What's Wrong with this school?

[Mr. Eastern Medicine]

Why aren't people applying for Howard in D.C.?? Is there a problem with their med program or is it because it's a black school....?
Thanks~

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[Jalby]

How many people out there think this is a serious post? I think this guy is just trying to get people mad.

 

[lilninja]

I don't know if it's real, but I recall another post that was sort of similar in tone.

 

[sandflea]

maybe no one ON THIS BOARD is applying to howard. the people who post here are hardly representative of the entire pool of 40K people out there applying to med school.

 

[jdub]

i have applied to howard, i just got the secondary.

so have a few other poeple on this board.

i haven't sent it in yet, i don't know if i will. i really don't know if it would be the place for me.

also, i am pretty sure that a significant amount of the class is not african-american.

besides that, i am positive that there is not a "bad" medical school in the united states, so i imagine that howard is just fine.

 

[Rhiana]

I applied to Howard as well. If your looking for primary care its a reasonable option. I am amazed though at the number of people who say that they want to serve disadvantaged populations but then shy away from the schools that will best prepare them for that

 

[Scooby Doo]

Rhiana,
Excellent point...
saying you want to serve disadvantaged populations just to get in...jeez people..there are so many of you out there..maybe (hopefully) not on this board..but I know many...
Yea, apply to UCLA and say you want to serve the poor of the community..Bull$hit! Go to USC if your gonna do that...
Sorry...but it's so true...

 

[BlackPuma]

OR SCOOBY...

maybe people don't apply to howard, because they feel that they might not get accepted?!

same goes with UCLA/King Drew...I was thinking of applying, and I heard from both faculty at Drew, as well as other students who went through the process, that if

1) you are not of a minority descent....tough luck

2) you have to have a huge background in helping underserved communities...

even if you have #2...the vibe I always got, was that if you ain't a single denomination, then don't even bother applying!

so the reason, some people may not apply to howard (not because they think it is a low quality school) far from it....they feel (anyways, I FEEL that getting accepting to a school like howard, would probably be harder than harvard! because no matter what my credentials....I can't change my ethnic status!

If I am wrong please correct me....but I'd figure why waste the money on a secondary, when the school's policy is to accept mostly non-white!

and I am sure it is a great school

 

[E'01]

I applied to Howard.

Watcha I've missed you! Welcome back buddy

 

[sandflea]

Originally posted by Rhiana:
•I applied to Howard as well. If your looking for primary care its a reasonable option. I am amazed though at the number of people who say that they want to serve disadvantaged populations but then shy away from the schools that will best prepare them for that •

i disagree. are you really trying to imply that you must apply to howard in order to truly be interested in serving disadvantaged communities? as someone who has a career goal of practicing in these areas and did NOT apply to howard, i'm pretty offended. howard is not the be-all and end-all of public health education, and it's certainly not the only place where one can fulfill these kinds of career goals.

i take offense to your statement too, scooby. why couldn't someone legitimately practice in these areas after going to school at UCLA? that's in LA, right? pretty damn big city with disadvantaged populations, right?

as someone who is trying very hard to get into a chicago school--specifically because of chicago's populations--and eventually practice in underserved areas, i resent your blanket statements. to somehow imply that my aspirations are not legit because of where i want to go to school--come on, you're better people than that, and i hope you didn't mean what your post implied.

 

[drdrtoledo]

I applied to Howard. I think that the area the school is in (e.g. where the main hospital is located) says a lot about the amount of exposure you have to underpriveleged communities. Therefore I don't feel the school needs to be neccesarily a "minority" school in order to get that exposure. Just keep it real.

 

[ajz]

I agree with the posters that there are plenty of schools where you can get to serve the disadvantaged. Howard is not the end all, nor is it a bad school. But there are plenty of other schools that serve underserved populations, e.g. Tulane & Albert Einstein. I am not sure if you have been to New Orleans but there population indigent populations needs care and Charity Hospital serves this HUGE underserved population. Also Albert Einstein, in the Bronx, serves another underserved population. Howard is a good school as are the others I mentioned, it just depends on where you feel comfortable attending school.

 

[ajz]

Sorry about all the grammar mistakes, but I am in a rush...

 

[Mr. Eastern Medicine]

Jalbrekt, "Trying to get people mad?" ??
What are you talking about?

I recently went over some of the posts that were posted in this forum, and noticed that people were talking about GW or Georgetown, but not many people were talking about Howard. That's why I posted the message. I live in Norther VA, so I am very interested in Howard. Also, the tuition is cheaper than GW or Georgetown. That's why I just wanted to know how you guys feel about Howard.

Well, for other people, thanks for your opinions and stories.
Thanks~

 

[Bruin4Life]

I think all medical schools would welcome someone with a genunine interest in serving medically-underserved populations as a primary care doctor. Even schools like UCSD which have a stigma for seeking research-oriented students want to train primary care doctors. I agree with Sandflea, what's wrong with going to UCLA and wanting to serve the poor? UCLA has it's own teaching hospital, UCLA-Harbor Medical Center and affiliated clinics which serve the city's poor. I know because my family recieve their care there.

By the way, if anyone wants to serve the poor, don't volunteer at hospitals like Cedar-Sinai Hospital where the patients make as much money or more than the doctors. You need to volunteer at public hospitals in poor areas. My premed advisor told me that if you specifically mention you want to serve the underserved, the first thing adcoms will do is skip to your extra currics to see if you volunteered in such areas as an undergrad.

 

[Scooby Doo]

I was in a bad mood last night but I still stand by my post such that UCLA focuses on the wealthier populations. You will be seeing people from Beverly Hills and people who come from all around b/c of their $$$. Same goes with Stanford. They want to be known as the places where people go to have miraculous treatment to survive. After talking wtih many physicians from both UCLA and USC, I saw what a difference they had in their education and what they got to practice as only a medical student! If you're at UCLA, you will not be doing very much except watching. At USC, patients are going to be more likely to let you do stuff on them (doesnt' make it right though)...
As far as saying UCLA is in the middle of LA...dude, you have NEVER been there then. UCLA is yuppy town and is not near the worst parts of LA. People from compton and huntington park are not gonna go and drive an hour to get to UCLA so they can be turned away by doctors b/c a movie star is having a stomach ache.

 

[Mr. Eastern Medicine]

Good point, Scooby. I 100% agree with you. But what can we do about it? It's the reality.
Perhaps, we might become one of them. Who knows? I am afraid I might become one of them....just being honest with you...

 

[sandflea]

Originally posted by ScoobyDoo:
•
As far as saying UCLA is in the middle of LA...dude, you have NEVER been there then. UCLA is yuppy town and is not near the worst parts of LA. People from compton and huntington park are not gonna go and drive an hour to get to UCLA so they can be turned away by doctors b/c a movie star is having a stomach ache.•

i had a feeling this was going to be your come-back. i know where UCLA is, and you missed my point. my point was that its proximity to a huge city like LA makes opportunities to work with urban disadvantaged populations easier to access. no, maybe they're not in your backyard, but they're there, and a student who is motivated enough will find a way to incorporate their interests in their education. a student at UCLA who is interested in working in urban disadvantaged populations will have many more opportunities at their fingertips than someone who goes to school at, say, SIU (southern illinois university, which is pretty far from chicago), where i did not apply. not every school in chicago has well-established public health programs, but the fact is, they're close by if someone wants to, say, work at a community health clinic.

look, i'm not trying to start a fight here, but i was really offended by these self-righteous statements that i can't be legitimately interested in public health if i didn't apply to howard. c'mon!!!

 

[Scooby Doo]

Hell,
I don't know jack about Howard...I didn't apply...I was just stating an opinion that people use "I want to work with disadvantaged populations" but then decide to live in the hills of whatever county they go work in.
I am not gonna lie...I would love to live in the hills....am I rich? hellz no...Personally, serving disadvantaged groups does not mean you have to be in the middle of the ghetto. So I guess in the end you are right about living near LA...it probably will give you a few more opportunities than say going to an area in the middle of nowhere. However, Davis fits this mold and it has many excellent programs to work with people from everywhere!...
I am just rambling now..gotta get back towork...

 

[snowballz]

What the hell here, people? If you want to serve underserved populations, what does it matter where you go to school? If it is your passion to do this..then you will do it whether you went to Harvard or Podunk State.

There is a world outside of our existances and there are MANY, MANY people who need medical care who can't get it...whether because they're under served or simply because they cannot pay for it. Where ever you go, you will be able to serve these people!! (..if you really want to.)

I do not care who I am helping, just as long as I can make someone feel better...whether it is a wealthy person or a child living in poverty. It is all the same. Help is help...although I think I might be more partial to the needy kids.

Alicia

 

[kobe8]

Man, stick to your guns Scoob! I agree with your point, a lot of students talk that "I want to help the underserved" mess and have no plans of doing so. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and in fact tutored for two years at UCLA after finishing undergrad. UCLA is in a nice area of West LA. Sandflea, we had a discussion on another thread, don't be so quick to attack his statement and try to understand what his point is first. I have spent the past two years in Virginia and have become very familiar with Howard SOM. Besides I know several students at UCLA and Howard. The students from Howard seem to get a little more hands on experience. Of course I am not making this an all inclusive statement, rather, just from my experience.

 

[USeF]

Originally posted by snowballz:
•What the hell here, people? If you want to serve underserved populations, what does it matter where you go to school? If it is your passion to do this..then you will do it whether you went to Harvard or Podunk State.•

Go Podunk State!!

 

[sandflea]

Originally posted by kobe8:
•Sandflea, we had a discussion on another thread, don't be so quick to attack his statement and try to understand what his point is first.•

i totally understand what scooby's point is. and now he understands what mine is. so please do not assume that i was blindly attacking scooby's statement for the heck of it based on whatever prejudices you have about me based on our past discussions (yes, i do remember). we actually agree on many things. i will acknowledge that UCLA may perhaps *in general* serve wealthier populations and may not have as much hands-on experience with underserved communities naturally built-in to its curriculum as a school like howard may. but as i tried to explain, personal efforts count here too--just because UCLA may not have these opportunities at hand doesn't mean that a UCLA student is barred from pursuing them, especially with a city as massive as LA. and people who claim they're all about underserved communities solely for the sake of getting into med school piss me off too--they make people like me who are genuinely interested in doing this become scrutinized a little more out of skepticism. and i completely agree with snowballz that it doesn't necessarily matter where you go to school--that was my point, that you don't have to go to howard!!! so kobe8, there's a lot more agreement going on here than you may be assuming.

what i took offense to was the implication that students must not truly be interested in public health if they're not applying specifically to howard, the school 'that will best prepare them for that.' that is entirely a matter of opinion. i'm content with my choices and would be thrilled to go anywhere on my list.

geez, people!!! we're not even arguing about the same thing here! can we just shake hands?

 

[lilninja]

Why does it have to be that the medical school predominantly serves the immediate vicinity of the campus? I know Westwood is yuppie-ish, but at the same time, there are a number of disadvantaged areas adjacent to the neighborhood. I do agree, however, that USC may have a slight advantage if you are seeking to work with underserved populations because of their affiliation with County (people don't choose to let you work on them, they don't have a choice). But that is just one example. USC is also affiliated with Children's Hospital (on Sunset - that is not primarily for underserved populations), and Norris Cancer Center (a highly regarded cancer center).

Some schools really emphasize their devotion to the underserved (I think Jefferson does) and others make no particular statements. I think most assume that people who want to be doctors want to help whoever they can.

I think all medical schools make a sound effort to help the underserved, it's just that some also like to branch out to research and academics (usually big city schools) while others want to just focus on the communities. USC and UCLA are definitely of the first variety.

 

[SMW]

Great discussion guys, everyone makes good points. Thank God we're past the "Are the scores in ________?" posts. This is sounding more like the SDN of old! Watcha, it's great that you're posting again!!!

Oh, and Mr. Eastern Medicine, thanks for getting the discussion going! Re your other thread, I'm also very interested in "alternative" therapies.