My experience...with an SMU prof

[tremble3322]

In my 1st semester I met one of the most caring men I have ever known. He was honest yet sincere in his work and his demeanor was the epitome of professionalism. I want to thank him wherever he is for compassion and assistance in time of need.

Dr. G you are the man!

[sbturner]

Fantastic job Dr. G!!!!:p :D

[cokecoke]

profs are awesome in smu except Dr. N 2nd semester biochem.....i still doubt if he knows biochem good enough to teach med students....

[Junito]

Okay, I may lose my cheerleader status with this post but I want to make this balanced...Most of the professors in Maine are wonderful, but there is one or two that need training on how to deal with students. For Dr. Pt 4 I was freaking out last semester b/c I did not know how to do the abdominal exam, and a few others. I asked the professor to show us, and asked if I could record him/her (don't want to give it away) doing it (I brought my camera). I was allowed to record but was not satisfied with the level of instruction. Sad to say I had to go to another student to teach me, who was more patient with me and would explain things better. I must add that 95% of the professors in Maine are excellent, just had to include that one example.

[Nimmuk]

[quote=cokecoke]profs are awesome in smu except Dr. N 2nd semester biochem.....quote]

You must be crazy. He is doing a great job with biochem. I take my chances with him anyday.

[JTP73]

Dr G is an incredible asset to the school. He has a way of explaining things like none other. Truly an awesome all-around guy. :)

[skidoc42]

[quote=cokecoke]profs are awesome in smu except Dr. N 2nd semester biochem.....quote]

You must be crazy. He is doing a great job with biochem. I take my chances with him anyday.

I'm with Nimmuk on this one. Dr. N is aight.

skidoc42 ;)

[cokecoke]

[quote=cokecoke]profs are awesome in smu except Dr. N 2nd semester biochem.....quote]

You must be crazy. He is doing a great job with biochem. I take my chances with him anyday.

well....you are the first one to me saying he's doing great job with biochem,,, after being 4 semesters @ smu.. lol but i know his class is easy and Dr.N may pass you and your classmates no sweat......i doubt if biochem is supposed to be that easy class....
you may change your thought when you really start studying for the board...especially after 4th semester..... no offense at all...

[charger5001]

In 2nd semester a prof of ours met with every one of his students after every exam (160 in all!!) He spent lots of time getting to know us and our study habits. He gave uspointers when warranted and motivated us each time to keep working hard at smu b/c it will pay off.

He would constantly tell us of his former students who have gone on to get some of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. As you can imagine he was well respected by all his students, past and present.

[Dynasty]

[quote=Nimmuk]

well....you are the first one to me saying he's doing great job with biochem,,, after being 4 semesters @ smu.. lol but i know his class is easy and Dr.N may pass you and your classmates no sweat......i doubt if biochem is supposed to be that easy class....
you may change your thought when you really start studying for the board...especially after 4th semester..... no offense at all...


i am with u on this one! step 1 will definitely let us know who are the the professors that cared to prepare us. i know most students do appreciate a professor who brings out the relevent materials for step 1 even though he might be tough as well as his exams. hey thats what we pay for....easy passing grade, now thats not something that will help at all.

[mog]

I agree with Dynasty in this one: Dr.P in histo is nice as a person, but I'm not so confident if he's preparing us for the board... we are not here to pass classes easy, but to pass Step1 with high score (aren't we?) I don't mind hard classes, as long as they prepare me for the boards; on the other hand, I have no time to spend in the irrelavant classes... It was nice of some tutors to fill us in some clinical stuff that we lack. I really appreciate that. Dr.S in anatomy is GREAT; his classes are fast, but prepare you very well :)

[MD999]

Which Dr G is everybody referring to that's awesome?
Is it the Dr G or is there another Dr G that I'm missing here?

[MD999]

Sorry, repeated post.

[JTP73]

Which Dr G is everybody referring to that's awesome?
Is it the Dr G or is there another Dr G that I'm missing here?

yep! Dr G! if you heard some of his stories you would laugh your a$$ off. the kind of guy who makes friends with anyone and everyone--from the top to the bottom, for all of the right reasons. tried and true, 100% good guy.

here's another one some of you may know:
http://www.research.ibm.com/people/r/robson/

run a google search and see the incredible list of achievements... not too shabby to say the least!

[MD999]

yep! Dr G! if you heard some of his stories you would laugh your butt off. the kind of guy who makes friends with anyone and everyone--from the top to the bottom, for all of the right reasons. tried and true, 100% good guy.

here's another one some of you may know:
http://www.research.ibm.com/people/r/robson/

run a google search and see the incredible list of achievements... not too shabby to say the least!


Oh ok, that Dr G . I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinon.
The majority of the upper semester students might think otherwise tho.
Advice, get him to be specific to you guys now on whats required and expected from you and SMU come 5th semester and USMLE time.
Oh, since he's awesome, ask him to change your Qbanks from the IV Qbank to the regular Kaplan Qbank, this is something that he hasnt done, tho promised for about a year now.
It'll save you guys about $700 in the near future.
He gives off a charming enthusiastic personality, so should definantly feel free to ask him questions, as his job is to be there for you guys and honestly address any concerns you might have. Right?

That new guy above whose link was mentioned, has a pretty cool resume. What does he teach at SMU cayman?

Best of Luck

[Nimmuk]

Biostats, that I know of.

[Junito]

The majority of the upper semester students might think otherwise tho.

I wonder why? (I'm being sarcastic here).

[Dynasty]

Oh ok, that Dr G . I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinon.
The majority of the upper semester students might think otherwise tho.
Advice, get him to be specific to you guys now on whats required and expected from you and SMU come 5th semester and USMLE time.
Oh, since he's awesome, ask him to change your Qbanks from the IV Qbank to the regular Kaplan Qbank, this is something that he hasnt done, tho promised for about a year now.
It'll save you guys about $700 in the near future.
He gives off a charming enthusiastic personality, so should definantly feel free to ask him questions, as his job is to be there for you guys and honestly address any concerns you might have. Right?

That new guy above whose link was mentioned, has a pretty cool resume. What does he teach at SMU cayman?

Best of Luck
thanks for clarifying juni, I would have never guessed! I wonder y it took this many posts to figure it out.

[Junito]

thanks for clarifying juni, I would have never guessed! I wonder y it took this many posts to figure it out.

I can't take credit for clarifying which Dr. G they were refering to, MD999 cleared it up. I sort of knew who they were talking about, but did not respond.

[Dynasty]

I can't take credit for clarifying which Dr. G they were refering to, MD999 cleared it up. I sort of knew who they were talking about, but did not respond.

sorry MD999 I just got carried away with the many names......anyways you bought up some interesting issues.http://www.valuemd.com/md/images/icons/icon13.gif

[Junito]

sorry MD999 I just got carried away with the many names......anyways you bought up some interesting issues.http://www.valuemd.com/md/images/icons/icon13.gif

?????:confused::confused::confused:?????? Why does he get a thumbs down?

[Dynasty]

[quote=juni711]?????:confused::confused::confused:?????? Why does he get a thumbs down?
oops! my computer is acting up today. i meant to click on an icon that has a complete opposite meaning(2 thumbs up)

[JTP73]

Please expand upon what conversation needs to be had regarding these improvements so that the newbies in Sem 1 can get a head start on what we need to do.

[MD999]

Please expand upon what conversation needs to be had regarding these improvements so that the newbies in Sem 1 can get a head start on what we need to do.

The Qbank you're going to eventually be paying for isnt the Qbank that's suggested for USMLE Step 1 studying.
The school made a deal with Kaplan to provide the IV (Integrated Vignettes) Qbank rather than the regular Qbank.
Big difference as far as board prep is concerned.
IV Qbank is completely different than regular Qbank.
Regular Qbank is the best prep Q's for USMLE while IV Qbank teaches you how to answer 6-7 questions per case. USMLE questions are no longer in the that style, where there's multiple questions for a single case.
It's just well known by Step 1 preppers that IV Qbank is horrible prep.

Dr G was asked to rectify that matter months and months back by many concerned students. They were told the matter will be looked into, but no answer has been given. Many of those students have already taken their step 1 already.
So we'd all have to pay hundreds of extra dollars to purchase regular Qbank.

I think he intende to do it, but its probably that he's so busy running everything else that it didnt get done.

Thats just one of the things that got to us.
Also bring up the "Board Semester" extra charges that you will be charged.
Your "board semester" is basically a semester where you wont be attending any classes and just studying on your own for step 1. Should you be charged for that? I dont see where the charges (over $500) are justified (you also have to pay $300 for insurance too during this time period).
So pretty much YOU have to pay for NOT attending classes? This just doesnt sound right.

Thats just the consensus of the majority of the upper semesters at SMU. They were never addressed properly and maybe you guys will have better luck. If you catch him at a good time, he's very open. He's constantly promoting SMU, so he's pretty busy.

Best of Luck

[mog]

So what do you think we should do about it?? If it's that bad then I would love to get another one (usual Qbank). Should we sign the petition??

[JTP73]

The Qbank you're going to eventually be paying for isnt the Qbank that's suggested for USMLE Step 1 studying.
The school made a deal with Kaplan to provide the IV (Integrated Vignettes) Qbank rather than the regular Qbank.
Big difference as far as board prep is concerned.
IV Qbank is completely different than regular Qbank.
Regular Qbank is the best prep Q's for USMLE while IV Qbank teaches you how to answer 6-7 questions per case. USMLE questions are no longer in the that style, where there's multiple questions for a single case.
It's just well known by Step 1 preppers that IV Qbank is horrible prep.

Dr G was asked to rectify that matter months and months back by many concerned students. They were told the matter will be looked into, but no answer has been given. Many of those students have already taken their step 1 already.
So we'd all have to pay hundreds of extra dollars to purchase regular Qbank.

I think he intende to do it, but its probably that he's so busy running everything else that it didnt get done.

Thats just one of the things that got to us.
Also bring up the "Board Semester" extra charges that you will be charged.
Your "board semester" is basically a semester where you wont be attending any classes and just studying on your own for step 1. Should you be charged for that? I dont see where the charges (over $500) are justified (you also have to pay $300 for insurance too during this time period).
So pretty much YOU have to pay for NOT attending classes? This just doesnt sound right.

Thats just the consensus of the majority of the upper semesters at SMU. They were never addressed properly and maybe you guys will have better luck. If you catch him at a good time, he's very open. He's constantly promoting SMU, so he's pretty busy.

Best of LuckThanks MD999! So where it was left was that Dr G would look into the matter--but there was no resolution... Do you recommend having the student reps go to him with this matter? Not knowing the politics fully just yet, but knowing Dr G a bit, I would feel comfortable doiing so. But since I have little knowledge of the issue, I would want to be well-informed before doing so. Any references I could use to justify the rationale? ie, a website that has stats on Step 1 success rates IV Qbank vs regular Qbank?

[MD999]

Thanks MD999! So where it was left was that Dr G would look into the matter--but there was no resolution... Do you recommend having the student reps go to him with this matter? Not knowing the politics fully just yet, but knowing Dr G a bit, I would feel comfortable doiing so. But since I have little knowledge of the issue, I would want to be well-informed before doing so. Any references I could use to justify the rationale? ie, a website that has stats on Step 1 success rates IV Qbank vs regular Qbank?


It was left off without recieving an answer.
I haven't looked up stats comparing the 2 Qbanks, but its well known, and Kaplan states it as well.

[bchamp1281]

Juni-

Can you lokk into this matter and ask DR. G to clarify his position or better yet speak with Dr. P to speak with DR. G.

Thanks

[Junito]

I'll look into it. But to be honest, once the University signed a contract, I doubt Kaplan will allow them to change. I just took it as a loss. I do both the IV Qbank and the other qbank. I spoke to Dr. P today, very encouraging. The best thing to do is to email Dr. G. Or whoever sees him in person to ask him about the qbanks. I took the NBME self assessment and they looked nothing like the IV Qbank, they resembled more the regular Qbank: Short question with an answer. No long paragraphs with multiple questions.

[charger5001]

A friend of mine told me that the issue has been presented to Dr. P to get to the bottom of this. So hold your horses and have some patience until we hear back from him.

[tremble3322]

Yes the class rep has told the Deans assistant about the issue and they are looking to get to the bottom of it....lets keep our fingers crossed