Touro COM - New York, Middletown Campus (TouroCOM-NY, Middletown) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

[JournaL]

Just so the above-listed author would not throw you, or anyone else off course:

This post (my first one here) is drawn largely from COMPLETE disagreement with the recent master's student's tirade.

Firstly, although it is entirely my guess (but I believe that a good guess it is), her(?) criticism most likely resulted from a lack of acceptance into the D.O. program which, in turn, resulted from a lack of academic success in the master's program (the two events are linked, mind you!). Hence, the statement "if I do apply to this school next year" should be altered into "if this school will accept me next year". And the "if" should be set in bold...and then profusely highlighted in crimson red.

Now, concerning the actual school. I am first in my family to apply to an American medical school, and thus performed a COPIOUS amount of "research" before delving into the process. Here is my reasoning:

Pro's
-Touro Middletown is newly built, but not "new" itself, which means the most up-to-date equipment (which is remarkable indeed...I mean only 3 or 4 schools in this country have the same quality 3-d anatomy dissection and plastination programs), excellent condition of anatomy labs (I mean, have you seen SUNY Buffalo's miasmatic pit????), excellent condition of dorms...all with the combined benefit of Touro's connections and (what is equally important) ability to attain connections.

-There is a large, quality hospital not even 150 meters from campus. Most DO schools are criticized for not being directly affiliated, or not being in direct proximity of a hospital, while Touro Middletown seems to be one of the few to defy this trend. The "juggling" of rotations which I heard being often referred to is practically nonexistent here. Moreover, a hefty percentage of physicians employed by Orange County Regional Hospital also teach at Touro, which
1-proves them to be set not only on medical practice, but on taking the time to teach this practice to others, a trait that only a very few urban physicians can boast of (just compare ORMC's rhythm with that of, say, Coney Island Hospital, Staten Island Hospital, or Icahn)...
2-makes the prospect of finding a "tie" for future rotations, and even residency quite easy (and ORMC is just one and closest of the many hospitals which offer this opportunity for Touro students).

-As far as research is concerned, there is no "basic science" lab space, however one can hardly find space on the walls free from clinical research or medical case studies (many associated with such schools and hospitals as Yale, Mt. Sinai, NYMC, SUNY Stony Brook, and SUNY Downstate). In my opinion, basic science research (i.e. standing nights on end before a Bunsen burner) should be completely facultative for a physician...I mean, he is welcome to do it, but his primary responsibility is, and always will be, the treatment of patients. In this light, clinical research (which is not only offered, but highly encouraged, and highly pursued), and even more so clinical case studies(since how else would a doctor gain expertise in his field, if not through study of interesting and unusual cases?) are vastly available through cooperation with nearby hospitals and medical schools!

-I(while being quite pedantic with my interrogation) am yet to hear a single student state his concern with the administration's "unprofessionalism". As a matter of fact, I have heard only the opposite. Additionally, my case is direct proof of this opposite (if you would like, PM me and I will tell you in details). Regarding rotations, unlike some Harlem students, no one (literally, none yet) of the second years and now-third-years, have expressed ANY worry...

Con's

-The only CON that I have heard of is the school's novelty; however, once again, I believe that "novelty" here should be used with respect to the branch, and not to the entire university.

3D anatomy was useless. Seriously. And half the time it didn't even work/ on repair. Everything I learned was in actual lab and plastination. The anatomy staff were informative and told you exactly what you needed to know. But that 3D anatomy was total bogus and I would say a waste of money.

The school is in a building that was built in the 1970s. The school part is okay. The dorms are terrible. Infestations of fruit and sewer flies in the plumbing/drain. The ceiling leaks. Far from "excellent condition"

Some physicians at ORMC (Orange Regional Medical Center) are "associated" with Touro, but definitely do not teach there.

ORMC despite being a new hospital, and nice facility is quite poorly rated.
You cannot predict how "easy" you can get a residency spot. The first class at Middletown doesn't even graduate until 2018 (they have two more years).

If you are coming to TouroCOM Middletown, the local rotations are very rural and suburban populations. If you are lucky, (a friend of mine) you may "win" the lottery system and pick the Nyack Hospital (as urban as you can get).
Rotation spots are sparse and with more students coming in, these spots are going to dwindle down. Since there is only one class currently going into rotations next year, this isn't something for them to worry... yet. But for future classes, when they get to 3rd and 4th year, options are sparse unless Touro somehow can get bids.

There are plenty examples of unprofessionalism in regards to the administration. I've heard a professor yell/scream at the IT administrator over the phone, where it was clearly the professor's own fault/ineptitude for not knowing how the testing system works.

It is a new school, there are growing pains, but it's feels like the administration just lies to your face at times.

Touro is far from what you say it is, that's fosure. Please don't lie. Be honest, allow those who are interested to get a clearer picture of what they are getting into.

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[Gemi512]

@JournaL "The dorms are terrible. Infestations of fruit and sewer flies in the plumbing/drain. The ceiling leaks. Far from "excellent condition""

could someone please report this to the administration and authority? They need to fix this problem!

 

[cts288]

3D anatomy was useless. Seriously. And half the time it didn't even work/ on repair. Everything I learned was in actual lab and plastination. The anatomy staff were informative and told you exactly what you needed to know. But that 3D anatomy was total bogus and I would say a waste of money.

The school is in a building that was built in the 1970s. The school part is okay. The dorms are terrible. Infestations of fruit and sewer flies in the plumbing/drain. The ceiling leaks. Far from "excellent condition"

Some physicians at ORMC (Orange Regional Medical Center) are "associated" with Touro, but definitely do not teach there.

ORMC despite being a new hospital, and nice facility is quite poorly rated.
You cannot predict how "easy" you can get a residency spot. The first class at Middletown doesn't even graduate until 2018 (they have two more years).

If you are coming to TouroCOM Middletown, the local rotations are very rural and suburban populations. If you are lucky, (a friend of mine) you may "win" the lottery system and pick the Nyack Hospital (as urban as you can get).
Rotation spots are sparse and with more students coming in, these spots are going to dwindle down. Since there is only one class currently going into rotations next year, this isn't something for them to worry... yet. But for future classes, when they get to 3rd and 4th year, options are sparse unless Touro somehow can get bids.

There are plenty examples of unprofessionalism in regards to the administration. I've heard a professor yell/scream at the IT administrator over the phone, where it was clearly the professor's own fault/ineptitude for not knowing how the testing system works.

It is a new school, there are growing pains, but it's feels like the administration just lies to your face at times.

Touro is far from what you say it is, that's fosure. Please don't lie. Be honest, allow those who are interested to get a clearer picture of what they are getting into.

If you're a DO student at Touro like I am, I would certainly feel misrepresented. I understand your need to publicly bash our school in an open forum. But, that only makes you look so stuck up and spoiled. This school gave you your shot at becoming a doctor. And at the end of the day, you chose to go here. If you don't like it, no one forced you to come here.

With that said, the dorms are newly renovated. All the furniture inside the rooms were installed either last year or the year before, specifically for Touro students. As for the infestations incidence, that occurred because people left food in the fridge for too long and flies grew from the decaying food. The student body filed a complaint and the exterminators came 1-2 weeks later. That issue has been resolved for a good number of months now.

Some physicians at ORMC are associated with Touro and they DO teach at Touro. Go to the Touro Middletown faculty webpage and pick a professor. I know for a fact that Cristian Castro-Nunez teaches Physical Diagnosis and he is also the traditional rotating internship program director at ORMC.

I will say that Touro is not perfect. I don't think any school will be perfect. I always wanted to be a MD; but now that I am a DO student, I will try to make the best out of my situation. Remember, the more you try and make our school look bad, the more you're going to look bad because you actually GO to that school. I didn't like that you called the previous user a liar when he/she was offering an opinion. Now, I am going to call you a liar because you didn't fact check. Shame on you, JournaL.

 

[JournaL]

@JournaL "The dorms are terrible. Infestations of fruit and sewer flies in the plumbing/drain. The ceiling leaks. Far from "excellent condition""

could someone please report this to the administration and authority? They need to fix this problem!

The problem has been fixed. Edit: As for the sewer flies, certain locations of plumbing were flushed and replaced. The fruit flies were exterminated. These were two separate incidents.

Although certain ceiling locations continue to leak. It is very difficult to locate the source of a leak, especially since the building has 5 floors. But again the facilities staff are very helpful and quick to respond if there are any problems. Dorms are still far from "excellent". More like convenient, very convenient. But they are dorms. The walls are thin. Certain students may not respect your midnight bedtime, or go HAM on booze after an big exam, etc.

@cts288
When previous poster talked about the school however it was well-misrepresented. Dr. Castro-Nunez, was my mistake. But it's still not a "hefty percentage" as the previous poster says.

Shame on me, for trying to speak the truth. I'm not bashing the school either, just taking apart what the previous poster said. The faculty are knowledgeable and helpful which is priority #1 for any medical school. Administration has had it's share of problems. But it's a new school, these are all growing pains. If two or three years down the road issues continue to arise, then that would be a problem.

I am just letting other students know. I was in their shoes as a prospective student. There are always two sides. Of course when you are at the school on a tour, no one will say anything in a negative light. So they come on sdn and other forums to do some research. I am here for them.

 

[dontforgetxx]

If you're a DO student at Touro like I am, I would certainly feel misrepresented. I understand your need to publicly bash our school in an open forum. But, that only makes you look so stuck up and spoiled. This school gave you your shot at becoming a doctor. And at the end of the day, you chose to go here. If you don't like it, no one forced you to come here.

With that said, the dorms are newly renovated. All the furniture inside the rooms were installed either last year or the year before, specifically for Touro students. As for the infestations incidence, that occurred because people left food in the fridge for too long and flies grew from the decaying food. The student body filed a complaint and the exterminators came 1-2 weeks later. That issue has been resolved for a good number of months now.

Some physicians at ORMC are associated with Touro and they DO teach at Touro. Go to the Touro Middletown faculty webpage and pick a professor. I know for a fact that Cristian Castro-Nunez teaches Physical Diagnosis and he is also the traditional rotating internship program director at ORMC.

I will say that Touro is not perfect. I don't think any school will be perfect. I always wanted to be a MD; but now that I am a DO student, I will try to make the best out of my situation. Remember, the more you try and make our school look bad, the more you're going to look bad because you actually GO to that school. I didn't like that you called the previous user a liar when he/she was offering an opinion. Now, I am going to call you a liar because you didn't fact check. Shame on you, JournaL.

You can't get mad at someone because they are voicing their opinion. Just because there are justifications as to why there are fruit flies doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist (whether it is the fault of the students or the admin is irrelevant). There is still a problem (other than just fruit flies) and potential students should just be aware of it before it they devote hundreds of thousands of dollars to a school. You say that you are trying to make the "best of your situation" - I'm sure you would have wanted to know these things before you decided to come to Touro as well.

 

[lostdoc92]

If you're a DO student at Touro like I am, I would certainly feel misrepresented. I understand your need to publicly bash our school in an open forum. But, that only makes you look so stuck up and spoiled. This school gave you your shot at becoming a doctor. And at the end of the day, you chose to go here. If you don't like it, no one forced you to come here.

With that said, the dorms are newly renovated. All the furniture inside the rooms were installed either last year or the year before, specifically for Touro students. As for the infestations incidence, that occurred because people left food in the fridge for too long and flies grew from the decaying food. The student body filed a complaint and the exterminators came 1-2 weeks later. That issue has been resolved for a good number of months now.

Some physicians at ORMC are associated with Touro and they DO teach at Touro. Go to the Touro Middletown faculty webpage and pick a professor. I know for a fact that Cristian Castro-Nunez teaches Physical Diagnosis and he is also the traditional rotating internship program director at ORMC.

I will say that Touro is not perfect. I don't think any school will be perfect. I always wanted to be a MD; but now that I am a DO student, I will try to make the best out of my situation. Remember, the more you try and make our school look bad, the more you're going to look bad because you actually GO to that school. I didn't like that you called the previous user a liar when he/she was offering an opinion. Now, I am going to call you a liar because you didn't fact check. Shame on you, JournaL.

One professor does not constitute a significant portion of the professor population. Also the fruit fly problem exists, irrespective of whose fault it is. I am not publicly bashing my school on an open forum. I am speaking the truth, and I am truly sorry if it is too much for you to bear.

The reason I posted on here and told about what I saw myself is not because I'm stuck up and spoiled, but because I wish I would have known these things going into this school. Perhaps you have forgotten the number of OMSI students who left last year due to the amount of anxiety they were subject to. Yes, this happens at every school, but we seem to have an unusually high proportion falling under this category.

Also, don't tell me that "this school gave me my shot at becoming a doctor". I went to this school, I paid money to receive a degree, and in return I deserve to be treated professionally. That did not happen. Up until the last moment there were things frustrating me to the core.

 

[Maplestory374]

Got accepted today off the wait list

For current students, just some questions:

Do I register for classes or it's done all by the school?
Should I buy scrubs or anything like that for labs, etc.?
Do I wait to buy textbooks until classes start?

 

[dallasnights]

So Im guessing the Harlem over-acceptance problem got resolved and now there will be movement on the waitlist.

 

[healthyone87]

Accepted off of the Waitlist today!!
Applied mid Nov. Interviewed early May.

Does anyone know if on-campus housing is full?

 

[StretchDoe]

Just to make sure, how long are MCAT scores valid for this school? So basically when was the last MCAT that this school accepts?

If anyone knows the answer to this question for this school as well as NYCOM, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[lostdoc92]

Just to make sure, how long are MCAT scores valid for this school? So basically when was the last MCAT that this school accepts?

If anyone knows the answer to this question for this school as well as NYCOM, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Pretty sure 3 years. Meaning that for this current cycle, your MCAT cannot be earlier than 2013

 

[lostdoc92]

I've gotten a lot of questions about my last post concerning mental health, so I will address the issue here.

Mental health is an issue at every medical school. The amount of material to be covered is nothing short of daunting. That alone is enough to put some of us with anxiety issues in bed for weeks. However, the OMS clicker/lab schedule last year was inefficient and left most kids in school from 8am-5pm, with just a few hours every night to watch videos and study for exams, which were 2-4 exams/week at times. I don't think it is "the school failing to address the issue" as much as it is the technicality of having to both go to class and watch videos for said class, leaving no time to study for exams, or dare I say downtime.

 

[StretchDoe]

Pretty sure 3 years. Meaning that for this current cycle, your MCAT cannot be earlier than 2013

Yea I've read 3 years everywhere, but is that matriculation or applying? I have a August 2013 MCAT score. By any chance do you know? I'm going to call and find out if this is a valid score, just to make sure.

Thanks for the help.

 

[lostdoc92]

Yea I've read 3 years everywhere, but is that matriculation or applying? I have a August 2013 MCAT score. By any chance do you know? I'm going to call and find out if this is a valid score, just to make sure.

Thanks for the help.

I was speaking to Dr. Panini earlier this year and he told me that with my May 2014 score the latest I could apply would be next year, so I think you're good. However, call the schools just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.

 

[militantamerica]

I definitely saw one of the professors at a local medical office. Middletown is tiny.

 

[OnceACaneAlwaysACane]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to post this one more time with the start of classes almost here. Don't forget to join the facebook group if you've been accepted!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1665089467103651/

 

[ApplePicking]

Hello everyone, quick question to the individuals who completed their 2ndary. For the personal essay on the adobe file, is it just a copy and paste from the personal statement we uploaded to AACOMAS application? I confused if thats what they want or are they asking for a different essay.
Thanks yall

 

[FUTUREDOCAA]

Hey there everyone, I had an interview at Touro Middletown on 2/1, heard a few days later that, while they were unable to offer me a spot in the class, I was offered "acceptance into the Touro College Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies in Biological and Physical Sciences Program at Middletown, NY for Fall 2016." I am wondering if there is anyone else out there who had similar results from the interview and if there was anyone who had any advice regarding this choice. I loved my time interviewing in Middletown and would love to go to Touro later on. One of the most attractive things I am finding is that Touro offers conditional acceptance to the DO program if you maintain a 3.5/4.0 GPA and will enter the next year to repeat most of the same classes.

Thanks for reading and hopefully responding!

Hi, I just got invited to an interview for this MS program. I was wondering if anyone can give me some tips about the interview and the MS program itself! thank you

 

[kkosp2451]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to post this one more time with the start of classes almost here. Don't forget to join the facebook group if you've been accepted!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1665089467103651/

That's the class of 2020 facebook page

 

[pullhard]

Hi, I just got invited to an interview for this MS program. I was wondering if anyone can give me some tips about the interview and the MS program itself! thank you

I am not sure about the strictly MS interview because I originally interviewed for the DO class and was bumped to the MS program which didn't need a second interview. But I do know that the DO interview was very straightforward and they use the same people to interview for the MS program. It was very short with two professors asking fairly standard questions and one question about how I would handle a difficult situation. The interview is nothing to be stressed about (beyond the expected self-imposed stress of an interview) because they go out of their way to find very friendly people to do these interviews. Last year I was disappointed that I did not get into medschool right away, but I wound up taking this program up on its offer. They have done a great job here and it has opened incredible opportunities for me (three medschool acceptances this year). Hope this helps, feel free to message me about more questions about this program, good luck with the interview!

 

[DeeOh2017]

For those who have gotten accepted to the Middletown campus, if anyone is interested, my roommate and I are subleasing as early as June. Its a 10 minute walk from where we live to the school, so if anyone is interested, please inbox me ASAP.

 

[doctor in da makin]

Anyone hear any good news yet?