MD Classes in Med School

[gnich1914]

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Are you allowed to take courses elective/non-elective in medical school that are outside of the course curriculum? For example, a NYU medical student taking a few classes on bioethics or maybe an advanced science outside of NYU med but still part of NYU Uni.

In addition, do any medical schools also offer holistic education related to the humanities/ethical sciences or is it all strictly science?

 

[libertyyne]

Are you allowed to take courses elective/non-elective in medical school that are outside of the course curriculum? For example, a NYU medical student taking a few classes on bioethics or maybe an advanced science outside of NYU med but still part of NYU Uni.

In addition, do any medical schools also offer holistic education related to the humanities/ethical sciences or is it all strictly science?

This is probably school dependent. However the only problem is that they might not let you register for classes that are occurring simultaneously. Also medical school corricula are fairly hectic, i took 20 +credits in UG and med school blows that out of the water. Usually the standard advice is do well in school and if you have time left over do some research.

 

[Blanky]

My school has medical ethics first semester among other courses. I’m not sure what your hoping to learn.

 

[gnich1914]

My school has medical ethics first semester among other courses. I’m not sure what your hoping to learn.

Ok cool, I was just wondering if med school included non science/humanities type courses. That answers my question thanks for the response.

 

[Blanky]

No problem. If you want some ethics try Moral tribes I enjoyed that book.

 

[kopftonmd]

At my school, we have an MA in medical humanities/bioethics that med students can work towards - so we take some (~6 rather than ~10, I believe) of the classes. Non-MD/MA students might be able to do that, too - though I'm not totally sure.

Short answer: This depends on the school. But it's definitely possible at some places!

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Consider enrolling or auditing a medical ethics class the summer between M1 and M2. Shouldn't matter where.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

When you start med school you’ll see why taking an additional class on top of the already ridiculous amount of material you get in med school is a terrible idea.

 

[kopftonmd]

When you start med school you’ll see why taking an additional class on top of the already ridiculous amount of material you get in med school is a terrible idea.

That being said, some people do, in fact, do this. Depending on the school, it may be the case that the graduate classes (particularly at the master's level) are not terribly taxing.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

That being said, some people do, in fact, do this. Depending on the school, it may be the case that the graduate classes (particularly at the master's level) are not terribly taxing.

Maybe I’m just not that smart, but between med school, research, and the one interest group I’m involved in, there is no way I could also take an extra class and put any sort of time into it. I could give up one of the other things, but why would I stop doing things that will help me match to do something that won’t when I could just read a book on the subject?

 

[kopftonmd]

Maybe I’m just not that smart, but between med school, research, and the one interest group I’m involved in, there is no way I could also take an extra class and put any sort of time into it. I could give up one of the other things, but why would I stop doing things that will help me match to do something that won’t when I could just read a book on the subject?

That's a good point, and it really depends on the student and on the strength of their interests. I agree that for some (many?) students, it ain't worth it. But for some it is.

To give an example for the OP, the class I am in for the medical humanities MA right now meets Monday nights, 6-9 PM, with about 200 pages of reading a week and a 5 page essay due every few weeks. Is it more work? Yes, but I do most of it while watching football on Sundays (lol). I do it because I really love the field and I want to continue with that as part of my career later.