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How much reading is required in med school ?
Do you commit to memory information from your textbooks that are not in your PPTs?
Amen, Moore's Essential Clinical Anatomy is a God send. It's the only book I regularly use, but I only use it as supplementation to my anatomy PPTs.I feel like a lot of lecturers will say to read the relevant chapter/section in such and such textbook in addition to their lecture, but no one bothers buying most of those textbooks and all of the information you need to know is in the lecture anyway. The giant exception to this is anatomy, Moore's is my bible.
On average, about 20-30 pages a day of 'Required' reading. Not that much
Again, the 3-5 pancakes a day analogy rings true here
140-210 pages a week of dry science textbooks can become pretty sickening after a while![]()
If it helps you understand a topic more, i get that. But if its just some random "cool to know" piece of knowledge, is it really necessary to commit it to memory? Since you won't be tested on it and you'll forget it by boards anyways...Textbooks are usually there to help clarify a topic for me but honestly, anything medical that I read now can be said is 'relevant.' It's a matter of figuring out what is important to know at this point in time. The more you know the better but it becomes a balancing act...you can't learn everything.
Can anyone clarify if its 20-30 pages of mandatatory reading? 20-30 pages just to read would take me 2 hours at least to read (unless there were a lot of pictures/charts on the pages)...So is that 20-30 pages a day, the bulk of the information for a single day? Or is it 20-30 pages a day + 100 ppt slides/day?
That's a normal textbook pace, obviously it would be in combination with other resources. Some will attend lectures, nearly everyone will watch the podcast, people use boards resources (pathoma, flashcards, etc) , people will use question books/banks, attend small groups, labs, etcSo is that 20-30 pages a day, the bulk of the information for a single day? Or is it 20-30 pages a day + 100 ppt slides/day?
If you are reading 2 solid hours a day, that's probably a good pace to maintain 6-7 days a week. When I say 'required' it's not mandatory per se (your school's administrators won't peek into your windows at home to ensure that you're reading the book) but usually the course syllabus will recommend a textbook, offer up some assigned readings, with page numbers and dates, etcIf it helps you understand a topic more, i get that. But if its just some random "cool to know" piece of knowledge, is it really necessary to commit it to memory? Since you won't be tested on it and you'll forget it by boards anyways...
Can anyone clarify if its 20-30 pages of mandatatory reading? 20-30 pages just to read would take me 2 hours at least to read (unless there were a lot of pictures/charts on the pages)...
Is it really possible to read 20-30 pages a day (~2 hrs), memorize it all (several more hours), along with the 100-200 slides a day (MANY more hours)? That doesn't sound possible unless you are really really smart/can pick up info fast or are good with only getting 4 hours of sleep. Back in college it would take me a good 2 hours to memorize 70-80% of the material for a 50 slide lecture and by then I'd be pretty mentally worn (the other 20-30% of material being the nitty gritty details). My school (like several others) has mandatory lecture too so that takes out many more hours out of my day...If you are reading 2 solid hours a day, that's probably a good pace to maintain 6-7 days a week. When I say 'required' it's not mandatory per se (your school's administrators won't peek into your windows at home to ensure that you're reading the book) but usually the course syllabus will recommend a textbook, offer up some assigned readings, with page numbers and dates, etc
Not everyone will do the readings. They are optional similar to lecture attendance. No punishment for not doing it, but you're responsible for the material
My point is that 2 hours is enough to read it, but will you have it memorized come quiz/test day?
That's a normal textbook pace, obviously it would be in combination with other resources. Some will attend lectures, nearly everyone will watch the podcast, people use boards resources (pathoma, flashcards, etc) , people will use question books/banks, attend small groups, labs, etc
But if you wanted to follow along in a textbook (physio, path, etc) then typically that pace would be fine for me.
That sounds terribleNice. I was just kind of surprised since I expected the number to be higher. I just got accepted to a school that is pretty much 100% PBL with no lectures (except for anatomy). Students get all of their information from textbooks and then meet to discuss it during PBL (MWF for ~2hrs). Most students say they read texts for about 8 hours a day. Does it really take them 8 hours to read 20-30 pages?
Nice. I was just kind of surprised since I expected the number to be higher. I just got accepted to a school that is pretty much 100% PBL with no lectures (except for anatomy). Students get all of their information from textbooks and then meet to discuss it during PBL (MWF for ~2hrs). Most students say they read texts for about 8 hours a day. Does it really take them 8 hours to read 20-30 pages?
That sounds terrible![]()
Yes it's possible, and yes a lot of people in med school are really smart. Don't try to compare it to "back in college". The volume is bigger and pace is faster now. If you are asking these questions, you likely never pushed yourself to the limits before so you will have no clue what is actually doable.Is it really possible to read 20-30 pages a day (~2 hrs), memorize it all (several more hours), along with the 100-200 slides a day (MANY more hours)? That doesn't sound possible unless you are really really smart/can pick up info fast or are good with only getting 4 hours of sleep. Back in college it would take me a good 2 hours to memorize 70-80% of the material for a 50 slide lecture and by then I'd be pretty mentally worn (the other 20-30% of material being the nitty gritty details). My school (like several others) has mandatory lecture too so that takes out many more hours out of my day...
there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in a day to do all of that! Or am i just overestimating the # of hours Ill be in class? ( 8-5 so I've heard- some days shorter though)Yes it's possible, and yes a lot of people in med school are really smart. Don't try to compare it to "back in college". The volume is bigger and pace is faster now. If you are asking these questions, you likely never pushed yourself to the limits before so you will have no clue what is actually doable.
Yeah time is pretty scant during the week. I'm up at 5, study for ~2 hours, then class/at school studying from 8am-5pm, gym, dinner, then maybe an hour or two before bed (I'm usually too tired after a full day to read/study much anyway). Weekends are crucial if you're looking to get ahead.there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in a day to do all of that! Or am i just overestimating the # of hours Ill be in class? ( 8-5 so I've heard- some days shorter though)
there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in a day to do all of that! Or am i just overestimating the # of hours Ill be in class? ( 8-5 so I've heard- some days shorter though)
Disagree with the "get ahead" part. Weekends are a good time to review and synthesize and not fall behind it catch up. You'll never get ahead.... Weekends are crucial if you're looking to get ahead.
As mentioned you might study a few hours before lecture, a few hours after every day. And then the bulk of the weekends. Many schools actually have shortened lecture time (half days) so you can spend even more hours self studying each day. Just don't try to compare any of this to college or it will look impossible. Remember also that in college you weren't surrounded by people living this schedule either -- keeping up with the med school pace is helped by the fact that everyone else is studying hard too.there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in a day to do all of that! Or am i just overestimating the # of hours Ill be in class? ( 8-5 so I've heard- some days shorter though)
Well, yes. But in the context of reading not being "required", that would in fact be getting ahead IMO. But I agree, you will likely never truly get "ahead" in medical school.Disagree with the "get ahead" part. Weekends are a good time to review and synthesize and not fall behind it catch up. You'll never get ahead.