How long is the average medical school orientation?

[sassystudent1998]

From looking up various med school orientations, it seems the average length is 3-5 days which seems like the perfect time to meet students, get an intro to the curriculum, etc…

My school orientation is two weeks (10 days), each a FULL day like 8am-4pm. This lowkey diminishes my excitement cuz I know most of this time is boring/useless 🙁

Thoughts?

Edit: I guess I'm mainly scared the school is setting a precedent for having lots of time-consuming lectures/mandatory events :/

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[ciestar]

My school’s was also two weeks long

 

[Nugester]

3 days of Zoom.

Seems a little excessive, but hey, maybe they making up for last year.

 

[Goro]

From looking up various med school orientations, it seems the average length is 3-5 days which seems like the perfect time to meet students, get an intro to the curriculum, etc…

My school orientation is two weeks (10 days), each a FULL day like 8am-4pm. This lowkey diminishes my excitement cuz I know most of this time is boring/useless 🙁

Thoughts?

Edit: I guess I'm mainly scared the school is setting a precedent for having lots of time-consuming lectures/mandatory events :/

TWO weeks!

What penal colony is this????

 

[sassystudent1998]

TWO weeks!

What penal colony is this????

I know 😭 seems like very few schools have pointless long orientations....guess I'm part of the unlucky batch

 

[Prehealth1011]

3 days of Zoom.

Seems a little excessive, but hey, maybe they making up for last year.

Wait till you get to residency orientation 😉

 

[ciestar]

Wait till you get to residency orientation 😉

Painful

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Far, far too long. Luckily mine was on zoom, which meant mute -> Apex legends

 

[JoaoMoutinho]

TWO weeks!

What penal colony is this????

Mine was 2+ weeks as well. They threw in a couple of (easy) class sessions to introduce people to the curriculum (or to fit things in that they didn't know where else to put them in the curriculum), and they did lots of social/"team building" type stuff. That was also when they taught us how to do a basic H&P.

Didn't quite feel like a penal colony but something tells me it could have been done more efficiently...


On the plus side that was the only time we ever had a wellness lecture, most of which was just telling us what resources are available. Our administration at least knows that everyone hates them and they are a waste of time.

 

[Schwifty]

Mine was 7ish days, with 4 of those days telling us how to act “professional”

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Mine was 3 full weeks.

 

[sassystudent1998]

Mine was 2+ weeks as well. They threw in a couple of (easy) class sessions to introduce people to the curriculum (or to fit things in that they didn't know where else to put them in the curriculum), and they did lots of social/"team building" type stuff. That was also when they taught us how to do a basic H&P.

Didn't quite feel like a penal colony but something tells me it could have been done more efficiently...


On the plus side that was the only time we ever had a wellness lecture, most of which was just telling us what resources are available. Our administration at least knows that everyone hates them and they are a waste of time.

Based on looking at my schedule, it looks like mine is filled with similar stuff. Could be more efficient forsure haha

 

[Osteosaur]

Mine was a week and two days. It was horrible. Worse than dedicated and sucked away all the excitement.

 

[sassystudent1998]

Mine was a week and two days. It was horrible. Worse than dedicated and sucked away all the excitement.

That's what I'm worried about :/ It's a draining way to build up to lectures

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

That's what I'm worried about :/ It's a draining way to build up to lectures

Try to enjoy not having to learn anything for a few extra days.

 

[7331poas]

From looking up various med school orientations, it seems the average length is 3-5 days which seems like the perfect time to meet students, get an intro to the curriculum, etc…

My school orientation is two weeks (10 days), each a FULL day like 8am-4pm. This lowkey diminishes my excitement cuz I know most of this time is boring/useless 🙁

Thoughts?

Edit: I guess I'm mainly scared the school is setting a precedent for having lots of time-consuming lectures/mandatory events :/

Is your school in the northeast?

 

[sassystudent1998]

Is your school in the northeast?

Nope, its in the west

 

[DameJulie]

My school had a 5 day in person orientation pre covid, then shortened to 2 days of zoom during covid.

 

[Ho0v-man]

The next 4 years of your life you’ll be frustrated at how inefficient med school is so this is totally appropriate.

The worst part will be the gunners sitting at the front asking stupid questions just to hear themselves talk and pretend to be interested. So at least it lets you know who to avoid.

 

[Neopolymath]

The next 4 years of your life you’ll be frustrated at how inefficient med school is so this is totally appropriate.

The worst part will be the gunners sitting at the front asking stupid questions just to hear themselves talk and pretend to be interested. So at least it lets you know who to avoid.

And somehow the second part of your post continues during intern orientation. I wonder if it will happen when we move to rad orientation?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

And somehow the second part of your post continues during intern orientation. I wonder if it will happen when we move to rad orientation?

Who is asking gunner questions during intern orientation? Lord have mercy.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Who is asking gunner questions during intern orientation? Lord have mercy.

I swear it’s still going.

And somehow the second part of your post continues during intern orientation. I wonder if it will happen when we move to rad orientation?

I’m really hoping for some chill by then. Then again medical education has eradicated most of my ability to hope so…

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I swear it’s still going.

I’m really hoping for some chill by then. Then again medical education has eradicated most of my ability to hope so…

Like what kind of questions?

 

[Ho0v-man]

Like what kind of questions?

Basically stuff you couldn’t possibly expect to be answered in that setting. Like asking stuff beyond the scope of what the presentation is about that you’ll obviously run by your seniors/attending in real time and not something you’ll figure out today.

 

[lanadelgay124]

Midwest here -- mine's also two full weeks of setting aside 8am-8pm for activities. It absolutely looks a bit daunting from here.

 

[operaman]

In defense of the school, they may be trying to cram in a few LCME requirements into the first couple weeks before real studying begins. Honestly, this is probably the ideal way to handle a lot of that. Sure beats a 2-3 hour mandatory session while you’re trying to study for an exam!

There’s a certain amount of suckage that’s required but it’s up to schools how best to dole out that suckage. Given how limited time is in the first couple years and how much is already not covered, I can’t imagine any school would blow a whole two weeks on fluff unless that fluff was required for accreditation.

 

[sassystudent1998]

In defense of the school, they may be trying to cram in a few LCME requirements into the first couple weeks before real studying begins. Honestly, this is probably the ideal way to handle a lot of that. Sure beats a 2-3 hour mandatory session while you’re trying to study for an exam!

There’s a certain amount of suckage that’s required but it’s up to schools how best to dole out that suckage. Given how limited time is in the first couple years and how much is already not covered, I can’t imagine any school would blow a whole two weeks on fluff unless that fluff was required for accreditation.

This gives me some hope lol….I really do hope this is the case and the school is trying to do what’s best for its students.

Based on the rest of the comments above, looks like inefficiency is a repetitive theme in med school and beyond so I’d better get used to it 🥲

 

[operaman]

This gives me some hope lol….I really do hope this is the case and the school is trying to do what’s best for its students.

Based on the rest of the comments above, looks like inefficiency is a repetitive theme in med school and beyond so I’d better get used to it 🥲

I tend to give MedEd admins the benefit of the doubt simply because most of them have been training physicians for decades and I've been a medical school Dean for... (checks watch)... never. I have to assume that whatever issues I find with how something is done, there's probably a good reason and other competing interests. The people making curriculum decisions in most good schools are very intelligent and accomplished educators so there is probably a reason behind whatever they do. Obviously things can always be better and many ideas for improvement come from students actively progressing through the curriculum, but most of the time the current system is also an improvement over the last iteration that actually sucked a little bit more.

For anyone interested, most schools do have committees of students and faculty that oversee the curriculum and implementation. I would imagine that serving on one would give an eye-opening glimpse into the decision-making process.