Hints for doing well in med school

[streetdoc]

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In my brief couple weeks of medical school, I have found a few things that have made life easier. of course, things depend on the particular school, and somethings on the people in your class, but here a a few things that may help. maybe others can add to it.

first, if you are paired with an M2, talk to them and listen to them, they are a welth of knowledge.

you WILL spend A LOT of time in lab and at school, i have found no way around this and my M2 says it's the best way to get to know professors and fellow students. about 40hrs/week.

find what works for you and do it...listen to others ideas, but you may learn differently than anyone else...just do what works for you!

Use outsode resources, seeing the info in many ways and many times is a good way to reinforce it.

Try to keep up...it really is almost impossible (unless you make it your life), but slow and steady wins the race.

You really will have to start studying a couple weeks in advance for tests...there is a lot of info to know.

i thinks that's about all for a start. if you're about to start med school, good luck...it's doable

streetdoc

 

[DrMom]

Good advice. 😀

I'd add that if whatever you're doing to study isn't working CHANGE! I've seen some people hang on to study habits from undergrad (or elsewhere) while they're struggling to pass. You don't want to dig yourself out of a hole.


I wish all of you new MS1s good luck!

 

[Lab-Rat21]

Do med students still go out for fun on weekends?

Also, has anyone bought a USMLE Step I Review book yet? I heard it's good to study out of them and remember what is "the forest from the tress," that is what is minutia vs. necessary material...anyone?

Though maybe being seen with a Step I review book will give off a gunner impression you will never escape from?🙄

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by Lab-Rat21
Do med students still go out for fun on weekends?

Also, has anyone bought a USMLE Step I Review book yet? I heard it's good to study out of them and remember what is "the forest from the tress," that is what is minutia vs. necessary material...anyone?

Though maybe being seen with a Step I review book will give off a gunner impression you will never escape from?🙄

Med students go out all the time on weekends (weekdays too). I went out just about every Thursday and Saturday night, save for the week before exams. If you study efficiently, you should find a lot more time on your hands than you'd expect.

If you're going to buy any review book to use now, I'd use First Aid. It has great mnemonics and will help you with your classes as you're taking them. If you annotate a bit as you go, it will also save you some time later on (and you'll have the added advantage of being familiar with it as soon as you start studying for step 1).

Many students also use BRS Anatomy as a secondary textbook (it's way too detailed for board review, but perfect for the class). BRS Physiology is pretty good, too.

 

[Yogi Bear]

Originally posted by Lab-Rat21
Do med students still go out for fun on weekends?

Also, has anyone bought a USMLE Step I Review book yet? I heard it's good to study out of them and remember what is "the forest from the tress," that is what is minutia vs. necessary material...anyone?

Though maybe being seen with a Step I review book will give off a gunner impression you will never escape from?🙄

off topic... i hadn't ever heard the word 'minutia' used til i started med school. never heard it once in undergrad. reminds me of 'fascia' or something.... yuck...back to anatomy...

 

[maxheadroom]

Nothing like the blind leading the blind . . .

This reminds me of a special day last year. As an M4, I had lots of time to lounge around in the atrium outside of our library. One find October day my friends and I saw a couple of M1s leading a tour of prospective students around the school. As they passed through the atrium, one of them was saying, "Of course, you'll totally learn to live out of all these books like Lippincott's Biochem and BRS Physiology . . . they really help you understand both the science and the medical stuff . . . "

The funny thing was that I'd tutored this student's PBL group two weeks prior when the only books that she owned were Stryer's Biochem and Guyton's Physiology. In two whole weeks she'd become an expert on how to become a high achiever in med school! The best part was they didn't have their first exam for another couple of weeks.

Point is, in med school you get a couple of weeks under your belt and suddenly believe that you've mastered the game. Trouble is, it's a game with rules that change all the time. While the first few weeks may be demanding because of the big adjustment, it's really just more school. If you were good at school before, which you must have been to get accepted, you'll do fine.

Do your work, but make sure that you go to the gym, go out with your friends (both medical and non), volunteer somewhere interesting (non-medical), and continue to live your life.

 

[Renovar]

From a friendly MS4:

To do well in first 2 years of medical school and step 1, I have 1 advice. Memorize it all, memorize it all, memorize it all. That's all it takes. If there is ever a question of "would this be on the test?" the answer is always yes. If you dont understand a concept, that's ok, just memorize it first, then understand it later. (ie. after enough repetition, you will "understand" it.) Just study as much and as hard as you can, as much as you need to be able to spit everything in the lecture notes back out forward, backward, upside down and right side up. Study anatomy until you can cover up an entire Netter or Clemente plate and label everything yourself. Study biochem or microbio notes until you can recall which page on which lecture handouts has the fine-prints that shows up on exams. Look at every micro slides in pathology and histology until you can recognize everything in your sleep. Go through kodachrome slides for every course until they are firmly in your grasp. And for step 1, memorize First Aid like it's your b1tch. Most people will do ok, graduate and become docs, but if you want to stand out, you need to put in the effort. It may be hard for you all to imagine at first because obviously you are the cream of your college crops and probably wiz through it for you to get accepted into med school, but now they are separating the wheat from the chaffe and the competition for the top is fierce. For me? For the first 2 years, 4-5 hours a night during week days and 8-10 hours during weekends, with occasionaly lighter nights.

If you work hard, it's there for your taking. Until 3rd year medical school, your destiny is firmly in your own hands.

 

[streetdoc]

maxhead,
i have done just fine on my first several exams...
i never claimed to be an expert, and i asked for others to give their advice too.
it is a big adjustment, and if you look closely, my first step was to talk to a 2nd year or "big brother"

so, judging by the M4s advice we won't actually know everything until we are 4th years...so nice to know that we WILL actually know everything.

streetdoc

 

[maxheadroom]

Didn't mean to come off harsh. You'll understand in a couple of years. When you see the M1s talking all big about stuff that they have absolutely noooooo idea about. It happens again in M3 year when you're in the wards and can't tell your thumb from . . . another part of your anatomy. You see one procedure and suddenly think you're the grand master. It's OK; it's part of gaining new experience.

As an intern I'm doing it all over again. I plugged in several IJ's the other day and then thought, "Hey, I'm king of the IJ. I can hit an IJ in a gorked out, hypotensive, renal failure patient." Fortunately, my senior was there to keep me from sticking a needle where one didn't belong. I know that my seniors look at me and my fellow interns as walking disasters.

 

[Street Philosopher]

wow that is some depressing advice from renovar

 

[JM.]

I am planning on attending class.

 

[phllystyl]

Originally posted by jmwalker
I am planning on attending class.

Class is def. something you need to evaluate for yourself, and from your previous experiences with your own personal learning styles.

For me, lecture does very little. I often retain much more by reading and writing. Therefore, class isnt something Im at very often once ive checked out which ones I should or should not attend.

Most importantly, go with what got you here, and respect the fact that your classmates got here on different paths and can do the same. Just because someone in your class isnt there that often doesnt make them a slacker 😉 They just do it their own way.

 

[phar]

great thread.

 

[Cassidy61]

just to dispel some doom and gloom. i studied hard, went out at least a few times a week for the first two years and was able to get into ortho. this all coming from a guy that barely got into med school and is far from the brightest person in the world. the first two years are basically a war of attrition. if you don't take the time to unwind, school will eat you up. this stuff is not hard, it is just volume. other advice is to not let some uptight people freak you out (ie. you mean you didn't read all of netters over the summer??!!). those people are the previously mentioned type III gunners. pick your plan and stick with it...and don't forget to have some fun!!

 

[DrQuinn]

Originally posted by Cassidy61
just to dispel some doom and gloom. i studied hard, went out at least a few times a week for the first two years and was able to get into ortho. this all coming from a guy that barely got into med school and is far from the brightest person in the world. the first two years are basically a war of attrition. if you don't take the time to unwind, school will eat you up. this stuff is not hard, it is just volume. other advice is to not let some uptight people freak you out (ie. you mean you didn't read all of netters over the summer??!!). those people are the previously mentioned type III gunners. pick your plan and stick with it...and don't forget to have some fun!!

Same boat as Cassidy. I'm a DO who partied a lot the first two years (almost more than I did in college, and that was a LOT of partying). Landed an Emergency Medicine spot (relatively competitive) at an MD residency. Just go with the flow, have some casual relationships, and pass a few tests.

Q, DO

 

[Renovar]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
wow that is some depressing advice from renovar

Depressing? You dont choose to attend medical school because it is "in fashion"? or think you can party or chill like you did in college?

I do not mean that if you want to do well you should just do all work and have no time to chill and relax. Doing that will definitely burn you out. Definitely relax after exams and stuff, but in order to do WELL and stand out, one needs to put in a lot of extra effort. Making such effort will entail some sacrifices in your personal and recreational life. It really depend on how much work you can tolerate, and how much personal life you can afford to sacrifice. There are a couple older students in my class who are married with kids, who obviously have other commitments that demand much of their time. And they are perfectly happy to just pass everything and become a physician. Nothing is wrong with that at all.

The bottom line is, every one of your fellow med students are smart, capable individuals, and the administration knows that, that's why almost everyone who gets in to med school will graduate and become fine docs. But not everyone can be class president, AOA, straight honors, have 250 boards, etc. Most people graduate from med school without any of those things. If you want one of those, you will have to walk up and get it. That's the point I am trying to make.

 

[Street Philosopher]

I read your post about Vandy in the other thread so it makes more sense now. Too bad you had to go through that, but at least you did well for your hard work.

 

[chuck deli]

Renovar-

Your original post sounds like you're looking to frighten pre-meds. I mostly do not offer advice, however I feel I must now offer my 2 cents. Sure, medical school involves hard work and constant memorization. But when I look back at my life and especially my time in school I DO NOT want to say to myself, "Man I worked my butt off in school and didn't get to socialize with anyone or pursue other interests". I would rather say to myself "I was really well-rounded, did well in medical school, had a family, volunteered, learned from other people and was a gentle, caring doctor".

My advice to you is to be careful with your advice. Not everyone wants to be #1. Please don't generalize your advice. In the end we all end up with the same letters after our name.

 

[kaos]

All I know is that it's only the 1st week of classes, and a whole lot of people, A LOT, especially M1s and M2s, are partying like it's 199...i mean, 2003. 😀

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by chuck deli
Renovar-

Your original post sounds like you're looking to frighten pre-meds. I mostly do not offer advice, however I feel I must now offer my 2 cents. Sure, medical school involves hard work and constant memorization. But when I look back at my life and especially my time in school I DO NOT want to say to myself, "Man I worked my butt off in school and didn't get to socialize with anyone or pursue other interests". I would rather say to myself "I was really well-rounded, did well in medical school, had a family, volunteered, learned from other people and was a gentle, caring doctor".

My advice to you is to be careful with your advice. Not everyone wants to be #1. Please don't generalize your advice. In the end we all end up with the same letters after our name.

To do "well" lin med school, you do have to put in the hard work and have sarcrifices. There are people with stories of matching into ophthal, ENT, etc. with little work and some luck. But plenty of people need to stand out and give some margin of errors to make sure they match "somewhere!" For these people, they would need to make sarcrifices to the first 3 years of med school (nobody cares about 4th year electives).

I think it is reasonable for people to start deciding how much is too much work in the first year of med school. Most med students are overachievers who have worked hard (if not semi-hard) to get to be a med student in the first place. In that first year, I believe that people need to decide "am I happy to just to be a doctor and whatever I get by the end of med school is what I will do or am I only happy if I can get some of the most competitive residencies with the best life-styles and potentials for high incomes?" If you are the latter, then you should memorize things inside out. If you are the former, then you will need to pace yourself to make sure you don't fall behind but still have enough fun while in med school

 

[Renovar]

Originally posted by chuck deli
Renovar-

Your original post sounds like you're looking to frighten pre-meds. I mostly do not offer advice, however I feel I must now offer my 2 cents. Sure, medical school involves hard work and constant memorization. But when I look back at my life and especially my time in school I DO NOT want to say to myself, "Man I worked my butt off in school and didn't get to socialize with anyone or pursue other interests". I would rather say to myself "I was really well-rounded, did well in medical school, had a family, volunteered, learned from other people and was a gentle, caring doctor".

My advice to you is to be careful with your advice. Not everyone wants to be #1. Please don't generalize your advice. In the end we all end up with the same letters after our name.

Look at the title of the thread. It does not say "how to survive med school." It says "how to DO WELL." And yes, it is true you should approach it depending on how you define the word "well" and what your performance goals are. I am only offering my PERSONAL perspective from my PERSONAL observation and experience. Almost everyone will graduate with MD in the back of their name, and it is ASSUMED that everyone trained through this system will become a competent doctors. But you will realize, if not already, that not everyone is going to be AOA or have honors or A's plastered all over their transcript or 250 boards. There will be some people in your class who will gladly sell their soul for one of the above, and there will be people who will sneeze at it and wont even try. THe question is whether or not any of this is YOUR goal. And I did mention, it is perfectly fine if they are not your goals in life and you can ignore me like a crazy lunatic. But also please repect those others who would like to achieve these and would like to hear a perspective of how to achieve it.

The bottom line is, you should take anything on this board with a grain of salt and do what's right for yourself. After all, it doesn't make sense doing things if it doesn't float your boat.

 

[njbmd]

Originally posted by Lab-Rat21
Do med students still go out for fun on weekends?

Also, has anyone bought a USMLE Step I Review book yet? I heard it's good to study out of them and remember what is "the forest from the tress," that is what is minutia vs. necessary material...anyone?

Though maybe being seen with a Step I review book will give off a gunner impression you will never escape from?🙄

Hi there,
You can't REVIEW what you have not LEARNED in the first place so a Step I review book is not of much help to you at this point in your medical school career. First Aid for the Boards is a very useful book to keep around and read from time to time but other than studying and learning the material for your courses, you don't have enough of a knowledge base at this point for much review.

At the end of your first semester, you may want to purchase Step UP to add to your collection but next summer and next year, the "review" books will become more useful. Your best source of information on getting through your classes and doing well are the professors who are teaching the class. Seek help early and often even if you think you are acing everything.

njbmd😎