2019-2020 Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (Kansas City) KCU-COM

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ly94 said:
Question for current students: is it doable to take detailed lecture notes and make Anki cards? Making Anki seems so time consuming and I would like to know how y'all manage doing it along listening to lecture recordings, taking notes etc.
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I think making your own cards is a waste of time imo. Everything is in Zanki or Lightyear or one of those other pre-made decks, so it seems kind of wasteful to make your own, and it'll take a lot of time.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
I think making your own cards is a waste of time imo. Everything is in Zanki or Lightyear or one of those other pre-made decks, so it seems kind of wasteful to make your own, and it'll take a lot of time.
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Completely agree. Plus, someone always makes some sort of quizlet / brainscape deck that is shared with the class.
 
Alright guys, here's the thing. When you start your first class, most of you are probably going to be overwhelmed and feel like this is impossible. You're going to wonder what the hell you got into. No amount of preparation will be adequate, and you will all start scrambling to figure out how to study appropriately. Believe me, 99% of you will experience this exact same thing and anyone who acts like they've got it all figured out is probably lying.

That aside: you will need to learn what works for YOU. We can give you advice, but at the end of the day, what works for me might not work for you. The first semester of M1 is a grind because of this...you just feel like you have no idea how to study and it's a bit overwhelming, I'm not going to lie. BUT, you will figure it out, I promise. So, all that being said, here is my advice for M1. Do not worry about M2 from now.


Do not attend lecture. Seriously, it's a waste of time. I attended every lecture in undergrad, but it's just not efficient in med school. Watch them on 2x speed, highlight important things or something that the professor seems to emphasize. You will learn what to do for which professor-- for example, Dr. Zaidi, who will teach your first class, makes it very clear what she expects you to know by highlighting it in red on her powerpoint slides. Others, not so much. You will be told this by your tutors. For first year, most of the courses are taught by PhDs, who will test you on random minutiae. It sucks but it's what it is and how it works at most schools, luckily for us M2 is entirely taught by MDs/DOs. So, because of that, Zanki/AnkiKing/whatever alone likely isn't enough to do well. Maybe enough to just pass, but I'm not sure I would take that gamble. However, I think making your own cards is a waste of time with one exception: anatomy practicals. I tried making my own cards for lecture and found it was just taking a ton of my time without improving my grades at all. But, I did take the images from our anatomy atlas and make cloze deletions cards on Anki with them (basically where you block out the label of the structure and then answer it and it becomes uncovered). Would definitely recommend doing this. For lecture, use your pre-made deck. Divide # of cards by # of days until a few days before the test, do x amount of cards per day. If you feel like you are having trouble understanding some things in the lecture, you have several options: 1) consult a textbook, like BRS physio or something like that, 2) make your own outline of the lecture. The key is just repetition, so you want to make sure you've looked at the material a few times before the exam. Re-review things every 2-3 days, just keep packing it in.

Now, on the topic of boards. Do not think about them at least until after your first couple of courses. Seriously, it's enough as is. As Schwifty mentioned, if you want to have all of Zanki/AnkiKing/whatever completed by dedicated time, you should start in M1. I started around October of M1 and today have all of Zanki, Lolnotacop (micro deck), and a pharmacololgy deck completed (~31,000 cards). I've been slaying q-banks and overall this will make my dedicated study time a lot less stressful and overwhelming than for people who haven't reviewed anything since they learned it the first time. HOWEVER, this is not something to take lightly and is not an easy feat. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or whatever, but this takes serious commitment. It means doing your cards (news and ALL REVIEWS) every single day, no matter what. It means that when I went on vacation this winter break, I did 3 hours of cards in front of the pool every day. It's not for everyone, but if it's something you really want to do, I agree that you should start M1.

You guys will be fine. It'll be a huge adjustment, but the last 2 years have flown by for me and I am amazed at how much I have learned. It's a pretty great feeling and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, despite how hard it gets at times. You got this!
 
Best advice from @fldoctorgirl above. I want to repeat: What works for everyone else might not be what works for you. I am someone who does not find Anki to work well for me (and I tried), but I also stopped going to class after a while (except for CIS/not recorded sessions). I can't watch a video at x1 speed anymore. I watch videos multiple times and try to annotate or make little notes on my slides/notes as I watch.

I use Notability to annotate on lecture slides or handwrite notes. I write notes based on questions I do on Q banks, especially those I miss to further cement the details. I will draw out tables/charts and try to draw out connections.

Anki and similar programs are useful for those it works for, but it is ok if you try it and find it does not work for you. The biggest thing is find what works for you. It is good to see what others use, but if it does not work for you, do not feel pressured to keep doing it. I took a while to find my groove because I was trying to keep up with how everyone else was studying instead of sticking with what I found was working for me because I did not think it was good enough. When I decided to stick with what worked for me, I noticed better retention and performance.

Edit: I think we are all avoiding studying at this point (we have a PCM test tomorrow?)
 
Love all the advice.
The key is to be adaptable. Every course requires you to tweak your study methods.
You have to recognize if your method is effective, ideally before test date.
I think during SFM (which is your first block) is a lot about learning the material and learning what kind of studier you are.
You might not even figure it out until December or later tbh. Which is completely fine

Know when to seek help and don't be afraid to ask for help----w/ learning specialist, 2nd years, friends, tutoring, etc.
 
thanks for all the advice.

do people use First Aid for step 1 as a supplement for studying? i know studying for step 1 isn’t recommended in the first year. but i have looked into it and it seems like some of the mnemonics and things could be useful. i’m just curious if current students have found it useful
 
futurepedsdoc123 said:
thanks for all the advice.

do people use First Aid for step 1 as a supplement for studying? i know studying for step 1 isn’t recommended in the first year. but i have looked into it and it seems like some of the mnemonics and things could be useful. i’m just curious if current students have found it useful
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I used it occasionally throughout M1 if I found something confusing or I just wanted a quick summary of something.
 
futurepedsdoc123 said:
thanks for all the advice.

do people use First Aid for step 1 as a supplement for studying? i know studying for step 1 isn’t recommended in the first year. but i have looked into it and it seems like some of the mnemonics and things could be useful. i’m just curious if current students have found it useful
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I have a pdf copy of FA 2020 (we will give all the incoming first years all the pdf books when classes start) and use it to look up detail a few times per day, but I haven’t read through it by any means
 
fldoctorgirl said:
I used it occasionally throughout M1 if I found something confusing or I just wanted a quick summary of something.
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Schwifty said:
I have a pdf copy of FA 2020 (we will give all the incoming first years all the pdf books when classes start) and use it to look up detail a few times per day, but I haven’t read through it by any means
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thank you both! that was how i was thinking of using it and i am thinking about purchasing it as a hard copy, but i wanted to get some input first
 
Also just to add on to all the advice given above, I have pretty much followed all advice that @fldoctorgirl and a few other 2nd/3rd year KCU students have given me on here over the last year and it has worked out great! Also as a side note, I’m really over studying for our MOD test tomorrow so I’m just keep coming on sdn all day lol
 
futurepedsdoc123 said:
thank you both! that was how i was thinking of using it and i am thinking about purchasing it as a hard copy, but i wanted to get some input first
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Ya it’s a nice reference to have, also the AnKing deck has images of FA in it on almost every card, so if you do a card and aren’t quite sure how it connects to other thing there is almost always a table there straight out of FA explaining that topic, it’s really useful
 
Because I've stared at my computer for 3 hours and haven't gotten through a single flashcard, page of Robbins outline, or ppt slide, I figured I'd also give my 2 cents. As stated above, you will want to bang your head against the wall trying to memorize a bunch of s*** (as ZDoggMD says) during first year. The PhD's are great, but they really do test on some crazy minutiae. For the most part, I remember a lot of first year material, but there's no way I could recall some of the ridiculous details that we have been tested on.

I made my own flashcards for the entire year and I have continued to in MOD, however, this summer I am planning to learn how to effectively use Anki and my plan is to use that for second year. Like everyone above me has said, you will have to figure out what works best for you and you will have to be adaptable. Every class is different and I've done things slightly different for every block.

For reference, when I started medical school I would study around 80-90 hours per week. It was horrible. I study 30-40 now and do the same/even slightly better percentage wise. 1) going to class is a waste of time for me. I haven't been to a lecture since end of MSK/beginning of neuro. 2) I watch all lectures, and make my flashcards while watching the lecture. I pause when I need to, and look concepts up when they're poorly explained. A 1 hour lecture takes me about 1.5 hours to make flashcards for. 3) I make a weekly and daily list of goals and I don't finish my day until those are completed. 4) I make sure I've watched and made flashcards for all lectures by Friday night. This way I have Sat-tues morning before any new systems lectures are delivered and I can review those all weekend. 5) After I review a flashcard deck I scroll through the powerpoint slides to make sure there wasn't anything really important that I missed. 6) go through my flashcards/ppt at least 6 times before the exam.

This has been my method and has led me to great success this year. I know I'll have to adjust in second year, but that is just part of it. I wish you all a lot of success in your first year of medical school and if you have any questions feel free to reach out. If there's one thing I've learned about others that are also at the top of the class, it is that we are all very efficient, consistent, and we make adjustments when we need to.

Edit: Practice questions are also a great tool. I usually due a few hundred before each exam. Usually 2 days before the exam so I can find my weak spots and fix those the day before the exam. If I score >90% on practice questions I stop studying and trust that I know that material.
 
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DaftMillenialDO said:
So this may be a stupid question contingent on if it's been asked before or implied but umm what is MOD?
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Not a stupid question. It is Mechanisms of Disease. It basically looks at the pathological basis for a lot of disease states, rather than learning specific diseases. We also do clinical microbiology and antibiotics. Its more of the "why and how do things go wrong at a cellular level" type of course to prepare us for 2nd year pathology.
 
Ooof this was all so overwhelming when i saw 15 new posts come in in a matter of minutes 😳

what are the classes you HAVE to attend and what days/times are those usually on? and how do you balance out your day with mental/physical health + research + other enjoyable things you want to do (which i know is v limited)? I'm the type of person that has to go to the gym or at least on a run. do y'all watch recordings / do flashcards at the gym or make a verbal recording to listen to if you're running/biking etc?
 
“KCU’s curriculum is sooo hard you won’t ever have time for research M1”

***writes novels on SDN***

Lol really tho thank you guys for all the advice! This is by far the most active school thread on SDN and it’s been stupid helpful even if you’re just telling us to get coats
 
GaudiestMango4 said:
“KCU’s curriculum is sooo hard you won’t ever have time for research M1”

***writes novels on SDN***

Lol really tho thank you guys for all the advice! This is by far the most active school thread on SDN and it’s been stupid helpful even if you’re just telling us to get coats
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Honestly... At this point, do I really need to attend that Student Ambassador virtual chat thing? Lol.
 
futuredoctor123456789 said:
Ooof this was all so overwhelming when i saw 15 new posts come in in a matter of minutes 😳

what are the classes you HAVE to attend and what days/times are those usually on? and how do you balance out your day with mental/physical health + research + other enjoyable things you want to do (which i know is v limited)? I'm the type of person that has to go to the gym or at least on a run. do y'all watch recordings / do flashcards at the gym or make a verbal recording to listen to if you're running/biking etc?
Click to expand...

You have to attend anything that says "required" on the schedule, which isn't very often. In first year, you'll occasionally have a bioethics small group, an OS CIS session, and a few others here and there. It's pretty random. The only thing that is guaranteed to be required are the bioethics lectures/small groups.

At the beginning it will feel difficult to balance everything. You will think that taking that hour to relax, workout, or do whatever it is will significantly hurt your grade. It won't. My advice is just to incorporate it into your schedule. Make it part of your day. Write out your daily goals. I promise there is enough time to do nearly anything that you want to do.

Lastly, when you're going to relax, do it 100%. I mean put your laptop and iPad out of sight. lock it in a safe, whatever you need to do. Sitting on the couch watching TV with your laptop open is not productive to studying nor watching TV. lol In other words, if you're going to take time away from studying, you may as well do it all the way. And don't feel guilty for doing so!

Edit: Oh and you have to attend all labs.
 
Pharmd2MD92 said:
You have to attend anything that says "required" on the schedule, which isn't very often. In first year, you'll occasionally have a bioethics small group, an OS CIS session, and a few others here and there. It's pretty random. The only thing that is guaranteed to be required are the bioethics lectures/small groups.

At the beginning it will feel difficult to balance everything. You will think that taking that hour to relax, workout, or do whatever it is will significantly hurt your grade. It won't. My advice is just to incorporate it into your schedule. Make it part of your day. Write out your daily goals. I promise there is enough time to do nearly anything that you want to do.

Lastly, when you're going to relax, do it 100%. I mean put your laptop and iPad out of sight. lock it in a safe, whatever you need to do. Sitting on the couch watching TV with your laptop open is not productive to studying nor watching TV. lol In other words, if you're going to take time away from studying, you may as well do it all the way. And don't feel guilty for doing so!

Edit: Oh and you have to attend all labs.
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I remember at the beginning of the year one of our bioethics small group discussions was about a pandemic and how doctors should react to it, and my groups professor kept saying how we will “100% experience a pandemic in our lifetimes“, its like he knew what was coming 😵
 
Schwifty said:
I remember at the beginning of the year one of our bioethics small group discussions was about a pandemic and how doctors should react to it, and my groups professor kept saying how we will “100% experience a pandemic in our lifetimes“, its like he knew what was coming 😵
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I vaguely remember this.. I just can't remember the context of the discussion lol.
 
Pharmd2MD92 said:
Because I've stared at my computer for 3 hours and haven't gotten through a single flashcard, page of Robbins outline, or ppt slide, I figured I'd also give my 2 cents. As stated above, you will want to bang your head against the wall trying to memorize a bunch of s*** (as ZDoggMD says) during first year. The PhD's are great, but they really do test on some crazy minutiae. For the most part, I remember a lot of first year material, but there's no way I could recall some of the ridiculous details that we have been tested on.

I made my own flashcards for the entire year and I have continued to in MOD, however, this summer I am planning to learn how to effectively use Anki and my plan is to use that for second year. Like everyone above me has said, you will have to figure out what works best for you and you will have to be adaptable. Every class is different and I've done things slightly different for every block.

For reference, when I started medical school I would study around 80-90 hours per week. It was horrible. I study 30-40 now and do the same/even slightly better percentage wise. 1) going to class is a waste of time for me. I haven't been to a lecture since end of MSK/beginning of neuro. 2) I watch all lectures, and make my flashcards while watching the lecture. I pause when I need to, and look concepts up when they're poorly explained. A 1 hour lecture takes me about 1.5 hours to make flashcards for. 3) I make a weekly and daily list of goals and I don't finish my day until those are completed. 4) I make sure I've watched and made flashcards for all lectures by Friday night. This way I have Sat-tues morning before any new systems lectures are delivered and I can review those all weekend. 5) After I review a flashcard deck I scroll through the powerpoint slides to make sure there wasn't anything really important that I missed. 6) go through my flashcards/ppt at least 6 times before the exam.

This has been my method and has led me to great success this year. I know I'll have to adjust in second year, but that is just part of it. I wish you all a lot of success in your first year of medical school and if you have any questions feel free to reach out. If there's one thing I've learned about others that are also at the top of the class, it is that we are all very efficient, consistent, and we make adjustments when we need to.

Edit: Practice questions are also a great tool. I usually due a few hundred before each exam. Usually 2 days before the exam so I can find my weak spots and fix those the day before the exam. If I score >90% on practice questions I stop studying and trust that I know that material.
Click to expand...
which resource(s) do you use for practice questions?
 
dohopeful13 said:
That is going to vary wildly by block. Grey's and PrepU will have questions for a lot of the blocks, and tutors provide some too. Some professors like Shynra will also provide some. Wouldn't worry about it yet tbh.
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thanks for answering. So the recommendation is to not practice using UW during our first year?
 
Out of curiosity, how many people here on SDN are on the WL? I don't think it's necessary to share stats or anything like that, but I am curious how many of us there are.

Also, are any of y'all waiting a certain period of time before submitting new apps for this upcoming cycle? I know a lot of schools are omitting MCAT scores for new applicants, in terms of initial interview invites and then they'll just wait for later dates for scores. Hoping that doesn't potentially hurt us reapplicants should we never get taken off the WL.

*Edit: This is also assuming you haven't gotten accepted elsewhere or are not wanting to go to other schools you've received A/WLs from.
 
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HtownNittanyLion said:
which resource(s) do you use for practice questions?
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As stated, it varies. I never used prepU, but I know a lot do. I mainly used grey’s for anatomy. Those were great at testing your knowledge. A lot of professors like dr Rogers, dr Karius, dr Shnyra, dr pierce, and others put practice quizzes out. For MOD I’m using Robbins review questions and the cases that the professors did. I did ~200 of those (robbin’s) for the exam we have today. There’s also a lot of physio questions out there like BRS (board review series). I also used various Medical school’s online resources for anatomy practical testing. There are some great resources from other med schools if you google “gross anatomy practice questions”. Once you get here you’ll find a plethora of resources, though! 🙂
 
Pharmd2MD92 said:
As stated, it varies. I never used prepU, but I know a lot do. I mainly used grey’s for anatomy. Those were great at testing your knowledge. A lot of professors like dr Rogers, dr Karius, dr Shnyra, dr pierce, and others put practice quizzes out. For MOD I’m using Robbins review questions and the cases that the professors did. I did ~200 of those (robbin’s) for the exam we have today. There’s also a lot of physio questions out there like BRS (board review series). I also used various Medical school’s online resources for anatomy practical testing. There are some great resources from other med schools if you google “gross anatomy practice questions”. Once you get here you’ll find a plethora of resources, though! 🙂
Click to expand...
So we wouldn't need the Robbins book until 2nd year when we do pathology right?
 
underbaro said:
Out of curiosity, how many people here on SDN are on the WL? I don't think it's necessary to share stats or anything like that, but I am curious how many of us there are.

Also, are any of y'all waiting a certain period of time before submitting new apps for this upcoming cycle? I know a lot of schools are omitting MCAT scores for new applicants, in terms of initial interview invites and then they'll just wait for later dates for scores. Hoping that doesn't potentially hurt us reapplicants should we never get taken off the WL.

*Edit: This is also assuming you haven't gotten accepted elsewhere or are not wanting to go to other schools you've received A/WLs from.
Click to expand...


I would reapply as if you haven't been accepted that way you have everything in as early as possible. It costs a little bit up front for back end security.
 
underbaro said:
Out of curiosity, how many people here on SDN are on the WL? I don't think it's necessary to share stats or anything like that, but I am curious how many of us there are.

Also, are any of y'all waiting a certain period of time before submitting new apps for this upcoming cycle? I know a lot of schools are omitting MCAT scores for new applicants, in terms of initial interview invites and then they'll just wait for later dates for scores. Hoping that doesn't potentially hurt us reapplicants should we never get taken off the WL.

*Edit: This is also assuming you haven't gotten accepted elsewhere or are not wanting to go to other schools you've received A/WLs from.
Click to expand...

fellow waitlisted student!
On my interview day I was told that a large portion of the waitlist gets offered a spot, and last year they didn’t accept anyone until 11 days after they got everyone to update them regarding whether they wanted to remain on the list.

I still have one more interview early next month so I’m holding off until I’m done with that one to decide whether to begin preparing to reapply.

It wouldn’t hurt to start working on any updates for your application in case you do have to reapply, but also I’d still give yourself a week or two to see if you get anything back from KCU! I know the waitlist process is rough (I literally check my email every five minutes in hopes of updates), but I wish you the best of luck!
 
That timeline makes sense and follows older threads. Based on this year's deadline of April 15th, 11 days is April 26th, Sunday.
auburnplanet said:
fellow waitlisted student!
On my interview day I was told that a large portion of the waitlist gets offered a spot, and last year they didn’t accept anyone until 11 days after they got everyone to update them regarding whether they wanted to remain on the list.

I still have one more interview early next month so I’m holding off until I’m done with that one to decide whether to begin preparing to reapply.

It wouldn’t hurt to start working on any updates for your application in case you do have to reapply, but also I’d still give yourself a week or two to see if you get anything back from KCU! I know the waitlist process is rough (I literally check my email every five minutes in hopes of updates), but I wish you the best of luck!
Click to expand...

Sent from my SM-G965U using SDN mobile
 
Mav13 said:
Any current students study off a dual monitor or ultrawide? I’d like to know the pros/cons?
Click to expand...

I dual screen. For the first 2 years, you can open OneNote or your note taking app of choice on one screen and the lecture on the other. Alternatively, you can open the lecture and facebook to peruse because you're bored and not really paying attention anyway. Sometimes I threw in a 3rd screen (my Phone) to increase productivity (measure by total screen area accessible at one time).
 
auburnplanet said:
fellow waitlisted student!
On my interview day I was told that a large portion of the waitlist gets offered a spot, and last year they didn’t accept anyone until 11 days after they got everyone to update them regarding whether they wanted to remain on the list.

I still have one more interview early next month so I’m holding off until I’m done with that one to decide whether to begin preparing to reapply.

It wouldn’t hurt to start working on any updates for your application in case you do have to reapply, but also I’d still give yourself a week or two to see if you get anything back from KCU! I know the waitlist process is rough (I literally check my email every five minutes in hopes of updates), but I wish you the best of luck!
Click to expand...

Same. Always checking for updates, even though I know to expect another week at minimum.

I didn't remember them saying a large portion of the WL got offered a spot. That definitely makes me more hopeful-- thanks for the feedback!

My biggest concern is writing an entirely new Personal Statement and asking for past LOR to update their letterheads. Applying late was my biggest issue last cycle and I don't want to make the same mistake b/c Im waiting on KCU.

Goodluck on your interview! I didnt realize schools were still giving those out this late.
 
DrRedstone said:
I dual screen. For the first 2 years, you can open OneNote or your note taking app of choice on one screen and the lecture on the other. Alternatively, you can open the lecture and facebook to peruse because you're bored and not really paying attention anyway. Sometimes I threw in a 3rd screen (my Phone) to increase productivity (measure by total screen area accessible at one time).
Click to expand...
So there is potential to hear back as early as next week. Wow. If I thought I was checking my emails a lot now...
 
underbaro said:
Same. Always checking for updates, even though I know to expect another week at minimum.

I didn't remember them saying a large portion of the WL got offered a spot. That definitely makes me more hopeful-- thanks for the feedback!

My biggest concern is writing an entirely new Personal Statement and asking for past LOR to update their letterheads. Applying late was my biggest issue last cycle and I don't want to make the same mistake b/c Im waiting on KCU.

Goodluck on your interview! I didnt realize schools were still giving those out this late.
Click to expand...
Yeah it got pushed back due to COVID!

but I talked to one of the admissions ladies on my interview day and she was reassuring me that if I got waitlisted that there’s a good chance I’d get off the list. It wasn’t something generally announced but glad I can offer some hope!
 
quick question y'all! I peeped other SDNs and there's a deadline of apr30 to narrow your AMCAS to 1 school. Does this also apply to DO schools? If so, how do we narrow our list down to 1? Do we do this through AACOMAS?
 
futuredoctor123456789 said:
quick question y'all! I peeped other SDNs and there's a deadline of apr30 to narrow your AMCAS to 1 school. Does this also apply to DO schools? If so, how do we narrow our list down to 1? Do we do this through AACOMAS?
Click to expand...
According to the AACOMAS website, it seems that the deadline for DO schools is May 15th and the protocol regarding narrowing is school-specific. Hopefully others can chime in and elaborate.

AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines

Guidelines for prospective osteopathic medical students to successfully complete their applications to medical school.
www.aacom.org www.aacom.org
 
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