Rush Medical College

Rush uses a flipped classroom with no lectures. Emily He describes self-study packets built around a patient case, from microbiology to anatomy to clinical tests, followed by an 8am quiz and case-based work in classes of 16–17 students.

Emily says classmates become the best resource, sharing notes in a class-wide drive and group chat.

Hands-on patient care started in the third week of school for Emily, with a new clinical setting each semester, from primary care to urogynecology to orthopedic oncology spine surgery.

Monthly Interprofessional Education pairs medical students with nursing, therapy, audiology, and other health science students to work through cases.

Core clerkships take place mainly at Rush University Medical Center, Rush sites across the Chicago area, and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the county's safety-net flagship with the city's busiest emergency department.

Rush is the official health care team for the Chicago Bulls and White Sox; the arena is walking distance from campus.

Emily calls Rush's commitment to the community the main draw. Unserved food from the hospital kitchens, for example, goes to the Franciscan homeless shelter.

Campus is close to downtown and Millennium Park, and students get unlimited public transportation.