TOUROCOM - New York Discussion thread 2008-2009

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Any updates/progress on rotation sites, etc.

I posted this on another thread but it should be here:
I am a TOUROCOM student so I can shine a little more light upon the rotations. Initially the school was in discussion with Harlem Hospital and another local hospital for rotations. This was stopped / lost due to NYC HHC (which runs the public hospitals such as Harlem Hospital) signing a multi year contract with St George. If you want to read about it, try:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/ny...th&oref=slogin

Per the dean we would have to pay another 20K in tuition a year for the privilege of doing rotations in Harlem. Since then we have signed contracts with the following:

Trinitas (NJ: Elizabeth)
SIU (NY: Staten Island)
St John (NY: Brooklyn)
Bronx-Lebanon (NY: Bronx)

and a few more sites that I can't remember off the top of my head. Lenox Hill fell through due to financial issues on their side. The fact that they do not have a Manhattan hospital yet is a known issue that they are working on. Also they are looking to add to this list but these things take time. I would note that by the time 2013 reaches rotations the list WILL be longer with hopefully a Manhattan hospital.
 
congratulations buddy,

Now go chase some flowers 😀👍. hahaha

I am gonna go drink some snapple.
 
me too!!!!

so excited. life is going to be: med school, dance class, med school, and then going back to dance class, and then more med school...:soexcited:

heh. heh.

gotta love New York!!

YAY! YAY! YAY!

who else?? I am so excited to kick it w/ you folks...
 
I posted this on another thread but it should be here:
I am a TOUROCOM student so I can shine a little more light upon the rotations. Initially the school was in discussion with Harlem Hospital and another local hospital for rotations. This was stopped / lost due to NYC HHC (which runs the public hospitals such as Harlem Hospital) signing a multi year contract with St George. If you want to read about it, try:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/ny...th&oref=slogin

Per the dean we would have to pay another 20K in tuition a year for the privilege of doing rotations in Harlem. Since then we have signed contracts with the following:

Trinitas (NJ: Elizabeth)
SIU (NY: Staten Island)
St John (NY: Brooklyn)
Bronx-Lebanon (NY: Bronx)

and a few more sites that I can't remember off the top of my head. Lenox Hill fell through due to financial issues on their side. The fact that they do not have a Manhattan hospital yet is a known issue that they are working on. Also they are looking to add to this list but these things take time. I would note that by the time 2013 reaches rotations the list WILL be longer with hopefully a Manhattan hospital.

I'll second that. I interviewed on Tuesday and most of the students there felt pretty comfortable that they would have more choices in the coming years and that by the time we got there, class of 2013 (if I become a part of it of course!) there would be greater variety.

However, I AM APPALLED at the deal described in that NY Times article. I can't believe that the city hospitals are going to take MONEY per student for St. George's .. and DENY valuable spots to other students because their med schools cannot afford to pay $500/wk/student. The only way they could is if they raised our tuition and they don't want to do that...
IT'S RIDICULOUS!
 
me too!!!!

so excited. life is going to be: med school, dance class, med school, and then going back to dance class, and then more med school...:soexcited:

heh. heh.

gotta love New York!!

YAY! YAY! YAY!

who else?? I am so excited to kick it w/ you folks...

I also got accepted today!!!!

congrats to both of you!! 🙂
 
When did you interview, pancake man? Maybe they are just behind? So worried now😱

I interviewed on 1/21. I gave Obed a call after not hearing anything. Apparently there was something wrong with my email address that they had in their records. I found out my status immediately after speaking with him. Maybe you have a similar situation?..
 
I was a bit confused as to how many weeks of electives tourocom students get their 4th year...if anyone can help clarify that for me.

Also, how many rotations can we do at Lennox Hills and how many spots did tourocom get there?
 
I was a bit confused as to how many weeks of electives tourocom students get their 4th year...if anyone can help clarify that for me.

Also, how many rotations can we do at Lennox Hills and how many spots did tourocom get there?

Please look at the following handbook:
http://www.touro.edu/med/docs/catalog_062308.pdf

Year 3= 2 electives

Year 4= 5 electives

As for Lenox Hill, you could use some of your electives to get in there but as I mentioned above, due to financial issues with Lenox Hill it is not a formal rotation site.

Gold
 
Please look at the following handbook:
http://www.touro.edu/med/docs/catalog_062308.pdf

Year 3= 2 electives

Year 4= 5 electives

As for Lenox Hill, you could use some of your electives to get in there but as I mentioned above, due to financial issues with Lenox Hill it is not a formal rotation site.

Gold
So, can we still rotate there and get the credit? I am confused.
 
So, can we still rotate there and get the credit? I am confused.

Normally core rotations need to be done within the core hospitals that Touro has set up rotation sits with. Usually electives can be done at other hospitals that allow medical students in to do rotations. You should be thinking of these rotation spots as possible audition rotations which you apply to for residency. I hope this explains the situation.

Gold
 
Does anyone know how much of the class if full?
 
How many weeks is a rotation and an elective?

Also, a while back and when I went for my interview....people said that TouroCOM has secured rotation spots at Lennox Hill and is 95% done in making a deal with another hospital in the city. Any word yet on that other hospital or an update on its progress?
 
Does TOUROCOM accept "i am in the area requests?"

I will be at NYCOM next wed and was curious if I could interview at TOURO the following day.
 
How many weeks is a rotation and an elective?

Also, a while back and when I went for my interview....people said that TouroCOM has secured rotation spots at Lennox Hill and is 95% done in making a deal with another hospital in the city. Any word yet on that other hospital or an update on its progress?

As per Gold above, looks like Lennox Hill fell through due to problems on their end 🙁 (highly recommend reading the NY Times article linked above) I also remember hearing something about another hospital for rotations (can't remember if it was here or at the interview); don't know the status on that. Maybe it was the hopital in Harlem Gold mentioned, double 🙁.


I will be at NYCOM next wed and was curious if I could interview at TOURO the following day.

No harm in asking!
 
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damn contract😡...doesn't look too good for Touro in the future I guess (in terms of rotations)🙁
 
damn contract😡...doesn't look too good for Touro in the future I guess (in terms of rotations)🙁

More of a setback for the time being. As I mentioned they are in the process of bringing other rotation sites online. I know by the time that you get to your third year their will be more names on that list.
 
Hey about how long is their turnaround from interview to decision? When I interviewed there on Tues 2/17 Obed said they would get back on Tues 3/3 (yesterday). Or did he mean Tues 3/3ish? Thanks.
 
I heard about 2 weeks and a day later. I spoke to Obed recently and he said they were pretty swamped lately. I would say expect something today or tomorrow.
 
for those of you that sent in the deposit, do they send an email or letter to acknowledge they received it? i sent in my deposit 2 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back.. nor have they cashed in the check.
 
for those of you that sent in the deposit, do they send an email or letter to acknowledge they received it? i sent in my deposit 2 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back.. nor have they cashed in the check.

It took them about a month to cash my check when I sent it in. Send Obed a note if you like to confirm that it has been received.

Gold
 
where are some good places to live around the school in terms of safety, "affordable", and preschools? Our budget is around 1000-1500. Any advice? thanks!
 
Hey about how long is their turnaround from interview to decision? When I interviewed there on Tues 2/17 Obed said they would get back on Tues 3/3 (yesterday). Or did he mean Tues 3/3ish? Thanks.


i interviewed there 2/11 and it took them 2 weeks and a day to get back to me. So don't get too bummed if you dont hear anything. Like someone else posted, i think they are pretty swamped.
 
Yea, everyone during my interview day found out 2 days later than expected (16 days after the interview) because they were swamped...so just sit back and relax...btw they start calling around 4:30pm ( so don't kill yourself the entire day if you don't hear back) and probably stop calling around 6:00pm-ish
 
where are some good places to live around the school in terms of safety, "affordable", and preschools? Our budget is around 1000-1500. Any advice? thanks!

there is a really good website that I found. it gives statistics of zip codes across the US. i used it b4 moving to miami. they will tell you the median income, the crime rate, etc. i was most interested in the crime rates in a given zip. with the link posted below you can select a zip code of interest in NYC. then scroll down, you can see a variety of data, but as far as safety goes... go to the crime section and click view. then it will break down the given crime risk per variety of crimes. risk of rape, larceny, burglary, etc. the national crime risk is given a rating of 100, so whatever is below 100 is less than the national risk and, if above 100, worse than the national risk. anyhow, the ratings for central and west harlem are actually pretty good. i was pleasantly surprised. all the law & order shows make it easy to think otherwise... lemme know what you think.


http://www.moving.com/real-estate/city-profile/zip-selector.asp?State=33&City=New York
 
I got the call today! Pretty much cried on the phone...poor Dr. Goldberg haha, I can't believe it!!!
 
Does TouroCOM have reviews before most exams? Are they set up by the teachers or students?
 
Yeah you guys were right, got the call from Dr. Goldberg this evening. Now I've got an awesome decision to make 😀. Thanks for the responses anyway.
 
thanks gold!


I called and paid over the phone. The next day I got an e-mail from Obed with a bunch of files (Rotation Sites, OMM Dress code, Anatomy Dress Code, etc). You should get it soon.
 
Does TouroCOM have reviews before most exams? Are they set up by the teachers or students?

Most of the teachers are always willing to do reviews. They sometimes plan to review on the last day of class before the upcoming exam, or other times they schedule reviews outside of class time.

Reviews have also been set up by students. The 2nd years have held a number of them for things like OMM and neuro. Also, 1st years have set some up as well. For example, a group of us divided up topics for our Preventative Medicine & Public Health final (because it was a cumulative final with a large amount of material), put together a notes packet, and held a review where we presented to each other.

We also have a student run website, harlemdo.com, which we can upload study materials like review notes, helpful websites, and practice quizzes. I was really surprised (and pleased) at the willingness to help each other out among my class and the class above us.
 
Does TOUROCOM accept "i am in the area requests?"

I will be at NYCOM next wed and was curious if I could interview at TOURO the following day.

Touro only interviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If you're going to be in NY on Tuesday, it might be worth a shot to call Obed and ask. There's always a chance of an opening due to someone canceling or moving their interview. Hope it works out!
 
about the interview...was it group or one-to-one?
what type of questions do they ask?

thanks.



I interviewed on 1/21. I gave Obed a call after not hearing anything. Apparently there was something wrong with my email address that they had in their records. I found out my status immediately after speaking with him. Maybe you have a similar situation?..
 
about the interview...was it group or one-to-one?
what type of questions do they ask?

thanks.

I had two interviewers, almost like the good cop bad cop but they were both cool. It was very interesting, one of the interviewers just said 'you are the one applying to medical school and you know what we want to hear so talk'. The only questions were why D.O.? if you got into an MD school and a DO school which would you choose and why? why should we not accept you? i actually laughed after being asked this last question, but he really wanted an answer. So I answered it. The last question was what did you get on the MCAT?

I really loved the school and love NY, just don't know how I would afford to live there and still eat.
 
about the interview...was it group or one-to-one?
what type of questions do they ask?

thanks.

its you with 2 people (MD or DO and a Phd)
the types of questions they ask are listed on interview feedback on this site. check it out for all schools, its pretty helpful. but if you dont wanna look heres a few i can recall from my interview on feb 3rd

1) Why DO?
2) Why touro?
3) Tell me about health issues in harlem?
4) How is your academic standing? (don't lie, they find out after the interview when looking through ur file)
5) tell me about yourself?
6) tell me about your research?
7) whats the difference between science and medicine?
8) what did you observe when you shadowed your DO?
 
about the interview...was it group or one-to-one?
what type of questions do they ask?

thanks.


I interviewed on 2/17, and like everyone else said it was panel format (you v. two professors). My interview was kind of intense, they started asking me questions before I even sat down and they would ask me follow-up questions immediately after I finished speaking without giving me a second to breathe. That said I don't think they were being mean, I just think they wanted to see me dance under pressure.

Anyway, in addition to the ones Sean posted and that are listed on the interview feedback portion, I got asked these gems:


  1. Name a challenge that you've had to overcome and how you did so
  2. How would your friends describe you
  3. Describe yourself in one word
Best of luck.
 
I think REDleader and I actually had the same interviewers. It was two female DO's both of which has graduated from NYCOM and one of which actually spoke very little during the interview (I think she may have been shy about her English because she was from Ecuador). Anyway, it was very relaxed I thought. They asked me:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What do you know about HMOs?
3. Do you know what field you'd like to go into?
4. What do you know about OMM?
5. What do you think are the health disparities in this area?
6. Do you have any questions for us?

The end haha. I pretty much covered why DO and why Touro in the "tell me about yourself" prompt so I think that's why they didn't ask that directly. Just be yourself and be honest, good luck!
 
I got pretty much the same questions, but also some other more personal ones which just came along during the conversation. It was very friendly and conversational.

Hopefully I'll hear from them next week. I only interviewed last week.

The interview feedback section on this website was VERY HELPFUL and I suggest you go thru as many of those as possible.
 
http://www.1010wins.com/N-Y--Medical-College-May-be-Set-to-Join-University/3978400

N.Y. Medical College May be Set to Join University

VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Medical College says it has made a potential deal to become part of a larger university -- but it won't say which one.

The Journal News reported Saturday that medical school spokeswoman Donna Moriarty said the Valhalla-based institution signed a letter of intent with a university last month. School officials and faculty members wouldn't discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement.

The school's president has said a larger university would help stabilize the college's finances and offer students a broader education.

Officials from several nearby universities have toured it. A Touro College spokeswoman says her institution is in "serious negations'' with New York Medical College but can't comment further.
 
How are you guys getting ahold of Obed- obed.figueroa@xxxxx OR obedf@xxxxx ?

I have emailed him a couple times andhe has not responded.

Also, how long did ittake for you guys to be complete and receive an invite?
 
How are you guys getting ahold of Obed- obed.figueroa@xxxxx OR obedf@xxxxx ?

I have emailed him a couple times andhe has not responded.

Also, how long did ittake for you guys to be complete and receive an invite?

The e-mail I got responses from was obed.figueroa[at]touro. It took about a month and a half for me to get an interview invite after the secondary, and about a month after they received my secondary to get the interview invite. I'm not sure how fast it is now though, as my info is from October-December.
 
I usually e-mail him at [email protected] and usually get a response fairly soon after. I sent in my secondary in the beginning of January and when I got the e-mail saying my application was complete, I then received an interview invite 30 minutes following the completion e-mail.
 
Did anyone who interviewed on 2/24 hear anything today?? I was hoping for news, but I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow! :xf:
 
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