Was just wondering what a typical day in medical school was like the first two years. What was your typical routine? Any free time on the weekend? Please share youre experience 🙂
Every day.
But really, I think it mostly has to do with your school. A school with mandatory classes vs optional is going to be a big deal for some and probably time between tests will be a factor. We don't have too much time between tests which has its advantages but it also doesn't leave much room for a break.
Not as much information is tested per exam.How does having not too much time between test have its advantage?
Was just wondering what a typical day in medical school was like the first two years. What was your typical routine? Any free time on the weekend? Please share youre experience 🙂
Stay at home. Watch recorded lectures at double speed. Drive 3.5 hours one way home on weekends. Maintain my former life without a single consequence. First two years have been pretty sweet, aside from the part where my brain nearly broke from the stress and I'd find myself staring at a blank computer screen for hours because I was paralyzed by anxiety.Was just wondering what a typical day in medical school was like the first two years. What was your typical routine? Any free time on the weekend? Please share youre experience 🙂
I am an early riser, 5-6 am. Medical school is 100% time management and if you plan when and what to study, and actually study during those times you will be successful. I never studied past 6-7pm ever, and most days i was done by late afternoon. If I did anything in the evenings it was to annotate some of the lectures at double speed. I also never studied on a Friday or Saturday during years 1 & 2.Was just wondering what people who are early risers (Up around 6:30 AMish) tend to do and if waking up early has any advantages (besides having more time to study of courses) that anybody with experience can share? I was contemplating starting a gym routine at my apartment gym for a about 45-minutes to an hour before lecture begins at 8 AM. Is it really just time management? Or is the material so hard that you have to spend a lot of time going over one thing while the "pancakes" of knowledge keep stacking up?
Appreciate the insight!
Thank you!In a perfect world I would watch 4 lectures a day and do second pass on 4 and do whatever else is mandatory. I do two complete passes of material the day before an exam, so those days are longer. I wake up at around 10 and get like 8-9 hours of sleep most nights, but exam nights I get around 4-5. We have an exam at least once a week with most the time actually being twice a week. Sometimes, when my brain is fried after an exam ill do absolutely nothing but watch Netflix and workout. Makes my next day longer but totally worth it sometimes.
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Thank you!Required class from 8-12, every day. You get to skip 15 percent of each course for the block, though (although for courses like Psych, for example, you could do that in one day and have to make all of the rest of those for the 9 week block). Anatomy lab normally 2 hours, twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. OMM lab on Tuesdays, 2 hours. Clinical Skills, 2 hours on Wednesdays. Thankfully we're done with anatomy in a week. A full year of that was enough! We normally get some embedded study time in the afternoon, because half the class starts lab at 1 and the other half at 3. But if you're stuck with the late lab and you live further than a few miles you're on campus 8-5. Some weeks they double up the labs; next week, for example, the only time we're off from Monday-Wednesday from 8-5 is an hour for lunch.
I am an early riser, 5-6 am. Medical school is 100% time management and if you plan when and what to study, and actually study during those times you will be successful. I never studied past 6-7pm ever, and most days i was done by late afternoon. If I did anything in the evenings it was to annotate some of the lectures at double speed. I also never studied on a Friday or Saturday during years 1 & 2.
My day was usually 7-11 study, 1 hour lunch/workout, study for a few more hours, done. Mix in some mandatory stuff for school and thats it. Keep in mind this isn't what I did for boards and those days became a little longer.
That was during MS1 and 2, and I was on the couch around 8, game or watch tv w/ the wife, in bed by 10-11. 7-8 hours of sleep guaranteed every night, more on weekendsWhat time do you usually go to bed if you wake up that early?
Depends on the demands of your spouse, daycare, etc. Medical school is beyond a full time job and raising a child is a full time job. If you have a working spouse, you need child care assistance. If you and your spouse can afford for them to stay home and raise the child then you are fine.How about a typical day for a medical student with spouse/kids?
For me, I rarely went to school except for days we had mandatory lectures/labs, so I had a plenty of time. It was more like a fulltime job plus some nights/weekends that I had to study close to exams. During board prep, it was more like 60-70 hr/ weekHow about a typical day for a medical student with spouse/kids?
When med school started I had been married 8 years and had two kids, we added a third towards the end of first year, I'm now at the end of my third year. My wife has remained a SAHM through medical school. I treated school like a full-time job with a part-time job in the evening. I would do school 8-5 (with a lunch break of course), eat dinner and get kids ready for bed 5-8, study 8-11. I did that Monday-Thursday. I took Friday night off to be with my wife. On Saturdays I volunteered at a children's play place 10-2, studied 2-5, called it a night. Sunday was time for God and family, all day. On test weeks My schedule changed to Monday-Saturday: school 8-5, eat dinner and get kids ready for bed 5-8, study 8-11. That worked for me and my family. Other married students spent more time away from their familes, some less. If med school ends up ruining your family relationships, was it really worth it?How about a typical day for a medical student with spouse/kids?
When med school started I had been married 8 years and had two kids, we added a third towards the end of first year, I'm now at the end of my third year. My wife has remained a SAHM through medical school. I treated school like a full-time job with a part-time job in the evening. I would do school 8-5 (with a lunch break of course), eat dinner and get kids ready for bed 5-8, study 8-11. I did that Monday-Thursday. I took Friday night off to be with my wife. On Saturdays I volunteered at a children's play place 10-2, studied 2-5, called it a night. Sunday was time for God and family, all day. On test weeks My schedule changed to Monday-Saturday: school 8-5, eat dinner and get kids ready for bed 5-8, study 8-11. That worked for me and my family. Other married students spent more time away from their familes, some less. If med school ends up ruining your family relationships, was it really worth it?
How about a typical day for a medical student with spouse/kids?
Any reasons for choosing firecracker over anki? Is the saved time of not having to write your own cards what attracted you to it?I think being married made the these past two years much easier. I don't worry about cooking, cleaning, running errands, or even ironing my white coat. My better half takes care of all of that. I'm very efficient with my studying. Up until February (Boards studying started) of the second year, I spent no more than 40hrs on a week on schooling stuff. This includes listening to lectures (FROM HOME!), going to labs, OMM, and studying. I honored nearly every course. I accompanied my wife and kid to Disneyland 3-4x a week, watched TONS of TV (Breaking Bad, Prison Break, GOT, TWD, Dexter, House, Hannible, Lost, and few others I can remember), visited extended family members once a week, and still had time to spend time on SDN.
All that that was possible because 1) I avoided going to school as much as I could (on many occasions I sacrificed easy-earned points so I could stay home) 2) Listened to the lectures online at 2x while taking detailed notes 3) Made sure to limit my notes to one page, singled sided per lecture 4) Reviewed my handwritten notes every night 4) Prioritized my family (I spent every free moment with them. When my classmates would go out for lunch or something after an exam, I'd go home and spend that time with my wife and kid) 5) I took a genuine interest of the material I was learning. I didn't feel it was a burden. I really enjoyed learning this stuff.
The only thing I'd change if I go back in time to Day 1 of medical school is I'd get Firecrackers and invest 30mins of my day doing qs to maintain the knowledge until I got to boards prep time. I should've told those students who advised me to "don't worry about boards until Spring of second year" to shut their mouth.
I think being married made the these past two years much easier. I don't worry about cooking, cleaning, running errands, or even ironing my white coat. My better half takes care of all of that. I'm very efficient with my studying. Up until February (Boards studying started) of the second year, I spent no more than 40hrs on a week on schooling stuff. This includes listening to lectures (FROM HOME!), going to labs, OMM, and studying. I honored nearly every course. I accompanied my wife and kid to Disneyland 3-4x a week, watched TONS of TV (Breaking Bad, Prison Break, GOT, TWD, Dexter, House, Hannible, Lost, and few others I can remember), visited extended family members once a week, and still had time to spend time on SDN.
All that that was possible because 1) I avoided going to school as much as I could (on many occasions I sacrificed easy-earned points so I could stay home) 2) Listened to the lectures online at 2x while taking detailed notes 3) Made sure to limit my notes to one page, singled sided per lecture 4) Reviewed my handwritten notes every night 4) Prioritized my family (I spent every free moment with them. When my classmates would go out for lunch or something after an exam, I'd go home and spend that time with my wife and kid) 5) I took a genuine interest of the material I was learning. I didn't feel it was a burden. I really enjoyed learning this stuff.
The only thing I'd change if I go back in time to Day 1 of medical school is I'd get Firecrackers and invest 30mins of my day doing qs to maintain the knowledge until I got to boards prep time. I should've told those students who advised me to "don't worry about boards until Spring of second year" to shut their mouth.
Any reasons for choosing firecracker over anki? Is the saved time of not having to write your own cards what attracted you to it?
That's a lot of Disneyland lol.
Same here, married, except much less time spent doing fun things. I'm in the top 15% probably, but I definitely work for it. It's a good example that some people will just straight up be more intelligent/better at studying.
I think being married made the these past two years much easier. I don't worry about cooking, cleaning, running errands, or even ironing my white coat. My better half takes care of all of that. I'm very efficient with my studying. Up until February (Boards studying started) of the second year, I spent no more than 40hrs on a week on schooling stuff. This includes listening to lectures (FROM HOME!), going to labs, OMM, and studying. I honored nearly every course. I accompanied my wife and kid to Disneyland 3-4x a week, watched TONS of TV (Breaking Bad, Prison Break, GOT, TWD, Dexter, House, Hannible, Lost, and few others I can remember), visited extended family members once a week, and still had time to spend time on SDN.
All that that was possible because 1) I avoided going to school as much as I could (on many occasions I sacrificed easy-earned points so I could stay home) 2) Listened to the lectures online at 2x while taking detailed notes 3) Made sure to limit my notes to one page, singled sided per lecture 4) Reviewed my handwritten notes every night 4) Prioritized my family (I spent every free moment with them. When my classmates would go out for lunch or something after an exam, I'd go home and spend that time with my wife and kid) 5) I took a genuine interest of the material I was learning. I didn't feel it was a burden. I really enjoyed learning this stuff.
The only thing I'd change if I go back in time to Day 1 of medical school is I'd get Firecrackers and invest 30mins of my day doing qs to maintain the knowledge until I got to boards prep time. I should've told those students who advised me to "don't worry about boards until Spring of second year" to shut their mouth.