first year is:

[TheFlash]

SWEET AND EASY. thank you god for letting my MS1 year be possibly the greatest year of my life. i love new york, and i absolutely adorelovesex mount sinai. reading posts about how other people hated their first years makes me value what i have so much more.

may MS2 bring great things. that is all.

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[thewebthsp]

that's great.

Hm. first year was a good learning experience. but also i lost a lot of my old life. and i'm lazy.

SWEET AND EASY. thank you god for letting my MS1 year be possibly the greatest year of my life. i love new york, and i absolutely adorelovesex mount sinai. reading posts about how other people hated their first years makes me value what i have so much more.

may MS2 bring great things. that is all.

 

[Blake]

SWEET AND EASY. thank you god for letting my MS1 year be possibly the greatest year of my life. i love new york, and i absolutely adorelovesex mount sinai. reading posts about how other people hated their first years makes me value what i have so much more.

may MS2 bring great things. that is all.

Exactly 12 days left and I can definitely say it was SWEET and EASY

 

[TheFlash]

that's great.

Hm. first year was a good learning experience. but also i lost a lot of my old life. and i'm lazy.

ah, good seeing an old-timer around these parts. from what i remember, you're at penn now right? i know someone in your first year class... she said it was great fun her first semester, but the drama started pouring on after you guys switched from strict p/f to h/p/f in the spring. in any case, watching the eagles in the superbowl hopefully made your transition to philly worthwhile. (nevermind that they lost)

thank god mssm is strict unranked p/f for the first two years at least.

 

[TheFlash]

Exactly 12 days left and I can definitely say it was SWEET and EASY

good going bro. looks like there are more than a few of us who didn't hate our lives this past year.

 

[Rzarecta]

good going bro. looks like there are more than a few of us who didn't hate our lives this past year.

Dude, I hope I will be in this club!

 

[felipe5]

yes, first year for me was definitely cool and overall I'd say I loved it, but I wouldn't dream of calling it EASY. Granted, the material we learned was not mind-blowing at all, but it sure did take a lot of hard work and effort to do well. To me, an easy task is one thats accomplished with close to no effort whatsoever. Examples include
(a.) making a few bucks by finding $5 on the floor
(b.) sitting on my ass and watching a movie
(c.) getting drunk off of whiskey
(d.) talking **** to my gf
(e.) sitting around w/ my friends and playing some guitar
(f.) getting distracted from my studies on SDN

And the list goes on..........

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Add me in to your "Sweet/easy club." More sweet than easy. So far, med school is nothing compared to grad school at MCV. Life is good...

 

[TheFlash]

yes, first year for me was definitely cool and overall I'd say I loved it, but I wouldn't dream of calling it EASY. Granted, the material we learned was not mind-blowing at all, but it sure did take a lot of hard work and effort to do well. To me, an easy task is one thats accomplished with close to no effort whatsoever. Examples include
(a.) making a few bucks by finding $5 on the floor
(b.) sitting on my ass and watching a movie
(c.) getting drunk off of whiskey
(d.) talking **** to my gf
(e.) sitting around w/ my friends and playing some guitar
(f.) getting distracted from my studies on SDN

And the list goes on..........

given, there are many things in life that are much, much easier than the first year of med school. but from a few threads i've browsed recently, it seems that my school and my surroundings have been much more hospitable to me than others. it's really not that bad... but i guess it depends on your school/faculty/curriculum/schedule/grading/city/classmates in the end, no?

 

[Hoya11]

First year is not great, first year sucks if you are a normal person and is only great if you are of the intense studying mentality already going in, which many are.

 

[TheFlash]

First year is not great, first year sucks if you are a normal person and is only great if you are of the intense studying mentality already going in, which many are.

damn dude, sucks to be you. i had a blast and DEFINITELY studied less than i did any of my four years in college.

unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.

 

[SarahGM]

damn dude, sucks to be you. i had a blast and DEFINITELY studied less than i did any of my four years in college.

unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.

P&S has unranked p/f, and it was definitely NOT that difficult to FAIL certain exams. I worked my tail off for my passes!

Part of this might be due to having blocks with 7 exams over the span of one week.

 

[SarahGM]

damn dude, sucks to be you. i had a blast and DEFINITELY studied less than i did any of my four years in college.

unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.

This wouldn't have anything to with Sinai being known as Camp Sinai, would it?

 

[rugirlie]

damn dude, sucks to be you. i had a blast and DEFINITELY studied less than i did any of my four years in college.

unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.

Your school sucks!! (hehe of course this is because they didn't interview me)

I seriously hope its the same for me at my school come next year... Although I do happen to know I won't be done by this time.. it'll be more like june 23rd

 

[bigfrank]

My first year was fairly rough, but the study time paid off tremendously in terms of grades, Step I, M-3 grades, AOA, etc. The first year is a great year, come to think of it!

 

[rugirlie]

My first year was fairly rough... The first year is a great year, come to think of it!

Schizo much?

 

[TheFlash]

This wouldn't have anything to with Sinai being known as Camp Sinai, would it?

i [heart] camp sinai. med school has been such a smooth transition because of this place. it seems a bit surreal when i think about it. sure you don't wanna transfer?

 

[bigfrank]

Schizo much?

yeno

 

[rugirlie]

yeno

where do u go to school?

 

[TheFlash]

My first year was fairly rough, but the study time paid off tremendously in terms of grades, Step I, M-3 grades, AOA, etc. The first year is a great year, come to think of it!

what does that mean exactly? every third year i've talked to emphasized that you'll need to re-learn nearly everything when studying for step I anyway. my rentention for a lot of this minutia is pretty low: regardless of how hard i've studied before a test, i'm likely to be fuzzy on it a month from now. step I is primarily about busting your ass for 6 weeks before the test.

and as far as AOA, i believe only 5-10% of the election to AOA is based on preclinical grades. and since all our transcripts read as straight P's, it doesn't really matter in the long run. other schools might be different.

i do agree, however, that getting into good study habits your first year is a necessity. learning how to juggle the different aspects of your life is the key to doing well in med school. time management, yo.

 

[Nakhrewali]

time management, yo.

what's with the yo?

 

[bigfrank]

what does that mean exactly? every third year i've talked to emphasized that you'll need to re-learn nearly everything when studying for step I anyway. my rentention for a lot of this minutia is pretty low: regardless of how hard i've studied before a test, i'm likely to be fuzzy on it a month from now. step I is primarily about busting your ass for 6 weeks before the test.

and as far as AOA, i believe only 5-10% of the election to AOA is based on preclinical grades. and since all our transcripts read as straight P's, it doesn't really matter in the long run. other schools might be different.

i do agree, however, that getting into good study habits your first year is a necessity. learning how to juggle the different aspects of your life is the key to doing well in med school. time management, yo.

people that say most of the above probably crammed before exams during the M-1 and first half of M-2 year. If you truly *learn* the material the first time around, board review becomes very straightforward. You'll be surprised at how quickly material initially learned comes back to you.

And the pathophysiology stuff is invaluable for the M-3 year, both on the wards and for the shelf exams. Understanding the disease process guides diagnosis, treatment, etc.

Preparing well early, like I stated before, will help with Step I, M-2 year grades (if M-1 year is all P/F), and M-3 grades, which will help with AOA, Step II, etc.

People on this board might stress "keeping it chilled" during the M-1 year, but, believe me, the rewards of keeping a sane but challenging study schedule will pay off in the long run. And pay off well.

 

[thackl]

 

[TheFlash]

people that say most of the above probably crammed before exams during the M-1 and first half of M-2 year. If you truly *learn* the material the first time around, board review becomes very straightforward. You'll be surprised at how quickly material initially learned comes back to you.

And the pathophysiology stuff is invaluable for the M-3 year, both on the wards and for the shelf exams. Understanding the disease process guides diagnosis, treatment, etc.

Preparing well early, like I stated before, will help with Step I, M-2 year grades (if M-1 year is all P/F), and M-3 grades, which will help with AOA, Step II, etc.

People on this board might stress "keeping it chilled" during the M-1 year, but, believe me, the rewards of keeping a sane but challenging study schedule will pay off in the long run. And pay off well.

yeah i agree that keeping a paced study schedy is a plus. i never supported not studying at all. just manage your time well and maintain a healthy non-academic life to keep sane. otherwise you turn into the human equivalent of styrofoam, with a personality to match.

this is a direct quote from a nationally-respected surgeon during a lecture on abdominal arteries. *pointing to very back left corner of the room at my startled friend j.* "i don't blame you for falling asleep during dr. so-and-so's lecture, young man. that's the very seat that i used to sit in. the best way to nod off is using the left hand-rest, not the right one. and don't worry, you're gonna forget all this stuff by next week anyway."

 

[kingcer0x]

First year was sweet and easy. Went to class, read the syllabus, went out on the weekends... simple as that.

 

[bigfrank]

this is a direct quote from a nationally-respected surgeon during a lecture on abdominal arteries. *pointing to very back left corner of the room at my startled friend j.* "i don't blame you for falling asleep during dr. so-and-so's lecture, young man. that's the very seat that i used to sit in. the best way to nod off is using the left hand-rest, not the right one. and don't worry, you're gonna forget all this stuff by next week anyway."

You mean a surgeon is going to brag about "always falling asleep in class" in order to appear inherently brilliant?

No, it couldn't be.

 

[MiniPri]

people that say most of the above probably crammed before exams during the M-1 and first half of M-2 year. If you truly *learn* the material the first time around, board review becomes very straightforward. You'll be surprised at how quickly material initially learned comes back to you.

And the pathophysiology stuff is invaluable for the M-3 year, both on the wards and for the shelf exams. Understanding the disease process guides diagnosis, treatment, etc.

Preparing well early, like I stated before, will help with Step I, M-2 year grades (if M-1 year is all P/F), and M-3 grades, which will help with AOA, Step II, etc.

People on this board might stress "keeping it chilled" during the M-1 year, but, believe me, the rewards of keeping a sane but challenging study schedule will pay off in the long run. And pay off well.

Hey Frank,
I will be an m1 at a pbl school this year. What study strategies did you use during your m1 year since you also go to a pbl school? Also, what are good books to follow along with the pbl modules? Many students talk abou the brs and hy. Should both series be followed?

 

[TheFlash]

You mean a surgeon is going to brag about "always falling asleep in class" in order to appear inherently brilliant?

No, it couldn't be.

hmmm, i thought it was to show that he was inherently a slacker that forgot all the stuff he learned by next week. but to each his own.

 

[lilstina]

damn dude, sucks to be you. i had a blast and DEFINITELY studied less than i did any of my four years in college.

unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.

ack. just lost my damn post as i was trying to submit it. grrr.

anyway, it's good to see a familiar face. but take pity on some of us who still have to deal with letter grades! besides, it's not exactly like you are the dumbest person in med school. i agree though, location does make a big difference. oh well, just have to make the best of what you are given, i guess. i think i stressed myself out more this year with all the self-created drama... not surprising eh?

 

[TheFlash]

ack. just lost my damn post as i was trying to submit it. grrr.

anyway, it's good to see a familiar face. but take pity on some of us who still have to deal with letter grades! besides, it's not exactly like you are the dumbest person in med school. i agree though, location does make a big difference. oh well, just have to make the best of what you are given, i guess. i think i stressed myself out more this year with all the self-created drama... not surprising eh?

wow. i think i've just seen a ghost.

 

[thackl]

take pity on some of us who still have to deal with letter grades!

I'm so glad my school went away from letter grades..... it just eliminated the competition. Now we have H, HP, P, LP & F. Plus they keep track of specific #'s for AOA and ranking of the top 20

 

[raidermedic]

I wish we had P/F. Currently my school assigns grades by how many standerd deviations you are from the mean.

 

[felipe5]

I'm so glad my school went away from letter grades..... it just eliminated the competition. Now we have H, HP, P, LP & F. Plus they keep track of specific #'s for AOA and ranking of the top 20

excuse the cluelessness, but for years 1 and 2, how do those grades differ from letter grades? To me, H sounds like an A, while LP=D, and so on. My school uses Superior, High Satisfactory, Sat, Low Sat, and U, which are pretty much the same as A,B,C,D,F interms of 90+=Sup, 80-89.9=HighSat, etc etc

 

[SarahGM]

excuse the cluelessness, but for years 1 and 2, how do those grades differ from letter grades? To me, H sounds like an A, while LP=D, and so on. My school uses Superior, High Satisfactory, Sat, Low Sat, and U, which are pretty much the same as A,B,C,D,F interms of 90+=Sup, 80-89.9=HighSat, etc etc

I think thackl was being sarcastic. Hence, the

 

[felipe5]

I think thackl was being sarcastic. Hence, the

ahhhh, i see.....i think i must have left my sarcasm-dar by the pool.....or at the bottom of my whiskey bottle

my bad

 

[thewebthsp]

Yes, that's right... first semester was a lot of fun.

As for this semester, it wasn't the grade change. In fact, I'm not exactly sure what happened -- but most of my best outings have been on trips to NYC or Baltimore with college friends, although other people in my class might think there were more fun things happening here. I think I have a couple of friends here, but I'm not particularly "in" with the class as a whole. I'm repeating others but med school is really high school all over again, in many ways, I think until clinics roll around. What can ya do

It was nice seeing the eagles finally get to the big game for the first time since 1980. Still waiting for a Philly team to win a championship tho (I was riding a trycicle back in'83 the last time Dr. J brought back a trophy)... Still, Hopkins won the lax title (first since '87) and seeing that was sweet. I knew a couple of those guys since they were in the same athletic center as our team (fencing) was...

ah, good seeing an old-timer around these parts. from what i remember, you're at penn now right? i know someone in your first year class... she said it was great fun her first semester, but the drama started pouring on after you guys switched from strict p/f to h/p/f in the spring. in any case, watching the eagles in the superbowl hopefully made your transition to philly worthwhile. (nevermind that they lost)

thank god mssm is strict unranked p/f for the first two years at least.

 

[TheFlash]

Yes, that's right... first semester was a lot of fun.

As for this semester, it wasn't the grade change. In fact, I'm not exactly sure what happened -- but most of my best outings have been on trips to NYC or Baltimore with college friends, although other people in my class might think there were more fun things happening here. I think I have a couple of friends here, but I'm not particularly "in" with the class as a whole. I'm repeating others but med school is really high school all over again, in many ways, I think until clinics roll around. What can ya do

It was nice seeing the eagles finally get to the big game for the first time since 1980. Still waiting for a Philly team to win a championship tho (I was riding a trycicle back in'83 the last time Dr. J brought back a trophy)... Still, Hopkins won the lax title (first since '87) and seeing that was sweet. I knew a couple of those guys since they were in the same athletic center as our team (fencing) was...

yeah, hopkins lax is good. but we all know that the country's best lax is played on the fields of UVa.

 

[noncestvrai]

First year...will be done on the 23rd of June...so far so good. Good grades, not sure if I'm in the top 10%, but I might be close. I had a blast this year (i.e. I could have studied more, but hey! life is not only about school right?)

Am I going to miss anatomy?

Well yes...mainly because of the colourful demonstrator/surgeon emeritus we have...

noncestvrai

 

[lilstina]

I'm so glad my school went away from letter grades..... it just eliminated the competition. Now we have H, HP, P, LP & F. Plus they keep track of specific #'s for AOA and ranking of the top 20

at least you get the LP(aka D)! we just have A,B,C, and F... i suppose technically if you can't pass (C) the only option is fail...

 

[lilstina]

yeah, hopkins lax is good. but we all know that the country's best lax is played on the fields of UVa.

hey... if uva is so good, then how come i didn't see them winning the title this year eh?

 

[thackl]

at least you get the LP(aka D)! we just have A,B,C, and F... i suppose technically if you can't pass (C) the only option is fail...

We're alloted 2 LP's or one F/year. After that, it's time to repeat.

 

[thackl]

I think thackl was being sarcastic. Hence, the

But without the I would have been DEAD SERIOUS meaning we DON'T have a traditional grading system.

Basically, if you are out of the top 20 (out of 150 or so), but are still pretty high, your get f$cked. No way to distinguish yourself from the masses except for step one. I know a few people in the class who are gonna probably be in this situataion and are exceprionally bad standardized test takers (relatively speaking of course...... they are in med schol afterall). Kind of sucks for them.....

 

[TheFlash]

hey... if uva is so good, then how come i didn't see them winning the title this year eh?

don't worry, the cavaliers were feeling nice and threw hopkins a bone this year. they're coming back ferocious to reclaim the championship next year. baltimore bluebloods, HA!

 

[Elysium]

I just have to say that crowing about how easy first year is on an online forum is f-ing obnoxious. I mean, come on. It's a sausage party of egos getting together to jerk off about how smart you are. Whoopee! How exciting! You guys are awesome! You are going to make excellent doctor and make lots and lots of money! Whatever, dude. How about getting some humility? Maybe first year is not hard for everybody, but its difficult for an assload of people, myself included. Do you realize how f-ing obnoxious you sound talking about how easy medical school is? You sound like the biggest bunch of pedantic tools on the planet. If you're so smart, go get a PhD in egineering or physics, or something else that requires something besides puking out mindless facts. Go write a book or paint a picture or talk about something besides first year phys. What an f-ing bore. Go get a clue.

Jesus.

 

[kingcer0x]

I just have to say that crowing about how easy first year is on an online forum is f-ing obnoxious. I mean, come on. It's a sausage party of egos getting together to jerk off about how smart you are. Whoopee! How exciting! You guys are awesome! You are going to make excellent doctor and make lots and lots of money! Whatever, dude. How about getting some humility? Maybe first year is not hard for everybody, but its difficult for an assload of people, myself included. Do you realize how f-ing obnoxious you sound talking about how easy medical school is? You sound like the biggest bunch of pedantic tools on the planet. If you're so smart, go get a PhD in egineering or physics, or something else that requires something besides puking out mindless facts. Go write a book or paint a picture or talk about something besides first year phys. What an f-ing bore. Go get a clue.

Jesus.

After years of high school, college, and getting into med school, you should be well acquainted with the egos of your fellow students and colleagues by now. If you haven't learned to deal with it, perhaps you need to start taking things with a grain of salt. Some people just don't freak out about M1 and are content with riding the front side of the curve.

 

[typeB-md]

After years of high school, college, and getting into med school, you should be well acquainted with the egos of your fellow students and colleagues by now. If you haven't learned to deal with it, perhaps you need to start taking things with a grain of salt. Some people just don't freak out about M1 and are content with riding the front side of the curve.

pipe it down, cha-chi

elysium is right... from the tone of this thread, though, it sounds like many people aren't really that happy or maybe they're looking for reassurance that they're smart.

first year is mindless and unprovoking of original thought. i am as you say, "riding the front side of the curve." and in fact my numerical percentages are usually some of the best in the class. but at least i can acknowledge that med school is not much more than turning your head into a medical text of facts. i can thank my photo-memory for this, but i would appreciate being able to use other aspects of my brain once in a while.

i can only hope that your hubris is limited to the internet

 

[kingcer0x]

pipe it down, cha-chi

elysium is right... from the tone of this thread, though, it sounds like many people aren't really that happy or maybe they're looking for reassurance that they're smart.

first year is mindless and unprovoking of original thought. i am as you say, "riding the front side of the curve." and in fact my numerical percentages are usually some of the best in the class. but at least i can acknowledge that med school is not much more than turning your head into a medical text of facts. i can thank my photo-memory for this, but i would appreciate being able to use other aspects of my brain once in a while.

i can only hope that your hubris is limited to the internet

Hey, I never said i was one of those ego-driven drones. But thats medicine, people are going to be competitive, just gotta deal with it and do your best. Confidence can be a good thing, you can't get annoyed with that.

EDIT: Are you calling me names? Do not ever call me names, ever.

 

[kingcer0x]

I just have to say that crowing about how easy first year is on an online forum is f-ing obnoxious. I mean, come on. It's a sausage party of egos getting together to jerk off about how smart you are. Whoopee! How exciting! You guys are awesome! You are going to make excellent doctor and make lots and lots of money! Whatever, dude. How about getting some humility? Maybe first year is not hard for everybody, but its difficult for an assload of people, myself included. Do you realize how f-ing obnoxious you sound talking about how easy medical school is? You sound like the biggest bunch of pedantic tools on the planet. If you're so smart, go get a PhD in egineering or physics, or something else that requires something besides puking out mindless facts. Go write a book or paint a picture or talk about something besides first year phys. What an f-ing bore. Go get a clue.

Jesus.

Getting back to this point, I was an engineer during undergrad, took some grad classes, did research, and yeah... the people I met during that time were insanely intellectual, real thinkers. But talk about another ego fest... if med students saying M1 is easy makes you mad, you would be irate over the kind of kids who can walk into a differential equations test (and then again a few years later in DSP) without ever going to class, opening the book twice the few days before the exam, and get the highest grade in the class. I met this individual. And he was cocky. But I didnt hate him, or get pissed off... just did my thing.

 

[TheFlash]

I just have to say that crowing about how easy first year is on an online forum is f-ing obnoxious. I mean, come on. It's a sausage party of egos getting together to jerk off about how smart you are. Whoopee! How exciting! You guys are awesome! You are going to make excellent doctor and make lots and lots of money! Whatever, dude. How about getting some humility? Maybe first year is not hard for everybody, but its difficult for an assload of people, myself included. Do you realize how f-ing obnoxious you sound talking about how easy medical school is? You sound like the biggest bunch of pedantic tools on the planet. If you're so smart, go get a PhD in egineering or physics, or something else that requires something besides puking out mindless facts. Go write a book or paint a picture or talk about something besides first year phys. What an f-ing bore. Go get a clue.

Jesus.

i'm not sure if this is directed at me, but i'll address it anyway. my primary point in starting this thread was to show all the soon to be first years that it's not all fire and brimstone when you get to medical school. after reading repeated threads about how first year is so utterly miserable, i wanted to provide perspective that it's not that bad; it can actually turn out to be one of the best years of your life. you CAN have fun your first year, kids. as i've seen now, this is probably dependent on where you go to school. but the point remains that there was no malicious or self-aggrandizing intent. if you still feel there were ulterior motives, then those are your own insecurities.


the only pedantic tool i've used recently is stedman's.

 

[rugirlie]

I just have to say that crowing about how easy first year is on an online forum is f-ing obnoxious. I mean, come on. It's a sausage party of egos getting together to jerk off about how smart you are. Whoopee! How exciting! You guys are awesome! You are going to make excellent doctor and make lots and lots of money! Whatever, dude. How about getting some humility? Maybe first year is not hard for everybody, but its difficult for an assload of people, myself included. Do you realize how f-ing obnoxious you sound talking about how easy medical school is? You sound like the biggest bunch of pedantic tools on the planet. If you're so smart, go get a PhD in egineering or physics, or something else that requires something besides puking out mindless facts. Go write a book or paint a picture or talk about something besides first year phys. What an f-ing bore. Go get a clue.

Jesus.

Wow, A+ entertainment!!! You and Anthony Edwards are a match made in heaven, thats for sure!!