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Glad I found this thread! So much insight
Med school is not hard, it's just time-consuming. If you put the hours in, you will succeed. In the time that you're not spending studying or in the hospital you should be recharging and doing things you enjoy. Stay sociable. ALWAYS have a smile on your face and a positive attitude. Don't let stressful tests or mean residents get to you.
In regards to the first two years especially, I totally agree. Think about the fact that of all the subjects/concepts, there is very little, if anything, that is inherently hard to learn or understand. What I mean is that given enough time, you can learn all of this stuff to the point of being an expert. What makes med school "hard" is the absolute volume of information coming your way in a relatively small amount of time. It's an exercise in time management as much as understanding what you're learning. But if you succeed in that management (and trust me, you will be forced to), you will have time to do things that you enjoy. Don't get scared by those stories of people locking themselves in and studying all the time....those are by far a small minority, and I promise you most of them are simply unwilling to change their study habits and are unhappy. We have marathon-runners (I'm a half-marathoner), we have students teaching fitness and dance classes, students playing intramural flag football/basketball/soccer etc, and many other students doing many other non-school related things at my school. Do things like making it a rule that every Friday and/or Sat night is your night, no matter what (except maybe during exam weeks). Life is meant to be enjoyed, so let yourself enjoy it no matter what. Med school is actually FUN too. You're learning stuff and getting to do/see things that very few people in this world will ever get to. Join clubs and specialty interest groups, get to know your classmates (future friends and colleagues who you can call for advice 10-15 years later), etc. Don't get too far ahead of yourself too quickly...yes there are some tough times ahead in school and especially in medical practice, but you will burn out quickly if you don't enjoy the moment often. Good luck and congrats to those already accepted!
This forum is great! I like all the good info and the explanations for what the first few years are going to be like.
I have a very specific question for those of you who were med students and parents. My kids will be 8 and 10 when I am doing my M1 year. Does anybody have advice for how to juggle being an involved parent and attend med school? I know both suck up a lot of time!! Any advice would be helpful... I'm stressing about this.
This forum is great! I like all the good info and the explanations for what the first few years are going to be like.
I have a very specific question for those of you who were med students and parents. My kids will be 8 and 10 when I am doing my M1 year. Does anybody have advice for how to juggle being an involved parent and attend med school? I know both suck up a lot of time!! Any advice would be helpful... I'm stressing about this.
don't study too much for your classes. do take time for step 1.
This is easy for some measly M1 to say (that's me, not you, PBJ), but I feel compelled to point out that there is such a thing as "point of diminishing returns". I have classmates who study way, way more than I do. They probably do a bit better than I do, too. But is it ultimately worth it, all things considered? Not so sure.
so true--getting up in the middle sucksPre-exam dump
Assess your sensitivity to energy drinks way before exam day.
Make sure you're not doing anything for the first time the morning b4 an exam. It sucks to realize, halfway through a test that you are one of those people who has to use the bathroom every 30 mins when you drink a redbull
Assess your sensitivity to energy drinks way before exam day.
Make sure you're not doing anything for the first time the morning b4 an exam. It sucks to realize, halfway through a test that you are one of those people who has to use the bathroom every 30 mins when you drink a redbull
Not sure what kind of answer you're looking for... You just keep up. It's really that simple. Read a little each day...or read every other day and have a lot more to read. Save some for the weekend or use the weekend to review what you already read. There are tons of strategies that work for the different study habits of people...find one that works for you. There will be textbooks, syllabi notes, powerpoints, etc to look at....just stay on top of it and you'll be fine. Most people always feel a little behind...that's OK, just make sure you don't get too far behind.How do you guys keep up with all the reading you have to do? I'm guessing you have to read 100+ pages each week if not day?
How do you guys keep up with all the reading you have to do? I'm guessing you have to read 100+ pages each week if not day?
How do you guys keep up with all the reading you have to do? I'm guessing you have to read 100+ pages each week if not day?
How do you guys keep up with all the reading you have to do? I'm guessing you have to read 100+ pages each week if not day?
How do you guys keep up with all the reading you have to do? I'm guessing you have to read 100+ pages each week if not day?
You just put the time in, that is all. Eventually you become really efficient and almost photographic in your memory.
Hi guys,
First I just wanna tell ya'll that this thread is awesome.
I have a particular concern that I hope you all could answer for me... I'm kinda slow at memorizing things. For example, when I took biochem in undergrad (2nd year) it took me forever to memorize the pathways, structures, etc. Orgo chem was a nightmare for me as well... I'm really afraid biochem will hurt my step 1 score a lot. Any tips for memorization, not only for biochem but for all courses in med skol in general?
So far, from what I've gathered, the only tricks I've learned are mnemonics, flashcards, and repetition. Repetition works (in time) for me, but it takes too long and I know you're crunched on time during the entirety of med school, so any advice on how to memorize well and efficiently?
Thanks to everyone!!!
Hi guys,
First I just wanna tell ya'll that this thread is awesome.
I have a particular concern that I hope you all could answer for me... I'm kinda slow at memorizing things. For example, when I took biochem in undergrad (2nd year) it took me forever to memorize the pathways, structures, etc. Orgo chem was a nightmare for me as well... I'm really afraid biochem will hurt my step 1 score a lot. Any tips for memorization, not only for biochem but for all courses in med skol in general?
So far, from what I've gathered, the only tricks I've learned are mnemonics, flashcards, and repetition. Repetition works (in time) for me, but it takes too long and I know you're crunched on time during the entirety of med school, so any advice on how to memorize well and efficiently?
Thanks to everyone!!!
You're starting in the fall, right?
Best I can tell, since I'm not there quite yet: biochem is only lightly tested on Step, which is more a matter of pharmacology / pathology / physiology. So don't sweat it too much there.
As far as actually knowing stuff... for me, rote memorization is a means of last resort. I've always found it better to put things into my own words and do what I can to actually understand the material instead of just memorizing it. The bad part is that there's a lot in med school where you just gotta know it.
It's like the difference between saying "oh, sure, pilocarpine is a muscarinic agonist which constricts the pupil" and saying "oh, sure, pilocarpine constricts the pupil because it's a muscarinic agonist, and since the parasympathetic nervous system uses ACh on muscarinic receptors at its targets -- and since the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the whole 'rest and digest' stuff, when you wouldn't need your pupils dilated to gather all that light to see the lions coming to eat your ass -- increasing parasympathetic tone WOULD constrict your pupils, wouldn't it."
My advice is more mental stability and social than it is academic, but here goes:
1. Don't worry too much about your social life first year. Med school is a rough place with a lot of people with giant egos and people who think they're the top of the world at first. I made this mistake and ended up suffering because of the fact that I'm a quiet, generally eccentric person. You will make friends who are loyal and will stick to you, but don't expect to get along with absolutely everyone. Develop a support group who will stick with you and keep you company when life sucks, and you'll do just fine.
2. DO NOT CRAM. This might work for the 180+ IQ people who have photographic memory but it does not work for most human beings, even if it did in undergrad. It will help you in the long run understanding information as well as memorizing it.
3. Do not worry if you don't do as well as you'd like in classes. It is not the end of your dream residency. You have Step 1, third year, research, and your interviews to make up for it.
4. Exercise regularly and keep healthy habits and diets. I cannot emphasize this enough. It will keep your energy level up and you'll just plain feel better at the end of the day. Learn how to cook if you don't know, as it is far better than eating outside crap every day.
5. You will have gunners in your class. You will feel the need to retaliate. Don't do it. It's not worth your time, and you'll probably end up doing fine anyway regardless of what they do.
6. Keep an open mind. I hated orthopedics before going to medical school and thought it was the stupidest thing in the world. Now I love it and I find it utterly fascinating and enjoyable.
7. Med school is more like high school than it is like college. You are with the same 150-200 students every day and drama + friction is inevitable. People will hook up and break up within your class, and you might be one of them. People will not like you. You will not like other people. Don't worry or give a crap about it, take it in stride, and continue on with your life. You will be with these people for the next four years of your life and might even be stuck on rotation with them, so don't piss people off by retaliating but at the same time don't feel obliged to make friends with everyone. You are here to become a doctor and do the best you can--you shouldn't let nonsense get in your way, and you'll regret it (as I do) if it does.
8. Keep in contact with your friends from college and high school--or at least the ones who want to keep in contact with you. You'll find that those are the friends who last. They will keep you sane. You cannot just find friends in medical school and not feel driven crazy--not to mention during the summers you'll just feel bored and lonely.
9. If someone starts freaking out about details or listing their grades, GET OUT OF THERE. A lot of people have different expectations about what to do. You are your own person and you will determine your own destiny.
10. Your family are the only people you can ever fully rely on through thick and thin. Like it or not, you will lose friends if all you do is complain to them. Your family will support you no matter what, so if you need to complain to people, that's who you call.
11. Above ALL ELSE... if you have something which brings you comfort, whether it's a hobby, religion, an activity, prayer, meditation, or whatever, use it from time to time. It'll only help.
As you all have said I have not studied this summer. However, I would like to buy some books early so that I can dive into studying asap as soon as school starts. Can someone give some insight into what books are absolutely essential?
What is the best medical dictionary?
Technically, there really aren't any essential books. So much of this will depend on the quality of your school's syllabi. Plus, many schools will purchase online copies of texts that you can use. (My school does this for Robbins, Junquiera, Vander's and a bunch of others). There's also plenty of web resources like Blue Histology. You'll also find that tons of study aids circulate amongst the students from each other and upperclassmen.
The reason everyone says don't buy texts until after a week or two of classes is noone really knows which ones will be useful to them. Everyone's got individual tastes, needs, and schools. I know plenty of my classmates who got along just fine w/o buying a single text.
That being said this is what I found useful last year
Histo: Wheater's
Anatomy: Netter's (Though a lot of my classmates preferred Gilroy or Rohen's)
Physiology: BRS
Biochem: BRS, Lippincott's
Neuro: No text - our school's materials were more than enough
I wish I had bought an old copy of FA. Lot's of my classmates found it useful to follow along with during the year and to use for review for our cumulative exams.
If you have anatomy - netters
CMMRS (clinical microbes made ridiculously simple)
and Robbins.
I would say those are your only three ESSENTIAL books.
I don't even know of anyone using a medical dictionary.
edit: CMMRS isn't even THAT essential. The best advice: just flip through a book and see if you like the style.
is wheaters really that much better than netter's essential histo, or langes histo? or do you not have experience with anything but wheaters?
Awesome post.
13. Chocolate makes everything better.