Pod School and 4.0's

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
J

JEWmongous

Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
3
Members do not see this ad.
Hey all, just interviewed returned from Cleveland for my OCPM visit. School is definitely nice, and the facilities are so much better than the previous place

One thing that stood out like whoa on the interview day. I'm not sure if ya'll know but OCPM gives out half tuition scholarships for students with 4.0 GPA's. I was told by admissions that 19 people have 4.0's at Ohio. This sounds kind of crazy to me! I assumed 4.0 was EXTREMELY tough to achieve in pod school. I'm pretty sure this is not common at the other pod schools.

P.S. Full letter grades at OCPM, no + or - 's

Your thoughts?
 
I've told everyone my thoughts on this before. This is absolutely NOT surprising to me because we all know that savants are attracted to certain schools and professions!

It would be funny to find out that many of these geniuses had average to below average undergrad GPAs and MCATS that could scoop dirt. Ouch that would be an eye opener!

19 savants in one setting, simply amazing!

You probably already have your opinions, so why are trying to be convinced otherwise?

It's as if you don't believe that that there are 19 savants in one place and you need someone to reassure you that indeed there are. Someone will be along shortly to convince you and the rest of the civilized world of the "truth," I'm sure.
 
I think all pod schools should go the % system that DMU and some other schools have. It makes every point count, and it's virtually impossible to have ties for class rank, graduation honors, etc.

With whole letter grades, an 80% is as good as an 88%, a 90% is the same as a 97%, etc. That promotes laziness and doing the minimum IMO.
(ie there are 400pts in a course, and you have 265/300 going into the final... you really have no worries that your grade will change. You are locked into a B (80.00-89.99%) grade unless you score 95/100 or below 55/100 on the final). Whole letter grades also promotes students protesting/complaining and wasting professors' valuable time by arguing and trying to challenge exam questions when they narrowly miss a grade... 89.x%, 79.x%, etc. You don't have to worry about that nearly as much with the % system.

Barry currently has whole letter grades, but I think it's used a lot more responsibly. You occasionally get a student or two who will make it all 4yrs here without getting any B grades. That makes 4.0 an accomplishment that is seldom achieved. I think everyone in my class of 09 has at least one or two B grades by now.

19 ppl with a 4.0 is pretty rediculous, though. It should signify a highly elite student, not "I'm one of OCPM's ten valedictorians this year." Huh? 😕
 
JEWmongous said:
Hey all, just interviewed returned from Cleveland for my OCPM visit. School is definitely nice, and the facilities are so much better than the previous place

One thing that stood out like whoa on the interview day. I'm not sure if ya'll know but OCPM gives out half tuition scholarships for students with 4.0 GPA's. I was told by admissions that 19 people have 4.0's at Ohio. This sounds kind of crazy to me! I assumed 4.0 was EXTREMELY tough to achieve in pod school. I'm pretty sure this is not common at the other pod schools.

P.S. Full letter grades at OCPM, no + or - 's

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm currently a student at OCPM. The 4.0 scholarship is a little confusing. First off you only get it if you receive a 4.0 for the entire year, it isn't by the semester. So in order to receive this scholarship for the first year you must get all A's for the fall, spring and summer semester. Also if you do not get a 4.0 any of of the first semesters you are no longer eligible for the 4.0 scholarship your second year.

I know that from the class of 2011, there were 5 people who did get this scholarship. Your number of 19 most likely includes the entire pool of students from all the years.

I'm glad to hear you liked the school!
 
so this was your second interview there jewmongous?
 
I definitely agree that all the schools should use % or at least +/-. From what I have gathered from talking to upperclassmen is that out of the ~100 first years around 3-5 get a 90%+ overall average for the academic year and thus get a 4.0. During the same academic year, the second years tend to have 2-5 people in their class who have done the same thing. The third year students take less credits because they have clinic and 4-7 end up getting a 4.0 for that year.

Not that I agree with this but, we do have a large student body population and our 4.0=89.5%+; at other schools the pod programs are half the population of ours and their 4.0 can equal something like 94-95%+ for a class. Therefore it doesnt boggle my mind like it does for students that dont go to OCPM that there are 19 people that are currently on the scholarship because they recieved a 4.0 overall in the previous year.

There arent 19 people in the senior class that have never gotten a B. there are 19 people in the school that got a 4.0 in the previous academic year.
 
hamlinbeach said:
...There arent 19 people in the senior class that have never gotten a B. there are 19 people in the school that got a 4.0 in the previous academic year.
Click to expand...
Regardless, it's still a joke. That system needs reform IMO. Whether that means tougher curriculum, a new grading system, or both is up to debate, but having multiple 4.0s every year is just strange. Being the valedictorian, especially in a medical program, should mean something. It shouldn't mean that you were one of many.

A couple of my classmates were impressed that "valedictorian" students were residents at midlevel training programs where they did clerkships, but when you clairify that there are a lot of 4.0 Ohio grads out there, it makes a lot more sense.

hamlinbeach said:
.... During the same academic year, the second years tend to have 2-5 people in their class who have done the same thing...
Click to expand...
Since the OCPM pass rates have been pretty low recently, do you know whether or not a 4.0 OCPM student has ever failed the boards?
 
Last edited:
Feli said:
Regardless, it's still a joke. That system needs reform IMO. Whether that means tougher curriculum, a new grading system, or both is up to debate, but having multiple 4.0s every year is just strange. Being the valedictorian, especially in a medical program, should mean something. It shouldn't mean that you were one of many.

A couple of my classmates were impressed that "valedictorian" students were residents at midlevel programs where they clerked, but when you clairify that there are a lot of 4.0 Ohio grads out there, it makes more sense.

Do you know whether or not a 4.0 OCPM student has ever failed the boards?
Click to expand...

i never said that there were a lot of 4.0 grads out there from ohio. i said that there was a combined 19 people from the first year class, second year class, and third year class in the school who in 2008 received a 90+ in every class. Rarely does someone graduate from OCPM with a 4.0, but there are people who have at one point in 4 years had a 4.0 for a year.

If a 4.0 was a 94 or 95%+ like it as at other places i highly doubt that there would be 19 students getting a 4.0 for an academic year. so i agree that they should change the grading system, it is archaic. but i, and all of the other students that are studying their butts off disagree that the the curriculum is easy. the problem is how they grade. if you think its a joke you should tell the CPME.
 
Feli said:
Since the OCPM pass rates have been pretty low recently, do you know whether or not a 4.0 OCPM student has ever failed the boards?
Click to expand...

the pass rate for last year, where there were 5 4.0 students, was 86%. thats above the national average so im confused on what you are asking.
 
hamlinbeach said:
I definitely agree that all the schools should use % or at least +/-. From what I have gathered from talking to upperclassmen is that out of the ~100 first years around 3-5 get a 90%+ overall average for the academic year and thus get a 4.0. During the same academic year, the second years tend to have 2-5 people in their class who have done the same thing. The third year students take less credits because they have clinic and 4-7 end up getting a 4.0 for that year.

Not that I agree with this but, we do have a large student body population and our 4.0=89.5%+; at other schools the pod programs are half the population of ours and their 4.0 can equal something like 94-95%+ for a class. Therefore it doesnt boggle my mind like it does for students that dont go to OCPM that there are 19 people that are currently on the scholarship because they recieved a 4.0 overall in the previous year.

There arent 19 people in the senior class that have never gotten a B. there are 19 people in the school that got a 4.0 in the previous academic year.
Click to expand...


So OCPM has a scaled GPA system? Is this how they do their tests as well? So I'm not misreading, 89.5% was your 4.0 mark? How many other schools have a scaled grading system just out of curiosity? DMU is straight up, if a test is worth 50 points and the top person only gets 45/50, then a 90% is the top grade, that 45 isn't the 100% mark and then everyone else is scaled down. I guess I'm naive, but I just thought all the schools worked this way. To me, this gives the 4.0er's at OCPM even less credibility, if indeed this is the way it works. When you do it that way, class size really doesn't matter in the amount of people getting an 89.5% or higher to acheive that 4.0. You automatically have a subset of people getting a 4.0 when in reality, they've only acheived a 3.5-3.9999999.
 
j0ez0r said:
so this was your second interview there jewmongous?
Click to expand...

First time interviewing at OCPM man. I did a week long internship when they were in the old facilities. We got to see the new building from the outside but it was undergoing renovation at the time.

Overall, it is a pretty sweet place now (facility wise). Anatomy lab with plasma TV's at all the stations, some touch screen computers installed with more being added, 2 patient sim units (mannequins), etc. It is 180 degrees different from the old place. I would say it matches the facility of DMU and AZPOD. They are constructing an additional building (lecture hall, classrooms) which is to be completed by Summer 2009. Following this, they will be making soccer fields, baseball diamond, and nature trail/walk.

Oh, if anyone is curious, it took me about 15-20 minutes during rush hour to drive from downtown Cleveland to the new pod building in the suburbs. The school is literally right off 2 main highways.
 
densmore22 said:
So OCPM has a scaled GPA system? Is this how they do their tests as well? So I'm not misreading, 89.5% was your 4.0 mark? How many other schools have a scaled grading system just out of curiosity? DMU is straight up, if a test is worth 50 points and the top person only gets 45/50, then a 90% is the top grade, that 45 isn't the 100% mark and then everyone else is scaled down. I guess I'm naive, but I just thought all the schools worked this way. To me, this gives the 4.0er's at OCPM even less credibility, if indeed this is the way it works. When you do it that way, class size really doesn't matter in the amount of people getting an 89.5% or higher to acheive that 4.0. You automatically have a subset of people getting a 4.0 when in reality, they've only acheived a 3.5-3.9999999.
Click to expand...

Everything is rounded up. For example, on an exam worth 65 points, if the score is 55/65 it comes out to be 84.615. The school rounds everything above .5 up to the nearest whole number so the actual percentage for the exam is 85% or a B.

If, at the end of the semester, someone has an 89.5% or higher, the grade is rounded to a 90%.
 
Feli said:
I thought OCPM accepts 125 per year and has for awhile?

Only 54 made it to boards? Yikes... am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

the pass rate for last year, where there were five 4.0 students, was 86%. thats above the national average so im confused on what you are asking.
 
JEWmongous said:
...they will be making soccer fields, baseball diamond, and nature trail/walk...
Click to expand...
A stand-alone pod school with their very own baseball, soccer fields, and nature walks, huh? Wow.

Barry has all those facilities (and also gyms, dance studio, tennis courts, weight rooms, etc) but it's because it's a major university with ~5,000 students, competitive D2 collegiate teams, conference tournaments, intramural leagues, training camps for area high/middle/elem schools, etc. I seriously doubt they'd even consider building that stuff just for our ~250 pod students; it'd be a huge waste of resources.

Did OCPM state their reasoning for builiding and maintaining fields just for ~300 or 400 students (many of whom are out of town on clerkships or too busy studying to use them)? Call me crazy, but it seems that more full-time faculty, improved library texts, more student scholarships, etc might sound investments as well? What do I know, though... 😕

I guess OCPM attracts many 4.0 students each year and has money to burn... clearly the top pod school? 😀
 
Feli said:
A stand-alone pod school with their very own baseball, soccer fields, and nature walks, huh? Wow.

Barry has all those facilities (and also gyms, dance studio, tennis courts, weight rooms, etc) but it's because it's a major university with ~5,000 students, competitive D2 collegiate teams, conference tournaments, intramural leagues, training camps for area high/middle/elem schools, etc. I seriously doubt they'd even consider building that stuff just for our ~250 pod students; it'd be a huge waste of resources.

Did OCPM state their reasoning for builiding and maintaining fields just for ~300 or 400 students (many of whom are out of town on clerkships or too busy studying to use them)? Call me crazy, but it seems that more full-time faculty, improved library texts, more student scholarships, etc might sound investments as well? What do I know, though... 😕

I guess OCPM attracts many 4.0 students each year and has money to burn... clearly the top pod school? 😀
Click to expand...

the school is on 27 acres and they are looking to turn one of those acres into EITHER a baseball field, soccer field, or nature trail, they asked all students to choose one or the other, i dont know the results yet. the fields will be open to residents of the neighborhood as well.

they are paying for it through a campaign called 'stepping towards the future' which raised $872,000 in the past 2 years by having alumni etc pay to name a classroom, lab, department chair of the etc. of the new building. the campaign is separate from the college's endowment and is being used to buy things that the school wants/needs that wasnt covered by the grant the cleveland clinic gave OCPM to buy and renovate the new school.

our new library has 15,000 medical books and publications, 110 print journals and 350 e-journals, im sure if they felt it was inadequate they would take some of the 870k and buy more books as well. but im glad that you have been to our new library and browsed through our new books.
 
Last edited:
hamlinbeach said:
...im glad that you have been to our new library and browsed through our new books.
Click to expand...
I've never been there, but I think any library, anywhere can always stand to improve its collection and resources available to students. Don't you agree?

FYI, 350 e-journals is not very many at all. Most med schools have thousands.
 
Feli,
to spend so much time vehemently opposing any positives people say about OCPM is a sure sign of jealousy and insecurity about your own situation. what is it about the facility you are jealous of? what is it about the curriculum you are jealous of? (those are questions to go over in your own head, im not interested in arguing or responding to you anymore)
 
Last edited:
hamlinbeach said:
Feli,
...what is it about the facility you are jealous of? ...
Click to expand...
Personally, I would choose more tuition scholarships, full-time faculty, student services, clinical rotations, and other factors long before I would put much weight into the buildings.

The integrated schools all have far more resources and facilities than the non-integrated pod programs. They share resources (library, student services, fitness, etc etc etc) with many other academic programs, so that is not hard to rationalize. Run a search if you need any more info on the benefits of being integrated program; it has been discussed ad nauseum.

hamlinbeach said:
...a sure sign of jealousy and insecurity about your own situation. what is it about the facility you are jealous of? what is it about the curriculum you are jealous of? (those are questions to go over in your own head, im not interested in arguing or responding to you anymore) ...
Click to expand...
Making personal attacks and judgements against me, especially when followed by taking your toys and going home, is always the sure sign of a winner. 😀
 
Feli said:
Personally, I would choose more tuition scholarships, full-time faculty, student services, clinical rotations, and other factors long before I would put much weight into the buildings.

The integrated schools all have far more resources and facilities than the non-integrated pod programs. They share resources (library, student services, fitness, etc etc etc) with many other academic programs, so that is not hard to rationalize. Run a search if you need any more info on the benefits of being integrated program; it has been discussed ad nauseum.

Making personal attacks and judgements against me, especially when followed by taking your toys and going home, is always the sure sign of a winner. 😀
Click to expand...

jealous 😀
 
I find it funny that students from all the different schools post here and state their board pass rate is above the national average. Someone somewhere is being mislead.

And I don't think Feli is opposing anything positive being said about OCPM; he is just putting out (rightly so) that being in a new building with the future of your own baseball field doesn't matter.

Does having a plasma tv in your lab make you learn anatomy better?
Does having your own baseball field help your learning?

Maybe ya'll could take that extra money and get the students laptops like DMU does or invest in having more hands on workshops. By the way, where is OCPM's clinic?

I too must agree, having multiple 4.0's is a joke and looks very bad on your school's part. The 4.0 mark should be something that is achieved every so often by a truly bright student, not every year by a bunch of students. I think all schools should be on a % system. I thought most were, I know Temple and DMU and I think Scholl.
 
Dmayor22 said:
Does having a plasma tv in your lab make you learn anatomy better?
Does having your own baseball field help your learning?

Maybe ya'll could take that extra money and get the students laptops like DMU does or invest in having more hands on workshops. By the way, where is OCPM's clinic?
Click to expand...
just to answer a few questions, the plasma TVs definitely help in lab. you should try them out sometime. baseball fields, etc won't help you directly learn, but may help blow off steam during/after school. we also get free memberships to the bally's around here so thats nice too.
also, OCPM has at least 2 clinics. theres one in euclid and one in huron hospital (I think there is another one in the VA hospital too but i'm not sure.)
 
Dmayor22 said:
...I too must agree, having multiple 4.0's is a joke and looks very bad on your school's part. The 4.0 mark should be something that is achieved every so often by a truly bright student, not every year by a bunch of students. I think all schools should be on a % system. I thought most were, I know Temple and DMU and I think Scholl.
Click to expand...
👍

I'd think AZ and Western would also be on the % system since most (all?) DO schools are graded that way? Their websites don't make the student handbooks easy to find, but maybe one of the students at those programs could clarify?
 
hamlinbeach said:
the pass rate for last year, where there were five 4.0 students, was 86%. thats above the national average so im confused on what you are asking.
Click to expand...

So the pass rate for this past summer NBPME I board exam was 86% for the OCPM class of 2010??
 
I am going to agree with feli on the percentage thing for grades. I agree because I am that person who knows how to work the numbers just enough to get the grade I need. Almost every 'A' I have earned has been right at the 90.1 mark. I am certainly not embarassed to say it because if I can study for 2 hours and make a 90.1, or study 3 or 4 or 5 hours and make a 98 with nobody knowing the difference in the end, I don't care. I would take the extra hour and study something else, or drink a beer, or spend time with my wife, or work. It does not matter because the only grade that is coming up on the transcript is 'A'. Same thing for the 'B' grades I earned. If I have an 87.2 average and it is numerically impossible to get an 'A', I will figure out how many questions I need to get an 80 and make sure those are correct. I turned in a test with only 10 questions out of 70 answered because that is all I needed to get my 'B'. I do not waste time or energy. It is a struggle to be efficient and effective. Life is definitely more than school and playing their game. I will pass my boards and move on, something else that should be scale/percentage-scored instead of just passed.

I think our class has two people with a 4.0.
 
Danmanwrx said:
What I think Feli is asking is did 60% of the class really drop out? I am sure that has to be WAY above average.
Click to expand...

I know (for fact) with the class of 2010, 3rd year OCPM students:

Started out with 109
Now left with 82

Lost 27 students


This is not adding in 5 year plan students, just the 4 year track students who started in Fall 2006.
 
then maybe the board pass rate was 72/82=87%
 
AZPOD used to use a percentage scale for grades but switched to 4.0 with +/- system this year. It is the same for both the pods and the DOs. Don't know why they changed, but I wish they hadn't.
 
I don't understand why some feel that OCPM's number of 4.0 students is somehow outlandish. The Class of 2011 only had 5, that's less than 5%; transposed to DMU/ Midwestern that would be 1 or 2 people per class. I don't see the problem.
 
Dmayor22 said:
I find it funny that students from all the different schools post here and state their board pass rate is above the national average. Someone somewhere is being mislead.

And I don't think Feli is opposing anything positive being said about OCPM; he is just putting out (rightly so) that being in a new building with the future of your own baseball field doesn't matter.

Does having a plasma tv in your lab make you learn anatomy better?
Does having your own baseball field help your learning?

Maybe ya'll could take that extra money and get the students laptops like DMU does or invest in having more hands on workshops. By the way, where is OCPM's clinic?

I too must agree, having multiple 4.0's is a joke and looks very bad on your school's part. The 4.0 mark should be something that is achieved every so often by a truly bright student, not every year by a bunch of students. I think all schools should be on a % system. I thought most were, I know Temple and DMU and I think Scholl.
Click to expand...

Aren't the laptops factored in your tuition? I don't think DMU (or any school) is going to throw free laptops at you.
 
Aren't the laptops factored in your tuition? I don't think DMU (or any school) is going to throw free laptops at you.
Click to expand...

Yes it is factored into your tuition but if I remember correctly, the tuition at DMU is still pretty low compared to other schools. Temple, where I attended, the tuition is pretty high compared to others I think.


The Class of 2011 only had 5, that's less than 5%; transposed to DMU/ Midwestern that would be 1 or 2 people per class. I don't see the problem.
Click to expand...

I know (for fact) with the class of 2010, 3rd year OCPM students:

Started out with 109
Now left with 82

Lost 27 students
Click to expand...

To me, it just looks bad to have 4.0 GPAs every year. The curriculum should be challenging enough that it doesn't happen. Also, to lose 27 people is a lot of students. Seems weird to have so many 4.0s and so many dropping out, just doesn't make a lot of sense.

But to each their own...i've said before that I think the academics are pretty much a wash at most schools. I do not think you get a better academic education at DMU than Scholl or Temple for example. you get out what you put into it. I do think there is a huge difference in how students perform clinically on externships and for residency interviews. I do think some schools have better connections with residencies. Thats where I would be going to school, and that is where I am going to school.

And again, plasma tvs certainly making learning anatomy cooler and more high tech but at the end of the day you still gotta get dirty to learn it and your tv will not make you know it any better.
 
Dmayor22 said:
And again, plasma tvs certainly making learning anatomy cooler and more high tech but at the end of the day you still gotta get dirty to learn it and your tv will not make you know it any better.
Click to expand...

right, it just helps to have the prof point out things on them, instead of with 50 people huddled around a table. so it does make learning easier/quicker.
 
Dmayor22 said:
I would say tied for best or maybe even 2nd place. DMU has brand new labs with 32 or 36 inch plasma screens at each work spot just like Scholl. Both have excellent facilities but I might give the slight nod to DMU just because they are about brand new this year.
Click to expand...


well at least you thought monitors at the lab stations were a good selling points for those two schools! ...now im gonna get yelled at! jk
 
:troll: im not completely sure what a troll is, but i think i just acted trollish or ogrish idk, my bad...to much formalin in me brain tonight!

but on a serious note, i just spilled a can of tropicana twister all over my new iphone 👎 the podiatry gods have punished me for my argumentativeness
 
Always nice you see something you said taken out of context. I'm not sure when/where I posted that but when talking about the schools you can talk about different areas.

I think DMU/Scholl have great facilities. Temple has older but maintained facilities. DMU and Scholl blow temple away in that respect.

Temple kicks butt in clinic and clinic rotations so you could argue that Temple has a better clinical education

And then there are schools with their own baseball field and nature trails so they would win the argument of best "extras"

How one judges a school, to each their own.

I will take the better clinical one and you can have the plasma tvs. I will stay in lab later to get a better look and more 1 on 1 time with the cadevar. No big loss for me.
 
Dmayor22 said:
...Temple kicks butt in clinic and clinic rotations so you could argue that Temple has a better clinical education...

...I will take the better clinical one and you can have the plasma tvs. I will stay in lab later to get a better look and more 1 on 1 time with the cadevar. No big loss for me.
Click to expand...
Exactly my views 👍

Everyone who has passed boards, graduated, did a decent residency, etc is qualified. When you grab a patient chart or are scrubbing in for a surgery, then what you've published, what score you got on the boards, etc is all ego fluff and means basically nothing to the patients.

Intelligence is fake, competence is real.

IMO, once you've completed the pre-req basic sciences, the best way to gain confidence and skil is to get in there and do things. Good supervision and help is great, but eventually, you have to make your own mistakes and successes with real world experience that will stay with you. For students, that means busy 3rd year clinics and then picking challenging externships. For residents, that means picking a practical residency training program with good numbers and lots of patient encounters.
 
Dmayor22 said:
Always nice you see something you said taken out of context. I'm not sure when/where I posted that but when talking about the schools you can talk about different areas.

I think DMU/Scholl have great facilities. Temple has older but maintained facilities. DMU and Scholl blow temple away in that respect.

Temple kicks butt in clinic and clinic rotations so you could argue that Temple has a better clinical education

And then there are schools with their own baseball field and nature trails so they would win the argument of best "extras"

How one judges a school, to each their own.

I will take the better clinical one and you can have the plasma tvs. I will stay in lab later to get a better look and more 1 on 1 time with the cadevar. No big loss for me.
Click to expand...

you must be one of those old school pods. whatever, i enjoy my technology. not having to buy a dissector and being able to pull up any page of a dissector up on a big screen tv in the lab at any time is really helpful for most people trying to learn.
 
DPMstudent said:
you must be one of those old school pods. whatever, i enjoy my technology. not having to buy a dissector and being able to pull up any page of a dissector up on a big screen tv in the lab at any time is really helpful for most people trying to learn.
Click to expand...

I definitely like the technology at OCPM, everything is great and brand new. I'm sure the stuff is pretty helpful as well (sky eye camera, touch screen dissectors, etc).

However, I'm a little leary of the clinic side though of OCPM. I have been to NYCPM and Temple a few times, and the clinics were always packed with patients. This was during different times of the year too. From talking to 3rd years, they are very busy with patients, and it is not just clip and chip. I did an internship at OCPM (old facility) and the on-site clinic was quite dead. A lot of students just sitting around and bs'ing. The VA was good with a lot going on though. From talking to current OCPM 3rd years, the situation is not much different with 2 newer clinics (ie 1-2 patients in the morning, none in the afternoon). One of the places actually has 2 podiatry clinics in the SAME building, which makes it difficult as you are splitting patients.

Just a thought, maybe if they had a smaller class size at ohio, there would be more patients to go around. I was told directly from admissions that their class size would be 135 students. I know I am gonna get flamed for this, but I still believe their big class is a downside to OCPM.

Thoughts?
 
JEWmongous said:
I definitely like the technology at OCPM, everything is great and brand new. I'm sure the stuff is pretty helpful as well (sky eye camera, touch screen dissectors, etc).

However, I'm a little leary of the clinic side though of OCPM. I have been to NYCPM and Temple a few times, and the clinics were always packed with patients. This was during different times of the year too. From talking to 3rd years, they are very busy with patients, and it is not just clip and chip. I did an internship at OCPM (old facility) and the on-site clinic was quite dead. A lot of students just sitting around and bs'ing. The VA was good with a lot going on though. From talking to current OCPM 3rd years, the situation is not much different with 2 newer clinics (ie 1-2 patients in the morning, none in the afternoon). One of the places actually has 2 podiatry clinics in the SAME building, which makes it difficult as you are splitting patients.

Just a thought, maybe if they had a smaller class size at ohio, there would be more patients to go around. I was told directly from admissions that their class size would be 135 students. I know I am gonna get flamed for this, but I still believe their big class is a downside to OCPM.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

the euclid clinic is usually pretty busy, however the huron clinic isn't. i'm nt sure about the VA. thats all i really know at this point.
 
JEWmongous said:
I definitely like the technology at OCPM, everything is great and brand new. I'm sure the stuff is pretty helpful as well (sky eye camera, touch screen dissectors, etc).

However, I'm a little leary of the clinic side though of OCPM. I have been to NYCPM and Temple a few times, and the clinics were always packed with patients. This was during different times of the year too. From talking to 3rd years, they are very busy with patients, and it is not just clip and chip. I did an internship at OCPM (old facility) and the on-site clinic was quite dead. A lot of students just sitting around and bs'ing. The VA was good with a lot going on though. From talking to current OCPM 3rd years, the situation is not much different with 2 newer clinics (ie 1-2 patients in the morning, none in the afternoon). One of the places actually has 2 podiatry clinics in the SAME building, which makes it difficult as you are splitting patients.

Just a thought, maybe if they had a smaller class size at ohio, there would be more patients to go around. I was told directly from admissions that their class size would be 135 students. I know I am gonna get flamed for this, but I still believe their big class is a downside to OCPM.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

we have the cleveland foot and ankle clinic on euclic avenue in midtown cleveland (there are three other offices in the burbs) which has been busy at least when ive been in there. i havent heard students complaining about not having any patients to see, so idk.

the VA is pretty busy as well, where we have foot and ankle service and rotations. we have foot and ankle service and clinical rotations at University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Huron Hospital, Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital, and Hillcrest Hospital as well. yea there are a lot of students, we start out with like 25 or something more than scholl, temple and nyc, not a plus, but to be honest you dont really notice it at all though. by the time we start clinical stuff 3rd year, and from what ive heard the students say, the 75-85 remaining students (after being weeded out 1st and 2nd year) always have something to do in our clinical affiliates. 4th years are gone most of the year, and unless you're part of a club you really dont start going to clinic at all 1st year, and only a little 2nd year, they emphasise that the basic sciences such as pharmacology etc are needed before you can judge a case correctly.
 
clinics at ocpm:
-Huron hospital , to be truthful, is a little slow. There is a one month rotation there for pod med and you spend a total of two weeks of your surgery rotation there in your third year.

- euclid cfai: this clinic is extremely busy. For example, i started at 8 am this morning and did not leave till 6:30 pm. The amount of pts seen is the amount you can turn over as a third year student with and also depends on what treatment(s) your pt needs. You also encounter alot of pediatric patients at this location. There is a one month pod med/ biomechanic rotation at this site. You will also spend the other two weeks of the surgery rotation here
ave pts per day can range from 4-8 depending on how fast you are.

Va rotation: is the primary care rotation. You will spend one month here. Here you will encounter more than routine nail care or orthotic fitting. You may even see skin grafting (apligraf) here if you hit the right pt. My ave pt #'s seen in the morning was 5-6 and another 5-6 in the afternoon per day.

Ocpm is also starting/ planning to start a clinic at the independance campus. as of right now they are treating pts there a few days a month. ( due to a compact with the city of independence to give free foot screeings to all independance citizens, this was one of the concessions ocpm made in order to be able to purchase the building they are at now) Also there is another rotation in the works with one of the private practice pod, which i do not know much about right now.

hope this answer the questions answered about the clinics at ocpm .....

The people that have 4.0 's (the few that i do know) are very solid and intelligent. They work very hard and have deservedly earned the gpa to proove that. overall the curriculum at ocpm is not as easy as cake. This is proven in itself by the dropout rates as posted previously. Im not going to even comment on admissions standards .... this has been argued over and over for all the schools. There are also people who repeat the year and/ or drop to the five year program. all schools have their negative aspects. The move to the Independence campus is a big step in the right direction. Trust me when i say the old building on carnegie was, lets say, interesting to study, learn, and or hang out at . ...

There are not going to be 19 valedictorians at ocpm. The valedictorian is actually decided on gpa and total precent achieved as stated in the hand book.

The number of 19 is definately encompasses the student body as a whole.
 
I have one big question I just can't seem to answer...


~How could anyone NOT get a 4.0 if most of the tests are the same from the previous years and they have those tests??? 😱


Anyways.. I don't care, it catches up eventually and everyone will remember them as the guy/gal with all the old stuff and no real moral compass and obviously zero leadership abilities.


So in this discussion we found out one student only studies about 2 hours for a 90%. The cliff notes must really be short. I bet all were 4.0s in undergrad too and just liked feet. 😍

So basically, you have lots and lots of people getting kicked out for academic reasons every year while lots and lots of people are getting 4.0's and I am supposed to take the curriculum and the 4.0s seriously? :laugh: I will not care about the GPA, but instead will rely on clinical and didactic competency. :scared: BTW, am I really supposed to believe that most that are kicked out are not putting in at least 2 hrs of studying for a test?!! :meanie:

We heard all about the baseball fields, plasma tvs etc, but did we figure out what the real board pass rate was? As one poster said, someone is bringing the pass rate down as several of the schools have 100% pass rates.

Completely absurd IMO. :hardy:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
🙄 i'm glad whiskers is back.

as someone posted already the pass rate was 86%. i guess you all can say whatever you want, but you really have no idea what its like unless you go to school there.
 
whiskers said:
I have one big question I just can't seem to answer...


~How could anyone NOT get a 4.0 if most of the tests are the same from the previous years and they have those tests??? 😱


Anyways.. I don't care, it catches up eventually and everyone will remember them as the guy/gal with all the old stuff and no real moral compass and obviously zero leadership abilities.


So in this discussion we found out one student only studies about 2 hours for a 90%. The cliff notes must really be short. I bet all were 4.0s in undergrad too and just liked feet. 😍

So basically, you have lots and lots of people getting kicked out for academic reasons every year while lots and lots of people are getting 4.0's and I am supposed to take the curriculum and the 4.0s seriously? :laugh: I will not care about the GPA, but instead will rely on clinical and didactic competency. :scared: BTW, am I really supposed to believe that most that are kicked out are not putting in at least 2 hrs of studying for a test?!! :meanie:

We heard all about the baseball fields, plasma tvs etc, but did we figure out what the real board pass rate was? As one poster said, someone is bringing the pass rate down as several of the schools have 100% pass rates.

Completely absurd IMO. :hardy:
Click to expand...
Whiskers makes some overly dramatic and pessimistic posts...

...but the funny thing is that this above is almost 100% true.

Having multiple 4.0s every year while other students who were good enough to be accepted by the school are flunking out is a joke... especially in the face of a probably residency shortage. The new building and facilities were a silk hat on a pig so that they can increase their cap, accept more students, and make more $$$. Bottom line.

My only real difference of opinions with Whiskers is that the 4.0 students, at OCPM or anywhere else, are good, smart people. Even at a program like Ohio's that is notorious for old test repeats, the top students still have to put in effort (both studying and collecting old exams). The old tests and numerous 4.0s certainly cheapens and discounts what their top grad have achieved, though. The huge class sizes also cheapen and water down the clinical experience for all of their students, so it's irresponsible and greedy in a number of different ways.
 
Feli said:
Whiskers makes some overly dramatic and pessimistic posts...

...but the funny thing is that this above is almost 100% true.

Having multiple 4.0s every year while other students who were good enough to be accepted by the school are flunking out is a joke... especially in the face of a probably residency shortage. The new building and facilities were a silk hat on a pig so that they can increase their cap, accept more students, and make more $$$. Bottom line.

My only real difference of opinions with Whiskers is that the 4.0 students, at OCPM or anywhere else, are good, smart people. Even at a program like Ohio's that is notorious for old test repeats, the top students still have to put in effort (both studying and collecting old exams). The old tests and numerous 4.0s certainly cheapens and discounts what their top grad have achieved, though. The huge class sizes also cheapen and water down the clinical experience for all of their students, so it's irresponsible and greedy in a number of different ways.
Click to expand...

Just wondering about this "old test" deal, don't many of the other pod schools have old exams available to students? I have heard that most are even centralized so everybody has the same thing.

While wandering around after my OCPM interview, I actually saw a stack of old gross anatomy tests that students could take. They were from 1994 - one of the questions talked about OJ so it makes sense lol
 
JEWmongous said:
Just wondering about this "old test" deal, don't many of the other pod schools have old exams available to students? I have heard that most are even centralized so everybody has the same thing.

While wandering around after my OCPM interview, I actually saw a stack of old gross anatomy tests that students could take. They were from 1994 - one of the questions talked about OJ so it makes sense lol
Click to expand...

yes, every school has old tests and i would assume they are available to everyone. at ocpm they have old exams in almost every subject on the school computers so every student can log on and see them. the professors obviously change the tests every year. what i have seen though, is some students, who may be in a certain circle which may be religious if you know what i mean, who know other students a couple years ahead in the program and pass down exams that aren't available to everyone. unless youre in a certain circle you may never see nor hear of these other exams. however, even these exams are significantly different from what is actually taken, as the professors DO make new exams each year, altough a few questions may be repeated every year.
i would be more concerned about students with copies of NEW exams, than old, if you know what i mean.
 
DPMstudent said:
yes, every school has old tests and i would assume they are available to everyone. at ocpm they have old exams in almost every subject on the school computers so every student can log on and see them. the professors obviously change the tests every year. what i have seen though, is some students, who may be in a certain circle which may be religious if you know what i mean, who know other students a couple years ahead in the program and pass down exams that aren't available to everyone. unless youre in a certain circle you may never see nor hear of these other exams. however, even these exams are significantly different from what is actually taken, as the professors DO make new exams each year, altough a few questions may be repeated every year.
i would be more concerned about students with copies of NEW exams, than old, if you know what i mean.
Click to expand...

amen brotha man
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top