What is a typical weekly schedule for a U of T med student?

[Guest muckathegoober]

I know most people post about admissions here, but I wanted to get an idea of U of T's program. I noticed there was a similar type thread in the archived section, but it is read-only.

 

I was wondering if any of the current U of T folks would mind giving a general idea of what their weekly schedules are like in terms of lectures, labs, tutorials etc in preclerkship (1st or 2nd year) and maybe an idea of what it is like in clerkship (i know, getting ahead of myself.. but i'm just curious what is in store in the future).

 

I have already looked at the U of T webpage for the curriculum courses, total hours, etc. - but was hoping for a bit more insight of the typical day for a U of T medical student to compare with experiences of friends at other schools.

 

Thanks for reading!

[Guest bj]

Hey,

 

I had the same question last year. It's a good one. I think I posted this info back in September, but hey, our schedule changes with every new section we start.

 

Right now, us first years are in the tail-end of Structure and Function. It involves lots of biochem and genetics plus some histology. The schedule right now is class Monday-Thursday mornings. We have PBL for 2 hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Friday morning is ASCM, our fabulous clinical skills class. What else? Thursday afternoons are DOCH (community health) which is currently in lecture format but has included site visits to inner city schools and visit to CCAC clients in their homes. Any other gaps in the schedule are inevitably filled up with class or histology lab or small group seminars.

 

Feel free to post any additional or more specific questions.

 

bj:p

[Guest Ollie]

At what point does your clinical skills class involve contact with actual patients?

 

I'm finding that this seems to be the only major difference among school curricula. Everyone has the same basic lecture/PBL set up otherwise.

[Guest Namgalsip]

Hi Ollie,

 

As far as I remember we started practicing our skills on simulated patient about 2 weeks into the program and moved on to real patients by the second month.

 

Nams

[Guest bj]

Hi Ollie,

 

Just to add to Nams' comment, they really emphasized feeling comfortable in the patient-doctor role before moving us on to real patients. I found the focus was on listening to what patients had to say and understanding the human component of medicine and disease before jumping into diagnostics. I really loved the approach at U of T. But I am a little biased!

 

bj

[Guest dogeatdog12]

is it just me or do you med students always hanging around and chatting in the halways. Besides interrupting other classes, it seems like you have no work to do

 

Just kidding, but seriously could you at least make an effort NOT TO TALK in the hallways during other classes?

 

that's the end of my rant.

[Guest muckathegoober]

Thanks for the insight!

 

I was curious about how you guys felt about DOCH -- I have read varied views on the program. Some felt it was a great learning experiences, while others felt it was a waste of time. More times than not, it seems people either love it or hate it.

 

Also, glad to see this being brought up in the topic -- in what ways does U of T prepare students before exposure to real patients? What levels of exposure do you have with patients in first year?

[Guest cheech10]

The DOCH experience depends on the person and the placements. I enjoy the sociological and epidemiological content, but my placements were terrible in first year and felt like a complete waste of time. In second year, DOCH is a year long research project that you undertake with a community agency to research a community health issue. It can be very good or exasperating, again depending on your placement (although you can find one on your own; an idea that is heartily endorsed by many of classmates) and the people you work with.

 

As for preparation for seeing patients, there are 2 or 3 sessions on how to interview patients before you start with real patients. These are half-day sessions where you practice interviewing standardized patients (actors) and get feedback right away from the standardized patient and your clinical skills group leader on the spot. We had 2 preceptors for 6 students, which made sure we got many viewpoints and had a lot of time to practice. Then you get eased into seeing real patients (a much easier and more enjoyable experience than dealing with standardized patients, IMO) starting with history taking. Over the weeks to come, a typical clinical skills session involves 1 hour introducing the day's topic, 30 minutes practicing it in the group, 1 hour or more to interview a patient and try out the new skill, and then a 30 to 60 minute debriefing to discuss your experiences, problems, etc.