Great post dr trouble, I have the ultimate question:
Pros/Cons
Prag(Charles) vs Warsaw
ex.
Czech Republic is richer than Poland

Not sure why I should apply to Poland

thank u for ur kind comments

hummm well..
ive bee to prague - and i also applied to charles university II faculty..
they have 5 years and 6 years of medical studies. and as i have bachelors wasnt suitable for me

prague is a beautiful city.
people are friendly too

BUT - having sed that 2 of my friends .... couldnt take the pressure they transferred out after the 1st year. sumthing about unfair marking and
professors being biased... but i cant for certain comment on that.

i knw like hungary as in czech the professors are tough and u do have to work for ur monies worth. i suggest if u can go and see the university.. speak with professors.. try and get a feel...

then... proceed from there. im at warsaw. i love it. our schedule is a nightmare.... but its good.... as im counting down to the day i get my diplomma.

there are 3 faculties in the charles medical university....each have their own website and separate contact details. unfortunately for u.. ive actually thrown everything away.. so i cant shine any light on that for u

and the reason for pragues wealth is its tourism - as it will be soon for warsaw.... the doors have only yet opened...
also remember... just because a country is rich doesnt mean it will invest in its medical facilities....

i hope that was an unbiased answer
for me there was no advantage to go to charles. as they wudnt accept transfer
AND THEY ALSO HAVE ENTRANCE EXAM
AND INTERVIEW
(so if u are on other side of planet.. u have to try and come to the city twice even before u start classes)

good luck.

Dear friends and collegues
hope u are all well and enjoying the fruits of your hard work

well... for those of you considering coming to Poland or unsure of where you want to go... below i enclose the list of the 2nd year subjects (of the 4year program)

make no mistake. its tough. but well worth it....

ok here we go:

*PHARMACOLOGY - this is a tough course... v intense.... heavy reading load....different books used depending on preference. Lange and Lippincott usual choice with Gilmans and Goodsmans medical therapeutics as a reference book

*PATHOPHYSIOLOGY- well Lange by Ganong recommended material. this course is interesting integrates alot of material you should know from prior anatomy and physiology

*PATHOMORPHOLOGY/PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY - Robbins & Cotran or the other Robbins used. I prefer the former... its nicer to read, good illustrations. I love this class... even though heavy reading, it balances out the schedule with pharmacology

MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY - will tell u later feb/march

NEUROBIOLOGY - will tell u later feb/march

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING - intensive course, very thorough and detailed. numerous books and sources.
CT, PET. MRI,US and diagnosis using imaging

PEDIATRIC RADIOLOGY - will tell you about it later

LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICS - will tell u later

*HYGIENE AND EPIDEMIOLOGY - easy reading, not difficult... some of us think we are better off without this one

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL MEDICINE - by far the best course ive taken so far... learnt so much... the professors are really accessible. down to earth and are more then willing to teach u more....depends are u willling to put in the heard work. Learn how to do physical exam - put it into practice, putting in IV's. taking blood - ARTERIAL also!!!! using Ultrasound equipment, reading ECG's, rectal exam - yes we all had to learn how to do it!!! - then percussing chest, abdomen... ascultation, seeing a pneumothorax released, bone marrow biopsies and so much more
BATES choice of reading... with Harrisons.

INTRODUCTION TO SURGERY - well this comes to equal enjoyment level as pathological anatomy.
intensive course. covering basics and teaching you necessities of emergency medicine... intubation...suturing, wound healing, taking out stiches, dressings
i used baileys and Love as basic reading and few online websites

MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY - hummm well i guess ppl still need to be reminded how to behave as humans and use common courtesy. this subject we can do without but maybe some of our collegues who are not so empathetic towards human suffering need to enrol

*POLISH - errrr ur in poland, its self explanatory!!

* - Signifies both 1st and 2nd semster courses
courses in purple signify subjects taken in 1st semester
courses in orange signify subjects solely in 2nd semester only
__________________

I'm guessing these courses apply to Warsaw only. Your mileage will vary at other institutions.


Intense reading load? It's just pharm... Lippincott's, OR pharmcards, OR just simply pharm recall.

Also...

Lange for pathophys sucks. Use your patho books instead.

For patho, Goljan +/- BRS, look at pics in Robbins. (This combo covers >90% of what you need to know for step 1)

Micro... ridiculously simple

Neuro... HY neuroanatomy

Surg... NMS

IM... this one is most variable, depends on your personality, find something you like; Boards & Wards springs to my mind

Psych... HY or Kaplan

First aid to bring it all together

I imagine no books are needed for whatever all those other silly courses are.

Once again, your mileage may vary... but chances are, if you use the big clunky textbooks to get you through your courses, you're wasting your time. Stick to one "review" book per subject, and g'd luck.

hey
yeah the details i gave was an indication for courses at warsaw
so that perspective students had an indication of what to expect on the 2nd year
---------------------------------------

well pharm is the toughest course we have this year.
but they are VERY VERY specific about ur choice of books
for example
u cant pass pharmacology with pharm cards.. or lippincotts
it has to be the big lange u use...
pharm cards and lippincotts to supplement


mmm i agree the book for pathphysiology sucks.mmmm but well its recommended text i just use robbins and cotran to back up anything i need to


and u have got to be kidding if u think u can pass their exams using BRS
- BRS dont even exist here.... hence the chunky text..
besides theres so much stuff mising from the BRS books... they are for final recap before exam.. not study books... all my collegues agree - majority are Americans


as for 1st aid.... will u tell me more about it....
mmmm it be nice to have sumthing that just pulls everything together
thank u

x2

Who are "they"? Do "they" live in some alternate pharm'kin universe? I do realize that meds vary from country to country and contintent to continent, but if they're teaching you useless info, then sure, you may need the books "they" wrote. If they take the Qs straight out of the Lange, then yeah, for sure use it, but for anything else... and here I'm showing my n.american bias, 'cause this may not apply to the UK or rest of Europe, but it does for for usmle's and mcc's... More is definitely not better...

Btw, I've never owned big Lange.

You'll be lucky to remember a small chunk of what you study. Wouldn't it be better to focus on what's actually important? If you memorize everything in the BRS's it will get you >80-90% there (unless your Polish handlers are more picky then usual). But are you going to? So, how much are you hoping to get out of the "big" books, in the same amount of time?

I could be wrong, but I'm sure there are book stores in Warsaw that sell BRS's. There are at least 2 in Krakow. Also, amazon will be more than happy to deliver... or, ahem, just xerox a copy from one of your n.american friends.

And fyi, not only did i thunk it, i dun it , and i'm not the only one. Your american collegues are just as freaked out as you. It's understandable; seen a lot of that. But this is medicine, not rocket science , so relax.

If you're planning on taking step 1, make it your guide, the earlier the better. It's a review of the review, so might not work for you . If you haven't heard of it then where have you been hidin'?

they are the professors of our pharm dept.. in particular... who expect us to knw it all...

but ur right.. i havent got BRS for anything yet apart from physiology, histo and neuroanatomy... ive started step 1 review for physiology from BRS

i got the USMLE 1st aid.
do u recommend i get any other books

do u knw anything about kaplan review? - and what is for...


sleepy.

And you should , but the #1 thing that you should learn, the sooner the better that'll get you through med school and residency and then on to the real deal, is how to study smart not hard.

Hmm... BRS for physio was one of the few of the series that sucked. It'll do but I recommend the Stars for physio. Neuro BRS is good. Histo? Good for your histo course, but ultra low-yield for usmle. Never opened it again after 1st yr.

I probably could, but you have to find what works for you. You say you need the big books, sure, it works for some. I call that torture . The review/high-yield stuff worked for me. Like I said before, there's more than enough info and detail in these review books, most of which you won't remember anyways.

Besides what I already mentioned... HY Embryo, Lippincot Bchem, Neuro bluenotes, BRS psych

Additional step 1/2 prep books that may be of interest (and quite helpful)...
Goljan notes
USMLE secrets
pathophys for the boards & wards (despite the name, prob useless for your pathophys course)
Step up
Underground clinical vignette series

I know a bit about it. In general, Kaplan offers prep/review courses for the usmles, etc. Some people took it, I however did not. Some liked the books. I've read through them once at some point. Not worth the $$$ (even in xerox form ). I only recommend behavioral sci. It's really good. For more info trek over to kaplan.com or ask your upper class(wo)men.

l8r

dr trouble gots some trouble?

PL..C.R or HU...are the same thing..same possibilties..same standard of living (not very high)...and same standard on the education (more or less). It mostly depends on the individual student and how much effort he/she is willing to put into it, thats a fact.

There are some pro and cons...such as better facilities...(would say Warsaw def goes here)...wider recognition (HU and CR, cuz they only have their 6-year prgms to worry about)...and diffrence in degree of instructor authority (generally..the larger the prgm is the more authority does the instructors have to bust ur **lls).

Im in Warsaw myself...been to C.R and HU..on vaccation..I would say the mentality of the people in C.R and HU are alot more easy-going..besides that its basicly the same..just adapt to the cultural diffrences as quick as possible...and if ur coming to Poland consider converting to catholism

p.s the 4 year prgms in Poland are crap..they have just smacked the 6 year curriculum into 4 years...and voila..polish 4 year md prgm

Anyone considering to start studying anywhere in the "Axis of M.D degrees" should consider a short trip to get a first-hand view of the place. My experince from Warsaw is generally positive..or I been able to adapt to the diffrences...one thing still bugs me...dogs that crap on the sidewalk and their owners who dont clean up after them.