Credit hour workload in Medical School

[bihari]

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So I was looking at the curriculum for Midwestern University - Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (I would imagine that an Allopathic curriculum would be similar), but it looks really intense*...but the question is, are the credit hours they have on this list semester credit hours (the system used by most universities), or quarter hours?

http://www.midwestern.edu/Illinois%20Catalog/2561.htm

*When reading this I was thinking they are semester hours, so 20+ each semester is quite intimidating...

Thanks

 

[phospho]

So I was looking at the curriculum for Midwestern University - Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (I would imagine that an Allopathic curriculum would be similar), but it looks really intense*...but the question is, are the credit hours they have on this list semester credit hours (the system used by most universities), or quarter hours?

http://www.midwestern.edu/Illinois%20Catalog/2561.htm

*When reading this I was thinking they are semester hours, so 20+ each semester is quite intimidating...

Thanks

If you take a closer look at that link, they actually call them "quarters" (i.e. first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, etc...) 😉

But I agree, it's pretty intense...

 

[Mobius1985]

About 21 semester hours equivalent is the course load at most allopathic med schools.

 

[bihari]

what would that be in semester hours? (my mind is used to that lol)

 

[PhillyBoyInTN]

The admissions people at QCOM said that the 26 credit hours in your first year is the lightest load you will see there.

 

[Mattabet]

what would that be in semester hours? (my mind is used to that lol)

The conversion that Northwestern (undergrad) used for its quarter system went three 'credits' per one quarter 'credit unit', the currency they gave. So 4 classes per quarter was typical, they gave you four credit units (generally regardless of hours per week spent in class). That translated to 12 'credits' per quarter, or 36 per year (summer quarter off).

 

[phospho]

what would that be in semester hours? (my mind is used to that lol)

most schools use 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours...

that was also the same formula AMCAS used this year (i.e. 1 semester hour = 1.5 quarter hours)

 

[coldweatherblue]

It's kind of hard to compare undergrad with med school by using credit hours. I really don't know exactly what credit hours are supposed to tell you anyway; I've taken 1 hr music classes that required more work than 4 hr science classes...

Just plan on studying a lot and taking a lot of exams and you won't be disappointed.

 

[Law2Doc]

It's kind of hard to compare undergrad with med school by using credit hours. I really don't know exactly what credit hours are supposed to tell you anyway; I've taken 1 hr music classes that required more work than 4 hr science classes...

Just plan on studying a lot and taking a lot of exams and you won't be disappointed.

Actually I would say it's meaningless to compare undergrad with med school in this way. I'm sure med schools have credit hours, but a lot of us have no clue what they are -- it doesn't really matter because you don't have much flexibility in picking courses. In every med school you will cover the same basic science courses over the first two years and then the same core rotations in the third. How the school allocates it is pretty meaningless -- they have to meet the LCME requirements and so all end up being equivalent. Suffice it to say that in most cases you are going to be working a LOT harder in med school than you ever thought possible in undergrad. It's not so much that it's conceptually harder, but the volume and pace are crazy compared to what you've done thus far. Drinking out of a firehose is an apt analogy. Basically the jump from college to med school is the equivalent of jumping from high school varsity football to the NFL. Things move faster, and you have to work a LOT harder to survive. So things like credit hours don't really matter -- you can't compare because 1 hour in med school isn't equivalent to one hour in college any more than one high school game is equivalent to an NFL game.

 

[87138]

Yup, credit hours are essentially useless to even concern yourself with in medical school.

For instance, at my medical school, you take fewer "credits" per year than I did in undergrad.

 

[Revilla]

At an osteopathic school interview this year, one of the student ambassadors said it was equivalent to 30ish undergrad credit hours.

 

[Law2Doc]

At an osteopathic school interview this year, one of the student ambassadors said it was equivalent to 30ish undergrad credit hours.

I think any attempt at determining "equivalence" is unrealistic.

 

[Jolie South]

Yup, credit hours are essentially useless to even concern yourself with in medical school.

this ^

just know you will be studying a lot and taking "finals" every 6-8 weeks.

well, testing depends on the school, but that's what mine is like.

 

[Revilla]

I think any attempt at determining "equivalence" is unrealistic.

I understand. I was just saying what I was told.

 

[cpa2md]

For what it's worth, I ended up with 50 hours at the end of the first year (A&M calls them hours, and the rest of the A&M system is on semesters).