OSU-COM Discussion thread 2008-2009

[saylorsdad]

Yes still breathing, was beginning to wonder how long it would be before anyone posted anything new. Anyone heard a peep from the school?

As per what I like about osu-chs: Small class size, modern facilities "i must admit i haven't been to other med schools to compare", preferance to oklahoma, and great pass rate on national tests. Leads me trust the school with my education.

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[nobleheart]

no word...since complete status letter (recent)....hoping for int. between OCT and March...haha...torture....T

 

[tallgal0523]

I'm still waiting to hear back from OSU as well. Sarah said that the second round of interviews will be in November. Good luck to everyone that is interviewing tomorrow!!!

 

[Chi O]

I'm still not even complete, even though I mailed all my stuff at the end of August

I called my DO last Sunday and he said he had written and mailed my letter. I called the school Monday, and they hadn't received it yet. I don't think I should continue calling my DO asking "are you sure..." but I hate calling Sarah every few days to have her tell me it's still not there. AAHH!

 

[JagerDO]

So you got a "Complete" letter? Hmm never got that and mailed my stuff in a week ago. Guess I need to make a call...

Has any OOS applicants interviewed yet?

 

[nobleheart]

It was actually an email entitled "completion letter".

 

[saylorsdad]

only one person has posted on sdn about getting an interview.

 

[saylorsdad]

i got email stating complete also

 

[hoopstar2323]

interviewed today. all 8 were from Tulsa so it looks like their waiting a little while to bring in OOs applicants. This was their first day so I wouldnt be too worried about not hearing yet, their just starting a little later than some schools because they dont have as many slots to fill.

 

[DrMom]

Please, please beware. As I said before, I have been a huge OSU-COM proponent. As things stand now, I have to say that I cannot recommend attending OSU-COM. I strongly recommend that none of you continue any further with your applications to the school. Apply somewhere else that is more stable. Let me explain.

We residents had an emergency meeting today with the AOA. The AOA stated that they did not know about the goings on here until they were contacted by a resident from here a couple of weeks ago. This means that the school administration blatantly lied every time that they have said that they were working closely with the AOA on the movement of the residencies. The AOA met with the school this morning for the first time. They met with us afterwards. The school is planning on applying for residency approval based on the $20 million in the OSU Healthcare Authority fund and later trying to get funding from the state to support the residencies. The AOA said that none of the residency programs will be approved unless there is indefinite funding. They also stated that there is barely enough time to fast-track approve these new residency programs as it is. Basically, everything needs to be set now in order for that to happen. The legislature will not be in session for a few months, so it isn't like the funding will appear in the next few weeks. As things are now, there are no residencies at OSU as of July 1, 2009. I know that the administration disagrees with my assessment, but I'd love to know how they're coming up with indefinite funding for 130+ residents and fellows in the next few weeks when they've been unable to do so thus far despite working on this over the past few years.

They also are messing with the medical student rotations. The core MS3 rotations are going to be done in Joplin, MO for the rest of this academic year (and, I assume, longer if the St Francis thing doesn't miraculously come together in time). The AOA was very suprised to find out about this from residents this afternoon, as the school administration never mentioned this to them. Core rotations are a key part of medical education. The impression I got from the AOA folks is that the school can't just move those kind of rotations to another site (let alone another state) without approval.

I don't know what the administration at the school is trying to do, but what they're accomplishing is going to be the demise of the school.

Again, please listen to me on this. This is a huge deal.

 

[JayneCobb]

Again, please listen to me on this. This is a huge deal.

holy ****. that is freaking horrible news for OSU. I can only imagine what you and the rest of my friends stuck there can be going through.

I had heard it was getting bad, but I didn't think the OSU admin were sinking to a whole new level of incompetence. scratch that, the OSU admin AND the Oklahoma's legislation have really dropped the ball on this. I hope they keep in mind that OSU has had a retention rate of doctors they trained which if I remember correctly doubled that of OU's retention rate.

I hope this years applicants really take notice of this, as this is a HUGE deal that you should consider before you ultimatly decide where you go to school. I'm not saying I'd choose OU over OSU , but after going through my medical education, I'd strongly suggest you think long and hard about going to a school which is allowing it's residencies to become unhinged and in a state who's state legislature seems to care more about the competing medical school's funding than your education as a lowly D.O.

 

[sookie]

I understand that the AOA has said they haven't had any communication with the school. I just find that hard to believe, since I saw AOA administrators at the school a month ago for the accreditation tour. They also had to have communications about these changes since OSU was on the fringe of the deadline (I think it was Sept. 15) when they made their deal with St. Francis.

 

[iirish]

haven't posted on this forum since I was a ms1 in 2001. dr. mom is absolutely correct, regarding the status of osu-med center and the med school. i'm a pgy 4 and we are all very discouraged with the lack of leadership demonstrated at the medical school. another interesting fact: osu med school is accredited by osu, a state funded institution, with the understanding that primary care needs will be met in ok i.e. post grad training will continue in southeast ok. there is a real possibility that if this deal w/ st. Francis falls through, osu will release the med school as a sponsor and the school could be forced to acquire a private status. in other words, tuition will be set at the highest premiums allowed. not to mention, having to set up rotations all over the country.

apply where you want; but know this, the leadership (i'll refer to them as F H A) you will fall under for the next four years is the worst i have ever seen in my life...and trust me, president clinton was my commander in chief for the later part of my military service.

YOU HAVE BEN WARNED

 

[meganmarie]

thank you so much for the info and warnings. I am taking this very seriously, and I hope everyone does as well. I could not imagine being caught up in such a mess. Good luck to you Dr. Mom and iirish and anyone else who has contributed to get the word out

 

[DrMom]

I understand that the AOA has said they haven't had any communication with the school. I just find that hard to believe, since I saw AOA administrators at the school a month ago for the accreditation tour. They also had to have communications about these changes since OSU was on the fringe of the deadline (I think it was Sept. 15) when they made their deal with St. Francis.

we were told yesterday by the AOA that OSU-COM sent a letter or two stating that there were issues with the relationship with the hospital, but nothing about moving programs or possible hospital closure. The AOA says that they basically get letters from programs every week with "hospital issues" that aren't necesarily anything scary. They made it very clear that OSU did not relate how bad the problem was or what they were doing.

 

[Chi O]

My sister is an OSU resident also, and I have spoken with her in length about everything that is going on. She was also in the AOA meeting yesterday, and she said that while the school made it sound like things were more settled than they actually are, she said it shouldn't affect my decision to apply to OSU-COM. Her thoughts were that the biggest problems with all this is that as of right now, they cannot recruit interns for next year, as it could take up to 6 months to get the residency programs approved at St. Francis. So that really stinks for the 4th year med students. But, I trust that it will be resolved and I'm still going for OSU as my top pick.

In a lighter note, I was finally completed! But my DO's letter wasn't on letterhead, so now I have to call him and ask him to resubmit. But, at least I'm complete!

Go Pokes!

 

[tallgal0523]

My sister is an OSU resident also, and I have spoken with her in length about everything that is going on. She was also in the AOA meeting yesterday, and she said that while the school made it sound like things were more settled than they actually are, she said it shouldn't affect my decision to apply to OSU-COM. Her thoughts were that the biggest problems with all this is that as of right now, they cannot recruit interns for next year, as it could take up to 6 months to get the residency programs approved at St. Francis. So that really stinks for the 4th year med students. But, I trust that it will be resolved and I'm still going for OSU as my top pick.

In a lighter note, I was finally completed! But my DO's letter wasn't on letterhead, so now I have to call him and ask him to resubmit. But, at least I'm complete!

Go Pokes!

OSU is still my first choice as well!!!! Now...if only they would call me

 

[Hernandez]

My sister is an OSU resident also, and I have spoken with her in length about everything that is going on. She was also in the AOA meeting yesterday, and she said that while the school made it sound like things were more settled than they actually are, she said it shouldn't affect my decision to apply to OSU-COM. Her thoughts were that the biggest problems with all this is that as of right now, they cannot recruit interns for next year, as it could take up to 6 months to get the residency programs approved at St. Francis. So that really stinks for the 4th year med students. But, I trust that it will be resolved and I'm still going for OSU as my top pick.

Go Pokes!

You're putting way too much faith in the administration. This has been an ongoing issue since before I started my 3rd year of medical school almost 4 years ago and it's not resolved, it's worsened.

I'd think that they're overly optimistic about getting this hashed out in 6 months, it too my program that long just to get re-approved in an existing program with no issues. As long as Goljan is still there, the first 2 years of training will continue to be excellent, but 3rd and 4th year rotations are really a learning curve, and after seeing all that I've seen, I personally would not go to a program like Fl-LECOM, LECOM, Kirksville, CCOM-AZ, or any program which farms out the clinical years all over the country due to inconsistant training. I see students from several of these schools which have no clue what's going on clinically due to inconsistant training at places which are not equiped to teach students. My biggest beef with much of the Osteopathic mentality is that there are many who hang on to the belief that we can hang onto the old school apprenticeship type of clinical training all while the scope of medical knowledge has grown exponentially, this is really just not the case IMHO.

I can't help but wonder if the state isn't intentionally dragging their feet to force the school to close so they can lavish all their monies on OU. I know, it's far fetched, but when you look at the massive disparities in funding, you can't help but wonder

 

[mshheaddoc]

Her thoughts were that the biggest problems with all this is that as of right now, they cannot recruit interns for next year, as it could take up to 6 months to get the residency programs approved at St. Francis. So that really stinks for the 4th year med students. But, I trust that it will be resolved and I'm still going for OSU as my top pick.

Right now no current resident has a spot for next year since nothing is approved and this was the first meeting AOA actually had since the school didn't discuss with the AOA previously. If you think this is only going to affect 4th year med students you are sorely mistaken. This has been an issue since TRMC became OSUMC and that was 2005/6. I feel bad for those of you that aren't weighing this heavily. As someone who was solely considering OSU-COM where my husband graduated a few years ago but we had to move for his residency, I am sighing with relief that I did NOT go to OSU. This is going to be an issue over the next few YEARS not months. Do you realize that OSUMC will collapse since they will lose most of their staff/residents? There will be NO block core rotations in Tulsa. You will be shipped out and displaced at 'non'-academic medical centers which will hurt your education. Do you know how long Joplin has had residencies? 1 year. You can't all go to St. Anthony's especially if the class is growing. If you want to do all your rotations down in Durant, and good gracious I hope you would know better from some of the review down there , or somewhere else 3 hrs outside of Tulsa that's fine. But MANY local students liked the fact that Tulsa was local and you could stay in the area and not be shipped out all over the place like KCUMB, DMU-COM, etc. If you notice the trend it to try to have your medical education in one place like MOST ALL MD schools. Ask the people at VCOM how expensive it is (and TIRING) to move around every month in your 4th year and live out of your car.

Heed the advice on here and taking a hard second thought. Going to a school that currently has rotations up in the air is like going to one of the new schools. Its a gamble on your education. If you're paying $80K for an education, it better be a damn good one in my opinion. OSU-COM has ok basic sciences compared to other schools (which they were working on but its a slow process) but their rotations were the strong point IMO. They gave you flexibility, location, and great exposure to primary care and rural/underserved medicine. Part of the reason that Ardent pushed back on OSU so much was due to the fact that OSUMC couldn't turn a profit because of the charity care (always last place hospital in financial standing). It was a great location attached to a great school with dated facilities. The fact that OSU-COM just lost its main affliate hospital is a HUGE blow in the reflection of the current administration and state legislative officials. I hope you see that if OSU can't support its graduates and protect its residencies, how is it going to secure the future of prospective students? They (the administration) will downplay this of course. But if you talk to the residents (and ask them about the turnover of the staff the past 3 years and the HUGE issues over the past year) and the 3rd/4th yr students, you will find that OSUMC was a train wreck waiting to happen long before this last huge and final blow. Feel free to search on this forum or the osteopathic forum how this has been discussed for the past few years. They had issues the last few years and some applicants were turned off and chose other locations

Take the time to try to see the issues about this. Especially since some of the key supporters of this school on SDN are warning you. At least you can be aware and know what to ask when you go to interviews. You can ask the students what they've heard and how it plans on being resolved. Although they won't know much more than is "published" on the school website because they are tight-lipped about this issue. There are only a handful of hospital systems in Tulsa and you are competing with OU on many levels. This isn't a "long term" solution as if you had your own hospital which OSU has been with TRMC for quite a bit of time. This is an issue now and will be an issue in the future. OU has residents at St. Francis too (OSU-COM's current option for hospital) and the only other hospital system is solely OU students.

There are many people that have families and children in school in Tulsa. They own houses and have mortgages. They are settled and were hoping to stay in the area for school and residency, maybe even continue the osteopathic tradition to teach others from their alma mater as many current grads have done. My heart goes out to all the residents in this difficult time and I hope that OSU-COM wakes up and decides to pull through for current and future residents/students.

 

[DrMom]

they cannot recruit interns for next year

true

as it could take up to 6 months to get the residency programs approved at St. Francis.

the AOA said that they could probably get the programs approved by June 30, but that was cutting it very close. (keep in mind that approval is really up to the specialty colleges and at least one has already said that they could not accredit their residency under the setup OSU was proposing)
The AOA also said that they would not approve the programs unless there's long term (or indefinite) funding available. Right now the school has enough $ for only 18-24 months.

I really hope that this comes together. I just want to be sure you applicants all understand that this administration is not trustworthy and that this situation is far from resolved. You're going to be putting a lot of $$ and years of hard work into this...you don't want to get screwed by an unstable med school situation.

 

[tallgal0523]

For those of you that had interviews this week...how did it go???

 

[nobleheart]

What "upper division" science courses have you had?

my list includes:

Genetics
Molecular Genetics
Biochem
Human Anatomy "technically 2000 level..but transfers as a 3000"
Human Physiology
Cellular Biology
Taking an upper div. Micro nxt sem.

 

[tallgal0523]

What "upper division" science courses have you had?

my list includes:

Genetics
Molecular Genetics
Biochem
Human Anatomy "technically 2000 level..but transfers as a 3000"
Human Physiology
Cellular Biology
Taking an upper div. Micro nxt sem.

My list:
Genetics
Principles of Physiology
Molecular Biology
Evolution
Organic Chemistry
Biochem
Cell Pathology
Microbiology
Ecology
Genetics lab

 

[saylorsdad]

I have
Human Physiology
Human Anatomy
Modern Physics
Optics
Physics based Astronomy
Organic Chemistry

 

[beachblonde]

I've looked around a bit for this info, but I'm wondering if anybody knows this offhand: does the OOS student GPA/MCAT average differ a lot from the total student body averages? I realize my chances are slim as an OOS student (I do have connections to the state, at least) but I'm just curious if those slim chances are actually closer to zero than I would have originally thought.

 

[nobleheart]

Have November invites gone out?

I am not sure about OOS cutoffs....though, when I toured the school I spoke with a few OOS matriculants...their number were only slightly higher than the national averages for gpa and mcat, strong EC's... Good luck

 

[tallgal0523]

I bet they are still deciding on who to accept from last week's interviews. I hope November interviews haven't gone out...

 

[saylorsdad]

my bet is next week they will begin to offer november interviews. they may meet at the end of this week and begin calling next week.

 

[saylorsdad]

spoke to osu and they are currently in the process of reviewing applications for next round? sometime next week maybe

 

[nobleheart]

Here is a short list of some of the common interview Q's from the OSU feedback list. If you have any others please post....Thanks

 

[saylorsdad]

another q that pops up is name two medicines and their effect.

 

[nobleheart]

ooooo,,,,,....that sounds juicy...thanks for the heads up.

 

[sookie]

Also, if you talked about one of your "weaknesses" with your pre-med committee, then that is sure to come up. For instance, I talked about how I don't handle stress well in my pre-med committee, so they asked me how I handle stress in my OSU interview.

Also, the rumor about rotations being moved to Joplin this year isn't true. They will stay at the OSU hospital.

 

[tallgal0523]

CALL MEEEEEEEE

 

[nobleheart]

I feel ya....I have gone so far as to program Sara and OSU-CHS's general numbers into my cell....soooo neurotic....

 

[crazylegs]

I really hope that this comes together. I just want to be sure you applicants all understand that this administration is not trustworthy and that this situation is far from resolved. You're going to be putting a lot of $$ and years of hard work into this...you don't want to get screwed by an unstable med school situation.

I too am hoping for the best for OSU. I was faced with a similar situation when I was accepted to TCOM back in 2004 - the affiliated hospital (OMCT) closed down right after I signed my letter of intent, and it was a real mess for the residents and medical students that were rotating through there. Nothing was mentioned about it during interview season or at any time prior to it happening. Later on down the road, I heard that the shutdown was a long time coming due to financial issues, but it happened rather abruptly and apparently none of the residents/students that were there received any warning. At the time, everyone was sure that TCOM would be shut down too because of it.

Thankfully, it didn't happen. Luckily for TCOM, there were 4 other hospitals in Fort Worth that weren't already overcrowded with residency programs or students from other schools (i.e. UT Southwestern), and they were able to make alliances with TCOM to take all of those medical students and residents under their wing. By the time I got to my 3rd/4th years, everything was working beautifully - there were plenty of high quality places to rotate at locally, and I personally feel that we actually benefitted from having the OMCT shutdown because it opened up even better clerkship opportunities for the medical students than what they had before at OMCT.

Again, definitely hoping for the best. It would be nice if OSU is able to blossom from this like TCOM did.. but the situation at OSU does sound pretty dismal.

 

[tallgal0523]

I feel ya....I have gone so far as to program Sara and OSU-CHS's general numbers into my cell....soooo neurotic....

Haha...I did the same thing. I have the general number programmed in my phone!!!

 

[nobleheart]

Just wanted to make sure everyone knew there is new feedback posted for OSU...just one....but looks like it was a very positive experience.

 

[OkieDoc2B]

another q that pops up is name two medicines and their effect.

A buddy of mine that's a 1st year Bridge Student was asked to name 5 drugs & their uses.

 

[tallgal0523]

I called OSU today and they have not started giving out interviews for Nov. 12, 13, and 14. Sarah said they would call people in the next week or two....but, interviews ARE in two weeks!!!!

 

[nobleheart]

holy crapola............now I am officially anxious....goooos fraabaaa

Thanks for the update.

Congrats on the LECOM invite.....thats gotta feel good.

Are there seperate times for each interview day at OSU?...like 9am, 11am, 2pm...

 

[tallgal0523]

holy crapola............now I am officially anxious....goooos fraabaaa

Thanks for the update.

Congrats on the LECOM invite.....thats gotta feel good.

Are there seperate times for each interview day at OSU?...like 9am, 11am, 2pm...

I'm not sure about the seperate times but I know that for each day there will be about 8 people interviewing. I wish they would not only call people for the second round but the third round too. More notice is better
Thanks for the congratulations...I'm really excited about my LECOM interview!

 

[nobleheart]

Short notice indeed....

Luckily I work on the WE and take grad classes in the late pm....basically, I have no life...other than my wife ; )

 

[nobleheart]

What specialty is everyone thinking about?

I am obsessed with Rural Family Med, I am from a very small town....but slightly open to psych.

 

[saylorsdad]

The interviews are for the same time basically everyone shows up for that day of interviews, then sit in a room waiting on your name to be called. Works out pretty nice as students stop in to chat between classes, and to answer questions. After everyone is interviewed then you take quick tour, eat lunch, then in the afternoon various speakers speak to the entire group. Pretty relaxing day, but long

Rual Family Medicine is top of my list, but I am trying to keep a open mind

 

[Chi O]

I have interviewed twice at OSU-COM. Both times they called me two weeks in advance (roughly). The first time, I got to pick between three days, the second day, all the spots on two of the days had been filled so it was take it or leave it.

The day of, you get there at 8am. They have a quick "introduce yourself and ask any questions you may have" with all 8 interviewees. Then they take you two at a time to interview. You do have a schedule and you know what time you will be interviewing and who with. You're pretty much on your own until lunch, you can hang out in the room you start in or walk around campus some. Then you eat, and take a tour and sit through some presentations. It's pretty much an exhausting 8-5 day

 

[nobleheart]

Interview in twos....are there instances where the same question is asked of both individuals....like...that's what I was going to say....?

 

[hoopstar2323]

they dont take both to the same room. two people every 45 minutes to different rooms with different interviewers.

 

[Chi O]

Sorry, I should've been more clear there. They have two different interview groups going at the same time. It's just you and two interviewers. My first year, I had two staff members interview me (an OMM professor and someone else on staff) and my second year I had a staff member and a physician (a histology professor and a family medicine doc).

 

[tallgal0523]

I'm thinking about obstetrics/gynecology...but I'll keep an open mind.