Dude, if it's any consolation, MOST people feel this way about Ochem. In fact, I'm surprised there isn't some kind of support group on here for people getting through it. But maybe it would take too much time away from studying ochem... lol.
I just finished a 10 week ochem I class and am about to start ochem II in the fall. I squeaked out an A (just barely, but did it!). Here's what I did:
--spent 15-20 hours per week studying (literally every spare moment)
--figured out what
@Dral above said--I'm an audio-visual learner, so I needed someone to talk me through each concept and do problems on a whiteboard while I followed along. So I watched every video imaginable on YouTube about how to draw different projections, understand different mechanisms, whatever I needed to learn, etc. My professor's lectures were filled with interesting but ultimately unhelpful stories about working in a chemistry lab and not a lot of help for learning how to master the material. Which I am told is pretty much the way it is with ochem professors. You're expected to figure it all out on your own. Fun!
--worked through the Ochem as a Second Language book (but I found the problem sets a good start, but ultimately too easy for the difficulty level of the class I was in)
--tried to find as much practice material as possible online and in the book
--wrote notes actively while going through material
--used models a little, mainly to help understand symmetry/chirality and some of the conformations. I found Leah4Sci's videos on how to use the model kit moderately helpful, though I think her model kit is aesthetically ugly.
This was one of the most active learning experiences I've ever had. I can see why even if the material is only marginally relevant to the actual practice of medicine (and from asking the docs I know about how much ochem they use in their daily practice, their expression tells me all I need to know) because it is incredibly overwhelming and there is SO MUCH TO LEARN. At times I felt like I was learning the rules to an extremely arcane game that I would never actually get to play.
Also agree very much with spaced repetition. You can't download this stuff in an afternoon. You have to do 1-2 hours per day (or more, if you have the time). And for those who say there is no "memorization" in ochem (like my professor), piss off. The entire thing is remembering the most nit-picky details and being able to apply them.
It also helped me to identify a stepwise strategy for every single thing I might be confronted with on an exam and then put it into practice. OK--newman projection--how do I analyze that? Step 1, identify the front carbon and the attachments, Step 2, etc etc
Pushing Electrons by Weeks is also highly recommended for understanding mechanisms. There are also a lot of services online that you can purchase--MasteringOrganicChemistry, Leah4Sci, Orgo Made Easy, etc. Some might really be worth the money.
Anyway, feel free to DM me if you have more questions. I clearly have a lot to say! Lol.
