Quote:
Originally Posted by thewasher418
People can and do flunk out of med school. Not in the same numbers as some other schools, maybe, but that's how it's set up. The system is basically designed so that most of the attrition happens before enrollment- the number of aspiring pre-meds vs. the number of actual med school matriculants is astronomically different. Once you are in, most schools worth their salt have multiple support systems to help you succeed, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.
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So true. Most schools
that I have had experience with either personally or through friends currently attending have Academic Hearing Committees, allow you to repeat classes, require academic probation, etc. They also require students to repeat the year at a certain point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AOII Angel
Your husband's experience isn't the ONLY experience. My class dropped by 10% after the first year
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Same here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AOII Angel
if you can't pass Step I of the USMLE, you can't pass second year of medical school. You get two chances
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I just took this test two days ago and it is BRUTAL. It is eight hours and I prepped for it for six months. You don't pass that test without having worked your butt off for all two years of pre-clinical. I'm terrified right now that I failed and I
worked.
But, OK. Let's say your ex worked at two "easy" medical schools where students really don't fail out and no class is ever mandatory and they all are given transcripts. Medical school would still be difficult in this case. Why? It's not like undergraduate where you're golden if you can get a copy of the lectures. In an exam question, you'll be given a patient presentation and be asked what bacteria has an exotoxin with a similar mechanism of action to the mechanism of action of the medication you would use to treat this disease. If you are missing even one of those steps, you wouldn't be able to answer the question.
Medical school really is about mastering the material, rather than "knowing" it because you really have to be able to bend it every which way in your mind. Just having a transcript doesn't do anything. In fact, I would really appreciate a school similar to the one you are complaining about. It sounds like they realize that their students have a huge task in front of them and are setting them up for success by permitting them to not waste time in lecture if it isn't helpful to them. Not everyone learns well in a lecture setting.
For instance, my school audio records all lectures so that students need not attend
if that is how they best learn. A lot of my colleagues would go to the library instead of class and listen to the lectures on 2x the speed so they could get through double the lectures in half the time. They would then have extra time to review that day's material, prep for the test, do the readings, practice physical exam techniques, etc.
I think the main point here (well, one of them) is that when people skip class in medical school they aren't sitting at home while drinking beer and playing Halo. They're in the library or a home office trying to maximize their efficiency.
For me, even though I finished one of the biggest tests of my life, I still have to go study today. I have a huge amount of studying to get done before I start Family Med I rotations.