Medical Education in USA

Medical Education in USA

Medical education in the United States includes educational activities involved in the education and training of physicians (D.O. or M.D.) in the United States, from entry-level training through to continuing education of qualified specialists.

Medical Education in USA (Contd)

A typical outline of the medical education pathway is presented below; however, medicine is a diverse profession with many options available. For example, some physicians work in pharmaceutical research, occupational medicine (within a company), public health medicine (working for the general health of a population in an area), or join the armed forces.

Top 10 Medical Schools In The U.S

1. Harvard University

2. Stanford University
3. Johns Hopkins University 4. University of California - San Francisco 5. University of Pennsylvania

Top 10 Medical Schools In The U.S

6. University of Washington 7. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 8. Oregon Health and Science University 9. University of California - San Francisco 10.University of Massachusetts

Medical school
In the United States a medical school is an institution with the purpose of educating physicians in the United States in the field of medicine. Admission into medical school may not technically require completion of a previous degree; however, applicants are usually required to complete at least 3 years of "pre-med" courses at the university level because in the US medical degrees are classified as Second entry degrees.

Medical school (Contd)

Once enrolled in a medical school the five years progressive study is divided into two roughly equal components: pre-clinical (consisting of didactic courses in the basic sciences) and clinical (clerkships consisting of rotations through different wards of a teaching hospital). The degree granted at the conclusion of the next four years of study is Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) or Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) depending on the medical school; both degrees allow the holder to practice medicine after completing an accredited residency program

Internship
During the last year of undergraduate medical education, students apply for postgraduate residencies in their chosen field of specialization. These vary in competitiveness depending upon the desirability of the specialty, prestige of the program, and the number of applicants relative to the number of available positions. All but a few positions are granted via a national computer match which pairs an applicant's preference with the programs' preference for applicants.

Internship (Contd)
Historically, post-graduate medical education began with a free-standing, one-year internship. Completion of this year continues to be the minimum training requirement for obtaining a general license to practice medicine in most states. However, because of the gradual lengthening of post-graduate medical education, and the decline of its use as the terminal stage in training, most new physicians complete the internship requirement as their first year of residency.

Internship (Contd)
Notwithstanding the trend toward internships integrated into categorical residencies, the one-year "traditional rotating internship" (sometimes called a "transitional year") continues to exist. Some residency training programs, such as in neurology and ophthalmology, do not include an internship year and begin after completion of an internship or transitional year. Some use it to re-apply to programs into which they were not accepted, while others use it as a year to decide upon a specialty

Fellowship
A fellowship is a formal, full-time training program that focuses on a particular area within the specialty, with requirements beyond the related residency. Many highly specialized fields require formal training beyond residency. Examples of these include cardiology, endocrinology, oncology after internal medicine; cardiothoracic anesthesiology, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical oncology after general surgery; reproductive endocrinology/infertility, maternal-fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology after obstetrics/gynecology.

Fellowship (Contd)
There are many others for each field of study. In some specialties such as pathology and radiology, a majority of graduating residents go on to further their training.

The training programs for these fields are known as fellowships and their participants are fellows, to denote that they already have completed a residency and are board eligible or board certified in their basic specialty. Fellowships range in length from one to three years and are granted by application to the individual program or sub-specialty organizing board. Fellowships often contain a research component

Grading
Medical schools use a variety of different grading methods. Even within one school, the grading of the basic sciences and clinical clerkships may vary. Most medical schools use the pass/fail schema, rather than letter grades; however the range of grading intervals varies. The following are examples of grades used with different intervals

2 Intervals = Pass/Fail
3 Intervals = Honors/Pass/Fail 4 Intervals = Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail (or ABCF) 5 Intervals = Honors/High Pass/Pass/Low Pass/Fail (or ABCDF)

Accreditation
All medical schools within the United States must be accredited by one of two organizations. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), jointly administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association, accredits M.D. schools, while the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association accredits osteopathic (D.O.) schools. There are presently 141 M.D. programs and 29 D.O. programs in the United States. Accreditation is required for a school's students to receive federal loans. Additionally, schools must be accredited to receive federal funding for medical education. The M.D. and D.O. are the only medical degrees offered in the United States which are listed in the WHO/IMED list of medical schools.

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