Getting your studying on...

[femdoc]

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...before MS-1.

So several people at various stages of their medical career have advised me to start studying for med school NOW. The top choice course was unanimously anatomy. I have read threads on this topic here before, and it appears that SDNrs are not for this type of thing, and encourage making the most of the time prior to med school for other things like travel, etc. If any of you currently in med school chose to study for your M-1 class(es) over summer or earlier, I would like to know if it did in fact give you somewhat of an edge, or did you regret not doing something else w/your pre-M-1 months?

 

[femdoc]

...and if I'd taken the time to scroll down the list of posts, I would have seen that someone else asked a similar Q! Sorry!!!

 

[banannie]

I really, honestly, can't even imagine someone having the motivation to really sit down and honest-to-god memorize the origins and insertions of all the muscles without the fear provoked by an impending test. Don't lie to yourself and believe you're going to do it, because unless you're super human, you're not.

I don't think that Anatomy is a good self-study subject for that reason. Maybe Physiology, just because it's more interesting?

A little story: there were people in my med school class who spent the summer before MS1 studying biochemistry and histology so that they could get hit the ground running and get honors during Block 1. Then the first day of classes, it was announced that grading had been changed from H/P/F to just P/F. The blank, vaguely disappointed looks that crept across their faces, as the rest of the class applauded, were priceless!!!

 

[Jalby]

If you want to study something, don't do anatomy. You won't remember it. Buy Costanza's physiology (Not BRS, but a bigger book she wrote) Read that and you can actually understand everything and would make your med school life easier.

 

[oldtimer]

A previous thread touched on this topic.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100366

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

save up your earnest energy for going hard-core your 2nd and 3rd years. enjoy your summer and first year of medical school.

 

[ollie2003]

i have not ever taken anatomy and was told by several people to pick up a book and read a bit if i have time. So i do. i'm trying to memorize anything, but just reading the general terminology, general systems, etc. i don't think it is wasting time, because i find the stuff interesting (i read it during breaks at work) and i'm not stressing out over all the details. will it help? i have no clue, but i guess when i debate whether or not to do something i worry more about will it hurt me? i think that answer is a definite no.

i'm not going to give up going out with friends and relaxing, but reading a book for an hour or so a day is not that big of a deal and i think doing so will familiarize me (to an extent) with a subject i know NOTHING about.

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

well thats fine. i mean, i could see how flipping through netters would be more entertaining than a john grisham novel or watching infomercials.....

 

[ollie2003]

if you read my post you would see that i am reading for an hour or so a day during breaks at work. come on, it isn't like i said someone should give up their life to memorize facts in the months before medical school. lighten up.

i think that after you have been out of school for awhile it is natural to be a little anxious about getting back into the classroom. if reading a book for a little while a day makes someone feel less anxious about starting in the classroom then who cares?

i can watch plenty of tv after leaving work at 5:00 and can get in plenty of drinking and hanging out on the weekends....don't worry about my social life.

 

[jbish]

I'm currently taking anatomy and I thank my lucky stars every day for having taken some Latin in high school. I think having the verbal basis for the language the subject is written in is helping me a lot. Of course, you do run into an occasional Greek term but I swear...it would have taken me forever to understand the difference between medial and lateral otherwise. This, of course, does not help me with confusing my lefts and rights when studying for the damn lab practicals.

 

[GoodMonkey]

good gawd you couldn't have PAID me to give up any free time prior to m1 to try and prestudy or whatever it is you're thinking of doing.

run far, far away. do something fun, something you like, something that you will find out you took for granted once you get into school. and for pete's sake, don't start thinking about how to try and get an "edge" or whathave you, on med school.

i was a hard-core science major in undergrad. i went to grad school and did more hard-core science. i taught undergrad MCB courses as a grad student. i spent weeks and weeks and weeks learning the intrincities of the p450 and flavin monooxygenase systems in my grad tox course. do you think i remembered anything, other than that they exist, when it came time to relearn (yes re-learn, that is what you will end up doing) those systems this year? nope.

you will have PLENTY of time to study and wig out about med school while IN med school.

 

[ollie2003]

to each his own.

i don't advocate "wigging out" about studying. i am not even studying. i just think that it can't hurt to familiarize myself with terms i have never heard.

i guess i disagree with you, i think relearning something is much, much easier than learning it the first time. my high school physics didn't prevent me from working hard in college, but having heard the terms before really did put me at an advantage over those who never heard them before.

to the original poster, if you feel it will ease your mind to read something once in awhile do it. if you don't don't waste your time.

 

[oldtimer]

I wouldn't listen to the naysayers. Each person has his or her own way of preparing for new challenges. Some like to chill and think that they're the bomb while others studiously prepare. Who's right will be determined in the classroom. Anyways, I've been told and I agree that a subject like anatomy which is simply rote memorization is not a good topic to try to learn before school starts. If you've taken anatomy before, then you'll know that it doesn't stick much after you've briefly learned it. Several people have recommended topics which are heavy in concepts like physiology or pathology. These topics are not only good subjects that you can learn independently but also they are some of the most important ones in medicine.

 

[skidmark]

I am not the bomb and I'm glad I chilled out before medical school because I have absolutely no time to do anything else but study now. I traveled a bit, something I may never get to do in the next decade. If you like to read the material great, but if there is something else you would rather do (like travel or relax) then do that. Whatever you do, don't use your time stressing about med school. You'll have plenty of that when you start. If you decide to study or read a bit I suggest basic physiology of the organ systems.

 

[GoodMonkey]

those of us who did fun things and chose not to study prior to m1 did not do so because we thought we were "the bomb." 🙄 i knew i was surrendering the majority of my free time once m1 started, and wanted to take advantage of the time that i did have. i believe i work just as hard as everyone else in my class right now ... even the ones that probably studied some before school started.

bottom line is you're gonna work hard regardless. if you want to blow some time working even more trying to get a leg up on material the summer prior to school - well have at it; it's your time. it's not going to cut down on the volume or density of work that you will be doing once m1 hits.

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

i agree with goodmonkey. and on top of that..you aren't really going to give yourself an "edge" by flipping through something an hour a day. it seems like it's more like you are pumped up and excited by school and if you want to flip through a book...by all means go for it suit yourself. just don't have the illusion that you are going to have much of an advantage over other people in med school because you did a casual perusal of a subject before you started school.

Since this topic seems to apply mainly to GUNNER personalities, i have a better recommendation. if you want to really get some utility out of the time before you start school, do the following: get into a good laboratory before school starts and do some work where you can continue a project throughout first year and the next summer. if you pick wisely and can handle your first year workload---you will get publications/conferences/letters of rec out of this and it'd give you alot more return than studying some piece of shiet subject that will comprise about 5% of step1.

actually i change my mind...go read a 100000 page text on embryology. it will really help you become the best doctor you can be.

 

[ollie2003]

i don't think i ever said that i am reading stuff now to get an "edge" on my fellow students. that isn't it at all. i suppose that it is because im excited about starting school and want to get into the mindset of med school which will be a big, big change from my job now.

let me reiterate,,,,, i in no way think that by reading material now i will not have to study as much in the future or that by doing so i will be better than other students.

this is why i hardly ever post to message boards

 

[thackl]

I'm gonna look over Anatomy and Biochem. No stressing though. Just a few hours a couple times a week. I'm not working or taking classes right now, so I have plenty of free time.

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

Originally posted by ollie2003
i don't think i ever said that i am reading stuff now to get an "edge" on my fellow students. that isn't it at all. i suppose that it is because im excited about starting school and want to get into the mindset of med school which will be a big, big change from my job now.

let me reiterate,,,,, i in no way think that by reading material now i will not have to study as much in the future or that by doing so i will be better than other students.

this is why i hardly ever post to message boards

if you look at the history of the posts on this subject, there are people who refer to using this time to "get an edge" or have an "advantage". furthermore, these posts are not directed at you personally, ollie2003, they are simply opinions that were requested.

 

[fourthyear]

I'm an intern right now - just enjoy your free time.

You'll basically be studying for the rest of your life. I had no idea before med school that I'd still be studying this much throughout residency. But, still, as much as I study now, I don't regret all the time I took off and didn't study at all at the end of 4th year of med school. And every time I take vacations I read a novel for pleasure, not a medical book.

There is plenty of time for lifelong learning. There's also a time to relax and have fun. Once you start med school, you have a life ahead of you of always feeling like you should be studying instead of whatever else you're doing. You have to learn to fight that feeling and take the appropriate breaks to just enjoy life.

 

[monkeyarms]

i didn't even read the above replies, so i could be repeating previously disseminated info, but it really doesn't even matter if you study before you start school, because you WILL have to study just as much once you start. guaran-Fing-teed. therefore, enjoy your time. might i recommend drugs and prostitutes?

 

[SwingDoc]

If it makes you feel better go ahead and spend some time studying, but I bet you a million $$ that the first day of lecture will surpass what you were able to do on your own!

I took biochem in undergrad and we surpassed what I learned during an entire semester in the first week.

Fear and pressure and the major drivers when it comes to learning anatomy (and most of the other stuff as well-- at least for me)!!

good luck!!

 

[Harps]

Originally posted by SwingDoc
FEAR and PRESSURE and the major drivers when it comes to learning anatomy (and most of the other stuff as well-- at least for me)!!

good luck!!

You hit the issue right on the head. I am the same way, when it comes to studying for classes. I am glad I am not alone 🙂
I have seen people study just for the competition!

-Harps