I am going to ask about exam schedules, step 1 prep/score, a few things about third year....but what do you guys recommend asking?
What questions should you ask when trying to pick a school?
- Thread starter DrGiraffe
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number of clinical rotation sites
how early on in freshman year you start your clinical experiences
how many students per cadaver in anatomy lab
grading system
just a few that come to mind.
K
kpcrew
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(1) USMLE study time = huge
(2) Rotation sites and structure. Do they have enough sites nearby? Do they ship you off somewhere? Are sites packed with medstudents? Do they have tertiary centers? community hospitals? VA? H
(3) Class attendance requirements
(2) Rotation sites and structure. Do they have enough sites nearby? Do they ship you off somewhere? Are sites packed with medstudents? Do they have tertiary centers? community hospitals? VA? H
(3) Class attendance requirements
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Neither Baylor nor any US medical school I am aware of give 6 months to sit and prep for an exam. Nor should they. Any more than 6 weeks of full-time prep is useless. I was ready to beat my head against a wall after 4.5 weeks. My roommate quit after 2 weeks. It doesn't take that long to prepare.
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what would you say is a decent number?
K
kpcrew
i think people prefer 4 and 8 is a lot unless you don't want to do the dissection yourself or something like that
K
kpcrew
i'm under the impression that if there are more people, it's harder to see things during class since you're all crowded around a small table. also it seems that a lot of people spend extra time in their offhours with the bodies so there's a greater chance that someone else assigned to the same body will be there at the same time as you, especially before a test.
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Not a dumb question....it isn't something you think about unless you're actually doing it.
So, imagine you're dissecting the hand. It is moderately intricate work, and really only one person can do each hand at a time. The other people are maybe helping hold it in a good position, or reading the dissection instructions for you. 4 people at a time is pretty much the max before one or more people are just standing around doing nothing. They can't see, can't dissect, and are basically just hanging out.
Another thing I would suggest....if students give you their email addresses on interview day, actually write them down, and if you are in the awesome position of getting to make a choice, email them. I think that how easily they respond and what they have to say can be really helpful insight into the school's culture.
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Ratio of people in your anatomy lab is utterly useless
Are you really going to judge schools by how the first few (and most significant) months of your medical career are handled?
All schools will prep you for step 1, don't worry. 4 weeks is plenty of time. Any more time off is just a added vacation.
ASK ABOUT CLINICAL YEARS! This is truly where you will learn nearly everything that will be of use to you as a physician.
1) Are there any electives during 3rd year?
2) What are the required 3rd year electives?
3) What are the required 4th year electives?
4) Strongest/weakest department? (example, if the school doesn't have a department of anesthesia, and you want to go into anesthesia then its not a good choice)
5) Are students limited to the 80 hours duty hour rule at the school?
6) is time off given for interview 4th year
7) Is there a career development component to the curriculum, is it well received by students?
8) Does the school respond and adapt to problem rotations?
9) How is the grading and deans letter handled?
10) How many students don't match?
These are what you want to focus on
Are you really going to judge schools by how the first few (and most significant) months of your medical career are handled?
All schools will prep you for step 1, don't worry. 4 weeks is plenty of time. Any more time off is just a added vacation.
ASK ABOUT CLINICAL YEARS! This is truly where you will learn nearly everything that will be of use to you as a physician.
1) Are there any electives during 3rd year?
2) What are the required 3rd year electives?
3) What are the required 4th year electives?
4) Strongest/weakest department? (example, if the school doesn't have a department of anesthesia, and you want to go into anesthesia then its not a good choice)
5) Are students limited to the 80 hours duty hour rule at the school?
6) is time off given for interview 4th year
7) Is there a career development component to the curriculum, is it well received by students?
8) Does the school respond and adapt to problem rotations?
9) How is the grading and deans letter handled?
10) How many students don't match?
These are what you want to focus on
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To be fair, Baylor gives ~6 months of additional free/elective time (1.5 year condensed preclinical curriculum), which you can use to begin rotations early, do research, vacation, and study for boards.
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this sounds dangerously awesome.
4
45408
No. Those are a completely useless measure of a med school.
Agree. These are all critically important.
It doesn't.
I agree with all but #8. That's a tough and loaded question. Also, #10 might not be common knowledge to the M1-3 classes who are going to be giving you this info.
