Resources on Medical Schools

Medical Schools and Medical Education

Medical Schools

A medical school, or faculty of medicine, is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners (medical doctors) as well as their accreditation to legally practice medicine. Medical schools teach subjects such as human anatomy, clinical practice, as well as many basic sciences.

The entry criteria, structure, teaching methodology and nature of medical programs offered at medical schools vary considerably around the world. Medical schools are often highly competitive, with medical schools accepting only a few number of applicants based primarily on test scores such as the MCAT or other standardized entrance examinations.
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Medical students
A person accepted into a medical school and enrolled in an educational program in medicine, with the goal of becoming a medical doctor, is referred to as a medical student. Medical students are generally considered to be at the earliest stage of the medical career pathway.

Medical students typically engage in both basic science and practical clinical coursework during their tenure in medical school. Generally, the first one to two years of training are devoted to the study of the basic sciences as they pertain to healthcare, including molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, human anatomy, histology, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, and pathology. The remainder of a medical student's training is typically devoted to gaining direct clinical experience by participating in the care of patients in a hospital or clinic setting.

Excerpt from "Medical school." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Oct 2006, 20:42 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Oct 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medical_school&oldid=84115305

Medical Education

Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or further training thereafter.

Medical education and training varies considerably across the world. Various teaching methodologies have been utilised in medical education, which is an active area of educational research.
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Entry-level education

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Entry-level medical education programs are tertiary-level courses undertaken at a medical school. Depending on jurisdiction and university, these may be either undergraduate-entry or graduate-entry programs.

Generally, initial training is taken at medical school. Traditionally initial medical education is divided between preclinical and clinical studies. The former consisting of the basic sciences such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology. The latter consists of teaching in the various areas of clinical medicine such as internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, surgery. Increasingly, however, medical programs are using systems-based curricula in which learning is integrated, and several institutions do this.

Post-graduate education
Following completion of entry-level training, newly graduated doctors are often required to undertake a period of supervised practice before full registration is granted; this is most often of one year duration and may be referred to as "internship" or "provisional registration".

Further training in a particular field of medicine may be undertaken. In some jurisdictions this is commenced immediately following completion of entry-level training, whilst other jurisdictions require junior doctors to undertake generalist (unstreamed) training for a number of years before commencing specialisation.

Excerpt from "Medical education." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Oct 2006, 11:01 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Oct 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medical_education&oldid=84215929