Research med school vs Primary care med school

[jr doctor in sd]

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Could someone please explain the big differences between the two? Im sure the research one focuses on...well, research.

But do both allow you to become an MD and practice in a hospital? or if you go to a research institution are you forced to be doing lab work and all that only? Thanks all! 🙂

 

[ADeadLois]

You can apply to whatever residency you want from any allopathic school. The focus of the school doesn't matter. The distinction arises because certain schools graduate more students who go into a primary care residency.

 

[postbacker]

You can apply to whatever residency you want from any allopathic school. The focus of the school doesn't matter. The distinction arises because certain schools graduate more students who go into a primary care residency.

And there are plenty of research opportunities for med students at the so-called "non-research" med schools...

 

[Pinkertinkle]

This confusing is caused by the US News rankings. The primary care ranking is completely idiotic. The most important thing that ranking is measuring is percentage of graduating class going into primary care. Since primary care specialties are the least competitive of all specialties, the number of people able to go into it tells us nothing about the school.

 

[mindquick]

yeah the US News rankings are meaningless for med schools.

 

[foreverLaur]

the #1 factor in rankings of US med schools is the amount of NIH grants the school gets.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

wow i had no idea that it was based on % of people pursuing primary care. thats definitely a stupid set up. Do any of you know where to get a list of top schools based on...oh i dont know...actual education quality received? =p. Thanks! 👍

 

[mindquick]

wow i had no idea that it was based on % of people pursuing primary care. thats definitely a stupid set up. Do any of you know where to get a list of top schools based on...oh i dont know...actual education quality received? =p. Thanks! 👍

considering that almost all med schools have a similar cirriculum, it would be hard to differentiate between them.

 

[ADeadLois]

wow i had no idea that it was based on % of people pursuing primary care. thats definitely a stupid set up. Do any of you know where to get a list of top schools based on...oh i dont know...actual education quality received? =p. Thanks! 👍

It's tough to objectively rank this. The metric often used is USMLE results, but that is a result of individual achievement on a standardized test. It's like ranking Undergrad schools based on MCAT scores. I think US News has some weirdo metrics to rank educational quality that no one outside the US News headquarters really appreciates or understands.

 

[postbacker]

It's tough to objectively rank this. The metric often used is USMLE results, but that is a result of individual achievement on a standardized test. It's like ranking Undergrad schools based on MCAT scores. I think US News has some weirdo metrics to rank educational quality that no one outside the US News headquarters really appreciates or understands.

The rankings are useful for figuring out the toughest schools to get into - the higher the ranking, the tougher the admissions...and this is useful so that you don't simply apply to only the "top ranked" schools lest you want to get shut out completely...

 

[jr doctor in sd]

Ok that all makes sense...now i just dont get why people are dying to get into Harvard med or UPenn or etc. if it really doesnt matter. Does the school you go to greatly impact your residency placement?

Say a Harvard med grad vs a Loyola med grad - will the job pretty much immediately go to the harvard one? Based on the name, n such..

 

[MrBurns10]

Ok that all makes sense...now i just dont get why people are dying to get into Harvard med or UPenn or etc. if it really doesnt matter. Does the school you go to greatly impact your residency placement?

Say a Harvard med grad vs a Loyola med grad - will the job pretty much immediately go to the harvard one? Based on the name, n such..

It matters to a certain extent, but it's pretty much accepted that you can get anywhere from anywhere provided you do well.

As far as the Harvard med grad vs Loyola med grad, I would say that if they both did well the Harvard one would get the nod. But a LOT of that has to do with who they know, who they've worked with, etc. I think that's the biggest advantage the top research schools have...not so much the name of the school itself but the names of the people writing your LORs.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

It matters to a certain extent, but it's pretty much accepted that you can get anywhere from anywhere provided you do well.

As far as the Harvard med grad vs Loyola med grad, I would say that if they both did well the Harvard one would get the nod. But a LOT of that has to do with who they know, who they've worked with, etc. I think that's the biggest advantage the top research schools have...not so much the name of the school itself but the names of the people writing your LORs.

Oh i see...i guess thats good news knowing wherever you go is ok as long as you make sure you get in 🙂

 

[MrBurns10]

Oh i see...i guess thats good news knowing wherever you go is ok as long as you make sure you get in 🙂

Definitely. And remember, what I said is just my opinion and what I've heard from some other people. Everyone's opinions and experiences are going to be different.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

yeah of course...everything on the boards are opinions =]. of course ill ask around to see if there are any other perks to the higher ranked schools as well since as of right now it doesnt seem like much besides a name and more famous rec letter

 

[CCLCMer]

Could someone please explain the big differences between the two? Im sure the research one focuses on...well, research.

But do both allow you to become an MD and practice in a hospital? or if you go to a research institution are you forced to be doing lab work and all that only? Thanks all! 🙂

Good god, no! I probably go to the most research-oriented school in this country short of being in an MD/PhD program, and no one forces us to do lab work. (Well, we do have to do one basic science rotation during our first summer here, but not after that. 😛 ) CCLCM's mission is to train physician scientists, so they're hoping that we will be researchers. But we have many choices besides just working in a lab, including clinical research, full time clinical practice, medical administration, industry jobs, government jobs, etc. An MD degree can be used for a lot of different things, no matter what school you got it from. There's no limit on what kind of job you can get depending on which school you got your MD from.