Frustrated, Frantic

[JustSomePreMed]

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First of all, just ignore my username . . . I made it when I was still a premed and I never changed it.

So I'm a little over two weeks into my first year of medical school, and I've been feeling frustrated. I go from periods where I think I have a good grasp on things to periods where I freak out and feel like I don't know anything.

I know this is fairly normal, and that the adjustment to the increase in volume doesn't happen overnight. My main concern is that I feel like I can't really nail down a good studying system. In undergrad I used to go through and basically "rewrite" notes that were given by professors (or the notes I took in class) because this tactile procedure helped me remember things. I've been trying that for some subjects (like embryology) and while I find it helpful, I feel like it's taking forever. I'm spending 1pm-midnight+ studying with just a few small breaks in between. Our school tapes our lectures too, so sometimes I rewatch them at double speed if there's something I didn't get the first time, or if the powerpoint slides don't make sense as is without the prof elaborating.

I've sort of given up on trying to do the "recommended reading", and rather just refer to the text when I don't understand something.

Basically, I'm worried about my study habits. I don't know how to make the best use of my time, and I'm worried I'm being very inefficient.

Any help/advice would be great guys. I could use it.

 

[ziggy10]

I'm going through the same thing too. I haven't been in school for the past year and I seemed to forget how to study efficiently. But I've been trying to change my way of studying for the past two weeks. Rewriting things will definitely take forever and this is how I did things in undergrad as well and proved to very inefficient during my first week of med school (resulted to me getting behind, made me more frantic, and made me less likely to absorb things since I was feeling more anxious as I got more behind). My new strategy right now is not to worry if I don't remember everything in the first read of my lecture notes. The first read's main goal is to grasp the big picture. Don't waste time with the "recommended reading," focus first on the things presented in class. I'm planning to read my notes the second time around and go through the practice exams to see what are most important information. I'm not saying this would work for you or even for me since I'm still trying to fine tune my study skills. Just thought I'd share.

 

[cpants]

What has helped me is to pre-read. Read something about each lecture before you attend it. Whether that is the recommended reading or just a chapter from a review book doesn't really matter. Just try to have a general concept of what is going on and what the lecture will cover. Then, in lecture, don't worry about taking very detailed notes. Instead, focus on listening really well and understanding everything the prof is saying. In my experience, you really need to grasp the big concepts firmly before you get bogged down in the endless details.

Since you are first years, you are probably taking anatomy? For anatomy, spend as much time as possible in the lab. Reading and note taking are pretty useless for that class. Get your dissector and go over the bold terms over and over again in the lab. Study all the blue boxes in Moore to get the clinical implications of the anatomy.

Also, it's real important to get help before you get too behind. If you really feel lost you need to talk to a professor or an older student. Most schools offer tutoring services for free. Do it. Don't get discouraged. It's a hard transition for everyone, and your classmates are probably having problems too.

 

[strv04]

The "rewriting your notes" thing will no longer work in medical school I'm afraid. There is too much material to get through and the pace will only get faster as the year goes by and it’s even worse second year.

Try out some different study methods and remember your not trying to get a PhD in each lecture topic you just have to understand it enough to do well on a MC test.

A method that works for me is after class I will go through the lecture and I will circle or star a paragraph that I don't understand or remember anything about. After the first go through I may review the lecture the next day but now I only read the parts I circled until I fell good about them. There's no point in going over stuff you already understand you should focus on the stuff you still don't understand. Then before the test if things have been going well you could review the entire lecture. Stay organized and break down each lecture into what you already know and what you still need to learn.

 

[njbmd]

I know this is fairly normal, and that the adjustment to the increase in volume doesn't happen overnight. My main concern is that I feel like I can't really nail down a good studying system.

Our school tapes our lectures too, so sometimes I rewatch them at double speed if there's something I didn't get the first time, or if the powerpoint slides don't make sense as is without the prof elaborating.

I've sort of given up on trying to do the "recommended reading", and rather just refer to the text when I don't understand something.

Basically, I'm worried about my study habits. I don't know how to make the best use of my time, and I'm worried I'm being very inefficient.

Any help/advice would be great guys. I could use it.

Give yourself some time and let your performance on the first set of exams be your major determinant of whether or not your system is working. You can make adjustments from there.

I would recommend that you "skim" the recommended reading (preview) to get an idea of what is in the text and how the lecture will be structured. You don't need to read as if you were going to be tested on the reading material the next day. Just skim to get the gist of what will be covered in lecture.

You may find that the re-listening of lectures (even at double speed) is slowing you down a bit. You may want to note the time of any things that you missed and re-listen to those but re-listening to an entire lecture may not be efficient in the long run.

Be sure to scan your syllabus/lecture objective before the lecture if possible. These give you an idea of what's important to grasp. You can also make notations by your notes (or highlight) the syllabus objective subjects so that they stand out when you are studying.

Always put the current lecture within the context of the previous lecture. Look over the previous lecture when you are sitting down to study and learn the current lecture. Review an entire week's worth of lectures on the weekend.

Finally, have confidence in yourself, that you don't' have to write down every word of every lecture and memorize them. Go for concept and relate the concepts to one another. You don't have to be able to recite for memory, every word of every lecture. Learn to summarize the concepts in your own words and recite them back to yourself.

Pace around, diagram on a white/blackboard so that you can get things into your long term memory. Changing your position is a good way to keep your brain sharp. You were essentially doing this as an undergrad when you were rewriting your notes. Now you have to go from rewriting the notes to re-entering the notes in your brain (more efficient than recopying). Don't forget to stay well-hydrated too as this keep you efficient even if you have to leave your books to hit the "porcelain convenience". It makes you take a break.

Try not to stress over what you feel you "should" be doing. Take some action and see how that works. If it works, then you are OK. If it doesn't work, change what you did and know that you have all the tools to get the material nailed down. Good luck!

 

[OncoCaP]

First of all, just ignore my username . . . I made it when I was still a premed and I never changed it.

So I'm a little over two weeks into my first year of medical school, and I've been feeling frustrated. I go from periods where I think I have a good grasp on things to periods where I freak out and feel like I don't know anything.

I know this is fairly normal, and that the adjustment to the increase in volume doesn't happen overnight. My main concern is that I feel like I can't really nail down a good studying system. In undergrad I used to go through and basically "rewrite" notes that were given by professors (or the notes I took in class) because this tactile procedure helped me remember things. I've been trying that for some subjects (like embryology) and while I find it helpful, I feel like it's taking forever. I'm spending 1pm-midnight+ studying with just a few small breaks in between. Our school tapes our lectures too, so sometimes I rewatch them at double speed if there's something I didn't get the first time, or if the powerpoint slides don't make sense as is without the prof elaborating.

I've sort of given up on trying to do the "recommended reading", and rather just refer to the text when I don't understand something.

Basically, I'm worried about my study habits. I don't know how to make the best use of my time, and I'm worried I'm being very inefficient.

Any help/advice would be great guys. I could use it.

Your experience is pretty normal. No need to panic. As someone has said, you aren't going to be able to rewrite your notes, although many people find that writing a brief (couple of paragraph) summary of every lecture is very helpful (I don't find it helpful). You may benefit from doing flashcards. I actually take my notes as flashcards during class. I use a computer program, but you can write paper ones. Then, after class, I study my flashcards; I prioritize them and study the ones I don't know more frequently. It's pretty much a given that you won't be able to do everything, but trust yourself a little ... that with time you'll get faster and more efficient. It's going to be ok, although not necessarily pleasant. Focus on learning as much as you can rather than getting frustrated with yourself.

 

[mikedc813]

Rewriting everything isn't going to help you. You're just going to waste a lot of paper and get a hand cramp.

It's easy to get overwhelmed, and it's normal as others have said. Try picking 1 or 2 main sources of study materials and start with the basic concepts. It's easy to get bogged down in tons of different resources. Stick with only a few, for example BRS, and life should be simpler. What I found is that if I could explain something that I studied either to someone else or back to myself without assistance from the study materials, I felt like I had learned the material. I hope this helps.

 

[lapelirroja]

I'm just starting PA school, and while you guys have more material thrown at you, we have quite a bit as well in rapid fashion. In college I was a "note rewriter"--going through the lecture powerpoints and remaking my own study guides for each exam. I also wasn't a big reader in undergrad. What I've found though, is pre-reading is awesome. I read the chapters before class (some classes more in depth than others--some just skimming) and getting the main overview so that during class, while most people are like "WTF" I'm like, "okay, I remember this, that makes sense." Then after class (I stay at school during the day) I review each lecture by doing objectives or reading through the slides again. I also don't hesitate to look at alternative sources (wiki, review books, etc) when something just isn't clicking. With these techniques I feel like I am doing well compared to my classmates who seem to be behind on the review and are still working on stuff we covered last week as opposed to the lecture from yesterday, which I have already reviewed. Gross anatomy comes for me next semester, I am kind of dreading that, but as far as my human phys/pathophys, primary care psychiatry, genetics, and pharmacology classes go, so far so good!

 

[Occams Razor]

I had success re-writing notes in undergrad...but that doesn't fly in the big leagues. Last year I started re-writing my notes by making them into questions. For example:

What structures/organs come from the endoderm?
What structures/organs come from the mesoderm?
What is the tetralogy of fallot?
Clinical presentation of the tetralogy of fallot?

This helped me get into the "test-taking" mindset.

Also, try skimming the text before class (don't fully read, just look at bold words, pictures, diagrams, bullet points)...that will prime you for the lecture.

 

[45408]

while I find it helpful, I feel like it's taking forever.

so sometimes I rewatch them at double speed if there's something I didn't get the first time, or if the powerpoint slides don't make sense as is without the prof elaborating.


Basically, I'm worried about my study habits. I don't know how to make the best use of my time, and I'm worried I'm being very inefficient.

I think those are your problems, and they probably are making you inefficient. It would take an enormous amount of time to re-write everything they're teaching you, and furthermore, the volume increases significantly over the next year. And re-listening to lectures? If you missed it the first time, it probably wasn't that important. I know that we all talk about how details get tested, but you still have to see the forest for the trees.

The way I studied probably wouldn't work for you, but I just read and highlighted. I didn't even highlight that much. Minimal annotations in the margins, just to clarify a point or for repetition. I didn't go to lectures and didn't listen to lectures. I occasionally used the co-op notes that other people took to fill in some gaps, but almost every lecturer had all the info you needed right in their powerpoint. If I got a question wrong on the exam, it was almost never because I hadn't been exposed to the material. It was just that I didn't have enough time or study hard enough for that one point.

 

[SQUmedic]

Everyones study method is different, its all about trying different methods and finding the one which suits u best. Since everyone is sharing their own way, let me tell u what i do, it might be helpful for u or others.

I pre read, prolly go through the slides before the lecture. Grasp the main idea, I do not sit for 2 hours studying the new material. I write down 10 sentences which summarize the road map of the lecture. I go to the lecture, record the lecture and listen very carefully. I come home and then i edit my slides on power point. I colour, highlight in the pp. I do all kind of crazy stuff pp can do. This makes me remember and I keep adding notes on the pp itself with loads of colour and mneumonics on the side. i re-read these slides and if i dont understand anything I go to the books. Over the weekends, I revise these lectures.

To be honest, its hard to read all the recommended books. There is jus NO time.
And yes one last thing. Try to use different techniques, every subject is different. If u r a visual learner then pp is very good. If you r a tactile learner, then writing down (not notes) but flow charts, drawing diagrans and connections is helpful as well.


My best tip - use the post - it notes on every page of moore. Summarize the main things on it and paste it besides the diagrams. Helps a lot.

 

[GoLakers310]

I am a visual learner. Too bad, my school doesn't give out power point notes

 

[montessori2md]

I'm a HY kind of student, and not the sort to know every possible detail so as not to miss a single question, so take this w/ a grain of salt. Also about a month in.

After we finish an exam, I skim all readings for the next block up to the next exam -it may take me a couple of days, but it helps me plan a strategy. Plus, when the next exam is weeks away, plowing away at the day's lecture doesn't help me much -I'm going to forget it all anyhow. Our syllabus is single sided, so I use the back page to write down stuff I need to look up and to outline things like pathways, or sets of things that go together that spread over several pages. For conceptual things, I honestly don't take a lot of notes, I just highlight. When I preread, I don't take many notes, mostly I just mark things that I think are difficult or useful, to go back to later.

I have listened to lectures a second time when the prof spoke really fast and I didn't catch what he said, but I do that in my car on the way to class, so I don't really count that as wasting time -I'd be in my car anyhow.

I rewrite crap I have to memorize, like the metabolic pathways because I'm one of those people who will believe I remember all the enzymes, until I get to step 4 and think...hmm..which one is next? Rewriting makes me check myself, thinking about it or reading doesn't. I'm pretty sure that won't fly for anatomy, but at least w/ anatomy I can point at pictures or myself as I talk my way through it.

 

[alphaholic06]

I am a visual learner. Too bad, my school doesn't give out power point notes

Where the hell do you go to school?

 

[sprinkibrio]

First of all, just ignore my username . . . I made it when I was still a premed and I never changed it.

So I'm a little over two weeks into my first year of medical school, and I've been feeling frustrated. I go from periods where I think I have a good grasp on things to periods where I freak out and feel like I don't know anything.

I know this is fairly normal, and that the adjustment to the increase in volume doesn't happen overnight. My main concern is that I feel like I can't really nail down a good studying system. In undergrad I used to go through and basically "rewrite" notes that were given by professors (or the notes I took in class) because this tactile procedure helped me remember things. I've been trying that for some subjects (like embryology) and while I find it helpful, I feel like it's taking forever. I'm spending 1pm-midnight+ studying with just a few small breaks in between. Our school tapes our lectures too, so sometimes I rewatch them at double speed if there's something I didn't get the first time, or if the powerpoint slides don't make sense as is without the prof elaborating.

I've sort of given up on trying to do the "recommended reading", and rather just refer to the text when I don't understand something.

Basically, I'm worried about my study habits. I don't know how to make the best use of my time, and I'm worried I'm being very inefficient.

Any help/advice would be great guys. I could use it.

Watching lectures twice is not efficient. If you're not able to catch everything the first time it means you need to preread.

Reading books generally isn't helpful for first year. Second year some people read Robbins pathology and review books mostly to study for the Step at the same time.

I was able to rewrite the key points in the syllabus first year, which was nice because I organized it in a way that I could better understand. Second year I don't have time. What is more efficient than writing is answering course objectives if they come listed at the beginning of your syllabus.

Talk to second years at your school, because studying can sometimes be very school dependent.