Further Elucidation

So, perhaps I shall regale you with a more detailed account of my day at OHSU.
The day began with a brief presentation about the curriculum from the assistant dean. In the interest of time, he kept his presentation to a minimum, deferring to us to ask questions to fuel the discussion. I think this was rather less effective as a presentation style. We asked a few questions, and I did learn that after the interview invite stage, in-state status plays no role in the admissions process. There was no presentation on financial aid, perhaps because OHSU has so little to offer in the way of assistance to students. At about 0900 we were dismissed.
Since I had my first interview at 1100, I had about two hours to kill before go time. Two other students and I grabbed a bite in the cafeteria and made nervous applicant small talk. Both were Oregonians, so we chatted briefly about the climbers on Mt. Hood, and other tidbits from the news. We parted company and I wandered about the hospital and facilities, mapping out my route to the interview point. I sat twiddling my thumbs on the largest covered skybridge in North America until about 1030. In retrospect, I probably should have reviewed some of the things that I had written in my OHSU essay, but my fevered brain forgot.
At about 1030, I navigated the labyrinthine VA hospital to the 4th floor where the Pulmonology department is. A man waiting for his dad to finish a procedure and I chatted briefly as we waited. At about 1055 I meandered into the proper hallway. Dr. H. and I then met. He was about 5'10'', blond, and safely ensconssed behind his desk. As I noted in my previous post, his first question to me was "where is your dad from". I stuttered that he was from upstate NY. Wouldn't you know it, but Dr. H was from Syracuse. I then backpedalled that he also grew up in Chicago. He asked me about my mom, her degrees, what my dad did, what my sister is up to, and other questions that were pretty much along the same vein. The conversation then shifted to my motivations for medicine, and I recounted the same stories that I had already shared in my personal statement for AMCAS. He askd me about times when I had had disagreements with my co-workes, and I told him about how I dealt with Elder Keyes,( not manslaughter, that was how I wanted to deal with him). We also chatted about what I expected from a career in medicine, what I thought would be hard, and what would be rewarding. I told him that I wanted to have a career where I could go home at night and say that someone was alive because I came to work. To this he replied "So you need other's validation. Are you insecure?" Umm, no. I just want a career with an intrinsic meaning. What other careers also fulfill this qualification? I replied that medical social work, physical therapy, nursing all fulfilled these requirements, but that none of the professions required the depth and breadth of knowledge required by medicine. I prefer the acuity of medicine and these allied health careers did not fulfill my expectations. I think my answer mollified him somewhat, though he was pretty hard to read. My voice was tired after about 30 minutes of talking, but we still had another half hour to go before the end of the ordeal. At the end of the interview, he asked if I had any questions, and I asked if, during the rural medicine rotation, I had to leave my family behind for the duration of my rotation. He didn't know, which was moderately frustrating since implicit in his question to me was that he would be able to answer my questions in return. I got my answer at lunch anyway. At the end of the interview he told me that his goal wasn't to make me feel uncomfortable, but that he was just trying to get good answers to his questions. He told me not to feel that the interview didn't go well just because he was direct in his interrogation. Easier said than done.
I hustled my butt back to the Dean's office to scarf down the remaining half-sandwich and chat with disaffected medical students. I say they were disaffected, but rather they collectively fell into the trap of the 'insider's knowledge' . Since they were loath to say something negative about the school, they resorted to backhanded references to their distaste. They were more candid answering some questions we asked them, especially abut mundanities like parking and leisure activities.
The ensuing tour was none too impressive, featuring the aforementioned skybridge. The classrooms themselves seemed nice, but the other parts of the academic campus seemed rather run-down. They reminded me of the less nice parts of Klamath Hall, Onyx Bridge, and Pacific Hall at the UO. Functional, yes. Impressive, no. Also, if I were training tour guides, I would not have them lead tour groups down back staircases and loading docks, since they aren't very visually striking, and give the impression that the entire campus is ugly and utilitarian.
Following the less than stellar tour, was the day's most execrable performance by yours truly. At the time of this writing, two days after the fact, I can't remember most of what I said, only unpleasant little vignettes punctuated by witty rejoinders of what I would have said. Dr W. was extremely difficult to read as an interviewer. She would have done Vegas proud as a professional poker player. One unpleasantness that I remember was her question, what do you like about OHSU. To this I replied, I like the early clinical exposure afforded by the preceptor progam, and the integrated curriculum during teh first two years. Is that all? she replied. I said yes, since the remaining curriculum is quite similar to other schools to which I'm applying. Isn't there more? WOMAN! I just told you the answer to your question. Every time I've had something additional to say, you've interrupted my answers. What can I say beyond what I have said? I just answered your question as truthfully as I can!. Her question seems perfectly benign when read in the text of my blog enrty, but in reality her tone was quite snide. Too the uninitiated, OHSU's first two years consist of two classes: PCM which is your clinical exposure, including preceptorships. The other class is your lecture class, which presents info in an integrated format. There is nothing else. My answer to her question essentially told her that I was interested in OHSU because the format of the first two years really appealed to me. Arrgh., I kept my cool, but her question nettled me pretty well. The entire experience was interminable. I remember thinking 5 minutes into the interview that the ordeal would never end. Imagine every awkward conversation you've ever had and roll them into one hour long sufferfest and you've pretty well summarized the interview. She asked me why should I be admitted over all the other qualified applicants, and what qualities did I have that distinguished me from other applicants. Ugh. The entire experience was utterly awful and not something I would wish to repeat.
My experience there really turned me off to OHSU, not from a pedagogical standpoint, but from a thousand intangible factors which didn't make me feel comfortable there. At the moment, the only attractive features are the price tag and the two years of preceptorship during the pre-clinical years. Compared to OHSU, Vermont is an edenic paradise. The only downside is the 60k price tag. Well writing this blog entry has been pretty cathartic. I only have to wait 5 weeks to hear back from them, then if i'm waitlisted, I'll have to wait until May 15 to find out where I am on the waitlist, then I have to wait until August to find out if I get in. What fun! ugh. Stay tuned to this bat channel, readers and I'll keep you abreast of every developement as the news breaks.