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thewzdoc

Ah Newton...how quaint.
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On another thread someone posted this article:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/becoming-a-doctor9.htm

I was reading through it and found this:

Some medical schools use an organ-based approach. In this system, all of the Anatomy, Physiology (normal function), Pathology, Pharmacology, etc. about one organ system (i.e. the heart) is taught at one time before going to the next organ system.

Does anyone know which schools teach like this!? This seems like such a great idea!
 
I know for sure that I remember reading of some schools that teach like this, but I'm at work so I don't have my MSAR with me (not that it stops me from wasting time on SDN...) I'll check it when I get home and post, although post will be biased towards schools I'm interested in since they're the ones I've read about. But yes, I think there are some schools out there that have similar curricula. Curriculi? Whatever. 😉
 
elephunt said:
I know for sure that I remember reading of some schools that teach like this, but I'm at work so I don't have my MSAR with me (not that it stops me from wasting time on SDN...) I'll check it when I get home and post, although post will be biased towards schools I'm interested in since they're the ones I've read about. But yes, I think there are some schools out there that have similar curricula. Curriculi? Whatever. 😉

I should have my MSAR here in a few days. I'll check there too..... 👍
 
Baylor uses an organ-based approach.
 
ms. a said:
Baylor uses an organ-based approach.


Great!....my parents live in Houston...well Sugarland but it's the same area.....hmmm.... 👍
 
thewzdoc said:
Great!....my parents live in Houston...well Sugarland but it's the same area.....hmmm.... 👍

Didnt Case start organ-based systems in the 60s or 70s or something? Im not sure on that.

I think a lot of schools are switching over to organ-based. But its probably the least of anyone's concerns in picking a med school, honestly.
 
Northwestern curriculum is organ-based too.
 
LSU-Shreveport is also systems-based.
 
Thanks for the input!

Now where is that friggen MSAR book!!!!! 😡
 
Gleevec said:
Didnt Case start organ-based systems in the 60s or 70s or something? Im not sure on that.

I think a lot of schools are switching over to organ-based. But its probably the least of anyone's concerns in picking a med school, honestly.

Case is organ based and yes, they were the first school to implement it.

I agree and disagree with gleevec. I agree because in the end you'll learn the same thing no matter where you go for your first two years of med school so in that sense it is a small concern.

I disagree because after going through most of the MS1 curriculum at a traditional non organ based school, I cant count how many times my classmates and I wanted to scream out in frustration because the exact same topic was presented to us three different times in three different classes. Reptition is good for memory but after your physiology, biochem and neuroscience professors beat the same horse to death with different sticks, you realize why organ based is a good idea.

If you go to a non organ based schools, you'll learn about stuff out of context, and when you do learn the context later on in a different course, you'll say to yourself "wow, this wouldve made so much more sense if they told us the context the first time around". I can name literally thousands of instances where this happened, and I can testify that many of my classmates , med and grad students were frustrated by the disjointedness of the non organ based curriculum.

Of course learning style is important, so if you need reptition, traditional curriculum is probably better for you. It is hard to say what fits you until you try it, and by the time you try it its too late because you'll already be in school!

I will definitely write something about the pros and cons of the two after my MS1 year at Case. It'll be interesting to contrast it with my MS1 traditional curriculum at my grad school.
 
UMich went to a systems based approach this year.
 
Miami is systems-based as well. The students I talked to during my interview seemed to really like it.
 
U. of Pittsburgh is also organ based.
 
Wake Forest has an organ system based curriculum and they do PBL.
 
exmike said:
I disagree because after going through most of the MS1 curriculum at a traditional non organ based school, I cant count how many times my classmates and I wanted to scream out in frustration because the exact same topic was presented to us three different times in three different classes. Reptition is good for memory but after your physiology, biochem and neuroscience professors beat the same horse to death with different sticks, you realize why organ based is a good idea.

If you go to a non organ based schools, you'll learn about stuff out of context, and when you do learn the context later on in a different course, you'll say to yourself "wow, this wouldve made so much more sense if they told us the context the first time around". I can name literally thousands of instances where this happened, and I can testify that many of my classmates , med and grad students were frustrated by the disjointedness of the non organ based curriculum.

This is why I was so excited when I read about it. This will be a criteria for which schools are in my top choices now.... of course I won't turn down a traditional school... 👍
 
i think albany is too
 
exmike said:
Case is organ based and yes, they were the first school to implement it.

I agree and disagree with gleevec. I agree because in the end you'll learn the same thing no matter where you go for your first two years of med school so in that sense it is a small concern.

I disagree because after going through most of the MS1 curriculum at a traditional non organ based school, I cant count how many times my classmates and I wanted to scream out in frustration because the exact same topic was presented to us three different times in three different classes. Reptition is good for memory but after your physiology, biochem and neuroscience professors beat the same horse to death with different sticks, you realize why organ based is a good idea.

If you go to a non organ based schools, you'll learn about stuff out of context, and when you do learn the context later on in a different course, you'll say to yourself "wow, this wouldve made so much more sense if they told us the context the first time around". I can name literally thousands of instances where this happened, and I can testify that many of my classmates , med and grad students were frustrated by the disjointedness of the non organ based curriculum.

Of course learning style is important, so if you need reptition, traditional curriculum is probably better for you. It is hard to say what fits you until you try it, and by the time you try it its too late because you'll already be in school!

I will definitely write something about the pros and cons of the two after my MS1 year at Case. It'll be interesting to contrast it with my MS1 traditional curriculum at my grad school.

Wow, I didnt know the trad method was that bad, or the organ systems method was that good. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Gleevec said:
Wow, I didnt know the trad method was that bad, or the organ systems method was that good. Thanks for the heads up.

well, all I can say is that I really disliked traditional method, and in my dislike I could see how an organ based approach would solve many of the problems I had with the traditional approach. I surmise this is also why many schools are slowly moving towards organ based.

I think UCLA changed to organ based this year too.
 
UT Southwestern does this second year.
 
University of North Texas--TCOM is organ based. The students I've spoken with say that seeing the big picture and learning the material is more enjoyable and meaningful when you can understand why you are learning all the tiny details. It helps understand the purpose of teaching you things you don't think are important and so you aren't asking yourself all the time "Why are were learning this meaningless crap?!!! I'll never use this info again in my life!!!"
 
exmike said:
I will definitely write something about the pros and cons of the two after my MS1 year at Case. It'll be interesting to contrast it with my MS1 traditional curriculum at my grad school.

I've had the dubious honor of experiencing both a traditional and systems-based curriculum. Personally, I found the systems-based approach more user-friendly. One big difference with this approach here was that anatomy lab spanned the first 2 yrs, doing basic body cavity stuff 1st semester, then dissecting each of the organ systems when the corresponding system was being focused on the following 3 semesters. Some might consider 2 yrs of anatomy too much, vs a concentrated 6 mos with a traditional curriculum.

I didnt even consider curriculum differences when applying to med school - in the end, all schools will cover the appropriate points to be covered on the USMLE. But - i think the systems-based approach made learning the multitude of material more bearable - since we started learning the interesting pathology stuff and treatment in 2nd semester, rather than dragging out all the "dry" material across the whole first year (which can at times feel like torture).
 
U of MN-Duluth has a systems based approach starting the second semester. The first semester has applied anatomy and "principles of basic medical science," which covers biochem, cell and molecular bio, microbio, virology etc. After this brutal introduction, the systems are covered for the last 1.5 years.
 
Thanks for all the input! The anecdotes are awsome!
 
Is there anyone out there who actually prefers the traditional approach? Seems system based will eventually take over anyway.
 
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