Hi!
As a student who has experienced this new curriculum, I can tell you that it is a hot mess. But, what is worse is the UQ-Ochsner program in its entirety. Going through the first year, things are pretty easy, granted the new curriculum teaches more advocacy than it does real science learning, which can put you incredibly behind on step study if you don't keep up with it. (You need to make a significant financial investment in third-party step resources). Exams are hard-ish because they will ask about random 1973 charters that were mentioned for maybe one sentence in class (if you want to keep up with step study, going to class becomes a bit of a nuisance; most are recorded) but totally do-able, especially if your only goal is just to pass. What becomes frustrating is that you will consistently be told by Ochsner that you are ranked amongst your classmates based on your CAT (exam) scores over years one and two, and suddenly they will tell you that you aren't, and it will flip flop all of the time. When you get to year two and you really need to crack down and focus, UQ will fill your time with things like GP placement, clinical coaching, and hospital outpatient rotations, which could be useful if they were structured better, but they aren't. So instead you end up possibly commuting over an hour for a full day's work (8-4/5pm) and possibly making another financial commitment as some students had to Uber because the public transport either did not run early enough or took too long. This is another step study obstacle, which again, had you planned appropriately and kept up with your studies over year one, wouldn't be too terrible. At the end of year two you have to take a CBSE, and score at or above a 62% in order for them to deem you eligible to take STEP one, otherwise you are forced to take a year off where Ochsner essentially ghosts you. This all being said, Ochsner as a whole is lead by misogynistic men who will consistently tell you to lower your expectations if you are wanting any specialty other than family or internal medicine. They will not help you find or conduct any research, UQ's new curriculum actually prevents students from doing research first year, so your ability to become a competitive residency applicant is hindered. All in all, I'd say they make big promises that end up unfulfilled, and certainly made me want to start over at a US med school. Hope that was helpful. Feel free to message me if you have more questions.
