Guest Kirsteen Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 Hi guys, I'm wondering about something and I'm hoping you can shed some light. It's all about exam scheduling. I understand that UofT has smaller exams interspersed through the first and second year terms while UBC has a couple of whopper, cumulative exams at the term ends. However, I don't really know how other schools approach this, e.g., Calgary, Ottawa, Queen's. Would anyone care to share some insights? Thanks, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 Kirsteen, You didn't ask about western, but I'll put it up anyway (in case anyone is interested). In first year, the year is divided into quarters that are from 6-9 weeks long. Each quarter has about 4 different 'blocks' within it (This year 2nd quarter had life cycle, resp, CVS and MSSK). At the end of each quarter, we have a week of exams. Our exams are organised by block....so tomorrow morning we have a CVS exam which will test the physiology, pathology and biochemistry that we were taught in the CVS block. Wed morning we have a resp exam and Fri morning we have our MSSK exam. These are non-cumulative exams (because each quarter covers different 'blocks). We had exams the week after Thanksgiving, and will have exams again the week before March break and again the last week of May. The second year at western is divided into trimesters. Things are organised relatively the same but there are only three sets of exams rather than four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheech10 Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 Kirsteen's right about UofT. We get exams every 3 to 4 weeks usually, encompassing all the material we've covered since the previous exam. We then promptly forget all the material that was tested (j/k). This next exam is quite a big one, with Resp, Cardio, Histo, Pharm, and Biochem, and covers 6 weeks, so it's a lot of material. I like this system better than big block exams though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 As Kirsteen mentioned, we don't quite get exams as frequently as the rest here at UBC. We've been in classes since the end of August and we just had our first exam on Friday. We have two more, and I must say, people are really stressed. The nice thing is that you can schedule more extracurriculars during the term. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to you, you are falling reallllllly behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mirrille Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 At U of Alberta, the year is organized into "blocks" that can be anywhere from 4 to 14 weeks long, depending on the topic. There's a cumulative final for each block, with midterms in between, again, with the frequency depending on the block. So far, it seems to work out to an exam every 3 to 5 weeks. This seems to work out well for me because it forces me to keep up. At the end of the first 2 years, there's a big comprehensive exam as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 Way back when I interviewed in Calgary, they were on a organ systems-based curriculum, and would have an end-of-block exam for each. These were non-cumulative. Ian UBC, Med 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest juan Posted December 15, 2002 Report Share Posted December 15, 2002 honestly... what does the exam schedule matter? worry about getting into medical school first, then worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tanya24 Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 With respect to this last comment, I think it does matter in a lot of ways. Yes, it IS true that getting in is the most important step in the journey towards medicine. But life must continue in the meantime; it shouldn't be put on hold until the day when the magical letter finally arrives. I think it is only natural to put some careful planning and consideration into potential schools. After all, a successful matriculant will spend the next 4 years (at least!!) of his or her life at that particular school. The whole meds experience (curriculum, class size, PBL format, evaluation format, course load, class schedule, and yes, even exam schedule) should be looked at to help candidates determine which med schools suit their needs and desires. In my humble opinion, this is a sign of careful life planning. Just some more food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 True enough....lets all try to play nice in the sandbox..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 I think it's very important to take into consideration the curriculum. Here at Northwestern in the US we have block exams. Right now we are approaching the end of the GI/Repro unit, and we have practicals for anatomy and histology on thursday and the big written exam on Friday. I personally would rather have smaller tests than one big thing at once. It just feels like a cycle where you take a test, party hard for a couple weeks, then hit the books for two or three weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phantom8 Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 Just to confirm what Ian said, here in Calgary, we get an exam after we finish covering an organ system. So far (since August) we have had 3 exams. The nice thing about having your exam right after you finish the unit is that it really lets you focus on the subject -- unlike undergrad, when you have to split your time between studying 5 (sometimes totally different) subjects! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sil Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 In Ottawa we have blocks. Each block covers a particular subject. For us the first one was development and homeostasis (lasted 6 weeks), at the end of which we had a final exam. Then we covered hematology and neoplasia (5 weeks) and then had a final exam. Now we are into infection and host response (lasts 6 weeks). Most of our blocks are 5 to 6 weeks in length at the end of which we have an exam. I really like this system because having a week of exams covering 4, 5 different things would be a little stressfull for me and would ensure that I fall behind As well, if in the future there is a block that I don't like very much, 6 weeks and we move on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted December 16, 2002 Report Share Posted December 16, 2002 Thanks for the insights guys; I appreciate it. I too, like the idea of block exams and it appears (from above) that the majority of schools have selected this testing method. It's also a great idea to have the set of comprehensives after completion of the blocks so that students don't completely relinquish their mega-exam-writing, MCAT-tish skills, needed for some of the larger exams later on in a medical career. >D Would anyone care to comment on exam scheduling at Queen's and Manitoba? Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RAK2005 Posted December 17, 2002 Report Share Posted December 17, 2002 Queen's has end of SEMESTER exams (which is a lot of material to cover!), but reduces the work-load during the rest of the year. If you are a procrastinator, then you'll like the wait 'til the last minute to test you approach. Works for me at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Da Birdie Posted December 18, 2002 Report Share Posted December 18, 2002 Current Status: cramming for huge 80% 3-day-long end-of-semester exams covering EVERYTHING from first week of september to mid-december :x really crazy to study for...expecially for me...who used to be the cram-master in undergrad... can't really cram for this kind of exam...covering anatomy, histo, biochem, genetics, ethics, commu health, cancer bio, pharmacology, physiology, and other numerous bits of info... stressful it is cramming i am passing i hope One possible good thing about this system is that each lecture on average generates one multiple choice question...so, hopefully they won't be asking for obscure details etc... (well, it's up to me to find out in 2 days...) good luck to all poor souls who still have exams left to cram, including myself Da Birdie Queen's Meds2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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