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If memory serves me correctly, this time of year and the following few months should have 300 (or thereabouts) of you considering an admissions offer to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. Ive just finished my first semester there as an M1 (well, a few days left) and thought I would post my thoughts and comments. Hope this helps those of you considering CWRU for med school.
Our system is organ based and classes are arranged in the form of committees. A committee is essentially a class dedicated to one subject area. We have two types of committees, longitudinal and (for lack of a better word) latitudinal. A longitudinal committee is a class that spans the entire year. Gross Anatomy and Histopathology are examples of these. Our latitudinal committees span anywhere from two to five weeks. These are the organ based subject committees. Because longitudinal committees run the entire length of the year, they run concurrently with the latitudinal committees. We are in class from 8:00 to 12:00 or 8:00 to 1:00 five days a week. In addition to the basic sciences committees, CWRU also has a comprehensive final examination at the end of the first year.
This all sounds rather opaque. So how does this work? My last committee is illustrative: we just finished our cardiovascular committee which lasted two weeks (ten days of class). Depending on how many four hours days versus five hour days we had (I cant recall how many of each) we had approximately 40 hours of instruction in cardiovascular material. Most of those hours (say 25-30) consisted of cardiovascular physiology taught by instructors from the Physiology Department (from instructors who specialize in cardiovascular physiology, presumably). About 6-8 hours of instruction originated from the Department of Anatomy. This consisted of approximately 2 hours of anatomy lecture and four to six hours of laboratory time with the cadaver. Finally, we had several hours of instruction regarding the histology of the cardiovascular system from the department of histology. This consisted of a few hours of lecture followed by a few hours of laboratory with the microscopes. Hence, over the past two weeks we dedicated ALL of our instructional time to the cardiovascular system but we had three committees running concurrently. The largest was the latitudinal subject committee where we learned about (among other things) the various regulatory mechanisms that control the cardiovascular system. At the same time, we dissected and studied the human heart within the context of the Gross Anatomy longitudinal subject committee AND we studied the histology of cardiomyocytes and vascular tissue within the context of the Histology longitudinal committee. ALL instruction, including ALL lab periods were confined to the hours between 8am to 12 or 1. There is no basic science lab or instructional material in the afternoons at all at Case.
Grading of the basic sciences committees at CWRU is strictly pass/fail on a yearly basis. This means that for each of the two years, only one grade is given, P of F (hence, the transcript says, for instance:
Year 1 Pass
Year 2 Pass.
This means that your individual performance on any one committee is not reflected on your transcript as long as you pass enough committees to receive a P for the year. Which raises an interesting question: Just how many committee may one fail before he receives an F for the year? As far as I can tell, there is no clear answer to this question. You are probably safe failing 2 or perhaps 3, but no more. But that is a guess.
Each latitudinal committee is followed by an examination (called an interim examination). This examination tests all the material taught over the preceding weeks. Concurrent (and seamlessly integrated) with the latitudinal committee, the longitudinal committee examinations are also given. Hence, on exam day for, say, the neuromuscular subject committee we answered questions not only about the physiology of the neuromuscular junction but also anatomy questions about the muscles in the arm and leg and histology questions about the cytology of neurons. We also participated in a practical examination of the muscles and bones of all the limbs and extremities. Because this examination marks the termination of instruction for the neuromuscular subject committee, we receive a preliminary grade for that committee within about 10 minutes of finishing the examination (and a final grade within about a week). This ALSO marks the end of instruction regarding the neuromuscular system for both histology and gross anatomy as well. BUT, it does NOT mark the end of instruction for those committees in general (remember, they are longitudinal, and therefore span the entire year). Hence, the grades we get for those represent only a part of the final grade we will get in these committees. All grading is numerical, and each committee sets their own passing score. If your numerical score is above the passing score, you get a P. Simple.
Every student is assigned his own desk in one of three large rooms. Each desk has its own power outlet and internet connection. We are also issued a new dell laptop computer (as part of the basic tuition cost) on which we take ALL examinations.
As I said, all basic science instruction occurs in the mornings, five days a week. ALL of this instruction is strictly OPTIONAL. You may attend as many or as few lectures and laboratories as your heart desires. A day or two before each committee we receive written syllabi (notes) for every single lecture in the committee. In addition to that, every lecture is also streamed on the internet so you can watch them at your leisure. Everybodys mileage with this system will vary. You just have to figure out where you are and what works best for you. It has been absolutely fantastic for me because I have a wife and kids and I live about 25 minutes from campus. I made it to class exactly two times in the past six weeks. I dont watch the lectures either because I find the written syllabi to be very good. I promise you it is possible to do well with this system studying ONLY the material in the written syllabi, I am doing extremely well. Again, though, you may be a lecture person. Thats cool. We still have those here also.
There are a few things that are NOT optional, however. These are the Science of Clinical Practice (SCP) committee, the Physical Diagnosis committee (which, to tell you the truth, may simply be a part of the SCP committee I have not figured that our yet), the Family Medicine Clinic and our electives.
SCP meets every Tuesday morning from 8 to 10. This is the only formal mixing of the CWRU students with the Cleveland Clinic med students. We meet in small groups (or sometimes as a large group) and discuss things like reform of the medical malpractice system, how to do online medical research, etc. These sessions are mandatory but otherwise minimally invasive. As I understand it, one may get Honors, High Pass, Pass and Fail for this. Not sure, though.
Physical Diagnosis meets once a week in the evenings. This is also mandatory. We spend a few hours learning how to do a particular exam (say, cardiovascular) and then practice it on a standardized patient. I think this is fairly worthwhile. It only meets for the first semester (hence, we just finished it) but I think I got A LOT out of it. For instance, I had NO CLUE how to take a blood pressure or check for an upper nerve injury. But now I do so thats cool.
[continued]
Our system is organ based and classes are arranged in the form of committees. A committee is essentially a class dedicated to one subject area. We have two types of committees, longitudinal and (for lack of a better word) latitudinal. A longitudinal committee is a class that spans the entire year. Gross Anatomy and Histopathology are examples of these. Our latitudinal committees span anywhere from two to five weeks. These are the organ based subject committees. Because longitudinal committees run the entire length of the year, they run concurrently with the latitudinal committees. We are in class from 8:00 to 12:00 or 8:00 to 1:00 five days a week. In addition to the basic sciences committees, CWRU also has a comprehensive final examination at the end of the first year.
This all sounds rather opaque. So how does this work? My last committee is illustrative: we just finished our cardiovascular committee which lasted two weeks (ten days of class). Depending on how many four hours days versus five hour days we had (I cant recall how many of each) we had approximately 40 hours of instruction in cardiovascular material. Most of those hours (say 25-30) consisted of cardiovascular physiology taught by instructors from the Physiology Department (from instructors who specialize in cardiovascular physiology, presumably). About 6-8 hours of instruction originated from the Department of Anatomy. This consisted of approximately 2 hours of anatomy lecture and four to six hours of laboratory time with the cadaver. Finally, we had several hours of instruction regarding the histology of the cardiovascular system from the department of histology. This consisted of a few hours of lecture followed by a few hours of laboratory with the microscopes. Hence, over the past two weeks we dedicated ALL of our instructional time to the cardiovascular system but we had three committees running concurrently. The largest was the latitudinal subject committee where we learned about (among other things) the various regulatory mechanisms that control the cardiovascular system. At the same time, we dissected and studied the human heart within the context of the Gross Anatomy longitudinal subject committee AND we studied the histology of cardiomyocytes and vascular tissue within the context of the Histology longitudinal committee. ALL instruction, including ALL lab periods were confined to the hours between 8am to 12 or 1. There is no basic science lab or instructional material in the afternoons at all at Case.
Grading of the basic sciences committees at CWRU is strictly pass/fail on a yearly basis. This means that for each of the two years, only one grade is given, P of F (hence, the transcript says, for instance:
Year 1 Pass
Year 2 Pass.
This means that your individual performance on any one committee is not reflected on your transcript as long as you pass enough committees to receive a P for the year. Which raises an interesting question: Just how many committee may one fail before he receives an F for the year? As far as I can tell, there is no clear answer to this question. You are probably safe failing 2 or perhaps 3, but no more. But that is a guess.
Each latitudinal committee is followed by an examination (called an interim examination). This examination tests all the material taught over the preceding weeks. Concurrent (and seamlessly integrated) with the latitudinal committee, the longitudinal committee examinations are also given. Hence, on exam day for, say, the neuromuscular subject committee we answered questions not only about the physiology of the neuromuscular junction but also anatomy questions about the muscles in the arm and leg and histology questions about the cytology of neurons. We also participated in a practical examination of the muscles and bones of all the limbs and extremities. Because this examination marks the termination of instruction for the neuromuscular subject committee, we receive a preliminary grade for that committee within about 10 minutes of finishing the examination (and a final grade within about a week). This ALSO marks the end of instruction regarding the neuromuscular system for both histology and gross anatomy as well. BUT, it does NOT mark the end of instruction for those committees in general (remember, they are longitudinal, and therefore span the entire year). Hence, the grades we get for those represent only a part of the final grade we will get in these committees. All grading is numerical, and each committee sets their own passing score. If your numerical score is above the passing score, you get a P. Simple.
Every student is assigned his own desk in one of three large rooms. Each desk has its own power outlet and internet connection. We are also issued a new dell laptop computer (as part of the basic tuition cost) on which we take ALL examinations.
As I said, all basic science instruction occurs in the mornings, five days a week. ALL of this instruction is strictly OPTIONAL. You may attend as many or as few lectures and laboratories as your heart desires. A day or two before each committee we receive written syllabi (notes) for every single lecture in the committee. In addition to that, every lecture is also streamed on the internet so you can watch them at your leisure. Everybodys mileage with this system will vary. You just have to figure out where you are and what works best for you. It has been absolutely fantastic for me because I have a wife and kids and I live about 25 minutes from campus. I made it to class exactly two times in the past six weeks. I dont watch the lectures either because I find the written syllabi to be very good. I promise you it is possible to do well with this system studying ONLY the material in the written syllabi, I am doing extremely well. Again, though, you may be a lecture person. Thats cool. We still have those here also.
There are a few things that are NOT optional, however. These are the Science of Clinical Practice (SCP) committee, the Physical Diagnosis committee (which, to tell you the truth, may simply be a part of the SCP committee I have not figured that our yet), the Family Medicine Clinic and our electives.
SCP meets every Tuesday morning from 8 to 10. This is the only formal mixing of the CWRU students with the Cleveland Clinic med students. We meet in small groups (or sometimes as a large group) and discuss things like reform of the medical malpractice system, how to do online medical research, etc. These sessions are mandatory but otherwise minimally invasive. As I understand it, one may get Honors, High Pass, Pass and Fail for this. Not sure, though.
Physical Diagnosis meets once a week in the evenings. This is also mandatory. We spend a few hours learning how to do a particular exam (say, cardiovascular) and then practice it on a standardized patient. I think this is fairly worthwhile. It only meets for the first semester (hence, we just finished it) but I think I got A LOT out of it. For instance, I had NO CLUE how to take a blood pressure or check for an upper nerve injury. But now I do so thats cool.
[continued]
I guess you better tell that to my host, who lived 1/2 block north of the CC. All along Chester and north there are apartments and houses. And on the south side of the CC, right across the street, there is a neighborhood. Not pretty, but a neighborhood all the same.
