do medical school professors have office hours/ are there tutors?

[ronaldo23]

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In undergrad I learn virtually everything through class notes (rarely read the books, at least in any kind of depth), and then frequently going to professor's office hours, to have them clarify what I don't understand. Is this type of method good for med school? Or are there no office hours?

 

[Mr hawkings]

In undergrad I learn virtually everything through class notes (rarely read the books, at least in any kind of depth), and then frequently going to professor's office hours, to have them clarify what I don't understand. Is this type of method good for med school? Or are there no office hours?

I dont think thats going to work. A lot of these guys do not just teach. They are either MDs and will be taking care of patients of phDs who will be busy doign their research. Your going to have to either learn to use textbook or take very detailed notes or you'll become very annoying very quickly.

Besides, a lot of schools are trying to encourage "self study" now so someone like you should certainly take a very close look at the curriculum of any school you may want to attend before commiting (if you havent already).

 

[Doctorverardoll]

Maybe it depends on the school, but many of my professors welcomed coming into ask questions. I have spent a lot of time in their offices. Generally it is with a few other students (1-3 others) and is really helpful. I even have have had professors come in on weekends near exam times.

 

[psipsina]

At my school they say there is an "open door policy" with the professors. We also have tutoring in place for students who struggle with the coursework. Even better might be forming a study group with your classmates and learning actively with eachother. With the volume of medschool if you really depend on this type of interaction to learn you will need to do it more than its reasonable to expect a professor to provide for you as well as 100+ other medstudents.

 

[silverlining1]

Our professors are approachable, and some (but not all) have official office hours. The best thing, though, is that we have a full-time professional tutorial office of people with advanced science degrees. In addition to attending our lectures and holding office hours, they also hold review sessions, answer questions via email or by forum postings, and create study guides/study questions. I think this professional service is unique to UCSD, though.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Class notes from my year 1 and 2 are some of the worst crap I've ever seen. First year half the lecture would be about some obscure research the prof was doing, second year half the lecture was way beyond the scope of what you need to know. If I had to rely on them to learn I woulda failed step 1.

 

[Law2Doc]

In undergrad I learn virtually everything through class notes (rarely read the books, at least in any kind of depth), and then frequently going to professor's office hours, to have them clarify what I don't understand. Is this type of method good for med school? Or are there no office hours?

You are going to find a mix in med school. Some profs will be approachable for questions (particularly the non-clinicians, others not so much. All will answer a well chosen question or two during breaks at lecture. Few will have formal office hours. Lining up a tutor is often unrealistic in med school because the upperclassmen qualified to tutor you are in higher years with their own rigorous or inflexible schedules. Most schools have "counselors" available to discuss study habits and advice. So plan on having to learn most of the material on your own, from the lecture slides, lectures, note-sets, and well chosen study guides and outside material.

 

[Perrotfish]

At my school most professors announce an 'open office' policy but it's really not like office hours. The school provides 'official' tutors to people in danger of failing certain classes (Anatomy, for example), but otherwise you just need to ask your classmates for help.

That being said, medical school is EXTREMELY clear in terms of their learning objectives, or at least mine is. I've never had so few surprises on exams before. Every word of every slide is on the test and nothing else is. What's on the slide is also reprinted in only a slightly different format in half a dozen standardized review books, class notes, premade flash cards, etc. You really shouldn't need a professor to understand the material that's going to be on the test.

 

[bodonid]

not really at my school, but I interviewed at open door schools.

 

[flaahless]

In undergrad I learn virtually everything through class notes (rarely read the books, at least in any kind of depth), and then frequently going to professor's office hours, to have them clarify what I don't understand. Is this type of method good for med school? Or are there no office hours?

I also studied like that in undergrad, but for med school, I haven't really had the time to frequent office hours. Instead I just read the syllabus which is like a combo of classnotes and a textbook (~500 pages per test, tests are about every 3 weeks). Med school is a LOT of material in little time, so you're going to have to get used to reading it.

 

[MassTransport]

I have a feeling it's going to depend on the lecturer. For the basic years, a lot of your teachers are going to be PhDs, and I've found that they're more accommodating about coming in with questions. It's definitely not like college, though, where most of the profs have designated OHs.

Otherwise, if you have specific questions you're better off asking your friends, looking it up, or cornering the guy after the lecture ends/sending emails and praying s/he checks them.