What Made Your School Unique?

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Fuzzy Britches MD

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I know we are all thankful for just getting into any medical school ... and "you get out of it what you put into it".

But, can anybody reflect on something unique to their program that they really enjoyed about their years at med school?

Current and past students are all welcome to share their thoughts. Please add your school name to your response.

Thanks!
 
UIC- only one final test per block. I have some friends at other schools who have one or more tests per week and I don’t know how they do it.
 
UVA - After every exam block during first and second year it was tradition to get a few kegs and most people from the class would join. Our last exam was usually at 11 or noon, so it was a bunch of med students day drinking after a block with no med school stress for the weekend.
 
DMU (DO) - i’m an incoming MS1, but one thing i really liked is their curriculum. after every block (which is 8-9 weeks or so), you get one full week off IF you don’t have to remediate any classes. from what i’ve heard, it’s awesome and prevents burnout.
 
U-Mich - having a 1 year preclinical. After finishing my M1 year, so happy that I don't have to spend another year watching lectures and studying didactics. Plenty of time for career exploration after clerkships in M2 year.
 
U-Mich - having a 1 year preclinical. After finishing my M1 year, so happy that I don't have to spend another year watching lectures and studying didactics. Plenty of time for career exploration after clerkships in M2 year.
Dang, only one year? When do y'all take Step1? Has it always been one year, or is it new with p/f step1?
 
Dang, only one year? When do y'all take Step1? Has it always been one year, or is it new with p/f step1?
Step 1 and 2 are typically taken back to back after Clerkships. Students are usually given 6 weeks of dedicated after clerkships and take step 1 winter of M3 year and then take step 2 sometime during that winter or spring as well. That timing might be shifted around a bit now that Step 1 is P/F. The curriculum was rebuilt about 5 years ago, prior to the change, but consensus from admin is that the change definitely doesn't hurt students here.
 
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SUNY Upstate - compared some of the horror stories out there, administration was generally supportive of their students (one of the assistants deans is a recent former grad). 4th year is extremely flexible, only 1 Sub-I was required. I finished all of my clinical requirements by mid-October and moved out by the end of the month.
 
My wife's school when she was a student at Tulane. When it was the season, they/someone had a brass band waltz it during one of the lectures, lol.
 
Dedicated *locked* group rooms that you can safely leave stuff in/study in 24/7/whiteboard in

One-course-at-a-time curriculum

Price
 
Rural medicine blocks in summer after MS1 - annoying when you first hear about it, but everyone ends up with some unique clinical experiences
 
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