Finished studying several days before the exam...What do I do now?

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Foot Fetish

Foot Fetish

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So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
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Sciengee said:
I wouldn't adopt that attitude until after that first exam, or you may be in for a big wake up call not too far down the line. Good luck.
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I totally agree, man. Don't get me wrong. I'm super risk-averse. That's why I'm continuing to make multiple passes even though it feels like my brain is already saturated.. I'm just worried that there is something that I should be doing that I've overlooked. Ultimately, no matter how prepared I feel, I'm going to end up studying 8+ hours per day this weekend. Overshooting is better than undershooting obviously...But I was just hoping for some insight as to what would be the highest yielding form of review at this point.

LuluLovesMe said:
Uh if you wanna gun, do firecracker/study for Step 1 or find a research project to work on?

I personally would just Netflix binge or play games all day.
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I guess I could crack open First Aid and look at the chapters that correspond with my current exam material. My only concern is overloading my brain with things that won't be on Monday's exam. My sole objective at this point is to ace this first exam.
 
Not really clear what class(es) you have. Do questions from books (BRS, Pretest, other subject specific ones), online sources (specific, firecracker, memorang, anki), etc. Watch review videos/lecture notes (Becker/Kaplan).
 
Foot Fetish said:
So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
Click to expand...

Keep reviewing it.
 
You didn't time it right. Maybe be done the day before and relax the day before, but there is such a thing as peaking too early.

Also, Im sure there are things that if you truly were honest with yourself you could find some weaknesses. Have anything that you hope you don't see on the exam? Study that.
 
Get a step 1 review bank. Don't waste Uworld now, but USMLERx is great for this sort of thing (find a discount code somewhere though). Limit yourself to the questions relevant to the upcoming exam material, but expect your average to be low as many questions will also incorporate material you haven't covered yet. This will help you now, and if done consistently, put you ahead of the game when it comes to Step 1 studying. Good luck.
 
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Lol, I guessed who made this thread before even seeing the username. Something about the title gave it away. 😛

But um yeah, if you feel like the material has become mind numbing I would stop and take a break. Go fishing with your roommate. It is possible to over-study and hurt yourself on the exam, and beyond a certain point any added studying results in diminishing returns. If you truly feel comfortable w/ the material, take the next day or two off. If not studying makes you anxious do some very light review, but stop as soon as you feel like it's becoming mind numbing again. Forcing yourself to over study may actually be counter productive and just cause your brain to fatigue before the actual exam. It's like an athlete taking a rest day before competition if they've been training for weeks.
After getting a break, maybe you can lightly go over and review your cards or something the night before the exam.
 
zeppelinpage4 said:
Lol, I guessed who made this thread before even seeing the username. Something about the title gave it away. 😛

But um yeah, if you feel like the material has become mind numbing I would stop and take a break. Go fishing with your roommate. It is possible to over-study and hurt yourself on the exam, and beyond a certain point any added studying results in diminishing returns. If you truly feel comfortable w/ the material, take the next day or two off. If not studying makes you anxious do some very light review, but stop as soon as you feel like it's becoming mind numbing again. Forcing yourself to over study may actually be counter productive and just cause your brain to fatigue before the actual exam. It's like an athlete taking a rest day before competition if they've been training for weeks.
After getting a break, maybe you can lightly go over and review your cards or something the night before the exam.
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Ease up on the SDN consultations. Seems like you're doing fine adjusting. Take some time for yourself.
 
Foot Fetish said:
So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
Click to expand...

I got a notification that you liked my post and it came to the front of my phone and my mom read it and is worried. Thanks FootFetish...


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Foot Fetish said:
So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
Click to expand...

OP, I suggest you just spend the rest of your time making your own questions now. Srs. I have a friend like you and that's what he does. Btw congrats if you're actually doing this you may very well be on your way to being the high achiever you said you were going to be.


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If you truly feel prepared then just chill. I used anki throughout all of med school and this allowed me to only study my due cards the day before the exam which meant most of the time I was chilling. Nothing wrong with front loading your studies so you can relax towards the end.
 
Serious question--did you consider podiatry?
 
Please tell me I'm not the only one concerned about the gunner/no need to make friends mentality? I just can't imagine a life where all I did was study and didn't relax with friends on the occasion.


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coldcase331 said:
Please tell me I'm not the only one concerned about the gunner/no need to make friends mentality? I just can't imagine a life where all I did was study and didn't relax with friends on the occasion.


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Click to expand...

Just sit back and enjoy the inevitable flameout.
 
coldcase331 said:
Please tell me I'm not the only one concerned about the gunner/no need to make friends mentality? I just can't imagine a life where all I did was study and didn't relax with friends on the occasion.


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Click to expand...
I used to be, but honestly to each his own. I may not agree with it, but if someone's happy with the way they're living life and they're not hurting anyone, I'm honestly not bothered. Gunner, or not, I only care if they're a genuinely nice person, and mean well.
Plus, a variety of personalities isn't always bad, since there are a lot of niches in medicine for all sorts of personality types.
On the other hand I have zero tolerance for ***holes, there's no niche for them lol.

I'm definitely like you though. I absolutely need my life outside of medicine, and my friends/family. Medicine is a big part of my life, but my life is not medicine and I refuse to make it so.
 
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So first you asked:

Foot Fetish said:
I see a lot of people on here talking about how they follow along in First Aid or do supplemental subject-specific Q banks on top of their M1 classes. To me that seems like a waste of time given the more immediate need to master the class material. We haven't had our first exam yet, but I'm basically memorizing the professors' lecture slides as my Bible. I feel as though this will give the highest-yield in the short term. If I spent time reading supplemental sources, that would only detract from time that could be spent studying material that is guaranteed to pop up on the exam (the professor's slides)...Is my perspective wrong? Should I be using supplemental information or can I safely continue focusing just on lecture material? My top priority right now is achieving the highest class rank I possibly can.
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Then You asked this:

Foot Fetish said:
Do people abuse study drugs like amphetamine and modafinil a lot in medical school? People used to use these drugs a lot in my undergrad, without prescriptions, to gain an advantage on exams. Personally, I think it's hugely unfair unless you have a legitimate medical need (though, let's be real, ADD is hugely overdiagnosed in America)...So, what do you think? How common is it at your school, and how do you feel about it?
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And now suddenly you finished all your work way ahead of schedule??

I think I see some cause and effect...
 
OP i'm starting to wonder if you can even go to the bathroom without somebody telling you how to do it. Get off student Doctor network and start figuring things out. Some day you won't be able to rely on us to tell you how to do everything.


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FindMeOnTheLinks said:
I'm starting to wonder if you can even go to the bathroom without somebody telling you how to do it. Get off student Doctor network and start figuring things out. Some day you won't be able to rely on us to tell you how to do everything.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

There are raging debates for decades on the internet about whether toilet paper should be placed over or under and whether you should wipe back to front vs front to back. I've even see people debate the logistics of sitting on a toilet with some proponents of facing the back so that you have a table.
 
Psai said:
There are raging debates for decades on the internet about whether toilet paper should be placed over or under and whether you should wipe back to front vs front to back. I've even see people debate the logistics of sitting on a toilet with some proponents of facing the back so that you have a table.
Click to expand...

Back to front? Underhand toilet paper? What kind of barbarian lives like this?
 
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Psai said:
There are raging debates for decades on the internet about whether toilet paper should be placed over or under and whether you should wipe back to front vs front to back. I've even see people debate the logistics of sitting on a toilet with some proponents of facing the back so that you have a table.
Click to expand...

Did you know that there is an alarmingly high number of people who, bizarrely, stand to wipe?

This was one of the biggest shocks to my world when I discovered this in the midst of what had started as a debate over toilet paper roll positioning.

I just don't understand people. But what was equally disturbing and fascinating was that the stand-to-wipers seemed equally befuddled as to why others would not stand to wipe.
 
Foot Fetish said:
So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
Click to expand...

It must be difficult to be that on top of things...
 
Psai said:
There are raging debates for decades on the internet about whether toilet paper should be placed over or under and whether you should wipe back to front vs front to back. I've even see people debate the logistics of sitting on a toilet with some proponents of facing the back so that you have a table.
Click to expand...
Have you heard the Tosh.0 bit about turning around so he could eat a bowl of cereal while on the toilet...lactose intolerance and what not.
 
Uhhh have fun burning out in a month! I joke, but seriously. What did you do for fun in the time that you've started school? I can tell you that studying constantly with nothing else in your life is not only detrimental to your health but also unsustainable. It's definitely possible to kill it early on by studying at that level but you will actually do better if you have a more balanced life. It's one of the most difficult things to figure out in medical school (definitely harder than just learning how to study for a test). Good luck!
 
Do as many practice questions as you can, and/or have your friends pimp you.

Foot Fetish said:
So, our first med school exam is this coming Monday. I stopped going to lecture after Day 1, and I've been reading ahead and watching the lectures on 2x speed from home, which gave me a massive amount of time to study. Very early on, I converted all of the exam material into ~400 flash cards and memorized all of them. I've done all available practice problems supplied by the professors multiple times....

So now I have 3 more full days to study, and I don't know how to proceed. I've memorized every fact down to the minutia, and I believe I understand every concept...Reviewing the material is becoming mind-numbing at this point...Should I keep making additional passes?

I thought this was supposed to be like drinking from a fire hose... (Maybe they're going easy on us for the first exam?)
Click to expand...
 
TheFutureFatMan said:
Have you heard the Tosh.0 bit about turning around so he could eat a bowl of cereal while on the toilet...lactose intolerance and what not.
Click to expand...

you mean Slatering? been around since the 90s at least
 
Mad Jack said:
Our first block was a joke looking back. They go easy on you at first.
Click to expand...

It was opposite for us. They crushed us in the first two sections (sub-75 class averages) and then things got way easier. Each med school is different though

Psai said:
There are raging debates for decades on the internet about whether toilet paper should be placed over or under and whether you should wipe back to front vs front to back. I've even see people debate the logistics of sitting on a toilet with some proponents of facing the back so that you have a table.
Click to expand...

According to the original patent, it goes on over, anyone that says otherwise is using it improperly:

imgres.jpg


username456789 said:
Did you know that there is an alarmingly high number of people who, bizarrely, stand to wipe?

This was one of the biggest shocks to my world when I discovered this in the midst of what had started as a debate over toilet paper roll positioning.

I just don't understand people. But what was equally disturbing and fascinating was that the stand-to-wipers seemed equally befuddled as to why others would not stand to wipe.
Click to expand...

Wait, there are people that don't stand to wipe? What do they do? Stick their arm into the toilet???
 
Why not start trying to organize the information you've learned into ways that are easily digestible by others/try to teach your other classmates if they need help? If you can teach it, you know it, and you're going to be teaching others your entire career.
 
Stagg737 said:
It was opposite for us. They crushed us in the first two sections (sub-75 class averages) and then things got way easier. Each med school is different though



According to the original patent, it goes on over, anyone that says otherwise is using it improperly:

View attachment 208411



Wait, there are people that don't stand to wipe? What do they do? Stick their arm into the toilet???
Click to expand...

Of course not. You lean ever so slightly to the side, and reach down from the side to wipe.

The thought of someone standing up and having feces smear all over their butt cheeks is hilarious to me. The whole idea of a toilet (among other things) is that it keeps the buttocks separated by design.
 
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