2011-2012 University of Virginia Application Thread

[UVAbme2009]

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Don't be afraid to send letters of interest/intent at any point. Persistence pays off at UVa. I would know. I sent LOIs in October, February (interview invite the next week), March (after being waitlisted), May and June (accepted the following week).

 

[3240590]

Not to be nosy, but I am very curious of stats for those accepted. I have a 3.5/3.6 ish GPA and that is scaring the **** out of me. I haven't taken the MCATS yet, but will be taking it early next year. Any pointers? Should I even consider UVA? I went their for a medical seminar and I love it. I love their programs, their new building, and the students seem to be very friendly. I am also in-state and UVA is one of those schools that would consider their instate students first so I don't know. All I know is I would be a depressed case until I am accepted to med school. I am currently a junior.

I was accepted in October as an out-of-state student- I have a 4.0/35. They stressed my EC's a lot in the interview though! They definitely seem to take the whole person into consideration.

 

[UMStick]

...stats aren't everything but like the poster above me says, when 90% of people who are interviewing with you have high gpa's and mcat scores, it's really hard to distinguish yourself unless you've done something extraordinary. If you look at UVA's ranges for last year they go from 3.5-3.9 (gpa) and 31-39 (mcat), and im guessing whoever was accepted with stats at the lower end of their range probably had really good EC's. I'm 3.9/37 btw with decent EC's, accepted early November. Good luck!

I know for a fact these stats are wrong. I go there now and got a 41 on the MCAT.
Likewise, I know people who had a GPA lower than 3.5...

In case anyone is still wondering, the stats are 10th-90th percentile and from the MSAR.

Also, for what it's worth, I didn't send in an LOI at all and got in at the end of last May. I did consider it very briefly, then realized I had nothing to write about.

 

[Steeler7588]

Anyone know when scholarships are released?

For some of them, April.

 

[Fanforever]

In case anyone is still wondering, the stats are 10th-90th percentile and from the MSAR.

Also, for what it's worth, I didn't send in an LOI at all and got in at the end of last May. I did consider it very briefly, then realized I had nothing to write about.

Well you sent in something right? The wait list is unranked.

 

[UMStick]

Well you sent in something right? The wait list is unranked.

Now that you've jogged my memory, I do remember calling them about a week before, though the route I chose was to ask about why I was waitlisted and then recommendations for becoming a stronger applicant in future cycles (this was already mid-May). I can't imagine this being very helpful, but who knows?

 

[ywlke]

Now that you've jogged my memory, I do remember calling them about a week before, though the route I chose was to ask about why I was waitlisted and then recommendations for becoming a stronger applicant in future cycles (this was already mid-May). I can't imagine this being very helpful, but who knows?

Did they respond?

 

[UMStick]

Did they respond?

When I called? Not really. I think they said there wasn't anyone on adcom available at the time. And if the waitlist was still moving, then that's totally plausible. When I did hear back from them, it was an acceptance call a week or two afterwards.

 

[protonate]

Hey guys,
I wanted current medical students to chime in these questions (taken from MikeS 78th thread of what's important in medical school)

1)What is the 3rd year like and how is it structured?

2) Where do 3rd year evaluations come from?

3) How are medical students protected from scut?

4) How receptive is the administation to fixing problems and/or disciplining out of line behavior, espcially from residents?

5) how good is this school at focusing on the bread and butter?

Thanks in advance

 

[mvenus929]

I can't help much, since I'm not in 3rd year yet (I can chime in again come March 🙂), but I can tell you what I do know.

1)What is the 3rd year like and how is it structured?

Third year you spend at UVA affiliated centers (you can't do rotations outside those already worked out with the clerkship director). You do rotations in Psych, Neurology, Acute Care, Geriatrics, Surgery, Surgical subspecialties, Internal Medicine (inpatient and outpatient), Peds, OB, and Family Medicine. The rotations range in length from 2 weeks (surgical subspecialties, acute care, geriatrics), to 8 weeks (Surgery and Peds).

You are required to spend part of your year 'away' from UVA; we currently have sites in Richmond (Peds and OB), Fairfax (Peds), Western State (psych; though this site is not considered 'away'), Roanoke (Surgery, Psych, Peds-I think, Internal Medicine), and Salem (Surgery, Internal Medicine, Psych), though those will likely change in the next couple years as the VT people are being placed in the Roanoke sites for their rotations, so there's some pressure for space). Those sites are determined by a lottery you do at the beginning of second year.

Outpatient Medicine and Family medicine are also away, and are done at individual clinics throughout the state. Those are chosen at random, and everyone is considered away for them.

The schedule for the day will vary depending on what rotation you're on and where, but basically, you round on patients in the hospital, present to residents and attendings, and monitor their care throughout the day. You'll do some admitting, some consulting, etc, again, depending on your rotation.

2) Where do 3rd year evaluations come from?

Grades are determined by a combination of performance on the nationally standardized Shelf exams and preceptor evaluations. I'm not sure of the exact breakdown, and I think it varies from rotation to rotation.

4) How receptive is the administation to fixing problems and/or disciplining out of line behavior, espcially from residents?

Each class elects Student Advocacy representatives... 2 in first year (who serve 4 year terms) and 2 in third year (who serve 2 year terms). The SAC deals with complaints relating to abuse of medical students, and there are various ways to report this abuse. I haven't heard of any out of line behavior, so I'm not entirely sure how it's dealt with, but there is a system in place to deal with it.

5) how good is this school at focusing on the bread and butter?

We've had some concerns about the treatment of bread and butter things during the pre-clerkship time frame (one of the downsides of having specialists teach you most of the organ systems... hopefully the impact will be less for future years than it was for us), but as far as rotations go... UVA is a tertiary care center, so you will see people who have been referred for the zebras. However, UVA is also the place to go for anyone who does not have insurance in the entire state of Virginia, so there's a fair amount of bread and butter cases as well. I can't comment on the percentage because obviously I haven't seen it yet, beyond the few times I've interviewed patients in the ED or shadowed in the family medicine clinic.

You will also do two of your rotations (4 weeks each) at primary clinics throughout the state, so you'll see bread and butter cases there as well. If that isn't enough for you, there's also a number of electives you can do during 4th year to get better exposure to those bread and butter cases.

 

[UVAbme2009]

I'm a current third year who's finished all of the core clerkships except for medicine. So I can answer these pretty well.

1)What is the 3rd year like and how is it structured?

It's awesome? Compared to the first two years at least. If you actually enjoy spending time with patients, third year is a lot of fun. No matter the rotation you're on, there's a lot of downtime to be honest. I spend it studying, hanging out with other students and chatting with patients. And on those rough days, there's nothing wrong with a quick nap.

The post above nailed the structure pretty well. You're supposed to spend 22-24 weeks away, but that isn't always the case. For ambulatory medicine and family medicine, they place you at private practice sites. Depending on the block, there might be none available in the Charlottesville area, or there could be more than half. When considering who gets placed where, they only give preference to students with children. Your location for the rest of the clerkships is determined by a lottery.

2) Where do 3rd year evaluations come from?

You have the luxury of deciding who evaluates you in every rotation except for peds. So if you didn't get along with someone, don't have them evaluate you. A resident's evaluation counts the same as an attending's evaluation if the number of weeks/days you spent with them was the same. Most of your evaluations come from the residents, because outside of rounds that's almost exclusively who you work with.

3) How are medical students protected from scut?

I've never had to do scut work. I've never been asked to do scut work.

4) How receptive is the administation to fixing problems and/or disciplining out of line behavior, espcially from residents?

I've never experienced behavior that was out of line from any employee at UVa or elsewhere. There is a student advocacy committee that has a representative for each clerkship. They take input for anything your heart desires.

5) how good is this school at focusing on the bread and butter?

You spend 8 weeks doing medicine, 4 doing family, 2 doing geriatrics and 1 doing emergency. That's your bread and butter (hypertension, diabetes, etc.). The rest of your time is spent in more specialized fields.

 

[ilikesports]

Absolutely freaking out right now

accepted!!!!!!!

Is

interviewed january
complete july

stats are uva average-- not posting specifically

good luck to everyone else!!!!

 

[Panton]

I'm sure the new curriculum is even better...and I know they developed it with the forward thinking that the USMLE is changing.

Not so much.

I've tried to be moderately positive about the curriculum, but I can't take it anymore. This curriculum is a total disorganized mess. There are almost no actual classes. You get to sit in a room looking over powerpoints while a bunch of instructors stand around telling you to go ask your classmates for the answer. I agree with a lot of students that the instructors are great when they are actually allowed to teach. Unfortunately that happens too little. Ask yourself why, if this curriculum is so amazing, are interviewees banned from seeing "class"? The answer they told us "we don't want to give them a negative impression". (At the beginning of the year some appicants visited class before their interviews. We then received an email from the school telling us to stop bringing them.)

Don't let the new buildings and former reputation fool you - this place is a disaster. If you've done one of those first year med school masters degree things after your bio major and research at the NIH then you'll probably be OK, and will probably enjoy UVA. However if you actually want to learn something I'd avoid this institution.

Who knows, this curriculum might be amazing in five years, but why waste your time and money coming here now? For those accepted, stop by class if you get a chance (if they let you). Talk with the current students before you decide where to go.

 

[LilBran]

A couple thoughts from a fellow UVA 2015er ...

I'll say this -- the previous poster is absolutely not the only person who's frustrated with the curriculum, but be aware that there are a LOT of people in the UVA 2015 class who are pleased with the it as well. I think it's important first of all to realize what the new curriculum calls for -- less lectures, more learning on your own, and greater application in class. They definitely are serious in saying that you need to be able to figure things out on your own and be ready to be tested on and build upon them, so if you don't learn well in that style then you'll definitely want to think about that. That said, by 2015 all accredited medical schools in the country will be have to be moving toward this new curriculum format so it's not like UVA is the only school that is (or will be) offering it.

Certainly some of the in-class activities have kinks in them that need to be worked out, but the majority of students I've spoken to have found our team-based assignments extremely helpful throughout the year (many have requested that they be held more and more frequently). They force you to come prepared and give you a chance to deepen your understanding of some important clinical concepts. Also, the faculty here has been very receptive to criticism and are actively working to make it better.

I'm one of the student medical education representatives, and after talking to the reps from last year's class (2014), the changes that the faculty made have seriously been astounding. It really is like night and day based on the reports we've gotten. I'd definitely expect a continued rise in efficiency of class time and resources provided.

The idea behind not allowing interviewees was that they didn't want one single class to be a make-or-break decision for a future student; that does NOT mean that every class is a disaster -- believe me most of the classes are well worth your time.

The final thing I want to leave with is that no medical student (or very few) has experience more than one medical school. I'd take each comment with a grain of salt (mine included), because we definitely have less perspective than I wish we did. We don't really know how other students are doing at other schools. We don't really know if we would have preferred dull lectures for two years (anatomy then path then pharm) instead of having active learning classes (broken up by systems -- which is awesome btw). It's also difficult to sift through what level of complaint is coming from dissatisfaction with medical school in general, or this curriculum specifically.

So each of us can only really speak for ourselves. I completely respect what the person posted above but just want to let people know there are other opinions out there! I can say that my quality of life here is great -- my classmates and I have time to go to the gym, pursue personal interests, volunteer, kick back and go out to bars, or whatever we want. At the same time I feel like I'm learning a whole lot ... there are absolutely still problems with the system, but it's really difficult to make comparisons based on information that none of us has -- so just remember where the comments are coming from and congrats to any of the future UVAers out there!

 

[mvenus929]

A few additional notes:

1) Medical school is hard. Most of us floated through undergrad, and now have to work a lot more to make it through med school. This is not unique to UVA. There will be some people it comes a lot easier for... we have a person in our class who took Step 1 in December, where most are taking it at the end of January. We have people (myself included) who spend 12+ hours a day in the library studying for it.

2) That said, I feel like they did a pretty good job covering most things. There are glaring areas of weakness in our (SMD14) education, but we've addressed those with the administration and they will be emphasized a whole lot more for both SMD15 and later classes. In talking to the first years, it's clear that their in class activities run much smoother than they did with us, and I think they have benefited greatly from it.

Following up from that, and I really hate to say this because I can imagine how pretentious it's going to come off... SMD15 really doesn't have a clue how well they're learning, because they haven't gotten all the material yet. I didn't make half the connections between the basic science material (at least not consciously) until after I finished classes and started studying for Step 1. And the way we were taught makes it so much easier to make those connections early on... we know the format for the USMLE, we know how to make those jumps with 2nd and 3rd order questions, and it's not a huge shock when we're expected to do that.

3) You're going to have to learn stuff on your own no matter where you go. Our class argued for online lectures for a good portion of the curriculum, because in later systems, those really helped us learn the material for the in class application activities. The administration countered by asking how much was too much, so they are definitely responsive to feedback and are more than willing to help us learn the best way possible. They just also want us to apply it.

4) No matter how much you love/hate it, you're only in the pre-clerkship curriculum for 18 months. There are very few schools who get you out onto the wards that fast.

I don't regret coming to UVA. There are times (many, many times) when I wish I had taken a scholarship and deferred for a year, but I have never regretted coming here. The people in my class are amazing, the faculty are awesome, and the training you get is fantastic... we have a history of matching well no matter the specialty that you want to go into.

 

[Nibbly]

Invite today, complete 8/29. Available dates on Feb 8, 14, 15, 16, 20.

 

[PaedsDoc]

Invite today, complete 8/29. Available dates on Feb 8, 14, 15, 16, 20.

I second that. I picked February 8. See you there?

 

[PaedsDoc]

PS I am coming from Toronto. What would be the best way to get to UVa? Should I fly into Richmond or straight into Charlottesville?

If I fly into Richmond, is there a bus that goes to Charlottesville?

 

[kduck]

PS I am coming from Toronto. What would be the best way to get to UVa? Should I fly into Richmond or straight into Charlottesville?

If I fly into Richmond, is there a bus that goes to Charlottesville?

If you fly into Charlottesville, you will pay about $40-50 for a cab that takes you near the university. If you fly into Richmond, I would probably recommend renting a car. There may be a bus, but I don't know of it - not terribly familiar with the area outside Charlottesville.

 

[mvenus929]

If you fly into Charlottesville, you will pay about $40-50 for a cab that takes you near the university. If you fly into Richmond, I would probably recommend renting a car. There may be a bus, but I don't know of it - not terribly familiar with the area outside Charlottesville.

Unless you have a super awesome student host who will pick you up from the airport.

PS I am coming from Toronto. What would be the best way to get to UVa? Should I fly into Richmond or straight into Charlottesville?

If I fly into Richmond, is there a bus that goes to Charlottesville?

It'd probably be cheaper overall to fly to Richmond, even if you have to rent a car. You can also look into flying into DC... Reagan is right on the Metro line, and there's a Greyhound and a train that leave from DC and come down to Charlottesville. It's a bit more difficult if you fly into Dulles, because that's not on the Metro yet, but there are buses that will bring you to the nearest metro line, and you can go from there. I'm not sure how BWI is set up, so I can't give any feedback on that, sorry.

 

[ywlke]

I'm not sure how BWI is set up, so I can't give any feedback on that, sorry.

BWI has easy access to public transportation as well. You can either take the Amtrak directly to Charlottesville if it is the right time of day, or you could connect to the DC Metro and go from there. Let me know if you want more information on flying into BWI.

 

[hapticity]

PS I am coming from Toronto. What would be the best way to get to UVa? Should I fly into Richmond or straight into Charlottesville?

If I fly into Richmond, is there a bus that goes to Charlottesville?

Fellow Torontonian here. Most convenient to fly into Charlottesville (connect through DC or Philly or whereever). Also, cab costed like $3x ish including tip for me.

 

[FearlessHyena]

Blah, I interviewed on Friday and received the decision via snail mail today. I begrudgingly accepted a spot on the Alternate List but will assume that the UVA dream is over. I'm OOS, for those interested.

 

[premed1313]

A few questions for current students/accepted applicants/anybody else that knows...

1. When do classes/orientation start in the fall? I tried looking on the website and couldn't find it...maybe looking in the wrong place.

2. One of the conditions for acceptance was a Basic Life Support certification through the American Heart Association or the Red Cross. Is that something that's unique to UVA, or is that pretty common. It's the first I've heard of it...

3. Is there an organized second-look weekend, or if you want to come check it out is it on your own?

Thanks for any info you have...

 

[Ironclad]

3. Is there an organized second-look weekend, or if you want to come check it out is it on your own?

I'm not too sure about your first two questions, although I have heard about the BLS certification at other schools as well. In reality, it's just a CPR training course, and it only takes a few hours.

As to your third question, they recently sent out a "save the date" email saying that the second look day will be March 24th with a welcome reception the evening of March 23rd.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your apps!

 

[ilikesports]

A few questions for current students/accepted applicants/anybody else that knows...

1. When do classes/orientation start in the fall? I tried looking on the website and couldn't find it...maybe looking in the wrong place.

2. One of the conditions for acceptance was a Basic Life Support certification through the American Heart Association or the Red Cross. Is that something that's unique to UVA, or is that pretty common. It's the first I've heard of it...

3. Is there an organized second-look weekend, or if you want to come check it out is it on your own?

Thanks for any info you have...

If I remember correctly Aug 4 was said somewhere on II day.. seems like forever from now....

 

[Fanforever]

Blah, I interviewed on Friday and received the decision via snail mail today. I begrudgingly accepted a spot on the Alternate List but will assume that the UVA dream is over. I'm OOS, for those interested.

I completely feel ya. :cry:

 

[FearlessHyena]

I completely feel ya. :cry:

Ha, misery loves company.😀

 

[afob100]

A few questions for current students/accepted applicants/anybody else that knows...

1. When do classes/orientation start in the fall? I tried looking on the website and couldn't find it...maybe looking in the wrong place.

2. One of the conditions for acceptance was a Basic Life Support certification through the American Heart Association or the Red Cross. Is that something that's unique to UVA, or is that pretty common. It's the first I've heard of it...

3. Is there an organized second-look weekend, or if you want to come check it out is it on your own?

Thanks for any info you have...

Orientation starts on August 2nd and goes through the 7th. And the first day of "class" is Aug 8th with Cells to Society (it's a 3 day long course that eases you into med school with group activities/presentations involving diabetes). Your first day of real class will be Aug 13th with the start of MCM.

Note below: fall break did not exist with the class of 2014 and shows how the administration actually responds to students' requests/wants. The class of 2014 also only had a 7 week summer vacation, which has since been increased to 10 weeks.

Here's the (tentative) '12-'13 academic calendar for the class of 2016:

Thursday, August 2 & Friday, August 3 - Scheduled Activities
Monday, August 6 & Tuesday, August 7 - Scheduled Activities
Wednesday, August 8 - Cells to Society, An Intro
Thursday, August 9 & Friday, August 10 (noon) - Cells to Society, An Intro
Friday, August 10 (noon-2:30) - Activities Fair
Friday, August 10 - White Coat Ceremony at Cabell Hall & reception (4:00 pm)
Monday, August 13 - Molecular & Cellular Medicine (MCM) classes
Friday, August 17? (1:30-3pm)- (Lunch Provided) - Intro to Digital Notebooks
Saturday, September ? (9:00 in MEB Lecture Hall 3rd floor) - Family Day
Saturday, September ? - BBQ Luncheon at the Med Alumni Association Headquarters (12:30-2:00) - Family Day
Saturday, September 29 - Sunday, October 7 - Fall Break
Sunday, November 18 through Sunday, November 25 - Thanksgiving Break
Monday, November 26 - Classes resume
Saturday, December 15 - Examination
Sunday, December 16 through Sunday, January 6, 2013 - Winter Break
Monday, January 7, 2013 - Classes resume
Sunday, March 17 through Sunday, March 24 - Spring Break
Monday, March 25, 2013 - Classes resume
Sunday, June 2 through Sunday, August 4 - Summer Opportunities & Break (10 wks)
Monday, August 5, 2013 - Classes resume (tentative)


Hope that helps!

 

[premed1313]

thanks for the help!

 

[nestea]

i got waitlist today =\. what a horrible day

 

[mvenus929]

Note below: fall break did not exist with the class of 2014 and shows how the administration actually responds to students' requests/wants. The class of 2014 also only had a 7 week summer vacation, which has since been increased to 10 weeks.

Actually, we did originally have one before we started. I was happy because it was going to coincide with my mom leaving the states. But before school started, they changed the calendar and took it away. When we saw that the first years were being given a Fall break, we made a plea to the administration, and they rearranged the schedule to give us one second year.

i got waitlist today =\. what a horrible day

It could be worse. You could've been rejected. UVA does have waitlist movement after the deadline. The office of admissions plans very carefully to make that happen.

 

[UVAbme2009]

As with any information you see on here, take it with a grain of salt. But when it comes to SMD14 and SMD15 at UVa complaining about their curriculum, take it with a truck load of salt that is driving the streets of NYC after a Nor'easter.

Both classes are notorious for the amount of complaining they do. I've spoken with one department chair who is already overly frustrated with the class and he hasn't even had them on the wards yet.

Yes, there are still kinks to work out in the new curriculum. But the foundation of your medical knowledge (aka M1 and M2) is HEAVILY dependent on the work you put in outside the classroom. Your classes are only there to supplement that knowledge (courses like anatomy and pathology not withstanding). Hence why you see significant drops in class attendance as you advance through the first two years. I find it a shame that so many classes are required now. I think most would agree that they learn so much more in four hours of their own time compared to four hours of class time.

 

[Legion1]

When you say that children are considered in placement for rotations, does this mean that those with children are allowed to stay at UVA for rotations, or simply that they have first choice of locations? Or are there perhaps closer rotation locations (such as Culpepper, Lynchburg, or Harrisonburg) for those with children? As great as UVA would be, this part of the equation is pretty important to us.

 

[justinbaily]

If you have children, then you are allowed to do all of your third year rotations at UVA.

 

[deleted261193]

i have an interview coming up this week, and unfortunately the forecast says lots of rain! 🙁 does anyone recall how much walking/outdoors there is on the tour? any shoe recommendations for females? (would it be strange to wear boots and then change into heels later?)

 

[ilikesports]

i have an interview coming up this week, and unfortunately the forecast says lots of rain! 🙁 does anyone recall how much walking/outdoors there is on the tour? any shoe recommendations for females? (would it be strange to wear boots and then change into heels later?)

There is a good bit of walking. They will of course give you umbrellas, but I'm sure it wouldn't be strange to bring boots and then change. It is a very comfortable/relaxed day (much more so than 90% of med-school interviews) so they definitely wouldn't look down upon it.

Good luck with your interview. As you've undoubtedly already heard, just be relaxed it is a very conversational interview. are you IS or OOS

 

[nestea]

i have an interview coming up this week, and unfortunately the forecast says lots of rain! 🙁 does anyone recall how much walking/outdoors there is on the tour? any shoe recommendations for females? (would it be strange to wear boots and then change into heels later?)

you walk outside for maybe 20 mins tops?

 

[deleted261193]

i'm IS.

i don't really mind how long we're outside since i'll be hauling my umbrella for sure, but i was mainly concerned about walking around / how muddy my shoes will get. i'm probably going to attempt to bring crappy flats or sneakers to change into when outside. as someone who went to ugrad in california, i don't have rain boots... ;_;

thanks for the input everyone!! i'm so excited for my interview... i hope the rain doesn't ruin it though! 😀

 

[Cinclus]

i'm IS.

i don't really mind how long we're outside since i'll be hauling my umbrella for sure, but i was mainly concerned about walking around / how muddy my shoes will get. i'm probably going to attempt to bring crappy flats or sneakers to change into when outside. as someone who went to ugrad in california, i don't have rain boots... ;_;

thanks for the input everyone!! i'm so excited for my interview... i hope the rain doesn't ruin it though! 😀

It was forecast to rain like crazy on my interview day at UVA, but not a drop fell from the overcast sky. Maybe you'll get lucky with the weather.

 

[kduck]

i'm IS.

i don't really mind how long we're outside since i'll be hauling my umbrella for sure, but i was mainly concerned about walking around / how muddy my shoes will get. i'm probably going to attempt to bring crappy flats or sneakers to change into when outside. as someone who went to ugrad in california, i don't have rain boots... ;_;

thanks for the input everyone!! i'm so excited for my interview... i hope the rain doesn't ruin it though! 😀

I recommend flats for the tour regardless of the length spent outside. It's kind of a long tour overall, and my feet were really sore at the end of the day. I wish I had been wearing flats instead of heels.

 

[Adam224]

Hey everyone, so I haven't heard any news from UVA since September (I'm IS) about an interview. Does anyone know if they tell you you're rejected pre-interview or do they end up telling you at the end of the cycle? Thanks for your help!

 

[ilikesports]

Hey everyone, so I haven't heard any news from UVA since September (I'm IS) about an interview. Does anyone know if they tell you you're rejected pre-interview or do they end up telling you at the end of the cycle? Thanks for your help!

They do send pre-interview rejections via snail mail so you should be happy you haven't received one of those.

PS

Is anyone planning on going to the 2nd look day the weekend of March 24??

 

[schwabejr]

Just figured out why Ive heard NOTHING from UVa. This is the first sentence of my secondary essay: "My first visit to the School of Medicine was on a whim during a weekend visit to Richmond."

While this is TRUE (I was visiting Emily (my girlfriend, now fiancee) in Richmond and we drove to Charlottesville) I ended up running out of space in the essay and removing the sentence about visiting Emily at UR and taking a day trip to Charlottesville. FML

 

[smd1555]

The actual order of systems so far is bottom to top, but I wrote them this way from looking back at my schedule. Hopefully this helps people get a realistic expectation of what class is like. I didn't include CPD, but everyone gets assigned one afternoon for the year (Monday through Thursday) based on your college (kinda like Harry Potter) and you have class from 1-5pm that day. It doesn't always go until 5pm based on how your group functions. My CPD group and mentors (one physician and one not physician but somehow health care related) are amazing, but I know some people don't get as much out of it. Still, we have practice cases, learn physical exam and history taking skills, and talk about actually practicing medicine, and see patients in the hospital or standardized patients.
One of the first two semesters you will also have mandatory service learning at an assigned community organization. I think you have to do 30 hours, and what you get out of it depends on where you're assigned. Mine was pretty fun and in a health care setting. Other people tutor kids or volunteer at a homeless shelter. They take your preferences into account with a survey before school starts.

Muscloskeletal and Integument (1/3 to 2/10)

Monday: 8:30-11am Dermatology Problem Set (Approx. 50 Learning Objectives from a combination of previous handouts, online lectures, and online textbooks that you complete at home and take a 10 question quiz on. It's worth 6% of your system grade I believe. Afterwards there is a powerpoint with slides that have radiographs/ MRIs/ histology slides that you try and answer in groups. Usually we cover most of them in large groups in class, but a ppt with the answers is always posted after).
11:10-12 Psoriasis Patient Presentation (Patient with psorias comes in and talks about their condition with a physician of that specialty. We have the chance to ask questions of the physician and the patient).

Tuesday: 8:10am -12pm Anatomy Lab

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: 8:10am-12pm Anatomy Lab

Friday: 8:30am - 11am TBL on the Upper Extremity (This one was actually a review of the upper extremity since we had a practice lab practical and exam this weekend. You take an individual 10 question quiz and then retake that quiz in groups of 6. In theory, your score should be higher. Afterwards, there are group clinical application exercises that are supposed to be harder than what we see on the exam and challenge our thinking. Usually there are multiple right answers and one "best" answer so there's lots of discussion. What you get out of the TBL I think is, like real life, highly dependent on the people assigned to your group. We switch groups every semester. I believe this was a new TBL so it wasn't as good as some we've had (like the one on osteoporosis and rheumatology) and the surgeon was a little abrasive, but he apologized after.)
11:10 - 12pm Orthopedic Upper Extremity Case Presentation (A hand surgeon talked a little bit about the interesting cases he sees. Not required and many people left to go study.)
Random 45 minute assigned time: Anatomy lab practical on the entire upper extremity. Worth 2% of our system grade.
Exam to start taking sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday at noon.


Microbes and the Immune System (Entirely different from last year) 10/31 - 12/16

Monday 8:10 - 9am Bioterrorism Lecture
9:10 - 10am Disseminated Zoster Patient Presentation (Doctor and Patient discuss the condition and then we ask questions)
10:10am - 12pm Regulatory Mechanisms in Specific Immune Responses Lecture

Tuesday 8:10 - 9am Acute and Chronic Inflammation Lecture
9:10 - 10am Tissue Repair Pathology Lecture
10:10 - 11am NSAIDS Pharmacology Lecture
11:10am - 12pm Inflammatory Bowel Disease Case Discussion

Wednesday 8:10 - 10am Complement TBL (There was no real previous lecture on complement, but there were handouts and it was pretty much just memorizing the pathways and deficiencies. I think most people liked this TBL as it helped explain the process and had definite correct answers that were explained well in the application exercises.)
10:10am - 12pm Mechanisms of Tolerance and Autoimmunity Lecture Part 1

Thursday 8:10 - 10am You're the Doc Session on Rashes and Skin Infections (A clinician goes over cases and presentations with slides and we have to make a differential, say what we would use to treat it in small group and large group discussions. Clinically relevant but not required. Podcasted for later viewing)
10:10am - 12pm HPV, Warts, and Cancer Lecture (A clinician and a basic scientist gave each gave lectures discussing incidence, vaccines, etc.)

Friday 8:10 - 9:20am Epidemiology Lecture/ Application exercise. (I did not attend epidemiology lectures since I'd been previously exposed to the material, but it was practice calculating epidemiology questions with an attempt to relate the issues to what we've recently been lectured on. Handouts explaining the calculations and everything were given.)
9:30 - 10am Ethical Issues of HPV Vaccination Discussion / Lecture
10:10 - 12pm Bacterial Vaccine Strategies Lecture (Three researchers discussed the three main biochemical vaccine strategies and we had the discuss the pros and cons of each for a new vaccine campaign. A little drawn out in my opinion, but it may have been more useful to those without a strong science background. Also, the pros and cons were on the exam.)

Quiz to take between Friday and Sunday at noon.

Molecular and Cellular Medicine (8/15 - 10/28)

Monday 8:10 - 9am Social Issues in Medicine Lecture (Not graded. Usually a physician talking about rural clinics or a lawyer talking about Medicaid/ Medicare.)
9:10 - 10am Patient Presentation on Cystic Fibrosis (Awesome patient)
10:10 - 11am Hemoglobin Structure and Function Lecture
11:10am - 12pm Variation in Single Gene Genetics Lecture

Tuesday 8:10 -10am Pharmacodynamics Problems (Honestly not my favorite because they give you 30 pages of notes and 4 hours of online lecture to watch before this lecture, and then there are practice problems (actually helpful) to do and go over during this time. This material is really hard to understand (lots of formulas and theories) and hopefully the administration will allot more time for it next year. Also, this professor isn't very engaging or well-paced, but hey, not every lecturer is going to be great. I do like that pharmacology is incorporated into the systems however instead of trying to learn it all at the end.
10:10 - 11am Endocytosis and Lysosomes Lecture
11:10am - 12pm Endocytosis and Pathogen Entry Lecture

Wednesday 8:10 - 10am Protein and Organelle Turnover Large Group Discussion (Probably had some clicker questions that were an attendance grade and not for correctness. I don't really remember this, but I'm sure we had some pre-reading and this was more knowledge verification.)
10:10am - 12pm Amino Acid Metabolism Lecture

Thursday 8:10 - 8:30am Fragile X Overview Lecture
8:40 - 10am Molecular Medicine Techniques Large Group Discussion (We had to read about the techniques ahead of time and then had to work in small groups over a powerpoint set of problems. The topic pertained to diagnosis of Fragile X and we went over the answers at the end.)
10:10am - 12pm Sickle Cell TBL (We had readings (a fair amount if I remember correctly) on Sickle Cell and then had the standard TBL format. A lot of information but I think the TBL was pretty well run.

Friday 8:10 -10am Nutrition and Disorders of Amino Acid Metabolism Lecture
10:10 - 11am Clinical Genetics Lecture
11:10am - 12pm Treatment of Genetic Diseases Lecture
12:15 - 1:15 Taking a Sexual History Lecture (We very rarely have Friday afternoon lectures, but they are used to introduce a clinical topic. Like most lectures, some are better than others. This one was given by one of the college deans and was pretty good.)

You can see the systems vary a LOT in amount of lecture and large group application exercises. There actually are a fair amount of lectures in the beginning and then it tapers off. The amount of handouts tapers off a little as well (in musculoskeletal, we primarily use our lab manual, High Yield Gross Anatomy, and sections from online text books), but we're not exactly going to be getting handouts on the wards ("How to deliver a placenta" isn't going to be there). I'm obviously happy where I am, but it is a lot of work. I'm not good at doing things in advance so I'll have a day off and then a day when I'm really stressed trying to answer 50 questions and learn 10 skin diseases before a TBL in the morning, but I didn't come in thinking this was going to be easy. When the generation before us was in medical school, it was expected that some people wouldn't be able to handle to amount of work and information and would drop out. No one is supposed to drop out here and there are many people who you can turn to if you are struggling. It's pass/fail, and a lot of my classmates send out study guides they've made or contribute to the class google doc. Also, a lot of people (myself included) take some afternoons or evenings to do something fun and completely not med school related (sports, music, art, whatever). Most of the class got the memo that there would be a lot of independent learning (especially for the memorization stuff) and some group activities that may or may not be really valuable in helping you pass the test. It's a new system, and the variety works for most people. That being said, if you're still not sure about it after talking with people, don't come here. If you do and struggle, don't just whine about it and not do anything. Your classmates (who are generally very nice) will just get pissed because you make us look like a bunch of complainers already to the people who trained when there were no 80 hour work week restrictions. In the end, you should have a really good feeling about where you end up. I did, and as an OOS student, I've never looked back.

 

[deleted261193]

interviewed last thurs... got my acceptance today!!!!!!!! ^_________________^

 

[Cinclus]

interviewed last thurs... got my acceptance today!!!!!!!! ^_________________^

Congrats! It's great how fast they are.

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

Anyone else finding that a plane ticket to second look is ridiculously expensive?

 

[kduck]

Anyone else finding that a plane ticket to second look is ridiculously expensive?

Yep! There were some good deals on United using miles, but I didn't take it because I couldn't manage the itinerary.

 

[Cinclus]

Anyone else finding that a plane ticket to second look is ridiculously expensive?

I'm finding prices of about $300, round-trip, into Richmond. About $340 into C-ville. Not really cheap, but not too bad.