just read through it again , and have a new perspective, now that I can put some faces to the aforementioned names.

Overall, the doom and gloom from the earlier posters on this thread is largely absent from the class culture. The collective experience of my classmates, as well as the C/o 2019 have been extremely positive so far. The academic program concerns related to anatomy have been quelled. Our professor is a polarizing individual but the consensus among both sides is that she, along with her incredibly attentive and talented assistant, are preparing us sufficiently and in accordance with the expectations of boards part 1. Physio I cannot speak to as that is several semesters away, but I have heard some of the same rumblings echoed on this forum from the upperclassmen.

Dr. Armstrong is no longer the interim dean. He is now full time. He is a commanding figure (quite literally, he spent 8 years in the air force).
I trust he can continue to lead the school in the positive direction it is headed.

Barry has plans to build a brand new School of Podiatric medicine. It should be completed by the time I graduate (figures). Consider this a vote of confidence from the University to the school of Podiatric medicine

I am not totally satisfied in terms of pedagogy- I feel that the methods from some of the professors are rather archaic.

Beyond that- based on a small sample size of lectures+labs, candid feedback from upperclassmen, and experiences of friends at other programs- I have no doubt I will be provided an education that will allow me to pass the boards. Which is all that really matters for your didactic experience.

What separates you as a residency applicant is your clinical training . Impossible to be totally objective here, but Barry is second to none .
Armstrong- radiology .
Losito- Orthopedics/podopeds
Southerland- Biomechanics.
Numbah-1. Numbah-1. Numbah-1. Best of the best, crem de la crem.
We also have our own clinical sites. It's the Barry University clinic AT Jackson , Mercy , etc. No pandering to different clinics every year to let our students follow a disinterested physician around around like ducklings (which happens at some schools).

I post here to extend the narrative forming from previous posts. Several years ago, the school made some major gaffes. Students paid the price for it . The school has taken decisive action to see that it doesn't happen again. I consider myself to be the benefactor of their previous mistakes, as they seemed to have learned from them.

Take this post, as with any other, with a grain of salt. But do PM me with any questions you may have.

I'm really glad you love it at Barry. But honestly you've listed three professors out of the many we have? You haven't actually learned from any of them to comment on their "number one" status. Yes, there are a lot of Barry affiliated clinics. However, do you know how many professors actually bother teaching us while we are there? Two weeks in is nothing my friend, you've got a long way to go.

 

[TimmyTurner]

I'm really glad you love it at Barry. But honestly you've listed three professors out of the many we have? You haven't actually learned from any of them to comment on their "number one" status. Yes, there are a lot of Barry affiliated clinics. However, do you know how many professors actually bother teaching us while we are there? Two weeks in is nothing my friend, you've got a long way to go.

I don't love it. But you're deluding yourself if you expect your professors to teach you everything. Tuition is not for their services, it is a pay to play fee. Color me a cynic, but perhaps our difference is that we expect two different things from our education.