Is There Such Thing as Online Medical School?
Can You Attend Medical School Online?
Medical school is a rigorous type of post-secondary education that prepares individuals to work in the field of medicine. The degree programs include Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). Generally, medical school is very competitive with strict entry requirements such as high GPA, previous experience, and exceptional scores on standardized entrance examinations. There is a wide variety of medical schools around the world, and as of 2011 approximately 134 schools granting MD degrees and 26 schools granting DO degrees were accredited by the Association of Medical Colleges and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine in the United States. With that said, many individuals wonder if there is such thing as an online medical school. The answer is technically no, there are currently no accredited online medical schools for allopathic and osteopathic medicine.
Viewing Courses Online in Medical School
While there aren’t medical school programs based entirely online, you will have flexibility as a student to view some lectures online or through podcast. Many schools record each lesson (both video and audio) and allow students to watch the lecture without going to class. The downside to this is that you don’t have the ability to ask questions during the lecture.
Continuing Education Courses Online
Physicians and other medical professionals are required to complete continuing medical education (CME) on a regular basis to maintain their skills, keep up with the advances in medicine, and adapt to the changes in the delivery of medical care. A variety of accredited higher education institutions, hospitals, clinics, and professional medical organizations offer online opportunities for medical professionals to complete continuing medical education. The courses are often divided by specialty such as anesthesiology and pain management, women’s health, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, alternative medicine, emergency, and neurology. Individuals are able to stay abreast on advances in their fields or learn about a new area to add enrichment to their qualifications.
Online medical education courses vary in how they are delivered, but in general professionals are able to expand their medical knowledge and study on their pace and attend to other obligations. The courses are typically flexible and designed to suit various learning styles to provide an engaging experience for professionals of all roles and levels of expertise. Since the medical field is so hands-on, many online medical courses have on-site attendance requirements to demonstrate abilities and complete examinations. With today’s emerging technology, online medical education courses include a variety of delivery and learning formats including text-based presentations, webcasts, podcasts, DVDs and live events.
Category: Medical School