A Week in the Life of an Osteopathic Medicine Student

First Two Years
Class Time: Your class time will involve lectures, clinical medicine labs, and osteopathic principles and practices labs. You will also take a fair number of quizzes and exams.

Studying: Professors provide you with electronic copies of the lectures, so studying often consists of reviewing these handouts along with class notes, reviewing case studies, studying in groups, and reading assigned chapters in textbooks.

Community Service: Service-learning projects are an integral part of your first year of medical education at WesternU. In your second year, you will have numerous opportunities to continue community service activities with other WesternU students.

Last Two Years
Clinical Rotations: In your third and fourth years, you will complete 88 weeks of hospital and outpatient rotations through all of the major medical disciplines. There are also many elective rotations, including rotations at international sites, so you can develop skills to excel in your postdoctoral training.  

Studying: In between bedside visits and after hours, you will read up on procedures and treatments you are performing and practice techniques such as suturing and surgical knots. You will also spend a good deal of time, studying for your board exams.

Non-Academic Time
For long weekends or during spring and winter breaks, you can go home to see your family, ski, or maybe take a trip to Las Vegas. There are many cultural and recreational things to do when you live in Southern California, so our students try to take advantage of them when they can.