*** Official UMDNJ-SOM class of 2009 ***

[Nate]

So, I sent in my deposit and I am rather sure that I will be at UMDNJ in 2005. Starting this thread to get to know my future classmates =)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ma-bas]

I'm here too, and most likely attending. Were are the rest of you? It may be just you and I, Nate for now.

 

[docbill]

On behalf of UNECOM class of 2009 we welcome you.. hehehehe

 

[PublicEnemy]

man, it would be so nice to officially be a part of this thread.

 

[docbill]

What are you saying.. you are not satisfied with UNECOM..??? hmmmm
We should go back to UNECOM site to work this one out!!!

Someone is going to get an ear full

 

[PublicEnemy]

haha, come on now Docbill, you know and I know UNECOM students are way too friendly for that.

 

[Nate]

I will tell yah, I was accepted at UNE also and the school impressed me so much. I had the best vibe there and loved the students; but no vibe is worth 13000 dollars extra a year. It is very hard to turn down never the less.
UMDNJ was my first choice going into the process and I love the school so here is where I shall go!

Good luck PublicEnemy, I hope you get in also.

We have a small class, one of the selling points of the school for me. I don't expect to have many people posting here but that is just fine.

 

[PublicEnemy]

Thanks Nate. For me it would actually be more than $20,000 less per year to go to UMDNJ-SOM. My house is actually closer to UMDNJ than some of the places where students choose to live. The money difference is huge, but thats not all, being so close, having all my family and friends right here. I'm extremely familiar with the school, know many students there. Every DO I've ever spoken with or shadowed is a UMDNJ doc.

I only applied to 4 schools because I only picked schools I was completely sure I wanted to attend. UNE is definitely one of those schools, and I'm psyched about possibly going there, but clearly for a million reasons UMDNJ would be the best fit for me.

 

[docbill]

Now I am getting jealous.. if I was a US resident I would have applied.. especially to MSU and NJ... maybe I need an American Wife.. hmmmmm. NJ is big on research... I almost went there for a PhD.

Since a few people accepted to UNECOM, will be accepted to NJ and prob go there.. cause money talks of course, UNECOM should adopt NJ as their sister college, and we can begin a joint mission statement for the 2009 class. NJ and UNECOM are both great size and joint participation will only strengthen the voice of both.

I don't know if the above made any sence... I was trying to be inteligent with some humor. Anywayyyy it is 6:30 am. Go back to sleep.

 

[Nate]

I wish we had more information about the "new" curriculum that they are putting in place for us next year. At the interview day the students kept telling us about how lucky we are because of how awesome the new curriculum is going to be, combining the best of both worlds of lecture and small group/PBL. Sounds great but I just wish there was some description of it, this is the only leap of faith I feel like I am making with UMDNJ.

 

[pratik7]

I wish we had more information about the "new" curriculum that they are putting in place for us next year. At the interview day the students kept telling us about how lucky we are because of how awesome the new curriculum is going to be, combining the best of both worlds of lecture and small group/PBL. Sounds great but I just wish there was some description of it, this is the only leap of faith I feel like I am making with UMDNJ.

The same happened to me. Everyone said the change was gonna be great but no one could explain it. My physician interviewer said it wasnt really PBL but more case based. He said that the difference was that PBL doesnt do a good job directing students very well.

Im still trying to find out what the schedule is gonna be like and if the grading is goin to change (p/f maybe?)

 

[Nate]

Guess I will introduce myself first:

My name is Nate, duh, and I am 30 years young this year. I was born and raised in Paterson NJ until I decided to go off to military school in PA. From there I ended up living in South Florida for a while and then in Honduras, Central America where my father lives and then back again. My father was actually born in Cuba and came to the US as a refugee when he was 15 years old. I was married at the age of 17, big mistake I don?t recommend it, and divorced a few years ago. I have two children from my marriage for whom I am now the sole provider, which makes me a single dad. No one said life was supposed to be easy but I have no regrets. I still get to go out and do the things I love and now I get to follow my heart and dream to become a physician, but it isn't all on my own steam. My mom and sister have been great through the years.
I love to write. I write short stories and ramblings mostly. I have practiced martial arts on and off throughout my whole life and helped teach at my best bud's karate academy for a while a few years ago. For work I have been conducting spinal chord injury repair research at RWJ for over 3 years. I do all of the in-vivo procedures from surgery down to chemistry. I guess it lends to my interest in surgery and I have a deep interest in practicing in a Hispanic under-served community.
I suppose I could write a ton more but I am not sure how personal to get on a public forum. I am very excited to start at SOM this coming summer and meeting all of my classmates. If there is anything I can ever do for you just ask!
This is my picture
~Nate

 

[Kevbot]

That's an incredible background Nate. I think I understand why you chose that quote - you definitely have a lot of persistance. Starting medicine at the age of 30 take guts, but just for the record your not alone. My dad, at the age of 45, decided to switch careers from paramedic to nurse. He has been taking classes now for 3 years and we will both be graduating together (obviously from different schools) this June. We talk about our clinical experiences on the phone together, and he's been a huge inspiration.

So on another note. I heard UMDNJSOM integrates Kaplan into our curriculum to boost our USMLE scores. I think thats pretty cool.

 

[Nate]

Hey guys, in case anyone missed it there is this awesome thread in pre-DO about our school with lots of opinions and facts from SOM students and graduates. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=148442&page=1&pp=20
I love how students are already looking out for us; I have been corresponding with a few on private messages as well.

@Kevbot, thanks. I don't consider myself having a late start, maybe out of order, but not late. I think everything that I have experienced so far has had its hand in preparing me for what I am about to do and has made me stronger for it. I do not regret anything. It is great you can share these things with your dad and he is definitely an inspiration for us all!

I remember something about the Kaplan being integrated but I also remember an associated fee, nothing to complain about considering the low tuition.

 

[DOctorJay]

It actually won't be Kaplan anymore. One of the faculty members told us that their course wasn't geared enough towards the COMLEX so they are changing the review. Not sure who it will be with but it there will continue to be a review incorporated as far as I know.

-J

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

Any questions guys for a 2004 grad of SOM who was also on the admissions committee for 2 years, ask away!

Dr. Feelgood, DO

 

[PublicEnemy]

actually it might still be kaplan. kaplan is in the process of re-designing a course thats specifically tailored for COMLEX I and they're working on a class-room based course for the COMLEX II since they don't have anything like that yet. cherry hill kaplan center is still negotiating, trying to secure a long term contract with SOM, not sure whether they'll get it or not, but all the same umdnj-som has been influential in getting kaplan to gear their curriculum and is pro-actively looking for the best test-prep for their students. its sounds like its win-win since many of the SOM students choose to take the USMLE also and kaplan knows what they're doing with regards to that. SOM is looking out for its students.

 

[pratik7]

just curious...about how many indians are there in your class ?

I dont think i saw any when i interviewed

 

[Nate]

Hey Dr.Feelgood, I think Sid Verma is a great guy; he really made me feel welcome at UMDNJ during my interview. I think I did meet Gilbert Siu also during the tour, is he the class president?
I am ready for that explanation, whenever you get a chance, about your experiences getting into an Allopathic Surgery residency and any other tidbit about Surgery you can write about. Also, do you have any recommendations on what electives 4th year to do for surgery out of SOM? How about electives in the first two years, anything worthwhile?
Thanks a ton!
~Nate

 

[Boomer]

Any questions guys for a 2004 grad of SOM who was also on the admissions committee for 2 years, ask away!

Dr. Feelgood, DO

You should especially ask this guy about alternative lifestyles...I think he was the founder of the Rainbow Crew at UMDNJ.....

Now we know where "Feelgood" came from.....

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

Just to let this thread know... I am legit when it comes to UMDNJ-SOM. Also, I have dined at a number of North American pink taco stands. I gotta say north american cuz my wife is Canadian. Anyway, Boomer is a great guy that I am an intern with. He's a DO from AZCOM. Although, he can be rather scary... his main dislike is Caribbean med school grads. I can see that. Yet, I read in another thread that he has a penchant for goat nuts! ewwwwww!! I mean, really, come on..... goat nuts? And he eats them raw to boot!! I approached him about the whole issue the other day and he was like, "yeah, so?", as if it was normal. Apparently, even though he went to school in AZ, he is a true Okie! I was like, "dude, as a friend and a physician, I gotta tell you that your gonna be an endocrine nightmare thanks to those goat nuts!!!" They really must have taught him a lot at AZCOM because as soon as I said that he was like, "oh crap!!" It was clear that an epiphany had occured to the goat nut eating intern. And I was like..."yeah?" Then, with a horrified look on his face, Dr. Nutmuncher was like, "endocine.....negative feedback....2 inches.....ugh!!!" At this point I was completely confused, particularly about the 2 inches thing. So I was like, "WTF, dude?" And Dr. Sacksucker goes, "Now I know why my dick is only 2 inches long at best!!" All that testosterone from the raw goat nuts shrunk his manhood via a negative feedback loop. Apparently, from what I have gathered from his wife, he hasn't sustained much of a loss!! Oklahoma can be a rough place for some people, especially for Dr. Ballswallower. So there are three take-home points from the thread: 1) exogenous testosterone, even from natural sources, can have a negative affect on your phallus 2) Oklahoma can be a rough place, culturally and 3) NEVER EVER EVER EVER F*CK WITH A GUY FROM JOISEY!!!! LOL

GOTCHA BAD BOOMER!!!!

You should especially ask this guy about alternative lifestyles...I think he was the founder of the Rainbow Crew at UMDNJ.....

Now we know where "Feelgood" came from.....

 

[Boomer]

Just to let this thread know... I am legit when it comes to UMDNJ-SOM. Also, I have dined at a number of North American pink taco stands. I gotta say north american cuz my wife is Canadian. Anyway, Boomer is a great guy that I am an intern with. He's a DO from AZCOM. Although, he can be rather scary... his main dislike is Caribbean med school grads. I can see that. Yet, I read in another thread that he has a penchant for goat nuts! ewwwwww!! I mean, really, come on..... goat nuts? And he eats them raw to boot!! I approached him about the whole issue the other day and he was like, "yeah, so?", as if it was normal. Apparently, even though he went to school in AZ, he is a true Okie! I was like, "dude, as a friend and a physician, I gotta tell you that your gonna be an endocrine nightmare thanks to those goat nuts!!!" They really must have taught him a lot at AZCOM because as soon as I said that he was like, "oh crap!!" It was clear that an epiphany had occured to the goat nut eating intern. And I was like..."yeah?" Then, with a horrified look on his face, Dr. Nutmuncher was like, "endocine.....negative feedback....2 inches.....ugh!!!" At this point I was completely confused, particularly about the 2 inches thing. So I was like, "WTF, dude?" And Dr. Sacksucker goes, "Now I know why my dick is only 2 inches long at best!!" All that testosterone from the raw goat nuts shrunk his manhood via a negative feedback loop. Apparently, from what I have gathered from his wife, he hasn't sustained much of a loss!! Oklahoma can be a rough place for some people, especially for Dr. Ballswallower. So there are three take-home points from the thread: 1) exogenous testosterone, even from natural sources, can have a negative affect on your phallus 2) Oklahoma can be a rough place, culturally and 3) NEVER EVER EVER EVER F*CK WITH A GUY FROM JOISEY!!!! LOL

GOTCHA BAD BOOMER!!!!

EMB bro. EMB.

Weren't you an intern for the NJ governor for a while? How's that Navy Blue dress of yours?

 

[pratik7]

hahaha


I have a question. What role does the Kennedy system play in the South Jersey area. Do most of the serious traumas go to Kennedy or diverted to Philly or other large trauma centers. Is there any particular type of case that dominates the patient population at Kennedy.


Thanks

 

[Bookworm]

hahaha


I have a question. What role does the Kennedy system play in the South Jersey area. Do most of the serious traumas go to Kennedy or diverted to Philly or other large trauma centers. Is there any particular type of case that dominates the patient population at Kennedy.


Thanks

the only place where you will see any real trauma is at kennedy wash twp - which sees a fair amount of trauma (mostly minor).
the serious trauma are diverted mainly to COoper hospital (in camden) which is the regional level 1 trauma center for southern new jersey. - this is also where the surgery and orthopedic residents do some of their trauma rotations

at the diff hospitals, you do get a diff pt population
kennedy cherry hill - geraitrics and psyc
kennedy strat - geriatrics
wash twp - the widest age range (has a peds floor, although very small - about 10 beds)
lourdes - inner city camden

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

the only place where you will see any real trauma is at kennedy wash twp - which sees a fair amount of trauma (mostly minor).
the serious trauma are diverted mainly to COoper hospital (in camden) which is the regional level 1 trauma center for southern new jersey. - this is also where the surgery and orthopedic residents do some of their trauma rotations

at the diff hospitals, you do get a diff pt population
kennedy cherry hill - geraitrics and psyc
kennedy strat - geriatrics
wash twp - the widest age range (has a peds floor, although very small - about 10 beds)
lourdes - inner city camden

Agree with Bookworm, only I would add that you get a fair mix of internal medicine at Strat, not only geriatrics......unlike Cherry Hill. Lourdes is true inner city, so you get it all. You also get a lot of psych there too - they have a crisis center just like Cherry Hill. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen people brought into the ER at OLOL by Camden Cops, put in 4 points and then chemically restrained.

 

[pratik7]

do you feel that your clinical experience was hindered by the fact that most of the cases at Kennedy are geriatrics. How do you get solid exposure to the internal med, neuro, em/trauma, peds, and surgery type patients.

thanks for the help...I am looking forward to UMDNJ

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

do you feel that your clinical experience was hindered by the fact that most of the cases at Kennedy are geriatrics. How do you get solid exposure to the internal med, neuro, em/trauma, peds, and surgery type patients.

thanks for the help...I am looking forward to UMDNJ

Not really. The actual geriatrics rotation is a waste (except for the 2 of the weeks you are an inpatient), but thats a different story. Internal medicine is (or was for me) 2 wks at strat, 2 wks at cherry hill, and 2 wks outpt. Out patient is a waste of time and you get a real broad exposure in strat, not just geriatrics. Cherry hill is mostly old folks, yeah, but then again they are probably one of the largest components of internal med anyway. Neuro experience is here and there - you need an elective in 4th year if you're serious about it. No trauma anywhere really, however all divisions have cool EM rotations. EM is a required rotation in 4th year and 2 wks of peds during 3rd year is at the peds-ER at Wash. So Wash has a peds-ER like I said, Cherry Hill and Strat are busy ERs, and Lourdes (where I did mine) is inner city so its pretty cool. Lots of stuff happens in that ER and its ALWAYS busy. It almost reminds me of the TV show ER, no joke. Peds is the one weakness at SOM. The year after I did my clinical, SOM basically lost its Peds dept. They no longer have a Peds clinic on campus. So it sucks. You go to Lourdes for 2 wks of the 6 wk rotation to do inpt peds, but thats a joke cuz the senior resident is a FP resident (SOM itself doesn't have a peds residency - only a peds internship) and they only have 3 or 4 patients on the whole floor cuz all the peds stuff in camden goes to cooper. So if your dig peds, you're gonna be SOL. They do surgery different now than when I did it. They rotate you thru ALL the divisions, including Lourdes. The Kennedy system is mainly used for specialty surgeries, so general surgeries don't occur as much or as often. However, at Lourdes thats not the case and at Strat they do cool surgical onc stuff cause of Dr. Weese. The last thing is OB/Gyn.... the rotation is cool, and you get a broad exposure (no pun intended!) of patients, but just to warn all you acceptees... THE OB RESIDENTS, WITH A COUPLE OF EXCEPTIONS< ARE F*CKED IN THE HEAD!!! They are sick f*cks and they should be ashamed of themselves. No offense, but most are just bitchy women you need to get laid! Just to give you an example...I was on service, and they were all sitting around BSing (cuz they are lazy as sin, again only with a couple of exceptions....) and one got up to do something and they rest of them that were sitting there started talking **** about the one that had just gotten up. That's screwed up! They will even talk **** about other students. Even the good ones do that. SO when you are on OB, take my advice and TRUST NO ONE!! I got a good grade on the exam but got a pass (= to a C) for the rotation cause they f*cked me on the evals. So for the rant, but I'm still bitter bout that one!

Hope that helps...

 

[Nate]

Great info as usual Dr.Feelgood! Just remember that when we rotate through Ob/Gyn those residents that you had should be done with their residency and gone. Hopefully the new batch won't be as bad but hey, there is bound to be bad and good residents in any specialty in any med school at any time, people are people. I am glad to hear about the surgery rotations, I was hoping we would get to do part of it in OLOL.

 

[Nate]

How about it guys, anyone else accepted and attending yet?

 

[docbill]

No news at UNECOM either.. it is difficult being a gatekeeper

 

[Kevbot]

There probably won't be many more acceptances until umdnj's admissions committee meets again. I'm trying to convince two of my accepted classmates to come to umdnj-som, but considering theyre both also interviewing at places like U Penn and Einstein, it's going to be a tough sell.

 

[Boomer]

How about it guys, anyone else accepted and attending yet?

I have an update:

DrFeelgoodDO is still gay....

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

I have an update:

DrFeelgoodDO is still gay....

Forgive Boomer, he is a little confused and hung over..... its was a hard night at the Ram Rod..........

 

[Boomer]

Forgive Boomer, he is a little confused and hung over..... its was a hard night at the Ram Rod..........

You would know bastard, after all, you were the DRIVER....

 

[PublicEnemy]

can't wait til my interview. really excited about it.

 

[Nate]

Good luck with it Public Enemy although I am sure you don't need any luck =)

 

[mav3r|ck]

Hey nate, I sent in the deposit. Its 99% official that i'll be joining you next year. I am very impressed with your experiences in life thus far, and pretty psyched about working with you. DOn't worry im not a stalker!

One of my criteria in schools was its service abroad opportunities. I spent a summer at an orphanage in Mexico City, and have wanted to do service abroad in medicine ever since. NSU offers several programs, and that was a major reason why i was considering their school. However due to some advice from friends and family, i realized that I could start some sort of service initiative at any school i wanted to go to. you seem like the kind of guy that might be interested in beginning some sort of service opportunity as well. Just as thought. Let me know if you might have some interest. Of course no details are even blue printed yet, but i think every school needs a program to offer students a chance to see what the world is facing when it comes to medicine.

 

[Nate]

Welcome to the class Mav. I have thought about setting up a club for this if it is not already available and I have also been asking current and past students about international elective rotations to ready myself for them. I am definately interested in helping you to set it up if that is what we need to do.

 

[DOctorJay]

Study abroad options are definitely available. When you guys get here make sure to talk to Dean Krueger and he'll let you know how to set it up. Even though this is a smaller school we have tons of opportunities due to the fact that we are UMDNJ which is composed of 3 medical schools (our DO and the 2 MD in north jersey).

Nate, check your PM by the way, haven't heard back from you.

J

 

[SKo37]

Hi Dr. Feelgood, I am a NJ resident who is applying for UMDNJ-SOM. My scores and GPA are around the average but I have been worried about something I have heard about osteopathic schools. To give you background: if I get in, I will only be 21 in 2005 (I skipped a grade when I was young) and I have heard that osteopathic schools favor candidates who are older and have more experience. I know that there are those teenagers at the school, but I bet they probably are marvels with terrific scores from an Ivy League school so of course they would get in.

Are there any students in your class or ones around your class (besides the teens) who were younger than most or are most people a few years out of college with experience in the medical field?

If there were young ones, how did they do academically and with social interaction with older classmates?

And is this rumour about osteopathic schools wanting more experienced people true? And do you think it is justified.

Thank you. You provide some great information here (a good honest look that we probably cant get anywhere else)

 

[Kevbot]

Hi Dr. Feelgood, I am a NJ resident who is applying for UMDNJ-SOM. My scores and GPA are around the average but I have been worried about something I have heard about osteopathic schools. To give you background: if I get in, I will only be 21 in 2005 (I skipped a grade when I was young) and I have heard that osteopathic schools favor candidates who are older and have more experience. I know that there are those teenagers at the school, but I bet they probably are marvels with terrific scores from an Ivy League school so of course they would get in.

Are there any students in your class or ones around your class (besides the teens) who were younger than most or are most people a few years out of college with experience in the medical field?

If there were young ones, how did they do academically and with social interaction with older classmates?

And is this rumour about osteopathic schools wanting more experienced people true? And do you think it is justified.

Thank you. You provide some great information here (a good honest look that we probably cant get anywhere else)

21 is not young to enter medical school at all. I'll be entering umdnj-som class of 2009 this fall. My current college roommate may be doing the DO PhD program at umdnj-som this fall as well. We are both currently seniors at TCNJ and both 21 years old.
I think that as long as you show the admissions committee that you know you want to be a doctor (by shadowing) and that you have the capacity to handle med school then you have nothing to worry about.

btw: what nj school are you in?

 

[DOctorJay]

I don't think the schools prefer outside experience but they certainly don't punish you for it. I will say that most of the students have been out of school for a little while and it seems that the average age of starting at my school (UMDNJ-SOM) is probably around 24/25. This doesn't mean if you're younger or older not to apply. It just means that this is the average and of course we have people older and younger. Like the above poster said as long as you come across as a mature and well adjusted individual who is ready for the rigors of medical school you will have a great chance of acceptance. The younger people do fine as long as they have the above qualities.

Good luck with your application and hopefully we'll see you at SOM next year.

-J

Hi Dr. Feelgood, I am a NJ resident who is applying for UMDNJ-SOM. My scores and GPA are around the average but I have been worried about something I have heard about osteopathic schools. To give you background: if I get in, I will only be 21 in 2005 (I skipped a grade when I was young) and I have heard that osteopathic schools favor candidates who are older and have more experience. I know that there are those teenagers at the school, but I bet they probably are marvels with terrific scores from an Ivy League school so of course they would get in.

Are there any students in your class or ones around your class (besides the teens) who were younger than most or are most people a few years out of college with experience in the medical field?

If there were young ones, how did they do academically and with social interaction with older classmates?

And is this rumour about osteopathic schools wanting more experienced people true? And do you think it is justified.

Thank you. You provide some great information here (a good honest look that we probably cant get anywhere else)

 

[Munchkin6245]

Post #43...not the number I wanted but fine with me, I guess.

Hello all in the UMDNJ c/o 09 thread! Congrats to all on your acceptances! Come 2009, the US will have some awesome DOs graduating from osteo med schools across the nation and I'm proud to be part of this wonderful family! Cheers to us!

 

[Nate]

Yay Munchkin!

I think I have Sinusitis but I don?t want antibiotics now because I want to drink on Thanksgiving so I am waiting to go to the doctor, pretty pathetic huh?

Happy gobble gobble everyone, may the tryptophan and wine knock ye all on your arses.

 

[Munchkin6245]

Yay Munchkin!

I think I have Sinusitis but I don?t want antibiotics now because I want to drink on Thanksgiving so I am waiting to go to the doctor, pretty pathetic huh?

Happy gobble gobble everyone, may the tryptophan and wine knock ye all on your arses.

You should know better and get your butt to the doc!

 

[Nate]

The bacteria in my sinuses have feelings too

 

[Munchkin6245]

The bacteria in my sinuses have feelings too

Yah, feeling the wrath of the antibiotics that should be sending them to their doom!

 

[Kevbot]

I don't remember seeing one, but does umdnj-som have a school store? I was wondering how I could go about getting a umdnj-som t-shirt, if they exist.

 

[Nate]

UMDNJ online store, enjoy.

http://webmedbooks.com/umdnj/default.aspx

It's kind of hard to find so in here is the DO school shirts.

http://www.iwstores.com/default.aspx?storeid=83CF441B-E76E-4E29-89E2-CE6E43A5E4F6

 

[Nate]

Looks like they took out ascii code from the forums, and thus the title of the thread, so hopefully it will get fixed when they fix avatars or they will fix it for us.