Picking a school based on population surrounding it

[Sophocles]

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I have read on some new threads that patient contact isn't so important as premeds think it is. My question is if patient contact doesn't matter, should someone base their decision of where to attend medical school by what population that medical school serves? For instance, if I want to work with low-income underserved populations should I try to get into a school that is in the middle of one, or should I try to get into a school that is in a more affluent neighborhood since patient contact isn't that important?

Thanks for the responses in advanced.

 

[circulus vitios]

For instance, if I want to work with low-income underserved populations should I try to get into a school that is in the middle of one

Low-income and underserved means you will most likely be living and attending school in a run down, crime ridden area. Food for thought, etc.

 

[darkjedi]

Low-income and underserved means you will most likely be living and attending school in a run down, crime ridden area. Food for thought, etc.

Not entirely true, University campuses tend to be very safe and well developed, even if they border lower income neighborhoods. Just look at UChicago, JHU, BU and Penn.

I do believe patient contact is critical to a good medical school education. If your teaching hospital is a place where they fly in special cases from hundreds of miles away, you will likely learn a lot more from that population than if your teaching hospital served a predominantly white and local population.

 

[theseeker4]

I have read on some new threads that patient contact isn't so important as premeds think it is. My question is if patient contact doesn't matter, should someone base their decision of where to attend medical school by what population that medical school serves? For instance, if I want to work with low-income underserved populations should I try to get into a school that is in the middle of one, or should I try to get into a school that is in a more affluent neighborhood since patient contact isn't that important?

Thanks for the responses in advanced.

I don't think anyone actually seriously claims that patient contact is not important. I have heard people claim that EARLY patient contact (meaning before third year) has no advantage other than being interesting. The location of your school's teaching hospital will determine the type of patients you will be learning how to be a doctor on, so definitely take it into account if you have a strong preference one way or the other.

 

[Sophocles]

I don't think anyone actually seriously claims that patient contact is not important. I have heard people claim that EARLY patient contact (meaning before third year) has no advantage other than being interesting. The location of your school's teaching hospital will determine the type of patients you will be learning how to be a doctor on, so definitely take it into account if you have a strong preference one way or the other.

Got it.👍

 

[MedPR]

Low-income and underserved means you will most likely be living and attending school in a run down, crime ridden area. Food for thought, etc.

Untrue for both slu and washu

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[DrBowtie]

This type of question is far more relevant for residency training than medical school.

Your sample size of patients on each rotation is relatively small. Its better to learn bread and butter in med school.

 

[Sophocles]

This type of question is far more relevant for residency training than medical school.

Your sample size of patients on each rotation is relatively small. Its better to learn bread and butter in med school.

That's what I was thinking. I don't know how much time I will actually have and I'm thinking it might be better spent studying versus trying to get involved with the community.

 

[Praefectus]

Go to a school with at least a couple of bars around (and preferably a decent female undergrad population). You'll thank me when you're awkwardly trying to unhook the bra off a freshman sorority girl who just started drinking last week.

 

[circulus vitios]

Untrue for both slu and washu

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True for Rosalind Franklin and Western U, or so I've heard.

 

[ilikevegetables]

It might not actually have anything to do with the neighborhood. Some schools aren't actually in an underserved neighborhood, but might have opportunities for volunteering/rotations in underserved neighborhoods. In any case, it seems to me like if you ultimately to want to serve a certain population, getting exposure to those patients in medical school couldn't hurt! 😳

 

[drizzt3117]

True for Rosalind Franklin and Western U, or so I've heard.

Pomona sucks but there's nice areas around it.

 

[anon3]

Underserved economically poor areas encounter diseases from lifestyle/lack of immunizations that more affluent areas would not. And a disease is more likely to progress to advance states before treatment.

Prestigious hospitals are last stops for difficult cases and exotic cases where other hospitals throw their hands up on what to do.

For this reason, there is sometimes a recommendation to do your residency at a prestigious hospital or a inner city hospital if you can't manage to get into a prestigious one.