How often do you go to class?

[dyk343]

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After strolling threads on SDN such as here it seems like most (some) MD/DO students do not go to class all that often. With the exception of a couple courses, I almost always went to class in undergrad. I am just curious if pod students find it beneficial to go to class or to just study from notes/online lectures?

 

[air bud]

if there was video for each class and no required attendance, i would NEVER go. For anatomy and cell at DMU, attendance was required, but i also found it useful to go. Most of the time the professor would say "and here is xxxx" while pointing at a spot on the screen. It helped to be able to remember where he/she was pointing when you were studying and listening to the mp3. If you had the video and could see where they were pointing, then no real need to go. However, i think at one point i didnt put pants on for 3 straight weeks. I stayed at home in a bathrobe all winter long. It depends on your situation though. I know people who dont go and stuggle, but they wake up at noon each day. I dont go, but I am up and studying by 8, pretending like I was at class. Until you get to campus and figure things out, plan on going for the first month. After that, you will have figured out how you learn best.
That being said, it again depends on your situation. If you are young and single, you will probably go to class more, just so you have that social interaction. If you have a family, you will more likely stay at home to be able to spend time with them, not needing as much interaction with others.

 

[UW66]

You're gonna have to gauge the situation for every class ya take, and with every lecturer. Different proffs do different things.

My advise is to attend each class until the first exam at least, to see how each proff operates. If he tests straight from his notes then maybe you can skip out the rest of the quarter, if not then plan on attending.

Ill tell ya whats going on at scholls at the moment though, just for some examples!
--some drs/proffs wont let allow them to be recorded and let it be distributed to the class.
--some materials are only distributed during class and arent put up on the internet.
--many of the powerpoints they give us over D2L are nearly blank and have nothing but titles. Or nothing but pictures, or nothing but Xrays, cts, mri's etc. If you arent in class you wont be answering a single question on the next exam from your blank lecture slides.
--they take attendance randomly by sending around sign in sheets. Who knows what theyre doing with those, but who wants to be the guy who never showed up to class then comes knocking for a favor?
--they administer random unannounced quizzes. They're usually a small amount of "extra credit" though. usually extra credit the class dearly needs.


youre also missing out on a lot of invaluable little tidbits that the drs/proffs dish out before, after and between classes. Not to mention just staying connected with whats going on amongst your classmates, random announces, room changes, club meetings, free food, clinic gossip....just whatevers going on.

 

[damhsoir]

My advise is to attend each class until the first exam at least, to see how each proff operates. If he tests straight from his notes then maybe you can skip out the rest of the quarter, if not then plan on attending.

I agree. And you get to know your classmates this way. I have so much fun with my friends during lunch and our 10 minute breaks between classes. If I never came to school during the first quarter, I would be a very lonely girl. 🙁

--they take attendance randomly by sending around sign in sheets.
--they administer random unannounced quizzes.

Must be a 2nd or 3rd year prof because that has not happened this year (with the exception of Brandes passing around an attendance sheet for pod med and surgery)?

Almost all of our classes were recorded this year with the exception of Biochem (tests right off the notes), Structure and Function (Function has audiovisual files online, Structure is right off the notes), Lower anatomy, and Pod Med & Surgery. As of lately, I've only been going to lower and pod med. I usually catch up on lectures over the weekend. Now if I could only figure out how to watch the lectures in double time. hmmm...

Some days I don't even have to show up to school. It saves time showering, getting ready, doing hair and makeup, trying to find something to wear, commuting, etc. And I get to sleep in....til 8am! Skipping class has kept me sane this year and I will be doing it as much as possible next year too.

 

[215353]

I find some of the responses posted so far rather interesting. I attended a grad program through the Drexel College of Medicine where we took M1 courses simultaneously with the other M1 students. We were located in the center city campus of Philly though. I had to sit in a large lecture hall where the lecture (at the med school campus) was projected onto a large movie screen. It was during real time and there was also a microphone stand in the middle of room that allowed students to chime in during the prof's lecture and ask a question if they needed to. Whenever anyone asked a question our voice was projected from the ceiling speakers at the med school campus and we could always see the students looking up and saying "what the $uck was that?"

Later in the day all the broadcasted lectures were re-posted on the medical school website for students to review anytime they liked. I even downloaded a sweet program that allowed me to "rip" the videos off the website and I have them all saved to my external hard-drive.

So we had the recorded lectures and even the lecture notes were posted on the medical website as well. We had everything we ever needed. I remember when this program started everyone attended class up until the first exam. Then both the attendance at the center city campus and the med school campus dropped significantly since everyone could access the materials they needed from their computers at home. It was beautiful thing.

I find some of the technology that some podiatry schools have to offer rather archaic. I don't understand why this is.

UW66 you posted some very informational tid-bits about the scholl program. I will be attending scholl this coming Fall. From what has been posted on our facebook group, by some of the P1s, I have been told that if we know our notes inside and out we should be pretty prepared for the exams. You seem to be suggesting quite the opposite though. It sounds like attending as many classes as you can would be in the best interest of the student. It sounds like we would miss a significant amount of important information if we were to skip.

So would you say knowing your notes inside and out and attending class (so that you can get all that extra information from the profs, etc) is the ONLY way to go at Scholl if you want to give yourself the best chance to get an A in the course?

 

[damhsoir]

I have been told that if we know our notes inside and out we should be pretty prepared for the exams.

Yes, that has been my experience so far this year.

But there are people at Scholl that go to class and do very well and people that don't go to class and do very well.

There are also people that go to every class and are failing.

You need to find out what works best for you. Like UW66 said, go to class up until the first test. If you don't think going to class will help, don't go. Don't feel guilty about skipping (even if the rest of your class goes to every single class). By the end of the year, hardly anyone comes to class...most of us figured out that you can get so much more done by staying at home or going to the library instead.

The only class that I have found absolutely necessary to attend is lower extremity anatomy. And it's a great class, why would you want to skip?! 😀

 

[UW66]

Must be a 2nd or 3rd year prof because that has not happened this year (with the exception of Brandes passing around an attendance sheet for pod med and surgery)?

Yeah i probably should have been specific. I was just giving examples of things proffs might do in pod/graduate schools that ya wont necessarily see in a a large undergrad setting.
Specifically at scholls during the 2nd year you can expect those things i listed to go on. 1st year you can definitely get by skipping class here and there to maintain your sanity

 

[dyk343]

Thanks for everyone's answers so far.

 

[spo01]

Granted there are exceptions, but going to class is not only useless but detrimental to my education.

 

[that1guyfromFL]

Granted there are exceptions, but going to class is not only useless but detrimental to my education.

The materials you need to stay up to date are available online?

Profs don't take attendance?

Yes and yes would make my day. 🙂

 

[UW66]

ooooh you rascally barry kids! Im making calls! 🙂

 

[Creflo]

due to the amount of material that has to be covered, professors have to go very fast. i found it difficult to absorb what they were saying unless i had a chance to pre-study the material before class. if i couldn't do this, i tended to spend classroom time learning at my own pace. the disadvantage of missing class is that you may miss out on hints from the professor regarding what may be on the test.

 

[spo01]

The materials you need to stay up to date are available online?

Profs don't take attendance?

Yes and yes would make my day. 🙂

Usually yes and usually yes.

Barry recently started putting the lectures online, I'd say 90% of professors allow them to be recorded. There are usually 1 or 2 professors each semester that make attendance a small percentage of the grade while another 1 or 2 took it for the hell of it. They have been coming down hard on us with attendance but I feel this is done to reach out to those students who are struggling. I'm surprised I haven't seen someone rant about this "you're paying $25k a year and you need to go to class to learn"...these people don't know what they're talking about. Have a question buddy? F'in google it. Then if you can't find it, ask.

It's all about personal preference and how you learn best. To me, no matter what the school, attendance was usually nothing more than a giant circle jerk while feeding an ego. There are exceptions. And I am speaking solely about the first 2 years, not the clinical years which I plan on always going to. But the first 2 years of medical school has, and always will, beat you down on the amount of material presented to you in such a short time not the complexity of the material per se. On the other hand I have had friends that said they absolutely must attend class. But for me, I learn best in the comfort of my quiet apartment, at my own pace (very important), surrounded by resources (the professors notes, computer, study guides, marker board, food, bathroom etc). Anytime I had a question and google or notes weren't helping I would ask a friend, the other half I would talk to my dad (a doctor as well, which created great father/son bonding time).

Yes, some classes were worth it to me. But I'd say out of 9 classes (2 were labs) last semester I went to half and never went to the other half. I mainly went to get out of the apartment and see my classmates/friends. But I am not going to wake up at 8am for a class where a professor reads word for word from a powerpoint. So find your niche and know which classes to go to and which not to go to and balance your time wisely.

 

[zloetakoe]

It drives me crazy when profs require me go to class. After all, I'M the guy paying the 30K a year. I'm a big boy now and I'll flunk out if I want to!

 

[Paulywog]

This is a great issue that has come up at our school every year with the meeting between the faculty and the leaders of each class. I understand both sides of the argument. I personally go to every class, mainly because I get paid to (I am in charge of the audio/visual for the class room). If I didnt have that job, I would not have gone to two of my classes last year. It was kind of sad when a teacher comes to class and 10-15% of the students are in class. I'm not saying the students should have been there, but it is rude from the teachers perspective. But if a teacher reads straight from their notes or they test straight from their notes or old tests, then being in class could be less effective than studying on your own during that class time.
I have argued for not making attendance mandatory in the meetings with faculty but they always say studies show most students learn better when in class. Could someone find a study proving/disproving this?
What I don't like about students that don't attend class is if they complain they didn't get an announcement said in class or they didn't like a matter that was voted on in class.
Someone mentioned earlier about married students not going to class as much because they have families...I believe the opposite is true. If I stay home, I would be too distracted by my kids and wife. I use the time at school to focus and get my work done, then when I'm at home its strictly family time.
I do agree that attendance should not be mandatory, but I will continue to go to classes. I have also built great relationships with professors by attending every class, which has been and will be nice for LOR's.
THey should start a University of Phoenix School of Podiatric Medicine and make it online only for lecture classes and you attend labs at a building. This would be a great school for a portion of the students in each podiatry school that dont like to go to class.

 

[spo01]

THey should start a University of Phoenix School of Podiatric Medicine and make it online only for lecture classes and you attend labs at a building. This would be a great school for a portion of the students in each podiatry school that dont like to go to class.

Sad indeed, but I can seriously see a "podiatryinpajamas.com" forming in the next few years.

 

[janV88]

"The first study in this survey of the impact of attendance on student classroom success is by Robert M. Schmidt ("Who Maximizes What? A Study in Student Time Allocation ", AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, May, 1983, pp. 23-28). In this study, the author measured the impact of time commitments by students to various course activities on the students' performance in the given class. The results were revealing. By far, the most valuable and important time commitment in a course was the time actually spent in the classroom. That time was the most important determinant of student success and each unit of time in the class itself provided, among all the class related activities, the greatest improvement in student performance. The next most important time spent on a class was any time spent in discussion sections that accompanied the lectures. Third in importance was any time spent studying outside of class preparing for the class session itself. Perhaps most surprising was the result that the least significant time commitment in improving student performance in a particular class was the time spent studying for the final exam. Thus the study concludes that the most productive time in any course is the time actually spent in the classroom. That time has the greatest positive impact on overall student performance. The hour or two spent in class each day (for a particular course) does the most to improve the student's grade."

http://www.mnsu.edu/cetl/teachingresources/articles/classattendance.html



In undergrad if I missed class, I just ended up sleeping. I always did considerably better in the classes I attended. In my opinion it really depends on how you use your time. If you skip lecture from 8-12 to study your notes, you will be good. But if you sleep in...thats 4 hours of study time lost. Unless of course you plan on going to sleep 4 hours later.

 

[spo01]

"The first study in this survey of the impact of attendance on student classroom success is by Robert M. Schmidt ("Who Maximizes What? A Study in Student Time Allocation ", AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, May, 1983, pp. 23-28). In this study, the author measured the impact of time commitments by students to various course activities on the students' performance in the given class. The results were revealing. By far, the most valuable and important time commitment in a course was the time actually spent in the classroom. That time was the most important determinant of student success and each unit of time in the class itself provided, among all the class related activities, the greatest improvement in student performance. The next most important time spent on a class was any time spent in discussion sections that accompanied the lectures. Third in importance was any time spent studying outside of class preparing for the class session itself. Perhaps most surprising was the result that the least significant time commitment in improving student performance in a particular class was the time spent studying for the final exam. Thus the study concludes that the most productive time in any course is the time actually spent in the classroom. That time has the greatest positive impact on overall student performance. The hour or two spent in class each day (for a particular course) does the most to improve the student's grade."

http://www.mnsu.edu/cetl/teachingresources/articles/classattendance.html



In undergrad if I missed class, I just ended up sleeping. I always did considerably better in the classes I attended. In my opinion it really depends on how you use your time. If you skip lecture from 8-12 to study your notes, you will be good. But if you sleep in...thats 4 hours of study time lost. Unless of course you plan on going to sleep 4 hours later.

This study is pointless. Besides the fact it was in 1983 which lacked the technology we have today, for every study you find supporting attendance you will another showing the opposite. It's just too subjective to adequately assess such a thing (especially in a quantitative manner).
You are right in saying it depends on how you use your time. We are big boys and girls now and if someone wants to sleep instead of study they deserve to fail out.

 

[dtrack22]

Someone mentioned earlier about married students not going to class as much because they have families...I believe the opposite is true. If I stay home, I would be too distracted by my kids and wife. I use the time at school to focus and get my work done, then when I'm at home its strictly family time.

Unless you have different idea of "family time"...I'd skip lecture for a little afternoon delight too

 

[podvamp]

Personal attendance at classes doesn't seem to matter much in terms of my grades. I'm doing just as well in attended classes as I do in un-attended (early) classes. I do find my own room at home to be more "learning friendly" than sitting in an uncomfortable classroom listening to the prof drone on at normal speed. Overhearing people's private conversations around you. I much rather watch the video in the afternoon with a beverage. Do it at double speed. Have the ability to rewind confusing things. Have total silence around me. Have the ability to skip anecdotes and tangents. Not have to worry about the overhead spy cameras peeping on you and taking pictures. (yes it's true we get emailed the pictures if we do something naughty at OCPM). LOL

Benefits of actually being in class: Social networking.... Possibly making a good impression on the doctors you need reccos from.... uhhhhh yeah...

 

[darazon]

At Western, Podiatry related classes and clinical classes are mandatory, basic science classes are not. For some of our basic science classes we have about 400 students in the class. Usually only over a 100 or so actually go to class, the rest will either watch them online or just go through the profs lecture notes/ppt.

I change it up depending on what class it is and what prof is lecturing. I know one student in particular who lives close to San Diego, we only see him for the required attendance classes and exams.