Thread: Shelf Exams

Here is the current state of Shelf Exams:
UAG will begin offering shelf exams this semester. The exams offered this semester will be 100% optional, and will not be graded against you. However, if you pass the exam, you pass that course. Because they are optional, the cost this semester will be paid for by the student - $34 per subject exam, $44 for the comprehensive exam. Beginning next semester, the idea is that the shelf exams will replace the final exams, their grade will be factored into your course grade, and they will be included in tuition.

The current exams offered are:
1st semester
Anatomy
Histology
Biochemistry

2nd Semester
Behavioral Science
Physiology

3rd Semester
Microbiology
Pathology

4th Semester
Pharmacology
Neuroscience
Comprehensive Exam

You may take the exam for any course you are currently in or that you failed and must repeat. During this semester only, you may also take the exam for any course you have already passed, as well, if you wish to see where you stand.

This announcement should be made to each class tomorrow, and I will be getting sign ups for the exams tomorrow and Thursday. Payment is due by Monday.

I will post the dates of the exams later tonight.

Feel free to post any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer them.

This is a big step in the right direction!

Are course curricula going to be modified to emphasize on doing well on these exams? Or is it just for student self assessment? What is the long-term plan for these shelf exams?

Originally Posted by chr147

Are course curricula going to be modified to emphasize on doing well on these exams? Or is it just for student self assessment? What is the long-term plan for these shelf exams?

The curricula already contains all of the information you need to know for these exams, or at least as much as expected for the teachers to present. What is lacking generally is the ability of the professors to consistently and adequately convey that information. There are no immediate plans to replace professors.

The purpose of the exams is to provide the students with a fair, objective measure of how prepared they are at the end of the course to deal with the material they are responsible for having learned at a USMLE level. I would hope and expect that this will also encourage professors to make some adjustments in how they teach, as one of the unintended consequences may also be identifying weak teachers. Beginning next semester, the results of these exams will be calculated into your final grades for the course, though the details of that hasn't been worked out yet.

i would suspect the physio prof, DR T class would be up to par, but Behavioral Science, and path i would question, but yes, i will sign up for at least one, poss physio or maybe path

Great step - no more saying that NASA doesn't do anything but by all means, this should be a great start to a general relationship with administration which fosters more changes which will help the university.

Next up:

-removing the $100 a week for electives in 7th and 8th semester they charge for being out of the country (Actually I need to double-check the exact amount but it's close if not that) on top of the full tuition and whatever the visiting university will charge you - $100-400 a month.

-Providing transcripts IN ENGLISH for applications everywhere - otherwise it's a trip downtown to get an "official translator" to translate, then get that approved by WES or another large org. We pay for an international school: I don't think it's unreasonable to get our transcripts in the internationally recognized language of education: English.

These are two things which NASA can put pressure on which become REALLY important in the post-step 1 world.


Good work and thanks! I mean, I didn't benefit in the actual exams but it'll help future classes.

Originally Posted by cpt.ricard

Good work and thanks! I mean, I didn't benefit in the actual exams but it'll help future classes.

There are shelf exams for the clinical area, too. The way that the UAG curriculum is set up right now doesn't make it easy to take those shelfs, but I suspect that if you wanted to take one, we could now arrange that for you.

With the new curriculum that goes into effect when the current 3rd semester class makes it to 5th semester it will be easier to give them shelves.

Message Redacted.

Originally Posted by giddings

Unless I'm totally wrong this isn't NASA, this is Revelry's project and by extension AMSA.

Congratulations by the way.



Could you elaborate on this?

The shelf exams offered for the clinical area are:
Clinical Neurology
Family Medicine
Medicine
Ob/Gyn
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Surgery

The biggest complication currently is that all of the Internal Medicine rotations are split up by specialty - gastro, cardio, etc. Beginning with the current 3rd semester (although we in 4th semester have petitioned to have it apply to us as well), you will have fewer "classes", since all of the Internal Medicine courses will be lumped into "Internal Medicine". That also means fewer grades, so fewer segundos for people who are concerned about that.

If you look at the curriculum posted on the UAG website (the current curriculum that applies to 3rd semester and below), you notice that the 1st year rotations very closely mirror the subject exams. So after you finish the Psych rotation, you can take the Psych exam. Etc.

Assuming my semester doesn't get the change in curriculum, the school can request specialty-made Shelf Exams testing only certain subject areas, but we'll worry about that once we are in that position. For now, just know your class is set to continue taking Shelf Exams into the clinical years, which will be great for 1) reducing the # of Spanish exams you have, and 2) preparing you for the Step 2 and practice in the US.

Well we need to find out who revelry is a part of to give proper credit. Thinking this over, this herculean task is incredible that it was finalized.

Awesome

For clinical rotations, they copy cores (3rd year) perfectly - and your final grade is indeed classified as "internal medicine" - it's a lump sum of three grades in pneumo, cardio, gastro and clinical cases. So it wouldn't be _that_ difficult. Good to hear.

Again, phenomenal news and I can't wait to see this actually implemented.

It _is_ mexico right so chickens and eggs folks, but I'm really glad - and impressed.