Getting Organized!!!!!!!!!!

[WhatUpDoc!]

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OK... this may seem trivial to some of you, but I am freaking out because I can't seem to get things together. I've got like 3 atlases, pre-test books for anatomy, biochem, phys etc.., grid books, question and answer books, reams of notes, online documents, course policies, etc.. and friggin etc.... I'm freshly finished with my first day, but at this rate of organization, I doubt I'll be able to open a single book today and I was totally lost during our superficial back dissection. I already feel terribly behind and don't know where to start. Did anyone else have this problem of getting things off the ground or am I the only one that can't make things fall into place!?!?

 

[boilerbeast]

I felt the same way, but I promise freaking out makes it worse.

What worked for me was to get and carry one of those seven-pocket expandable file things. I would just drop the handouts/notes/etc. from each day into a "file" for each course. Then every Sunday night, I'd go through all the papers that landed in each file, date them, hole punch them, and put them in the big binder for each respective class. It made my backpack a lot less heavy and didn't have me digging through tons of random papers, either. You can make it a lot easier for yourself by dating note pages and numbering the outlines and stuff that you write out while studying.

Steal some milk crates from the local grocery store and put them on your sides and you have instant bookshelves (or you can just go buy some bookshelves...lol). Put your books in there. In time, you'll find a few are your favorites/most useful and those will be the ones that travel with you.

I had a hard time figuring out the best way to study. What worked for me was to take plain printer paper, fold it in half the long way, and write a "question" on the left side and the "answers" on the right, so I could quiz myself by covering up the right half. It sounds ******ed, but it was seriously what worked best for me, I think b/c it keeps you actively learning instead of just glossing over stuff over and over again.

You'll be okay! Meddies are the adaptable sort and in a few weeks, you'll have yourself organized and ready to go. 👍

 

[78222]

Don't worry bro, I think all of us feel that way.

 

[dmitrinyr]

don't worry guys, every m1 gets overwhelmed with the large amount of material in the beginning, especially with anatomy. It'll take you a little bit to get into a groove with your study schedule and with everything else, but most people get it together and get organized and stay with the same routine. I think it took me about 1 week to really get a good routine that i was comfortable with and then i just stuck to it (except during the wonderful pre-test periods when i had to make some adjustments) for the rest of 1st year.

 

[StarboardMD]

I'm having the same organization problem. My school uses PBL so I have separate notes from my group members, my own research notes, and notes from the few lectures that we do get, not to mention a ton of textbook stuff. I can't figure out if I should organize according to case, subject, date, researcher... 😕

 

[tupac_don]

OK... this may seem trivial to some of you, but I am freaking out because I can't seem to get things together. I've got like 3 atlases, pre-test books for anatomy, biochem, phys etc.., grid books, question and answer books, reams of notes, online documents, course policies, etc.. and friggin etc.... I'm freshly finished with my first day, but at this rate of organization, I doubt I'll be able to open a single book today and I was totally lost during our superficial back dissection. I already feel terribly behind and don't know where to start. Did anyone else have this problem of getting things off the ground or am I the only one that can't make things fall into place!?!?

Stick with one source, your notes, particularly if your professors say that your notes are primary source of material. If you try to read to mean books you will dilute yourself, you will get same info, but presented in a different way and with different emphasis which will just confuse you. If I were you, watch lectures online and study your notes, know them inside and out and you should be fine. If you don't know where to start just look at course objectives, that's a decent start but as you get better you will instictively know what's imp and then just study as much as possible once you get the basics down.

 

[jocg27]

It's not trivial...it's common, and it's one of the hardest parts of figured out med school

 

[Law2Doc]

Stick with one source, your notes, particularly if your professors say that your notes are primary source of material. If you try to read to mean books you will dilute yourself, you will get same info, but presented in a different way and with different emphasis which will just confuse you.

I disagree a bit with this, at least for the beginning of med school. Not every source is ideal for every user, and sometimes if you don't understand the professor in lecture, seeing the same statements by him in written form may not be any more helpful. So yes, you use the notes as the primary resource, but get something that resonates with you as a secondary resource, if you feel you need one. Sometimes all you need is to see the same thing stated a different way. And what might be a fantastic resource to someone who does well with with all info organized/tabulated a certain way might be a disaster for someone else. Some need concepts described in prose, others prefer a minimalist outline approach. Until you find resources that work for you, look at a number of them. There is time to figure out what works. Board review books are sometimes good for this, as textbooks tend to be too dense and filled with info you don't really want to know. Once you have a good resource, use it for as long as it is good, but be prepared to change up if it deviates too significantly from the class.

 

[medicomel]

don't forget wikipedia. it's an amazing resource if you're looking for a quick reference! 👍