Which one would you choose and why?

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Slavia

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If you have to choose between the following schools which one would you preferred and why? I am from Boston area so UNECOM is the closest one, but I am interested in becoming an Anesthesiologist/Pain Management specialist so any advice would be appreciated:
UNECOM
PCOM-PA
PCOM-GA
NYCOM/NYIT
ATSU/KCOM
OU-COM
UMDNJ-SOM

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If you have to choose between the following schools which one would you preferred and why? I am from Boston area so UNECOM is the closest one, but I am interested in becoming an Anesthesiologist/Pain Management specialist so any advice would be appreciated:
UNECOM
PCOM-PA
PCOM-GA
NYCOM/NYIT
ATSU/KCOM
OU-COM
UMDNJ-SOM

I can see from the number of posts you've made that you're relatively new here. There are numerous threads discussing the pros and cons of all of these schools. In fact, if memory serves me, there was a very recent one discussing UNECOM v. PCOM.

Just use the "Search" function. You should be able to find quite a bit of the type of information you're looking for.
 
If you have to choose between the following schools which one would you preferred and why? I am from Boston area so UNECOM is the closest one, but I am interested in becoming an Anesthesiologist/Pain Management specialist so any advice would be appreciated:
UNECOM
PCOM-PA
PCOM-GA
NYCOM/NYIT
ATSU/KCOM
OU-COM
UMDNJ-SOM

I personally would choose UNECOM, but that is because I want to go into rural family medicine. They are really big on that there. For your specialty, I think NYCOM would be a great choice. I don't know much about the other schools, but I interviewed at NYCOM and a number of their students do not go into primary care medicine. They seem to have a great program and good resources. :D :luck:
 
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PCOM has one of the lowest percentage of grads going into primary care (37%), therefore most of the grads go into a speciality. If you look at the usnews.com ratings, this percentage is one of the lowest among MD schools, and it is the lowest for DO schools.
NYCOM has something like 45% go into primary care, but I've heard some negative comments about the residency match list--that some people get their top choice, but yet many others get placed in a field that isn't a top choice.

After interviewing at unecom, nycom, and pcom, I personally loved PCOM the most.
 
I don't know which one is best, but I do know that the only D.O. anesthesiologist I have met graduated from PCOM-PA years ago. Just a FYI. :D
I would go with whichever school accepts you. You really have about the same shot no matter where you go. It all depends on your effort. Just get the acceptance and go from there. :luck:
 
Pcom---->unecom----->oucom
 
If you want to go into a specialty, I would pick either PCOM or NYCOM. They have a large amount of grads going into specialties. That is not to say you couldn't be an anes. if you went to UNECOM, but they gear more towards primary care and attract those types of students. Another thing to look at might be what area you would want to practice in so you could make contacts and whatnot. For me, I am pretty sure I want to stay in NY, so going to NYCOM made sense for me. But if staying close to home is important to you, UNECOM is a fine school.
 
If you have to choose between the following schools which one would you preferred and why? I am from Boston area so UNECOM is the closest one, but I am interested in becoming an Anesthesiologist/Pain Management specialist so any advice would be appreciated:
UNECOM
PCOM-PA
PCOM-GA
NYCOM/NYIT
ATSU/KCOM
OU-COM
UMDNJ-SOM

PCOM, OUCOM, NYCOM, UMDNJ

PCOM sends a good number of people into Anesthesia every year. So does UMDNJ compared to their class size.

Best part about those 2 schools is that you have all of the Philadelphia programs right here. At least 25% of the Jefferson program every year are DOs, mostly from PCOM and UMDNJ...been that way for almost 10 years.

Same at Penn...every year a few PCOMers.

OUCOM has availability to Osteopathic gas residencies.

NYCOM I imagine would be like PCOM, being in a big city you have the chance for widespread exposure to lots of programs.

UNECOM, PCOM-GA and KCOM would be on the very bottom of my list. Just not as much opportunity for advancement into tougher residencies.
 
PCOM, OUCOM, NYCOM, UMDNJ

PCOM sends a good number of people into Anesthesia every year. So does UMDNJ compared to their class size.

Best part about those 2 schools is that you have all of the Philadelphia programs right here. At least 25% of the Jefferson program every year are DOs, mostly from PCOM and UMDNJ...been that way for almost 10 years.

Same at Penn...every year a few PCOMers.

OUCOM has availability to Osteopathic gas residencies.

NYCOM I imagine would be like PCOM, being in a big city you have the chance for widespread exposure to lots of programs.

UNECOM, PCOM-GA and KCOM would be on the very bottom of my list. Just not as much opportunity for advancement into tougher residencies.


KCOM graduates seem to enter good allo and osteo anesthesia residencies across the country. KCOM changed their website recently, so I can't find the matchlist, but it has been very good in the past.
 
i know that the head attending in anesthesiology at jefferson is a graduate of umdnj-som. and i know someone who went in2 pain management from pcom but his main specialty was pm&r.
 
based your list and your reasoning--i'd suggest aiming for pcom--if all other factors are equal. of course, i'm biased as i've met with/shadowed two anesthesiologists that graduated from there (as well as kcumb and comp) and i can't speak for the other schools on your list. from this site http://opportunities.osteopathic.org/index.htm you can search aoa residency programs. Go to Program Search then Advanced Search then click the specialty you're interested in and/or the states you're interested in and it'll bring up osteo residency programs. it's not to say you can/can't get a spot by going to a specific school (it lists the associated school), but it might be worth looking at for future reference. :luck:
 
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thanks, dropkick :) i was hoping someone would post that link
No problem, I figured since it seems like a lot of osteopathic graduates choose allopathic residencies over their osteopathic counterparts (at least in the fields that I've looked into), that someone should post it.
 
KCOM because it's the closest.

I wouldn't worry so much about your specialty interests now. Your grades and board scores will matter more than where you went to med school.

Concentrate on which school is the best fit for you and whatever needs you have (being close to home, flexible curriculum, etc.). You're less likely to do well if you hate the school you're at.
 
Where would you put TCOM on that list? Really love everything about PCOM, but as a Texas resident, cost plays a huge factor too. Would TCOM hold one back from a specialty residency as compared to TCOM?
 
I'm suprised how many people think that post graduate opportunities are not important in school selection. Where you got to school certainly does have an impact on your future. Not all schools are created equal. True for every level of education, including medical school.
 
I'm suprised how many people think that post graduate opportunities are not important in school selection. Where you got to school certainly does have an impact on your future. Not all schools are created equal. True for every level of education, including medical school.

How much of a role do you think that it plays, and in what form, JP? Can you not determine your own fate with board scores, regardless of school attended?
 
How much of a role do you think that it plays, and in what form, JP? Can you not determine your own fate with board scores, regardless of school attended?

Of course board scores and grades play a role into your future, but so does a lot more.

Some of the larger DO schools with established residency programs tend to take their own or students from local DO schools, as these are the students they are most familiar with.

Allopathic residency programs in major cities are more likely to take DO students from local schools...again, this is who they see on rotations. They also work with graduates from these schools on a regular basis in their hospital.

Older, more established schools have had scores of classes come before you who are already in that hospital as students, residents and attendings...that helps enormously.

Older, more established schools generally have a larger base of hospital affiliations and post graduate affiliations (OPTI). Larger schools also benefit from this as well, as do state schools.

Not all DO schools have their own residency programs...some have only 2-3 programs, often primary care only.

If you dont want to rank DO schools prior to matriculation and you want to argue all over SDN then thats fine. But I guarantee you Program Directors rank schools. Maybe talking with some of the people who are making these decisions about graduates would be a good idea. I have talked to these people and I can tell you that it does matter.
 
Of course board scores and grades play a role into your future, but so does a lot more.

Some of the larger DO schools with established residency programs tend to take their own or students from local DO schools, as these are the students they are most familiar with.

Allopathic residency programs in major cities are more likely to take DO students from local schools...again, this is who they see on rotations. They also work with graduates from these schools on a regular basis in their hospital.

Older, more established schools have had scores of classes come before you who are already in that hospital as students, residents and attendings...that helps enormously.

Older, more established schools generally have a larger base of hospital affiliations and post graduate affiliations (OPTI). Larger schools also benefit from this as well, as do state schools.

Not all DO schools have their own residency programs...some have only 2-3 programs, often primary care only.

If you dont want to rank DO schools prior to matriculation and you want to argue all over SDN then thats fine. But I guarantee you Program Directors rank schools. Maybe talking with some of the people who are making these decisions about graduates would be a good idea. I have talked to these people and I can tell you that it does matter.

Hmmm. Good points to think about! Thanks for all the great info you routinely provide, JP! It is appreciated!
 
If you want to go into a specialty, I would pick either PCOM or NYCOM. They have a large amount of grads going into specialties. That is not to say you couldn't be an anes. if you went to UNECOM, but they gear more towards primary care and attract those types of students. Another thing to look at might be what area you would want to practice in so you could make contacts and whatnot. For me, I am pretty sure I want to stay in NY, so going to NYCOM made sense for me. But if staying close to home is important to you, UNECOM is a fine school.

I think this is generally true, but if you see the match lists for most DO schools, there are lots of Anesthesiology placements. It doesn't seem to be as crucial for that specialty as say, someone hoping to go into Derm or something.

But we're early in the game here, and keep in mind a high, high % of students change what they decide to go for while they are in school (I know several docs today that made their final decision late in their 4th year, after interviews for OTHER residencies, even!!). So worrying about what school gives you the best chance to go into something that you have a good chance of changing your mind about is seriously premature.

It seems to make a little more sense to think of it generally - like, what schools are going to give me the freedom, opportunity, and support - to choose whatever specialty is best for you, be it a PC specialty (remember primary care is NOT only family medicine) or something in surgery, or whatever. And every school will let you, but some will be more helpful in getting you there, (like PCOM seems to be, but there are definitely others) and some will require you to make a lot more opportunity for yourself.
 
Hmmm. Good points to think about! Thanks for all the great info you routinely provide, JP! It is appreciated!

My overall point is this...

Schools in every single discipline are ranked: MD schools, law schools, PT, OT, Pharmacy, Business...you name it. Colleges, graduate schools and professional schools.

Just because no "official" or published ranking of the DO schools exists doesnt mean they are all the same. To think so is ignorant.
 
LMU DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine #2?

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Let them have a years worth of classes first!

I know, I thought that you had to have a class that had attended for at least a year to have a reasonable opinion of the school. I thought there was only 23 DO schools! :D
 
I would go with whichever school accepts you. You really have about the same shot no matter where you go. It all depends on your effort. Just get the acceptance and go from there. :luck:

This is the most accurate posting on this thread.

Your ability to perform well during your years of medical school, your board scores, LOR, and your clinical grades are (in reverse order) generally the most important factors about specialties.


Wook
 
I know KCOM is very underrepresented on SDN, but I wanted to point out a few facts they may help you or may not. First off, KCOM has an anesthesiology residency in Kirksville. The director of the residency is a great man and is very friendly to the new students. He invites any one in the school interested over to his own home for dinner each year and is really great at helping us see the big picture of medicine. He encourages and teaches his residents to not only be good anesthesiologists, but also how to be good businessmen in today's competitive world. I learned all about this program and how he instructs his students and I'm not even interested in anesthesiology, I was just interested in him as a physician (just pointing out how easy it would be if you actually were). Also, if you go to KCOM your going to get a superb education in osteopathic medicine which is going to be very useful to you in pain management. As was mentioned earlier in this thread check out our graduate placement list, it speaks for itself.

http://www.atsu.edu/kcom/programs/osteopathic_medicine/graduate_placement/index.htm
 
This is the most accurate posting on this thread.

Your ability to perform well during your years of medical school, your board scores, LOR, and your clinical grades are (in reverse order) generally the most important factors about specialties.


Wook

Wook, I respectfully disagree. A program is far more likely to accept someone they are familiar with, someone they have worked with and someone who the residents have positive experiences with. True, you can do this as a visiting student, but its much easier if you are in the right place for a longer stretch of time. I know many people with fantastic board scores who were looked over simply because "we didnt know who they were." I know many people who rotated late with programs where the comments were "if you only rotated here two months ago I think you would have had a chance."

Grades and boards are important.

Familiarity and LOR from people associated with the program are top.
 
go to the cheapest school that you fit best at
 
the fact of the matter is that you can get into this specialty by going to any of these schools.
 
the fact of the matter is that you can get into this specialty by going to any of these schools.

Now that I am willing to agree with...

As with any "lower-tier" MD/DO school, though, I'd say that for competitive residencies (read: ivies, prestigious clinics/hospitals) you will have to make yourself shine during clinical rotations and with mostly high-passes/A's (school-dependent).

The clinical roations aspect is why it is better to go to a school with better rotations in the area you are interested in. Elective rotations are the great equalizer, however. The first two years at any school are pretty similar with some minor advantages due to better technology or more versed professors...
 
So, with all that said, to be able to get an Anesthesiology residency being a Boston resident I should go to UNECOM? Or still PCOM would be a better choice?
 
So, with all that said, to be able to get an Anesthesiology residency being a Boston resident I should go to UNECOM? Or still PCOM would be a better choice?
PCOM. Refer to JP's posts above. Specializing is possible from any school, BUT statistically the numbers give you a better chance at a school that graduates more specialists each year.
 
PCOM. Refer to JP's posts above. Specializing is possible from any school, BUT statistically the numbers give you a better chance at a school that graduates more specialists each year.

I wonder why certain schools graduate more specialists? Do people who want to specialize or do primary care tend to gravitate towards these schools, or do the programs "guide" them once in?
 
I wonder why certain schools graduate more specialists? Do people who want to specialize or do primary care tend to gravitate towards these schools, or do the programs "guide" them once in?
Combination of both, methinks. The schools have connections for specializing, which draws the students who are interested in specializing to it.
 
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