Schools starting clinical rotations earlier

[MDMechEngr]

Since PD will focus on Step 2 b/c Step 1 is P/F, starting clinical rotations earlier will allow students to plan/do better on Step 2, especially if you are planning to do a competitive specialty. A number of schools have done this and more will be joining next year. If your school has not done this or is not planning to do this, how would this put you at a disadvantage? Also curious to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons of starting clinical rotations earlier.

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[Cath Up]

I could see it increasing the crunch of space for rotating students. My understanding is that they are already usually crammed enough. Having 3 years of medical students rotating instead of 2 could further crowd and degrade the quality of experience for everyone. I think at least one school tends to do a research year- that's another option I think. It would suck for those who hate research though.

 

[deleted1079620]

My school is moving up clinical rotations by one month starting with my class (this summer). We've been told it's to give us an opportunity to get an extra audition rotation though, not for extra time for Step/Level 2.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Our school cut our dedicated time and started our rotations about 5-6 weeks earlier. I'm a fan.

 

[Redpancreas]

Since PD will focus on Step 2 b/c Step 1 is P/F, starting clinical rotations earlier will allow students to plan/do better on Step 2, especially if you are planning to do a competitive specialty. A number of schools have done this and more will be joining next year. If your school has not done this or is not planning to do this, how would this put you at a disadvantage? Also curious to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons of starting clinical rotations earlier.

I know several schools that do this. I frankly think it should be the gold-standard.

Here's Pros/Cons but I'm not a student.

Pros:
-Students don't look dumb on July 1st. They start earlier when interns are actually doing the right things, hence it's not blind leading the blind and medical students benefit from tutelage from more experienced colleagues. It was surprising to see how much the 3rd years had acclimated by the time residents switched cycles in this new model.
-More time for clinical preparation for Step 2 and residency.
-More time in case one fails Step 1.
-Less time learning about useless proteins/mechanisms, rate limiting kinetics, and other things they learned in undergrad/don't need to learn again that they can always look up later.

Cons:
-None, maybe they look bad when they are contrasted against rising residents on their day 1, but that's a cultural adjustment that will affect everyone across the board, not a legitimate problem.

 

[Redpancreas]

I could see it increasing the crunch of space for rotating students. My understanding is that they are already usually crammed enough. Having 3 years of medical students rotating instead of 2 could further crowd and degrade the quality of experience for everyone. I think at least one school tends to do a research year- that's another option I think. It would suck for those who hate research though.

This is a really good point I've envisioned too when people have brought this up to me. A program I'm at has M2s basically do what I call "hovering" (months before they officially start in April). They're not shadowing because they're supposed to be more engaged, but they're completely clueless so they're not doing much. The M3/M4s run circles around them and they're essentially just an additional member of the team to scare patients when we all go to see a patient.

That said, hopefully over time, the system works itself out so M2s work more with M4s (with the exception of auditions) and M3s are separate. Once schools figure out how to strategically place students, it presents an opportunity where a checked out M4s can put on their teaching hat to get M2s up to speed. Another thing that makes a difference is whether you start the M2s before or after Step 1. Doing the latter is much preferred because if they're still worried about Step 1 stuff, their mind is going to be elsewhere and they won't actually apply themselves.

 

[mrbreakfast]

I could see it increasing the crunch of space for rotating students. My understanding is that they are already usually crammed enough. Having 3 years of medical students rotating instead of 2 could further crowd and degrade the quality of experience for everyone.

The medical school where I am does clerkships during M2 year, has a "normal" M4 year, and does M3 year as essentially electives and/or research with a few required things peppered in (plus taking Steps). There isn't a big issue with numbers as there isn't a lot of overlap between M2s on clerkship and M3s/M4s except on sub-Is.

This system is honestly the future; imagine entering M3 year with all of your clerkships and Step exams already done. Students can take several surgical subspecialty electives, pick one, and then do research in that field all as M3s. When I was a med student, we got one elective in M3 and enough time for maybe 2-3 more in M4 before ERAS was due. Though, I think this will widen the gap between the elite vs non-elite medical schools, as this system assumes med students can study for both step 1 and step 2 simultaneously and pass both without needing extra time.

 

[Mikiras]

The medical school where I am does clerkships during M2 year, has a "normal" M4 year, and does M3 year as essentially electives and/or research with a few required things peppered in (plus taking Steps). There isn't a big issue with numbers as there isn't a lot of overlap between M2s on clerkship and M3s/M4s except on sub-Is.

This system is honestly the future; imagine entering M3 year with all of your clerkships and Step exams already done. Students can take several surgical subspecialty electives, pick one, and then do research in that field all as M3s. When I was a med student, we got one elective in M3 and enough time for maybe 2-3 more in M4 before ERAS was due. Though, I think this will widen the gap between the elite vs non-elite medical schools, as this system assumes med students can study for both step 1 and step 2 simultaneously and pass both without needing extra time.

Could you DM me the name of your school? I think it's one I was accepted to (maybe) and would love to hear more