class attendance and study skills

[stwei]

Is there anyone in the MD/Phd program who skips classes? I wonder how you would do it if your comprehensive exam is based on materials covered in the lecture?

Also, does anyone here make questions of their own in order to prep themselves for exams, and if so, how many on the average? Do you make up your own first order questions and then hit the review books for second order and third order questions or the other way around?

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[surge]

I haven't been to class since October. But I'm at Yale where our 'exams' are not exactly typical, so I wouldn't use myself as an example.
I spend my time in the hospital and studying on my own.
As far as the second part of your post goes - no, I don't do that.

 

[Neuronix]

I rarely go to class, only to lab, where I feel I learn much more. I learn by reading the material that's given to us, consulting textbooks or other online sources, and once and awhile I watch a lecture online.

When I was an undergrad I did all sorts of methods to help myself remember stuff. Now that I'm in med school there's just too much material to try to know 100%, so I just learn what I can from reading and move on.

 

[Alexs42]

Depends on what works for you. I've found that going to classes actually wastes my time. I only go to required classes and certain classes which interest me. Otherwise, it is much more time-efficient to read the notes and study them with appropriate supplementary material. I've studied for a lot of my classes less than the actual alloted class time, hence they were an utter waste of time. Now for some classes it is helpfull, so talk to your seniors and figure out which lectures are high-yield and interesting to go to, and make an informed decision.
Good luck

 

[coldchemist]

This sounds great, as I do most of my learning independently. But doesn't it make the faculty nervous when most of the students don't show up to class?

 

[Doctor&Geek]

This sounds great, as I do most of my learning independently. But doesn't it make the faculty nervous when most of the students don't show up to class?

Not nervous, but frustrated.

 

[ImmunoANT]

I rarely go to class...

yeah, your classmates did tell me that about you.

 

[Neuronix]

My classmates also seem to think I never study and that in general I'm a lazy SOB. It's not true darnit!!!

PS: Girlfriend says: "Yeah it is."

 

[ATLien1224]

Yo I go to pretty much all my classes. But then I don't touch a book until 4 days before the exam. I think it's a more effective use of my time to go and see material taught...but different strokes for different folks. Some of the other MD/PhDs have competitive class-skipping and prefer the books to lecturers. I think the key is having the option of whether to go or not (i.e. no 8 am PBL)...once you're in med school I think you're old enough to make independent choices in determing your learning style.