scpod said:
Thanks for you feedback, too. I got in at Barry. I've gotten mail and brochures sent to me from DMU and Temple, but I've never really thought much about them. I only applied to a few places, mainly because of the expense of the interviews. The very closest school to my home is 661 miles away. Four (or more) tanks of gas and a hotel room can get to be fairly expensive these days.
As a Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine grad, I would also recommend you to look into Temple's program. Temple Podiatry basic science courses are pretty much identical to the Temple MD courses and by the same professors, except for the Podiatry courses. This includes the Physical Diagnosis course, where the podiatry students have to go through a practical exam on simulated patients for comprehensive history and physical. I know that other schools market that they sit in the same classes as their medical counterparts (Scholl with MD students, DMU with DO students, and Arizona with DO students). I can tell you that the basic science courses are pretty much identical between the Medical school and Podiatry school because we had to use old Medical school exams to help us review the basic science materials.
Temple had also made recent changes in their curriculum where they will be done with all of their classes by November of their third year. This way, the students can spent the remainder of the year doing their rotations full time The Temple students actually do the same exact Internal Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Anesthesia, etc... rotations as the MD students. In fact, they have to take a shelf exams, like the MD students at the end of their rotations. Podiatric rotations are done at the Foot and Ankle Institute right at the school, Foot and Ankle Institute satellite clinic at Temple University Health Science Campus, Surgery Center at the Temple podiatry school, Wound Care Center at the Temple podiatry school. There is also a Physical Therapy module at Foot and Ankle Institute for students to rotate through.
Temple Podiatry curriculum also has a more surgical slant to it. Temple students take individual podiatric surgery courses, such as Cadaver Surgery, Principles of Digital and Metatarsal Surgery, Principles of First Ray, Reconstructive Rearfoot Surgery, Principles of Podiatric Surgery, and Traumatology.
Lastly, Temple podiatry school is located in the chinatown section of downtown Philadelphia. This is a nice location because you are within walking distance to various activities in the downtown Philadelphia area. In addition, there is a dorm located right next to the Podiatry school, which is convenient for the students. There is also a shuttle bus that runs between all of the Temple campuses. Besides the small gym that they have at the Podiatry school, the Podiatry students also have access to the state of the art gym on Temple University main campus.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I encourage to visit any of the schools that you are interested in and determine which school is the best fit for you. Good luck with your search.
