So, I am about to start my first year and am curious what everyone else will already have learned going into medical school. Will many people already know most of anatomy an physiology? Histology? Clinical skills? Any thoughts or experiences?
How much will everyone else know?
- Thread starter dirac
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Some people will have definite advantages in specific classes. I was a neuroscience major which was helpful for that class. Friends who were biochem majors had a major leg up for that class. Etc. Some people will have worked as nurses or in other medical fields and they will know alot of practical stuff. There will definitely be some kids with advantages but for the most part you will be able to compete with some hard work even if you don't have these things going for you. The only thing that you can't really make up for with dedication is not having a photographic memory. Those kids have it made.
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It will vary widely. I was a bioengineering major so I had an advantage in Phys, certain aspects of anatomy, and in general teamwork but that didn't make those facets a landslide or anything. Doing well is definitely more about what you're going to learn rather than what you already know.
N
njbmd
You really need to concentrate on doing what YOU need for building YOUR knowledge base. If you were accepted, you have the tools to "catch up" with anyone who starts medical school with a degree in one of the basic sciences. You can't waste time worrying about what other know or don't know.
You need to put that energy into making sure that YOU know what YOU need to know. In the end, you have to perform without the excuse of "well, I wasn't a science major or "I didn't have the background". The only background that you need for medical school is good and efficient study skills and the pre-med courses.
Whether something is easier or harder for another student is useless for you. You have run your own race here and concentrate on your needs.
You need to put that energy into making sure that YOU know what YOU need to know. In the end, you have to perform without the excuse of "well, I wasn't a science major or "I didn't have the background". The only background that you need for medical school is good and efficient study skills and the pre-med courses.
Whether something is easier or harder for another student is useless for you. You have run your own race here and concentrate on your needs.
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Agree with njbmd -- you were accepted, and you'll be fine even though other students might have an advantage over you in one subject. We had the person who had majored in biochem, so they didn't need to study for that class, and the person who had tutored anatomy lab, so he didn't need to study for anatomy much. I came in as a non-science major knowing none of that stuff, but I was still did well. In fact, I think I kind of had an advantage because I had to learn how to study for everything from the start.
The most important thing is to not let other people throw you because they act like they already know a lot of stuff. Have confidence in your own abilities.
The most important thing is to not let other people throw you because they act like they already know a lot of stuff. Have confidence in your own abilities.
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Everybody comes in with a different set of strengths and weakness. Some students are more knowledgeable in certain basic science subjects than others at the beginning. At my medical school, there were students that had PhD's in biology and master's degrees in anatomy, for example. It definitely seemed like they had an early advantage, but at the pace that medical school runs, nearly everybody was on par, as time went on. It was a likely a slightly steeper learning curve for those w/o the background, but that can be an advantage, too. Less to unlearn, if the material is different, and you don't take anything for granted.
I also knew a few students in my school that had extensive clinical experience. Some were OB nurses, PA's, paramedics, etc. They did seem more familiar with the set up and understood the language of medicine better, but at the end, everybody seemed to be on pretty equal footing. Whatever it is they did in the past, they had to let it go and learn what it means to be a physician.
What it comes down to is that medical school has a sharp enough learning curve and goes fast enough that everybody, no matter what your background happens to be, is going to be trying to keep up. Whatever advantage there is from a given background gets quickly surpassed.
And I agree with the above comments from other posters. It's an individual game.
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