KCUMB Class of 2018

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Wanted to give an update from my last post. @BigGAC1 :

I used MTB for a few weeks in May and wasn't a fan. It's decent as a reminder for the major topics you need to look over, but it's pretty lacking in a lot of areas and doesn't really go in depth into most of the stuff I wanted it to go more in-depth on. Plus according to a 4th year who just graduated it's pretty much just the Kaplan videos word-for-word in book format. I've been using FA more recently and it's been better, but still a really mediocre resource overall imo. I haven't found anything that really provides the level of info for review I'm looking for other than UWorld. Maybe OME's actual written stuff has it, but everything so far has been pretty bad compared to just doing UWorld, imo.

Meant to post this a while ago, but just kept forgetting :p
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Stagg737 said:
Wanted to give an update from my last post. @BigGAC1 :

I used MTB for a few weeks in May and wasn't a fan. It's decent as a reminder for the major topics you need to look over, but it's pretty lacking in a lot of areas and doesn't really go in depth into most of the stuff I wanted it to go more in-depth on. Plus according to a 4th year who just graduated it's pretty much just the Kaplan videos word-for-word in book format. I've been using FA more recently and it's been better, but still a really mediocre resource overall imo. I haven't found anything that really provides the level of info for review I'm looking for other than UWorld. Maybe OME's actual written stuff has it, but everything so far has been pretty bad compared to just doing UWorld, imo.

Meant to post this a while ago, but just kept forgetting :p
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Have you tried using Step Up 2 Medicine? I know it only has IM but I'm thinking of using that for the IM portion.
 
chizledfrmstone said:
Have you tried using Step Up 2 Medicine? I know it only has IM but I'm thinking of using that for the IM portion.
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I've looked into it, honestly I felt like it was just too dense to use as a core resource. I have used an electronic copy as a reference which I liked, but I don't really learn well from just reading/annotating books, so I haven't used it as a core resource. At this point I'm just focusing on second pass of UWorld, some of the Kaplan Qbank, and some ComQuest to get used to COMLEX format. Thanks though!
 
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Hey guys!

I'm starting my rotations in the end of the month and was interested to know what your day to day schedules were like? How many hours did you work, did you have weekends off? Also, any advice? I'm getting kind of nervous/excited :)
 
AnonymousDo said:
Hey guys!

I'm starting my rotations in the end of the month and was interested to know what your day to day schedules were like? How many hours did you work, did you have weekends off? Also, any advice? I'm getting kind of nervous/excited :)
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Totally depends on the rotation. Some of them were 8-5 every weekday. Others would be 12 hour days with random days off. Most of mine had little to no weekend hours though. My current rotation varies from day to day (some days are 6 hours, others 16). Advice is to be proactive (but not to the point of obnoxiousness), make you're attending happy, and study for your shelf on rotation as much as you can so you can have some downtime when you're not in the clinic/hospital. Also, ask as many questions about the field as possible if you're interested in the least bit. You can get some really great info from attendings if you ask the right questions.
 
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AnonymousDo said:
Hey guys!

I'm starting my rotations in the end of the month and was interested to know what your day to day schedules were like? How many hours did you work, did you have weekends off? Also, any advice? I'm getting kind of nervous/excited :)
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Highly dependent on the individual rotation. As a rule of thumb - inpt rotations tend to be more time consuming (so surgery, OB, IM) but even this ultimately depends on your individual preceptor's expectations.
 
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AnonymousDo said:
Hey guys!

I'm starting my rotations in the end of the month and was interested to know what your day to day schedules were like? How many hours did you work, did you have weekends off? Also, any advice? I'm getting kind of nervous/excited :)
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Ditto with what the previous 2 posters said. Highly dependent on rotation. Some core sites will have you follow 1 doctor for the whole month in which case you work when they work. For example, if the doc has a 7-on-7-off schedule, you'll have that schedule as well (which is very nice!). Other core sites will have you do an 8-5 Mon-Fri in which you follow a different doctor everyday. It all depends.

As for advice, learn as much as you can and always ask questions because this will help with exam questions. Show interest even if you hate the rotation; sometimes it's all about fake it till you make it. If you're with a resident, make the resident happy and help out - the happier the resident, the nicer the resident. At this stage of your training, you need to learn how to schmooze. It's true when they say it's not about what you know but WHO you know.

Good luck!
 
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So, when should I start studying for my FM shelf lol. What should I be doing to study?
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
So, when should I start studying for my FM shelf lol. What should I be doing to study?
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I'd say immediately. It's a pretty broad test and the only shelf with OMM on it. Unfortunately I didn't really find a "go to" resource for FM. COMQUEST has almost 400 FM specific questions and you can get just those questions for a decent price (1 month is $49). Saw some questions on my shelf that looked almost identical to ones in that Qbank, so I'd recommend that if you like studying via questions. I've heard mixed things about Case Studies for FM, but other than ComQuest and Case Files idk.
 
I felt like I failed after I was done if that counts for anything...
 
DoctorDoomsday said:
Anyone else hear our PE pass rate is not so great this year??
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I know of 1 person who failed, but idk why and I haven't talked to many people about it.

HotLunch96 said:
I felt like I failed after I was done if that counts for anything...
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Yea, originally was dreading seeing 12 patients but looking back I'm glad. I forgot to listen to heart and lungs on my first patient and didn't realize it until I got to the SOAP note. 99% sure I completely bombed that first patient...
 
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chizledfrmstone said:
How bad are we talking? The national pass rate is like 92-93% or something.
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I'd heard somewhere between 15 and 20 haven't passed. Not sure of our class size, so maybe it isn't that bad? I was just surprised by the two I know who didn't pass.
 
DoctorDoomsday said:
I'd heard somewhere between 15 and 20 haven't passed. Not sure of our class size, so maybe it isn't that bad? I was just surprised by the two I know who didn't pass.
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That's like 7-8% of the class, so the maths fit the national average.
 
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BigGAC1 said:
That's like 7-8% of the class, so the maths fit the national average.
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Not everyone had taken the exam at that point though so if there's more failures then it's above the national average.

For the previous class I thought the pass rate for PE was something like 96%.
 
Can someone tell me what they think of the OMM curriculum in this school?
 
shadowlightfox said:
Can someone tell me what they think of the OMM curriculum in this school?
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I thought it was fine, emphasized a lot less than quite a few of the other DO schools out there. Especially during second year. I think we had maybe 6 labs each semester during 2nd year. I also felt like they tried to teach mostly to boards and did try to cite some research studies (even if they weren't very good ones).

Edit for clarification: When I said labs I meant 6 actual labs (probably 6-8, less in the spring). If you include competencies it was probably closer to around 12. Classmates can correct me if I'm not remembering correctly, but I felt like it was pretty minimal and definitely bearable after we finished the cranial stuff...
 
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Stagg737 said:
I thought it was fine, emphasized a lot less than quite a few of the other DO schools out there. Especially during second year. I think we had maybe 6 labs each semester during 2nd year. I also felt like they tried to teach mostly to boards and did try to cite some research studies (even if they weren't very good ones).
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Sure wish that was still the case!
 
Can anyone who did their rotations in Ohio or Michigan shoot me a PM? I know a lot those rotations are at hospitals with residencies, but would like a little more information as I move towards the time to pick sites. Thanks!


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WerdnigHoffmann said:
How is interview season going for everyone? Everyone's bank accounts doing okay?
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Surprisingly better on both aspects than I thought, thankfully. A ton more people from our school going into my field than I thought too, have been with a different KCU student on almost every interview I've had so far!
 
BigGAC1 said:
Had to take out a 4th yr loan... Just another drop in the bucket, right?
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Ouch, that sucks man. You're right about the drop in the bucket thing, just wish our buckets didn't need trucks to carry around...

6276919850_dd0d27d965_b.jpg
 
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Stagg737 said:
Seeing as we're graduating on Cinco de Mayo, I fully expect KCU to have a full margarita bar available at our commencement...
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I'm planning on tacos afterwards.
 
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shadowlightfox said:
Can someone tell me what they think of the OMM curriculum in this school?
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OMM curriculum for M1 students is pretty decent. Almost all of what we were taught, I see also in the Saverse and OMM board books. They also don't go overboard with OMM; KCU is actually one of the DO schools were OMM is less emphasized relatively in comparison. The OMM faculty here are amazing and the 4th year fellows are awesome as well. I'm definitely not a huge OMM fan honestly, but I do have a lot more appreciation for it because of the faculty and fellows that are teaching it.
 
Mr. D.O.five said:
OMM curriculum for M1 students is pretty decent. Almost all of what we were taught, I see also in the Saverse and OMM board books. They also don't go overboard with OMM; KCU is actually one of the DO schools were OMM is less emphasized relatively in comparison. The OMM faculty here are amazing and the 4th year fellows are awesome as well. I'm definitely not a huge OMM fan honestly, but I do have a lot more appreciation for it because of the faculty and fellows that are teaching it.
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Oh wow. Sounds like you have it real nice. Unfortunately, the OMM at my school is run very terribly. It's turning many people, myself including, away from OMM, which sucks because I do see some potential benefit to it and I do find it interesting.
 
Can any of you guys comment on the quality of your rotations? Do you guys feel competent/confident in working within a resident/attending team setting moving into your residencies? Not sure if this is just the SDN-effect, but I keep reading over and over that KCU just exposes you to glorified shadowing and it's making me concerned about the quality of the 3rd/4th year training. Thanks for any insight
 
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kubyx said:
Can any of you guys comment on the quality of your rotations? Do you guys feel competent/confident in working within a resident/attending team setting moving into your residencies? Not sure if this is just the SDN-effect, but I keep reading over and over that KCU just exposes you to glorified shadowing and it's making me concerned about the quality of the 3rd/4th year training. Thanks for any insight
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Some sites are better than others, just do some research before ranking where you want to end up for rotations. If your 3rd year sucks, set up some "higher quality" rotations at away institutions throughout 4th year. We have a TON of elective time 4th year. Do what you want and make the most of it.
 
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Question about 4th year schedules. Do you need to take flex weeks every time two rotations have a period of time in between them? What about the holidays, looks like a lot don't even offer anything during Christmas to New Years or finish before Thanksgiving begins.
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
Question about 4th year schedules. Do you need to take flex weeks every time two rotations have a period of time in between them? What about the holidays, looks like a lot don't even offer anything during Christmas to New Years or finish before Thanksgiving begins.
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You need to fill a gap that is longer than 4-5 days with something. They would probably just tell you to go back to your core site.

It sucks because some of the rotations I wanted to take on VSAS had weird dates.
 
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Drrrrrr. Celty said:
Question about 4th year schedules. Do you need to take flex weeks every time two rotations have a period of time in between them? What about the holidays, looks like a lot don't even offer anything during Christmas to New Years or finish before Thanksgiving begins.
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If you play your cards right though, you can get a TON of time off around interview/holiday season though. Set up 2 flex weeks, then EM or hospitalist, then 2 more flex weeks to get you back on the normal schedule. Boom, you just worked 2 weeks in a 2 month period and got 6 weeks "off". Do another hospitalist/EM rotation on either side of that time period and you just set yourself to only need to show up to 4 weeks in a 3 month period.

A lot of our class complained really heavily about the way flex time was set up, but I thought it was pretty great and made my interview trail more like a big vacation.
 
Stagg737 said:
If you play your cards right though, you can get a TON of time off around interview/holiday season though. Set up 2 flex weeks, then EM or hospitalist, then 2 more flex weeks to get you back on the normal schedule. Boom, you just worked 2 weeks in a 2 month period and got 6 weeks "off". Do another hospitalist/EM rotation on either side of that time period and you just set yourself to only need to show up to 4 weeks in a 3 month period.

A lot of our class complained really heavily about the way flex time was set up, but I thought it was pretty great and made my interview trail more like a big vacation.
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I feel like I've got next year set up give or take and I have a lot of rotations hah.

my issue is that my second rotation ends weird

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apr27 said:
Technically, once you hit 7 days, you need to use a week, and then when you hit 14 you have to use your second. So, if you have 13....
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do I need to use it based on business days or all days?
we all know unless you're doing some hospitalist nonsense you're only on 5 a week.

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Y'all - tomorrow is the start of match week. We made it.
 
Probably a long shot, but have any of you been successful in petitioning to do an away during 3rd year? I have some offers to rotate at some big name Ophtho residencies and I really want to be able to maximize my exposure for LORs due to the early application for Ophtho (Due September 4th).
 
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