Do I need to pre-study before medical school starts?

[curiousbunnie2019]

I've been out of school for two years now and med school starts next week. Do I need to do any pre-studying? And do the concepts build off of each other? I'm hoping instructors go over foundations and such beforehand. I'm especially worried about anatomy & physiology, since I've never them.

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[Schwifty]

I’m starting classes next week too. I know of a few people who pre studied so far, but not many. Yes the concepts will build off each other. Not sure what school you are going to but my first class is literally called Scientific Foundations of Medicine. Also, most incoming students have not taken anatomy or physiology, so I wouldn’t worry about not taking it.

 

[BunnyMan17]

The first module will cover the basics and in theory bring everyone up to speed if they weren't already. Yes, the concepts build off each other but that's gonna be true in any field.
There really is no amount of prestudying that will significantly prepare you for med school, especially in a week. Enjoy your time off, go to the beach, get your administrative ducks in a row, and bank as many mental sanity points as you can.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

No.

No.

Also, no.

Instead of pre-studying, spend time familiarizing yourself with third party resources (Anki, Zanki, Pathoma, FA, B&B, Lightyear, Qbanks, etc.)

Make a game plan for each day of the week, including diet, exercise, shopping, showering, personal time, class time, studying, etc.

Once you get everything in place, execute from day one.

This is what I wish I would have done.

 

[DTX_1212]

No, things move at such a fast pace once classes get started that any amount of pre studying just isn’t worth the lost free time. I second working on logistical things like planning out a schedule, becoming familiar with resources and maybe reading up on school/exam policies.

 

[swissnational]

There’s not much you can do at this point. I agree with the above just familiarize yourself with all of the highly recommended third party resources.

 

[takeurmeds02]

4th year here. Absolutely not. I know you're excited. We've all been there but please take this time to enjoy being bored. Enjoy sitting around. Enjoy traveling, family, friends, anything else other than medicine.

Someone above mentioned making a game plan. I honestly wouldn't even do that because you have no idea what your schedule will look like - it's not worth the effort. You'll have time to settle in, make a schedule, and start introducing other study resources. The fact that you'd be starting during your 1st year is early enough in itself. None of this needs to be done beforehand.

Medical school is marathon; don't tire yourself out before you even get started.

 

[Goro]

I've been out of school for two years now and med school starts next week. Do I need to do any pre-studying? And do the concepts build off of each other? I'm hoping instructors go over foundations and such beforehand. I'm especially worried about anatomy & physiology, since I've never them.

Nope. In fact, it would be stupid.

 

[wanderingorion]

Uh, no.

 

[Deecee2DO]

I've been out of school for two years now and med school starts next week. Do I need to do any pre-studying? And do the concepts build off of each other? I'm hoping instructors go over foundations and such beforehand. I'm especially worried about anatomy & physiology, since I've never them.

Dont prestudy. Enjoy ur time off. Most schools do fundamentals the first 1-2 blocks

 

[Deecee2DO]

I’m starting classes next week too. I know of a few people who pre studied so far, but not many. Yes the concepts will build off each other. Not sure what school you are going to but my first class is literally called Scientific Foundations of Medicine. Also, most incoming students have not taken anatomy or physiology, so I wouldn’t worry about not taking it.

Most incoming students havent taken physio? Is this true? lol thats a pretty important class for med school

 

[DrRedstone]

You don't know how to study for medical school yet. Imagine trying to study for an advanced music composition class (apologies if you do know this already). You don't know what matters and what doesn't, so you can't study well for it.

 

[Schwifty]

Most incoming students havent taken physio? Is this true? lol thats a pretty important class for med school

From all the schools I interviewed at, and talking with people/friends at other med schools, about 60-70% have not taken anatomy/physio

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I've been out of school for two years now and med school starts next week. Do I need to do any pre-studying? And do the concepts build off of each other? I'm hoping instructors go over foundations and such beforehand. I'm especially worried about anatomy & physiology, since I've never them.

I was out of school for 2 years, had a slightly below avg MCAT, and hadn't taken any 300/400 level life science classes or any anatomy classes. Finished M1 in the middle of the pack and have done just fine with grades and prepping for boards. Med school is a different beast.

 

[CidHighwind]

People saying that med school moves “too fast” are slightly exaggerating. It’s tough, but not ridiculous. I would familiarize yourself with some study resources, and if they tell you what chapters are covered the first few days of class, maybe spending some time beforehand to get a “study routine” going might be beneficial. You aren’t going to learn the whole semester in a few weeks, but getting back in the flow of studying before school starts and you get behind might be worth it.

 

[gyngyn]

Please don't.
Improve your Spanish if you want to learn something useful.

 

[deleted967981]

Tomorrow is my last day of orientation. Some useful tips from a brand new OMS-1.

Move in as early as you can and get settled. Go ahead and handle all your new location paperwork, forwarding mail, new bank accounts, automatic drafts, etc.

If you’re getting a new computer or the school is issuing you one, spend an afternoon getting it set up. Email, bookmarks, Anki, etc.

Do a good grocery shopping and toiletry run. Learn some simple go to recipes, stock up on staples.

Get into a workout routine now, before school starts!

Be prepared to be overwhelmed during orientation. There’s loads of new information to take in every day, lots of new faces you’ll be trying to learn, and if you’re an introvert, it’s exhausting. Plan some recharge time if you need it and don’t feel guilty about not attending every pickup basketball game posted on the class fb page.

 

[emergentmd]

What would you tell a HS student to do that is starting College soon? There is your answer.

 

[nimbus]

Too late now

 

[Osteosaur]

No.

They assume you know nothing. You're there to learn the stuff.

 

[Premed2295]

Figure out how you learn if you aren’t already aware.

Then just relax and enjoy being with your loved ones.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

You haven't done all of UFAPS yet?...

RIP.

 

[7331poas]

Gonna disagree with everyone here. I think the new wave is going to be maturing zanki before school.

If I could do it again, I would mature zanki ahead of time. Then during preclinical I would learn clerkship material and research full time. Then during clerkship I would be capable of maintaining research output.

This is the new future, especially under a P/F step 1 where you will be measured by research output, not by your knowledge so to speak.

 

[NickNaylor]

No, it will be a waste of time.

 

[Dave1980]

100% no.

Also you should party this week.

 

[swissnational]

Gonna disagree with everyone here. I think the new wave is going to be maturing zanki before school.

If I could do it again, I would mature zanki ahead of time. Then during preclinical I would learn clerkship material and research full time. Then during clerkship I would be capable of maintaining research output.

This is the new future, especially under a P/F step 1 where you will be measured by research output, not by your knowledge so to speak.

I agree with you, IF he had more than a week. You mature anything on Anki in a week, you need 21 days at least (1+3+5+12 method). With that being said, my plan is pretty much what you’ve laid out lol I’ve gone ahead and matured parts of Zanki already in anticipation of P/F step 1.

 

[swissnational]

100% no.

Also you should party this week.

I agree. Get lit and black out once or twice. Do some molly and X unless you’re going to WashU where they drug test the first day. Jk please don’t do that.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Gonna disagree with everyone here. I think the new wave is going to be maturing zanki before school.

If I could do it again, I would mature zanki ahead of time. Then during preclinical I would learn clerkship material and research full time. Then during clerkship I would be capable of maintaining research output.

This is the new future, especially under a P/F step 1 where you will be measured by research output, not by your knowledge so to speak.

You might be on to something here...

From day one of PGY-1 you can start moonlighting, then move on to learning fellowship material...

In fellowship, you can start working in said specialty and training new fellows...

Finally, as an attending, you can have a head start on your retirement and drink Margaritas in a floral button-down while you place stents/scope anuses/perform procedure or clinical work of your choosing.

 

[Ho0v-man]

You might be on to something here...

From day one of PGY-1 you can start moonlighting, then move on to learning fellowship material...

In fellowship, you can start working in said specialty and training new fellows...

Finally, as an attending, you can have a head start on your retirement and drink Margaritas in a floral button-down while you place stents/scope anuses/perform procedure or clinical work of your choosing.

Yeah. Maybe in North Dakota.

OP, if you weren’t doing open heart surgery before you submitted your secondaries then you’re already too far behind for anyone to help you.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Gonna disagree with everyone here. I think the new wave is going to be maturing zanki before school.

If I could do it again, I would mature zanki ahead of time. Then during preclinical I would learn clerkship material and research full time. Then during clerkship I would be capable of maintaining research output.

This is the new future, especially under a P/F step 1 where you will be measured by research output, not by your knowledge so to speak.

Please tell me you're joking - this is the worst bit of advice on this whole thread. This is the extreme of rote memorization. You have absolutely no context for anything you're trying to remember.

 

[7331poas]

Please tell me you're joking - this is the worst bit of advice on this whole thread. This is the extreme of rote memorization. You have absolutely no context for anything you're trying to remember.

Medical school does not provide any context either. If I had two years completely responsiblity free, and you sat me in a room with nothing but boards and beyond, pathoma, costazano, robbins, and zanki, I could easily have more "context" than a class-attender.

 

[Sterling_Archer]

No. Go to the beach and have a beer.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Medical school does not provide any context either. If I had two years completely responsiblity free, and you sat me in a room with nothing but boards and beyond, pathoma, costazano, robbins, and zanki, I could easily have more "context" than a class-attender.

This thread was never about how you'd learn medicine in a perfect world. You suggested starting and maturing a deck that's meant to be review material for almost two years worth of information.

Again, worst advice and a waste of time.

 

[7331poas]

This thread was never about how you'd learn medicine in a perfect world. You suggested starting and maturing a deck that's meant to be review material for almost two years worth of information.

Again, worst advice and a waste of time.

Almost no one uses zanki (or costanzo pathoma etc) as "review material". The people who use it, including me, use it while still in pre-clinical.

Sure you can be a good boy and wait until school starts, but I always stayed about 1 month ahead of the class in terms of progress through the zanki deck and I am so glad I did. Freed up so much time for research.

 

[Sharpie STAT]

Almost no one uses zanki (or costanzo pathoma etc) as "review material". The people who use it, including me, use it while still in pre-clinical.

Sure you can be a good boy and wait until school starts, but I always stayed about 1 month ahead of the class in terms of progress through the zanki deck and I am so glad I did. Freed up so much time for research.

My dude, I'm as all-aboard on the Anki train as can be, but there is a massive difference between staying 1 month ahead of class via Zanki and "maturing Zanki before schools starts" lol get real

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Almost no one uses zanki (or costanzo pathoma etc) as "review material". The people who use it, including me, use it while still in pre-clinical.

Sure you can be a good boy and wait until school starts, but I always stayed about 1 month ahead of the class in terms of progress through the zanki deck and I am so glad I did. Freed up so much time for research.

How does being ahead a month free up all this time..? Wouldn't you just have more cards per day to keep up with than if you were following along with your curriculum?

 

[7331poas]

How does being ahead a month free up all this time..? Wouldn't you just have more cards per day to keep up with than if you were following along with your curriculum?

No because doing the cards earlier -> mature the cards quicker.

Also if you are one month ahead you are still moving at the same place as anyone else, just 1 month earlier.

 

[7331poas]

My dude, I'm as all-aboard on the Anki train as can be, but there is a massive difference between staying 1 month ahead of class via Zanki and "maturing Zanki before schools starts" lol get real

Right, and I am saying I would have been even better off if I was 6 months ahead (or even more).

 

[Sharpie STAT]

Right, and I am saying I would have been even better off if I was 6 months ahead (or even more).

You’re behind if you don’t mature Zanki by 8th grade

 

[Ho0v-man]

Sattar is my father. My whole birth was high yield. So enjoy primary care, scrubs.

 

[7331poas]

You’re behind if you don’t mature Zanki by 8th grade

A strawman is not a good way to refute my argument. I absolutely do not think you are "behind" if you dont have zanki matured by the start of M1. I am saying that it is a very very good position to be in.

 

[DarkHorizon]

Yes, big Robbins, cover to cover, twice.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Sattar is my father. My whole birth was high yield. So enjoy primary care, scrubs.

Very high yield

 

[sella.turcica]

Hell no. Enjoy your life while it lasts. Soon you'll be giving away your freedom, no need to rush it.

 

[sallyhasanidea]

Easy algorithm for if you should mature zanki before school:

1. Do you have GF? If yes, then don't mature
2. If you don't have GF then mature

 

[Sharpie STAT]

A strawman is not a good way to refute my argument. I absolutely do not think you are "behind" if you dont have zanki matured by the start of M1. I am saying that it is a very very good position to be in.

Its not a strawman argument, it’s a joke lol. Look, if you want to tell your friends and others to mature Zanki before medical school starts, go for it. But I’m going to disagree 100%, and I think you’re in the minority with your viewpoint.

Maturing Zanki before medical school would mean you would have to start Zanki at least 1 year before applying to medical school. This means you’re either doing it during undergrad or during a gap year, both of which sound ridiculous. The material in Zanki is based off of Costanzo Physiology, Pathoma, and First Aid. This is not easy material at all. I cringe thinking about a premed using their free time to grind all of this before med school even starts, or they’re even accepted for that matter lmao.

Then, let’s say you’ve “matured Zanki before school starts”. Now what? You’re just going to keep up with reviews for 1.5-2 years until dedicated? Start UWorld from Day 1 of M1? Where does it end?

My argument is this: your time before medical school is best spent relaxing, traveling, having fun, playing video games, having a beer, and hanging out with good people. I would personally not advice slaving over a spacebar for 1+ year during the last truly free months of your life. There will be plenty of time to learn all of that material DURING MEDICAL SCHOOL and still crush Step 1.

If this still doesn’t convince you, Godspeed and best of luck

 

[ChicagoBear]

Here is a counterpoint to the SDN conventional wisdom. The University of Iowa actually pays accepted medical students to attend its Introduction to Medical Education Program the summer before M1. There is no tuition charged and you are given a $3,100 stipend to cover rent, books etc. While open to all accepted students, there is limited enrollment. It is targeted for and priority is given to non-traditional students, non-science majors and those with below mean average stats. etc.

Introduction to Medical Education at Iowa | MD Program

Program Information Recognizing that a smooth transition to medical school enhances a student’s educational experiences, the Carver College of Medicine offers Introduction to Medical Education at Iowa (IMEI) to admitted medical students. Through a variety of educational formats, including large...

medicine.uiowa.edu

 

[sallyhasanidea]

My argument is this: your time before medical school is best spent relaxing, traveling, having fun, playing video games, having a beer, and hanging out with good people. I would personally not advice slaving over a spacebar for 1+ year during the last truly free months of your life. There will be plenty of time to learn all of that material DURING MEDICAL SCHOOL and still crush Step 1.

And herein lies the answer for whether or not you should study before med school.

Does you life suck [no friends, no money to travel, don't drink, no gf] ---> then study, you have nothing better to do
Does your life not suck [friends, money, drink, gf] ---> then don't study, go enjoy your life

Personally, my life sucked before, during and likely it will continue to suck after medical school. So instead of sitting on my ass doing nothing, wallowing in my sorrow about no gf before medical school I should have grinded the **** out of bros (there was no zanki at that time) and taken step 1 after 1st year of medical school. But each his own, I've found studying a good way to pass the time, so to all premeds reading this; there was a lot of memeing about introspection when I was applying, not sure if there still is. But do some introspection and figure out whether or not you hate your life. I hated my life so much I would have preferred studying, and I continue to hate my life so much that I prefer studying to doing anything else.

All of you people with wonderful lives need to stop assuming everybody's life is as good as yours, my life sucks, and if your life sucks too I recommend you study. It's a good way to pass the time.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

And herein lies the answer for whether or not you should study before med school.

Does you life suck [no friends, no money to travel, don't drink, no gf] ---> then study, you have nothing better to do
Does your life not suck [friends, money, drink, gf] ---> then don't study, go enjoy your life

Personally, my life sucked before, during and likely it will continue to suck after medical school. So instead of sitting on my ass doing nothing, wallowing in my sorrow about no gf before medical school I should have grinded the **** out of bros (there was no zanki at that time) and taken step 1 after 1st year of medical school. But each his own, I've found studying a good way to pass the time, so to all premeds reading this; there was a lot of memeing about introspection when I was applying, not sure if there still is. But do some introspection and figure out whether or not you hate your life. I hated my life so much I would have preferred studying, and I continue to hate my life so much that I prefer studying to doing anything else.

All of you people with wonderful lives need to stop assuming everybody's life is as good as yours, my life sucks, and if your life sucks too I recommend you study. It's a good way to pass the time.

Sounds like your life sucks because that's how you've structured it.

 

[Dro133]

And herein lies the answer for whether or not you should study before med school.

Does you life suck [no friends, no money to travel, don't drink, no gf] ---> then study, you have nothing better to do
Does your life not suck [friends, money, drink, gf] ---> then don't study, go enjoy your life

Personally, my life sucked before, during and likely it will continue to suck after medical school. So instead of sitting on my ass doing nothing, wallowing in my sorrow about no gf before medical school I should have grinded the **** out of bros (there was no zanki at that time) and taken step 1 after 1st year of medical school. But each his own, I've found studying a good way to pass the time, so to all premeds reading this; there was a lot of memeing about introspection when I was applying, not sure if there still is. But do some introspection and figure out whether or not you hate your life. I hated my life so much I would have preferred studying, and I continue to hate my life so much that I prefer studying to doing anything else.

All of you people with wonderful lives need to stop assuming everybody's life is as good as yours, my life sucks, and if your life sucks too I recommend you study. It's a good way to pass the time.

Dude, take it from someone who's life sucked before medical school and during most of medical school, and who is only now starting to turn it around into a less sucky life: it doesn't have to be this way. You can consciously make your life less sucky if you really want to, especially if you live in/near a decent-sized city.