Med School Curriculums- what are the differences?

[WingsBelieve84]

P/F
Ranked within class?
Hours of class/Typical week
Coursepack Based?
Case-based learning?
Classes at one time
Exam Schedule

What else? Any comments on which of these are truly significant?

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[almost_there]

P/F
Ranked within class?
Hours of class/Typical week
Coursepack Based?
Case-based learning?
Classes at one time
Exam Schedule

What else? Any comments on which of these are truly significant?

Some places also have "scholarly paper" requirements -- some kind of thesis (based on research, or separate study). Duke, Yale, Stanford all have this (University of Washington as well to a lesser extent). Duke also has the clinical year in the second year of medical school, followed by one year of research.

For me, the easiest thing to do was talk to the students who are currently at the schools -- what do they spend their time doing? How do they learn? Is that consistent with how I best learn? What do I want to spend my time doing?

Really, everyone takes the same boards with the same requisite material, so it's a matter of learning style. Some places will put stream their classes online, some require lecture attendance, or anatomy is done via prosection (expert demonstration) vs. doing it yourself.

How do these activities help prepare me for residency/becoming a doctor?

Cheers,

a_t

 

[Law2Doc]

P/F
Ranked within class?
Hours of class/Typical week
Coursepack Based?
Case-based learning?
Classes at one time
Exam Schedule

What else? Any comments on which of these are truly significant?

There are plusses and minuses in every system. Bottom line as the prior poster indicated is that you need to get through all of the same material each year anyhow. So the question is do you want the classes one at a time and compressed, or multiple classes at a time but spread out over a longer time period? Do you want to have long lecture based days, or schools that expect you to pick up more of the material from self study? Do you want PBL which makes the courses more tied to real life, at perhaps the expense of covering as much of the core material in class as some other places? Do you think you'd be benefitted in a place with a class rank or grading system? And even if it's P/F, it could be ranked, and even within P/F there may be honors, high pass, low pass distinctions, making it just a grading system with different letters. Do you hate competition or thrive on it? All these are very personal decisions, and vary at all schools. The goal is to learn the material, do well, and be in a reasonably good place so that when you review for the boards after second year you are in a good starting place. See what med students at various schools like or don't like about each program, bearing in mind that there will be multiple opinions at each school and they are all valid for such individuals (and also note that no one who volunteers to talk to prospectives does so if they dislike their school). It's all pretty much a wash (of plusses and minuse) to me -- just find a place you like and you'll learn how to work within their system.

 

[.edu-MD]

Don't forget the clerkships. There are standard required ones but all schools vary in the lengths required from 4-8, even up to 12 weeks (though these would generally be split IP/OP or into some subspecialty). Depending on the lengths of these required rotations, you will have a varying amount of elective time. Also, many schools have other required clerkships (e.g. EM, rads, uro, neurosci, opthalm are all ones I've seen on my interview trail) that will cut into your elective time.

Some schools allow concentrations and will mention this in your dean's letter. Others have research programs that can get you a degree "with research honors or distinction" or something along those lines, or maybe just a mention in your dean's letter.