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Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
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You just started, it's overwhelming. Hang in there. Go to a counselor/psychologist if you need to.

Are you studying with anyone? It really helps.

Watch Boards and Beyond and Pathoma before the appropriate lecture, its helpful. Use Zanki for repetition/memorization. Skethy Pharm helps too.

Ask for help.

You have to look at your life right now as "one foot in front of the other". Otherwise it gets overwhelming. Focus on each day/each week. Do not think about "everything you need to memorize across the entire year."
 
I'm not overwhelmed by the material for the year. I'm overwhelmed by the material for the week. I did ask for help by 2 different therapists, and both advised me to get out before I accumulate further debt.
 
imanidiot7 said:
I'm not overwhelmed by the material for the year. I'm overwhelmed by the material for the week. I did ask for help by 2 different therapists, and both advised me to get out before I accumulate further debt.
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Not cool, troll. Literally no way this was the advice you got from 2 licensed therapists in your first week of med school.
 
imanidiot7 said:
I have extenuating circumstances involved that they were also taking into consideration. It's not as simple as just being intimidated by the volume of material.
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I could believe they recommended a leave of absence, but there's no way they said "drop out now." Game over.
 
Are these counselors at school or in private practice? You should meet with the dean of student affairs.

I understand that you said overwhelmed by material for the week. My advice was a general suggestion because if you are overwhelmed at thinking of 1 week, thinking of 1 year will be heavy. My point is that you really need to take this one step at a time. There is no way a medical school would make an investment in you (an expensive one!) if they didn't think you could handle it.
 
RV900 said:
Are these counselors at school or in private practice? You should meet with the dean of student affairs.

I understand that you said overwhelmed by material for the week. My advice was a general suggestion because if you are overwhelmed at thinking of 1 week, thinking of 1 year will be heavy. My point is that you really need to take this one step at a time. There is no way a medical school would make an investment in you (an expensive one!) if they didn't think you could handle it.
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One was my personal counselor in private practice, and the other was the school's counselor. I'll look into talking to the dean of student affairs, thanks
 
Gorne said:
I don't understand how people like this get in.
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I put in a buttload of work to get in. I just took a long time to do it. Like, I studied a good 12 hours every day and never slept in undergrad. I set aside 5 months after graduation to just dedicate to MCAT prep. The fast pace of med school prevents me from dedicating the same amount of time to studying that I did to my prereqs and the MCAT. Therein lies the issue.
 
imanidiot7 said:
I put in a buttload of work to get in. I just took a long time to do it. Like, I studied a good 12 hours every day and never slept in undergrad. I set aside 5 months after graduation to just dedicate to MCAT prep. The fast pace of med school prevents me from dedicating the same amount of time to studying that I did to my prereqs and the MCAT. Therein lies the issue.
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You never contemplated about what would happen after getting in? That studying 12 hours a day was sustainable for another 4 years?
 
Gorne said:
You never contemplated about what would happen after getting in? That studying 12 hours a day was sustainable for another 4 years?
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I can study 12 hours a day and still not have time to get down all of this material. If studying 12 hours a day would get me through med school, I'd have no problem doing it.
 
If you made it to a medical school you are capable of getting through. Imposter syndrome is normal.
If you study for 12 hours a day and still can't pass you can decelerate to 5 year options.
If you have underlying mental health issues you should listen to the advice of your mental health professionals.
If you have temporary life circumstances outside of medicine that is hindering you, you should take a loa.
No one is forcing you to do anything. You worked hard to get here.
 
imanidiot7 said:
I've never had so many consistent suicidal thoughts and panic attacks in my life
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Let’s quit accusing OP of lying and address the elephant in the room. OP, please don’t do anything rash; early M1 can be awful, and overwhelming, and terrifying, but it’s absolutely not worth dying over. Whether you decide to stick it out in med school or not, your life is worth living. Please get help NOW.

From a financial standpoint, I think if you drop out in the first few weeks of the semester you do get a pretty significant if not total refund, but as scary as the debt is, please address your health before you worry about the finances.
 
solitarius said:
If you're expecting to memorize everything they throw at you, you're doing it wrong.
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This is the problem. OP's understanding of what med schools expect is off. Schools assign ridiculous amounts of material that a cursory glance over is enough. Obviously some topics are different and require a more detailed understanding, but those topics are far fewer than the ones that are assigned.

I mean ****, all the tests are multiple choice. You don't have to have every word of every page memorized to do well.

OP, take a deep breath. No one else in med school is a super-human memorizing machine. If you did well enough on the MCAT to get in, you can do well enough on the tests to pass. You will need to study hard though obviously.
 
libertyyne said:
If you made it to a medical school you are capable of getting through. Imposter syndrome is normal.
If you study for 12 hours a day and still can't pass you can decelerate to 5 year options.
If you have underlying mental health issues you should listen to the advice of your mental health professionals.
If you have temporary life circumstances outside of medicine that is hindering you, you should take a loa.
No one is forcing you to do anything. You worked hard to get here.
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This.
OP, if you're trying to memorize everything, then rest assured you will learn nothing.
In the worst case scenario, at least using my schools as a baseline, then you have a window to withdraw and get a full refund. Some schools may pro-rate with how long you've attended.
If you have mental health issues causing this angst this early, then bailing now is the best decision I can recommend.
If you're just overwhelmed because you mistakenly think you need to memorize everything, then there is hope. Start by talking to some M2s.
 
First, OP, you have my sympathy. I am an M1 and we are a week away from out first exam. It isn't easy and I have been having doubts from time to time myself. If someone tells you that they don't, then they are either a savant or a liar.

Here is an unconventional method I think could work.

First, check to see if your school will give you a prorated or partial refund. If so, and if the eligibility period allows for it, I think that you should hold out until the first exam. Try the methods mentioned above and just focus on daily goals and see what that nets you on the first assessment.
 
libertyyne said:
If you made it to a medical school you are capable of getting through. Imposter syndrome is normal.
If you study for 12 hours a day and still can't pass you can decelerate to 5 year options.
If you have underlying mental health issues you should listen to the advice of your mental health professionals.
If you have temporary life circumstances outside of medicine that is hindering you, you should take a loa.
No one is forcing you to do anything. You worked hard to get here.
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About 50% of domestic MD place in primary care. Future of primary care is doubtful - probability that either nationalization or competition from 40k new PA/NP every year diminishes down to low six figures is extremely high.

Primary care is 4 years of zero pay and 200-500k debt for murderous stress/workload followed by 3 years of terrible pay.

If OP is struggling and hates it and is 7+ years away from an uncertain future, WHY
 
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