Wait..can medicine really NOT be for me??

[bearintraining]

Agree 100% with my young colleague.

At many MD schools, either the median and/or the bottom 10th %ile for VR are a full point lower than that of Bio or PS, which says that VR is given the most slack and considered less important than the other subjects.

I've gone through a good deal of the studies of the MCAT as a predictor of med student success and the data for VR is weak, at best. The best data, and most replicatable, is for total MCAT score.

While poor communication skills may be reflected by poor VR results, the reverse isn't necessarily true.

@Goro, let me first say, I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of VR/CARS. However, I am curious why a significant subset of schools place a high emphasis on this, if the VR is not useful. Some examples are McMaster and UCalgary (both Canadian, I know...) - generally these schools are also proponents of the MMI.

That said - no one is arguing that BS, and MCAT in general, predict performance while in medical school. The question is what is predictive of the residency and practice years beyond that.

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[bearintraining]

You can never go back to college. Enjoy your final year and take some courses that are stimulating even if they have nothing to do with your pre-med journey. I've talked to some brilliant physicians at academic hospitals who lament that they did not take some of the really cool courses available at their incredible undergrad institutions. I don't think taking a pause or even wondering out loud means you don't really want to be a physician. The idea that you are just born knowing you want to be a doctor or have some magical epiphany is a bit oversold (and a little too religious for my tastes).

I agree with you on this. The only thing that sucks is taking such courses may mean not the greatest GPA, and that does hurt you down the road. I can attest to that even after a PhD and almost 10 years since my undergrad now.

 

[Goro]

Canada?

Different country!

You might as well ask me about Ghana or Ecuador.

Good Step I performance is a general indicator of good residency pickings. Good pre-clinical GPA is usually an indicator of good Step I performance.

I have yet to see any assessment that says what makes a person a good doctor, save maybe patient evals, or lack of bad outcomes.

@Goro, let me first say, I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of VR/CARS. However, I am curious why a significant subset of schools place a high emphasis on this, if the VR is not useful. Some examples are McMaster and UCalgary (both Canadian, I know...) - generally these schools are also proponents of the MMI.

That said - no one is arguing that BS, and MCAT in general, predict performance while in medical school. The question is what is predictive of the residency and practice years beyond that.

 

[bearintraining]

Canada?

Different country!

You might as well ask me about Ghana or Ecuador.

Good Step I performance is a general indicator of good residency pickings. Good pre-clinical GPA is usually an indicator of good Step I performance.

I have yet to see any assessment that says what makes a person a good doctor, save maybe patient evals, or lack of bad outcomes.

Canada isn't that different from the US system - similar training in med schools as well as residencies. They both generally require high MCATs and high GPAs, and outcome variables are generally similar, including licensing exams.

Regardless -- with respect to metrics: I agree, it is difficult to decide what metric "makes a good doctor" in the practice years.

 

[Goro]

US schools apparently do not have the mania for high VR scores as the Canadians.

Unfortunately, MSAR doesn't give Canadian school stats.

Canada isn't that different from the US system - similar training in med schools as well as residencies. They both generally require high MCATs and high GPAs, and outcome variables are generally similar, including licensing exams.

Regardless -- with respect to metrics: I agree, it is difficult to decide what metric "makes a good doctor" in the practice years.