attending class

[med08]

Hello all:
Just wondering how many of you go to class... At my school it seems to be quite an issue. Those who attend class think the skippers are just slackers--bad, bad people for not following all the rules--but some people find it much more efficient to study on their own. I personally think it just depends on your personal style of learning, but I am curious what you all think about skipping class. Is it lazy? Unprofessional? Smart? Good time management?

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[SkylineMD]

I would recommend trying both techniques out. Personally, I had found that even though I didn't pay attention THAT much during lectures, there were always a few things that would just stick and come in handy during exams. I have also tried not going to classes but I don't really study on my own then either so its bad for me. By going to classes and studying outside of them, my grades went up by an average of 10 points so it just depends on how you study

 

[Rogue_Leader]

You have to decide what method of studying works best for you. I found that assimilating material in med school requires two processes, understanding and memorizing, with the former being the easier of the two. Lecture is good for getting to understand material, like in physiology or endocrinology, where there's a lot of cause and effect relationships you have to learn, as opposed to gross anatomy, where it's a lot of memorizing innervations and blood vessel patterns and stuff. Unless you have a photographic memory, I find there's no need to attend a lecture which just rehashes a bunch of facts you need to cram into your brain.

 

[2TIM4:7]

Skip class if you find yourself sleeping and not paying attention.
Go to class if you've gone over the material first and the content was difficult to understand.
Instead of attending class, i did research...i don't like being couped up in a room for 50 minutes at a time. So, take my advice with a grain of salt.

After some time, you should find out what works best for you.

 

[thackl]

And there is another perspective.......

I get something out of being there. I pay attention and write stuff down. But, when I skip there is sooooooo much free time. The grades drop a bit, but law of diminishing returns tells me the 20-30hrs/wk spent in class aren't worth a few pts on a test.

 

[12R34Y]

hardly ever went to class my first two years. found it much more time friendly to study from 0800-1200 monday through friday and master the material indepth on my own. then to sit through 4 or 5 different lectures and thus waste the entire day without actually sitting down to master the material.
I had a LOT more free time. almost every afternoon and weekend off....except before a test block.

about 1/3 of my classmates did this. I don't know how it worked for me, but i'm in the top 10% of the class and did well on both step 1 and 2.

bottom line do what works for you and don't worry if someone says its unprofessional or that you are "bad".

good luck,

later

 

[Blade28]

I skipped a lot of class during first year, not as many during second year (especially since path was so important!).

 

[JaneDough]

I stopped going to lecture second semester of first year. I found that I liked to talk and do the crossword more that pay attention when I went to class. So, for my sake as well as my class mates, I sequested myself w/ the lecture MP3s and did my own thing. I did much better starting second semester of first year. I don't think using a study style that is different from others makes you unprofessional. Previous to medical school, I never skipped. But we also didn't have our lectures available online in undergrad. If we had, I probably wouldn't have gone then either. The point is, I think that whatever way you collect your info is perfectly valid.

 

[thackl]

I skipped a lot of class during first year, not as many during second year (especially since path was so important!).

I'm considering attending path only (since it's the most important couse of yrs 1 & 2). Looking back, was it a good one to go to?

 

[VitaMedicus]

I don't know how you med students live in the US and in your school (whether you live on campus or have your own apartments). Here in Finland we university students live in our own apartments, and even though I've found studying on my own more efficient than going to lectures, I also realized that when you aren't leaving your apartment for school the treshold for leaving it at all gets significantly higher. Of course it depends on the way you and your friends spend time together, but chances are that school is a university student's (that is, YOUR) #1 place for meeting other people. So if you do choose the road of independent studying, make sure you have enough excuses to get out of your apartment regularly to meet other people, it's hard to believe how easy it is to forget about the world outside those four familiar walls. I've been there, and I can tell you it's not good for you.

Just another point of view.

 

[Blade28]

I'm considering attending path only (since it's the most important couse of yrs 1 & 2). Looking back, was it a good one to go to?

Definitely. Extremely high yield for Step 1, and good knowledge base overall.