Don’t forget, a medical doctor can be a C or D student and still pass. A PhD or Doctorate usually requires a B or A to pass, but not in the medical schools.
> A PhD or Doctorate usually requires a B or A to pass, but not in the medical schools. <
But many PhD and Doctorate classes award only B’s or A’s. I had to take a PhD class in education once when I was in college (not my choice, long story).
The grade distributions were posted on a bulletin board. On each test - midterm and final - there was only one C. Everybody else got either an A or a B. And trust me, this was not a class of geniuses.
I guess the C student didn’t show up to take the tests. Or maybe he did show up but immediately fell asleep.
It is usually put as “50% of physicians graduate in the lower half of their class”
That's entirely bogus in its inference. Traditionally, by the time you get into medical school you've earned a ton of As in classes - including chemistry/organic chemistry/P-chem, Physics, biology, physiology etc. In many if not most of those classes, those who went on to medical school outscored those heading to graduate school.
Medical schools themselves don't all grade students, but they are required to ensure that students perform to a level acceptable for becoming a physician. Plus, it is a requirement that medical students pass medical boards I, II, and III before becoming licensed (usually completed before starting residency).
All that be as it may, I absolutely do NOT agree with doing away with the MCAT. The MCAT has been the single most accurate predictor of performance in medical school. They've mucked with it over the years, so I don't know how good it is now, but I think it's a big mistake to do away with it. The MCAT also allows those applicants, who don't come from wealthy families and who didn't go to prep schools and expensive universities, to prove themselves in head-to-head competition against those who have a pedigree.
As my buddy the doctor used to say, you know what you call a medical school graduate with a c average?
I think some medical schools have a simple pass/fail grading system.
a phd or doctorate almost always requires a thesis work that has to be approved by a panel of professors.
In medical schools the students are typically the top 1-5 % or so of college students from rigorous scientific college majors. They are thoroughly screened and weeded out prior to entering medical school. Once in it is assumed barring unforseen circumstances you will graduate,and most classes are pass/fail. At some point trying to stratify the top stratus ceases to be productive. There are national standardized exams given throughout med school that are used to prove competence and scores are used for the most competitive residencies as well