Reply to the circulating and posted ?Pass / Fail Petition:?
Let it be known to all whom this letter reaches that not all medical students at Baylor College of Medicine are in agreement with the pass/fail petition. In fact, we, a small group of medical students from the entering class of 2000, most of whom recently graduated, enthusiastically agree with the proposed curriculum change back to the way it was when we started medical school and urge students not to sign the above mentioned petition.
Our curriculum, entering class of 2000, was graded, from ?Honors? to ?Fail,? from block one and we never had any major problems, en masse complaints, or petitions. Our previous grading system was effective and in our opinion did not negatively affect our educational experience, our adjustment to medical school, or our camaraderie/relationships among our classmates and future applicants.
To those who are upset and feel that it is their place to petition and draw attention to this matter we offer the following candid advice:
There comes a time when we as medical students must look in the mirror and realize that we are still students in the educational process. Who are we, as students, to decide how we are to be educated or evaluated? Decisions of this gravity which have implications on our education and training should logically and rightfully be outside of our control. When throughout the history of time has a student in his/her professional role as a student been given the right and authority to act as a faculty or administrator in determining the evaluation of students? By its very nature this responsibility must reside with the teaching body. Recently, when we were undergraduate students at UT, Texas A&M, Rice, Harvard, or (insert your undergraduate institution), would we have ever thought of petitioning the grading scale or have had the audacity to tell our professors how to evaluate us? Why has this changed, how have we as a group of MS-I students (or even MS-IV students) been somehow empowered with this experience, knowledge, authority, and/or foresight? Is this a democratic process or more importantly should it ever be a democratic process? Are we attempting to usurp powers which rightfully are not and should never be ours as students? Thankfully and respectfully over the years the curriculum committee has asked the Baylor student body for feedback and they valued our input and suggestions. This has always been a courtesy which they have given to us and has helped bridge the gap between the student's needs and the teacher?s goals. Somehow, we as students have taken this courtesy and have perverted it into some illegitimate right to petition and force our will upon the expert opinions of our educators and deprive them of their rightful professional responsibility because somehow miraculously we, as students, think we know best.
What personal gain do they have for making this change other than our best interest? We should respect and accept the decisions made by the curriculum committee which is comprised of experts in education who have had much more experience and time debating these issues particularly within the unique context of the Baylor curriculum, Baylor faculty, and Baylor students. It is utterly profane and arrogant for medical students to assume that these faculty members, who are experts on these topics, are not aware of the relevant educational literature highlighted in the previously mentioned "petition." In fact, is it not possible that those same articles prompted the initial change back in 2000-2001, which now, in their expert opinion is not working and therefore logically should be reverted back for comparison? In addition, it is NOT scientifically valid to expect the exact same results for curricular changes at Baylor based upon the pass/fail changes found previously at Harvard, Utah, and other institutions. There are too many variables such as different curricular content, different methods of delivery, and variable amounts of emphasis placed upon curricular topics. Unless the curricula at two institutions are identical, one cannot draw direct conclusions; you are comparing apples to oranges. At best, one can say, as the original papers suggest, that the data represents the findings from the original institutions and they MAY (at best) have implications at other schools. Fortunately, our curriculum committee wants to see if this is true or not for Baylor?s curriculum and theoretically they cannot come to any definitive conclusions without reverting back to the graded system and comparing results. Furthermore, we must recognize the past accomplishments and praise that our unique curriculum and expert curriculum committee members have brought forth in the past and that many of our Baylor curriculum changes, which we take for granted, have been a model for nation-wide medical school curriculum changes.
To the entering class of 2008 we emphatically state that the change in grading policy will not negatively affect your experience at Baylor, just as it did not affect us, the graduating class of 2004. This is such a minor aspect and in no way should it affect your decision to attend Baylor College of Medicine. If it does, then perhaps you should re-examine your motives for attending medical school and reflect upon all the other great opportunities that Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Medical Center have to offer. Even with a graded system our curriculum still holds the unique nature of being one and one-half years long, combining both traditional and organ based system teaching styles and also including problem based learning sessions. What other curriculum in the country is as progressive as Baylor?s? offering their students so many opportunities to mold their education to suit their professional goals via extended ?free? clinical time (at least 6 months), ability to take the USMLE when you feel ready, and through formal tracks such as ethics, research, and international medicine?
In conclusion, it is our opinion that many of us as students at Baylor have forgotten our professionalism and the professional relationship that should exist between students and professors. The legitimacy of this petition is ridiculous and unfounded. We urge all students to remove their name from the ?pass/fail petition? and to trust that the curriculum committee will do what is in the best academic interest of the student body.
Respectfully yours,
A group of your fellow medical students.
