TUCOM or CCOM?

[tess]

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I have been accepted at both Touro and CCOM. If there are any current students that could share their experiences I would really appreciate it. I am especially interested in hearing about the clinical experiance.

Thanks

 

[sfjohn]

hey tess -
i'm not a current student, but an applicant who grappled with the same question about a month ago. being a san francisco resident, i have a few friends who are ms-iv's at touro. i talked with them at length about their experiences at touro. none had anything negative to say about the school. everything about the academic experience itself was given high marks by everyone that i know.
what concerned me the most, and was mentioned by 3 people that i've talked to, is that the lack of a reputation by touro (given it's newness) may have caused some disadvantages. all 3 of the people i spoke with were rotating at california pacific and said that there was definitely a pecking order between the uc's and stanford, then western, and then touro students. they all mentioned that this may correct itself by the time we are in their shoes and more touro students have rotated through the hospital. the basic complaint on the students' part was that the preceptors did not know how much responsibility to give to the touro students whereas they knew what to expect from uc students and western/comp students simply because there have been more of them in the past.
i'm not saying that this is right, or that preceptors should judge a med student based on his/her institution rather than his/her personal abilities - i'm simply relaying what 3 med students told me over independent conversations. others could certainly have had the opposite experience.
one of these students worked with an attending (DO, CCOM grad) who said that he himself noticed the different treatment, and said that such a hierarchy really didn't exist where he previously worked and trained (at hospitals in chicago). he said that the reputation of ccom was very strong, and that osteopathy, in general, is accepted to a greater extent in the chicago area than in the san francisco area -- mostly because there are simply more DO's practicing in chicago vs. sf.
the discussions i had with the touro students were very heartfelt. they loved their school, but wondered if they would have garnered better experience and recommendations from ccom, in particular.
these conversations weighed heavily when i made my choice to accept at ccom, despite the fact that i love the bay area.
-john

 

[sean]

Any TOURO students care to comment?

 

[jhug]

I would easily suggest CCOM. Midwestern is a great school and has been around for a while so they have an understanding on what works and what doesn't. Touro, although a good school w/lots of potential, it isn't there yet. I personally prefer a school that is achieving it's potential than one that has yet to realize it. Plus, in chicago you will get great contact with a diverse patient popluation-- again, imho, ccomp has the idea on maximizing rotations, touro doesn't quite yet. But touro is also in a great area for patient contact and will, with time, build up affiliations that will open more doors as well.