Hey everyone! I am a current first year at DMU and someone posted about class schedule, etc. awhile back so I thought I'd explain because I was most anxious to hear about that before I started.
First off, here are the classes we take the ENTIRE year: OMM (lecture usually once/week, sometimes more, at 1:00 PM and one 1.5 hours of lab each week), Medical Ethics (only once a month, Wednesday from usually 1-3 PM). We have two practicals/semester for OMM and one written exam/semester. Medical ethics has one exam and one paper/presentation for the year.
Other classes first semester: Biochem, Anatomy (lab is twice, sometimes three times/week for 2 hours), Cell Bio/Histology, Behavioral Medicine, History of Medicine, and Immunology (which turns into Micro/Virology second semester). These classes start and stop at random times but Anatomy is most of first semester and the others are like 2 months long each.
Second semester: Remember, we are taking OMM and Ethics but also Physiology, Physical Diagnosis (lab is once/week for 2 hours), Micro/Virology, Pathology, Neuroanatomy, and Geriatrics.
We typically have lecture from 8-12 consistenly except Wednesday, class always starts at 10 AM so we get two free morning hours. However, sometimes our lectures continue into the afternoon but for the most part, we are done with lecture by 12. Labs are usually in the afternoon unless lecture is light for the morning, you may have it then. Our schedule changes every single day but it is all layed out in the beginning of each semester in your outlook calendars so there are never any surprises.
We are tested frequently. And by frequently I mean it is rare to have a week without an exam and it's typical second semester to have 2-3 exams/week a couple times. The first month of the first semester starts real slow but all of a sudden it's busy as heck. I like the frequency of exams because it helps me stay on top of things and retain information way better. Also, other tests are usually at least 10% comprehensive so it requires you to go over information already learned.
I'm not going to sugar-coat how tough medical school is. It's a ton of work, more than I expected to be honest. BUT, I absolutely LOVE DMU. I wouldn't chose another school because I know I am getting a terrific education. The faculty are awesome, always open to hearing from you. There are tons of clubs you can get involved in and a lot of speakers over the noon hour. If you're looking for a big university type experience, it's not the place for you but if you like a community feel in a city with plenty of resources (not corn, I'm talking medical facilities...), Des Moines is a great place to live. I came from Minneapolis and I love the pace of this city. It's perfect and it's a beautiful place to live. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at
[email protected]. The next few weeks of the semester will be crazy but I'd love to help anyone if they need it. Good luck everyone!
HA! That's not a good sign...
moment.
