MSTPs and Grades

[hawkeey]

How do MD/PhD candidates do in terms of grades compared to normal track medical students?

I think MD/PhD candidates tend to have different backgrounds with more emphasis on research. It seems to me that MD/PhDs are more likely not have taken anatomy in the past than other pre-meds. Some MD/PhDs even scorn other pre-meds at their undergrad and try to distance themselves from the 'pre-meds'.

So are MD/PhDs going to be the group that scores at the top of the curve, in the middle, or at the bottom? Do MD/PhDs tend to have trouble or do better in some classes when compared to the rest of the medical school class?

And finally, do grades matter for MD/PhDs?

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[Neuronix]

How do MD/PhD candidates do in terms of grades compared to normal track medical students?

Hard to make a comparison without data. I think they range the spectrum from top of the med school to bottom. I suspect if you compared med school performance of MD/PhDs vs. MDs you wouldn't have any correlations, but I don't know.

I think MD/PhD candidates tend to have different backgrounds with more emphasis on research. It seems to me that MD/PhDs are more likely not have taken anatomy in the past than other pre-meds. Some MD/PhDs even scorn other pre-meds at their undergrad and try to distance themselves from the 'pre-meds'.

I know very few pre-meds who took anatomy. It's not offered at the vast majority of undergrads. Also, MD/PhDs scorning other pre-meds is anecdote and that sort of attitude varies wildly.

And finally, do grades matter for MD/PhDs?

See my post here http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=359302

For the first two years, grades pretty much matter for nobody. Your grad school grades don't matter unless you pass. It's your clinic grades that matter, and there are very few schools that don't have grades in clinics. I'm a big fan of not having grades for basic science, as those grades don't really matter anyways.

 

[erraticVibe]

For the first two years, grades pretty much matter for nobody. Your grad school grades don't matter unless you pass. It's your clinic grades that matter, and there are very few schools that don't have grades in clinics. I'm a big fan of not having grades for basic science, as those grades don't really matter anyways.

Aren't alot of schools doing high-pass/pass kind of designations as well? So what is the difference between that and graded?

 

[Neuronix]

Aren't alot of schools doing high-pass/pass kind of designations as well? So what is the difference between that and graded?

Nothing. I call those grades. I can't understand the feel good non-sense that is calling H/HP/P/F pass-fail. You might as well call it A/B/C/F. H/P/F is the middle ground variant of course. True Pass-Fail is P/F.

For pretty much all schools, you have H/HP/P/F during clinics. There are a few exceptions, and people argue all the time about it. For basic science (the first two years), the grading schemes vary from school to school. To clarify, I think that part of the cirriculum should be strictly P/F and it will take a good amount of stress off some people if it is.