Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine Individual responses

📚 General Info ▼

What graduating class are you in?

2018

Are you pursuing any joint degrees (MD/PhD, MD/MPH, etc.)?

No

Are you considered in-state or out-of-state for tuition purposes?

Not applicable

What is your race/ethnic background?

No responses

Overall, how would you rate this medical program?

10 out of 10

What is the reputation of the school in the medical community?

9 out of 10

What is the reputation of the research that goes on at this school?

8 out of 10

What was your MCAT score?

509

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What was your undergrad GPA?

3.96

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What was your undergrad science GPA?

4.0

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What was the zip code of your residence in high school?

14051

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What do you like most about this school?

The curriculum focuses on "hands-on" learning experiences which allow students to get proficient at physical exam skills and basic procedures. The university has all students perform ACLS training twice, and all students must perform ATLS once.

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What do you like least about this school?

The school's parking situation is very bad. It is difficult to perform 4th year clerkship electives at our affiliated medical center (Walter Reed) because we aren't given access to parking unless we are performing a sub-internship.

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Please provide any other general comments on your school

USUHS is an excellent medical school. Throughout 3rd and 4th year clerkships, I have always felt prepared to evaluate and treat patients. In addition, I was never concerned about working with staff physicians as a medical student because the university teaches students how to properly present patient cases. Since I have traveled all over the country to perform clinical rotations, I have had the opportunity to work with medical students from many medical schools (both MD and DO) which allowed me to gain different perspectives on how medicine is taught and practiced.

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Curriculum ▼

How is the curriculum structured?

Systems-based

How many courses are taken at a given time?

5

How long are you typically in class per day?

3-4 hours

Are courses recorded for medical students?

Video recording

How many days per week is anatomy lab?

3

How many students per cadaver?

3-4

How long (in months) do you have anatomy?

6 months

Is the curriculum lecture-centric or small-group centric?

6 out of 10

Are standardized patients used?

yes

How much patient interaction is there in the pre-clinical years?

7 out of 10

Are syllabi provided for the student?

yes

How frequently do pre-clinical medical school activities have mandatory attendance?

Pathology Lab and Anatomy Lab had mandatory attendance. Attendance is optional at 90-95% of lectures. All lectures are recorded and can be accessed from home. The school also has many different "small-group" training sessions which require mandatory attendance. We typically have about 5 mandatory lab/group sessions per week. USUHS strictly follows LCME guidelines concerning the amount of time spent in lectures/labs per week. Students always have adequate time to study on their own.

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What books are necessary?

The University provides all required textbooks for free to the students (they give us about 50 books! its amazing).

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What books are unnecessary?

N/A

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Is the curriculum designed to promote a specialty? If so, which specialty?

The curriculum is designed to produce self-sufficient doctors that can practice medicine in austere environments with limited resources. No speciality is "promoted"; however, regardless of specialty, all military physicians need to be able to provide medical care to active duty service members in deployed settings. USUHS prepares students to do that.

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Location & Housing ▼

How do you feel about the location of the school?

8 out of 10

Do you feel safe on campus?

10 out of 10

How available and convenient is public transportation?

10 out of 10

Is a car necessary at any point during your education here?

No

If a car is required for education, how available and convenient is the parking provided to students?

3 out of 10

Is on-campus housing available?

no

What is the quality of available on-campus housing?

5 out of 10

What percentage of your medical school classmates would you estimate live on campus, if on-campus housing is available?

5 out of 10

Is couples housing available?

no

Is nearby off-campus housing available?

yes

How expensive is nearby off-campus housing?

8 out of 10

Please describe the on-campus housing if available (i.e., cost, type - studios, 1-br, 2-br, etc.)?

No on-campus housing - Students are provided a Basic Housing Allowance (valued at about 1,800-2,200 per month). Bethesda, MD housing market is very expensive; however, our housing allowance is enough to cover the cost of a 1-2 bedroom apartment with good amenities.

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Cost/Financial Aid ▼

Are fees/tuition expensive?

10 out of 10

How is the cost of living (rent, food, bills, etc.)?

10 out of 10

Are many institutional scholarships/grants available?

10 out of 10

Is institutional aid need-based or merit-based?

Both

Faculty/Grades ▼

Are faculty members very open to students during office hours?

10 out of 10

Are faculty members very available to students via email/message board?

10 out of 10

Are there many opportunities to shadow/work with clinical faculty?

10 out of 10

Are the faculty willing to mentor students in regards to career guidance?

10 out of 10

Is the class ranked?

no

How is the instructional faculty during pre-clinical years?

Every Module (System Block) has one PhD lead and one MD/DO lead who function as the supervisors. The PhD lead is typically a researcher/educator who has significant experience in the system being taught. The MD/DO lead is typically a physician who practices medicine in the speciality that is being taught (Cardiologist during Cardio Module, Neurologist during NEURO Module, Sports Med/Ortho during MSK module, etc, etc.). These faculty members have been excellent. They attend every lecture and attend every "small group session" with the students to ensure that the students are getting a good learning experience.

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How is the instructional faculty during clinical years?

The instruction varies from site to site since USUHS has students travel throughout the DOD health system during 3rd year clerkships. All instructional faculty at the clinical sites are highly invested in the USUHS curriculum and are in close contact with the clerkship supervisor throughout the year. All faculty are supportive to the students.

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What is the grading scale used during pre-clinical years?

Honors/Pass/Fail

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What is the grading scale used during clinical years?

Honors/Pass/Fail

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Clinical Rotations ▼

Are the desired rotation sites easy to obtain?

7 out of 10

Is desired rotation order easy to obtain?

7 out of 10

Are the elective rotations easy to obtain?

10 out of 10

Is there substantial hands-on experience for medical students?

10 out of 10

Are the rotation sites conveniently accessible for medical students?

8 out of 10

How far are the clinical sites from the main campus?

10 out of 10

How are clinical rotations scheduled? What are the required rotations?

Mandatory 3rd and 4th year Clerkships are scheduled by the University and students get to pick their desired clinical sites throughout the DOD using a "Lottery system." 4th year electives are scheduled by the student. 3rd year Clerkship requirements: Family Medicine: 5 Weeks; Pediatrics: 5 Weeks; Internal Medicine (In-patient): 5 Weeks; Internal Medicine (Out-patient): 5 Weeks; General Surgery: 5 Weeks; Surgery Sub-specailty (Ortho/Vascular/CT/Urology - Chosen by student): 5 Weeks; Elective (Chosen by student): 5 Weeks; 4th Year Clerkship Requirements: Neurology: 4 Weeks; Emergency Medicine: 4 Weeks; Anesthesia: 4 Weeks; One Surgical Sub-Internship: 4 Weeks; One Medical Sub-Internship: 4 Weeks; 7 - four week blocks of electives - these are scheduled by the student.

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What responsibility do med students have on the wards?

Medical Students are expected to take full responsibility of their patients: they must present their patients, review all lab/rad results, follow up on all consults, and be present for all procedures done on their patient. Medical Students are expected to educate their patient's about the daily "plan" and treatment options during daily "rounds".

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What is the status/condition of the affiliated hospital(s)?

Our Two Major affiliated hospitals are: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and San Antonio Military Medical Center. These hospitals are in excellent condition with state-of-the art technology and services.

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What is the typical patient population medical students work with?

We tend to deal with an "older" patient population of retired military service members. We also occasionally see spouses, young adults, and children of active duty service members. At San Antonio Military Medical Center, we are exposed to "civilians" that are brought by emergency to our trauma center and burn center.

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Social Environment ▼

Do students do a lot of activities outside of school together?

4 out of 10

How would you rank student involvement in extracurricular clubs?

7 out of 10

What is the range of extracurricular clubs available?

8 out of 10

Is the student body cooperative or competitive?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for underrepresented minorities?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual students?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for students with disabilities?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for married students?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for older/non-traditional students?

10 out of 10

What do the students typically like to do in the area?

No responses

Post Graduation ▼

How do graduates from this school fare in residency and clinical practice?

I am not a graduate yet; however, it appears that USUHS graduates perform well in clinical practice and in residency.

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Is this school known for producing physicians strong in a certain area? If so, which area?

I would say that the University produces excellent physicians in all specialities; however, our Family Medicine physicians appear to be exceptionally strong.

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What do you believe residency directors think about graduates from this program?

I have been told by many residency program directors that USUHS graduates are typically very competent. Residency directors actively recruit USUHS graduates to select their program for residency.

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Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine

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