University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine

Jay Patel describes classes from 8am to about noon, with mandatory afternoons for hands-on ultrasound practice and a Principles of Medicine course that hones interviewing. Lectures are podcasted and attendance isn't mandatory.

After an all-nighter-fueled first exam, Jay rebuilt a study routine around board-review videos before lecture, then lectures at double speed for the details tested in-house.

Students spend their first two years in Memphis, then rotate across UTHSC's four campuses. Memphis partners include Regional One Health, the largest teaching site; Le Bonheur Children's Hospital; Methodist University Hospital; the Memphis VA Medical Center; Baptist Memorial; and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Jay hears that the rotations prepare students well for shelf exams and expose them to cases they wouldn't see in many other cities.

Jay is amazed by how friendly the class is: a wide variety of life experiences and motivations, and classmates who support each other before and after every exam.

UTHSC gives strong priority to Tennessee residents; non-residents make up no more than 10% of the entering class.

Campus sits in the Memphis Medical District alongside the dentistry, pharmacy, and physician assistant programs, with a park right next door. Jay describes a big city without big-city traffic.

Poverty and crime in lower-income neighborhoods are part of the city, and part of what shapes the clinical experience.