I constantly get crap for skipping med lectures....

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UAAWolf

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1) My exam scores are high...
2) I use the lecture notes + board review material...
3) My school makes it very clear they are not focussed on board scores, so I stopped going to a lot of lectures
4) Classmates often tell me "I'm going to pay later" for skipping.

5) I study on my own a ton so who cares...I get high scores so wtf
 
So... class isn't required but most of your classmates go anyway?? Tell them to mind their own business. If you were going to 'pay' for not going to class, that would have happened already with low exam scores. Obviously that's not the case so wth do they know? They're only b*tching because they're jealous.
 
To each his own. Med school is so much work that if you don't find the way that works best for you, you won't do well. It sounds like you found your way.

Not everyone is an auditory learner. People at my school give me crap too sometimes for not going to class, but all the lectures are online so wtf. Class is a social scene :meanie:

I wish all schools, including K-12 and undergrad, would move to recorded didactic lectures and if they want, add a discussion section and format it properly. I think I wasted about 10,000 hours of my life spacing off and doodling in my notebook. Which is less time than I've spent procrastinating on the internet. :laugh:
 
I feel (and notice) that many people who say they are "auditory learners" are really just delaying their studying more than anything else. The few lectures I go to, the same people that say they have to go to lecture to learn are browsing facebook or doing everything BUT paying attention. I see their notes and they type exactly what is on the powerpoint. Of course, I also think that the whole auditory/visual blah blah blah learner stuff is kind of a load of crap considering there was 1 study that talked about it a long time ago and launched all of these "What kind of learner are you?" deals. We just get more practiced at one way than the other, so are comfortable with it. The best way is a mix and viewing things from all fronts.

My exam scores went up quite dramatically after I stopped going to lecture. I listen to audio lectures, watch videos, read, do questions, etc. and then I still have time to do a little daily board review.
 
I never go to class, and I'm doing fine. Sure you might get crap for it or build up a bad rep with your classmates, but hey... a few months ago everyone in my class got the flu... I was one of the only ones still healthy 🙂.
 
It's all good man, I skip classes all the time. And I still crap for it from a lot of people, classmates, parents, etc. But whatever, my grades went up after I stopped going to class. I mean, what's the point of going to lecture if one never learns anything? And some of my other classmates who were on my case for it now agree with me and skip class too 🙂 It's all a matter of personal preference IMHO.
 
It's weird to hear that all you guys get crap for not going to class... no one seems to care that much here but if anyone gets a hard time it's the class goers! Maybe because only ~10-15% of us regularly go to class.
 
The children who are giving you crap are likely just insecure about the way they are studying.

Anybody worth listening to won't waste their precious free time offering uninvited advice when it is clearly not needed.
 
TheProwler said:
So?
Click to expand...

This.

I just find it funny because I've been skipping (and doing well) for most of MS1....and I STILL get comments like "so nice of you to show up..." or "looks like you decided to take school seriously today for once"....WTF

I suppose I should just say screw it...but I don't want to seem like "that guy".


I just tell them that for me personally, this method works the best. I learn the stuff for class just as well...plus I have time to learn high yield material that we skip. Oh well...currently I have time to study tons, workout daily, and grab a beer with buddies when I feel like it. Pretty good balance imo
 
LRAccord624 said:
It's weird to hear that all you guys get crap for not going to class... no one seems to care that much here but if anyone gets a hard time it's the class goers! Maybe because only ~10-15% of us regularly go to class.
Click to expand...

About 90%-95% MS1's go to class here. MS2's...they're smarter than us apparently since 50% go
 
LRAccord624 said:
So... class isn't required but most of your classmates go anyway?? Tell them to mind their own business. If you were going to 'pay' for not going to class, that would have happened already with low exam scores. Obviously that's not the case so wth do they know? They're only b*tching because they're jealous.
Click to expand...
ditto.... just be on the lookout for that one professor who only tests material that is from his research and not necessarily in any other book.
 
I think a lot of students regard those who don't go to class as being antisocial; so these comments are meant to let you know that you're not being social enough. Sticking with the group = survival for social animals, so it's no surprise they're telling you that you're going to get effed if you go it alone. The herding instinct is strong among med students, despite common knowledge that the herd confers limited benefits academically.
 
Deferoxamine said:
Word to the wise: Stop listening to your classmates.
Click to expand...

👍

If you are getting good scores and they don't teach to the boards then you will pay later how?

I was told today that a MS1 at my school went to a professor and complained that another student that never goes to class was getting better grades than them. My school has been known to be friendly and non-competitive but I guess it has been infiltrated by the typical med school douchebaggery.

Why someone would be concerned with another student's performance when there is no curve and no external ranking is beyond me. If you have to worry about what someone else is scoring you're not going to get AOA anyway.

OP, be friendly with a few people that you know always go to class, they'll keep you informed. Sometimes our professors would slide in extra stuff when the classes were light but the consistent people always sent out the notes when this happened.
 
Less than half of my class goes on non-test week days. 10-20 (out of 115) total go on a week before a test.

Haters gonna hate...
 
If they aren't required, who gives a damn? Just keep handlin' your business.

Haters_Gonna_Hate.gif
 
kryptik said:
ditto.... just be on the lookout for that one professor who only tests material that is from his research and not necessarily in any other book.
Click to expand...

Happened in biochem.

Got every "hard" question right. Missed the 2-3 that were personal stories in lecture that have 0 to do with boards/medicine. Oh well...some of the more OCD ppl scribe every word the profs say then email it out..so I just scan those for any weird facts before the test.
 
UAAWolf said:
Happened in biochem.

Got every "hard" question right. Missed the 2-3 that were personal stories in lecture that have 0 to do with boards/medicine. Oh well...some of the more OCD ppl scribe every word the profs say then email it out..so I just scan those for any weird facts before the test.
Click to expand...

Do you guys not have streamed lectures?
 
I make fun of the kids that do go to lecture :meanie:
 
To be fair, you are literally going to be paying later for all those lectures you didn't attend, so one might argue that it is silly to not go. However, if you are actually using your time better, more power to you. All that matters is that at the end of second year you can do well on Step 1 and have the basic clinical skills to start third year strong.
 
i dont get crap from any of the students, but this year has gotten particularly bad in the sense that the faculty and administration has decided to constatnly telling us how dissapointed they are that we don't go to class. It got really bad when two people (out of 104) showed up to a lecture that was given by a previous Dean. They try to tell us that its 'unprofessional' and try and guilt trip us in to going to class. Its more just an annoyance than anything, they cant really do anything about it. But whateva... a few more months and ill be in the hospital, in a world far far away. Caaaaan not wait.
 
BigRedder said:
To be fair, you are literally going to be paying later for all those lectures you didn't attend, so one might argue that it is silly to not go. However, if you are actually using your time better, more power to you. All that matters is that at the end of second year you can do well on Step 1 and have the basic clinical skills to start third year strong.
Click to expand...

I go to a med school that is ranked in the top 5 yet has below avg to avg Step 1 scores. When I asked about this they simply told me "We don't teach towards the boards..that is not our goal"

With that being said...I said screw lecture and started using BRS/High Yield/Rapid Review in addition to my class lectures. To my amazement, my classes left out so much stuff I learned from review books.

When I DO go to class, I feel like I have an edge since I'm studying from a more clinical perspective
 
UAAWolf said:
1) My exam scores are high...
2) I use the lecture notes + board review material...
3) My school makes it very clear they are not focussed on board scores, so I stopped going to a lot of lectures
4) Classmates often tell me "I'm going to pay later" for skipping.

5) I study on my own a ton so who cares...I get high scores so wtf
Click to expand...


Sounds like they dont like you cuz youre a douche bag.
 
At the end of the day it's your money, your future, and none of their business.

At the same time it's still frowned upon so just be polite and smile whenever anyone gives you guff. It's a touchy subject at my school technically they require attendance, but I endeavor mightily to only go to lecture when there's absolutely no way to weasel out of it and will resort to any lengths to avoid it. I get zero yield from lectures and that should be the end of it, but sadly it's a constant battle.

I find that uniformly people who always go to class are upset that their relentless masochistic eager beaver brown nosing isn't as effective as not trying to kill yourself. Some people (professors, busybodies, d-bags) actually get furious that you can just never go to class and do absolutely fine. So watch out.
 
Who the hell cares what your classmates are saying? If you have your own style of studying then stick with it. I went to lecture through most of first year, intermittently through the first class of second year, and then completely stopped during second year except for mandatory things.
 
Deferoxamine said:
Word to the wise: Stop listening to your classmates.
Click to expand...
Agreed. My classmates didn't care what I did, but for a few months during M1 as I went from going to class to not going to class, I was kind of worried that I was missing out on something by skipping class (and not listening to the lectures online either). I kept looking at what everyone else was doing and wondering if they were doing it the "right way." I did fine though, and the questions I got wrong on the test were things that I had seen in the notes and just not fully memorized or understood. It wasn't something that had only been available during lecture.
 
TheProwler said:
Agreed. My classmates didn't care what I did, but for a few months during M1 as I went from going to class to not going to class, I was kind of worried that I was missing out on something by skipping class (and not listening to the lectures online either). I kept looking at what everyone else was doing and wondering if they were doing it the "right way." I did fine though, and the questions I got wrong on the test were things that I had seen in the notes and just not fully memorized or understood. It wasn't something that had only been available during lecture.
Click to expand...
You just read .ppt lectures and textbooks? Board review books? I've been trying to get away from class now that we're getting online lectures posted. Our school's problem is they're not good about posting lectures in a timely manner and they don't record the ones with actual patients in them (HIPAA or something). On the ones we have, I do so much better when I can take my time, pause and look stuff up, then go watch it again on 2X speed.
 
Oh, for those of you that have lectures recorded, are all of them recorded and available? Like I mentioned in the last post, about 25% of ours aren't posted because they contain actual patient info/pics. The videos are on a secure server, so I don't know why they can't put those ones up or just edit those few slides out.
 
Alvarez13 said:
Oh, for those of you that have lectures recorded, are all of them recorded and available? Like I mentioned in the last post, about 25% of ours aren't posted because they contain actual patient info/pics. The videos are on a secure server, so I don't know why they can't put those ones up or just edit those few slides out.
Click to expand...

If it's a patient presentation, it's not recorded, but usually nothing recorded in those lectures is worthwhile in studying for exams anyways.
 
I think less than 1/3 of the MS2 students here attend lecture. I seldom attend, and I feel like I use my time better when I don't. I sometimes feel that it is probably not very rewarding for clinician educators to come to a class that is almost empty. I know they don't get compensated well, or at all, for time spent teaching so they do it because they want to contribute to our education. I want them to know that I'm appreciative of their efforts (even if their lectures are sub-par, because after all clinicians don't get much formal training in teaching in a classroom setting).

But for me, the most important thing is that I do what helps me learn best. And I learn best on my own, and structuring my study in my own way.
 
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