Example of the volume in medical school?

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Medical students always allude to the vast quantities of information that must be memorized/learned in medical school, but it's difficult for us "pre-meds" to really get a substantive idea of how much more material must be memorized in medical school classes in contrast to undergrad. science classes.

For example, in the cell biology course I took last fall, each test covered 3-5 chapters and the teacher taught and tested mostly from PowerPoint presentations. Each chapter was divided up into 3 (sometimes 4) separate PowerPoint presentations with each presentation containing approximately 33-45 slides. So most chapters totaled anywhere from 100-140 slides. Tests covered anywhere from 10-13 or 14 PowerPoint presentations total.

For comparison, how much more material tends to be covered in medical school? I'm sure it's much more -- but how much more?
You will cover a semester's-worth in college in like 2 weeks of med school. Don't freak out though, you'll live, and oddly you get really used to it.

It's basically like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. At some point, your mouth just gets bigger.

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Jan. 5th, Buckeye913

!
 
You will cover a semester's-worth in college in like 2 weeks of med school. Don't freak out though, you'll live, and oddly you get really used to it.

It's basically like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. At some point, your mouth just gets bigger.


that doesnt even seem possible. How does a professor cover that much information that quickly? There is only so many hours of lecture. At that pace, the prof can't possible cover everything. So is it mostly just "here is a stack of notes. Ill cover some of it, but you need to know all of it."
 
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that doesnt even seem possible. How does a professor cover that much information that quickly? There is only so many hours of lecture. At that pace, the prof can't possible cover everything. So is it mostly just "here is a stack of notes. Ill cover some of it, but you need to know all of it."

The anatomy course at my undergrad is 2 semesters. We did it in 10 weeks, but that also included Histology which is a 1 semester course at my undergrad.

That's 45 weeks of undergrad crammed into 10 weeks in med school.

They go through the powerpoints (we also got around 80 slides/lecture and ~3 lectures per day) but we are expected to read and study alot after lecture.

Also, in med school, pictures are worth a million words, so a one slide picture contains an absurd amount of information.
 
Does most of the material you need to know come from the PowerPoint presentations, or do you also need to read the textbook chapters?
 
Does most of the material you need to know come from the PowerPoint presentations, or do you also need to read the textbook chapters?

Well, that would depend on the school. Mine come mostly from the notes. However, there are reading assignments, online material, and other supplemental items that find their way onto tests, depending on the lecture. A safe bet is to review the learning objectives for each lecture and to make sure you understand the related concepts using notes and whatever else is required or supplemental.
 
Spicedmama, did you have an idea of how you wanted to start studying when you entered med school? Or did you just use a trial and error approach?

Well, a little of both, perhaps. When I began medical school, I simply tried to study everything, which, of course just about killed me. I read all of the reading assignments, which amounted to hundreds of pages per lecture, made extensive notes (or the like), and studied the powerpoints. I focused a lot on thoroughly understanding all of the material. It worked and I did very well, but it was a lot of effort, because it wasn't very pin-point. I got a little burned out by the end of the first section. Later, I got better at figuring out what was clearly necessary (for the exams) and I dialed down the studying to a manageable amount. Instead of reading everything, etc., I got better at finding the "diamonds in the mountains of coal." Also, I discovered how awesome the board review books were and used them readily; that saved me a lot of time and effort. Eventually, I developed the study method that I have described in one of my previous posts. I do fairly well with it. I'm a B+/B student, which I'm okay with.

I have very poor study habits and this needs to change. Mostly I start studying a few days before the exam, do well, and forget everything afterwards.

If you study like that in medical school, you are going to be setting yourself up for failure. In my humble opinion, one of the keys to success is consistent study and review. Stay on top of the material. If you get behind, you'll pay a heavy price, either by needing to spend extra time (that you don't have) catching up, or by performing poorly. Getting behind throws everything off. You'll realize this fairly quickly and adapt. Those who don't, generally do poorly.

I'd recommend playing a more conservative game at the onset of medical school and putting in your top effort. Then, as you adapt, become more efficient, and learn more about how to learn, you will automatically dial your effort to an appropriate level. I know where I can push the edges now and can create a bit more time for myself to do other things.

Was there a counselor at your school who dealt with study habits or something similar? If so, did you know anyone who spoke with that person when school started or later?
Thanks

Yeah, our school keeps track of your performance. If they think you aren't doing well, they will intervene. There is a director of learning enhancement and he's the one in charge of this kind of stuff. Also, we have tutors for just about every subject, free of charge.
 
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i like how everyone thinks your username is spicedmama...

anyways, back to the topic, someone mentioned anatomy courses before
my undergrad anatomy course was 1 semester about 15 weeks
the anatomy course that i took as part of my masters was 7 weeks but it wasn't as intensive as the med school anatomy courses i'm sure
MSUCOM has a 6 week summer anatomy course before med school starts...hopefully my previous anatomy courses helped somewhat...but i'm sure i'm in for a rude awakening
 
Spiced is very correct in that you don't want to get behind. It takes a lot more time to catch up than stay on top of things. Granted, it is easier at times to get caught up, but generally, stay on top of much as possible. Ideally, your weekends should consist of review time mostly, but unfortunately, for myself, it doesn't always work out that way. The biggest "welcome to med school" moment I had last year was when I began looking forward to weekends to get caught up with school. That is an odd feeling :)

Another way of looking at how semesters are in med school is this: normal undergrad semester hours are usually about 15 hours or so....med school is about 30 hours per semester. So we are getting 4 years worth of material in 2 years, or a year's worth of information per semester.
 
You also eventually come to terms with the fact that you cannot know and cannot do EVERYTHING that is "required" of you. I started out trying to review ppt lectures and do assigned readings. The readings were boring, low yield and did not stick at all. I was miserable. As soon as I realized everything we need to know is presented in the slides, cut out the unnecessary readings (I still refer to books when necessary or for clarification/supplementation), I was a much happier camper.

As I mentioned, you can't know everything. So, if you have a 1 hour lecture (= 2 to 4 questions) on something extremely difficult, sometimes it makes sense to take a hit on a question or two instead of wasting hours on this topic that could be spent getting easier points. High yield is the operative term here.

Of course, the caveats to this approach are that one feels guilty skipping anything because you want to know as much as possible to be the best doc you can, but you just cannot stay sane and try to know all the minutiae.
 
i like how everyone thinks your username is spicedmama...

Haha I just realized I have been calling spicedmanna the wrong name for awhile now. It's funny how you can easily glimpse over a cluster of letters and assume you have the word correct. Sorry about that.

I think the one advantage for me is I have recongnized my flaws in studying way ahead of the start of school so I can at least think about a plan of attack. I know that more than likely this plan will change, but it will give me something to think about over the next ~8 months. I'm just glad I don't have to worry about getting accepted somewhere anymore. Thanks for all the great responses and the positive encouragement.
 
Don't worry, you will discover totally new flaws in studying once you get started.
 
Don't worry, you will discover totally new flaws in studying once you get started.

LOL. I have told myself outloud to freakin slow down because I get going sooo fast. (more so on sat. when I wanna watch football all afternoon)
 
Heres a quick way to get a feel for the volume of medical school.....Take a look at texastriathletes posts per day before medical school, and then take a look at them now (vacation doesnt count)
 
I wish the pre-med OP didn't start this thread :(

When I read the stories of you medical students and your ability to study and compare it to my undergrad ability, its like like comparing a 400 pound powerlifter to a 12 year old kid....

I study and do well in all my undergrad science classes, but I assure you, I DO NOT STUDY DAY AND NIGHT....of course I don't because I don't have to, the big question is would I study day and night IF I HAD TO? only time will tell lol

I look at myself today, and I can tell you, I DO NOT HAVE your capabilities, and it kinda upsets me, I am trying to prepare for MCATs now (while working fulltime and starting this january, will have 17 credits of mostly upper level sciences), and I can't do more than 2 hrs of MCAT a day (I can probebly do 5-6 if I was like you guys, but it just..... aghhhh Im getting angry now, I am going to go study for the MCAT, its 1:25 AM !!!!)
 
I wish the pre-med OP didn't start this thread :(

When I read the stories of you medical students and your ability to study and compare it to my undergrad ability, its like like comparing a 400 pound powerlifter to a 12 year old kid....

I study and do well in all my undergrad science classes, but I assure you, I DO NOT STUDY DAY AND NIGHT....of course I don't because I don't have to, the big question is would I study day and night IF I HAD TO? only time will tell lol

I look at myself today, and I can tell you, I DO NOT HAVE your capabilities, and it kinda upsets me, I am trying to prepare for MCATs now (while working fulltime and starting this january, will have 17 credits of mostly upper level sciences), and I can't do more than 2 hrs of MCAT a day (I can probebly do 5-6 if I was like you guys, but it just..... aghhhh Im getting angry now, I am going to go study for the MCAT, its 1:25 AM !!!!)

Tackling the MCAT is another milestone you need to accomplish before you can begin thinking about tackling med school. If you're always worried about the next step, you'll be too freaked out to master the current one that you're actually expected to handle!

What I mean is that a high schooler can't know the difficulty of being pre med in college, a freshman doesn't know what it's like to take a full course load and kill the MCAT, and a recent med school acceptance doesn't mean you know what it will take to study for and crush the boards in a couple of years.

The point of this thread is that "You figure it out." So, Nasem, go crush the MCAT and stop worrying about how much material med school consists of. Baby steps. :)
 
I wish the pre-med OP didn't start this thread :(

When I read the stories of you medical students and your ability to study and compare it to my undergrad ability, its like like comparing a 400 pound powerlifter to a 12 year old kid....

I study and do well in all my undergrad science classes, but I assure you, I DO NOT STUDY DAY AND NIGHT....of course I don't because I don't have to, the big question is would I study day and night IF I HAD TO? only time will tell lol

I look at myself today, and I can tell you, I DO NOT HAVE your capabilities, and it kinda upsets me, I am trying to prepare for MCATs now (while working fulltime and starting this january, will have 17 credits of mostly upper level sciences), and I can't do more than 2 hrs of MCAT a day (I can probebly do 5-6 if I was like you guys, but it just..... aghhhh Im getting angry now, I am going to go study for the MCAT, its 1:25 AM !!!!)


I was in the exact same boat before med school. I never studied like I do know....never. But you know you have to do it to keep up. You will definitely learn studying lessons along way....med school's fun way of cracking you upside the head. For example, during my first semester, I took 2 weekends off in a row.....did nothing. I took me 2 weeks to catch up for slacking off for 4 days....not fun looking at lectures the first time the night before the exam. So don't worry, you'll adjust, its the nature of the beast.
 
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Heres a quick way to get a feel for the volume of medical school.....Take a look at texastriathletes posts per day before medical school, and then take a look at them now (vacation doesnt count)

:laugh::lol:

Excellent observation, ryserr.
 
Medical students always allude to the vast quantities of information that must be memorized/learned in medical school, but it's difficult for us "pre-meds" to really get a substantive idea of how much more material must be memorized in medical school classes in contrast to undergrad. science classes.

For example, in the cell biology course I took last fall, each test covered 3-5 chapters and the teacher taught and tested mostly from PowerPoint presentations. Each chapter was divided up into 3 (sometimes 4) separate PowerPoint presentations with each presentation containing approximately 33-45 slides. So most chapters totaled anywhere from 100-140 slides. Tests covered anywhere from 10-13 or 14 PowerPoint presentations total.

For comparison, how much more material tends to be covered in medical school? I'm sure it's much more -- but how much more?

Well there certainly is a lot of activity in this thread but I'll add something I don't think anyone touched on yet and keep it relatively shorter than my usual posts. One thing TT said that is absolutely true whatever you're doing in UG it will probably change when you get to medical school.

Medical school requires a lot more work than undergrad. How much? It took me 4 years to get my undergrad degree complete with 128 credit hours. By the end of my first year of medical school I will have logged over 100 credit hours. I don't think I need to elaborate on the fact that pharmacology and pathology are a bit more demanding than undergrad philosophy and economics.

I also attend a PBL school so it will be different than the LDP schools. Compare the 3-5 chapter cell biology test with 3 PBL exams each with over 30 chapters with zero powerpoints. As many have already mentioned though it's near impossible to explain the changes you go through upon starting medical school. It will require more work than you ever put into any undergrad class, but everyone else around you is doing the same thing and you adapt quickly. Well, that is if you plan on sticking around :rolleyes:.
 
Don't worry about it. It's not as bad as it sounds. You'll work your ass off, and bitch about it all the time, but you'll be able to handle it.

While I haven't started med school yet, I look at it this way...

If you started doing 200 situps a day, it would suck balls for a while. But after enough time passed, you'd be doing 300 or 400 easy.

Now, imagine those situps are in your Brain!
 
While I haven't started med school yet, I look at it this way...

If you started doing 200 situps a day, it would suck balls for a while. But after enough time passed, you'd be doing 300 or 400 easy.

Now, imagine those situps are in your Brain!

Naw, it's a little bit more complex and difficult than that. It's more like being thrown into Special Forces training...or at least the academic equivalent. It has, I am told, a similar level of intensity.
 
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