by pbltodo » Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:58 pm
I agree, PBL is better. I'm a second year PBL student right now at LECOM-Erie. I'll break it down for you as best I can, but I'm sure not everything is the same at Bradenton.
First, PBL is very self directed. You have to be able to motivate yourself to study. Generally, you will complete about 7 cases per test and that's at 100-120 pages per case. So, 700 pages is not really the kind of test you can cram for. And you usually start the next set of cases the day after the test, so no relief. However, any med school path is intense like that. Additionally, there is no one telling you what is important in PBL. When you read a chapter in Path, you have to know all of it. To compare, lecture (LDP) is given the relevant information only, and they have tests much more regularly.
Benefits of PBL are, for me, more compelling. Yes, you have to work on your own, and you have to really like challenging yourself constantly, but I think it's worth it. First the trivial reason: PBL doesn't have to go to lecture. LDP students at LECOM-Erie have a mandatory attendance policy for all lectures. PBL is only required to attend Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP), and History and Physical (H&P) lectures most of the time. There are a few other short classes we go to. PBL meetings are generally 3 two-hour meetings per week, while LDP is in lecture up to 40 hours per week.
Next, more of an opinion, I think PBL prepares you better. Though I'm sure it's statistically insignificant, PBL's average on boards tends to be slightly higher. Also, PBL tends to excel at H&P, at least during the first two years. This is the foundation of a good differential, without which you cannot practice good medicine. I also suspect it will prove to help us do better during rotations.
Additionally, PBL conditions you for boards. Each test you take in PBL (3/semester) is 200 questions, just like level 1, so you are used to taking long exams. Also, because you have to learn such large chunks of information ahead of time, you really have to know it, just like boards.
A kind of neutral point is that things are scheduled around LDP no matter what. So you may be studying cardio, but OPP and H&P will be focusing on renal because that's what LDP is doing. It's not really a big deal.
Something else to remember is that everyone has to get to the same point by the end of four years. So it's not going to matter in the end which pathway you pick, you'll still receive adequate training. Pick the pathway that is going to match your learning style and goals best.
If you do pick PBL, I'd consider Florida campus. The winters are much nicer. We had over 150" of snow last year.