A few corrections on UNECOM:
1. You DO have to do an underserved area rotation. It is required, and it is either 4 or 6 weeks. It is called your AHEC rotation (I don't know what it stands for), and it is in the boonies of northern Maine...and it is actually one of the coolest rotations you'll do (IMHO, of course). Some of the rotations are at logging camps, some are on reservations, and some are just plain in the middle of nowhere. On the first two, you are pretty much THE doctor for these people. Maine has a very severe shortage of physicians in the north, so the ones who are there are very busy. Hence the students who are assigned out there have a greater amount of hands-on work and autonomy, simply because there isn't anyone else out there to treat these patients. Since there is a shortage of physicians, most people have to drive hour(s) to see one. This is annoying and expensive, so they don't, and when they finally show up in your office, you will see some, for lack of better terms, CRAZY pathology that you just aren't going to see in non-boonie land. For those interested in orthopedics, you see alot of injuries, and since the nearest hospital is usually very far away, you may be the one setting,casting, stitching, etc. Because of this, those interested in OMM can get plenty of practice.
HEre is anotehr list to help in your decision making
Reasons I chose UNECOM over LECOM, MSUCOM, UVM, Wayne State, (and turned down two other allopathic interviews and withdrew 8 other applications...in Nov. 2000)
1. AHEC rotation
2. ANATOMY: 4 students per cadaver, more hours of instruction than most other schools, the CLEANEST lab environment I've seen (with plants and natural light)
3. Grades: High Pass (over 90%), Pass (over 70%), Fail (under 70%) For those who like to excel but hate the "competitive" environment.
4. Courses: They are "staggered", so we don't have the same classes for four straight months till we are sick of them. We always have our OMM class and "Foundations of Doctoring", but the other three change after a couple months. Plus, we don't have six basic science courses at once, it's more like 3, so it is easier to handle the material and learn it well.
5. Preceptorships: can't say enough about early clinical experience.
6. Thursday afternoons off, and random Wednesday mornings off (if you don't have a preceptorship scheduled) We have also had Friday afternoons off for the most part.
7. Awesome OMM lab
8. 5 minute WALK to the ocean from campus
9. Outdoor activities all over the place in Maine
10. People: not all over the place in Maine = Quiet
11. Clubs and organizations (too many to list, but...)
12. Surgical club, which helps in the fresh tissue workshops that we have for surgeons all over the country. Maine has such a huge body donor program, we have extra bodies for surgeons to come in and learn new techniques on. This is a good way to build contacts in the surgical community for those interested in surgery (like me
)
13. Anatomy/OMM fellowship: 4 students out of each class are chosen (you have to apply) for the fellowship. You stay an extra year, and are part of the teaching staff for both anatomy and OMM. You do research, and see patients at the OMM clinic. You are also sort of "let out of" the rotation scheme, so instead of being sent to one of the core rotation site, you can set up your rotations anywhere (the dept. helps you do this). There is also a neuroanatomy fellowship.
- summer breaks (many schools don't give you this)
- teaching opportunities over summer break teaching anatomy to the PT and OT students. You can also be a tutor during your second year for the 1st years.
- finally, best for last, the students are very friendly, and we really all practically bend over backwards for eachother. The second years give us notes from last year and hold anatomy review sessions for us before exams, and among the first-years, we all help eachother make it through. I love it here, and have no regrets about the other schools I chose not to go to. Good luck in your decision, and if you want more info on UNE, go to our website at
www.une.edu.
Doc Oc
MS-I