How do the gunners study?

[azcomhopeful]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Okay, I know this thread will incite some angry responses from people. I define gunners differently than most. To me a gunner is someone who is focused and obsessed with earning top grades. I don't define a gunner as someone who tries to scew their classmates or not be helpfull in any way. To me those people are a-holes and not gunners. In your experience, what did the gunners do that you didn't do? Or if you are a gunner yourself, how did you study? How many hours etc? How did you deal with the stress etc?

 

[Ratch]

its a secret, you have to be initiated in the first two weeks of school to be let in on it...

no one can tell you how to study, did you not have an orientation at your school? you have to figure out what works for you. there are no timeframes to becoming a gunner, its a matter of dedication and time committment. no one can tell you if you are doing things right or wrong. sadly, you will have to self assess yourself from here on out and decide whether or not you are happy with your performance, and then make changes from there.

stress is what YOU make it. if you don't enjoy medical school, then you will be stressed. i enjoy it, study alot, and am not too stressed. its your attitude that determines alot of your stress level. doing well in classes helps to be less stressed (again, only you can figure out the time amount and method to acheive that). exercise helps decrease stress, thats a key. and drinking whenver you see a small opening, that decreases stress for the moment and then increases it the next day. good luck.

 

[Idiopathic]

I think for the gunners, time spent studying = success. It is a purely proportional relationship.

 

[DOctorJay]

its a secret, you have to be initiated in the first two weeks of school to be let in on it...

no one can tell you how to study, did you not have an orientation at your school? you have to figure out what works for you. there are no timeframes to becoming a gunner, its a matter of dedication and time committment. no one can tell you if you are doing things right or wrong. sadly, you will have to self assess yourself from here on out and decide whether or not you are happy with your performance, and then make changes from there.

stress is what YOU make it. if you don't enjoy medical school, then you will be stressed. i enjoy it, study alot, and am not too stressed. its your attitude that determines alot of your stress level. doing well in classes helps to be less stressed (again, only you can figure out the time amount and method to acheive that). exercise helps decrease stress, thats a key. and drinking whenver you see a small opening, that decreases stress for the moment and then increases it the next day. good luck.

Ratch has some good points. I especially like what is mentioned about attitude. On the days you feel like crap, and don't want to spend another second studying you can make a quick attitude change by saying "I GET to study such and such today" as opposed to "I HAVE to study such and such". Don't ever forget how lucky and priviliged you are to be studying medicine. Sounds kind of stupid but believe me when you start changing what you say it affects how you think and your attitude becomes much more positive, againd decreasing your stress. Just a quick tip, give it a try, it works for me.

-J

 

[docbill]

DIDO... good advice. You should also stay away from people that stress out and run around crying the sky is falling the sky is falling... que sera sera...You get what you put. Not only in Med but any other field. I am a PhD student.. and the amount of work my head has to process and keep up with is sometimes crushing. You have to find a way of dealing with the stress and have a somewhat careless attitute. Prioritize also.

 

[Sage880]

I sit down and study pretty much the same amount as everyone else. The only real difference is I try and jam studying and reviewing into little cracks of time I have.

I always drag around a less heavy textbook and pull it out and read it whenever I'm waiting for someone, on a bus, eating by myself... it's amazing how much I get done just during those moments.

I also make tonnes of those little flash cards. Actually writing it out in my own words and then going over them later is really helpful. I have stacks and stacks of those things now.

Works for me anyway.

 

[azcomdiddy]

Being a gunner has everything to do with your lifestyle. I'm a gunner and I sacraficed a lot. I studied on Friday night when others partied. I pushed myself to consistently study between 5-8 hours on weekdays despite being exhausted. I read ahead of time and I watched very little television. Everyone wants to be the best but what separates gunners from wannabes is the sacrafice that gunners are willing to make. Consistency is big too. You will see that in the beginning of the quarter, everyone will study and be disciplined. But let's who keeps it up for the next two years. The answer is that 90% won't keep up that intensity. Being a gunner isn't for everyone. Many will realize the gunner lifestyle isn't for them. Some people will be extraordinarily intelligent and will finish in the top 5% while still maintaining an active social life. However, those people are rare and you may see only 1 or 2 those people in your class. The rest are closet gunners who don't want to admit they study a lot for whatever reason. People who say you can be in the top 10% of your class while going out a lot is lying. Don't believe it. I can't tell you how many people I have busted in our class for making such false claims. Everyone who is successful in medical school studies a lot. Some people are just better at hiding their studying than others.

Finally, be prepared to be lonely if you want to become a gunner. It's not easy. There are times, I wish I could go out drinking with everyone instead of staying inside and studying on Monday night after exams. I felt that my gunner lifestyle has prevented me from enjoying many moments with my classmates. This is the biggest reason why most people in your class will quit trying to be a gunner because it's not worth it to them. You can have so much more fun in medical school if you don't gun. That's why you should never gun if you are pursuing a non-competitive field. The sacrafice of your personal life isn't worth it. I only gun because of the field I want to pursue which requires top grades, otherwise I would be partying with the rest of my classmates. Decide early if you need to gun because top grades are not worth it just for the pride. The pride factor wears off really soon and then it's about reality.

 

[Dr. Dizz]

I'm at the point where I feel like I need to study like a gunner just to pass. 🙁

 

[azcomdiddy]

I'm at the point where I feel like I need to study like a gunner just to pass. 🙁

Well, if you would have studied like a gunner from the very beginning, you would do far more than pass your classes.

 

[Dr. Dizz]

Well, if you would have studied like a gunner from the very beginning, you would do far more than pass your classes.

I just began my first year.

 

[Doc Oc]

I made a list of what needed to be learned for each subject the first day of each class, then divided it up. For example, when doing gross anatomy, I'd make a list like 1.arteries of upper extremity, then subdivide like "muscles supplied", "collateral circulation patterns", etc. Then I'd put the items onto a little calendar, so for the rest of the course, after that 20-30 minutes of planning on the first day, I'd know what I need to studying. As I realized things that I didn't think of, as the course went on, I added them to the list.

After having a list, it's easy. Each day, sit down, and LEARN what is on the schedule for that day. Don't lay down on the couch and "study" it, learn actively. If I thought I wasn't paying attention, I would close the book and take out a blank piece of paper and start writing down or drawing whatever I was supposed to have learned, then I'd check it. This method helped me to not waste time. I think most people have had one of those days where you spend all day studying, then at the end of the day aren't sure what you retained. In med school, you don't have that kind of time.

The last thing I'd do at the end of each day is try to recall what I learned. I'd either use a blank chalkboard and write it down, quiz myself with board review books or old tests, doing the questions on the subject I learned, use a blank piece of paper, etc. On the test, you need to be able to recall things, so if I could do at the end of the day what I needed to do on the test, then I was done studying for the day.

I'm not sure if I'm a "gunner", but I did very well in my classes and I'm in at least the top 15% (we're told whether or not we're in the top 15% after first year, but not given our rank).

Good luck to you, like everyone keeps saying, the important thing is to find ot what works for you. There are other people in my class who did awesome, but I can't learn by studying the way that they study. My advice is to do a recall test of some sorts when you try a new way of studying, to see if you are retaining. I use flashcards when I find I'm just not retaining something.

 

[Lokie]

"Gunner" is a term that was developed by lazy medical students, there is no such thing as a gunner. You are either studying to do your very best or you are a slacker who does not belong in the profession

 

[Robz]

"Gunner" is a term that was developed by lazy medical students, there is no such thing as a gunner. You are either studying to do your very best or you are a slacker who does not belong in the profession

obviously you have never seen kids in college rip out reserve files, pages from reference books in classes , or tear the answer key off the wall just to make sure they have an advantage over the rest of the crowd.....

there is a huge difference in a gunner than someone like azcomditty whom I jsut consider a dedicated student who want to be the best. Hell....I'm not a gunner but I am in class from 8am to 4pm I got home for an hour and then back in the library till 11-12. Weekends I average so far around 9-10 hours.

 

[r90t]

Rather than being a gunner, be the best student that you can possibly be. Someone's life will be in your hands at some point in the next 4 years. Your knowledge can possibly be the difference between life and death of a patient, even as a med student.

With that said, do your best. If that is a 75% and you gave it your all, so be it.
I had no cable tv, no radio, no roommate while in MS1-2. My girlfriend was in another city. I studied my ass off by myself tuesday-Thursday, flew to San Diego on Friday, then back to Arizona on Sundays, studying a fair amount of time while there. Took tests on monday morning, worked part-time monday afternoons with an orthopaedic surgeon for stress relief, then went out drinking (lightly) in the evening and finished with a bit of studies. I lived by well rested, well tested and only dropped 1 exam in 2 years.

Avoid frantic studiers that add chaos to study groups. I found independent studying useful for myself. Others did the group thing.

Find your nitch, do your best.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Rather than being a gunner, be the best student that you can possibly be. Someone's life will be in your hands at some point in the next 4 years. Your knowledge can possibly be the difference between life and death of a patient, even as a med student.

With that said, do your best. If that is a 75% and you gave it your all, so be it.
I had no cable tv, no radio, no roommate while in MS1-2. My girlfriend was in another city. I studied my ass off by myself tuesday-Thursday, flew to San Diego on Friday, then back to Arizona on Sundays, studying a fair amount of time while there. Took tests on monday morning, worked part-time monday afternoons with an orthopaedic surgeon for stress relief, then went out drinking (lightly) in the evening and finished with a bit of studies. I lived by well rested, well tested and only dropped 1 exam in 2 years.

Avoid frantic studiers that add chaos to study groups. I found independent studying useful for myself. Others did the group thing.

Find your nitch, do your best.

This sounds really nice 👍 I'm sure it's been really hard, but nice plan !

 

[r90t]

It worked for me. Got married towards the end of third year, had a baby during fourth year, then had the family to calm me down during my internship year.

The best advice is to do your best. If you graduate last in your class and you really busted our tail, then you won't have anything to be ashamed of.

 

[DOrk]

It's important to study material the SAME day you covered it in class....while it's still fresh in your mind. Try not to study at home....Maintain your home as the place you go to de-stress and forget about studying. I'm a laid back, procrastinator, go with the flow kind of guy at heart... but I had to become anal-retentive about studying in order to succeed. I would read each set of notes five times before going on to something else...then I'd read everything again three times the weekend before the exam. (This did not apply to OMM, which I studied the morning of the exam).

 

[r90t]

It's important to study material the SAME day you covered it in class....while it's still fresh in your mind. Try not to study at home....Maintain your home as the place you go to de-stress and forget about studying. I'm a laid back, procrastinator, go with the flow kind of guy at heart... but I had to become anal-retentive about studying in order to succeed. I would read each set of notes five times before going on to something else...then I'd read everything again three times the weekend before the exam. (This did not apply to OMM, which I studied the morning of the exam).

I agree with the above. I had an office set aside in my house that was my study area and the rest of the house was for living. It is easier to do that, than to go to the library. Also, no TV/Radio and limited internet access in this room to minimize distractions.