I have a few questions about med school

[Chris127]

I am a pre med student, and have been thinking about med school for quite some time. I've been skimming through a few of these threads looking for just some random info, and by doing so I now have a few questions...

1) For all you MSIII and MSIV, you cant possibly remember all the bookwork and material you acquired in your first two years? I mean, there is apparantly so much that shortly thereafter you forget most of it, right?

2) I hear a lot of you mentioning things like "small group discussions." What are these exactly? Do you work on labs together, etc? How often do these occur and are they madatory to attend?

3) I have never been a decent public speaker, so is there a lot of public speaking in med school? Are you required to get in front of a large crowd and present info or material a lot? Because if there is, then I should probably enroll in some public speaking courses while I still can to help me in this field, but if its not necessary, then I dont want to waste my time with it.




4) The USMLE. I did some research on this, but still have a few questions. This test is taken after your sophomore and senoir year in med school? And this score dictates what kind of residency you can get into? Surely if you dont do well you have another opportunity to make it up? I cant imagine one test score could limit you on what specific field of medicene you could go in to, talk about pressure


Thanks for any legitimate and helpful responses

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[loveumms]

I am a pre med student, and have been thinking about med school for quite some time. I've been skimming through a few of these threads looking for just some random info, and by doing so I now have a few questions...

1) For all you MSIII and MSIV, you cant possibly remember all the bookwork and material you acquired in your first two years? I mean, there is apparantly so much that shortly thereafter you forget most of it, right?

You remember some of it but it is impossible to remember everything. Do you remember everything you learned during the first couple years of college? Probably not.

I feel that you really aquire the knowledge by learning it over and over again, then applying it (ie you see a pt with CHF and that is when you really are able to remember it).

Also, some of the stuff you don't really need to remember because you can look it up (like the Krebs Cycle). You learn it for the test and then you try to remember the important concepts (ie that glucose turns to lactate under anaerobic metabolism). If you need to know specific details you look it up and then more then likely you will remember it for the future.


2) I hear a lot of you mentioning things like "small group discussions." What are these exactly? Do you work on labs together, etc? How often do these occur and are they madatory to attend?


It really varies from school to school. At my school we had small groups for two hours each day. In anatomy that meant we went to the lab and dissected. For biochemistry we discussed different diseases or we went through problems. In second year we often had small groups where we discussed cases that were centered around what we were learning in lecture.

They were mandatory at my school but they only counted for 5% of our grade. I thought that most of them were really useful and they solidified the concepts for me so attending them were worthwhile.

3) I have never been a decent public speaker, so is there a lot of public speaking in med school? Are you required to get in front of a large crowd and present info or material a lot? Because if there is, then I should probably enroll in some public speaking courses while I still can to help me in this field, but if its not necessary, then I dont want to waste my time with it.

During the first two years there isn't any public speaking besides having to present sometimes during the small groups (15-20 people). Basically you put together a power point presentation about a topic and present it ... nothing major.

I took public speaking during high school so I am comfortable getting in front of crowds and the presentations were not difficult for me. I don't think you really need to enroll in a class but do remember that being a physician entails being able to communicate effectively with your patients and thier families. I'm sure you will be fine once you do it a few times.



4) The USMLE. I did some research on this, but still have a few questions. This test is taken after your sophomore and senoir year in med school? And this score dictates what kind of residency you can get into? Surely if you dont do well you have another opportunity to make it up? I cant imagine one test score could limit you on what specific field of medicene you could go in to, talk about pressure


Actually you can only take the exam once (unless you fail). If you pass with a low score you will not be able to re-take it unless the computer crashes during the exam or there is a fire (take a look at the website if you are really concerned about this).

As far as the test score limiting your ability to get a residency ... you have to remember that it is just one aspect of your application. Its sort of like MCAT scores and applying to med school. If you have a low score you may not be able to get into Harvard but, if you have stellar grades, have done research and have excellent letters of recommendation they may be able to over look a not so hot MCAT score. There are certain fields in medicine that are extremely competitive (do a search on this forum to find out what they are). Some of those residency directors will screen out applicants based on their board scores (ie if you don't have a 230 or above you will not likely get a interview) however, most residencies are not this way. If you want to go into something competitive, just make sure you study hard and do your best. After all, that is all you can do.

You really should not be worried about boards at this point in your decision though. It is just another standardized test you will have to take (becoming a doc means you never stop taking tests).[/B]


Thanks for any legitimate and helpful responses

Just questioning why you would write this: "legitimate and helpful responses" ?????

 

[loveumms]

see my responses under the questions

 

[Wednesday]

Hi Chris,

I will attempt to answer your questions as they relate to my experience, but of course it varies from school to school.

1. Yes you forget a lot of the tedious details that you will never use and you will never be as good at anatomy as you are the minute you finish your final but the details you USE, you will remember. There is a ton of repetition in medicine and the important things are eventually drilled into your brain. Everything else fades into your background knowledge so that if you need it, you can at least access it to understand a journal article you're reading or a grand rounds you attend. This goes for premed classes as well, even though they seem pointless because you'll "never use this information" you are building a foundation to understand the next level.

2. We had small groups in several classes to facilitate discussion since the bulk of our learning happened in a huge lecture hall with hundreds of people. We also worked with other people in labs. Small group stuff was usually mandatory for us. It really depends on the school.

3. What do you consider a large crowd? You are required to present on rounds where their can be a varied number of people, from 1 to 10 or so, depending on the service. I have had to give presentations for small groups of 12 or so. One of my classmates is required to give a presentation to the 3rd years on ob/gyn, which is 25-30 people. As a resident you will probably be required to give a grand rounds (which is like a lecture) at some point in your residency, which could be to a pretty large group. Not sure if a public speaking course will help, depends on what your problem is I guess (ie fear or just not feeling like you're well spoken).

4. Boards. Three steps, one after basic sciences, one after third year and one after your internship. The first score seems to be the most important, but you can fix it so the second score is also important or not even considered (by picking when you take step 2). If you pass, you cannot retake for a better score for seven years, so the score is pretty permanant. A better score makes things easier. Some residencies are difficult to get with low scores, just because they are very competitive, and they may even have cutoffs, but there are always exceptions. If you have a low score there are things you can do, like away rotations at the programs you're interested in, to increase your chances. But this is definitely not something to worry about now.

In fact, I would say that you should try not to worry quite so much in general. Just remember, hundreds of people get through this process and become dotors every year. There will always be new things to worry about as you progress, but somehow it usually just ends up working out.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[Blade28]

As an intern (and to a lesser degree, as a third-year med student) you start to replace all your basic science knowledge with more clinically relevant information. So instead of remembering how opoid receptors work, for example (mu vs. nu, etc.), you learn about differences between Percocet, Demerol, Vicodin and morphine; common side-effects, how to treat them, when to choose one over the other, routes of administration, equivalent doses, and things to watch out for (e.g. Demerol + MAOI = BIG no-no, or the total daily APAP intake).

So while you don't necessarily retain everything (because I sure don't!), you start to learn to modify your knowledge base...hopefully translating into making you an effective junior med student/resident.

 

[dara678]

about public speaking ...

it might be worth your while, if you are worried about it, to enroll in some public speaking courses. I've only started second year, but I've had to do a couple of presentations already. We had to do one for our professionalism class, and I had to present my data for my summer research. In second year, we have to do patient case presentations, and in third and fourth year we will have to present patients on rounds to the residents and attendings. So public speaking is definitely a part of medicine, throughout all four years of school.

that being said, don't think that it will be a difficult task. all you need is a couple of experiences, and you'll be good to go. i wasn't good at powerpoint presentations at first either, but it didn't take me long to get comfortable with them.

 

[Chris127]

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it.

 

[amojan99]

From what I see on this forum, and from doctors themselves, apparently they forget that as students, all these damn acronyms make no sense, but yet they use it anyway without any context or definition for those of us who are as yet, unenlightened.

 

[Blade28]

Sorry, was that aimed at me?

MAOI = monoamine oxidase inhibitor
APAP = acetaminophen