Hey, just have a few questions for any current vandy students out there!
I'm a second-year student at Vandy Med, so I should be able to help you out!
- how are the swimming and tennis facilities, and how far are they from the medical school buildings?
I don't use the tennis or swimming facilities, but I can tell you their locations relative to Light Hall (where our lectures are). Medical students have access to two pools: one at the Dayani Rehabilitation Center and one at the student recreation center. The Dayani Center serves medical center faculty, patients and staff, and is only around 5 minutes from our lecture halls. It also has a track, cardio equipment and weights. The rec center serves ALL Vanderbilt students and is a 10 minute walk from the lecture halls. It's a newer building and it also houses squash courts, basketball courts, weights, and cardio machines. Access to Dayani and the rec center are included in your tuition and fees.
The tennis facility is adjacent to the student rec center and was built in the nineties. It has several indoor courts as well as ~6 outdoor courts. I'm fairly certain that there are open access hours, but I don't know if there are any associated fees.
- do you feel that you get to interact with diverse patients from all sorts of backgrounds?
Yes! Vanderbilt is a tertiary care center, so many of the patients at the hospitals and clinic have some fairly rare and/or advanced conditions. However those patients tend to be from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Around $100 million was spent on uncompensated care last year at Vanderbilt--that's more than all of the other major Nashville medical centers combined.
The Veteran's Affairs hospital is connected via skyway to Light Hall and adds even more diversity to the patient population. Finally, Shadetree Clinic, a student-run free clinic, is open to all Vanderbilt students and is located in a medically underserved area of Nashville. You get an opportunity to see more routine cases at the VA and Shadetree.
-how often do you have exams?
That varies by semester. For instance, Spring semester of 1st year currently has around eight big tests while Fall semester of 2nd year only has about 4 big tests. Keep in mind that this will change with the new curriculum, which starts next year. There will be fewer tests and less class time with the new curriculum.
- how does the school emphasize the social/ psychological part of patient healthcare? is it a class or something like that?
We currently have a class called "Ecology of Healthcare" where we talk about topics like economics of health care, health care justice, and the patient experience in healthcare. The new curriculum will have a class called "Patient, Profession, and Society" which will cover similar topics as well as other sundry topics in communication skills, epidemiology, professionalism, and public health. This class is part of both the first- and second-year curriculum.
Also, we have several electives and optional lunchtime lectures that pertain to such topics.
- how early do your weekdays begin?
8 AM. I don't think this will change with the new curriculum. If you're going to be a physician, you're going to have to learn how to deal with early mornings
. I'm 99.5% sure that you'll get used to it.
- why did you pick vanderbilt over other top schools?
1) The students were happy and were overwhelmingly satisfied with Vandy. This has actually been quantified: nearly all med students complete the graduate questionnaire (
http://www.aamc.org/data/gq/) upon graduation. Unfortunately, the AAMC doesn't publish results for individual schools, but you can skim this article to get a good idea of VMS student satisfaction levels in 2005:
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=4643.
2) The faculty, administration, and staff seemed committed to student success AND happiness. This contrasted with my undergraduate experience at an unnamed university in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The administration there emphasized excellence at the expense of student life.
3) Vanderbilt University is compact. All of the undergraduate and professional schools are on one campus, which can be traversed in about 15 minutes. Furthermore, you have quick, easy access to undergraduate and graduate school events (e.g. Rites of Spring). The medical center is contiguous with the rest of campus and contains all major Vanderbilt Medical Center facilities. Your commute from class to clinic is generally a couple of minutes.
Time is valuable when you're a med student, so you'll grow to appreciate fast commutes.
4) The cost of living in Nashville is much lower than in other larger cities. Your student loans and/or scholarships will go far in Nashville.
5) I had never lived in the South. It's different here, but in a good way. The pace of life is slower and people are more courteous than some other places that I've called home. Plus, Nashville is a good place in which to live, no matter what your political persuasion happens to be. Both Al Gore and Bill Frist call Nashville home, so there's probably room for your politics somewhere between them.
-i appreciate any responses, i'm just trying to make some difficult decisions! thanks for all your help in advance!
No problem!
