Engineers...

[megadon]

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I was mech E, then did seven years in submarines running a reactor and engine room. Med school is the hardest thing I have ever done. I liked physiology a lot, but that is probably because it seemed to be the most engineering like stuff we did. This happens, causes this to be released, which dampens first thing. Granted you have to memorize all the names of stuff and what they do, which is where it gets hard. Pharmacology, like the course, my grade sucks. It's the same deal, but you have to learn 100 drugs at a time. Agonist does this, check, antagonist does this, check, got it. Hard part, if you don't know the name, you don't know which class its in.

So the two hardest things, the volume of info, and memorizing it all. That way when you they ask you on a test some little caveat, you know it, cause the answer is not found by multiplying by root mean squared.

 

[Captain Nemo]

Man am I glad to find this thread. I'm a ME grad who was also premed throughout undergrad. It was always difficult balancing the two learning styles needed for engineering and biology. I think the active problem solving involved in engineering is actually why organic chem, the only non-engineering premed course I did really well in, came so naturally to me: sure you had to learn the different chemical reactions and mechanisms, but beyond that, you were free to use creative problem solving techniques to create a given compound. I will be starting med school in the fall and I was hoping it would be similar. But from what most of you all are saying, it will require changing the game a little bit. I thank all of you for making us future engineering-to-medical students aware of this, so I can now come in aware of potential areas where I will need to focus. We engineers are of a different, curious, breed. My biggest fear about medical school is having my engineering training lead me to want to know more about anything interesting or ask questions to know more about the mechanisms or underlying patterns; I understand now that I'll need to just get the information down and keep it moving. Too bad there isn't a medical school that takes our approach to learning 😳....

 

[TheRealDrDorian]

I'm EE, starting M1 this fall. I've read through most of the posts, and only read about studying strategies that haven't worked. Does anyone have any things they have tried that have worked and not worked? Just throwing it out there. Thanks in advance.

 

[megadon]

I've got a couple suggestions. First, buy a dry erase board, one that's about the size of your notebook. For learning cell cycle junk, biochem and stuff like that, I found it helpful to just keep writing it down over and over. It will also pay off big time for pharm, when you have to learn 200 drugs at a time. Just writing the name and class over and over helped me learn them.

For other classes, (for me, molecular basis of disease), you can make up a couple flashcards with the high points for each lecture. At our school, each lecture only gets a couple questions.

For gross, read Grey's, reread Grey's, the read it again. And spend a lot of time in lab looking at everything over and over, on different bodies.

Once you make the fundamental realization that you aren't learning problem solving methods, and that you just have to LEARN all of it (memorize), you'll eventually figure out what works for you. Some people listen to lectures over and over (the auditory type people). Some look at picture and diagrams all day long (the visual guys), and some just write it over and over or read it over and over. Whatever repetition works for getting it stuck in your brain.

 

[robh]

Repetition, repetition, repetition. I have to look at something about 3 times to make it stick. Force yourself to engage with the details. It is very easy for my engineering trained brain to say: “ I get it” and move on. I probably did get the concept, but not the details. You need the details in medical school. There isn’t anything magical about this. It’s just a little uncomfortable for most engineers to make this transition.

The bottom line is, you can do it. When you start school in the fall you will probably be so adrenergic that you’ll make up for any deficit by shear energy. You’ll learn to be efficient about that time all that adrenaline wears off. Now that I’ve been here for a year, I think anyone with above average intellegence and an excellent work ethic can succeed in medical school, even engineers like us.