Overall satisfaction with faculty representation (MD/DO)

[hidesbehindSN]

So admittedly I am using a separate handle for this specific question, as I fear how this thread may be interpreted or what kind of garbage it may (hopefully not) spiral into. This is NOT an MD vs DO thread.

Let me preface by saying I work with many DO's--and have complete and utter respect. There is no difference once you reach the hospital, period. I just don't have the courage to ask these kinds of questions to their faces because I fear that even posing the question may throw my bosses into defensive mode.

I have recently been accepted into medical school. I will be matriculating into an MD program, however I made sure to dig into the pros and cons of each before applying. This is not the thread to discuss that, which is a topic that has been exhausted. It's something I merely stumbled upon while making decisions.

The question/curiosity/ponderance:

The MD program I have been accepted to has a decent faculty to student ratio. Admittedly I don't know exactly what having a 4:1 ratio means. Sure, it sounds great but how much of that is "fluff"? After seeing this I decided to see how it compared to others. When researching schools I recently noticed that most MD schools boast a Faculty/student ratio anywhere from 2.5:1 to 4:1. In contrast, the DO schools I was looking at only had a ratio of about 0.2:1 to 0.4:1.

As DO students, do you feel you are properly/adequately staffed? Do you feel that there is a good enough support structure in place to facilitate your learning?

Alternatively to MD students: Do you feel that ratios of 4:1 are overly-inflated? Do you have trouble seeking help when needed, or feel that the permanent staff is unavailable?

In this scenario, looking at the stark contrast in numbers really raised an interest. While this may be better suited for the medical student forums--this forum is generally the congregation spot for the masses. So I think it is most appropriate here.

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[Didierdrogba]

So admittedly I am using a separate handle for this specific question, as I fear how this thread may be interpreted or what kind of garbage it may (hopefully not) spiral into. This is NOT an MD vs DO thread.

Let me preface by saying I work with many DO's--and have complete and utter respect. There is no difference once you reach the hospital, period. I just don't have the courage to ask these kinds of questions to their faces because I fear that even posing the question may throw my bosses into defensive mode.

I have recently been accepted into medical school. I will be matriculating into an MD program, however I made sure to dig into the pros and cons of each before applying. This is not the thread to discuss that, which is a topic that has been exhausted. It's something I merely stumbled upon while making decisions.

The question/curiosity/ponderance:

The MD program I have been accepted to has a decent faculty to student ratio. Admittedly I don't know exactly what having a 4:1 ratio means. Sure, it sounds great but how much of that is "fluff"? After seeing this I decided to see how it compared to others. When researching schools I recently noticed that most MD schools boast a Faculty/student ratio anywhere from 2.5:1 to 4:1. In contrast, the DO schools I was looking at only had a ratio of about 0.2:1 to 0.4:1.

As DO students, do you feel you are properly/adequately staffed? Do you feel that there is a good enough support structure in place to facilitate your learning?

Alternatively to MD students: Do you feel that ratios of 4:1 are overly-inflated? Do you have trouble seeking help when needed, or feel that the permanent staff is unavailable?

In this scenario, looking at the stark contrast in numbers really raised an interest. While this may be better suited for the medical student forums--this thread is generally the congregation spot for the masses. So I think it is most appropriate here.

I go to a private DO school now (MS1), I feel like we are pretty properly staffed. we have different instructors talking about different topics, and if we need help, they seem to be always willing to help, but I have not remembered an instance where help is not available. Out class has about 110 people, and there are at least 10 to 15 teachers for any course. I don't think there is an issue for faculty to student ratio is a problem at DO schools. (my current school's ratio is 11 students to 1 faculty)

On the other hand, my undergrad was at a large state university which has an attached MD school, it claimed to have a faculty to student ratio of 1:13 (for undergraduates), but the smallest class I was in was at least 35 students to 1 instructor, and it was common to have >100 students per instructor, even the workshops had at least 10 students to 1 TA. I'd say at state universities, the ratio is definitely inflated, and the atmosphere is more intimate at my DO school than in my UG.

hope this helps

 

[Ismet]

I really don't understand how they calculate an accurate faculty:student ratio for med school...in first year alone, each of our ~12 classes has had its own course director(s) and countless faculty lecturers within each course. Then there are the PBL facilitators, who are often not the same from session to session (16 groups, roughly 2-5 sessions per course). I'm just ballparking here, but I'd say that we have interacted with well over 150 faculty members in first year alone, making the ratio <1:1

I never have any trouble getting help or getting in contact with a faculty member when needed. Faculty are always open to talking about research opportunities, shadowing, or clarification on material presented in class. Personally, I would take the faculty:student ratio with a grain of salt, but that might be school-specific and ymmv.

 

[Bacchus]

I would guess the MD ratio is lower because there is an affiliated hospital and most of those attendings are probably on faculty at the medical school by default where as on DO rotations a minority of attendings are designated faculty.

 

[Didierdrogba]

I never have any trouble getting help or getting in contact with a faculty member when needed. Faculty are always open to talking about research opportunities, shadowing, or clarification on material presented in class. Personally, I would take the faculty:student ratio with a grain of salt, but that might be school-specific and ymmv.

basically same here

 

[hidesbehindSN]

I go to a private DO school now (MS1), I feel like we are pretty properly staffed. we have different instructors talking about different topics, and if we need help, they seem to be always willing to help. I don't have the faculty to student ratio available, but I have not remembered an instance where help is not available. Out class has about 110 people, and there are at least 10 to 15 teachers for any course

my undergrad was at a large state university which has an attached MD school, it claimed to have a faculty to student ratio of 13:1 (for undergraduates), but the smallest class I was in was at least 35 students to 1 instructor, and it was common to have >100 students per instructor, even the workshops had at least 10 students to 1 TA. I'd say at state universities, the ratio is definitely inflated.

hope this helps

It definitely helps. I admit I went to a very large state school as well, and had not considered the comparison. The only real difference in this from medical school (I imagine) is the intensity of the course load. For me, I couldn't really have cared less about the staffing at my undergrad institution. The only time I really wanted access to prof's were in regards to potential research and LOR's. feel that in medicine, while I understand there isn't any hand holding (lots of independent study)--there is a much larger potential for questions, or need for interaction.

 

[Didierdrogba]

It definitely helps. I admit I went to a very large state school as well, and had not considered the comparison. The only real difference in this from medical school (I imagine) is the intensity of the course load. For me, I couldn't really have cared less about the staffing at my undergrad institution. The only time I really wanted access to prof's were in regards to potential research and LOR's. feel that in medicine, while I understand there isn't any hand holding (lots of independent study)--there is a much larger potential for questions, or need for interaction.

Personally disagree on this. So far med school has just been lots of memorization for me, there is really nothing conceptually to understand (unlike undergrad). I'd say I have fewer questions than in UG per unit time.

 

[hidesbehindSN]

Personally disagree on this. So far med school has just been lots of memorization for me, there is really nothing conceptually to understand (unlike undergrad). I'd say I have fewer questions than in UG per unit time.

Are you an M1? I don't dare claim to be an expert, but I figured the bulk of questions would come second year

 

[Didierdrogba]

Are you an M1? I don't dare claim to be an expert, but I figured the bulk of questions would come second year

we are system based, so M1 and M2 have essentially the same sort of stuff, just different organs, of course if you have other types of curriculum, then it might be different for ya.