Harvard New Pathway

[fresca]

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so I'm currently deciding between a number of schools and was wondering what people thought of NP? I have heard complaints that it doesn't prepare you well for the boards, but I'm not sure how many of the rumors are true.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by fresca
so I'm currently deciding between a number of schools and was wondering what people thought of NP? I have heard complaints that it doesn't prepare you well for the boards, but I'm not sure how many of the rumors are true.

When I interviewed @ HMS, I heard these too ... I wouldn't worry too much about it. I loved the school and the program, but they kicked my @$$ to the curb. Congrats on having such choices!

JH

 

[pjr28]

Originally posted by fresca
so I'm currently deciding between a number of schools and was wondering what people thought of NP? I have heard complaints that it doesn't prepare you well for the boards, but I'm not sure how many of the rumors are true.

First of all congrats on the wonderful acceptance! I will also be attending HMS this fall. With regards to the question about not preparing you well for the boards, you are right it doesn't. It prepares you to think like a physician and since all medical students are dedicated to the practice of medicine, you will inevitably learn the necessary information on your own. Its not like the program has no direction; its just that you need to be motivated to do well, which I am sure you are, since they wouldn't have accepted you if you weren't. On a different note, have you looked at the HMS match list (its in the blue book given to us at the interview)? HMS students pretty much get in wherever they want, given they do well in the clinics, which is expected no matter where you go. Anyway, that should definitely NOT be the primary reason for not attending HMS. I am definitely psyched about the new teaching style and definitely think that it will be rewarding experience. That's just my $.02. PM me if have any other questions.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by JohnHolmes
When I interviewed @ HMS, I heard these too ... I wouldn't worry too much about it. I loved the school and the program, but they kicked my @$$ to the curb. Congrats on having such choices!

JH

oh **** JohnHolmes, you dirty bastard!

 

[deleted19731]

What kind of stats did yall have to get into HMS?

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by Eraserhead
oh **** JohnHolmes, you dirty bastard!

Bicka dow, bicka dow (slow 70's music) ... (JH) you ordered pizza, baby? (girl) ::giggles:: "is it still hot"?

JH

 

[courtyard]

Hi,

I actually asked the same question to one of the current students at HMS NP.

It is true that the style of NP is not aimed at preparing for exams like the boards.

However, there has been some adjustments in NP program to address that concern, and recent HMS NP students have done quite well in the boards.

 

[pjr28]

The 2003 match results are 2 sheets of paper front and back in the red interview folder, not the blue book. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Lilmspiano]

Let's liven up this thread a little bit! Anyone planning on going to the second look weekend?

 

[periodic]

I'll be there...

With a few questions about the following:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=356576

And whether this is actually helping:
http://academy.med.harvard.edu/

I recognize that the low priority given to teaching is a wider problem, but it'll be interesting to hear what steps are being taken, if any are thought to be necessary.

Other than that, I hope it's going to be fun!

 

[MedSkooler]

Schools like Cornell and Harvard (both rely heavily on PBL) do not teach according to the boards. They believe that their students are intelligent enough to study on their own. Schools such as Hopkins and P&S teach very closely to the boards and their students receive some of the highest board scores as a result. However, just because HMS and Cornell do not, does not mean that their students do not do well. That is ridiculous! Moreover, HMS is too diesel in soo many ways.

 

[doepug]

Hopkins teaches according to the boards??? Says who? Hopkins doesn't even require the boards, and the curriculum is in no way influenced by board exams. In fact, our psychiatry curriculum is totally different than what 95% of medical students learn. We do well on the boards because we can take them whenever we want (e.g. after a few clerkships).

 

[periodic]

Hey guys,

For any of you interested in health policy, I'm hopefully going to be speaking with someone in the health care policy department later today, and I'll post or PM some info if anyone's interested. I'm hoping to find out how medical students get involved in policy research there and how the MD/PhD (in a social science) and MD/MBA programs are shaping up.

periodic

 

[winstonm]

Everyone says that about PBL schools. When I went to the McMaster info session last summer (Harvard hired McMaster educators to help design the NP), the same questions popped up about Mac students' board results. This is Harvard though, so the match of your dreams shouldn't be a problem. Congrats on the acceptance.

The funny thing was, one of the presenters said that Harvard isn't as PBL-oriented as people would think (at least compared to Mac, which is nearly all PBL) and actually has a fair number of lectures, though they may call them something else.