2020-2021 Creighton

[deleted1062667]

So is Creighton basically accepting more students for the Pheonix class to match the number of students they normally accept for Omaha, or are they just dividing their normal class size in half for each campus?

They are accepting double the number of usual students to fill the Phoenix seats.

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[biff_webster16]

Anybody complete yet?

 

[amoney904]

Same as last year, anyone else having trouble where your essay answers disappear so you cant submit?

I am trying to submit today and it keeps doing that to me. Were you able to find a way around it?

 

[amoney904]

I am trying to submit today and it keeps doing that to me. Were you able to find a way around it?

Nevermind I realized that it was a browser requirement. You can only submit through Safari if you are on Mac.

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

Hey Everyone!
I'm a M4 at Creighton (omaha campus).
Although this application cycle will certainly be interesting, both with COVID environment as well as changes in actual schooling with a firm differentiation of Phoenix and Omaha Campuses for the first time, Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Creighton and I will try to answer them in a honest/Non-BS manner to help you all make the right choice for your own medical education.

Best of luck ya'll!

Hi!

How much does the Jesuit background influence your experience at Creighton? Is it just part of their history, or would you say a significant portion of the faculty hold catholic/religious beliefs and that it comes out during your education with relative frequency?

 

[McNerdy]

Hi!

How much does the Jesuit background influence your experience at Creighton? Is it just part of their history, or would you say a significant portion of the faculty hold catholic/religious beliefs and that it comes out during your education with relative frequency?

Honestly it depends. So open disclaimed, I'm not very religious and know little of catholic tradition prior to starting here.

Its definitely present but I don't think its overpowering/dominating. We have a chaplain who will bless/pray at big gatherings, he's also available for therapy/advice style chats hosting an office filled with coffee, tea, coco, and snacks. Super nice guy. You will have to learn catholic medical views/bylaws or whatever(see I don't even know their proper names), which takes like 3 lecture ish? Aka, the chuch believes abortion should be avoided unless it's to save the life of mom. Don't prescribe birth control unless for medical reason etc. During reproduction/endocrinology you'll learn about the Creighton Method which is one of the most prevalent/scientifically studied "naturally family planning" methodologies but I have friends at many other schools who learn these methods as well.

As far as faculty holding religious beliefs this obviously varies. Many people hold some sort of religious beliefs, I'd classify most as "non-denominational" since in practice Very few people impose their religious beliefs on others and those that do are like praying with their patients. We technically do follow catholic health doctrine but some of the docs kinda skirt around the catholic health laws that we "impose." I.e. Birth control is a no no, unless you have idk heavy/painful periods which who doesn't have those right? *wink wink*. We have some professors who are super devote and regularly champion their religious beliefs however they are vary mindful that not everyone holds their opinions and attempt to practice their beliefs with respect to others. Many of our clinical faculty and medical residents are IMG which greatly adds to the diversity of the medical program as a whole. You can basically guarantee that you will have attendings who are jewish, hindu or muslim. I have attendings who wear hijabs with their scrubs.

All of this is to say, yes we are "jesuit," religious beliefs are taught and many are likely religious, however not all are catholic and I've never heard of anyone being subjected to religious persecution. I like to say, that jesuit values unite us even if being jesuit doesn't define us. There are opportunities to immerse yourself even more in the catholic faith you can. If you aren't interested in religion, then I think you can have a great medical experience as long as you are tolerant and respectful of religion. If you are anti-religion and are offended by being prayed over at commencement or possibly having an attending who prays with their patient, then I'd advise not coming here.

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

Honestly it depends. So open disclaimed, I'm not very religious and know little of catholic tradition prior to starting here.

Its definitely present but I don't think its overpowering/dominating. We have a chaplain who will bless/pray at big gatherings, he's also available for therapy/advice style chats hosting an office filled with coffee, tea, coco, and snacks. Super nice guy. You will have to learn catholic medical views/bylaws or whatever(see I don't even know their proper names), which takes like 3 lecture ish? Aka, the chuch believes abortion should be avoided unless it's to save the life of mom. Don't prescribe birth control unless for medical reason etc. During reproduction/endocrinology you'll learn about the Creighton Method which is one of the most prevalent/scientifically studied "naturally family planning" methodologies but I have friends at many other schools who learn these methods as well.

As far as faculty holding religious beliefs this obviously varies. Many people hold some sort of religious beliefs, I'd classify most as "non-denominational" since in practice Very few people impose their religious beliefs on others and those that do are like praying with their patients. We technically do follow catholic health doctrine but some of the docs kinda skirt around the catholic health laws that we "impose." I.e. Birth control is a no no, unless you have idk heavy/painful periods which who doesn't have those right? *wink wink*. We have some professors who are super devote and regularly champion their religious beliefs however they are vary mindful that not everyone holds their opinions and attempt to practice their beliefs with respect to others. Many of our clinical faculty and medical residents are IMG which greatly adds to the diversity of the medical program as a whole. You can basically guarantee that you will have attendings who are jewish, hindu or muslim. I have attendings who wear hijabs with their scrubs.

All of this is to say, yes we are "jesuit," religious beliefs are taught and many are likely religious, however not all are catholic and I've never heard of anyone being subjected to religious persecution. I like to say, that jesuit values unite us even if being jesuit doesn't define us. There are opportunities to immerse yourself even more in the catholic faith you can. If you aren't interested in religion, then I think you can have a great medical experience as long as you are tolerant and respectful of religion. If you are anti-religion and are offended by being prayed over at commencement or possibly having an attending who prays with their patient, then I'd advise not coming here.

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm not anti-religious for sure, but I am pro separation of church and medicine, at least as treatment is concerned. IE the only thing that bothers me from what you said is that they are against abortion and contraception. Also don't like the mandated religious activities.

That being said, I won't be submitting my secondary. Good luck to all of you applying!

 

[deleted1062667]

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm not anti-religious for sure, but I am pro separation of church and medicine, at least as treatment is concerned. IE the only thing that bothers me from what you said is that they are against abortion and contraception. Also don't like the mandated religious activities.

That being said, I won't be submitting my secondary. Good luck to all of you applying!

You WON'T be applying because of that?

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

You WON'T be applying because of that?

Yep, wouldn't spend 4 years of my life at an institution in direct opposition to my beliefs.

 

[McNerdy]

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm not anti-religious for sure, but I am pro separation of church and medicine, at least as treatment is concerned. IE the only thing that bothers me from what you said is that they are against abortion and contraception. Also don't like the mandated religious activities.

That being said, I won't be submitting my secondary. Good luck to all of you applying!

Totally get it, and I wish you best of luck wherever you go!

However for all of those out there just want to clarify the extent of religion at our school. as a disclaimer this is my singular experience and I don't speak on behalf of creighton. Just trying to give ya'll my insight so you can make the best choice for your own education.

You will likely have a number of lectures on catholic health directives (maybe 2-3 total?). We perosnally had an ethics course during M1 where these sorts of topics were covered. I'm not sure what the new M1 curriculum is like but I believe you will still receive comparable lectures at some point during your education.
Even though you may not be Catholic or hold these beliefs yourself, I found these lectures to be incredibly informative for understanding how patients of that belief system may act/what cultural preferences or concerns for discrimination they may hold. For example, a patient may not want a certain type of treatment or does want a treatment but is worried about discrimination from family/friends/social circles where such treatment isn't readily accepted. Furthermore, it is my belief that these are presented in a very professional, matter of fact way that is careful not to shift pressure onto students to conform such beliefs. i.e. You will discuss the catholic churches stance on abortion as a component of a grander ethical discussion that presents arguments for/against such beliefs since scientifically speaking the topic is pretty complex/nuanced. It isn't a "this belief is right everything else is wrong" sort f lecture. In fact, were repeatedly told throughout our education that our beliefs should not be imposed upon the patient, they shouldn't be judged for violating our personal ethical codes, and that if ever that was a case where you are unable to treat a patient due to conflict of beliefs (this goes for anything from religious to ethical like concerns with treating a nazi patient) we have a moral responsibility to direct that patient's care to another provider who is capable of treating them as well as over see their care during the transitionary period. I personally wish we had more lectures on the medical health directives/preferences of the major international/local omaha community religions and cultural practices. I think we are blessed at our hospital to work in rather diverse healthcare teams and to treat many patients who hold refugee/immigrant statuses. With this being said, there were many experiences in the hospital/clinic during which I believe that familiarity and knowledge about the patient's cultural preferences would enhance the performance of the healthcare team. This is once again my personal opinion, but trying to offer a different way of looking at these courses as a non-catholic rather than "catholicism is being shoved down my throat."

There are very few "mandated religious activities" (or none depending on how you classify that) and true efforts are made in my opinion to be accepting of all beliefs. I'm not sure if it is still held but we did hold a "service" at the Creighton church in honor of our "first patients" aka the anatomy cadavers that was attended by our first patients family.
We do have our chaplain who will offer "blessings" / "moments of reflection" prior to the few general assemblies we have. This isn't incredibly frequent. Our chaplain also hosts 2 longitudinal small group "organizations" that are meant to offer students outlets for intimate discussion, personal reflection and growth. i.e. its an open safe space for you to talk about personal life matters /struggles that you've been hesitant to speak about with others. One of these groups is meant to have a more religious tone, the other is more secular. It is entirely voluntary to participate in. I personally didn't do either but most of my classmates who did loved these activities as it offered a positive and much needed outlet.

During my clinical experiences I have never seen any major instance where religion perversely compromised the care of the patient. Some doctors pray, but usually this is to the preference of the patient, not against their will. Many catholic health directives are easily seen in OB care (views on abortion, medical/surgical contraception etc.) For these topics I have never personally seen someone denied care. Ethics waivers can be filed to have tubal-ligations/ some other operative birth control performed. Our doctors place IUD's, nexplanon etc, pending the patients individualized needs and some doctors hold privileges at outside hospitals which don't have such restrictions. There may be isolated instances where a certain doctor uses their religious beliefs and declines to perform a certain procedure. I personally have never seen this happen or heard about it.


Hopefully this long reply adds clarification to the extent religion plays at our school from my personal experiences. It is not intended to convince or persuade anyone one way or another, just trying to offer insight so you can make the best choice for yourself. Best of luck to all of you regardless of your path forward. !If you have any specific concerns feel free to reach out and I will try to answer you as well as I can.

 

[11eleven011]

Hey guys for the question where they ask you to talk about your non-medical volunteer activities. What is considered non-medical? I used to restock operation rooms and I didn't interact with patients. I also enrolled people as organ donors in my school. Are these non-medical?

 

[deleted1044561]

Anyone having trouble saving the additional essays? I copy pasted them in, saved changes, but when I submit, half of them just go blank.

Edit: tried it with chrome and internet explorer and same thing...

 

[deleted1044561]

Hey guys for the question where they ask you to talk about your non-medical volunteer activities. What is considered non-medical? I used to restock operation rooms and I didn't interact with patients. I also enrolled people as organ donors in my school. Are these non-medical?

I would say anything you put on AMCAS as nonclinical would be nonmedical

 

[Med16484]

Anyone having trouble saving the additional essays? I copy pasted them in, saved changes, but when I submit, half of them just go blank.

Edit: tried it with chrome and internet explorer and same thing...

Happened to me, try taking out a word and then hit save. My essays were close to the character limit and I think their character limit didn't match what I based my essay on exactly.

 

[McNerdy]

You WON'T be applying because of that?

Yep, wouldn't spend 4 years of my life at an institution in direct opposition to my beliefs.

No judgement friends. Everyone needs to figure out what they want out of their education and what type of environment they believe they will thrive in. Its 4 years of your life, gotta make sure you're going somewhere you can see yourself for a decent chunk of time.

My goal isn't to make people want to go to Creighton (although I personally am happy with my experience and education), instead I just want to provide information that will allow all of ya'll to make the decision that is best for you personally. Everyone is looking for different things in their medical education and the inclusion/exclusion of those attributes will make a big deal to them. This goes for the inclusion of religion in the curriculum as well as the inclusion of mandatory community service activities or mandatory research activities.

 

[11eleven011]

I would say anything you put on AMCAS as nonclinical would be nonmedical

So it's okay if it's medicine/healthcare-related as long as I didn't interact with patients directly? I just don't understand if nonmedical = nonclinical (no patient interaction)

 

[Booryan]

So it's okay if it's medicine/healthcare-related as long as I didn't interact with patients directly? I just don't understand if nonmedical = nonclinical (no patient interaction)

I would personally say anything healthcare related would be considered medical, even if nonclinical. That being said, I would think registering organ donors is okay, but restocking op rooms would be medical. Then again, I doubt it would hurt you to list both!

 

[Nerd300]

How are people uploading their photo? Mine is jpeg and it will not upload

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

How are people uploading their photo? Mine is jpeg and it will not upload

probably the size of the photo that's the problem. I uploaded a jpg just fine.

 

[Nerd300]

Anyone having trouble saving the additional essays? I copy pasted them in, saved changes, but when I submit, half of them just go blank.

Edit: tried it with chrome and internet explorer and same thing...

Did you figure it out yet. I am having the same program as well. I am using a PC. I even tried my sister's MAC and was unsuccessful. Thanks
edit: I figured it out: USE INTERNET EXPLORER (PC) OR SAFARI (MAC)

 

[rachillthefout]

is there any in-state bias? I'm oos

 

[deleted1062667]

is there any in-state bias? I'm oos

MSAR says that they interviewed 28% of IS but only 10% of OOS. Accepted IS applicants also had a 511 MCAT/3.86 GPA compared to 513/3.81 for IS. Obviously, there is a huge IS bias for interviews, but it is almost negligible/by chance for any difference in IS vs. OOS stats.

 

[newolduser]

No judgement friends. Everyone needs to figure out what they want out of their education and what type of environment they believe they will thrive in. Its 4 years of your life, gotta make sure you're going somewhere you can see yourself for a decent chunk of time.

My goal isn't to make people want to go to Creighton (although I personally am happy with my experience and education), instead I just want to provide information that will allow all of ya'll to make the decision that is best for you personally. Everyone is looking for different things in their medical education and the inclusion/exclusion of those attributes will make a big deal to them. This goes for the inclusion of religion in the curriculum as well as the inclusion of mandatory community service activities or mandatory research activities.

Question that I'm not sure you can answer, but I'll ask anyway. One of my clinical activities is as an abortion doula. Do you think it's even worth applying with that listed on my application? It's a very important part of my journey towards medicine. I was raised Catholic but am no longer religious - however, I've actually come to really love Creighton based on the fact that they love service as much as I do.

 

[rachillthefout]

Question that I'm not sure you can answer, but I'll ask anyway. One of my clinical activities is as an abortion doula. Do you think it's even worth applying with that listed on my application? It's a very important part of my journey towards medicine. I was raised Catholic but am no longer religious - however, I've actually come to really love Creighton based on the fact that they love service as much as I do.

oh man this is a tough one.....when you say it has been an important part of your medical journey are you saying it has made you more pro-choice? I would apply anyway since I don't think they can deny you for solely that reason.

 

[rachillthefout]

where the prompts @

 

[biff_webster16]

Question that I'm not sure you can answer, but I'll ask anyway. One of my clinical activities is as an abortion doula. Do you think it's even worth applying with that listed on my application? It's a very important part of my journey towards medicine. I was raised Catholic but am no longer religious - however, I've actually come to really love Creighton based on the fact that they love service as much as I do.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this could kill your app at Creighton. There is more religiosity at Creighton than the other Jesuit schools and that could be a deal-breaker. I doubt it's as big a deal at Georgetown and Loyola, and if you're looking for more service-oriented schools I think Rush could be a great fit for you.

 

[rachillthefout]

also on the other hand, if my Catholic faith and identity is one of the main reasons I am interested in Creighton is that okay to mention in their "why us" question??

 

[deleted1062667]

oh man this is a tough one.....when you say it has been an important part of your medical journey are you saying it has made you more pro-choice? I would apply anyway since I don't think they can deny you for solely that reason.

Private schools can deny

also on the other hand, if my Catholic faith and identity is one of the main reasons I am interested in Creighton is that okay to mention in their "why us" question??

It definitely is!

 

[biff_webster16]

also on the other hand, if my Catholic faith and identity is one of the main reasons I am interested in Creighton is that okay to mention in their "why us" question??

I made it the central theme of my Why Us? essay.

 

[Med16484]

I made it the central theme of my Why Us? essay.

When you say they’re more religious, do you think they favor Catholics specifically or the general religious values of service? Asking as a religious, non-Christian

 

[biff_webster16]

When you say they’re more religious, do you think they favor Catholics specifically or the general religious values of service? Asking as a religious, non-Christian

So I spoke more about their Jesuit mission specifically which is more focused on service and less about themes that are specifically Catholic. Religious affiliation should absolutely not be a factor in admissions but if you can talk about broader values (which are really fairly secular) I think they would appreciate that.

 

[deleted943850]

Did anyone get like a completion email? I submitted my secondary but can't really tell if it is complete since their portal is a little different from others/never got a complete email

 

[deleted1062667]

When you say they’re more religious, do you think they favor Catholics specifically or the general religious values of service? Asking as a religious, non-Christian

Definitely both. They are a Catholic school, so they obviously like Catholics/Christiand

Did anyone get like a completion email? I submitted my secondary but can't really tell if it is complete since their portal is a little different from others/never got a complete email

I got conflicting information on this. If you go to the homepage of the portal and click "Check Status" you get the link below. It says that my application is complete and that I would get an email once my application was complete. I never got the email, but everything on the portal is marked as done, so I'm not too worried about it. There is probably just a delay and they should email once they process/review my app.

 

[clumsy.md]

Can any current students tell me if it's kosher to refer to the school as just "Creighton" instead of "Creighton University School of Medicine?" Specifically for the secondary.

 

[deleted1062667]

Can any current students tell me if it's kosher to refer to the school as just "Creighton" instead of "Creighton University School of Medicine?" Specifically for the secondary.

Yes, it's totally fine for this school and every other school. Honestly, I'm sure that they would get fed up with reading the full name everytime you need to refer to the school.

 

[clumsy.md]

Yes, it's totally fine for this school and every other school. Honestly, I'm sure that they would get fed up with reading the full name everytime you need to refer to the school.

I completely agree. Thanks for the confidence in my moment of doubt!

 

[onelastshot]

Do you guys think it'll look bad if I just copy my AMCAS descriptions to their Volunteer activities section?

 

[drmeter]

Do you guys think it'll look bad if I just copy my AMCAS descriptions to their Volunteer activities section?

per advice from my advisor, I re-wrote them all. I think it's always safest to not copy anything!

 

[deleted943850]

Definitely both. They are a Catholic school, so they obviously like Catholics/Christiand

I got conflicting information on this. If you go to the homepage of the portal and click "Check Status" you get the link below. It says that my application is complete and that I would get an email once my application was complete. I never got the email, but everything on the portal is marked as done, so I'm not too worried about it. There is probably just a delay and they should email once they process/review my app.
View attachment 314506

Hmm this is what I see on mine too. I really don't think that there's anything that I am missing. Thanks!

 

[newolduser]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this could kill your app at Creighton. There is more religiosity at Creighton than the other Jesuit schools and that could be a deal-breaker. I doubt it's as big a deal at Georgetown and Loyola, and if you're looking for more service-oriented schools I think Rush could be a great fit for you.

Thanks for the honesty. I'm specifically also interested in Creighton due to their location - I'm hoping to stay in the Southwest, so I'm very interested in their Phoenix location. I have thousands of hours of non-clinical volunteering in all sorts of service areas, including serving in Peace Corps in one of the countries in which they have their Project CURA.

I think I'm going to try to shoot my shot anyway, but I will be mindful of the fact that it may just be a donation.

 

[McNerdy]

Question that I'm not sure you can answer, but I'll ask anyway. One of my clinical activities is as an abortion doula. Do you think it's even worth applying with that listed on my application? It's a very important part of my journey towards medicine. I was raised Catholic but am no longer religious - however, I've actually come to really love Creighton based on the fact that they love service as much as I do.

This is walking a grey line. You'd have to avoid advocacy of abortion at every point and emphasize the personal/emotional and spiritual support offered to women undergoing that experience. If you did that I think you'd be fine. I'd just be prepared for the questions at every med school because no likely where you go I imagine someone will be "pro-life."

As previously mentioned we do still hold some religious influence unlike many other schools which are practically jesuit only in name. Abortion is very tricky, when discussed during our lectures its never stated as a "bad thing" and were told explicitly to never pass judgement or openly advocate against abortion in a way that is demeaning of those who may have undergone one (or so has been my experience). So is your app dead in the water? I don't think so. Just be prepared for questions.

 

[gemini97]

"In Creighton's Jesuit, Catholic tradition, the mission of the School of Medicine is to improve the human condition with a diverse body of students, faculty and staff who provide excellence in educating students, physicians and the public, advancing knowledge and providing comprehensive patient care. Please describe the role(s) you can play in helping the School or Medicine achieve its mission. (2000 characters)"

Is this just a diversity essay? I'm having a little trouble interpreting this question.

 

[rachillthefout]

"In Creighton's Jesuit, Catholic tradition, the mission of the School of Medicine is to improve the human condition with a diverse body of students, faculty and staff who provide excellence in educating students, physicians and the public, advancing knowledge and providing comprehensive patient care. Please describe the role(s) you can play in helping the School or Medicine achieve its mission. (2000 characters)"

Is this just a diversity essay? I'm having a little trouble interpreting this question.

read Creighton's mission statement on their website and then describe how you can uphold those values and contribute to that mission....or at least that's how I interpreted it.

 

[deleted1064759]

"In Creighton's Jesuit, Catholic tradition, the mission of the School of Medicine is to improve the human condition with a diverse body of students, faculty and staff who provide excellence in educating students, physicians and the public, advancing knowledge and providing comprehensive patient care. Please describe the role(s) you can play in helping the School or Medicine achieve its mission. (2000 characters)"

Is this just a diversity essay? I'm having a little trouble interpreting this question.

Yes, it's a glorified diversity prompt.

 

[Med16484]

Anyone get a Complete email yet?

 

[Earthworm Slim]

Anyone get a Complete email yet?

My LOE status changed to "Received" on the portal but I haven't technically gotten a complete email from them.

 

[kwangsung]

when they sent the II email, they detailed:

Admission Course Prerequisites: Statistics (AP Credits will not be accepted to fulfill the Statistics requirement. Community College credits will be accepted)

heh, my stats credit is in fact AP... does anyone know strict they are about this? idk if it's worth taking a single course for a single application... also will they still admit you and do like a conditional acceptance to take a college-level stats course before matriculation?

 

[deleted1062667]

when they sent the II email, they detailed:

Admission Course Prerequisites: Statistics (AP Credits will not be accepted to fulfill the Statistics requirement. Community College credits will be accepted)

heh, my stats credit is in fact AP... does anyone know strict they are about this? idk if it's worth taking a single course for a single application... also will they still admit you and do like a conditional acceptance to take a college-level stats course before matriculation?

They are strict about it, which is why they specifically say it. Just wait until you get an acceptance/interview and take it next spring if you need to.

 

[Med16484]

when they sent the II email, they detailed:

Admission Course Prerequisites: Statistics (AP Credits will not be accepted to fulfill the Statistics requirement. Community College credits will be accepted)

heh, my stats credit is in fact AP... does anyone know strict they are about this? idk if it's worth taking a single course for a single application... also will they still admit you and do like a conditional acceptance to take a college-level stats course before matriculation?

You got an II?

 

[biff_webster16]

You got an II?

I think this poster meant secondary - it's a direct pull from the secondary invite email.