Suggestions for Unique DO Programs?

[deago78]

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I was just wondering which, if any, DO programs out there had a unique way of doing things that would make me want to apply to them more than the typical lecture based programs?

By this I mean that I am curious which schools have a way of doing things that is out of the ordinary. I would not know exactly what to ask for, but as an example LECOM says they have 3 "learning pathways" to choose from ( a traditional Lecture Discussion Program, a Problem Based Learning Program, and an independent study program). This is a brilliant idea in my opinion because it allows people who have discovered their particular best way of learning to choose one that will work best for them.

My life has lead me to believe that a "slacker" student who is failing classes left and right could potentially have a mind that does not work well with lectures. Thus, their potential goes unfulfilled and what could have potentially been a "revolutionary thinker" with the right "type" of education is now your local garbage man.

Thanks to all in advance.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Any pathway is hard and despite lectures most students study out of their books. Many schools have unique "pathways" ATSU-SOMA, the LECOMs etc. However if you are that "slacker student" and you have a low GPA all the pathways in the world won't matter if you don't get in. What's your GPA/MCAT, school selection is easier with that.

 

[PeachyPhd]

Check out the CIB for this information.

There is a specific section for each school that describes their programming and any "unique" characteristics.

http://www.aacom.org/resources/ome/2010-03/Pages/cib.aspx

 

[deago78]

No no, I am not the "student slacker" to which I was referring. Sorry for the confusion. I am, however, a really poor standardized test taker unfortunately.

cGPA: 3.78
sGPA: 3.64

MCAT
PS: 9
VR: 10
BS: 8
W: M

I was just interested if there were some programs that went about their students' education in a unique way while still maintaining a high board pass rate and producing high quality doctors. I won't sacrifice a good education just for the sake of having a unique class structure.

 

[punkiedad]

No no, I am not the "student slacker" to which I was referring. Sorry for the confusion. I am, however, a really poor standardized test taker unfortunately.

cGPA: 3.78
sGPA: 3.64

MCAT
PS: 9
VR: 10
BS: 8
W: M

I was just interested if there were some programs that went about their students' education in a unique way while still maintaining a high board pass rate and producing high quality doctors. I won't sacrifice a good education just for the sake of having a unique class structure.

LECOM Erie actually has 4 pathways:

LDP: traditional. lectures, powerpoints. everything is right there for you in powerpoints, and notes. read the book to clear up what you don't get out of lecture

PBL: Problem based. A lot of reading, but very comprehensive. didn't think I could read that much, but everyone does in med school so?? But, the good thing about LECOMs PBL is you ROTATE the groups you are in for each case. this prevents you getting sick of the same people in your grou.

ISP: Independant study allos you to work out of modules and answer specific learning objectives. You must be disciplned but it can be a lot of reading on your own and guessing at what they are looking for. It is really good if you can get the powerpoints ahead of time, but you are not in lecture to hear what they emphasize, but you DO have"meetings" with professors to ask questions in a grou setting.

PCSP: 3year program if you commit to primary care (FP/IMPEDS only) This is ISP based with group meetings with oral pimp / quiz sessions. Great pathway that really emphasize high yield stuff and not so much on the nice to know stuff. Oral stuff helps you prepare for rotations. Also, you start on 'mini' one day clerkships in November of first year, so you get a jump start on clinical experience.

SIDE NOTE: Lecom's administration states that a 3.0 GPA (at least at LECOM not sure if they did the stats including other schools) had a 100% pass rate for step I.

So, either way, shoot for 3.0 or better

 

[HockeyDr09]

LECOM Erie actually has 4 pathways:

LDP: traditional. lectures, powerpoints. everything is right there for you in powerpoints, and notes. read the book to clear up what you don't get out of lecture

PBL: Problem based. A lot of reading, but very comprehensive. didn't think I could read that much, but everyone does in med school so?? But, the good thing about LECOMs PBL is you ROTATE the groups you are in for each case. this prevents you getting sick of the same people in your grou.

ISP: Independant study allos you to work out of modules and answer specific learning objectives. You must be disciplned but it can be a lot of reading on your own and guessing at what they are looking for. It is really good if you can get the powerpoints ahead of time, but you are not in lecture to hear what they emphasize, but you DO have"meetings" with professors to ask questions in a grou setting.

PCSP: 3year program if you commit to primary care (FP/IMPEDS only) This is ISP based with group meetings with oral pimp / quiz sessions. Great pathway that really emphasize high yield stuff and not so much on the nice to know stuff. Oral stuff helps you prepare for rotations. Also, you start on 'mini' one day clerkships in November of first year, so you get a jump start on clinical experience.

SIDE NOTE: Lecom's administration states that a 3.0 GPA (at least at LECOM not sure if they did the stats including other schools) had a 100% pass rate for step I.

So, either way, shoot for 3.0 or better

Rankings they gave us when I visited

LECOM-B (All PBL) 100% Pass
LECOM-E (PBL/ISP) Like mid 90's. I can't remember which was higher
LECOM-E (LDP) Low 90's

 

[radiodoc99]

Problem based learning is an excellent way of learning if students read during their free time. Learning from fellow students is one of the best ways to learn because each student has diff strengths

 

[pinklvr1014]

ATSU-SOMA is based on a clinical presentation model.

They explain this as teaching according to the different ways that a patient will present their case to a doctor. We have modules in which these presentations are incorporated.
For instance we have a musculo-skeletal-neuro module where we learn the muscular/skeletal/nervous system in depth. Within this is a related presentation such as a patient saying they have a headache. From this you learn the biochem, physiology, immunology, histology, etc. about this scenario. They explain it much better at your interview 🙂

I would explain it as a mix between a PBL, traditional, clinical models.

Also, another big thing is that we only spend one year on campus doing didactic work. Your second-fourth years you get to move to a CHC around the country to start clinical experience. During your 2nd year you do a mix of clinical and didactic work and then years 3 and 4 are more traditional rotations. This gives you more clinical time than your friends at other, more traditional schools.

This is considered a new way to teach med students and has been featured on SDN and in the NYTimes. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. 🙂