Top DO schools in terms of curriculum?

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Ash366

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i know there aren't any rankings but I wanted to ask which DO schools are known for having high pass rate on their COMLEX, etc.

For example, Rowan has shortened it's teaching hours by 20% so classes usually end by 1pm, allowing students more time to study. Any other schools that are like that? Thanks!
 
RVU has had top board score averages for the last 3 years. I know KCU has a good average score and allows two months for board prep if I am not mistaken. I will defer to KCU students for that. And most schools have a high pass rate. It's the average score you really want to know. Unfortunately this is usually tricky information to get ahold of.
 
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
 
AlteredScale said:
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
Click to expand...
you talkin about all medical schools or just RVU/KCU?
 
AlteredScale said:
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
Click to expand...

What kind of curriculum is at KCU? Is it lecture-based, pbl, another "state-of-the-art" system?
 
mavikedi said:
What kind of curriculum is at KCU? Is it lecture-based, pbl, another "state-of-the-art" system?
Click to expand...
systems based but with a lot more added into it. you do all the systems in one year with the attached clinical training within it (heart and breath sounds during cardio pulm, a lot of omm during musckuloskeletal). on top of that you have exams and competencies for the other classes you are required to take (in one week we had two competency check offs and two exams). first yearnsystems focuses on embryo, physio, anatomy, biochem, immuno. second year is the systems repeated with pharm and path focused. You cannot survive second year using first aid or pathoma as the pathologists who teach the course oull material from big robbins.
 
AlteredScale said:
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
Click to expand...
This scares me

Do you feel like the curriculum is worth the risk of a breakdown?
 
Interviewing at Azcom, they showed us that they are way above the average for their board scores, and I believe they said they have an 84% pass rate for the usmle.

However, the dean at acom said that the boards test for minimal competency, so there could be schools that teach you things other than things on the board.
 
MisterFutu said:
Interviewing at Azcom, they showed us that they are way above the average for their board scores, and I believe they said they have an 84% pass rate for the usmle.

However, the dean at acom said that the boards test for minimal competency, so there could be schools that teach you things other than things on the board.
Click to expand...

84% isn't great when you consider that in 2014, DO's as a whole had a 93% pass rate for USMLE Step 1 (MD's are at 95%).

What did they say their COMLEX/USMLE average was?

Source: http://www.usmle.org/performance-data/default.aspx#2014_step-1

One positive thing to note is that in 10 years the pass rate for DO's has skyrocketed from 69% to 93%.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
RVU has had top board score averages for the last 3 years. I know KCU has a good average score and allows two months for board prep if I am not mistaken. I will defer to KCU students for that. And most schools have a high pass rate. It's the average score you really want to know. Unfortunately this is usually tricky information to get ahold of.
Click to expand...
what are KCU and RVU's average scores?
 
hbslax4 said:
This year for RVU was around 565 (word of mouth from the Dean). Will need to wait for the official word though.
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This is what a 3rd year told me as well. He said a good number of the class was over 600. And I saw a post on here that said KCU had a USMLE average of about 220. I can't find it though so take that for what it is worth. I believe it was Serenade who said that.
 
Every school will say that their rates are the highest. They have different ways of getting to that goal.

You can find the info on the school's websites; they're mandated to have them.


Ash366 said:
i know there aren't any rankings but I wanted to ask which DO schools are known for having high pass rate on their COMLEX, etc.

For example, Rowan has shortened it's teaching hours by 20% so classes usually end by 1pm, allowing students more time to study. Any other schools that are like that? Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
AlteredScale said:
systems based but with a lot more added into it. you do all the systems in one year with the attached clinical training within it (heart and breath sounds during cardio pulm, a lot of omm during musckuloskeletal). on top of that you have exams and competencies for the other classes you are required to take (in one week we had two competency check offs and two exams). first yearnsystems focuses on embryo, physio, anatomy, biochem, immuno. second year is the systems repeated with pharm and path focused. You cannot survive second year using first aid or pathoma as the pathologists who teach the course oull material from big robbins.
Click to expand...
whoa
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
This is what a 3rd year told me as well. He said a good number of the class was over 600. And I saw a post on here that said KCU had a USMLE average of about 220. I can't find it though so take that for what it is worth. I believe it was Serenade who said that.
Click to expand...

With the previous curriculum the USMLE Step 1 average was 225-226.

I have spoken to students at other DO/MD schools and they do say our schedule is a bit... busy.

AlteredScale said:
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
Click to expand...

I hope you're kidding.
 
Oh_Gee said:
how're you holding up?
Click to expand...

I'm ok! So far i have not had an anxiety attack or anything (yet). Maybe i just handle the stress differently. I can def say that this block we just had (MSK) smacked us all hard in terms of total material we had to know. But so far, surviving!
 
AlteredScale said:
Rvu and kcu have the same curriculum. I am fairly certain rvu has one of the highest board avgs in the nation.

I am going to be real: the curriculum is hard and will break you. I have never seen so many people go throguh a mental break down in such a short time span. it is all part of the process thoguh.
Click to expand...


enhanced-buzz-4511-1251150435-19.jpg
 
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I-said-doctor said:
every time I decide on going to KCU for next year, I start reading about its curriculum and it scares the crap out of me :/
Click to expand...

It's not so bad. If I could do it then anyone can.

I would say it's similar to taking 21-25 units/semester in UG depending on the UG you went to. You just have to manage your time.
 
Yeah sorry I didn't mean to scare you guys haha. You'll be fine. As I said before in the class page, you'll come to find that your biggest asset in getting through the blocks won't be yourself but your classmates who will help you learn the material.

So be humble, ask questions when you don't know. You will be OK!
 
Oh_Gee said:
you talkin about all medical schools or just RVU/KCU?
Click to expand...

Medical schools in general will do that to you. Its little things that can keep you from falling off a cliff, that is why its a good idea to pick a place where you will be happy.


When I started medical school my marriage was failing, I got into medical schools that were all far away from my wife so I packed my bags and said goodbye, it turned out to a great thing.

I do not find medical school as stressful as working a job that forces me to be in the office 80 hours a week, being married to a demanding wife, and having to make mortgage payments on an overpriced house.
 
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Honestly, KCU's curriculum is pretty hard. It's doable if you come in with the right mindset, but when you are constantly shifting classes and needing to restructure how you approach certain problems, it becomes clear just how difficult it can be on people.

But that's also an inherent reality of medical school. You're going to suffer through it and you're going to find yourself on days that honestly feel absolutely hopeless and dark, but then you'll jump to the task and you'll fix the issue.

However that being said, our first year and second year are heavy, but we do get a very strong preparation for our boards and we are given 2 months to prepare for them. This in conjunction with our curriculum make me believe we will most likely produce the best USMLE scores in the DO world.
 
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BCOM also has the same curriculum as RVU and I guess KCU (didn't know they both have the same curriculum), which is one of the reasons I'm excited to attend. I wonder how BCOM students will fare....only time will tell 🙂
 
spirited_away said:
BCOM also has the same curriculum as RVU and I guess KCU (didn't know they both have the same curriculum), which is one of the reasons I'm excited to attend. I wonder how BCOM students will fare....only time will tell 🙂
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Interesting. Where did you get this info?
 
serenade said:
Interesting. Where did you get this info?
Click to expand...

I interviewed and asked about it. It's also on their website:

http://bcomnm.org/academics/medical-curriculum/

"The systems-based courses offered in the first curricular year emphasize basic biomedical science, with clinical correlates emphasizing the relevance of this information. Basic courses in osteopathic manipulative technique and clinical medicine and skills, including medical informatics, ethics, and medical Spanish are presented concomitantly. CURRICULUM – YEAR I
The systems-based courses offered in the second curricular year emphasize the pathophysiologic and pharmacologic aspects of the basic biomedical sciences, and provide a foundational education in clinical medicine and disease. CURRICULUM – YEAR II"


And for those who are curious, here is RVUCOM's:

http://www.rvu.edu/academics/college-of-osteo-medicine-rvucom/curriculum/
 
Our curriculum at TCOM is somewhat similar in terms of systems based but the order of the systems that we go through is a little bit different for example we are just finishing up Neuro and many other schools take Neuro in the Spring semester. But also Dr. Dubin was the dean here before he went to RVU and KCU, so maybe that is why are is pretty similar.
 
serenade said:
Honestly, KCU's curriculum is pretty hard. It's doable if you come in with the right mindset, but when you are constantly shifting classes and needing to restructure how you approach certain problems, it becomes clear just how difficult it can be on people.

But that's also an inherent reality of medical school. You're going to suffer through it and you're going to find yourself on days that honestly feel absolutely hopeless and dark, but then you'll jump to the task and you'll fix the issue.

However that being said, our first year and second year are heavy, but we do get a very strong preparation for our boards and we are given 2 months to prepare for them. This in conjunction with our curriculum make me believe we will most likely produce the best USMLE scores in the DO world.
Click to expand...

What makes you suggest this rather than the best COMLEX scores? So would you say, at KCU, there is more of an emphasis on excelling on the USMLE vs the COMLEX? Do they use Step 1-like questions on exams? Thanks for your insight!
 
FranticDoc said:
What makes you suggest this rather than the best COMLEX scores? So would you say, at KCU, there is more of an emphasis on excelling on the USMLE vs the COMLEX? Do they use Step 1-like questions on exams? Thanks for your insight!
Click to expand...

Because USMLE is the standard ALL medical students are compared to, especially post merger. I suspect eventually the COMLEX will stop being a board exam and will become an exit exam for COMs. But if you study for one then you are studying for the other. I would venture a guess that a good USMLE score also mean the student did well on COMLEX.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Because USMLE is the standard ALL medical students are compared to, especially post merger. I suspect eventually the COMLEX will stop being a board exam and will become an exit exam for COMs. But if you study for one then you are studying for the other. I would venture a guess that a good USMLE score also mean the student did well on COMLEX.
Click to expand...

It kind of sucks if you have to take both.
Its like if you had to take two MCAT exams (but longer and more important) shortly after one another. If you do worse percentile wise on one exam, it would be held against you

And its more money for tests.
 
Do HPSP students have to worry about taking the USMLE since they are doing military match (most are doing milmatch)?
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Because USMLE is the standard ALL medical students are compared to, especially post merger. I suspect eventually the COMLEX will stop being a board exam and will become an exit exam for COMs. But if you study for one then you are studying for the other. I would venture a guess that a good USMLE score also mean the student did well on COMLEX.
Click to expand...

I understand that. I was just more interested in what KCU is doing differently than other DO schools with top COMLEX scores, say LECOM - B, to prepare students better for USMLE...

Not sure if that makes sense.

For instance, do they give students USMLE-like exam questions? Do they provide USMLE study resources during that 2 month study time?

I'm actually an accepted student to KCU and just wanted to inquire to see how exactly, if I do attend, would KCU prepare me better than other DO schools for the USMLE...
 
FranticDoc said:
I understand that. I was just more interested in what KCU is doing differently than other DO schools with top COMLEX scores, say LECOM - B, to prepare students better for USMLE...

Not sure if that makes sense.

For instance, do they give students USMLE-like exam questions? Do they provide USMLE study resources during that 2 month study time?

I'm actually an accepted student to KCU and just wanted to inquire to see how exactly, if I do attend, would KCU prepare me better than other DO schools for the USMLE...
Click to expand...

Ah gotcha! I will truthfully say I don't have experience enough for that angle. But yes there are schools that probably prepare you better for USMLE than others. @AlteredScale what would your answer me for this?
 
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