Pitt sci and non-sci classes

[CaMD]

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Hey current UPitt students,

Can I please solicit your opinions on Pitt's curriculum? How much of your time in class and out-of-class is devoted to non-science courses? Do you feel like that interferes with the amount of time you need to study the science?

How much of your time is spent in lecture versus PBL? What are your feelings on PBL? (To me it seems like a cool way of getting to know your classmates and professors, and also maybe a better way of retaining the material?)

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Wardens]

Hey current UPitt students,

Can I please solicit your opinions on Pitt's curriculum? How much of your time in class and out-of-class is devoted to non-science courses? Do you feel like that interferes with the amount of time you need to study the science?

How much of your time is spent in lecture versus PBL? What are your feelings on PBL? (To me it seems like a cool way of getting to know your classmates and professors, and also maybe a better way of retaining the material?)

Thanks for any feedback!

Hey, I'd say we have somewhere around 7 scheduled hours of non-science class a week, two of those from a course like ethics & law, 2-3 from a course about research methods and medical lit., and another 3 from patient contact course.
The patient contact courses and the small group parts of the research methods course are mandatory, but the rest is not, and in fact, aside from PBL every other week, those are the only classes you're required to attend.

I would still say that there is no hazy area about the importance of our basic science courses and that the other courses seldom if ever interfere. They may even cancel classes on weeks you have a basic science test. I find these classes really interesting and relevant to what we'll be doing in the future, so that also helps make it feel less obstructive. It's really not that much time though.

As far as PBL is concerned, for every 8 week block, we may have 4-5 PBLs. Each PBL includes a 2 hour intro session that describes the case and a 2 hour review session where we each present our 5-10 minutes worth of material and discuss how it's relevant to the case. The actual work you put into the PBL varies, but generally is around 30-90 minutes of research unless it really interests you and you want to do more.

You're absolutely right about PBL's being a great way to meet new people. The people who never come to class do come to PBL (whether they like it or not). We change the PBL groups after each block, so after each change, I meet a handful of new and really interesting people in my class I wouldn't have otherwise gotten the chance to meet. It is also nice to meet some the faculty facilitators. I was able to shadow one, and found another to be a mentor in infectious disease. So overall, I think PBL is a great experience . . . and as a plug for PItt, I can say I couldn't be happier here. The students, faculty, facilities are all wonderful.

 

[CaMD]

Hey, I'd say we have somewhere around 7 scheduled hours of non-science class a week, two of those from a course like ethics & law, 2-3 from a course about research methods and medical lit., and another 3 from patient contact course.
The patient contact courses and the small group parts of the research methods course are mandatory, but the rest is not, and in fact, aside from PBL every other week, those are the only classes you're required to attend.

I would still say that there is no hazy area about the importance of our basic science courses and that the other courses seldom if ever interfere. They may even cancel classes on weeks you have a basic science test. I find these classes really interesting and relevant to what we'll be doing in the future, so that also helps make it feel less obstructive. It's really not that much time though.

As far as PBL is concerned, for every 8 week block, we may have 4-5 PBLs. Each PBL includes a 2 hour intro session that describes the case and a 2 hour review session where we each present our 5-10 minutes worth of material and discuss how it's relevant to the case. The actual work you put into the PBL varies, but generally is around 30-90 minutes of research unless it really interests you and you want to do more.

You're absolutely right about PBL's being a great way to meet new people. The people who never come to class do come to PBL (whether they like it or not). We change the PBL groups after each block, so after each change, I meet a handful of new and really interesting people in my class I wouldn't have otherwise gotten the chance to meet. It is also nice to meet some the faculty facilitators. I was able to shadow one, and found another to be a mentor in infectious disease. So overall, I think PBL is a great experience . . . and as a plug for PItt, I can say I couldn't be happier here. The students, faculty, facilities are all wonderful.

Thanks so much for your response, Wardens!