Medical Student Evaluations

[David Hume]

Hello all,

I have a strong interest in psychiatry and will likely be applying to competitive US residency programs this upcoming year. I attend a Canadian med school and our evaluation system seems slightly different from the American model.

At my school, in a given clinical rotation, the following grades can be achieved: fail--below expectations--meets expectations--exceeds expectations--superior. It is set up so that, in most rotations, 80-90% of the class falls in the "meets expectations" category.

So, my question is... does our "exceeds expectations" seem to represent "honors" in the American system. What percentage of students attains an "honors" evaluation in any given clinical rotation (e.g. internal medicine, or psychiatry)?

After having attended a top liberal arts college in New England, I'm finding the utter lack of grade inflation in med school unnerving. Is this a Canadian thing or is this the same in American med schools?

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[willow212]

I think that at most (or at least some) American schools, along with the Dean's letter, they send statistics as to the number of people in the class who received each grade in each core 3rd year rotation. That way, someone looking at your application can see how you did relative to others in your class.

Not sure how it is at your school, but it might be worth asking the dean's office about it...

For the question how much do grades matter to psychiatry residency application committees, I think it varies. But I think that the application as a whole (and esp personal statement and rec letters) is much more important than the grade you got in psychiatry and definitely more important than your USMLE scores.

 

[David Hume]

Thanks for responding, Willow. As you point out, many schools send stats with the Dean's letter so residencies know the % of students that attain each grade - my school included. I'm not too worried about it from that standpoint... I'm just looking to get a feel for what people mean when they say they attained "honors" in this or that vs. "high pass", etc.

I know that personal statement, the written evaluations that accompany the "grade", and letters of rec are all important, as well as other factors.

I'm just curious what % of peoples' med school classes attain "honors" in internal medicine or surgery or psych or any of the core clerkships...

Anyone who happens to know, please feel free to respond...