I wish to touch upon several points (both noteworthy and myopic) that were presented in this forum. First, lets talk about which is a better medical school (Keck or Geffen), and secondly, which hospital system is better to train at.
Firstly, get it straight: The Keck School of Medicine is at least 1,000 times better than the David Geffen School of Medicine. If one speaks in terms of clinical skills and becoming a good physician, the Keck School fairs better. If one is interested in becoming a researcher, by all means they should choose UCLA over the Keck School. Which do you prefer? Isnt medical school primarily supposed to be about producing sound physicians?
More attention is given to students (party due to the fact that it is private) at the Keck School versus UCLA. The administration is much more willing to listen to students concerns, whereas at UCLA, students do not get that much attention
.So you think UCLA students match better than Keck students? Consider this
It is a known fact that UCLA has the LOWEST board scores out of all California schools. They are embarrassed about this fact, and dont disclose their results. Keck students do much better on the board exams, and UCLA clearly does not prepare their students as well for the USMLE.
The curriculum at the Keck School is more geared towards producing great clinicians. The courses at UCLA do not reflect this as much. While UCLA students experience Doctoring, the only class that touches upon physician-patient encounters, Keck students get Introduction to Clinical Medicine and Professionalism and the Practice of Medicine. Keck students get to do lumbar punctures on day 1. UCLA students dont get much clinical exposure during their first two years. Who do you think will emerge as more confident and better adept in clinical situations then???
UCLA students are known to be pampered, whereas the Keck School works their students. UCLA students get to go home early every day, grading is not as rigorous. Students at Keck dont have it as laid back, so they learn more and turn into finer physicians with clinical skills that will blow any UCLA student away in a second. UCLA students have it easy. Their classes start at 10:00 AM and get out at 12:00 PM. And this is not to even mention the decrepitude of UCLAs building. The medical school is enmeshed with the hospital which is enmeshed with the Undergrad. Its a strange set-up. If you want to know what I mean, pay a visit to their Biosciences library. You are sure to run into several bums who have no affiliation with the institution there. With a 200 million dollar grant, one would think that they could at least fix up their library. Its awful. The Keck facilities are way better.
Lastly, the students at UCLA (and not all, but a lot in comparison) are known to be geeky. The selection process is such that it chooses those with high number. The Keck School, on the other hand, is much more mature and sophisticated in the way they choose applicants. Since the emphasis of the Keck School is on producing good clinicians, they assess applications holistically, paying much attention to attributes such as good communication skills, empathy, etc. While this may not be reflected in every single applicant they admit, on the whole they fair much better in terms of looking for these qualities and in producing fine physicians. Go check out the class there, and you are sure to find much more interesting people than the geeks at UCLA.
Hmm, if UCLA was such a second-class school, why do sooo many student choose to go to UCLA over these schools?
Because most premeds are into rankings and prestige. You people must learn to think on your own and not be so blind-sided by rankings. The reputation is largely built on research. You need to distinguish several factors. Rankings and reputation of medical institutions are by and large built on research funding and productivity. It is known that UCLA is a big research institution, much bigger than the Keck School (although at this rate, Keck will definitely be up there soon). But who does the research? Are the students the ones who are coming up with incredible stuff? The post-docs and Phds contribute to this research, so the rankings are based on work done by people who dont even have MDs and who are not Medical Doctors. You cant then point at the ranking and claim that this institution has a better medical experience and teaching, right? Doesnt make sense.
Training at Keck School of Medicine is way better than that offered by the UCLA School of Medicine. For someone who wants to become a good clinician, they wont get the type of opportunities available at LAC+USC Medical Center at Harbor or Olive View. And Cedars-Sinai is not even worth mentioning. While it is a good hospital, due to the affluent patient population, students who train there are devoid of a wide spectrum of stuff that they would have been able to at LAC+USC Medical Center. Walk into Cedars-Sinai and it doesnt even look like a hospital.
Students who train at LAC+USC Medical Center get the rough and tough, they see it all, they learn how to think off their feet and engage with clinical diagnosis of some of the craziest illnesses known, unlike UCLA Medical Center or its satellite system which does not afford students the same opportunities. LAC+USC Medical Center is the largest and busiest training hospital in the nation. Its where the real men train.