After thinking about the amount of information I'd like to pass off, I've decided to break down my summary of the biomed program's first year into two volumes (hey.. if Quentin Tarantino could do it with Kill Bill...). By combining the info from this passage and my next passage, you'll have garnered yourself a solid understanding of what to expect as a first year biomedical student at PCOM.
I started the first year of the biomedical sciences program at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine around the end of August 2012. A week or so prior to commencing class, we had an orientation event in Evan's Hall (big building where the majority of your classes will be held). This was helpful because it allowed our class to become familiar with the campus, our fellow student body, select faculty, some of the administrative staff and a handful of biomed students from the previous year. A great deal of information was covered, and the second year biomeds and first year osteopathic medical students were nice enough to take time out of their busy schedules answering questions. The event is an excellent "kick-starter" and provides a great deal of valuable information about the coming trimesters as a biomed student at PCOM. In the following paragraphs, I'm going to cover some of the info they would touch upon and more.
I doubt you've missed it, but I'll say it again: the biomedical sciences program at PCOM is taught through a "trimester curriculum". For the most part, undergraduate schools run via a semester schedule (one local exception to the semester rule that you can reference is Drexel University, but I digress). Trimesters can be a double-edged sword: although you have the opportunity to learn a great deal of information from a wide spectrum of topics, you're going to be cramped for time (a lot). From the start of your first class, your new professors are going to be expecting you to perform on the graduate level (they're going to say that a lot, so you might as well hear it first from me). That means you'll need to really bunker down with your studies. It's not medical school (or dental school, podiatry school, etc)... yet... but there's going to be a serious flow of science related content headed your way, and it's easy to get overwhelmed quickly. Those that are most content with their final grades are the students that treat their classwork like it's their full-time job (and we're going to get into working while schooling shortly). As long as you keep on top of your work, enjoy what you're learning (why else would you be here?) and study diligently, you're going to be just fine.
Some popular questions are "Can I work?" and "How much do you really need to study to do well?". My class had around 70 students, and a great deal of us- including myself- worked part-time to pay the bills. It was a balancing act in figuring out how many hours I could work a week and still stay on top of my academics. We're all different, but I found my sweet spot to be somewhere around 20-25 hours a week spent on the job, and when finals were coming up, I would usually drop down to about 18. I think there may have been a couple people in my class that worked full-time and were able to stay on to of their grades, but I wouldn't advise it. Studying has a lot more to do with the student and less to do with how much time they put in. However, no matter how efficient your study methods or memory skills, you're still going to be sitting at a desk with your books for a very large chunk of time if you want to be pulling a 4.0. Students who performed best report having spent 20-28 hours a week on their studies (and that number likely increased a bit during any given exam week). It isn't that the information is especially hard, there is just a great deal of it being thrown at you at once (look up the fire hose analogy).
Unless things are going to change between now and when you begin class, your entire first year's schedule is going to be class on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Some days you'll be getting out early, but don't count on it (especially during the first trimester and for classes which include a laboratory component). Sometimes, namely human anatomy, students stay well beyond when class ends to go over their cadaver a bit more in hopes of getting a leg up in their studies and to solidify concepts from previous lectures. This brings us to popular question #3: "Do I really need to attend class?"... Well, yes and no... If you want to get as much out of your classes as possible and want to be able to interact with your fellow students and faculty, then yes- you really need to attend class. However, if you're sick or "sick", then you have the benefit of being able utilize a program called Tegrity. Tegrity is there to [theoretically] record each lecture over every trimester for playback by you at a more satisfactory time on your computer or portable device. This tool was very helpful for me last year around December when I came down with the flu. Word of caution to those with a tendency to play hooky: there have been a many a time when the software malfunctions and an entire four-hour class is lost to all sans those who are in attendance.
I think that's as good a place as any to stop for now. My next post will cover the classes of each trimester. I'll provide a basic overview of each class, when to expect to encounter each class over the course of your first year and some other info which may be helpful in saving you some money.
Rich
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