Question for SMP alums

[PhiPhenomenon]

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Hey guys,

This post is directed to SMP veterans.

My question is how much do you think undergraduate courses in the topics taught at an SMP help prep you for the actual course material? For instance, I'm at UBC and plan on taking two 300 level anatomy courses this summer, one in histology the other in gross anatomy as well as a six credit physiology class this upcoming winter (all the aforementioned classes are actually the same classes required by the school of pharmacy). I heard from a few people that medical school courses are roughly on par with those taught in undergrad with respect to difficulty but obviously I have no way to test the veracity of that.

I know SMPs are a very high stakes Hail Mary pass to get into med school but it is looking like that route may be my best option if I want to get into an allopathic school in N. America.

It maybe worth noting that I plan on taking those courses whether or not I do go for an SMP.

 

[deleted248403]

I heard from a few people that medical school courses are roughly on par with those taught in undergrad with respect to difficulty but obviously I have no way to test the veracity of that.

Hahahahahahahahah not even remotely close

 

[SixStringPsych]

Honestly I think it depends what specialty you want to go into. Not to belittle the rigors of medical school or anything, clearly it is very tough and everyone knows this.

But its like if you know you want to do Derm or Surg from day 1, obviously you are gonna need to work your butt off. But if your interests are in Primary Care or Pediatrics, you're not going to have as tough of a time getting a residency match if your grades are sub-par. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong just my 0.02. Def not taking med school lightly!

 

[bkprodigy]

I wouldn't say medical physiology is roughly same as undergraduate human/mammalian physiology. The focus is different. Also the amount of material you have to learn is A LOT more and you have less time.

Very few people at my school get As in medical physiology.

With that being said, your 6 credit phys will build a nice foundation for you later in med school. Take it, along with the anatomy

Hey guys,

This post is directed to SMP veterans.

My question is how much do you think undergraduate courses in the topics taught at an SMP help prep you for the actual course material? For instance, I'm at UBC and plan on taking two 300 level anatomy courses this summer, one in histology the other in gross anatomy as well as a six credit physiology class this upcoming winter (all the aforementioned classes are actually the same classes required by the school of pharmacy). I heard from a few people that medical school courses are roughly on par with those taught in undergrad with respect to difficulty but obviously I have no way to test the veracity of that.

I know SMPs are a very high stakes Hail Mary pass to get into med school but it is looking like that route may be my best option if I want to get into an allopathic school in N. America.

It maybe worth noting that I plan on taking those courses whether or not I do go for an SMP.

 

[PhiPhenomenon]

Hahahahahahahahah not even remotely close

Indeed. What's the difference?

 

[PhiPhenomenon]

I wouldn't say medical physiology is roughly same as undergraduate human/mammalian physiology. The focus is different. Also the amount of material you have to learn is A LOT more and you have less time.

Very few people at my school get As in medical physiology.

With that being said, your 6 credit phys will build a nice foundation for you later in med school. Take it, along with the anatomy

The bolded is what I read a lot on this forum. It's not so much that individual concepts are difficult to grasp but instead so many fly at you that it's very easy to get buried.

To your last paragraph, I will and I'm stoked.

 

[DoctaSleepy]

Go for it, unless there are any major reasons not to. Knowledge from undergrad courses probably never got me actual points on SMP exams, but they did cut down on study time. In SMP courses where I'd never seen the material before, a large chunk of time was devoted to learning big concepts from scratch and getting the basic terminology down. In ones where I had taken the same subject in undergrad, I already had the foundation and could focus on nailing down the details since the material was so much more complex in the SMP. Either way, a good foundation never hurts.

 

[MurphysLaww]

Indeed. What's the difference?

From what I was told from my current biochem professor they cover biochem 1&2 in one semester and go into slightly more detail. However he teaches at Optometry school on the side and writes questions for the MCAT so I am not sure how his course compares to others.

 

[bkprodigy]

From what I was told from my current biochem professor they cover biochem 1&2 in one semester and go into slightly more detail. However he teaches at Optometry school on the side and writes questions for the MCAT so I am not sure how his course compares to others.

It depends how your undergrad courses are structured. My med phys and med neuro go into way more detail than my undergrad upper level phys and neuro, but my undergrad metabolic biochem was WAY harder than my med biochem.

 

[thecgrblue]

Indeed. What's the difference?

I had a 500-level endocrinology course at my UG from a professor that taught for 15 years in medical school. When we asked him if it was comparable he just laughed at us and said there were a few distinct differences:

1) our course was similar in content, but lacked the clinical aspects taught in medical school
2) UG course had more time for the similar volume of material
3) the total course load in undergrad can't hold a candle to that of medical school and that is inherently the most challenging factor.

 

[PhiPhenomenon]

I had a 500-level endocrinology course at my UG from a professor that taught for 15 years in medical school. When we asked him if it was comparable he just laughed at us and said there were a few distinct differences:

1) our course was similar in content, but lacked the clinical aspects taught in medical school
2) UG course had more time for the similar volume of material
3) the total course load in undergrad can't hold a candle to that of medical school and that is inherently the most challenging factor.

Interesting. That makes an SMP sound absolutely terrifying.

 

[bigloley]

Interesting. That makes an SMP sound absolutely terrifying.

No More terrifying than medical school. Most SMP's are 75% of the first year medical school curriculum. The reason its so stressful is that one bad grade can sink you, whereas in medical school, it's just one bad grade. If you can do an SMP you can do medical school, simple as that.

 

[PhiPhenomenon]

No More terrifying than medical school. Most SMP's are 75% of the first year medical school curriculum. The reason its so stressful is that one bad grade can sink you, whereas in medical school, it's just one bad grade. If you can do an SMP you can do medical school, simple as that.

Oh I know. At least when you matriculate into a med school you can bomb a class or two and you're still a physician in the end. If you bomb even *one* class in an SMP you may have very well completely screwed your app. and gained an extra 40k+ in debt.

I'm just going through the prereqs right now but I was extremely arrogant and foolish in my approach. Deciding to self-teach Calc I & II in the same summer independently (distance ed, no curve), then working full time hours while taking a full premed course load and oodles of other ECs doesn't do much for your GPA. It's not that I've done 'bad' grade wise just not med school 'good'.

I was so damned sure I'd be pulling nothing but A's but lo and behold I got a stampede of B's and B+'s. The worst part is I'm starting to question my own prowess. Hell, if giving it my all (well, your all while being employed) only garners B's and B+'s how the fudge do I expect to know, without a doubt, that I can manage a med school course load and hammer out a 3.8 (granted I would not be working if I did that)? Scary, scary stuff.