Since elementary school, good grades have been important to me. High grades were a means to an end -- going to a good college, receiving an academic scholarship and getting into medical school. It was never about learning. I took advanced math classes, but I can't even remember how to spell calcqolus.
Now that I'm in medical school, grades are no longer an issue. I am a member of the first class of the University of Virginia School of Medicine to have the first two years of medical school, the basic science years, pass/fail.
Unfortunately, that does not mean I can spend my days watching "SportsCenter" reruns on ESPN and my nights perfecting my "Madden NFL 2004" skills. Rather, I study more now than I ever did. I spend my days trying to understand why a person's eyes rotate back and forth when they spin in place and why a person should breathe into a bag when hyperventilating.
To many people it would be logical to take advantage of the system and coast through the first two years, doing just enough to pass the required classes.Even some faculty members are opposed to the change.
My mentor, Dr. Robert Reiser, who is medical director of the emergency department and a member of the emergency medicine residency committee, opposes the change.
"Human nature requires competition in order for people to excel," he's said. "Without competition, I think people settle for mediocrity."
There is validity to Dr. Reiser's opinion, as evidenced by the special distinction awarded to the top 20 percent of the class at the end of the second year. This recognition may provide motivation for some students to better learn the material by pushing themselves to be in the top of the class. On the other hand, some students are motivated to learn not through competition for grades or class standing, but because they see the importance and relevance of what they are learning to their future.
Even as Dr. Reiser acknowledged, grades in basic sciences are not the central means of evaluating medical students for residency selection. With other forms of evaluation such as the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) and third year clinical rotation performance evaluations, basic science grades are not of paramount importance.
That is not to say that a mastery of the basic sciences is not important, but grades at different schools do not equate to identical knowledge levels. Thus, the USMLE is relied upon for a standardized comparison of basic science knowledge among individuals from different medical schools vying for the same residency programs.
The pass/fail system is by no means a radical innovation by U.Va. Medical schools at the University of Pennsylvania, New York University and Johns Hopkins University all use a form of pass/fail. Even at the University's School of Medicine, pass/fail grading for fourth-year electives has been around since 1980.
The pass/fail system is a popular movement among many medical schools because it fosters an environment with less direct competition among peers and greater camaraderie. This environment helps to fulfill the inherent goal of medical school -- the creation of knowledgeable, caring doctors.
Dr. Pearson, senior associate dean for Education at the University's School of Medicine, defines a good doctor as one who is "humanistic, compassionate and committed. One who has achieved excellence in knowledge and the wisdom to apply the knowledge in the care of a patient."
In the process of creating such doctors, the American medical education has gone through dramatic changes over the last 30 years. The philosophy has changed to one in which independent study time is of greater value, hence the shift from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily lectures to the recent 8 a.m. to noon lectures. Increased understanding of diseases, genetics and technology requires greater information mastery by medical students to become knowledgeable doctors. At the same time, the relatively new learning resources, such as the Internet, cause independent study time to be invaluable for students to take advantage of the numerous ways to acquire such information.
Along the same lines, the new pass/fail system in the University's School of Medicine was brought forth to foster an environment in which students become well-informed doctors. In the process, medical students should learn how they best learn, because medicine is an ever-changing field and doctors are students for life. At the same time, medical students can explore their interests and become great clinicians and researchers. And even journalists.
Omid Fatemi's columns run every other week on the Science page. He can be reached at ofatemi@cavalierdaily.com
Read More
Honor Committee considers formal ban of AI detectors as evidence in trials
By Lexie Stadler | 3 hours agoThe Committee also addressed balancing student perspectives with those of Committee representatives during panel discussions.
Pro-Palestinian protesters form encampment near University Chapel
By CD News Staff | 4 hours agoThe encampment overlapped with a separate “May Day” protest on the Lawn, which was hosted by student activist group U.Va. Dissenters and the U.Va. Apartheid Divest Coalition.
Another aggravated assault incident reported to UPD
By Thomas Baxter | 4 hours agoThis is the first community alert of May.
