Typical Schedule of a First Year Medical Student (MS1)

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I’ve had several readers inquire about what a normal first year medical student’s schedule looks like. Though this varies from institution to institution, here’s the breakdown of my first block (six weeks) at Baylor Med.

Monday

Lecture 1: 8:00 AM – 8:50 (20 minute break)
Lecture 2: 9:10 to 10:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 3: 10:10 to 11:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 4: 11:10 to 12:00 (10 minute break)
Medicine and Management (elective): 12:10 to 1:00 PM

Tuesday

Lecture 1: 8:00 AM – 8:50 (20 minute break)
Lecture 2: 9:10 to 10:00 (10 minute break)
Gross anatomy lab: 10:10 to 12:00
Integrated problem solving (IPS): 1:00 to ~3:00 (depends on when we finish)

Wednesday

Lecture 1: 8:00 AM – 8:50 (20 minute break)
Lecture 2: 9:10 to 10:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 3: 10:10 to 11:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 4: 11:10 to 12:00 (10 minute break)
Medicine and Management (elective): 12:10 to 1:00
Patient, Physician, and Society (PPS): 1:30 to ~3:00 PM

Every other Wednesday, instead of attending PPS, students visit their preceptor and to practice what we learned the week before.

Thursday

Lecture 1: 8:00 AM – 8:50 (20 minute break)
Lecture 2: 9:10 to 10:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 3: 10:10 to 11:00 (10 minute break)
Lecture 4: 11:10 to 12:00

Friday

Lecture 1: 8:00 AM – 8:50 (20 minute break)
Lecture 2: 9:10 to 10:00 (10 minute break)
Histology lab: 10:10 to 12:00

Compared to other medical schools, I find the class schedule at BCM to be extremely student-friendly. There’s plenty of time (sometimes… a little too much time) to pursue hobbies and other things outside of medicine. 🙂 Leave a comment with any questions!

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Comments

15 responses to “Typical Schedule of a First Year Medical Student (MS1)”

  1. jim Avatar
    jim

    Is there a formal course in histology during year 1? Did you use microscopes?

    Reply
    1. Rishi Avatar
      Rishi

      Histology is integrated into our curriculum based on whatever organ system we’re learning. For example, if we’re learning about the respiratory system, we’ll review histology of the trachea, bronchi, lungs, etc. In addition, we have a dedicated histology lab once a week. And yes, this starts from the very first block.

      Baylor Med uses a digital slidebox as oppose to traditional microscopes + slide sets. This really makes it easy to study histology anywhere since you have the images on your computer. 🙂

      Reply
      1. jim Avatar
        jim

        Thanks Rishi. That is similar to how we do it at Texas Tech although we use microscopes and glass slides.

        Reply
  3. Nikki Avatar
    Nikki

    Are there ways to only have school 3 or 4 days a week and have a break in the middle. Are Sat & Sun spent at the hospital? Do you have to dress professionally every morning with a white coat etc – or are undergrad sweats and slippers sometimes ok?

    Reply
    1. Rishi Avatar
      Rishi

      I only dressed up for special guest speakers or my afternoon preceptorship; otherwise, I was a jeans – polo – flips flops guy. Additionally, most of the class wore scrubs on anatomy-lab days.

      As an MS1, I’m pretty sure I didn’t have any mandatory assignments on the weekend. “3 or 4 days a week and have a break in the middle?” Does that actually exist?! 😯 Our lecture schedule is very manageable at four hours a day. 🙂

      Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  4. JL Avatar
    JL

    You keep a great blog, I particularly like how you give a lot of insider information on BCM. I’m lucky enough to be joining the entering class of 2010, and I can’t express how excited I am. I’m glad you’re loving Baylor, I can’t wait to be a part of everything.

    Reply
    1. Lidia Avatar
      Lidia

      If this is how schedule actually looks? Its great! Enought time to study and go over next lectures ect.. Im really exited, hopefully will be entering in 2 yrs from now, Im looking foward to atendint to Baylor since I work @ TCH and wor w/ many Baylor students/ M.D. any info will be great and hopeful to get ready!!

      Reply
  5. UTSWStud Avatar
    UTSWStud

    What’s really nice is that all your basic science courses are from the morning to 12 PM (although 8 AM everyday even for an MS-1 can be tough if you’re not a morning person).

    Reply
    1. Rishi Avatar
      Rishi

      Well we have the scheduled time on Tuesday from 10:10 AM to 12:00 PM; however, students are allowed to come in at any time (24/7) to study the cadavers. Comes in especially handy if you’re reviewing for an exam. 😉

      Reply

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