Yale Curricullum

[DelAGator]

If anyone has gone through Yale. Do you like the curricullum? Do you have time other than studyin. Is there a lot to do on campus or off? Can you make friends easily?

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[CerealBox]

This post is from almost a year ago... but I would also like to talk to some current Yale students... and hear what they have to say about Yale's program...

 

[rugtrousers]

It's lovely, really. Plenty of autonomy, almost everything is optional (most classes, most tests, no shelf exams 3rd and 4th year). Plenty of time to do other things with 19 hours of class/week. It takes a really special student to thrive, though, because you have to be independently motivated. Some people make the mistake of coming here when they really needed a system with weekly quizzes and class rankings. There are no grades 1st and 2nd year, and at no point are the students compared to each other (this is different from other "P/F" schools where you are actually being ranked). AOA is assigned after the Match.

To answer the most common questions about "Utopia Med":
-Yes, Yale students do well on the boards.
-Yes, Yale students match into competitive specialties.
-Yes, Yale students do well in residency.

Just like any med school, you take away what you put in. I think the special thing about Yale is that they let you decide how you are going to take charge of your own education, which is really what you'll have to be doing for the rest of your career. When you're an attending, no one is going to tell you what book or journal article is best; you have to figure it out. That said, there's plenty of guidance from brilliant minds. As I said before, it's lovely, really.

 

[CerealBox]

flexibility is good. are there required attendance in any classes? Are there lots of PBL sessions? Attendance mandatory in those, i'm presuming?

do many students take classes in other schools at Yale? do you think this an advantage to Yale worth considering... or is it another one of those things many people go in thinking is cool and then don't actully follow through with?

since tests are not mandatory, i take it you aren't required to memorize little details of people's research? but if you do attend classes do they help prep you for step 1, or is that something everyone has to do completely independently with self study?

thanks a lot for answering my questions.

 

[rugtrousers]

flexibility is good. are there required attendance in any classes? Are there lots of PBL sessions? Attendance mandatory in those, i'm presuming?

do many students take classes in other schools at Yale? do you think this an advantage to Yale worth considering... or is it another one of those things many people go in thinking is cool and then don't actully follow through with?

since tests are not mandatory, i take it you aren't required to memorize little details of people's research? but if you do attend classes do they help prep you for step 1, or is that something everyone has to do completely independently with self study?

thanks a lot for answering my questions.

There are a few required classes, mostly related to the Preclinical Clerkship (the 1st and 2nd year clinical preceptorship program). Required classes make up <20% of the classes as far as I can tell, but even the students who choose to skip lecture end up going to labs and workshops - you'd be doing yourself a disservice by missing these hands-on learning opportunities.

There are some PBL sessions embedded in the modules, but PBL is not strongly favored here. The reason is that PBL involves learning in a "catch as catch can" sort of way, and students sometimes have trouble understanding the most important learning points or end up missing something critical.

A lot of students end up doing something scholarly with their time, whether it's research or elective classes. Medical Spanish is popular here. There are also a sizable number of students who audit classes on the undergrad campus, especially language classes. More people take advantage of the seminars on old campus that feature experts or influential thinkers in various fields. At least 15% of the class of 100 pursue additional degrees, including PhD (about 8), MPH (about 4-5), MBA (2-3) or JD (0-1). There is a new MD/Masters of Science in Research Program that will draw some more students, too.

Most of the exams are optional. And no, you don't have to know the details of anybody's research if it's not generally accepted and well-known. There are 3-4 exams at the end of the semester during 1st and 2nd year, called "qualifiers", that must be taken. The rest are "self-assessments". ALL exams are taken outside the classroom, online (>80%) or printed. Exams are submitted anonymously, with a unique ID that only the registrar knows. The professors are not entitled to know how an individual student did. The code is only broken if several exams are failed. Anatomy practical exams are taken with groups and self-graded. No shelf exams during the clinical rotations, though some rotations have self-assessments so that the clerkship coordinator can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching in that clerkship.

There is no official Step 1 prep. Students are given 8-9 weeks off to study and take vacation before clinical rotations.

Hope this helps!

 

[zeloc]

There are a few required classes, mostly related to the Preclinical Clerkship (the 1st and 2nd year clinical preceptorship program). Required classes make up <20% of the classes as far as I can tell, but even the students who choose to skip lecture end up going to labs and workshops - you'd be doing yourself a disservice by missing these hands-on learning opportunities.

There are some PBL sessions embedded in the modules, but PBL is not strongly favored here. The reason is that PBL involves learning in a "catch as catch can" sort of way, and students sometimes have trouble understanding the most important learning points or end up missing something critical.

A lot of students end up doing something scholarly with their time, whether it's research or elective classes. Medical Spanish is popular here. There are also a sizable number of students who audit classes on the undergrad campus, especially language classes. More people take advantage of the seminars on old campus that feature experts or influential thinkers in various fields. At least 15% of the class of 100 pursue additional degrees, including PhD (about 8), MPH (about 4-5), MBA (2-3) or JD (0-1). There is a new MD/Masters of Science in Research Program that will draw some more students, too.

Most of the exams are optional. And no, you don't have to know the details of anybody's research if it's not generally accepted and well-known. There are 3-4 exams at the end of the semester during 1st and 2nd year, called "qualifiers", that must be taken. The rest are "self-assessments". ALL exams are taken outside the classroom, online (>80%) or printed. Exams are submitted anonymously, with a unique ID that only the registrar knows. The professors are not entitled to know how an individual student did. The code is only broken if several exams are failed. Anatomy practical exams are taken with groups and self-graded. No shelf exams during the clinical rotations, though some rotations have self-assessments so that the clerkship coordinator can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching in that clerkship.

There is no official Step 1 prep. Students are given 8-9 weeks off to study and take vacation before clinical rotations.

Hope this helps!

How do people mainly study? Since most of the classes are optional, do you primarily use textbooks and board review books? What is the attendence like in classes? Thanks for the information.

 

[fantasty]

Hey there. Piggybacking on the thread. But, can anyone also comment about the clinical environment? I'm interested in their residency program in IM but I thought Yale M3/M4's might offer their perspective on what attendings and residents are like and if they seem happy with their learning environment as well.