I'm just curious what people at other schools think. I feel like students at my school fill out surveys up the wazoo that disappear into the ether and no one really cares what students ACTUALLY think.
Do you feel that the administrators at your school are responsive to feedback?
- Thread starter quepatho
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There isn't that much incentive for them. Med school is competitive, it would take a pretty amazing rep for suckage before they couldn't fill a class full of decent pre-med drones and get the tuition $$$.
Hell, look at the pre-allo forum, there's no lack of people dying to go to UTSW...lol!
Hell, look at the pre-allo forum, there's no lack of people dying to go to UTSW...lol!
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deleted307836
Just curious... what's so bad about UTSW? I've never heard about a bad rep.
Yeah, agreed. At least not where I go.
You also haven't heard that about my school <un-named>.
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Based on the poll, it seems like other people are having better experiences with their schools, so that's good, I guess.
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At my school they change the curriculum around (lecture order, how the tests are grouped, how many tests per block - not the actual subjects) every single year based on student comments. It is sort of nice, but sort of annoying because things are some times so different between years you can't ask the second years what to expect.
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They were more responsive here at UAMS than I expected. There's still quite a lot of ignoring student feedback and passing the buck going on, though. It's been a mixed bag during the clinical years. The surgery rotation changed dramatically after I had it in response to feedback. They didn't really fix the problems, but they at least tried. Conversely, the central complaints with the OB/Gyn rotation, specifically the L&D portion of it, have been the same for years and remain unchanged. For instance, it was difficult to know about deliveries since we weren't allowed to have a Vocera (little walkie-talkie thing they broadcast news over). We also were disallowed access cards to the L&D wards. The course director and course coordinator both gave me half-assed excuses as to why that was. During my week of nursery, we had both, so in case I'd actually bought their BS, it would've been painfully obvious at that point that they just plain didn't want to change the status quo. Similarly the peds OSCE has had a well child visit on it for years even though we're expressly prohibited from doing well child visits for at least as many years because we apparently take too long to read off the printed question sheet.
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I have to say at my school I have had a real pleasant experience with the administration. They go above and beyond to be helpful. I couldn't be happier; especially with the situations I have had that seem unbelievable. I just have really freaking bad luck.
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They seem to be quite responsive for the next year, so the year before us can get something changed, ruin it for us, and we can only change it back for the next year. But they do seem to want to accommodate as many reasonable student requests as possible.
Some of the older professors/course directors are set in their ways and won't really take any student feedback.
Some of the older professors/course directors are set in their ways and won't really take any student feedback.
Rather malignant, but I didn't go to school there so it's just 2nd hand info. Their residency is pretty notorious for the same reason.
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The Deans at my school seem to be 100% nonconfrontational with the faculty. Any request that would require them to confront (let alone replace) a faculty member is delegated down to the department level and, unless it's one of the rare good departments, it gets ignored. On the other hand anything that involves a simple capital investment (ex: we need a gym) or policy change (ex: we want the Jewish holidays off) seems to get a very good response.
Hmm interesting. Yeah we don't get Jewish holidays off (at least in clinical years). They made it abundantly clear to us to please not bother even asking at the beginning of the year. Good thing I'm not Jewish, I suppose.
Haha, I think one of the deans at my school nearly s*** his pants after a student suggested that maybe another person could be recruited to teach one of the 2nd year modules since the current teacher was not available to teach it at a time that was convenient for most students (complicated explanation).
And student organizations barely get enough money to fund a nice pizza party, LOL. And if you want more, you have to beg and you probably still won't get it.
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The only thing that really can hold a fire to their asses is the fact that the LCME surveys students during the reaccreditation process, and if students are disgruntled they notice...
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Responsive in that they care deeply about what we think/want/say, but are unable to do anything about it in a timely manner (i.e before MS1's are PGY3's)
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I don't think my school is responsive to feedback at all. We have been complaining that we are not getting reading assignments for the entire year. Since we are essentially doing the entire curriculum on our own, it is essential to have the assigned reading.
Furthermore, while most schools seem to be getting out now or at least winding down, we have a plethora of "required" assignments for these last few weeks. We have voiced our concerns regarding needing board prep time to no avail. So, heres to another year of being below the national average!
Furthermore, while most schools seem to be getting out now or at least winding down, we have a plethora of "required" assignments for these last few weeks. We have voiced our concerns regarding needing board prep time to no avail. So, heres to another year of being below the national average!
oh dear god, another survey!! But maybe I'd better pay attention to this one!
I think it'd be kind of funny to go back this year and count how many surveys I've filled out this year. My guess is upwards of 70. At this point, another survey from INSIDE the school is just a slap in the face (i.e. "please tell us what you think so we can use it as toilet paper later on when we run out").
Same here, same here, same here, same here. Hahahaha and the administration gets irritated that <5 students actually physically attended class during the last module (no joke). It *must* be just because we are the rudest, most ill-mannered students in the country and we have no respect for the lecturers. I love how our non-attendance is, naturally, a demonstration of our poor personal qualities.
OR WAIT. COULD THERE BE ANOTHER EXPLANATION??? LIKE THAT WE HAVE NO TIME TO STUDY FOR STEP 1?
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The Jewish holiday thing changed after my first year. Before that, though, the high holy days were a goofy de-facto holiday: so many people missed class that no course director would teach anything testable on those days. Of course, that meant even the Gentiles wouldn't come to class. The professors would be lecturing about clinical correlates to half a dozen students (out of 200)
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Umm, it's obviously because your entire class is UNPROFESSIONAL! I effin' hate that word being thrown around. It has no meaning anymore!
AMEN. Preach it.
Did you know that getting sick was actually unprofessional if you are so unfortunate as to do it during a mandatory class? Even if you've never missed a class ever for any reason?
Yeah, you can get definitely get written up for that at my school - and it will go on your dean's letter to residencies. (Hasn't happened to me personally, but has happened to more than one of my friends.)
P.S. Sorry for filling this thread with my negativity but I have no other place to vent the full extent of my frustrations.
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I feel pretty fortunate after reading this thread. My school takes surveys very seriously. They fired a course director after enough students complained two years ago. When another course wasn't cutting it, the administration pretty much took control over the course and dictated to the faculty how it would be taught. They even hired a new professor to co-teach the course, who was basically appointed by the students.
Sometimes I think students have too much say at my school. If enough pansies complain about tests being too hard or whatnot, the administration starts to threaten the course directors.
Sometimes I think students have too much say at my school. If enough pansies complain about tests being too hard or whatnot, the administration starts to threaten the course directors.
