Could any current students be available to answer these questions?
1. What is your typical weekly schedule like? In a given week, how many times are you required to attend events like PBL / lab? I'm assuming that lecture attendance is not mandatory, and that they are recorded and posted (?) Woulda appreciate any and all thoughts on the curriculum.
2. What do you think about Madison? I heard there's bad traffic lol. Truly how bad is the winter?
3. Any thoughts on the facilities for the school (preclinical) or affiliated hospitals?
Hi, M2 here! Hope I can help you get some of your questions answered.
1. As a disclaimer I am not sure how applicable our experience M1 year will be to you given the current situation surrounding COVID-19. Our typical week was as follows:
Mondays we have one mandatory class called PaCE where we work as a team to go through a clinical vignette, and establish learning objectives which we will come back together and answer later in the week (1 hour).
Tuesdays/Wednesdays are typically 8-12 with varying lectures/medium group activities. Typically, unless otherwise listed these are not mandatory though you are incentivized to go because often they start off these sessions with a "quiz". This quiz cannot penalize you, but you can accumulate up to 5% credit to offset the weight of the final exam.
Thursdays we have PaCE again this time for two hours where we discuss the learning objectives we had decided upon on Monday.
Fridays we have class 1-5 again almost always optional attendance.
Aside from this, some weeks we have anatomy lab (typically 3 hours) and/or clinical skills (typically 2 hours) or Preceptor (4 hours). Preceptor is once a month, and the # of anatomy labs/clinical skills varies depending on the block you are in.
2. I am a big fan of the city of Madison, but I really think your perspective on this city will depend on where you are relocating from. I don't think the traffic is too bad in comparison with other places I have been, in fact its really only during rush hour when things will get backed up. The medical school is a mile or two west of the heart of downtown so it is easier to find parking/drive around on this side of town. Parking downtown is inconvenient but not impossible in my opinion, and the lots by the school are free after 4:30 so I usually drive to the school to study in the evenings. Winters are brutal, but depending on how you commute to class I wouldn't anticipate spending all that much time outdoors. I concur with what others are saying in investing in a coat, scarves, gloves etc. if you don't already have them.
3. I have no point of reference to compare UW Hospitals/Clinics since I also went to undergrad here so this hospital system is where the bulk of my pre-med experiences occurred. I will say I have yet to have a negative experience with any of the hospitals/staff. The space where we have our classes, the Health Sciences Learning Center, is where I spend the majority of my time. Some spaces are shared with other health professions students, but there are several of designated study spaces for only medical students. The building is fairly new (2010~ I think?), the simulation lab was updated in the last 2/3 years as were the student lounges, and the small/medium group rooms.
Feel free to reach out or let me know if you have any other questions.
-FB
