Captainobvious83
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What schools don't have mandatory attendance? Mostly focused on second year when i'm studying for boards.
I'd turn the question around and simply ask what schools DO have mandatory lecture attendance. Most school treat students as the adult learners they are and have video recorded lectures.What schools don't have mandatory attendance? Mostly focused on second year when i'm studying for boards.
that would absolutely suck. I'm sure they waited to implement to not scare students away. then it was too late.Even if a school doesn't have mandatory attendance now, things can change, I interviewed at a DO school and the students told me that a few bays before classes started they implemented a mandatory attendance policy with no warning.
Ya, the students were not happy about it, even some of the faculty members were unaware that it was happening (from what I herd) until it was implemented. The students I spoke with told me they have been speaking with the dean all year trying to change it, at least for second year students.that would absolutely suck. I'm sure they waited to implement to not scare students away. then it was too late.
st. george's university doesnt have mandatory attendance for the most part. all the lectures are online soon after they are given
Whaaaat?Those of us who are in admin positions at medical schools prefer that our second year student do NOT focus too much on Step 1 during second year and instead immerse themselves in their education. It is ok that students learn in different ways, and to pick and choose from the optional things in the curriculum in a way that works best for them, but NOT for the reason of doing well on Step 1. Second year should be focused on learning the material needed to well on the wards, and in medicine for the rest of their lives.
That is one advantage of the medical schools that have their students take Step 1 after a year on the wards. That way, the students spend their preclinical years not solely focused on Step 1, which is short-sighted. I understand the pressures though, given that fields like Ortho, ENT, DERM, NEUROSURGERY, etc place undue emphasis on Step 1 scores.
There needs to be a mix and curriculum committees should acknowledge that almost every specialty requires a certain step score. Teaching presentations of diseases is important but many treatment regimens change by the time we hit the wards.Those of us who are in admin positions at medical schools prefer that our second year student do NOT focus too much on Step 1 during second year and instead immerse themselves in their education. It is ok that students learn in different ways, and to pick and choose from the optional things in the curriculum in a way that works best for them, but NOT for the reason of doing well on Step 1. Second year should be focused on learning the material needed to well on the wards, and in medicine for the rest of their lives.
That is one advantage of the medical schools that have their students take Step 1 after a year on the wards. That way, the students spend their preclinical years not solely focused on Step 1, which is short-sighted. I understand the pressures though, given that fields like Ortho, ENT, DERM, NEUROSURGERY, etc place undue emphasis on Step 1 scores.
Certainly students should not be kept too busy to study for Step exams. Taking Step 1 after the clinical year does seem to work well for most students - as long as there is adequate dedicated time to study for the exam after the clinical year. Clinical context does seem to help students know what basic science information is relevant and likely to be on Step 1, but a minimum of 8 dedicated weeks is needed to study IMO.There needs to be a mix and curriculum committees should acknowledge that almost every specialty requires a certain step score. Teaching presentations of diseases is important but many treatment regimens change by the time we hit the wards.
Keeping the students too busy so they can’t do well on Step is terrible to the students and is completely unfair, as it in turn severely limits what specialty they can choose for the rest of their lives
Certainly students should not be kept too busy to study for Step exams. Taking Step 1 after the clinical year does seem to work well for most students - as long as there is adequate dedicated time to study for the exam after the clinical year. Clinical context does seem to help students know what basic science information is relevant and likely to be on Step 1, but a minimum of 8 dedicated weeks is needed to study IMO.
At my T20 institution, we have had students match very well, even in competitive specialties, even with mediocre board scores. But they do need to have done extraordinarily well on all rotations, esp away sub internships, and their research needs to be top notch. Some even get funding for a research year. It does seem that students, especially those from middle and lower tier schools, do have an unfair disadvantage and NEED to get a top score to get into a competitive specialty.
Certainly students should not be kept too busy to study for Step exams. Taking Step 1 after the clinical year does seem to work well for most students - as long as there is adequate dedicated time to study for the exam after the clinical year. Clinical context does seem to help students know what basic science information is relevant and likely to be on Step 1, but a minimum of 8 dedicated weeks is needed to study IMO.
At my T20 institution, we have had students match very well, even in competitive specialties, even with mediocre board scores. But they do need to have done extraordinarily well on all rotations, esp away sub internships, and their research needs to be top notch. Some even get funding for a research year. It does seem that students, especially those from middle and lower tier schools, do have an unfair disadvantage and NEED to get a top score to get into a competitive specialty.
TBH mandatory lectures during 1st semester is a good thing. You don't yet know exactly how to study, and need some discipline in your life to get used to the grind. After you know you can pass the material, then you're free to see if anything works better for you 2nd semester and beyond.
You could have non mandatory lectures first semester, but go to class until you know how to study. For some, that might be 3 weeks, in which case most of the 1st semester mandatory attendance would still be a hindrance.
Unless you get lucky and your first way of studying turns out to be the right way for you, you're going to switch it up A LOT. It took me until 2nd semester to figure out how to study efficiently, and some in my class still hadn't figured it out by the time we got to dedicated. You'd be surprised at the amount of students in your class who would just f*ck off during 1st semester thinking they could skate through if they didn't have the discipline that attending mandatory lectures helps to establish.
Why should it be up to the school to dictate that though? It is the students' responsibility to get the most out of their study time, right? And my point still stands, because I've met students (MS1s and MS2s) on the interview trail that said they stopped going to class after a few weeks.
I cant see how mandatory lecture can ever be a good thing. Like ever. Unless youre predominantly an auditory learnerI second that you need to actually interview at a school before you'll really know if they have mandatory lecture. My school for has all mandatory lectures 1st semester, then the 2nd half of first year and all of 2nd year are non-mandatory, except for OMM lab and a few lectures like weekly Friday guest speakers, as well as skills labs.
TBH mandatory lectures during 1st semester is a good thing. You don't yet know exactly how to study, and need some discipline in your life to get used to the grind. After you know you can pass the material, then you're free to see if anything works better for you 2nd semester and beyond.
I've heard a case where a certain school board average has gone up significantly after implementing mandatory attendance to some classes. So you can never say never.I cant see how mandatory lecture can ever be a good thing. Like ever. Unless youre predominantly an auditory learner
Before we had recorded lectures and thus much higher lecture attendance, I noticed that the weakest students tended NOT to come to lectures. But the world has moved on.I've heard a case where a certain school board average has gone up significantly after implementing mandatory attendance to some classes. So you can never say never.
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