For STUDENTS DOING ROTATIONS (TERMS 7-11): PLEASE ANSWER

[viva0]

Hi,
Can students currently doing clinical rotations answer these questions?:

How many exams are in each rotation?

Can you use foam earplugs during SGU's exams? During Step 1?

3) Do profs tend to curve marks up if too many people failed an exam/rotation?

4) Has the SGA ever mounted a protest when a prof failed too many people for a particular exam/rotation, and were they successful at getting the prof to curve marks up so fewer people fail?

5) From your experience with taking step 1 with your class, how many students do you observe passing on their 1st attempt?
How many pass on their 2nd attempt?

6) What is the % who make it to graduation with their incoming class?

7) What's the timeline if you don't repeat anything,
ie. 1st term is from Jan '05 - Apr '05
2nd term = May '05? - ?
3rd term = ?
4th term = ?
5th term = ?
6th term = ?

8) Is it typical for profs to have review sessions? Do they let you ask them questions on weekends for your rotations?

9) I read this on another post. How true is it, especially right now?: "there are a lot of unethical things that occurred at SGU from administration to students.... there is nothing anyone can do about... just get your degree asap, kill the boards, and get out."

10) What happens if you fail a rotation? Do you take a make-up exam? Do you retake the rotation again?

11) How many chances are you given to take make-up tests & redo the whole rotation over before you're dismissed from SGU?

12) Are profs who are sources of complaints from students replaced? How quickly does admin act on students' complaints of the prof(s)?

13) What is the complete fail-out rate, as in the % of students dismissed from SGU each year?

[argazul]

How many exams are in each rotation?

Each rotation in each hospital has a different mode of grading. There are written exams, Orals, evaluations. Very different at every hospital.

[argazul]

Oh yeah, not trying to be rude or anything but the same applies here. http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-university-school-medicine/160846-students-terms-1-6-please-answer.html#post871617

[viva0]

Oh yeah, not trying to be rude or anything but the same applies here. link

Hi argazul & everyone,
Thank-you very much for your reply. Yes, I have done exactly what you said. I spent hours and hours looking for recent posts (ie. 2008 posts) to answer those questions, but as you know things can change quite quickly. For example, A LOT of policies changed this term at Saba. That's why I was hoping to get the most up-to-date answers for SGU.

If everyone chips in as much as they can, it's definitely doable!! I apologize if the questions may seem pessimistic, they weren't meant to be.

PLUS, FOR STUDENTS IN THESE TERMS, IT'LL REALLY BE HELPFUL FOR YOU TOO, TO KNOW THE COMMON STATS/CHANGES

PLEASE KEEP CHIPPING IN ANSWERS!!!! AS MANY AS YOU CAN!!!

[dunsoon]

For the love of GOd. Failing a clinical rotation is rare and you shouldn't even think about the possibility of failing a rotation. Clinical professors are not replaced, no matter how many complaints there are. Clinical medicine is different from basic sciences, and yes, you will see a lot of unethical behavior. That is medicine and that is life. Do not obsess about failure- tends to be self-fulfilling obsession. Good luck to you.

[rokshana]

Each rotation in each hospital has a different mode of grading. There are written exams, Orals, evaluations. Very different at every hospital.
actually NOT so different- the grade scale is technically the same at all sgu hospitals- whether the dept sticks with that is a different story- oral and written exams are all pretty standard and supposedly count toward s 20% each. the remaining 60% is based on medical knowledge, professionalism and clinical skills (20% each).

[argazul]

actually NOT so different- the grade scale is technically the same at all sgu hospitals- whether the dept sticks with that is a different story- oral and written exams are all pretty standard and supposedly count toward s 20% each. the remaining 60% is based on medical knowledge, professionalism and clinical skills (20% each).
that would be good. I was reading the evaluations of hospitals on the DES website and many people reported that they had different modes of grading. As you said whether the dept sticks to it or not is a different story. I don't have experience with it, i was just going by the student responses which i hope are valid.

[RussianJoo]

OP when you say profs are you talking about basic sciences or clinical years? because I wouldn't really call them profs in clinical years, they're attendings, i.e. doctors that work in the hospital but also happen to teach or better yet explain what they're doing and tell you why they're doing what they're doing..

also it's really hard to fail a rotation you have to actually try to fail.

As for the concern that the older info you read on older threads is out dated, well it's not. Sure SGU policies have changed but for the most part they're the same, and when it comes to clinical stuff they probably haven't changed at all. Each rotation has one written exam, and one oral exam. I don't know if there's a curve for the exams or even if we get to see our exam grade, I think we just get a final grade. Lastly at most places your grade is based on other things and if the program director likes you then you'll get an A. At my hospital if the program director doesn't know you no matter how smart you are and how well you do on exams you still won't get an A. Clinicals are more about fitting in and helping out and working as a team. if you're a team player you'll go far even if you don't really know that much medicine.

it seems like you're just applying to med schools now, so you should be concerned about the basic sciences and doing well in those classes and doing well on step1. it's way too early for you be thinking about clinical years..

as for pass rates it's whatever the school lists on their website. and attrition rates, schedules and other policies can all be found on the school's website as well.. and if they're not their call the school with your questions that's what they pay the secretaries for.

people on here will have biases based on their sgu experience, or how well they did at school. so take whatever you read on here with a grain of salt. (whatever that means..)

just study hard, do your best and everything will be alright.

[viva0]

Thanks so much everyone for chipping in. Sorry, I couldn't help myself, and just have to ask 2 questions:

What's the timeline if you don't repeat anything,
ie. 1st term is from Jan '05 - Apr '05
2nd term = May '05? - ?
3rd term = ?
4th term = ?
5th term = ?
6th term = ?

Can you use foam earplugs during Step 1?

[jaywalk81]

no outside earplugs can be used for step 1. they will provide a ear plug/headset to use to block out noise

[jaywalk81]

Thanks so much everyone for chipping in. Sorry, I couldn't help myself, and just have to ask 2 questions:

What's the timeline if you don't repeat anything,
ie. 1st term is from Jan '05 - Apr '05
2nd term = May '05? - ?
3rd term = ?
4th term = ?
5th term = ?
6th term = ?

Can you use foam earplugs during Step 1?

term schedule is dependent whether if you are jan class or aug class.
and term 5and6 is basically 1 semester, just broken up to two "terms" for finaid reasons

there have been a few threads on the schedule
http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-university-school-medicine/158398-term-dates-jan-09-a.html
http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-university-school-medicine/155190-how-many-years.html