Hi -
You should be aware that many of the answers to these questions vary somewhat by institution. Since virtually no med students have experiences at >1 med school, these are some of the questions you should try to answer by reading each school's brochures.
- The first two years are preclinical?
This is generally true. At my school, we begin on the wards in April of our second year. Most schools require you to wait until the summer after second year.
- The last two years are in the clinic?
Yes. But you won't just be in a clinic, you'll be in a variety of settings. When you interview for med school, you should ask about the structure of rotations. Many schools require students to take their required rotations (e.g. medicine, surgery) first, and wait until 4th year for electives. At my school (Hopkins), we can take clerkships in any order we choose. I actually started with two electives. This becomes a great advantage for exploring your interests.
- Once in the clinic, what type of hours are there? Regular 8 - 5, or do you have to be there at night?
This varies widely by rotation and medical school.
At my school:
Outpatient rotations (e.g. derm, ambulatory medicine) are typically 8-5, M-F or thereabouts.
Required inpatient clerkships (e.g. peds, medicine, surgery) require more of your time. For peds, I typically arrived around 6:30 am, and left around 4:30-5. As a med student, you will take call on these rotations. Call schedules vary, but you're typically expected to stay late every 3rd or 4th night. At my school, we do not take overnight call for medicine or peds, but we do for surgery. Some electives (e.g. anesthesiology) and advanced clerkships (e.g. subinternships, ICU rotations) require overnight call. Sometimes you get the next day (post-call day) off, sometimes you don't. This depends on the rotation.
- After med school, how long is residency? (Is this when the hours are crazy?)
This varies widely by field. For most fields, a one-year internship is required, and the interns almost always have the worst hours. Typically, residents work longer hours than med students, but most residents have decent (i.e. liveable) schedules, unless they're aspiring surgeons.
- If I'd want to specialize, do I need to first do residency then speicalize? Or can I go straight from med school to my specilization?
This varies greatly by field. If you have questions about specific fields, post them.
- How long does it take to specialize in, say cardiology?
Cards requires a 3 year medical residency (= 1 year of internship, 2 of medical residency), followed by a cardiology fellowship (usually 3 years), for a total of 6 post-graduate years. Some cardiologists specialize further (in, say, cardiac electrophysiology), and this requires another 1-2 years of training.
Good luck,
doepug
MS III, Johns Hopkins