First day of medical school

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

goosedander

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
86
Reaction score
2
Can anyone walk me through the first day of medical school. When you go home that night, are you studying immediately? Are you freaked out with how to study? Do you get through it all?

Just curious. I'd like an idea of what to expect that first day.

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Can anyone walk me through the first day of medical school. When you go home that night, are you studying immediately? Are you freaked out with how to study? Do you get through it all?

Just curious. I'd like an idea of what to expect that first day.

For the first day of real classes (not orientation), it was definitely like being blindsided because we hit the ground running. We had 3 anatomy lectures on the first day, which covered about 100 pages in our textbook, so I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed. Most people came out of those lectures with a bit of a glazed over look and the library was pretty crowded that night, haha. I was able to get through the material and preview a little bit for the next morning's material, but it felt like a lot (looking back it really wasn't). For the most part, by the end of the week and into the 2nd week people started hitting their paces and everything worked out fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Your first few days to a week will be mostly housekeeping stuff (getting ID's, e-mail logins, etc.), icebreakers, and orienting you to your surroundings and the resources available to you. The first day of real class can be a little overwhelming, but you should know by now that you are going to be expected to learn a huge volume of material in a short span of time. I had dissection on the first day, which was a pretty cool/scary experience. I went from sitting on the beach the week before to dissecting out the pec muscles and sawing through the rib cage on the first day of school. Everyone is in it together, and you will be fine.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
It's important to realize that no matter how bad it is, you'll get through it. Don't underestimate how capable you are at adjusting. It might take 2 weeks or 2 months, but you'll adjust.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The first few days of classes after orientation is over are usually a pretty jarring transition since orientation is usually pretty chill. Hang in there though, since you'll get used to it within a couple weeks.
And pretty sure you'll totally forget what life was like before med school hahahahahah.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Like everyone says, the first day is a little rough, especially if you have been out of school for awhile. This is very unlike undergrad where the first day was just an introduction the syllabus. I think we had a 30 min intro to all the courses then we started lecture. We had 3 MCB and 2 Anatomy that first day. I studied too much that night, tried to read everything, hahaha what a noob.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Time passes by a lot faster than you think it ever will.
 
Time passes by a lot faster than you think it ever will.

Damn straight, we are already into the third week of M1S2. This really is going by fast...I need a vacation.
 
Damn straight, we are already into the third week of M1S2. This really is going by fast...I need a vacation.

Even though we just had one 3 weeks ago... Haahaa. I feel ya... It's funny how studying the brain wanna make you blow yours out. :laugh:

My first day... Late to class, b/c I got lost on my bike in a new city. Almost got ran over by traffic. Sweat like a pig in my shirt. Fell asleep 5 minutes into the Orientation Workshop. Almost didn't get my ID b/c I forgot my ID number.

I believe my class went out to a local bar and had some fun that night. OMG I should remember this better.... lol... it goes to show you that the ever-yearned-for 1st day of med school may not be as important or exciting as you'd hoped it would be.

Live it (and enjoy it) when it happens. I know I did! :laugh:
 
I believe my class went out to a local bar and had some fun that night. OMG I should remember this better.... lol... it goes to show you that the ever-yearned-for 1st day of med school may not be as important or exciting as you'd hoped it would be.

Live it (and enjoy it) when it happens. I know I did! :laugh:

Agreed... I'm pretty sure I went out with my new classmates several times in the first week, but I honestly don't remember what the heck we did. I know I didn't start studying until the second week of school (not recommended... maybe the first weekend at the latest) - I just went to class and chatted throughout the lectures. We started out really, really slow in biochem and I had had anatomy in undergrad, so I didn't quite feel so overwhelmed / freaked out until a few weeks into it.
 
As mentioned above, you have to distinguish the "first day" (orientation) from the real first day of class.

First day of orientation was some organizational meetings, and a couple of hours of lovie-dovie talks about professionalism and the significance of the path we were starting on.

First day of class was 3-4 hours of lecture, and a ton of time in the anatomy lab dissecting the superficial muscles of the back (no wonder I never learned those...)
 
Our first block is biochemistry, so our first real "lecture" was on organelles followed by a review of basic chemistry. I think most of the class could have slept through it.
 
don't worry about it; it's just school like you've been doing for all these years.

you go to class in the morning, sit down and try to pay attention to a lecturer mumbling and bumbling through slide after slide of powerpoint. People around you crack jokes, other people stare at them for being distracting. During breaks between classes everyone goes outside and chills for ten minutes, then back to the grind. I think we had anatomy lab too the first day, pretty cool.

The main difference is the volume; some exams are similar to undergrad but they're over WAY more material and the questions require a deeper understanding. There are very few "gimme" questions on med school exams. It's like all the other school you've done but an order of magnitude more involved. Impossible to describe but you'll find out soon enough. I actually think it's really chill most of the time; after exams I take at least week off and just relax, so it's like having spring break every 5 weeks. :-D.
 
don't worry about it; it's just school like you've been doing for all these years.

you go to class in the morning, sit down and try to pay attention to a lecturer mumbling and bumbling through slide after slide of powerpoint. People around you crack jokes, other people stare at them for being distracting. During breaks between classes everyone goes outside and chills for ten minutes, then back to the grind. I think we had anatomy lab too the first day, pretty cool.

The main difference is the volume; some exams are similar to undergrad but they're over WAY more material and the questions require a deeper understanding. There are very few "gimme" questions on med school exams. It's like all the other school you've done but an order of magnitude more involved. Impossible to describe but you'll find out soon enough. I actually think it's really chill most of the time; after exams I take at least week off and just relax, so it's like having spring break every 5 weeks. :-D.

Ya, except the school I'm going to has tests every week. F***.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ya, except the school I'm going to has tests every week. F***.

yeah, that's different then. at least you won't have the stress of having to take ALL your exams in one week; the stress is more evenly-spaced.
 
I didn't think it was too bad. My school has a number of things that are supposed to help out the students (blogs and wiki pages on our blackboard, too many "mentors" to help us through school, etc.). All of that stuff that was supposed to make our transition easier was a pain in the ass to keep track of (still is). But the classes were cool - we got to cut into our cadaver the first day.:D

It was definitely a transition, and organization has been key (to me, at least) to keeping my head up. Each class has a lot of info, but all of that is compounded by the fact that you may have three or so classes, each with their own novel agenda concerning how to get you through the material.

Stay organized, stay current, and know when your tests are coming, and you should be ok.
 
the first month of med school should really be only about trying to hook up with as many single girls in your class as you can.

the trick is to get to them early so that they dont have time to mingle and gossip because once that starts then you can't even mess with one without the whole class knowing. that's no fun.
 
the first month of med school should really be only about trying to hook up with as many single girls in your class as you can.

the trick is to get to them early so that they dont have time to mingle and gossip because once that starts then you can't even mess with one without the whole class knowing. that's no fun.

This is going to be the first line in my future book about medical school experiences, the second is ABC, always be closing. the third might have something to do with maintaining a pace of 8-10 lectures behind the rest of the class so that you can drink beer during your three day weekends, every week.
 
I don't think the first official day of classes was bad or has been bad for each course I've had the past two years. I actually have a tendency to consider the first day as still part of the holiday, for instance, like the first day back from my last summer vacation ever after first year.

There'll be at least one orientation lecture or half lecture. Then a few intro lectures.

You can review that stuff that night if you want.

The second day is when things start rolling, since you'll have notes from the previous day, assignments, and many things going on.

Try to pay attention in class but it's ok to relax on the first day.

~Medstudent11
http://themedstudentexperience.blogspot.com
 
The first week for me I had no clue really what to do so I kept trying different things until I found that information was sticking in a timely manner. I tried the various review books and textbooks out (mine were handed down to me so luckily I didn't waste any $$ because I found I didn't like them lol). I tried studying in various environments. I figured out how to organize myself. Really alot of trial and error. I definitely was studying from day one since I knew it was going to take some time to figure it out. I wasn't freaking out or anything until a few days in when the information still wasn't sticking and they were still throwing more information than I could possibly imagine at me on a daily basis lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The first day was not bad for me. It was just like college, except more class. It's after the first test when I was blown to the ground.
 
Top