UNECOM

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jspbell

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I have finished the interview process and have made my decision. I'm going to UNECOM and am very much looking forward to it. I got accepted to AZCOM, PCOM, COMP, LECOM, and UNECOM, which is definitely my number one choice. Anyone else on here get accepted there and make a decision? My girlfriend also got into UNECOM, so that's 2 people out of 110 or so that will be going there. If you made up your mind I'd like to hear from you, and if you have any questions on any of these schools I visited, I'd be more than happy to help any way I can.
GOOD LUCK! [email protected]

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Hi jspbell --- Congrats on your acceptances. I am also going to UNECOM next year.
 
jspbell-
Congrats on your acceptances and decision! I too was accepted to UNECOM, and probably will go there if I don't hear back from other schools. I was very much impressed by the school and feel like I would enjoy studying there. However, one of the schools I am waiting to hear back from is PCOM. Can you please tell me what made you pick UNECOM over PCOM. Thanks! :)
 
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Hey jspbell... I don't know you do I? ;)

You, me, Johnny... a long day in Erie....

I could be mistaken, but it sounds like you...


:) Liz
 
Jarid-

That you? It's Brian from COMP and PCOM interviews.

Wazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzup?
 
I chose UNECOM over COMP for a few reasons. One, is the atmosphere. I don't see myself being happy in an antique strip mall everyday for 2 years. Maine just feels a lot more relaxing and enjoyable. I also liked the 3rd and 4th year rotation structure better. UNECOM has plenty of major affiliations, and you don't have to do any geriatrics or underserved area rotations. COMP dedicates about 2 months to these. Fourth year is filled with plenty of electives, and if you want surgery, you can do all your electives in the same thing. I just liked the atmosphere and feeling I got in Maine the most out of any school.
I also liked PCOM. But, the classes are way too big. I don't think I am going to get the attention I want there, or the guidance that I would at UNECOM. I also like the idea of a preceptorship, which is not available at PCOM. I think exposure to medicine in the first 2 years will be a nice bonus.
Again, mostly my decision was based on where I felt the most comfortable, which was definitely at UNE. I hope this helps.

Hi LIZ... Johnny told me you're going to NOVA. Congrats! [email protected]
 
Tweety-

Don't let the comments by Yosh2 deter you. A few reasons:

(1) most of Yosh2 classmates disagree with what he is saying. There is a some tension between faculty and students at COMP - not much more than I've seen at the 4 other schools I've interviewed at. Remember the adage, you cannot make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. Yosh2 seems to fit that well.

(2) COMP has the most flexible rotation schedule of all the osteopathic schools I've looked at. COMP offers 3 selectives and 5 electives. Additionally, COMP does not have any rural/underserved. Finally, for your interest in surgery, COMP allows multiple same/similiar rotations as electives.

(3) COMP has some strong affiliations with large teaching hospitals (Loma Linda comes to mind) and the UC system.

(4) Many (most) of COMP students do ACGME match's. Which is where you want to be when it comes to surgery residency.

Gawd, everytime I talk about this school, I sell it to myself very nicely....

-A

P.S. In my opinion, both COMP and PCOM are the 2 osteopathic schools that do NOT "direct" their students into FP/IM.
 
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
 
Hi Doc Oc -- I'm starting at UNE next year and have a few questions if you'd be kind enough to answer them. Are the students at UNE ranked against one another? When is a good time to start looking for housing? Are all the exams on one day each week? Do I have to buy a laptop computer and/or microscope? Many thanks!
 
Where can I get copies of the match lists for schools?
 
Originally posted by TweetyPie:
•I just have a quick question for you. I just got a copy of UNECOM'S match lists for 2001 & 2000. And out of those two years only one person matched to an "RI/Surg" residency at Wyckoff Heights Med Center, Brooklyn, NY.

Why do you think this is? Is it because the trend has been that most folks attending UNECOM have simply not been interested in surgery?
The "Surgery Club" you mentioned (I assume it's a student club???)--if only one person matched to surgery in the last two years, does that mean that those who were in the club lost interest??? Because I assume there was more than one person in the club other than that one person who matched??

The "surgery club" is called SOSA (Student Osteopathic Surgical Association). There's about 30 of us in it I'd say, but not all want to be surgeons. I'd say the club is a combination of the following:
1. People who want to learn to suture early. SOSA has workshops on some clinical skills (I know there is a suture workshop, I don't remember the other ones)Similarly, many people join the ER club because they want to go to the workshops offered (they do an intubation one, I don't know the others, not necessarily because they want to go into ER.
2. People who are interested in surgery, but aren't sure.
3. People who want to be in a club.
4. People who want to be a club officer so they can have things on their resume when they apply.
5. People who know for sure they want to be surgeons, of which I know two.

I really, really want to go to UNECOM but I'm being as objective as possible with respect to getting answers to my particular and precise questions.

Thanks. You've been a tremendous help so far.

Tweety•

Of my classmates, I'd say most people want to practice primary care, a great many have decided on peds, and there's at least ten I can think of without tryint too hard who want to do ER. I don't know how to solve the other scenario (people want to go into surgery but don't match), but I have an idea. Maybe you can look at how many people matched to ER residencies as your indicator of how well people from UNECOM are matching. Take maybe 10/110, see if there are that many who landed ER slots, because that is probably a reasonable guess at the number who applied per class. I'd be interested in what you find too. As for worrying about whether or not people from a school match to something you want to do, IMHO, the way I think of it is I'm not them. According to the stats, most people don't get accepted to med school. You did. According to the stats, most people who do get in don't get a choice of several schools...in FALL already for pete's sake :) So don't let a school's match list scare you too much. I'm not saying not to consider it at all, but I'm not sure how much weight to give it.

if there's anything you want to know about UNECOM, let me know, and good luck with your decision!!

Doc Oc
 
Originally posted by algae:
•Hi Doc Oc -- I'm starting at UNE next year and have a few questions if you'd be kind enough to answer them. Are the students at UNE ranked against one another? When is a good time to start looking for housing? Are all the exams on one day each week? Do I have to buy a laptop computer and/or microscope? Many thanks!•

You aren't ranked with the other students formally. They have your numbers, but nobody knows about them unless you tell.

Housing...look in the late spring to early summer. When it gets closer I can suggest some places to look and people to call if you need help.

Exams are random. There's a few per class, and they are when they are. Some weeks we may have 2 exams, or 4-5 in a 3 week period,and some weeks we have no exams. Hmmm... okay, here was our exam schedule so far (approximately) and I guess you glean from it whatever is useful to you.

Aug 17 Gross Anatomy I
Aug 26 Embryology I
Aug 31 Gross Anatomy II
Sept 19 Skull Quiz
Sept 24 Cranial Nerve Quiz
Sept 28 Histo I
Oct 2 OMM I
Oct 9 Gross Exam III
Oct 26 Embryology II (Class finished)
Nov. 5 Gross Exam IV (Class finished)
Nov. 6 OMM Exam II
Nov. 14 Histo Exam II

Next week we replace gross with biochem and embryo with immunology.

They rescheduled our Skull Quiz to give people time to recover from Sept. 11. Our first immunology exam was supposed to be the day we get back from thanksgiving break, but they are moving that ahead two days.

Laptop, yes, microscope, no, but they charge a microscope fee with your tuition.

Hope this helps!

Doc Oc

PS I don't remember all the exact dates of our exams, so if I listed a weekend day, the exam wasn't on a weekend, it was "around" that day.
 
Just a point of information. At UNECOM they don't keep your schools in the curriculum office, once the grades are entered it's only HP/P/F so they couldn't rank you the next year if they wanted because they only know the letter! Here at UNECOM they don't rank so that people are competitive. I can't imagine if we were ranked, there definately wouldn't be note and outline sharing like there is. People actually try and help each other out. Med school is hard and stressful already, why make it worse.
 
If any of you future UNECOM-ers are thinking of moving to Biddeford any time soon, we are looking for a third housemate asap. if interested, please e-mail me and i'll give you all the info.

[email protected]
 
Hey guys!

How is Biddeford as a town? How close is it to Portland? And how far away is Boston?


Thanks!:p
 
hey erin, i'm an ms1 at unecom and it's about 15 min to portland and about 1.5 hours from boston ( i don't drive that fast so take that into account).
 
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