Well, it's (un)official....

[microphage]

The BLOCK SYSTEM SUCK! Aside from the 2nd semester who might have survived the bloodbath, it was horrible..... Some of the grades aren't even out yet and we have people including myself who are praying for a 50% on the micro test.

1st semesters==> killed by Biochem
3rd semester-->killed by Micro, Path and Phys II
4th semester-->killed in everything except Path II

** disclaimer, this is just I heard and no real numbers but I think each class representative can concur. ***


:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[levator]

The BLOCK SYSTEM SUCK! Aside from the 2nd semester who might have survived the bloodbath, it was horrible..... Some of the grades aren't even out yet and we have people including myself who are praying for a 50% on the micro test.

1st semesters==> killed by Biochem
3rd semester-->killed by Micro, Path and Phys II
4th semester-->killed in everything except Path II

** disclaimer, this is just I heard and no real numbers but I think each class representative can concur. ***


:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:


dont know any specific grades yet but the path2 average was a 75 and the med psych average was a 74.

we'll find out tomorrow :roll:

[microphage]

that doesn't seem so bad. rrod told me you guys got a spanking in pharm or something. I didn't know the psych grades were fairly decent.

[AUCMD2006]

we got wiped out by the amount of study time needed to get that average on path II.....i spent a total of 3 hours on pharm and six on psychiatry so this block system can suck my finger...there is no time to review everything.....

[levator]

that doesn't seem so bad. rrod told me you guys got a spanking in pharm or something. I didn't know the psych grades were fairly decent.

psych and pharm sucked the most in my opinion. rich is right in saying that we are basically working on systemic path. pharm today was a joke... i think the majority of people in the class are cramming for pharm and psych. these classes cannot be studied at the same time... its impossible..

[xsbb]

Biochem, 68% of the class failed! Go figure!

[Scott1981]

yep, i happened to get around the class average.... witch sucks considering what the class average was. and i studied my butt off for it. but i studied anatomy after i studied biochem and it just fogged up my biochem knowledge. i also was a lot more worried about anatomy so i spent more time naturally. this paid off for me with anatomy.... but come on..... i need time to study biochem without worrying about a huge anatomy test as well. this block system can suck my left testicle.

[beach bum]

Second semsters took a little spanking too- 72 avg in Genetics and 70 (i think?) average in Physio. Not the bottom of the gutter, but still crappy I'd say... Certainly far lower than what they would have been if they had been the only test that day..

Block testing sucks.

[zedpol]

THe block system is where you take all your exams on one day? We call them minis, which seems to be a bit of a misnomer. Initially it was a big shock for me but you guys will get use to it. (assuming i am correctly understanding what the block system is)

zedpol

[teratos]

Sounds like it is official, then.... G

[microphage]

THe block system is where you take all your exams on one day? We call them minis, which seems to be a bit of a misnomer. Initially it was a big shock for me but you guys will get use to it. (assuming i am correctly understanding what the block system is)

zedpol

Sure, we will, IF WE HAD A CURVE!!!!

If the average is around 60(which is more than anybody would hope for in Micro), most of us would fail(passing is a 70). For you guys, you will be around a 2.8 or so(I'm just guessing) due to the curve for Ross.

[levator]

Biochem, 68% of the class failed! Go figure!


OK... I HAVE THE WINNER FOR THE SECOND BLOCK EXAMS AND ONCE AGAIN ITS IN THE FOURTH SEMESTER:

PHARMACOLOGY QUIZ 1: ABOUT 85% FAILED (44 OUT OF 53ish) . DONT KNOW THE AVERAGE.. WAS NOT POSTED.

[microphage]

Biochem, 68% of the class failed! Go figure!


OK... I HAVE THE WINNER FOR THE SECOND BLOCK EXAMS AND ONCE AGAIN ITS IN THE FOURTH SEMESTER:

PHARMACOLOGY QUIZ 1: ABOUT 85% FAILED (44 OUT OF 53ish) . DONT KNOW THE AVERAGE.. WAS NOT POSTED.

I don't know... our Micro test might have beat you guys but she won't give us any stats. I haven't heard of one person that passed yet. I think it was similar to your average for her 2nd test last semester.

50 percent failed Path 1 and we did fairly well in Neuro(average =77).

The 2nd semesters all did fine... their averages all hovered about 70-73 or so.

[levator]

Biochem, 68% of the class failed! Go figure!


OK... I HAVE THE WINNER FOR THE SECOND BLOCK EXAMS AND ONCE AGAIN ITS IN THE FOURTH SEMESTER:

PHARMACOLOGY QUIZ 1: ABOUT 85% FAILED (44 OUT OF 53ish) . DONT KNOW THE AVERAGE.. WAS NOT POSTED.

I don't know... our Micro test might have beat you guys but she won't give us any stats. I haven't heard of one person that passed yet. I think it was similar to your average for her 2nd test last semester.

50 percent failed Path 1 and we did fairly well in Neuro(average =77).

The 2nd semesters all did fine... their averages all hovered about 70-73 or so.

it should be close then. only 7 people got over a 70 on pharm :roll: ... the majority of the failing grades were under a 60 so.... we'll see i guess. :shock:

[MushieCookie]

are the micro grades posted yet? When did he say that the path grades would be posted?

[anencephalic]

are the micro grades posted yet? When did he say that the path grades would be posted?

Micro was supposed to be done this afternoon...Path will take some "fixing" according to Dr. Anthony, howevere should be out by tomorrow afternoon.

Aloha,

[WantMD]

It amazes me how obtuse some people can be at times despite (hopefully) having the best intentions.

You don't need to be Einstein to figure out that giving people 4 difficult exams on two consecutive school days every THREE WEEKS is a recipe for disaster.

How can they be so disconnected from reality not to realize it? Since I assume as a premise that they are smart people, the only logical explanation is that the reason for block exams is *NOT* the welfare of the students, but probably some other administrative reason that makes their life easier.

I'm stuck with it, but I don't like it.

WantMD.

[beach bum]

Re- Microphages- "The 2nd semesters all did fine... their averages all hovered about 70-73 or so."

Pretty pathetic when that's all it takes to be the be 'big winners". (Perhap's they'll be some 20 pt curves like on the last immuno test?) I've heard that figures out to about a 35-40% failure rate across the board for "the big winners" in the second semester. Ah the glory....

[xsbb]

I can live with the block system (probably because it is the first semester) but I think that there should be a CURVE for one. Second there should be enough interdepartmerntal communication where if the biochem people know that the anatomy exam is going to be on the head and neck (which is slightly difficult) then why the heck would you want to give a biochem exam that is 10x's more difficult. I mean it wouldn;t be too difficult to alternate between and difficult and an easy exam between two classes (at a difference of half a lambda!). third, I "think" this is probably not the intention, but with soooooo many people failing they really need to reconsider this whole block thing because with a new system you need new attitudes (from the faculty), and I don't think THAT is happening. I feel as if I am putting everything in my short term memory and can't remember anything from a week ago --> cerebral toilet phenomenon!

[susqu04]

I'm reading these posts about the block system with some fear and trepidation because I'm planning to start this fall. What happens if so many fail the course? Do they all retake the course? That may seem like a dumb question, but I'm wondering... "68% of the class failed biochem?" "50% failed Pathology?" "Only 7 scored >70 in pharmacology.... 85% of the class failed the first quiz in pharmacology?
Is it only the few that pass that eventually graduate? How does this effect residencies, etc...?

Frankly, I'm worried. I know med school is going to be hard work, but is something wrong with the teaching format? THAT MANY people should not be failing a class, IMHO. Sure, you're gonna have a few slackers, but...

[JewishDr'sWife]

Keep in mind this is a trail thing the new dean thinks is going to work. What we're saying is this new system sucks for med schools and here's the proof. besides you have a few tests to do to actually fail for real from what was explained to me.

[Lmaro0]

JewishDr'swife is correct in that you can fail an exam and still pass the course. Anatomy exams are 15% each ( I think) and biochem are 20% each so it really depends on all of your averages in the end. It does seem pretty bad when 68% of the class fails an exam but there were people that didnt fail so the teaching cant be completely to blame.
Some med schools in the states use the block system and the reasoning for it is that on the USMLE you get all of your subjects tested at once so it is good "practice". Who knows what the reasons are, but there must be some or why would schools use this system.

[levator]

JewishDr'swife is correct in that you can fail an exam and still pass the course. Anatomy exams are 15% each ( I think) and biochem are 20% each so it really depends on all of your averages in the end. It does seem pretty bad when 68% of the class fails an exam but there were people that didnt fail so the teaching cant be completely to blame.
Some med schools in the states use the block system and the reasoning for it is that on the USMLE you get all of your subjects tested at once so it is good "practice". Who knows what the reasons are, but there must be some or why would schools use this system.

just a correction: anatomy exams are worth 20 percent of the grade a piece.


later,

[Lephisto]

I'm a little confused...if 85% of the people failed the test with below a 60...that means probably at least 70% of the class is going to have to retake the class right? That definately does not seem to be the way to do things, and I definately don't want to go to a school where if I score above the average, I still fail...Isn't this going to force students to take an extra semester, and then miss the match, adding a whole other year?? I dunno...or do teachers do something so at least 3/4th the class passes?

[microphage]

I'm a little confused...if 85% of the people failed the test with below a 60...that means probably at least 70% of the class is going to have to retake the class right?

No, that's not right. Failing one test is no big deal(in terms of passing) but it sure wrecks havoc with your GPA). I realize your concern but don't worry, by the time you get here, everytime will hopefully be remedied. The dean knows about it and so do the teachers. Some teachers gave us a few extra points to soften the blow.