The structure of med school courses

[SwimSwam]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I was wondering - how is medical school actually structured? So far, I've gleaned that at most schools, the first year is purely classroom learning. Then, in the third and fourth years, this diminishes to include more clinical rotations. Does anyone know more? I have a bunch of questions:

- How often are exams administered?
- Are there midterms and finals or are the exams more frequent?
- Are you allowed to choose your courses? Are there electives?
- When are you expected to choose your specialty and apply for a residency program?
- I've been told that lecture classes are similar in length to UG classes, and - I've see this several places - most students study 15 hours a day. This seems excessive, but then I suppose everything about med school is.

 

[ntmed]

The first 2 years are primarily lectures and labs. Most schools include some clnical exposure, problem-based learning, or other variations during this time. The second 2 years are primarily clinical rotations called "clerkships". The frequency of exams will vary during the first 2 years, but we probably had an exam in each class every 4 weeks. Most clerkships will have a single national exam called a "shelf exam". There are no elective courses, except for elective clerkships during the 4th year. You apply for residency early in your 4th year.

At my school, we had about 8 hours of lab and lecture most days with a half-day for clinic time and problem-based learning. I probably studied 4-8 a day during the week, 8-16 hours on Saturday, and tried to take Sundays off. During my 3rd-year clerkships, I worked about 10-12 hours a day, and studied about 2 hours a night.

There are several good books out there that go over what medical school will be like. One that I read was "Medical School Companion" by Mary Ross-Dolen, although it may be a couple years out of date by now.

 

[Luxian]

Exam frequency varies a lot. In the two schools I'm looking at one has exams every week and the other has exams about every two months, but they are comprehensive. Also, schools vary between 20-24 months of classroom time and the rest of the time is rotations.

You might also try looking at the book "Med School Confidential". It has a lot about both getting into med school and what it's like at each of the different stages.

 

[njbmd]

I was wondering - how is medical school actually structured? So far, I've gleaned that at most schools, the first year is purely classroom learning. Then, in the third and fourth years, this diminishes to include more clinical rotations. Does anyone know more? I have a bunch of questions:

- How often are exams administered?
- Are there midterms and finals or are the exams more frequent?
- Are you allowed to choose your courses? Are there electives?
- When are you expected to choose your specialty and apply for a residency program?
- I've been told that lecture classes are similar in length to UG classes, and - I've see this several places - most students study 15 hours a day. This seems excessive, but then I suppose everything about med school is.

Classes in medical colleges are quite variable. Some schools will expect you to sit in lecture; some will have problem-based learning with blocks of materials and some may combine PBL and lecture in addition to clinical work. You should contact the schools that interest you in order to find out how they instruct students.

Tests such as quizzes and exams are also variable from school to school. Some schools will test three times during a semester and some will test at the end of each block. Again, this is a good question for interview or by e-mail.

Most schools have required coursework (you have no choice) but will have some electives (mini terms). Most medical students take electives during fourth year but many schools supplement first and second year with electives.

By the end of your third year (after completing your required clerkships), most students have an idea of which specialty they would like to pursue. Some will take an early elective in a specialty if they are attempting to decide and make a decision then. You should definitely have your specialty selection done by August of your fourth year and ERAS application done early in September. If you are applying for one of the specialties that uses the San Francisco Match, you have to be a month earlier than the regular MATCH. Match Day is the Thursday of St. Patrick's Day week.

Class time is quite variable from school to school. It may or may not be the same as undergraduate coursework in terms of actual lecture length. The amount of study time also varies from student to student. In essence, most medical students will study as long as it takes to get the material mastered.

Medical school is all about making the adjustment from undergraduate/graduate school to medical school coursework. Again, some students make this transition seamlessly and others struggle a bit. Whatever gets you into medical school can largely get you through medical school with adjustments as needed. There is not one specific magical formula that guarantees success and no one specific characteristic of a student that ensures failure. Most people do what they have to do.

 

[thoffen]

A good exercise would be to peruse the websites of the schools you are interested in. Most of them have their curriculum structure posted.

 

[Law2Doc]

I was wondering - how is medical school actually structured? So far, I've gleaned that at most schools, the first year is purely classroom learning. Then, in the third and fourth years, this diminishes to include more clinical rotations. Does anyone know more? I have a bunch of questions:

- How often are exams administered?
- Are there midterms and finals or are the exams more frequent?
- Are you allowed to choose your courses? Are there electives?
- When are you expected to choose your specialty and apply for a residency program?
- I've been told that lecture classes are similar in length to UG classes, and - I've see this several places - most students study 15 hours a day. This seems excessive, but then I suppose everything about med school is.

Agree with what the folks above have said. Just to address some of your other questions, you likely will have few to no electives in med school until the end. Expect your first two years to be set in stone at almost all schools, as everyone has to have all the basic courses in preparation for Step 1 at the end of second year. Your core clerkships in 3rd year also will be largely set in stone at most schools; you will have mostly electives in your 4th year. You are expected to choose your residency late in 3rd to early in 4th year.
You will work much harder in med school than undergrad; it is not fruitful to try to compare UG to med school, sort of like trying to compare a little league team to a major league team -- sure they both are baseball, but that's where the similarities tend to end.