July 31st
*** The Official LECOM Class of 2023 Interview/Acceptance Thread ***
- Status
How was it?
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2011
- Messages
- 217
- Reaction score
- 78
I interviewed at MWU AZ last year. Let me know if you have any questions.
It was very welcoming and fun! The interviewers did their best to make us comfortable and it was just a very chill group interview. I was a bit nervous but when I got there and saw how the staff was and got to know the applicants around me it kind of just went away.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2018
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 13
Is it okay that my status on AADSAS is still "None" ?
- Joined
- May 13, 2018
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 27
I think so! Mine does too- several students have previously said that LECOM tends to focus on updating their portal vs. their AADSAS status.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2018
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 14
Does anyone that has an interview September 13th want to start a groupme and hang out the day before and get to know the area??
I pm'd you
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2018
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 19
hey when did you interview, and which portal you mean? ADEA or LECOM
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2017
- Messages
- 389
- Reaction score
- 411
I recently interviewed at LECOM and this is how I understood it. The first year or so is still lecture based classes with a little bit of PBL worked in. The second year your pretty much only doing PBL stuff for your sciences, but still having lectures for your labs etc. They said in PBL you are divided into groups of 10 students for a semester. Then your group is given different case studies that relate to whatever topic they are trying to teach you in anatomy, physiology etc, and it is up to you and your group to research the case and to learn about it. You have an instructor who is keeping an eye on you so you aren't alone, but it is completely up to you and your group to learn the information. You are graded off board style exams that are multiple choice, and you have a couple a semester similar to undergrad. I am also pretty sure there is some kind of weekly evaluation you do in PBL? But I don't remember much about what they said on that. So pretty much you are teaching yourself based off real life cases, so the learning is much more of an exploration than simply sitting down and memorizing facts.
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2017
- Messages
- 389
- Reaction score
- 411
I recently interviewed at LECOM so I thought I would share some of the admissions stats they showed us. Last cycle (2022) they received 3333 applications, 2713 secondary applications, they gave out 493 interviews, extended roughly 250 offers with a final class size of 105. Out of that 105, 36 are in state and 69 are out of state. However, we were informed that this year they will be interviewing closer to 800 applicants, which is either good or bad depending on how you look at it. If you have any questions about the interview day or the interview itself feel free to PM me.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 648
- Reaction score
- 1,091
Ill shed some more light on PBL.
Bottom line of PBL is that you are learning your basic sciences that will be on the boards through interactive group study. The way this is done is that you will be given a case for example "Mr. John Smith has pain in his left arm." It is up to you to find out what is wrong with Mr Smith by asking questions and doing research. You can ask your administrator (staff in your PBL room) about the patient such as medications they are taking, family history, what work they do, drug habits, etc. And using this information you research the possible conditions, mechanisms, medications, and figure out a diagnosis.
The emphasis is not the diagnosis but rather the pieces of information you find along the way. They dont care if you find a diagnosis as long as you learn the concepts behind the case. For example, in this case above they may teach you the pharmacology of the medications the patient is on and their mechanisms, the microbiology of bacteria involved, and you may learn the anatomy and physiology of the area that the patient is having trouble with. The administrator will be in the room with you and will give you pieces of information and keep you on track but will never TEACH you anything. You have to think like a doctor and ask the right questions and piece together the mystery.
The administrator will tell you to focus on something you have discovered if it is important or will tell you to stop diving into too much detail if you are spending tons of time on something that is not important.
After solving the case, you choose a few chapters from the books you utilized to solve the case and staff will create questions from those chapters for your PBL exam. You grade come from not only the exam but from your participation in the PBL group.
Each PBL group (of about 8-10) people will have a different exam based on the chapters they select. For example, if my patient had a heart attack and I choose a chapters over heart, circulatory system, hypertension medications and their mechanisms-my groups test will have questions from the chapters we used. You will have a new case after every 2-3 PBL meetings. Each test will based on 20-30 chapters from the various cases that you have solved. Even if you use 50 chapters to solve all your cases, you will choose 20-30 (however many the staff decides you have to choose) and you will study and read those for your exam. Every week you will be reading chapters and by the time of the exam you will submit which chapters you feel that you and your group knows the best.
The challenging thing about PBL is that no one will tell you what is going to be on the test. You just know that the questions are going to be from the chapters selected. Since it is 20-30 chapters however, the questions will be over broad concepts and not fine details. Your job is to read the chapters and learn the major concepts as best as you can which is easier said than done sometimes because you have many other things going on at school besides PBL so its not always easy to find tons of time to read. Time management is key.
I know that might sound a little confusing so feel free to ask any questions, I may make a more in depth post about this on the main predent page later when I have any sort of free time
Bottom line of PBL is that you are learning your basic sciences that will be on the boards through interactive group study. The way this is done is that you will be given a case for example "Mr. John Smith has pain in his left arm." It is up to you to find out what is wrong with Mr Smith by asking questions and doing research. You can ask your administrator (staff in your PBL room) about the patient such as medications they are taking, family history, what work they do, drug habits, etc. And using this information you research the possible conditions, mechanisms, medications, and figure out a diagnosis.
The emphasis is not the diagnosis but rather the pieces of information you find along the way. They dont care if you find a diagnosis as long as you learn the concepts behind the case. For example, in this case above they may teach you the pharmacology of the medications the patient is on and their mechanisms, the microbiology of bacteria involved, and you may learn the anatomy and physiology of the area that the patient is having trouble with. The administrator will be in the room with you and will give you pieces of information and keep you on track but will never TEACH you anything. You have to think like a doctor and ask the right questions and piece together the mystery.
The administrator will tell you to focus on something you have discovered if it is important or will tell you to stop diving into too much detail if you are spending tons of time on something that is not important.
After solving the case, you choose a few chapters from the books you utilized to solve the case and staff will create questions from those chapters for your PBL exam. You grade come from not only the exam but from your participation in the PBL group.
Each PBL group (of about 8-10) people will have a different exam based on the chapters they select. For example, if my patient had a heart attack and I choose a chapters over heart, circulatory system, hypertension medications and their mechanisms-my groups test will have questions from the chapters we used. You will have a new case after every 2-3 PBL meetings. Each test will based on 20-30 chapters from the various cases that you have solved. Even if you use 50 chapters to solve all your cases, you will choose 20-30 (however many the staff decides you have to choose) and you will study and read those for your exam. Every week you will be reading chapters and by the time of the exam you will submit which chapters you feel that you and your group knows the best.
The challenging thing about PBL is that no one will tell you what is going to be on the test. You just know that the questions are going to be from the chapters selected. Since it is 20-30 chapters however, the questions will be over broad concepts and not fine details. Your job is to read the chapters and learn the major concepts as best as you can which is easier said than done sometimes because you have many other things going on at school besides PBL so its not always easy to find tons of time to read. Time management is key.
I know that might sound a little confusing so feel free to ask any questions, I may make a more in depth post about this on the main predent page later when I have any sort of free time
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2017
- Messages
- 48
- Reaction score
- 86
We unfortunately do not use cadavers for gross anatomy.
You will find out about the clowns at your interview hahaha
Yeah we run year round!! We aren't one of the schools that does summers lol! Just the way the curriculum works I guess!
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2018
- Messages
- 209
- Reaction score
- 178
Anyone have an idea on when they will send out another batch of invites? It's been a while.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2017
- Messages
- 389
- Reaction score
- 411
Group interviews are definitely interesting. The cool thing about them is that you get to show case how you interact with others and how you function in a group. The bad thing is that you get less time to talk about yourself and make yourself stand out. When I interviewed, there were 24 other applicants, we were divided into groups of 6 for the interview, and each interview group met with different members of the faculty, so I can't specifically say what kind of questions you will be asked, since each group was different. My interview had surprisingly few typical questions, they didn't even ask us why we wanted to be dentists, so if I had any advice, It would be to make sure you can talk about yourself and your experiences while still answering their questions. For example, if asked what trait you think is most important for a dentist to have, you could answer "I think compassion is a very important trait for a dentist to have, because when I was volunteering at XYZ clinic, I really learned about the need for proper dental care in impoverished communities which taught me compassion...etc." So even though you still answered the question, you also provided them with information on you and what you've done, because the interview is closed file as well. If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.
Appreciate it! That helps a lot...seems like a relaxed interview
futuretoothdoc123
Full Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2018
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 12
I got an invite yesterday!
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2018
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 38
Send thank you notes and a letter of intent if you can see yourself going there (that's what they told us, anyways)
D
deleted934867
I am! Do you know if we can take our luggage with us to the interview day? I would think so since many of us have flights after, right?
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
- Messages
- 502
- Reaction score
- 444
You can take your luggage to the interview and they’ll store it.
Congrats! When did you submit your application?
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2018
- Messages
- 209
- Reaction score
- 178
For what date? And congrats.
My app was submitted on June 6
Thanks! There's a few dates available in November to choose from
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2018
- Messages
- 314
- Reaction score
- 257
I got the under review email a couple days ago. For those who got an interview, how long after this email did you hear back?
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 648
- Reaction score
- 1,091
This is just a random side note but I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day who interviewed at the last interview date of the cycle (April) and he along with about 6-7 people from that group ended up getting in so just because you dont get an early interview invite does not mean your chances are lower. I personally interviewed in september and cant remember anyone from that interview that got in other than me
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2018
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 3
Hey guys! Following up with Stanelz's post on number of people getting in and early/late interviews: I interviewed mid February and about 5-6 of the people of my day got accepted. We also had 6 people not show up at all because it was later in the cycle and they probably got into their dream school already.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 648
- Reaction score
- 1,091
PBL: Problem Based Learning
A new quickly spreading method of study to reinforce concepts. This method is one of the main highlights of the LECOM SODM that separate it from almost every other school. You MUST grasp this concept prior to interviewing and starting school.
In short, PBL is a method of learning in which self directed study and interactive group case study trains a student to think and act like a doctor. At LECOM it is used to prepare student for the boards starting in D1 year and ending before boards are taken.
What does the PBL group study setting look like?
In a PBL "session" you are in a group of typically 8-10 people (switching every semester) with one staff facilitator. The facilitator is not present to teach you anything at all. They are simply there to make sure you discuss all the concepts that are supposed to be obtained from the "case" that you are working on that day. They keep you on track so that you spend more time of topics that are more relevant to the case/boards and move you along when you dwell on something that is not quite as important. They also give you the actual case details to solve the case but do not explain them, that is for you to figure out.
Who is the facilitator?
The facilitator can be any staff member in the school. They are not there to teach you anything but to just provide information about the case that was given to them. They could be an anatomy professor, biochemistry professor, or they can be someone who has no educational teaching background whatsoever.
What is the point of PBL? How is it different from normal learning?
The point of PBL is to actively engage in learning material rather than memorizing powerpoints. Traditionally, you are taught a subject such as physiology in a classroom with powerpoints and a lecturer spews out fact after fact and you glaze over it, chug it after it after class with minimal context, regurgitate it for the exam, and then forget it shortly after because you have not really applied it.
In PBL, you are given a REAL past hospital case and are trying to solve the case by learning the different concepts and mechanisms that could be involved. You are actively searching and making connections therefore reinforcing the concepts in your mind. You are also discussing these findings with your group members because everyone has a different background and knows more about certain subjects than others.
In a typical PBL case you will hit multiple subjects such as Anatomy, Biochemistry, Immunology, Pharmocology, and Physiology all at once so that connections are made between subjects.
Do you have specific roles in your PBL group?
The PBL session begins with assigning roles. The reason for this is that everyone MUST be involved for you to get through the case effectively.
Roles include (and will vary based on institution):
Writer (writes on white board)
Typer (types all information discussed for later review)
Reader (reads all information displayed from the case out loud)
Everyone else (including those above): contributes to discussion to solve the case
These roles will be switched every session. Some groups opt out from having a writer if the facilitator allows.
If there are no Powerpoints, how am I supposed to know the information to solve a case?
When you begin a PBL case, you will quickly realize that there are lots of things that you do not know. It is up to you to look up the topics that are not familiar within the textbooks that are given to you. Our textbooks are online in a database and so if we come across the topic of "RAAS mechanism" for example, I can search it within my various textbooks to found out what it does and why it is important and then explain it to my group. The topics and concepts you will need to understand will become clear as you go through the PBL case. The details within the case lead you towards certain concepts, for example a case with left sided heart pain with a provided ABG test is likely wanting you to learn about heart function/anatomy, respiratory function/anatomy, medications that work on the heart/lungs + their mechanisms, and bicarbonate buffers/acidosis (ABG test, etc). You are discovering what various mechanisms/medications are and presenting them to your group.
How do you solve a PBL case?
The case begins by the facilitator opening the case file on the computer in the PBL room. It is displayed on a giant TV screen in the room. These files are not accessible outside of class which is why good notes are important via the typer and writer roles.
The facilitator will start by saying something along the lines of "Pt named John Smith arrives to the Emergency Room complaining of left arm pain with associated numbness."
At this point PBL discussion begins. The group must work together to piece together information and learn concepts to figure out what is wrong with John Smith.
The group can ask the facilitator questions as if it were an actual doctor/patient interaction such as:
How you ever been hospitalized before?
What medications are you on?
What is your family history?
What do you do for work?
As you solve more cases you will begin to think like a doctor and ask the right questions. The facilitator will respond with information that they have been given about the case. They may have answers to all your questions or they might not.
After asking questions, the facilitator will display more and more pieces of information on the screen. You may get a full list of symptoms, social history, family history, medications, occupation, etc and using this you will discuss with your group about possible differential diagnosis and mechanisms that are occurring.
You will then order tests. You must know what tests should be ordered and if you dont you will need to figure it out by looking through textbooks and/or the internet. After coming up with possible tests, the facilitator will show the actual tests that were done on the patient and what the results were.
At this point you must know what the tests are, what they look for, and what they are telling you about the patient. If you dont, look it up!
After tests are given and you understand the concepts behind them, You will come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. After finishing, the facilitator will reveal the diagnosis and actual treatment plan that was given the to the real patient.
PBL Cases are designed to expose you to information, tests, and mechanisms that are foreign to you so that you will actively look them up, understand them, and discuss them.
The goal of PBL is NOT to solve the case but to UNDERSTAND the concepts and mechanisms behind the case. You are not graded based on figuring out the diagnosis.
What is an example of a PBL session?
F: Facilitator (acts as patient)
G: Group (acts as doctor)
C: Concepts (things you are to learn from the case)
F: Pt presents with left arm pain with associated numbness
G: How long has this pain occurred? What medications are you on? Are you a smoker? What do you do for work? Have you ever been hospitalized before?
C: Symptoms and their associated organs/mechanisms
F: I have had this pain for two days. I am on Amplodipine. I am a smoker. I have been hospitalized in the past for heart attack.
G: Possible differential diagnosis could be MI (heart attack), stroke, Pneumonia, viral infection, cancer, bronchitis, etc
C: Medications and their mechanisms, modifying factors
F: "Releases full list of symptoms, social history, family history"
G: If there are any symptoms that are not familiar or wording that is not understood, group will look them up in textbooks or internet or group member with knowledge of that concept can explain.
You will begin to add or remove possible diagnoses based on results.
F: Shows physical exam and vital that were done to patient
G: Continues to add possible causes based on physical exam. If there are any unfamiliar test "Homans sign positive" or "Abnormal S1/S2 sinus rhythm" you will look these up
Group begins to brainstorm tests that could be done
C: Heart rhythm, physical exam findings and their meanings
F: "What tests would you like to run?"
G: CBC, BMP, Troponin, chest xray, EKG, ABG, CT scan. You can look up tests that can be run on chest or whatever you are concerned with
F: Releases test that were actually done on patient at the hospital
G: Analyzes test results and understands reasoning behind each test with mechanisms and modifying factors.
F: "What do you think the diagnosis is what what treatment would you like to prescribe?"
G: Pt has Penumonia and should be started on anti-biotic with regular bronchodilating B2 antagonist medications.
F: Releases actual diagnosis and treatment plan that was done for patient
G: analyzes treatment plan, medications, and mechanisms involved
This process seems quick but it will actually take 2-3 PBL sessions because you are learning all the new tests, modifying factors, medications, and general concepts as you go.
The group at the end of this case has likely learned:
1. Heart phyiology
2. Lung Phyiology
3. Heart medications (Pharmacology) and their mechanisms
4. Lung and Heart tests and their mechanisms
5. New physical exams tests and lab tests and their meanings
REMEMBER: Every test, symptom, and concept in the case is there for a reason. They are all connected to boards topics, so if you understand all pieces of the case, you have nailed down many concepts that will help you on the boards.
What happens after a PBL session?
After a PBL session the group will discuss topics that they struggled with and will discuss at the beginning of next PBL session. For example, if one of the tests was an EKG, and no one knew about heart rhythms, they can discuss abnormalities in heart rhythms together during the next session. Also, PBL chapters will be assigned for reading. During the course of the case you will utilize many of your textbooks and will take the chapters that you used the most to "assign" them for the PBL test.
PBL sounds hard. All the concepts you mentioned are foreign to me. Can I do it?
Yes you can. On day one you will be hard pressed to find a student that knows what sinus rhythm and an abnormal ABG test means but over time you will learn all the signs and symptoms, tests, physical exam findings, medications, and possible diagnoses and they will come naturally. The reason they make you ask questions or order tests prior to revealing what was actually done to the patient is so that you will get into the habit of knowing what to ask and what to order and connect it to the organs of the body. After about 2-3 cases you will be spewing out questions, tests, and diagnoses like you've been a doctor for ten year. Every case will teach you new tests, terminology, medications, and diagnoses.
How is PBL graded?
So like mentioned before. You will be using textbooks to find information to solve cases. Your group will come to a consensus as to what chapters were most used and important and you will assign these for your PBL exam. Your group may assign different chapters than another group so within your class there will be a different exam for every group.
Grades also come from participation in the PBL sessions (25%).
Questions for the exam will come out of the chapters assigned as well as major topics from the cases.
For each exam you will have approximately 20-30 chapters assigned with a total of 150 questions.
Each case will take about 2-3 PBL sessions because to go through this process take quite a bit of time so for each exam you may have between 5-8 cases.
What do PBL exam questions look like?
As stated before, PBL is to help you understand the major concepts that are on the board exams. And since you are reading 20+ chapters of textbooks and have 150 questions that come out to less than 10 questions per chapters so that questions will never be super specific but will cover major topics and crucial points.
Do you enjoy PBL?
I LOVE PBL because I feel as though I am truly learning the material. If you show me what an ABG test or an LFT panel does on a powerpoint I will likely forget 2 months after the test but after learning it through PBL I am confident I will know how to interpret them in ten years from now if I ever needed to. The same goes with all the concepts that are learned. I also love to teach others concepts that I know a lot about because it strengthens my knowledge. Also we tend to dwell on things that are actually important for practicing dentistry. We learn all the subjects for boards but a lot of times we will dwell on medications and mechanisms that will actually be at play with the medications and procedures that you do in a dental office.
I hope this clears up the confusion about PBL and I will continue to add and edit this as you guys have questions.
A new quickly spreading method of study to reinforce concepts. This method is one of the main highlights of the LECOM SODM that separate it from almost every other school. You MUST grasp this concept prior to interviewing and starting school.
In short, PBL is a method of learning in which self directed study and interactive group case study trains a student to think and act like a doctor. At LECOM it is used to prepare student for the boards starting in D1 year and ending before boards are taken.
What does the PBL group study setting look like?
In a PBL "session" you are in a group of typically 8-10 people (switching every semester) with one staff facilitator. The facilitator is not present to teach you anything at all. They are simply there to make sure you discuss all the concepts that are supposed to be obtained from the "case" that you are working on that day. They keep you on track so that you spend more time of topics that are more relevant to the case/boards and move you along when you dwell on something that is not quite as important. They also give you the actual case details to solve the case but do not explain them, that is for you to figure out.
Who is the facilitator?
The facilitator can be any staff member in the school. They are not there to teach you anything but to just provide information about the case that was given to them. They could be an anatomy professor, biochemistry professor, or they can be someone who has no educational teaching background whatsoever.
What is the point of PBL? How is it different from normal learning?
The point of PBL is to actively engage in learning material rather than memorizing powerpoints. Traditionally, you are taught a subject such as physiology in a classroom with powerpoints and a lecturer spews out fact after fact and you glaze over it, chug it after it after class with minimal context, regurgitate it for the exam, and then forget it shortly after because you have not really applied it.
In PBL, you are given a REAL past hospital case and are trying to solve the case by learning the different concepts and mechanisms that could be involved. You are actively searching and making connections therefore reinforcing the concepts in your mind. You are also discussing these findings with your group members because everyone has a different background and knows more about certain subjects than others.
In a typical PBL case you will hit multiple subjects such as Anatomy, Biochemistry, Immunology, Pharmocology, and Physiology all at once so that connections are made between subjects.
Do you have specific roles in your PBL group?
The PBL session begins with assigning roles. The reason for this is that everyone MUST be involved for you to get through the case effectively.
Roles include (and will vary based on institution):
Writer (writes on white board)
Typer (types all information discussed for later review)
Reader (reads all information displayed from the case out loud)
Everyone else (including those above): contributes to discussion to solve the case
These roles will be switched every session. Some groups opt out from having a writer if the facilitator allows.
If there are no Powerpoints, how am I supposed to know the information to solve a case?
When you begin a PBL case, you will quickly realize that there are lots of things that you do not know. It is up to you to look up the topics that are not familiar within the textbooks that are given to you. Our textbooks are online in a database and so if we come across the topic of "RAAS mechanism" for example, I can search it within my various textbooks to found out what it does and why it is important and then explain it to my group. The topics and concepts you will need to understand will become clear as you go through the PBL case. The details within the case lead you towards certain concepts, for example a case with left sided heart pain with a provided ABG test is likely wanting you to learn about heart function/anatomy, respiratory function/anatomy, medications that work on the heart/lungs + their mechanisms, and bicarbonate buffers/acidosis (ABG test, etc). You are discovering what various mechanisms/medications are and presenting them to your group.
How do you solve a PBL case?
The case begins by the facilitator opening the case file on the computer in the PBL room. It is displayed on a giant TV screen in the room. These files are not accessible outside of class which is why good notes are important via the typer and writer roles.
The facilitator will start by saying something along the lines of "Pt named John Smith arrives to the Emergency Room complaining of left arm pain with associated numbness."
At this point PBL discussion begins. The group must work together to piece together information and learn concepts to figure out what is wrong with John Smith.
The group can ask the facilitator questions as if it were an actual doctor/patient interaction such as:
How you ever been hospitalized before?
What medications are you on?
What is your family history?
What do you do for work?
As you solve more cases you will begin to think like a doctor and ask the right questions. The facilitator will respond with information that they have been given about the case. They may have answers to all your questions or they might not.
After asking questions, the facilitator will display more and more pieces of information on the screen. You may get a full list of symptoms, social history, family history, medications, occupation, etc and using this you will discuss with your group about possible differential diagnosis and mechanisms that are occurring.
You will then order tests. You must know what tests should be ordered and if you dont you will need to figure it out by looking through textbooks and/or the internet. After coming up with possible tests, the facilitator will show the actual tests that were done on the patient and what the results were.
At this point you must know what the tests are, what they look for, and what they are telling you about the patient. If you dont, look it up!
After tests are given and you understand the concepts behind them, You will come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. After finishing, the facilitator will reveal the diagnosis and actual treatment plan that was given the to the real patient.
PBL Cases are designed to expose you to information, tests, and mechanisms that are foreign to you so that you will actively look them up, understand them, and discuss them.
The goal of PBL is NOT to solve the case but to UNDERSTAND the concepts and mechanisms behind the case. You are not graded based on figuring out the diagnosis.
What is an example of a PBL session?
F: Facilitator (acts as patient)
G: Group (acts as doctor)
C: Concepts (things you are to learn from the case)
F: Pt presents with left arm pain with associated numbness
G: How long has this pain occurred? What medications are you on? Are you a smoker? What do you do for work? Have you ever been hospitalized before?
C: Symptoms and their associated organs/mechanisms
F: I have had this pain for two days. I am on Amplodipine. I am a smoker. I have been hospitalized in the past for heart attack.
G: Possible differential diagnosis could be MI (heart attack), stroke, Pneumonia, viral infection, cancer, bronchitis, etc
C: Medications and their mechanisms, modifying factors
F: "Releases full list of symptoms, social history, family history"
G: If there are any symptoms that are not familiar or wording that is not understood, group will look them up in textbooks or internet or group member with knowledge of that concept can explain.
You will begin to add or remove possible diagnoses based on results.
F: Shows physical exam and vital that were done to patient
G: Continues to add possible causes based on physical exam. If there are any unfamiliar test "Homans sign positive" or "Abnormal S1/S2 sinus rhythm" you will look these up
Group begins to brainstorm tests that could be done
C: Heart rhythm, physical exam findings and their meanings
F: "What tests would you like to run?"
G: CBC, BMP, Troponin, chest xray, EKG, ABG, CT scan. You can look up tests that can be run on chest or whatever you are concerned with
F: Releases test that were actually done on patient at the hospital
G: Analyzes test results and understands reasoning behind each test with mechanisms and modifying factors.
F: "What do you think the diagnosis is what what treatment would you like to prescribe?"
G: Pt has Penumonia and should be started on anti-biotic with regular bronchodilating B2 antagonist medications.
F: Releases actual diagnosis and treatment plan that was done for patient
G: analyzes treatment plan, medications, and mechanisms involved
This process seems quick but it will actually take 2-3 PBL sessions because you are learning all the new tests, modifying factors, medications, and general concepts as you go.
The group at the end of this case has likely learned:
1. Heart phyiology
2. Lung Phyiology
3. Heart medications (Pharmacology) and their mechanisms
4. Lung and Heart tests and their mechanisms
5. New physical exams tests and lab tests and their meanings
REMEMBER: Every test, symptom, and concept in the case is there for a reason. They are all connected to boards topics, so if you understand all pieces of the case, you have nailed down many concepts that will help you on the boards.
What happens after a PBL session?
After a PBL session the group will discuss topics that they struggled with and will discuss at the beginning of next PBL session. For example, if one of the tests was an EKG, and no one knew about heart rhythms, they can discuss abnormalities in heart rhythms together during the next session. Also, PBL chapters will be assigned for reading. During the course of the case you will utilize many of your textbooks and will take the chapters that you used the most to "assign" them for the PBL test.
PBL sounds hard. All the concepts you mentioned are foreign to me. Can I do it?
Yes you can. On day one you will be hard pressed to find a student that knows what sinus rhythm and an abnormal ABG test means but over time you will learn all the signs and symptoms, tests, physical exam findings, medications, and possible diagnoses and they will come naturally. The reason they make you ask questions or order tests prior to revealing what was actually done to the patient is so that you will get into the habit of knowing what to ask and what to order and connect it to the organs of the body. After about 2-3 cases you will be spewing out questions, tests, and diagnoses like you've been a doctor for ten year. Every case will teach you new tests, terminology, medications, and diagnoses.
How is PBL graded?
So like mentioned before. You will be using textbooks to find information to solve cases. Your group will come to a consensus as to what chapters were most used and important and you will assign these for your PBL exam. Your group may assign different chapters than another group so within your class there will be a different exam for every group.
Grades also come from participation in the PBL sessions (25%).
Questions for the exam will come out of the chapters assigned as well as major topics from the cases.
For each exam you will have approximately 20-30 chapters assigned with a total of 150 questions.
Each case will take about 2-3 PBL sessions because to go through this process take quite a bit of time so for each exam you may have between 5-8 cases.
What do PBL exam questions look like?
As stated before, PBL is to help you understand the major concepts that are on the board exams. And since you are reading 20+ chapters of textbooks and have 150 questions that come out to less than 10 questions per chapters so that questions will never be super specific but will cover major topics and crucial points.
Do you enjoy PBL?
I LOVE PBL because I feel as though I am truly learning the material. If you show me what an ABG test or an LFT panel does on a powerpoint I will likely forget 2 months after the test but after learning it through PBL I am confident I will know how to interpret them in ten years from now if I ever needed to. The same goes with all the concepts that are learned. I also love to teach others concepts that I know a lot about because it strengthens my knowledge. Also we tend to dwell on things that are actually important for practicing dentistry. We learn all the subjects for boards but a lot of times we will dwell on medications and mechanisms that will actually be at play with the medications and procedures that you do in a dental office.
I hope this clears up the confusion about PBL and I will continue to add and edit this as you guys have questions.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 648
- Reaction score
- 1,091
Hey guys I made an extensive guide to PBL so anyone interviewing and for future reference: What is PBL anyways? Turning students into doctors!
appledentist
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2018
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 2
Hey Stanelz, thank you so much for sharing!! I noticed you go to LECOM and am wondering if you know how many students they are interviewing vs. accepting this cycle because I heard they are interviewing more students this cycle than last cycle
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
- Messages
- 502
- Reaction score
- 444
When I interviewed in September, they said they were interviewing ~800 students. Not sure how many acceptances they send out though.
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,083
- Reaction score
- 1,422
Thanks Stanelz. How has the shift to letter grades at LECOM effected collaboration during PBL?
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2018
- Messages
- 209
- Reaction score
- 178
Have all pre December interviews been given out?
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2017
- Messages
- 1,312
- Reaction score
- 1,911
I don't think so. They have 5 interview dates still open in November
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 648
- Reaction score
- 1,091
If anything it would cost more because instead of paying one person to teach the class, you paying 10 facilitators twice a day.
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 7
Is anyone interviewing this Thursday worried about Hurricane Michael?
I have the exact same concern! Wonder if the school is planning on doing something or just waiting and seeing.
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 7
I actually don’t think this is the forum for the Florida location lol but anyone who thinks it is, please keep me updated
It is. Its for the dental school in Bradenton, FL
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 7
i emailed and left a VM for Shannon. I’m flying from SC so I’m not sure if i can actually make it thereHavent heard anything about it
firejasongarret
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2018
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 1
I'm interviewing this Thursday. Does anyone want to share a hotel room or car rental/uber?
- Status
Similar threads
