I feel like lectures don't help, and it's required we go (MS1)

[UAAWolf]

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Sorry to bitch and moan...but just wondering if anyone else has been in this boat.

Basically they post all the material online in a giant 250 pg syllabus...and it is written excellently. I always read it before lecture just because that's what I'm used to doing, however in class the prof almost just reads the notes..

I can literally learn it 2x as fast on my own...and we have like 7 hrs class a day.

Kind of a bummer and I gotta stick it out...I considered studying on my own during lecture, but I do not want to disrespect any teachers...

 

[drizzt3117]

Do they take attendance? If not...

 

[UAAWolf]

Do they take attendance? If not...

Well, we have only 20 in our class for MS1. No one skips...and I don't want to look like an arrogant prick. They say its mandatory, but technically if you do good on an exam they might not care.

Time to suck it up I guess...welcome to med school

 

[jm192]

Well, we have only 20 in our class for MS1. No one skips...and I don't want to look like an arrogant prick. They say its mandatory, but technically if you do good on an exam they might not care.

Time to suck it up I guess...welcome to med school

I rarely went in undergrad if attendance wasn't required. It worked well enough to get me here.

Since school started I was all, omg go to every lecture. I don't learn that way. I can't listen to someone else talk about it, and soak it up. I'm trying to let myself feel guilty about not going...

But if you can't...

You could try reading the notes/in the book ahead of the lecture. That way they're just reviewing it/clarifying it for you. Or you could just take notes in there, read, and ignore her. Take headphones in if you're having trouble blocking it out.

 

[UAAWolf]

I rarely went in undergrad if attendance wasn't required. It worked well enough to get me here.

Since school started I was all, omg go to every lecture. I don't learn that way. I can't listen to someone else talk about it, and soak it up. I'm trying to let myself feel guilty about not going...

But if you can't...

You could try reading the notes/in the book ahead of the lecture. That way they're just reviewing it/clarifying it for you. Or you could just take notes in there, read, and ignore her. Take headphones in if you're having trouble blocking it out.

I don't learn from lectures either man. Its so much quicker and easier if I just do the work myself...


BRB gonna sit in the back and pretend to listen while I do something productive and learn

 

[MilkmanAl]

Well, we have only 20 in our class for MS1. No one skips...and I don't want to look like an arrogant prick. They say its mandatory, but technically if you do good on an exam they might not care.

Time to suck it up I guess...welcome to med school

Why do you care what your lecturers or classmates think? If you don't learn well in class, don't go. It's your education, not theirs. No attendance taken=not mandatory.

 

[mvenus929]

Basically they post all the material online in a giant 250 pg syllabus...and it is written excellently.

At least they give you the information. They're doing a new curriculum at our school, and it's all supposed to be focused on self-learning. So basically, we have to go find the information ourselves, for just about everything. It sucks.

 

[njbmd]

Sorry to bitch and moan...but just wondering if anyone else has been in this boat.

Basically they post all the material online in a giant 250 pg syllabus...and it is written excellently. I always read it before lecture just because that's what I'm used to doing, however in class the prof almost just reads the notes..

I can literally learn it 2x as fast on my own...and we have like 7 hrs class a day.

Kind of a bummer and I gotta stick it out...I considered studying on my own during lecture, but I do not want to disrespect any teachers...

Sit quietly in the back of the room and study. If the prof is reading the syllabus, they won't notice that you are not "hanging" on their every word. I avoided mandatory attendance medical schools like the plague. No one "learns" in lecture but "learns" when you start digesting the material for yourself.

Another strategy would be to learn the material yourself and sleep in class. They said you had to be "present" but they didn't say you have to be awake. As for being disrespectful to the professors, it's your money for the class time. If you are quiet and do well on exams, they can't fault you. Good luck!

 

[engineeredout]

Sit quietly in the back of the room and study. If the prof is reading the syllabus, they won't notice that you are not "hanging" on their every word. I avoided mandatory attendance medical schools like the plague. No one "learns" in lecture but "learns" when you start digesting the material for yourself.

Another strategy would be to learn the material yourself and sleep in class. They said you had to be "present" but they didn't say you have to be awake. As for being disrespectful to the professors, it's your money for the class time. If you are quiet and do well on exams, they can't fault you. Good luck!

Being "Disrespectful" to the professors lecturing at my schools gets you called out on by the professors for doing something on the computer other than their lecture, and gets admin rheeming you if they find out.

 

[MilkmanAl]

So the admins at your school try to tell you how you can spend your money? I'd tell them where to go.

 

[JimmyChitwood]

Friend, you're not alone. My school is broken up into campus centers and mine is roughly the same size. Class is "mandatory" and professors know who is/isn't there. Except for anatomy, we get handouts that contain just about everything we need to know. The lectures consist of professors basically reading the handouts back to us, verbatim. We have class for about 35 hours a week, give or take 5 hours or so depending on the events for that week. It seems horribly inefficient, as I can study the handouts at least twice as fast as they can read them. I decided today that I'm going to start studying during class time and see how the first exams go and then adjust my strategy accordingly. 8 hours of class and then 5-6 hours of studying is simply not possible.

 

[njbmd]

Being "Disrespectful" to the professors lecturing at my schools gets you called out on by the professors for doing something on the computer other than their lecture, and gets admin rheeming you if they find out.

Not good to be you. 😉

 

[C5toC9]

Just skip it bro. Once you start skipping, others will follow suit.

 

[islandCrazy]

This is also my biggest problem. Ilearn nothing from lecture but must attend. My school goes crazy about attendance when they should be focusing on getting better profs.
I plan on getting better ear plugs and sitting more in the back for the next semester.

 

[UAAWolf]

Currently in lecture right now...

Reading biochem and anatomy PDF's from my school while pretending to listen to extremely slow lecture....working good

 

[osumc2014]

OSU's got the Independent Study Program, where you can teach yourself EVERYTHING the first 2 years, you don't ever have to see a person if you don't want to (except for the occasional clinical class), guess that would work for some future students who are motivated that way

 

[WellWornLad]

OSU's got the Independent Study Program, where you can teach yourself EVERYTHING the first 2 years, you don't ever have to see a person if you don't want to (except for the occasional clinical class), guess that would work for some future students who are motivated that way

That sounds awesome. Do they still charge tuition?

I'm not sure I would have made it with mandatory attendance. I loved the first two years precisely because 1) I did well, 2) I always got plenty of sleep, and 3) I had time to do things outside of medical school. I'm not sure that's all possible with mandatory attendance.

And just because one enjoys sleeping in doesn't mean one is unable to wake up for 3rd year. I don't regret for one minute skipping lectures - now that I wake up at 5 am, I'm glad I squeezed all the fun out of 1st and 2nd year.

 

[BloodySurgeon]

I have the same problem and I try studying in class but my school have student evaluations from the instructors which are used to write the deans letter. Attention and participation is considered in our evaluation... Once you start scoring well on the exams though the teachers dont care what you do with your time.

 

[JustCallMeDoc]

if you have to go to classes, i've found that the best thing to do is make sure you have previewed the material really well. if you have all the notes and dont learn new material from the lectures, just shift your whole study schedule one day earlier so that you are doing almost all of your studying the day before the lecture. that way you can just sit in the lecture and have it be a review for what you have learned well the previous day on your own. i found that if i didnt preview, it was a pure waste of time to go to lectures, since the real learning is not done when i hear information but when i study it on my own.

 

[CyberKnife19]

To the OP, I am sorry that your class is mandatory.

For the rest of you, take it from someone who has been where you are: DON'T GO TO CLASS!

My first two years of medical school were absolute bliss b/c of the freedom that I had in my schedule.

8-12 - Study at school
12-1:30 - Workout at gym, eat lunch
1:30-5 - Study at school

That's it. No studying after dinner, no waking up to study at 5 a.m. before class and a very stress-free lifestyle. So, while my classmates were studying at night (because they were in class for half or all of the day), I was hanging out with my wife, talking on the phone with friends and family, watching ESPN/TV and enjoying life. Furthermore, by going to study at school, you still get the social aspect of seeing people, being around people and social interactions. Despite my limited amount of time alloted to school, I was able to graduate in the top 20% of my class b/c of how efficient I was with my time (so, you can do something similar and still do well in your classes).

Enjoy it now b/c once you start third year (and residency after that), your schedule and your life are no longer your own. Don't get me wrong, I love being a resident and taking care of my patients, but it is a much more demanding schedule. Best of luck. 🙂