Increase the quality of your studying sessions - but what if that doesn't work ?

[TurbulentWind]

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Hello there ! MS1 here.

I know that what many MS2,3,4 students advice is to take shorter, more intense studying sessions - this is great advice and in fact it is the way I got into Medical school. It was awesome, because all day I was only studying, lifting weights, doing Yoga, running ( not all of them on the same day ) , and then going to bed at the end of day - I loved this schedule, because I could study a lot and it was also reasonable, because I could also take care of my physical training.

However, I am wondering what happens if short and intense study sessions aren't working in Med school anymore - I know that ideally everyone should manage to have a "balanced" lifestyle, but in reality I know that many students struggle with the workload, many of them study all day, many of them fail classes anyway. What happens in this case ? Because it's all simple when things work out, but what if they don't, and you have to study 90% of your day in order to pass decently ? ( not at the top, but not at the bottom either )

Just thinking that before getting into Medical school I had a quite tight schedule already ( except physical training and sleeping, I was barely doing anything ) , can I expect my schedule to get even tighter and even more restricted due to the workload ?
Thanks in advance !

 

[whatisthisstuff]

Yes your schedule will get tighter. M2 and M3 are more time intensive. If you are efficient with your time you can usually make time for the things you want to do. Time and tight schedules will be an issue likely for the rest of your life and is not necessarily unique to medicine. Sometimes you will have to prioritize some things over others, that is life. Lastly, while I believe in efficient studying > longer, inefficient studying....sometimes there is no way around the amount of time you have to put in.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hello there ! MS1 here.

I know that what many MS2,3,4 students advice is to take shorter, more intense studying sessions - this is great advice and in fact it is the way I got into Medical school. It was awesome, because all day I was only studying, lifting weights, doing Yoga, running ( not all of them on the same day ) , and then going to bed at the end of day - I loved this schedule, because I could study a lot and it was also reasonable, because I could also take care of my physical training.

However, I am wondering what happens if short and intense study sessions aren't working in Med school anymore - I know that ideally everyone should manage to have a "balanced" lifestyle, but in reality I know that many students struggle with the workload, many of them study all day, many of them fail classes anyway. What happens in this case ? Because it's all simple when things work out, but what if they don't, and you have to study 90% of your day in order to pass decently ? ( not at the top, but not at the bottom either )

Just thinking that before getting into Medical school I had a quite tight schedule already ( except physical training and sleeping, I was barely doing anything ) , can I expect my schedule to get even tighter and even more restricted due to the workload ?
Thanks in advance !

Hey so I see what you're asking but honestly it's not something to worry about too much now. This kind of thing will naturally happen as your schedule gets busier. As for what you can do...maybe if you wanna force that schedule start a research project or target something like running a marathon or something else you'll have to dedicate lots of time to.


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[68PGunner]

I just want to say something here. There will be an adjustment period. You just need to remember to take care of yourself by getting adequate sleep, eating healthy, and working out on a regular basis.

My grade for my final Anatomy test came back today. I got 100% on the test, smashing the test by over 2 SDs. What did I do differently? I sure as hell didn't study any harder. I actually studied the hardest on my first exam and it was my worst grade. I remember just studying, sleeping, eating, and pooping for the entire week leading to that exam. Now, I'm getting about 6-8 hrs of continuous sleep, eating 2-3 healthy meals/day, and working out about 1-2 hrs 5 days a week.

The bottom line is to be confident in your ability and stick to a routine. Don't sweat about the first few grades. It sucks a$$ when you're used to dominating classes without breaking a sweat in undergrad. It's a different ballgame, but just keep your head up and have confidence in your ability. You're sitting on that medical seat for a reason.