- Joined
- Jul 15, 2012
- Messages
- 947
- Reaction score
- 7
Are there any specific things I should ask the interviewers at such a school that I wouldn't at a more established program?
Questions to ask at a newer medical school
- Thread starter HughMyron
- Start date
D
deleted462159
How much newer are we talking? Is it their first year opening or have there been graduating classes?
- Joined
- May 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9,868
- Reaction score
- 16,258
I'm interviewing at a brand new school soon, so any thoughts on what to consider/ask about a brand new school would be much appreciated.
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2012
- Messages
- 947
- Reaction score
- 7
No graduating class.
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2011
- Messages
- 18,579
- Reaction score
- 57
You could ask them why they chose to teach/practice at a new school. Some of my interviews in the past have included my interviewer talking about their reasons for joining that school.
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2009
- Messages
- 626
- Reaction score
- 7
Maybe questions pertaining to how rotations will be set up for 3rd and 4th year.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
- Messages
- 4,830
- Reaction score
- 2,702
Beat me to it.
Although, I'm assuming the school will provide you with the typical yearly curriculum map.
Perhaps ask if/how 3rd years will be protected from maintaining a purely "scut" role whole on their clerkships.
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2012
- Messages
- 157
- Reaction score
- 1
Beat me to it.
I'm kind of lost on this one. How are we supposed to know what is considered a good rotation set-up and what isn't? Does anyone have any examples?
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2011
- Messages
- 18,579
- Reaction score
- 57
Personal preference really. Having time for electives during third year is something I want. Also location and how much time for aways you have fourth year (some schools have more required rotations 4th year).
Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
- Messages
- 4,830
- Reaction score
- 2,702
co-signed.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
- Messages
- 7,471
- Reaction score
- 2,424
I'll use VTC because I'm a bit more familiar with them, and their first class is the same year as my class.
VTC students do their 3rd year rotations in the Carilion hospital system, most of them at Roanoke Carilion Memorial Hospital. UVA (and VCU, I think) has been sending 3rd (and 4th) year students there for years, and there are a handful of residency programs affiliated with Carilion. So, they're not trying to develop a 3rd and 4th year curriculum completely from scratch; they have some attendings and residents who are familiar with working with medical students and had some idea how to set up medical students within the teams. All they had to do was figure out a way to integrate more students onto the wards (at least until UVA pulls out, which I believe will be in the next couple months).
Same thing goes for USC - Greenville, which has had students spend their first two years at the main campus and then go to Greenville for third and fourth year for several years before they opened a four year campus up in Greenville.
Contrast that with, say, Rocky Vista (I believe... it's been a while since I looked at them), who opened a new medical school and hospital, and thus don't have that experience with students in their own system. There would be a lot more growing pains at Rocky Vista during 3rd and 4th year than there would be at either of the other two. And 3rd and 4th year is not where you want to be having growing pains.
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
- Messages
- 3,565
- Reaction score
- 3,654
Beat me to it.
Although, I'm assuming the school will provide you with the typical yearly curriculum map.
Perhaps ask if/how 3rd years will be protected from maintaining a purely "scut" role whole on their clerkships.
This.
and:
-Do you plan on increasing class size? (if they haven't already said)
-Do you plan on changing the curriculum/grading scheme as you go or is it set in stone?
-Is your IT/computer system ready to go and has it been tested?
(very imp for course websites/discussion boards/powerpoints/lecture recordings becoming available in a timely manner and interfacing w windows and macs)
-Do you have an anatomy/histology/pathology lab website w hundreds of slides/pictures available for every organ? (aka virtual dissector/microscope)
-Is there a notetaking service or coursebook for every class? (besides textbooks)
-Are there specific learning objectives for each course and exam?
-Can you contest bad exam questions? Will questions get thrown out if most of the class misses them?
-Will practice exams with answers be made available by professors in a timely manner? (ie not 2 days before the exam)
-Is there funding available for traveling to conferences/conventions/symposiums (especially imp for research posters/presentations)
-Are there counselors available for planning 3rd/4th year schedules and deciding on a specialty? (also, are they available early, ideally before the end of 2nd yr.)
-What methods are available for evaluating/critiquing courses and professors? What impact will they have?
-How are your 3rd/4th year grades determined?
-How many students are not each rotation at a time?
-Can you do electives/selectives as a 3rd year? Can they be done at other medical schools?
Many of these questions are also useful for non-newer schools as well.
