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A Medical school in the United States is a four-year graduate institution with the purpose of educating physicians in the field of medicine. Such schools provide a major part of the medical education in the United States. Graduates receive either a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree.
Admissions to medical school in the United States is generally considered competitive. Admissions criteria include grade point averages, Medical College Admission Test scores, letters of recommendation, and interviews. Most students have at least a bachelor's degree, usually in a biologic science, and some students have advanced degrees, such as a master's degree. Most students that apply to medical school do not matriculate at a medical school. Medical School in the United States does not require a degree in biological sciences. People with degrees in different fields can be admitted to medical school as long as the criteria for admission is followed.
Medical school typically consists of four years of training, although a few programs (at least two) offer three-year tracks. The first two years consist of basic science courses, such as anatomy,biochemistry, histology,microbiology, pharmacology, physiology, cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, psychiatry, neurology, etc. The third and fourth years consist of clinical rotations, sometimes called clerkships, where students attend hospitals and clinics. These rotations are usually at teaching hospitals but are sometimes at community hospitals or with private physicians. The typical "core" (i.e. mandatory) rotations taken in third year are Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Surgery. Fourth year for the most part will consist of electives and some mandatory rotations like Emergency Medicine and Neurology - but again, some schools are different and some have been able to allow students to take an elective or two during third year, while many schools have also been trying to do the same. Some schools have been trying to incorporate Neurology and/orEmergency Medicine into third year, since by the time students are applying for residency programs, many haven't been exposed to either. However, again, it varies by school, and it varies by the mission of each medical school.
The Flexner Report, published in 1910, had a significant impact on reforming medical education in the United States. The report led to the implementation of more structured standards and regulations in medical education. Currently, all medical schools in the United States must be accredited by a certain body, depending on whether it is a D.O. granting medical school or an M.D. granting medical school. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree; osteopathic medical schools that grant the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree are accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and theAmerican Medical Association.
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[hide]History[edit]
In 1910, the Flexner Report reported on the state of medical education in the United States and Canada. Written by Abraham Flexner and published in 1910 under the aegis of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the report set standards and reformed American medical education.
Admissions[edit]
In general, admission into a US medical school is considered highly competitive and typically requires completion of a four-year Bachelor's degree or at least 90 credit hours from an accredited college or university. Many applicants obtain further education before medical school in the form of Master's degrees or other non science-related degrees. Admissions criteria may include overall performance in the undergraduate years and performance in a group of courses specifically required by U.S. medical schools (pre-health sciences), the score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), application essays, letters of recommendation (most schools require either one letter from the undergraduate institution's premedical advising committee or a combination of letters from at least one science faculty and one non-science faculty), and interviews.
Beyond objective admissions criteria, many programs look for candidates who have had unique experiences in community service, volunteer work, international studies, research, or other advanced degrees. The application essay is the primary opportunity for the candidate to describe his/her reasons for entering a medical career. The essay requirements are usually open-ended to allow creativity and flexibility for the candidate to draw upon his/her personal experiences/challenges to make him/her stand out amongst other applicants. If granted, an interview serves as an additional way to express these subjective strengths that a candidate may possess.
| MCAT 24-26, GPA 3.20-3.39 | MCAT 27-29, GPA 3.20-3.39 | MCAT 27-29, GPA 3.40-3.59 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 7.7% | 17.6% | 30.0% |
| White | 12.3% | 24.5% | 35.9% |
| Hispanic | 36.0% | 54.5% | 68.7% |
| Black | 67.3% | 83.3% | 85.9% |
Since 2005, the Association of Medical Colleges has recommended that all medical schools conduct background checks on applicants in order to prevent individuals with convictions for serious crimes from being matriculated.[2]
Most commonly, the bachelor's degree is in one of the biological sciences, but not always; in 2005, nearly 40% of medical school matriculates had received bachelor's degrees in fields other than biology or specialized health sciences.[3] All medical school applicants must, however, complete year-length undergraduate courses with labs in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics; some medical schools have additional requirements such as biochemistry, calculus, genetics, psychology and English. Many of these courses have prerequisites, so there are other "hidden" course requirements (basic science courses) that are often taken first.
A student with a bachelor's degree who has not taken the pre-medical coursework may complete a postbaccalaureate (postbacc) program. Such programs allow rapid fulfillment of prerequisite course work as well as grade point average improvement. Some postbacc programs are specifically linked to individual medical schools to allow matriculation without a gap year, while most require 1–2 years to complete.
Several universities[4] across the U.S. admit college students to their medical schools during college; students attend a single six-year to eight-year integrated program consisting of two to four years of an undergraduate curriculum and four years of medical school curriculum, culminating in both a bachelor's and M.D. degree or a bachelor's and D.O. degree. Some of these programs admit high school students to college and medical school.
While not necessary for admission, several private organizations have capitalized on this complex and involved process by offering services ranging from single-component preparation (MCAT, essay, etc.) to entire application review/consultation.
In 2014, the average MCAT and GPA for students entering U.S.-based M.D. programs were 31.4 and 3.69,[5] respectively, and 27.21 and 3.53 for D.O. matriculants, although the gap has been getting smaller every year.[6]
In 2012, 45,266 people applied to medical schools in the United States through the American Medical College Application Service. Of these 45,266 students, 19,517 of them matriculated into a medical school for a success rate of 43 percent.[7] However, this figure does not account for the attrition rate of pre-med students in various stages of the pre-application process (those who ultimately do not decide to apply due to weeding out by low GPA, low MCAT, lack of clinical and research experience, and numerous other factors).[8]