redswc15 Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) Hi Everyone, I'm a current PA as well as a current DO student. I am doing some research in conjunction with my dean regarding interest in a PA to DO bridge program. I am aware that one such program already exists at LECOM. This program would be in the Southeastern United States. I think this is a very real possibility if I can demonstrate appropriate interest to our deans. If you have friends or acquaintances who are interested that would be helpful anecdotal information as well. We are in the very early stages of investigating this opportunity so unfortunately I am not able to provide much more detail at this time. Thanks for your time! Edited February 16, 2022 by redswc15 Typographical Error 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 16, 2022 Moderator Share Posted February 16, 2022 I assume you mean PA to DO, not Vis Versa. I think there would be a lot of interest in this. A west coast program would be welcome as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redswc15 Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 Yes. I've corrected the error. Thanks for the response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Definitely, while it may be a little late for me I think the need/desire is without a doubt there. While I am far from anything close to an expert in medical education I think one of the biggest draws to LECOM was the dropping of the MCAT requirement. As many of us who would be interested are in our 30s, we don't have time to dedicate 3-5 months of full time studying for the exam, I'm truly curious if it actually reflects success in a MD/DO program or if it simply exists to weed out folks. Although I was an idiot in high school and never took the SAT/ACT so I was precluded from applying to LECOM anyways but still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 17, 2022 Moderator Share Posted February 17, 2022 10 minutes ago, MediMike said: Although I was an idiot in high school and never took the SAT/ACT so I was precluded from applying to LECOM anyways but still... They will also accept pance/panre scores in lieu of the mcat if above a certain %. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 6 hours ago, EMEDPA said: They will also accept pance/panre scores in lieu of the mcat if above a certain %. Hmmm... cardiac anesthesia here I come 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc56 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 I don't think I am interested now, but I was a few years ago. I suspect there are a chunk of people like me. People who would consider going back to school after getting into the profession and having a good couple of years under their belt as a PA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooredc Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 I’m in the SE and would be your first applicant! Truly though I would be curious to see if an actual “bridge” program could be developed that actually gave PAs credit for our education. As you well know it’s not a joke. To me a bridge would be a year of classroom work hitting some of the more in-depth medicine, a year of clinical rotations and then applications to residency. The LECOM program isn’t really a bridge from my understandings of how the program works. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted February 21, 2022 Administrator Share Posted February 21, 2022 Med school would be cool, but no way I'm doing residency. Did the "wake up randomly" thing in my 20s-40s in IT and volunteer fire service and hated it then. Thus, I fully expect that PA, DMSc, and a few other postnominals will be all the farther I go in formal medical credentials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 21, 2022 Moderator Share Posted February 21, 2022 13 minutes ago, rev ronin said: Med school would be cool, but no way I'm doing residency. Did the "wake up randomly" thing in my 20s-40s in IT and volunteer fire service and hated it then. Thus, I fully expect that PA, DMSc, and a few other postnominals will be all the farther I go in formal medical credentials. If there was a bridge with online didactics for a year and then 1 year of clinicals, no mcats for entry, and automatic admission to an affiliated residency program, I would do it even now in my 50s. I would probably sleep more in medschool than I do now... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robidf Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Live in the Southeast and have been very interested in a bridge program, but the LECOM program in PA isn’t feasible for me. I’d be among the first applicants to any bridge program offered in the SE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSPAC2 Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 6:48 PM, EMEDPA said: They will also accept pance/panre scores in lieu of the mcat if above a certain %. Curious. Do you know what PANCE/PANRE score they're looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 22, 2022 Moderator Share Posted February 22, 2022 2 hours ago, MSPAC2 said: Curious. Do you know what PANCE/PANRE score they're looking for? Nope. I used to when I was looking at it(I qualified) , but have forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 4 hours ago, EMEDPA said: Nope. I used to when I was looking at it(I qualified) , but have forgotten. Did you find this out by some secret squirrel path? There's nothing on the website and turns out I emailed them a year or two ago and never heard back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightmedicine Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 LECOM is in desperate NEED of competition... I have knowledge of their program and the current PA to DO program director has an open hatred of PA's, however, there is no other option so many stick it out and keep their head down. I would love to see anyone take away from their pool of applicants to hit them in their wallet. With a school that actually cares about their students I would imagine this could be a very successful endeavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSCH Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Would be very interested. Why are no MD programs doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoMD Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 1 hour ago, CSCH said: Would be very interested. Why are no MD programs doing this? What benefit does a program have to creating a bridge program. 3 year programs already exist. They lose out on tuition money from students. And MD and DO are not accredited by the same governing body. So it may be okay for the COCA standards but not LCME standards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 3, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 3, 2022 On 2/22/2022 at 8:13 PM, MediMike said: Did you find this out by some secret squirrel path? There's nothing on the website and turns out I emailed them a year or two ago and never heard back It used to be on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSCH Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Are 3-year med school programs looked upon negatively by residency admissions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoMD Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 11 minutes ago, CSCH said: Are 3-year med school programs looked upon negatively by residency admissions? No most are tied to certain tracks. Here is penn states website https://med.psu.edu/md/accelerated showing all their 3 year programs. Rural MD schools have 3 year primary tracks linked to primary care jobs and free tuition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 3, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 3, 2022 1 hour ago, CSCH said: Are 3-year med school programs looked upon negatively by residency admissions? Folks who graduate from Lecom have matched into impressive residencies in EM, anesthesiology, etc so I would say no. I think they really just care about your grades, boards scores, and interviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redswc15 Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Thanks for all the feedback and discussion. Nearly all of the 3 year non-bridge programs are tied to primary care. There are a scattered few tied directly to other tracks like the Penn State programs. My thoughts with this bridge program would be to have complete flexibility as to residency choice. There are a lot of other items on my wish list as well, but I'm sure COCA will limit a lot of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo1 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Rumor is that the LECOM bridge requires a significant percentage of its' cohort to match in primary care. That's a pretty big risk if you're wanting to work in a specialty outside of FM/IM/Peds/Psych, not counting the loss of potential income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoMD Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Apollo1 said: Rumor is that the LECOM bridge requires a significant percentage of its' cohort to match in primary care. That's a pretty big risk if you're wanting to work in a specialty outside of FM/IM/Peds/Psych, not counting the loss of potential income. Its not a rumor it's on the page for APAP application that half the class commits to Primary Care. Application page It is also in the DO program's mission statement it is a primary care school. Mission Statement Many medical schools have a primary care focus. My school for instance my program has a primary care focus. Believe we had a 41% primary care match rate. On the other hand the largest section of residency spots are for primary cares anyway. Edited March 23, 2022 by PAtoMD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted March 23, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 8:36 PM, MediMike said: Definitely, while it may be a little late for me I think the need/desire is without a doubt there. While I am far from anything close to an expert in medical education I think one of the biggest draws to LECOM was the dropping of the MCAT requirement. As many of us who would be interested are in our 30s, we don't have time to dedicate 3-5 months of full time studying for the exam, I'm truly curious if it actually reflects success in a MD/DO program or if it simply exists to weed out folks. Although I was an idiot in high school and never took the SAT/ACT so I was precluded from applying to LECOM anyways but still... MCAT scores do directly correlate with passage of step exams. That’s it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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