Med School Course Load Question???

[XT777]

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I am well aware that Med school is extremely difficult but not certain about any of the specifics. I believe I read somewhere that the first semester of P.A. school requires that you take 26 units...that seems like a lot of units since undergrad schools consider 12-18 units to be a full course load.

So, what is first and second year Med school course load like.

Thanks,
XT777

 

[ItsGavinC]

XT777,

I'm a dental student, not a med student, but I was browsing and thought I'd let you know my experience.

Our first semester is 36 credit hours, and our second is 35. I think med schools also carry the same courseload, with hours usually ranging from 25-35 each semester.

 

[camjakb]

I think I read somewhere that med students do the equivalent of 45 credit hours per semester.

 

[Jadeite]

Bring it on, babee.

 

[XT777]

can anyone verify this? 45 units?

that is three times a regular undergrad load...this seems like a lot...i feel like i would have difficult time dealing with twice the course load of undergrad but three times is jsut scary.

is there some notable difference that makes this an unfair comparision?

XT777

 

[rxfudd]

This is from my school's M1 "Survival Guide" - the numbers are for total classroom hours for the quarter (i.e. how many actual hours you will spend in a lab or classroom for each course).

2002 Fall Quarter (9/9/02-12/13/02)

ANA 451 Histology 81
ANA 471 Human Anatomy I 95
BHV 481 Ethics in Medicine 9
PCM 501 Intro Physical Diagnosis 15
PCM 511 Interviewing & Communication 10
PCM 521 Preceptorship 12
PCM 531 Health of the Public 9
PHY 451 Physiology I 52

Total: 283 Hours/13 weeks = 22 credits

2003 Winter Quarter (1/6/03-3/21/03)

ANA 472 Human Anatomy II 70
BCH 471 Biochemistry I 45
BHV 482 Ethics in Medicine II 12
PCM 522 Preceptorship 9
PCM 532 Health of the Public 8
PHY 452 Physiology II 47

Total: 191 Hours/10 weeks = 19 credits

2003 Spring Quarter (3/31/03-6/20/03)

BCH 472 Biochemistry II 50
BHV 451 Fundamentals of Behavior 21
BHV 453 Behavior in the Life Cycle 24
BHV 483 Ethics in Medicine III 6
NEU 451 Neurobiology 79
PCM 523 Preceptorship 10
IMM 505 Basic Immunology 41

Total: 231 Hours/11 weeks = 21 credits

Keep in mind that although the number of "credits" may be similar to undergrad, the amount of information is not. If it took 10 hours to teach a certain amount of info in UG, it will take 3 hours in med school. It's not the course load that makes it overwhelming, it's the workload within the courses.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by rxfudd
If it took 10 hours to teach a certain amount of info in UG, it will take 3 hours in med school. It's not the course load that makes it overwhelming, it's the workload within the courses.

I think that 10 hours --> 3 hours example is actually a bit understated. Try 10 hours --> 30 minutes and you're probably closer to the reality of it.

In other words, what the professor covered in an entire week during undergrad is covered in 30 minutes to one hour.

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
I think that 10 hours --> 3 hours example is actually a bit understated. Try 10 hours --> 30 minutes and you're probably closer to the reality of it.

In other words, what the professor covered in an entire week during undergrad is covered in 30 minutes to one hour.

Very possible - I was basing my estimate on the fact that everything seemed to shoot past me about three times as fast as I was used to.

 

[XT777]

I never did it, but I was always told in undergrad that you should study 2 hours for every hour of class.

In med school, where the information is of so much more significance, I could see myself trying to follow that rule.

However 45x2= 90 +the original 45 =135 hours of class and studying a week.

As long as you don't stop to eat, shower, commute, talk on the phone or recreate you would still be able to fit in a whole 4.7 hours of sleep a night.

19-22 units seems more reasonable. I do understand that med school courses move much more quickly and cover much more info than an undergrad course.

Thank you for the responses.

XT777

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

At my school, after 1st year was over, we had completed 47 hours total of credits. I don't know how they decide how many credits each class is worth--for example, gross anatomy was 6 and physiology was 8. Of course, you spend more time studying anatomy on your own time, but more time sitting in physiology lecture. I don't think you should really pay attention to how many hours everything is worth because it's not like undergrad anymore. You need to study a lot.

 

[auster]

At Pitt, when we register we are listed as taking 0 credits - I think our grade reports also say 0 credits... I think you pretty much have to ignore what each school says is the amount of credits you are taking and just realize that it is a lot. There is just too much variability in what they report.
Either way, it is a lot of work, but once you get used to it it isn't at all bad and is almost fun (the stuff outside of class is certainly fun).

 

[Anath]

I can't possibly be the only who doesn't think teh first year was all that bad. Yes, it was a lot of material, but it isn't as scarey and horrid as it has come to sound in this thread! You will find that some classes will occupy more of your time than others. Ie, anatomy and histology took up a ton of time for me. (Histology is heavily stressed at my school, and so we go into more detail than what my friends seem to). However, I actually found other classes such as physiology and biochem more manageable. Perhaps it's the format of the material. Information flowed from one sentence to the next, so although the syllabus might have 20 pages of note material for that 1 hour lecture, when you actually go through it on your own, you realize that much is either extraneous info or re-inforcement of something they've already said. And of course, as the year goes on, you will hear the same things in a different way in different courses, so things will come easier. Either way, classes will eventually balance out in terms of time committment. (I will probably eat my words this 2nd year, since 1st semester, 2nd year is gruesome I am told -- and judging by the looks in many of the 2nd years that I met last year, I do not doubt it).

I was amazed at how, by the end of the year as I would take an exam or final, I found myself remembering a lecture from another class. Especially Neuro. Man, I loved neuro and phys!

I don't know how the school you plan to attend deals with student concerns. But we have a monthly deans hours where the dean will talk to us about issues, and we will raise our own concerns and have a dialogue. And it seemed that amongst 1st year students especially, people complained that classes should be more stream-lined. Ie, when you're learning something in one class, you should be hearing it in the other class if the other class intends to cover it. I never had an issue throughout the school year. And I guess I'm an aural learner -- I do better when I hear things multiple times. It helped me more to hear the same things at different times in the context of other information.

 

[BigBadBix]

Anath--I had the same experience as you did. It was a lot to learn but since everything overlapped it wasn't so bad. And, since I've just completed 2nd year I can tell you that it is the same way. In fact, 2nd year is even better because you hear repeated stuff from first year and apply it to new situations (e.g. reviewing anat/phys/histo/micro as they apply to path). The end of 2nd year is so great because everything starts to come together.

In terms of credit hours, it depends where you go. We only have 13-15 hours of lecture a week at my school, which is about what I had in undergrad. But that meant we covered more material per hour of lecture, and lots of self-directed learning was necessary.

 

[8744]

Look at it this way: In undergrad I rarely had more then three hours of lecture every day with most classes meeting only MWF or Tuesday-Thursday.

At my medical school we probably averaged five hours of lecture every day along with other activities (labs and etc.)

You will spend a lot more time in class at medical school then you did as an undergrad. The class hours are more like high school then college.

 

[12R34Y]

there has been a lot of good advice given on this thread, but there is the other side...........I NEVER went to class (except required ones occasionally)....just studied the syllabus and review books etc....and no biggie. I never had to study after 4 pm usually. I studied from 8or 9 to 4 with lunch and breaks while the rest of the lecture attendees were in lecture.......they all studied AFTER a full day of lecture. Makes a big difference in your time management.

everyone should go to class in the beginning to get a feel for it, but we have a note taking service and you sure can get a lot done during lecture time.


later

 

[thackl]

My brother never got a good handle on time management until he stopped attending class. He would go to required stuff and speakers he really enjoyed.

This will be big change for me as part of my udergrad folmula for success was attending all lectures.

 

[chef]

re: not going to lectures - if u have notetaking service at your school, then you'll be fine. but if u want to honor your classes you better go b/c those notes do not cover 100% of stuff.

it's up to you to decide whether that extra 5% not covered in the notes are worth to you...

 

[daisygirl]

Originally posted by chef
re: not going to lectures - if u have notetaking service at your school, then you'll be fine. but if u want to honor your classes you better go b/c those notes do not cover 100% of stuff.

it's up to you to decide whether that extra 5% not covered in the notes are worth to you...

Not exactly true in my case (or all cases for that matter). I honored classes when I didn't attend lecture. Case in point- I kicked ass in pathology and I spent literally fifteen minutes total in that class (walked in as professor was reading off of his powerpoints....p53, blah, blah, blah...and then I walked out). In all honesty, one's method will not work for the masses. However, I found that reading the provided syllabi, text and transcribed notes was way more than enough to kick butt in any class. Additionally, getting your hands on old exams will help you reinforce what you've read, while also giving you cues as to what is important to those who are testing you.

 

[8744]

Some people find it useful to attend lecture but to sit in the back and study at their own pace while the drone of the professor provides a pleasing background noise.

This could be especially useful if all the lecturer is doing is reading off of his Powerpoint slides.

This way, you are technically "in class" at those schools which have mandatory attendence but you are using class time more effficiently.

 

[Blade28]

For our school, it was 17 + 35 = 52 credit hours during first year, and 19 + 20 = 39 credit hours during second year. The ol' analogy for med school lectures is the "trying to drink water from a fire hydrant" one - there's just SO much information thrown at you in a relatively short period of time. I think most people can recall their first couple gross anatomy lectures, where a huge number of new words and terms were thrown around in a very rapid fashion.

Also remember that no one in your med school is dumb. These are all people that did well in college (as well as other extracurriculars), and have generally succeeded thus far. It's amazing how everyone feels humbled in med school.

 

[benzo]

With regard to the courseload....

Much has already been said about the time spent in class. I'm amazed at HOW MUCH material is covered in a one hour lecture. For example, last week we had an anatomy lecture that was 1.5 hours long. It covered the entire forarm. So in one lecture we covered about 20 muscles, their actions, inervations, origins, insertions, blood supply, etc. That is nothing like undergrad was. Furthermore, you have to assimilate that material very quickly because the very next day we had a lecture scheduled for the entire anatomy of the wrist and hand wich is a lot of material. The information comes very fast. We've basically covered the ENTIRE anatomy of the upper extremity in one week. That's about 54 muscles, the brachial plexus, etc. It's a mind boggling amount of material that you are expected to learn very quickly.

 

[Jalby]

At my school I would say we have about 20 hours of class a week, with about 6 hours of ICM (clinical) stuff a week. I didn't really find it overwhelming and it is totally doable, in part because they are no longer trying to trick you like they did in college. Instead of trying to get a good curve like they did in college, now they are just trying to get the students to know as much as they can.