The Senior's advice to the Pre-Pod...

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
justincredible

justincredible

SCPM c/o 2011
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
156
Reaction score
0
Members don't see this ad.
Hi everyone,

I was hoping that some of the current pod students (ie. the seniors of the bunch) could help us out with some pointers/advice/helpful insight as to what we can expect in the coming months/years.

What are some of the things you wish you knew ahead of time? What kind of advice would you give a pre-pod in their first year or their first couple months being in? In your early P1 days, how well were you able to manage juggling the heavy school workload along with studying and social life and family life and just life in general?

Let us anxious pre-pods know! :idea:
 
Your smartest move is just to put the socializing, student organizations, sports, etc on hold for a lil while until at least the first semester grades are in and you have a pretty good idea of how your scholastic aptitude measures up in comparison to the rest of your class.

I'm certainly not saying you can't work out a couple times per week or go on a date on a Saturday night, but it's much easier to start off heavy on studying and low on socializing. You can always work a bit more personal time into the schedule if you are able to get the grades you want, but you will see that the people who jump into the social scene of the new city, join tons of student organizations/sports, etc are usually the ones who get dismissed or get poor marks.

Other than that, get organized. Your desk or office will rapidly fill with piles of books, notes, old tests, etc, and you'll have a busy schedule of exams, quizzes, and paper/presentation due dates. You will find that you'll probably find that you can do your best work if you keep organized with an updated calendar and neat work area.

As for what to get out of first year, make sure you learn anatomy WELL during first year - especially LEA. Learn how to talk like a medical professional by practicing talking in anatomical terms (med/lat, ant/post, prox/dist, etc) in cadaver lab. The guys who use "uh, the right side of that square bone over by the little toe" are gonna sound pretty stupid in future classes (radio, derm, biomech, etc) and clinics, so anatomy and the terminology are keys. Learn the relationships by studying in lab. Know what arteries run where, what nerves, etc. Practice talking yourself through the structures' courses as you dissect them out or view them in an atlas ("courses laterally around the head of the fibula to enter the anterior compartment of the leg, courses inferiomedially to supply tibialis anterior and extensors, divides into intermediate and medial dorsal cutaneous branches...").

You might be thinking "but I'm going to learn every subject very well," but the fact of the matter is that barely anyone gets high marks in all classes, and you probably won't have time to read and study as much as you like. Anatomy is the most important (and the biggest % of board exams), so it'll serve you well to know it like the back of your hand (err foot? 😀).
 
I agree with what Feli has said so far.

As well as learning anatomy well - very important like he said - also learning physiology well is important. All of medicine builds on physiology.

For studying I recommend going to class and taking your own notes. Even if there is a note service or the profs just read off the ppt and give all the ppts to you. Still you should take your own notes. Unless you are the type of person that can hear something once and commit it to memory. Taking your own notes keeps you engaged in class and will keep you from dosing off. I also recommend re-reading or typing up your notes the same night or within a day of the class. As you read the notes that night you will remember what the prof was saying and the notes will have more meaning within a day then they will a week or month later, just make sure that you understand the notes and clear-up any thing (using references). Then when it comes to the exam you just have to re-read the notes again.

And like Feli said there will be many times when people will make plans to go out after class and "play". Do not go unless it is your scheduled night off. Most of these people that go out every night will be struggling to pass tests including the boards.
 
Can anyone expand on how a 2 sequence undergrad course (such as biochem) compares to the course you have first year? is it both courses combined in half the time ? Also, do you have a physiology lab? How much tougher is physio first year compared to undergrad? I know that at my school 400 level physio is the same course as hershey med.
 
Huskies213 said:
Can anyone expand on how a 2 sequence undergrad course (such as biochem) compares to the course you have first year? is it both courses combined in half the time ? Also, do you have a physiology lab? How much tougher is physio first year compared to undergrad? I know that at my school 400 level physio is the same course as hershey med.
Click to expand...
A lot of that depends which pod school you go to.^ If the school has summer classes, chances are that it changes things a bit...

At Barry, biochem is two semesters (Biochem I and II - 3cr each). Fall is mostly enzymes and metabolic pathways, and spring is nutrition and clinical biochem (diabetes, gout, blood, etc). Other pod schools have just one semester of biochem, but that one class is a higher number of credit hours. In general, the med biochem is less chemical structures and more clincal/patho based... as well it should be.

Physio is the same: we have 4cr physio I (pure lectures) spring of 1st year, and 2cr physio II (lab with EKG, spirometer, etc experiments) in the summer. Other pod schools might just have one physio class which is worth more credit hours.

As for course difficulty compared to undergrad, that all depends on how tough the undergrad courses were. If it was intro physio for Ex Sci majors, I'm sure pod school physio is a lot harder. If it was advanced physio with med school faculty teaching it and some grad students in the class, it might be more comparable.
 
Thanks Feli and krabmas. I really appreciate the great advice. It's really invaluable...You guys have been there and so I really value the current students' advice.

I'm really anxious to get started, as I'm sure all the other c/o 2011 students are! I'll keep in mind what you guys have posted..I just want to be prepared, you know? It's a big endeavor, as well as a big leap from undergrad and being out of school working for a year, so I'm excited.
 
Thanks to feli and krabmas from me as well. I appreciate your advice and suggestions 🙂 The will prove very valuable.

I would also like any input you can provide with the following situation. I plan to take Anatomy over the summer and would appreciate it if you can tell me good studying habits for anatomy. Should I study physiology along with it? Any particular books you suggest? I didn't take anatomy during undergrad so just want to get a feel for it before pod school starts.
 
artse said:
I would also like any input you can provide with the following situation. I plan to take Anatomy over the summer and would appreciate it if you can tell me good studying habits for anatomy. Should I study physiology along with it? Any particular books you suggest? I didn't take anatomy during undergrad so just want to get a feel for it before pod school starts.
Click to expand...

Also, what about flash cards? Do they help? I hear conflicting things about flashcards. They're either a waste of time or are a tremendous help. Any experience or advice on this?

Most of the curriculm is memorization anyways. What's most effective in your experience?

Thanks guys!!!
 
justincredible said:
Also, what about flash cards? Do they help? I hear conflicting things about flashcards. They're either a waste of time or are a tremendous help. Any experience or advice on this?

Most of the curriculm is memorization anyways. What's most effective in your experience?

Thanks guys!!!
Click to expand...
Flash cards work well for some people. It depends on your learning style and the subject. Personally, I use flash cards for the pure memorization classes and info (anatomy, pharm, lab values, etc). Those classes are very easy to understand and anyone could do well, but they just take time and repition. You can buy pre-printed flash cards, but I always make my own flash cards because I think it helps you to write the info on them (and I'm broke lol).

A couple other strong students I know use flash cards for biochem and physio pathways and processes (ie mix up the flashcards and then re-order them on a table top), but I like drawing those pathways over and over instead. Be careful with conceptually hard classes like physio, micro, or biochem. Try to think of why things are happening instead of just memorizing your way through (ie blood pressure goes up when renal artery is stenotic... but why?). If you can grasp the concepts, it'll help you a lot more down the line.

For general anatomy, most people use a Netter Atlas (~$65 for a new one); it's a bunch of beautiful oil paintings which a lot of people like. It's criticism is that the colors are too vivid and unrealistic, but I think that helps when you are learning. The old 2nd or 3rd editions are the exact same if you can find a good condition one on half or amazon. The physician/artist died 15yrs ago, so all they do is add an x-ray or change the order of his drawings and call it a "new edition" lol.

If you want a different general anatomy atlas option, try Gray's or Thieme. As far as a lower extremity-specific atlas, I haven't found one I'm crazy about... McMinn is ok for good cadaver pics and I've heard Interactive Foot and Ankle CD is great (although it's a tad pricey until you are a resident with a CME 😛).
 
You have already received some great advice so I'll just add a few comments.

1. Do what it takes. You will see those around you that don’t have to study quite as hard. You will see those around you that do. The bottom line is that, for every person, this is different. Do what it takes to earn respectable grades and don’t worry about what everyone else is or isn’t doing.

2. Do the best that you are capable of doing and don’t worry about the rest. You don’t need a perfect GPA, just a respectable one. The truth is that 99% of the residency programs out there don’t weigh GPA very heavily. For nearly every one of you, your residency slot will be solidified by your externship month and your interview. Do well enough to keep all of your options open. Of all of the residency programs out there, only 5 programs REQUIRE more than a 3.0 to apply. And of those 5 programs, I’d bet that most of them aren’t very strict with that requirement. Do your best and let it ride!

3. “Family Friendly” = poor training. OK, maybe that is a little too harsh. But I will advise you to be very weary of any school or residency program that claims to be family friendly. In my opinion, 9-5, Monday-Friday is no where near sufficient training. This ultimately depends on what your goals are as well. But I will say that, concerning residency, you will have three years to acquire the clinical and surgical training that will dictate your entire medical career. Choose wisely. If you want more time with your family in the future, spend more time on your career now (which will mean more options in the future).

4. Don’t play dirty. I can honestly say that I saw none of this at DMU in my class but I know that it does happen. Students get so caught up with GPA’s and class rank. This is especially true in the beginning years when you really have nothing else to compare. The back-biting and falsity that sometimes occurs does little more than irritate and alienate those around you. It always burns more bridges than it builds and usually ends up really hurting the student in the end. Especially when it is a 1st or 2nd year causing a lot of trouble and the upperclassmen hear about it. The upperclassmen will be 2nd or 3rd year residents when this student will be externing at programs. The students preceding reputation will very much hurt him/her in getting any program. Play hard but play nice.

5. Keep the faith. There will be days when you just want to give up and think that all of this will never end. It does so work hard and learn as much as you can!
 
Thanks for the added advice Feli and jonwill! Much appreciated!

You're current pod students are our online student ambassadors! 👍
 
jonwill said:
You have already received some great advice so I'll just add a few comments.

1. Do what it takes. You will see those around you that don’t have to study quite as hard. You will see those around you that do. The bottom line is that, for every person, this is different. Do what it takes to earn respectable grades and don’t worry about what everyone else is or isn’t doing.

2. Do the best that you are capable of doing and don’t worry about the rest. You don’t need a perfect GPA, just a respectable one. The truth is that 99% of the residency programs out there don’t weigh GPA very heavily. For nearly every one of you, your residency slot will be solidified by your externship month and your interview. Do well enough to keep all of your options open. Of all of the residency programs out there, only 5 programs REQUIRE more than a 3.0 to apply. And of those 5 programs, I’d bet that most of them aren’t very strict with that requirement. Do your best and let it ride!

3. “Family Friendly” = poor training. OK, maybe that is a little too harsh. But I will advise you to be very weary of any school or residency program that claims to be family friendly. In my opinion, 9-5, Monday-Friday is no where near sufficient training. This ultimately depends on what your goals are as well. But I will say that, concerning residency, you will have three years to acquire the clinical and surgical training that will dictate your entire medical career. Choose wisely. If you want more time with your family in the future, spend more time on your career now (which will mean more options in the future).

4. Don’t play dirty. I can honestly say that I saw none of this at DMU in my class but I know that it does happen. Students get so caught up with GPA’s and class rank. This is especially true in the beginning years when you really have nothing else to compare. The back-biting and falsity that sometimes occurs does little more than irritate and alienate those around you. It always burns more bridges than it builds and usually ends up really hurting the student in the end. Especially when it is a 1st or 2nd year causing a lot of trouble and the upperclassmen hear about it. The upperclassmen will be 2nd or 3rd year residents when this student will be externing at programs. The students preceding reputation will very much hurt him/her in getting any program. Play hard but play nice.

5. Keep the faith. There will be days when you just want to give up and think that all of this will never end. It does so work hard and learn as much as you can!
Click to expand...

Thank you for supporting newbie pod students like myself with this post. Your advice is really positive and encouraging. 😛
 
I thought of something that it took me awhile to figure out during my 1st-year: Since you're going to be inundated with volumes of material in class, rather than try to absorb/comprehend every little nuance the first time through, I found it was better to make multiple passes over all of the info even if I didn't quite understand what I read the first time around.

It might be easy to get bogged down on a given topic. You won't have much time in between exams, so it'd be better to at least have skimmed over everything than to not have covered 30% of it at all.

If I recall correctly, a lot of our exam questions were a matter of word recognition. Pairing "Hawkins" with "talar neck fractures" for example. Even if you didn't know all the types of Hawkins classification fractures and their mechanism of action, at least you knew it wasn't a calcaneal fracture, so you were one step closer to getting the right multiple choice. The next pass through you might pick up on the different categories. The next time after that you might understand the mechanism.

Nat
 
Actually, it is not! I am at Penn State and just did my masters in Physiology and we have a 500 level sequence of phystiology that hershy grad students take and it is different than the medical school's and I must say it is more intense than 473!
 
jpod said:
Actually, it is not! I am at Penn State and just did my masters in Physiology and we have a 500 level sequence of phystiology that hershy grad students take and it is different than the medical school's and I must say it is more intense than 473!
Click to expand...

I must have missed something. What is this post in response to?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Pre-Pod Student One Year Update
Replies
2
Views
2K
AFOJOE315
AFOJOE315
F
Advice for Pre Pods
Replies
24
Views
3K
Feli
Feli
P
Any thoughts on what is too old for pod school?
Replies
11
Views
2K
Feli
Feli
SoleScholar
What is the deal with podiatry?
2 3 4
Replies
152
Views
21K
Adam Smasher
Adam Smasher
D
  • Locked
My Perspective of Podiatry; The Flaws
Replies
1
Views
4K
Weirdy
W
Top