Impression of medical school after two whole days...

[chizledfrmstone]

.....

Last I checked we don't even need to know about the whole issue of how the failure to metabolize branching amino acids leads to maple syrup urine disease ( Though thank you for the reminder to re-learn the protein involved in breaking down chains though, since that I think is actually testable)..

And hell if I actually remember any of the specific primary sequence of anything beyond the serine protease lol.

Idk, I'm not sure whether you're going overboard or I'm going underboard atm.

The mech of MSUD was in Seidler's lecture notes. So going to make sure I take note in that.

I forget the enzyme name, ketoacid reductase? Was I close?

Idk...my brain is in a different mindset now haha.

Some undergrad institutions want students to memorize everything and then you have others that want you to understand major concepts rather than memorizing the minutiae.

I went to a school the put emphasis on understanding the big picture. In MSK I had to learn how to memorize a ton of stuff.

Students that were used to memorizing everything started to cut back after they realized they couldn't memorize everything.

The universal thing is that you have to bust your ass and work on any deficits.

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[----------12c]

Aren't you a first year?

Yes. But my advice still stands. We have only started on our journey.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Some undergrad institutions want students to memorize everything and then you have others that want you to understand major concepts rather than memorizing the minutiae.

I went to a school the put emphasis on understanding the big picture. In MSK I had to learn how to memorize a ton of stuff.

Students that were used to memorizing everything started to cut back after they realized they couldn't memorize everything.

The universal thing is that you have to bust your ass and work on any deficits.

Maybe that's actually what's going on tbh. It seemed like a lot of people in our MS1 are really not used to memorizing entire chapters worth of nitty gritty details and as such don't know how to for what it's worth take short cuts in terms of materials that aren't necessary to memorize completely.

 

[abolt18]

So day 2 is done....and I had pretty rough expectations going in about the work load and difficulty....but I was way off.

I did not anticipate this much to be expected of us. It's at the point where I honestly don't know if I'll be able to hang.

Has anyone else felt this way early on in their med school career or am I just f'd.

While it'll likely get much more intense, you'll adapt and do fine with hard work. Then at the end of 2nd year you'll look back and laugh at this post and how overwhelmed you feel now.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

While it'll likely get much more intense, you'll adapt and do fine with hard work. Then at the end of 2nd year you'll look back and laugh at this post and how overwhelmed you feel now.

How's 3rd year?

 

[Capltd29]

3rd year here. Honestly, the first month or two of medical school were probably the most stressful outside of certain final exam weeks and parts of board studying. At my school we got tested so often that I just got desensitized to the stress. A big part of MSI, especially the first few weeks, is the unknown and knowing that it can and will get a lot heavier. The "drinking from a fire hose" sometimes applied, but sometimes it felt like I was drinking from an Evergreen 747 Supertanker.

You just have to remember that it won't get a lot worse today or tomorrow, and you'll adjust as you go along. STAY FLEXIBLE. If the way that you're studying is taking up too much time and not benefiting you enough, switch it up. My study techniques were basically totally different by the time I finished second year. The whole experience is going to be uncomfortable, just realize that, accept it and keep moving forward. It doesn't last forever.

 

[abolt18]

How's 3rd year?

Soooooooooooooooooooooo much better! I'm currently on my second family med rotation, and while I don't like FM, it's still immeasurably better than sitting down and listening to lectures/studying for exams all day.

 

[Bill Brasky]

While studying for my first exam, I honestly started to suspect that I just didn't belong in medical school and wouldn't be able to handle the workload. I haven't failed a class yet. Just dive in to it, and don't think about how much worse it gets...it gets harder, but you get better. Having just one anatomy exam to study for would be a cakewalk for me now.

 

[CopToEM]

So day 2 is done....and I had pretty rough expectations going in about the work load and difficulty....but I was way off.

I did not anticipate this much to be expected of us. It's at the point where I honestly don't know if I'll be able to hang.

Has anyone else felt this way early on in their med school career or am I just f'd.

Don't look too far ahead. It's a marathon - not a race. Day by day. Head down and study hard.

 

[NurWollen]

Don't look too far ahead. It's a marathon - not a race. Day by day. Head down and study hard.

While I know what you meant and 100% agree with you, my snark side feels obliged to point out that a marathon is, in fact, a race. A very long, arduous race.

 

[CopToEM]

While I know what you meant and 100% agree with you, my snark side feels obliged to point out that a marathon is, in fact, a race. A very long, arduous race.

Perhaps, but a marathon is ran slowly and tediously not at a sprint. Just like med school. There will be races along the way but concentrate, for now, on one foot in front of the other. One day at a time.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

2nd and 3rd order questions don't exist in medical school. It's secretly 2 or 3 first order questions in the same stem. I didn't even feel them on boards. From day 1 it's do you know 'the list'. If you know 'the list' then you know everything they can ask and the thinking involved could be done by an ape. You want 3rd order questions? Hit up some advanced math and engineering courses. Night and day difference.

....no.

Example...let's say you're given a clinical scenario.

1st order question: what's the diagnosis?
2nd order question: what's the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
3rd order question: what is the most common side effect of the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
4th order question: how do you manage the most common side effect of the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
...and so on.

This is a '4th order question' by anyone's definition, and yes I took advanced math and science classes so I know what I'm talking about. Memorizing one 'list' helps with the first order question, but if you're a rote memorizer you're going to have to get through four 'lists' at least to get through this entire question.

If you only took the craplex, that's probably why you 'didn't feel it on boards' either - that test doesn't have truly multi-order questions. USMLE is way, way different.

 

[D4C]

....no.

Example...let's say you're given a clinical scenario.

1st order question: what's the diagnosis?
2nd order question: what's the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
3rd order question: what is the most common side effect of the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
4th order question: how do you manage the most common side effect of the gold standard treatment for the diagnosis?
...and so on.

This is a '4th order question' by anyone's definition, and yes I took advanced math and science classes so I know what I'm talking about. Memorizing one 'list' helps with the first order question, but if you're a rote memorizer you're going to have to get through four 'lists' at least to get through this entire question.

If you only took the craplex, that's probably why you 'didn't feel it on boards' either - that test doesn't have truly multi-order questions. USMLE is way, way different.

It's still a string of 1st order questions. 4 Unique facts - and if you know all four, all it is is adding 1+1+1+1. What I'm saying is you need to know the silly minutiae in order to get to the next part of the question. If I took some schmuck off the streets who has no prior medical knowledge, taught him how what the diagnostic criteria is for disease X, then asked him what the gold standard of care was, he'd go cross eyed. He lacks that piece of knowledge and it's damned unlikely he'll happen to derive the treatment plan based on diagnostic criteria. It's easy to look back on it as a resident and say, no it isn't like that, especially when you have to make judgement calls clinically all the time, I get it. And yes, I did take the USMLE, and sorry, it isn't chalked full of thinking, just integrating.

 

[el_duderino]

It's still a string of 1st order questions. 4 Unique facts - and if you know all four, all it is is adding 1+1+1+1.

But they're not independent. It's a string of 4 questions, and you have to get each one of them right to ultimately get the question right.

Hence 4th order.

 

[D4C]

But they're not independent. It's a string of 4 questions, and you have to get each one of them right to ultimately get the question right.

Hence 4th order.

They are not technically independent no, but often functionally so. Take syphilis for example, the choice drug would be penicillin yes? You can not arrive at that drug by any knowledge taught about syphilis in medical school - it's another factoid you learn and toss in the hamper. It's just a web of associated 'first order' knowledge pieced together. It seems we have different views on what constitutes higher order questions.

 

[el_duderino]

The treatment for syphilis is a first order question.

If I give you a set of symptoms and ask you to give the diagnosis, and then the name of the appropriate drug, and then the main side effect of that drug, that's third order.

 

[samac]

I Love Vermont Maple Syrup: MSUD, isoleucine, valine, lysine.

Maple Syrup comes from trees which have branches --> ILV are unpolar unbranched AA's.

IDK those things really help me hah.

So I read this earlier today and was like wtf?! Should I know this?!
Just got to it. Burst out laughing in class. I'm appropriate

 

[Seth Joo]

So day 2 is done....and I had pretty rough expectations going in about the work load and difficulty....but I was way off.

I did not anticipate this much to be expected of us. It's at the point where I honestly don't know if I'll be able to hang.

Has anyone else felt this way early on in their med school career or am I just f'd.

If you think its bad after only two days, if you have seen nothing yet, its only going to get a lot worse. Reading textbooks verbatim is a huge waste of time, the textbooks are reference material, at virtually all schools whether its a bottom of the barrell Osteopathic school or Harvard Medical school everyone studies from their Powerpoint notes. Get used to spending 8 hours a day seven days a week memorizing your notes. Welcome to life as a medical student.

PS the only book I found useful to read was Savarese OMM. The other textbooks I used when my professor notes were missing something.

Another good word of advice for you is to find a good social support system outside of medical school, while your classmates and people at school might seem friendly and might appear to be good friend material, watch your back because these people view you as your competition.

This is another reason why I recommend that students go to a school near family or a school where they will actually like the locale, I went to a school on the other side of the country but I like Arizona a lot and I do not think I would be happy living as a medical student on financial aid in an expensive city like Boston anyway.

Being in medical school is like a boxing match, and the first few days is like getting clobbered, you will get used to it after a while. My school is pretty bad, we have a quarter system rather than a semester system and we have exams every Monday during the basic science years.

 

[ortnakas]

Another good word of advice for you is to find a good social support system outside of medical school, while your classmates and people at school might seem friendly and might appear to be good friend material, watch your back because these people view you as your competition.

Fortunately, this isn't true for most of my class, even though my class is more competitive with each other than the class above us was. Make friends with your classmates they know exactly what you're going through! Just maybe figure out who the gunners are, and don't hang out with them.

 

[Seth Joo]

Fortunately, this isn't true for most of my class, even though my class is more competitive with each other than the class above us was. Make friends with your classmates they know exactly what you're going through! Just maybe figure out who the gunners are, and don't hang out with them.

My school has a lot of gunners, so not really good friend material and people do backbite a lot and bad talk each other behind each others backs. Regardless with the workload we are given, we hardly have time to socialize, and its just better to make friends outside of school than inside of school.

Dating in medical school is a really really bad idea. I think of medical school like I think of work, you just do not want to bring your work home with you, keep your work life and personal life separate.

 

[ortnakas]

My school has a lot of gunners, so not really good friend material and people do backbite a lot and bad talk each other behind each others backs. Regardless with the workload we are given, we hardly have time to socialize, and its just better to make friends outside of school than inside of school.

Dating in medical school is a really really bad idea. I think of medical school like I think of work, you just do not want to bring your work home with you, keep your work life and personal life separate.

Awwww... this makes me really sad, actually. My class has a few people I avoid, but overall I know nobody's out to get me.

I am married so this doesn't come up, but I would agree dating in med school is a bad idea especially if you have a smaller class size... I have seen that backfire on a few of my classmates already.

 

[SuperiorColliculus]

It's been a little over a month since our classes started and my school has done a pretty good job of easing us into the medical school curriculum. I know it's gonna get tougher in the next couple of weeks, so I'm preparing myself as much as possible to face the storm. @yanks26dmb I'm sure you'll be fine.. Keep working hard and don't give up and everything will work out for you. You made it this far and will go a lot farther in your journey, which is more than most people can say...

 

[Seth Joo]

Awwww... this makes me really sad, actually. My class has a few people I avoid, but overall I know nobody's out to get me.

I am married so this doesn't come up, but I would agree dating in med school is a bad idea especially if you have a smaller class size... I have seen that backfire on a few of my classmates already.

No one ever says to your face how they really feel about you at my school it is what people do behind your back is where you have to watch out. I have heard of male students being accused of sexual harassment and other nonsense claims and have gotten themselves in deep trouble all based on mere allegations without evidence. This is why I advise against dating fellow classmates and give this advise double to male students.

 

[67552931811]

 

[ToldYouSo]

Get used to spending 8 hours a day seven days a week memorizing your notes. Welcome to life as a medical student.

Is this including lecture or just studying outside of class? If the latter then the problem is with how you're studying. Efficiency > brute force

 

[Seth Joo]

Is this including lecture or just studying outside of class? If the latter then the problem is with how you're studying. Efficiency > brute force

Outside of class.

 

[el_duderino]

8 hours a day studying outside of class? No wonder you're so bitter about med school.

 

[Seth Joo]

8 hours a day studying outside of class? No wonder you're so bitter about med school.

I ain't bitter, just realistic. There is a huge difference between living in some fantasy lala land and having your feet on the ground. Too many people cannot deal with stone cold reality.

I am Stone Cold Reality.

 

[D4C]

The treatment for syphilis is a first order question.

If I give you a set of symptoms and ask you to give the diagnosis, and then the name of the appropriate drug, and then the main side effect of that drug, that's third order.

We are going in circles with this, and that's ok. Looking at that question though it's still a series of related first order questions. "Third order" in name only. It requires zero deep thinking to get an answer to 99% of questions in preclinical classes (clinical aren't looking too hot so far either), and that's the point for me in this.

 

[DrDre2001]

OP until you take the first test, you won't know if you are studying too much or too little. So just keep cool until at least then.

For instance, you might be required to read 200 pages in the next few days, but you might take the test next week and realize that you really didn't even need to read these 200 pages word for word, but rather the power points of your corresponding lectures would have been good enough.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Your first tell will tell you if you're studying the right amount, but also if you're studying the correct material.


It's better to spend 3 hours studying high yield than 12 hours studying an entire pathway that may be 1 or 2 points.

 

[el_duderino]

I ain't bitter, just realistic. There is a huge difference between living in some fantasy lala land and having your feet on the ground. Too many people cannot deal with stone cold reality.

I am Stone Cold Reality.

If your "stone cold reality" is that you're spending 8 hours a day studying outside of class, I hope you're top 5% of your class. Otherwise your study methods must be horrendous. This volume of studying and memorizing is simply not necessary to succeed.

 

[Seth Joo]

If your "stone cold reality" is that you're spending 8 hours a day studying outside of class, I hope you're top 5% of your class. Otherwise your study methods must be horrendous. This volume of studying and memorizing is simply not necessary to succeed.

More like top 2 percent.

 

[Entadus]

More like top 2 percent.

Diminishing returns though.... I'd rather spend 5 hours a day for top 10% than 8 hours for top 2%

 

[el_duderino]

Diminishing returns though.... I'd rather spend 5 hours a day for top 10% than 8 hours for top 2%

Yup. It's very disingenuous to imply that much studying is necessary.

 

[Seth Joo]

Diminishing returns though.... I'd rather spend 5 hours a day for top 10% than 8 hours for top 2%

Its doable. I know people who study more.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Its doable. I know people who study more.

Are you one of those people who does that like weird phasic sleep cycle of sleeping like 3-4 hours and taking 2, half hour naps?

Idk, I get home at around 5, this means that I have about 1 hour to cook and do stuff, and then 4-5 hours to study. Staying up past 11 serves me no benefit on a test as I will be too tired when it comes at 8.

 

[Shinobiz11]

OP until you take the first test, you won't know if you are studying too much or too little. So just keep cool until at least then.

For instance, you might be required to read 200 pages in the next few days, but you might take the test next week and realize that you really didn't even need to read these 200 pages word for word, but rather the power points of your corresponding lectures would have been good enough.

Who reads?

 

[el_duderino]

I just had a test where a bunch of the questions came from the (extensive) required reading and not from lecture. So I guess I read textbooks now.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Who reads?

At the very least in my biochem class the readings are imperative to doing well since some questions come directly from the readings and others are elaborate in the reading enough to make the material easier to understand either due to errors in lecture or etc.

 

[Accio]

I'm with you! It's only been 2 days and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I can't even concentrate on the material because I'm thinking about how I'm gonna learn it all.

 

[Seth Joo]

I'm with you! It's only been 2 days and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I can't even concentrate on the material because I'm thinking about how I'm gonna learn it all.

You just got to start prioritizing things in your life, and school has to be first over everything else. Your school accepted you for a reason, they think you can handle the material and become a doctor. If I were you I would buddy up with a second year who survived the first year and asked them what they did to get through year one.

 

[Moose A Moose]

More like top 2 percent.

More like top point tree-fiddy percent.

 

[Seth Joo]

More like top point tree-fiddy percent.

I am a Samurai med student.

 

[yanks26dmb]

I'm with you! It's only been 2 days and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I can't even concentrate on the material because I'm thinking about how I'm gonna learn it all.

As someone who is now into week three....that feeling will (slightly) subside...

 

[AlteredScale]

As someone who is now into week three....that feeling will (slightly) subside...

Agreed.

 

[ortnakas]

I'm with you! It's only been 2 days and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I can't even concentrate on the material because I'm thinking about how I'm gonna learn it all.

Two things:
1) Feeling overwhelmed is totally normal. Most of your class feels overwhelmed.
2) If what you're feeling is more along the lines of anxiety and panic, you're also not the only one, but get help with it before it takes over. There's nothing to be ashamed of, and you're better of dealing with it before exams or early in the semester than once you're lost.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

As someone who is now into week three....that feeling will (slightly) subside...

Adjustments aren't just for somatic dysfunctions I guess....

 

[67552931811]

I'm with you! It's only been 2 days and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I feel like I can't even concentrate on the material because I'm thinking about how I'm gonna learn it all.

Week 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Week 1.

Just work hard and try to find out how you can absorb the most material in the shortest amount of time.

Breathe. You'll adjust to the volume and pace.