How does reduced hours affect quality of UO's curriculum?

[iDoq16]

First time posting here!

 

I'm in a pinch deciding whether to attend Ottawa next year and I'm hoping some upper year Ottawa med students can help elucidate my concern.

 

I know that at UO, classes run from 8:30-12:30 M-F, with the afternoons free for students to take electives or do whatever they want. My question is: Does the fact that UO program have fewer hours of class time compared to other schools affect the quality of its teaching? Is the number of lecture hours actually fewer or just spread out differently compared to other schools? i.e. most schools reserve 4th year entirely for electives. What about at UO?

 

How is it even possible to have fewer hours of class time??

 

THanks!!

[virtuevictorious]

Although I am not a medical student at U of O, several of my friends are. I have asked them questions similar to yours which they happily answered, so I feel I can at least give you a partial answer in turn.

 

Yes, there are fewer hours of lecture time compared to other schools. The faculty apparently did some research prior to restructuring the curriculum, and they found that a greater amount of time spend in lectures did not necessarily correlate with better performances on exams. In general, the students that I've spoken to seem quite pleased about the way lectures are structured and although I can't comment on the quality of the teaching I haven't heard any complaints.

 

Just like other schools, 4th year is reserved for electives.

 

Hope that helps.