Alright, you’ve worked your tail off to get accepted to medical school and you are through with the MCAT – well done! With regard to Stage 2 of our medical education track, we’ll cover what you can generally expect in your four years of medical school. The traditional medical school curriculum trains students on how to adeptly practice the science and art of medicine through two years of pre-clinical work and two years of clinical experiences. However, the curricula and methodologies vary from one institution to the next with some truly interesting medical teaching innovations in action. One school may primarily focus on the traditional lecture-style format where another program may operate from a problem-based learning paradigm. Since curriculum is a significant consideration, we've deemed it to be one of the four pillars in Evaluating Med Schools - checking out the resources and tips interspersed throughout that discussion will greatly facilitate your med school application process and help guide you in making your final decision on which school to attend.
Let's now turn to the general curriculuar experience in medical school. As alluded to previously, your pre-clinical work comes in the first two years of med school. During this time, you’ll be learning the fundamental sciences covering how the human body is set up and how it is supposed to function. It makes sense that you’ll first learn normal structure and function of the systems of the body through the following courses: microscopic and gross anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience, embryology, behavioral science, and medical ethics. Following these courses, you’ll be introduced to abnormal structure and function, disease, and general treatments by taking classes such as pathology, microbiology, immunology, psychiatry, and pharmacology. You will repeatedly be exposed to clinical correlations and conditions rooted in the basic science content that you should already have down pat. Your med school curriculum will also include topics such as community health, nutrition, lab medicine, and preventive medicine just to name a few.
In going beyond the books and the lab, the majority of med schools do incorporate some sort of intro to clinical medicine. You’ll learn how to perform physical exams and take patient histories while gaining some actual clinical experience each week. While it seems like a breeze, you might be suprised that most med schools require you to take an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). This exam tests your interpersonal and communication skills when dealing with a simulated patient. Your mentor will review your video and assess your demeanor, communication abilities, and how well you gathered and recorded medically relevant information. It behooves you to take these simulated encounters seriously as it will allow your actual patient experiences to go more smoothly. You’ll find that in your weekly clinical exposure, shadowing a primary-care provider in the area, the crazy amount of study time you’ve invested and the experience you’ve had with your OSCE during year 1 will all be totally worthwhile and meaningful because you get the chance to wear that white coat and interact with patients firsthand. When you get a minute, watch this quick OSCE video clip from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
At the close of your first two years of med school, you’ll have studied normal and abnormal anatomy & physiology, reviewed a massive amount of basic science, taken patient histories, performed physical exams, interpeted lab findings, and learned about some diagnostic and treatment options. All of this is preparation for you to face a beast of a standardized test in the USMLE Step 1. Upon completion of Step 1, you’ll proceed to full-time clinical.
The remaining two years of medical school will be controlled by the sequence of your clinical clerkships (rotations) which typically last from 4 to 12 weeks each. You’ll dive into various inpatient and outpatient settings where you’ll encounter scores of patients with different cultural and familial backgrounds, with various illnesses and injuries. Attending physicians and residents will guide you as you are one member of a diverse, highly effective medical team for a given period of time. Clinical clerkships vary from one school to the next; however, the typical med school core rotations are in surgery, pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn). Every clerkship is challenging in that you’ll take on a new set of duties and require new and fresh knowledge each time. You must be readily “adaptable” and eager to face the next rotation. But the very opportunity to explore nearly all facets of the medical profession is just remarkable and so invigorating! Keep in mind that the whole point of your second two years of med school is about reflecting on your future career path – the medical specialty you select. FREIDA is a highly useful, massive database of info about accredited medical education grad programs where users have the ability to search training programs by geographical location, speciality, or institution.
Just when you might have had the fleeting thought that you’re through with standardized tests, you’ll need to take the USMLE Step 2. You should take Step 2 between years 3 and 4 after you’ve completed your core clinical clerkships; most med schools require that you take Step 2 before graduation. Subsequent to completing your core clinical clerkships and USMLE Step 2, the wide world of medicine comes into view where you’ll be considering the myriad specialties and sub-specialties of medicine. This part of the medical education track is called electives and you might be completely overwhelmed, at first, if you’re not already set on pursuing a specialty. Your best bet is to speak with fourth year med students who are going into your prospective fields, ask residents and attending physicians about their experiences and the manner in which they reached a final decision.
Your fourth and final year of med school revolves around your choice of a medical specialty and your application to a residency program through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) and the NRMP (National Resident Matching Program). ERAS is an online service that helps you submit your transcripts, residency apps, letters of rec, and other support documents to internship, residency, and fellowship programs. If you’ve done your preparation, then NRMP will also go smoothly – it’s a program that matches your preferences with the preferences that a residency program director has for applicants.
Stage 3: Residency >>