For starters, excellent post by cpa2md about A&M. I agree 100%.
This will be a long post, but like I've said in other posts and to the many who PM me about A&M, it's important to me that complete/correct info is spread about A&M on SDN. I know of only one other A&M student who even looks at SDN, so hopefully my perspective is of use. I'm more than happy to get answers from classmates if I don't know how to respond.
Curriculum/Approach
We start with Biochemistry and Gross Anatomy/Embryology at the same time. Both are finished (including board exams) before Thanksgiving. We do not techinically have PBL, but are given cases in anatomy for each system to learn about and know for the test. I personally feel like PBL would be a waste of time, but that's for a different thread. We have about 2-3 hours of total lecture time every day not including lab, which is twice a week on a rotating schedule. Gross Anatomy lecture is the only semi-required lecture in your first two years because there are daily quizzes. This is okay with everyone in our class...we like anatomy. Organ Systems (Physiology/Histology) runs from Thanksgiving to Spring Break. There are 3 hours of lecture per day with short lab sessions once or twice a week. I should note at this time that tests are about once every two weeks for classes. This means that you have a test just about every week in the fall of your first year because you are taking two classes, but for the rest of basic sciences it is one class at a time and a test/two weeks schedule. Neuroscience(anatomy,physiology,histology) runs from Spring Break until the end of school. During the second year there are systems based blocks throughout the year that cover pathology, pharmacology, immunology, and microbiology. All during the first 2 years there is a weekly humanities course and Becoming a Clinician course (discussed later).
Resources
In addition to a full medical sciences library, we have a learning resources center (on both campuses) that have multiple copies of all required/recommended books, computers, or anything you might need to study. All of our lectures are recorded and can be watched live from a remote location or later (they are never deleted). All notes are given to us electronically (we are paperless) and are for the most part complete, so a note-taking service is not needed.
Clinical Exposure
In the first year there is no required clinical exposure, but in Temple (and beginning next year in CS) students are allowed to do weekly rounds with internal medicine physicians to see live cases of diseases we have studied. There are currently 2 free clinics (1 in Temple, the other in CS) that students volunteer are encouraged to volunteer at, and another that will be student-run that opens in January. We also run free immunization clinics throughout Brazos Valley once a month. Like everywhere else, students learn to do an H&P during their first year and work with standardized patients. During the second year, 4-8 hours per week of 1 on 1 training with a local physician are part of the curriculum. Students do 4 week rotations on the primary care specialties and also have a number of electives for surgical/imed specialties. The rumor on SDN is a lack of early clinical opportunities at A&M, but as you can see this is not the case. It is true that as recent as 10 years ago the experiences were extremely limited, but this has changed in the past few years.
The opportunities during 3rd/4th year speak for themselves very well throughout the forums on SDN. Scott & White in Temple is a top 15 teaching hospital and the physician/student ratio is one of the best in the country. They recently opened the new wing and are about to go completely paperless. The rotations are just now being established in College Station, but the names/credentials of coordinators are very impressive. Clearly Temple is the place to be, but students will have the option of being wherever they want. In 2 years there will be another full rotation site in Round Rock, in addition to the pediatrics rotation in Corpus Christi, that will have state of the art facilities. Students receive free housing if they wish to do a rotation at another site. I could go on and on about S&W, but if you have specific questions send me a private message.
Facilities
I breifly mentioned some of the facilities above, so I will try to fill in the gaps. The College Station campus is not much to see, but the new site will open in 2 years with a connecting hospital. We have heard about the plans and it is very exciting. The Temple facilities for first and second years are brand new and very nice. The technology on both campus makes up for anything that looks outdated.
My hands are tired, but PM me with any other questions.
