Ever wonder what school life is like outside your own med school center? On February 28 th, 2006, we traveled as MSC representatives with Dean Cushing and Dean Brokaw to Terre Haute for a center visit. As we listened to the first and second years there, we realized that while our class (2008) may be separated across nine centers during the first two years, we are all going through the same things. The second years at Terre Haute voiced their concerns regarding the Step 1 board exam, class ranking procedures, third year rotation schedules and tuition increases. If we had closed our eyes we would have believed we were at the Indy center. Those are the exact same things everyone is concerned about in Indy. It reinforced to us that we really are all in this together, regardless of where we are across the state. That is an easy fact to forget when we become entrenched at our individual centers.

In addition to talking with the second years, we also got to meet with the first years. Again, there are many similarities between the experience at Terre Haute and the experience we had as first years in Indy. Concerns voiced by the Terre Haute first years included the volume of information presented, the pace of classes, the constant exams, and amount of time spent in the classroom. We vividly remember thinking the exact same things last year as first years. That first year of medical school is probably one of the steepest learning curves we will encounter in our medical training. Our advice to first years at any center is, hang in there. Second year really is better. And from what the third and fourth years say, it only gets better after second year. There is a light at the end of the long tunnel…

The first years at Terre Haute have a unique “opportunity” that other first years across the state do not. A pilot program has started there which involves keeping an active record of patient encounters, written assignments, community involvement and various other activities. This record is kept through the My Portfolio option on the Angel ......Read On.