Am I screwed?

[closertofine]

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Can I say that? Oh well 😳 My story: I became a major slacker last year (1st year) because of personal problems. The slacking only increased over the course of the year-- I did well early on, and then just pulled it together for the exams, and then barely even did that.

So while I probably got the major concepts of, say, physio, there are other classes that are pretty much a blur. And now that I'm starting 2nd year, I'm wondering if I will be able to "catch up" or somehow manage the new material without having a complete grasp of the old.

The up side is that things are generally going better now, so I think I'll be able to focus and study much better than I did by the end of last year. But still, I don't have the stamina to become gunner-like in my study habits, I don't think.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Zazoo]

you'll be fine. you're through to the second year which is the most important thing.
go over stuff you need to go over as you reach it. don't let yourself burnout, but work steadily and sensibly throughout the year (easy to say, all those good intentions speaking!). you know better than anyone how and what you need to study.
hope that helps, and good luck! 😉

 

[Mike59]

I can totally relate to your situation...I goto a school that is "forgiving" in many ways and I pretty much coasted through my preclinical years without trying very hard. I too lacked much of a knowledge base in physio or many of the other basic sciences. I'd say that there is little to worry about because subjects are so independent- if you bombed anatomy, it's not going to hurt you in pharmacology for example. The Krebs cycle or brachial plexus aren't gonna help when you're being tested on viral replication in micro....

The biggest challenge will be studying for step1. Although your framework may not be the best in some topics, you have time to plow through study materials and come away with the big picture in subjects that aren't your forte. Just pace yourself to try and pick up a few pieces every day. Forget large textbooks and go through small manuals like the made ridiculously simples, NMS, Pretests etc, do lots of practice questions from now.

Be encouraged by the fact that clinical rotations are a whole other animal.. IMHO, gross/biochem/physiology have little utility (not no utility, but "little") when you are more concerned about differential diagnoses, ordering tests to rule things out, looking at Xrays/CTs , etc.

Best of luck, here's to a successful new school year! (where success = pass in my opinon!) 🙂

 

[thackl]

you'll be fine. you're through to the second year which is the most important thing.
go over stuff you need to go over as you reach it. don't let yourself burnout, but work steadily and sensibly throughout the year (easy to say, all those good intentions speaking!). you know better than anyone how and what you need to study.
hope that helps, and good luck! 😉

Good advice.

FWIW, MS1 is a blur even for those who scored well 😉

 

[Energon]

Good advice, make sure the problems that kept you back first year haunt you no more in the second. Also, the second year is most important, and make sure that when you start studying for the boards, you start with a clean slate, dont keep on thinking about how you didnt learn some things the first time around, the past is the past, concentrate on the present.
best of luck... and bring back the audery tatou (sp) avatar asap

 

[TheFlash]

Can I say that? Oh well 😳 My story: I became a major slacker last year (1st year) because of personal problems. The slacking only increased over the course of the year-- I did well early on, and then just pulled it together for the exams, and then barely even did that.

So while I probably got the major concepts of, say, physio, there are other classes that are pretty much a blur. And now that I'm starting 2nd year, I'm wondering if I will be able to "catch up" or somehow manage the new material without having a complete grasp of the old.

The up side is that things are generally going better now, so I think I'll be able to focus and study much better than I did by the end of last year. But still, I don't have the stamina to become gunner-like in my study habits, I don't think.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

you've still got some of the summer time left, so why not use it to brush up on stuff you thought you were weak on? i.e. the best way to do this would be to pick up a copy of First Aid and just browse through it, trying to remember/learn key concepts in the most important subjects.

 

[closertofine]

you've still got some of the summer time left, so why not use it to brush up on stuff you thought you were weak on? i.e. the best way to do this would be to pick up a copy of First Aid and just browse through it, trying to remember/learn key concepts in the most important subjects.

Thanks, you all-- unfortunately, classes start tomorrow for me-- I did do a little reading over the summer, but still less than I should have. I'm going to do everything within my power to keep up with the reading this year, though!

 

[njbmd]

Can I say that? Oh well 😳 My story: I became a major slacker last year (1st year) because of personal problems. The slacking only increased over the course of the year-- I did well early on, and then just pulled it together for the exams, and then barely even did that.

So while I probably got the major concepts of, say, physio, there are other classes that are pretty much a blur. And now that I'm starting 2nd year, I'm wondering if I will be able to "catch up" or somehow manage the new material without having a complete grasp of the old.

The up side is that things are generally going better now, so I think I'll be able to focus and study much better than I did by the end of last year. But still, I don't have the stamina to become gunner-like in my study habits, I don't think.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Hi there,
My medical school had a traditional curriculum so I found that second year was a good review of first year. Pharm was a good review of neuro and biochem; path was a good review of anatomy, physio and histo etc. If your curriculum is systems based, you can probably still review much of your first year stuff in the time before you have to take USMLE Step I. Even if you slacked first year, you passed so the most important stuff is in your brain and a good systematic review can shake it out in time for boards.

Don't worry too much but put your emphasis on doing a good job second year. USMLE is all about path, pharm and physio most importantly. The rest of the stuff is less tested so you can probably rock on the boards even if first year wasn't that great.

Good luck and study smart!
njbmd 🙂

 

[closertofine]

Hi there,
My medical school had a traditional curriculum so I found that second year was a good review of first year. Pharm was a good review of neuro and biochem; path was a good review of anatomy, physio and histo etc. If your curriculum is systems based, you can probably still review much of your first year stuff in the time before you have to take USMLE Step I. Even if you slacked first year, you passed so the most important stuff is in your brain and a good systematic review can shake it out in time for boards.

Don't worry too much but put your emphasis on doing a good job second year. USMLE is all about path, pharm and physio most importantly. The rest of the stuff is less tested so you can probably rock on the boards even if first year wasn't that great.

Good luck and study smart!
njbmd 🙂

Thanks-- fortunately, physio was probably my strongest subject last year-- really I guess I did decently well up until the last several months (neuro and immuno especially suffered the brunt of it!). I am somewhat worried about the boards, but I'm going to try to focus on this year, as you said. It's systems-based here too, so that should help.

As a side note, that's one of the reasons I was asking about which 1st year books to sell and which to keep-- my genetics and immuno books are all like new (because I never opened them!) and I'd like to sell them, but I know it would be nice to find the time to read them before boards (but that seems near-impossible), so I don't know.

Sorry to get off track-- there is another issue that makes me worried about how I'll do with memorizing all the info this year (I won't go into detail here, but you can PM me if you want)-- hopefully trying to understand everything well and know the big concepts will help me hang on to the more detailed fact stuff too. Thanks for the post!

 

[closertofine]

Good advice, make sure the problems that kept you back first year haunt you no more in the second. Also, the second year is most important, and make sure that when you start studying for the boards, you start with a clean slate, dont keep on thinking about how you didnt learn some things the first time around, the past is the past, concentrate on the present.
best of luck... and bring back the audery tatou (sp) avatar asap

Thanks-- yeah, I'm doing my best to avoid the same problems this year as I had last year. I think concentrating on the present sounds like a good strategy-- I'm going to try at least.

You don't think the Audrey Tatou (sp?) avatar got a little old after a while? 😛

 

[Zazoo]

As a side note, that's one of the reasons I was asking about which 1st year books to sell and which to keep-- my genetics and immuno books are all like new (because I never opened them!) and I'd like to sell them, but I know it would be nice to find the time to read them before boards (but that seems near-impossible), so I don't know.

Sorry to get off track-- there is another issue that makes me worried about how I'll do with memorizing all the info this year (I won't go into detail here, but you can PM me if you want)-- hopefully trying to understand everything well and know the big concepts will help me hang on to the more detailed fact stuff too. Thanks for the post!

i personally haven't sold off any books from previous years- but i'm really picky on buying books, so they end up being v useful. i still refer back to them now - not every day, but i find it useful to have a book on hand if i need it. genetics and immunology are important areas!
if you're not sure, begin second year and see how it goes. if you then find you really dont need those books and can get the info you need elsewhere, then sell 'em.
its terms of memorizing... i think its something everyone dislikes! find a way you find useful. i've recently rediscovered the benefits of the 'look, cover, write, check' method (look at the word, cover it up, write the word, check the word) i was taught when learning how to spell at the tender age of 7! basically i make a mind map of an area, then try to recreate it, then see what i missed. time consuming, but works well. another way is using question and answer books. read a topic, then test yourself. if you can do the questions with a like-minded friend, thats even better!
you seem to be worrying alot. don't. take it as it comes, as long as your working throughout the year, you'll be absolutely fine! you'll be surprised at how much you take in.