how should i prepare for med school this summer?

[carolinablue]

---

Members do not see this ad.

i'm a little worried about starting school this fall and am wondering what i should do to prepare myself. my study habits are a bit rusty... i haven't really been in a class since last spring, but i did however spend a few months studying for the mcat this past winter before i retook in early feb. I got into a school about a month ago and have alotta time to kill before august. Besides preparing for the mcat and an embryology class last spring, i haven't really put hard core science material study hours in a while.....and i'll be starting school with kids that have just taken biochem and god knows what within the past 3-4 months...these kids are ready to go, and i dont wanna be behind.

i know that i should enjoy this time and relax...im doing that just fine...if anything i'm worried i do that too much and will end up being a lil lazy. I have this mentality that when school starts, ill just be a studying machine and will do fine...but the truth is, people DO FAIL their first semester of med school...it happens quite a bit actually. I haven't taken biochem or anatomy (had for 2 months but dropped -time conflict) so i feel like im a bit behind...I made up for the missing pieces by doing better on the mcat...but i'm not sure if mcat studying is very similar with med school studying.

I'm not aiming for ROAD, but i just wanna be a solid med student.

a little more about my personal study habits
-visual learner
-can only perform well under pressure
-in college i did awesome by cramming and pulling all-nighters...it just worked for me...i can't study ahead of time...but when the pressure is on and the test is the next day i swear another window of power in my brain opens up and i can really do well.
-i have to practice alottt

big things i need to work on
-procrastination
-procrastination
-procrastination
-being able to memorize large amounts of info

you see, in college procrastination is just a bad habit...it doesn't always mean you are handicapped because in most classes you can still do really well (As and Bs) if you are a procrastinator.

How do you med students memorize so much????? i mean the volume of info is crazy...it honestly scares the crap outta me...i'm no genius...i never got things quick...i really have to focus and spend time with the material, and med school goes by so fast how do you guys keep up?


Another BIG problem i had sometimes in college was having to balance so many different classes at once. in med school however is it true that i'll only be taking 2-3 classes at a time? (i know its still alot of material, but i think being able to just focus on 3 subjects at a time instead of 5 makes things easier right?)


i feel that since being accepted into a med school...i'm now a peer of other med students, from any school...we all have different pasts but share the same goal..to be great physicians who strive to serve our patients the best we can...and as my peers im hoping yall can shed some insight from your experiences. gracias

 

[MedicineMike]

i'm a little worried about starting school this fall and am wondering what i should do to prepare myself. my study habits are a bit rusty... i haven't really been in a class since last spring, but i did however spend a few months studying for the mcat this past winter before i retook in early feb. I got into a school about a month ago and have alotta time to kill before august. Besides preparing for the mcat and an embryology class last spring, i haven't really put hard core science material study hours in a while.....and i'll be starting school with kids that have just taken biochem and god knows what within the past 3-4 months...these kids are ready to go, and i dont wanna be behind.

i know that i should enjoy this time and relax...im doing that just fine...if anything i'm worried i do that too much and will end up being a lil lazy. I have this mentality that when school starts, ill just be a studying machine and will do fine...but the truth is, people DO FAIL their first semester of med school...it happens quite a bit actually. I haven't taken biochem or anatomy (had for 2 months but dropped -time conflict) so i feel like im a bit behind...I made up for the missing pieces by doing better on the mcat...but i'm not sure if mcat studying is very similar with med school studying.

I'm not aiming for ROAD, but i just wanna be a solid med student.

a little more about my personal study habits
-visual learner
-can only perform well under pressure
-in college i did awesome by cramming and pulling all-nighters...it just worked for me...i can't study ahead of time...but when the pressure is on and the test is the next day i swear another window of power in my brain opens up and i can really do well.
-i have to practice alottt

big things i need to work on
-procrastination
-procrastination
-procrastination
-being able to memorize large amounts of info

you see, in college procrastination is just a bad habit...it doesn't always mean you are handicapped because in most classes you can still do really well (As and Bs) if you are a procrastinator.

How do you med students memorize so much????? i mean the volume of info is crazy...it honestly scares the crap outta me...i'm no genius...i never got things quick...i really have to focus and spend time with the material, and med school goes by so fast how do you guys keep up?


Another BIG problem i had sometimes in college was having to balance so many different classes at once. in med school however is it true that i'll only be taking 2-3 classes at a time? (i know its still alot of material, but i think being able to just focus on 3 subjects at a time instead of 5 makes things easier right?)


i feel that since being accepted into a med school...i'm now a peer of other med students, from any school...we all have different pasts but share the same goal..to be great physicians who strive to serve our patients the best we can...and as my peers im hoping yall can shed some insight from your experiences. gracias

Well, the above qualities are exactly like me. However, I can memorize quite a bit of info at one time but only remember it for the test, and then i forget it. This strategy, or lack there of, is worrisome to me as well.

Although I start this fall as well, I think we will be fine. After all, we got accepted right!?

 

[kirurgilaakari]

i'm a little worried about starting school this fall and am wondering what i should do to prepare myself. my study habits are a bit rusty... i haven't really been in a class since last spring, but i did however spend a few months studying for the mcat this past winter before i retook in early feb. I got into a school about a month ago and have alotta time to kill before august. Besides preparing for the mcat and an embryology class last spring, i haven't really put hard core science material study hours in a while.....and i'll be starting school with kids that have just taken biochem and god knows what within the past 3-4 months...these kids are ready to go, and i dont wanna be behind.

i know that i should enjoy this time and relax...im doing that just fine...if anything i'm worried i do that too much and will end up being a lil lazy. I have this mentality that when school starts, ill just be a studying machine and will do fine...but the truth is, people DO FAIL their first semester of med school...it happens quite a bit actually. I haven't taken biochem or anatomy (had for 2 months but dropped -time conflict) so i feel like im a bit behind...I made up for the missing pieces by doing better on the mcat...but i'm not sure if mcat studying is very similar with med school studying.

I'm not aiming for ROAD, but i just wanna be a solid med student.

a little more about my personal study habits
-visual learner
-can only perform well under pressure
-in college i did awesome by cramming and pulling all-nighters...it just worked for me...i can't study ahead of time...but when the pressure is on and the test is the next day i swear another window of power in my brain opens up and i can really do well.
-i have to practice alottt

big things i need to work on
-procrastination
-procrastination
-procrastination
-being able to memorize large amounts of info

you see, in college procrastination is just a bad habit...it doesn't always mean you are handicapped because in most classes you can still do really well (As and Bs) if you are a procrastinator.

How do you med students memorize so much????? i mean the volume of info is crazy...it honestly scares the crap outta me...i'm no genius...i never got things quick...i really have to focus and spend time with the material, and med school goes by so fast how do you guys keep up?


Another BIG problem i had sometimes in college was having to balance so many different classes at once. in med school however is it true that i'll only be taking 2-3 classes at a time? (i know its still alot of material, but i think being able to just focus on 3 subjects at a time instead of 5 makes things easier right?)


i feel that since being accepted into a med school...i'm now a peer of other med students, from any school...we all have different pasts but share the same goal..to be great physicians who strive to serve our patients the best we can...and as my peers im hoping yall can shed some insight from your experiences. gracias

Dude, you need to just breathe!!!!

Med school is nothing like undergrad. You just have to find your niche when you get going. You simply can't rely on cramming a day or two before exams, because you will get owned. You will find that your study habits will get "tailored" quite a bit. Most importantly, you cant figure out how to study like a med student the summer before you start. Thats why you will get a ton of peeps telling you to enjoy it, because you will wish you had when you start. If anything, I would suggest getting First Aid for USMLE step 1 and reading through that a little bit every day. Thats what I did.

Good luck. Have a fun summer!

 

[swimchick]

First of all: relax! Your feelings are normal 🙂 I did a medical school post-bacc program last year (took the first year anatomy sequence) and before that, I'd been out of school for over a year. I was nervous because not only did I have to do well to prove myself capable of handling med school, I also had to meet or exceed the class average to take advantage of the linkage agreement.

All of my friends who were currently in med school told me to avoid studying over the summer. I wanted to do something, so I talked with a close friend who was a 4th year as well as the anatomy course director and they gave me the same advice/plan (which, coincidentally, applies to someone who is a visual learner 🙂). They both told me to only focus on gross anatomy and, even then, don't go overboard. They recommended I purchase Rohen's atlas (worth every penny), go over the pictures and quiz myself every couple of days. I only studied the structures, I didn't try to teach myself the blood supply or innervation (and that was a good idea!). I didn't do it everyday, only when I had some downtime. I certainly wasn't a know-it-all when class started, but I had a good foundation that made the first block less of a shock. Now that I've taken anatomy, histo and neuro, I'm doing a more in-depth review but I don't do it everyday. I just want to keep the material fresh in my mind.

Moral of the story: If you feel you feel you absolutely have to do some kind of prep to stay sane, keep it very light (I know a fair number of people who did what I did for anatomy and some who read First Aid). Don't try to teach yourself an entire course. Your study habits will change once you start med school (mine sure did!) and I think it's easier to learn the material when you have a more effective study method in place. I quickly learned that the way I studied in undergrad was not going to work at the medical school level.

Good luck, relax and enjoy your summer...anatomy and biochem will be waiting for you in August 😉

 

[futuredoc4432]

I'm sure you have seen the numerous posts by current med students saying to relax and enjoy your last free moments before school begins. Students I have talked to always say this and how pointless it is to try to study before class starts because you really can not understand the volume of material until you are actually in a medical school class. Also many students have told me that they had to completely change their studying habits/techniques and tried any and every method out there until they find the one that works for them. Once you realize the ridiculous amount of info you will need to learn it will probably become more obvious which is the best technique for you... outlining/notecards/rereading everything 10 times/charts/whatever works best for you. From what I have read the main thing is repetition repetition repetition regardless if the specific technique you use.

I also was a big crammer during college and did pretty well, not amazing but well enough to get multiple acceptances. I know this will not fly during medical school. One thing I plan on doing once school starts is to make a weekly schedule and set aside time that for studying each class. I will alter the schedule as needed. Another thing I have heard from current students is that they are much more motivated to study ahead and often when they see/hear about fellow students studying because it simply becomes your new way of life.

good luck!

 

[futuredoc4432]

I have also heard that medical school is like a continuous finals week haha. Personally I would always try to make a schedule during finals based on which day each test was and study accordingly for example if I had 3 finals, 1 monday, 1 thursday, 1 friday. I would study the friday material in advance because i knew that I would only have time after my thursday final to learn the friday finals material and since I would focus on thursdays information on wednesday.
(if that makes any sense)

 

[futuredoc4432]

I'm not aiming for ROAD, but i just wanna be a solid med student.

one more thing not to take over this thread, but I'm sure you have also read that most medical students change their specialty numerous times. Even if you do not want to go the ROAD pathway now, things may change and you do not want to realize you want to be a radiologist after it is too late. Try to do your best regardless so that you will have options during your match. Or even if you want IM, the better you do the better hospital you will get matched with.

 

[drctother]

Dude, you need to just breathe!!!!

Good luck. Have a fun summer!

Amen to that. Wholly ****

 

[carolinablue]

Although I start this fall as well, I think we will be fine. After all, we got accepted right!?

that is true...at times i'm like...these guys accepted ME..they went through hundreds of applications and thought that I would be able to handle the course load. They saw my grades, my mcat, everything...so if they think i'll be okay i guess we should feel the same way too 🙂

 

[carolinablue]

They recommended I purchase Rohen's atlas (worth every penny), go over the pictures and quiz myself every couple of days. I only studied the structures, I didn't try to teach myself the blood supply or innervation (and that was a good idea!). I didn't do it everyday, only when I had some downtime. I certainly wasn't a know-it-all when class started, but I had a good foundation that made the first block less of a shock.

Moral of the story: If you feel you feel you absolutely have to do some kind of prep to stay sane, keep it very light (I know a fair number of people who did what I did for anatomy and some who read First Aid). Don't try to teach yourself an entire course. Your study habits will change once you start med school (mine sure did!) and I think it's easier to learn the material when you have a more effective study method in place.

hmmm...ill definitely look into that..thanks for the advice dude

 

[carolinablue]

Dude, you need to just breathe!!!!

lol...i know i feel like Masters from House (the show).

WOOOOSAHHHHHHHH.

 

[Rollo]

If your big issue is procrastination, I wonder if you will procrastinate if somebody did tell you how to prepare for medical school this summer.

 

[carolinablue]

If your big issue is procrastination, I wonder if you will procrastinate if somebody did tell you how to prepare for medical school this summer.

Touche'

 

[RM38]

I started medical school after having a year off and one thing that may be a good idea would be to read something (anything) at night just to get back in the habit of having to focus your mind on something every day. Ultimately you don't want to spend to much time studying actual material covered in class because you might wind up spending time learning stuff that may not be important for your class or learning it and then just completely forgettting what you learned and have to relearn what you went over during the summer like you had never seen it before. You will learn your best study methods as you go through the year and will wind up being just fine as long as you dedicate yourself to studying daily and not procrastinating too much. Also many schools will discuss study habits and realistic amounts of time you should be dedicating each day to studying during their orientation so there should be some information from the school before you start. Definately enjoy the next few months as they will go quicker than you think and once classes start your life will change dramatically.