Is it normal to forget most of what you studied after the semester??

[simondimond]

Just want to make sure that it is normal to forget the bulk of what you memorized during a class once the semester is over and you are not practicing the material any more.

I don't mean forgetting the main points but forgetting whatever you had to study to get good grades on your tests. For example, I took a marketing class and I remember some key points from the course but if a professor were to give me a new test right now, I most probably could not get the same grade like I did only four or five weeks ago.

Is this what happens to you too?

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[lowgpa013]

I think it is normal for everyone. Read this blog article: http://drwillbe.blogspot.com/2011/08/anki-guide-for-medical-students.html

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Use it or lose it!
It's normal.

 

[LakersInSix]

Happens to me all the time. It's much worse if I crammed for exams...usually remember very little in those classes. The residents I've shadowed couldn't remember their stuff either so don't worry...pretty nice a smartphone can get us the information almost instantaneously when you're with your patients. My doc did that last week when he saw I had elevated vit b12 levels -- he had no clue what it meant heh

 

[Nasrudin]

Get used to it.

Miles of stone, undifferentiated, fact rock. Hammer in your hand. We stay at it for an eternity.

And then. In some some vague ominous future shock. The boss man throws us into the hospital. Where I imagine we'll rock back and forth like escaped Rain Men. Muttering about shistocytes and chromosomal translocations in front of patients.

 

[QofQuimica]

Look at it this way: you have to forget this semester's minutiae so that you have room to stuff next semester's minutiae into your brain. It's a survival mechanism.

 

[EdLongshanks]

Look at it this way: you have to forget this semester's minutiae so that you have room to stuff next semester's minutiae into your brain. It's a survival mechanism.

Well, surely there's some stuff I should not forget - like Colles's fracture for instance?

 

[dmf2682]

While I agree with all of the previous posters, I should point out that if you are beginning your studies and learning the fundamentals it is critical to retain as much as possible. Subsequent coursework will only build on what you've learned and you'll be well served to keep it.

 

[Thales]

Just want to make sure that it is normal to forget the bulk of what you memorized during a class once the semester is over and you are not practicing the material any more.

I don't mean forgetting the main points but forgetting whatever you had to study to get good grades on your tests. For example, I took a marketing class and I remember some key points from the course but if a professor were to give me a new test right now, I most probably could not get the same grade like I did only four or five weeks ago.

Is this what happens to you too?

I've wondered that myself. I've only really retained information I enjoy, like specific points from A&P for example, but most of it gets dumped after I finish a test or class. I don't anticipate needing to know pre-Socratic philosophers after I finish philosophy so I intend to dump that information after the semester is over.

 

[QofQuimica]

Well, surely there's some stuff I should not forget - like Colles's fracture for instance?

I was being partly tongue in cheek, because a large proportion of what you learn the first two years, especially first year, isn't very relevant to clinical practice. But sure, some is, and that's the stuff you'll see keep showing up year after year.

It's also not like you only get one single shot to learn something important and if you don't get it then, you're screwed for the rest of your career. I think I learned more during the month I prepped for Step 1 than I did in the entire two years prior. That was the smartest I've been since starting med school; it's been steadily down hill from there.

While I agree with all of the previous posters, I should point out that if you are beginning your studies and learning the fundamentals it is critical to retain as much as possible. Subsequent coursework will only build on what you've learned and you'll be well served to keep it.

Fundamental principles, sure. I still remember physio principles from five years ago. Minutiae? Not a chance. These first years could school me on anatomy any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[Nasrudin]

I was being partly tongue in cheek, because a large proportion of what you learn the first two years, especially first year, isn't very relevant to clinical practice. But sure, some is, and that's the stuff you'll see keep showing up year after year.

It's also not like you only get one single shot to learn something important and if you don't get it then, you're screwed for the rest of your career. I think I learned more during the month I prepped for Step 1 than I did in the entire two years prior. That was the smartest I've been since starting med school; it's been steadily down hill from there.

That's refreshing. I get to pass my current stupid self on the way up and the way down. Like on an escalator passing a neanderthal exhibit. Wow. Look at that idiot. Then. Wow. He makes fire with sticks. Smart fella.

 

[Morsetlis]

Use it or lose it!
It's normal.

Mostly agree, but some facts/procedures are so ingrained within you because it resonates with you... that you never forget how to do it.

For example, I am a damn good WoW and Magic: the Gathering player and I will never forget how to do that

Glycolysis, on the other hand...

 

[FiremedicMike]

This thread makes me feel much better. I remember almost nothing from quarter to quarter. The upside is, my only progressive class thus far as been algebra and I'm finding stuff comes back to me rather quickly.

 

[Kalamazoo]

Ha! I love this thread! I started working with my organic chemistry professor just two months after my 2nd semester ended. Sometimes she'll ask me random mechanism based questions and my recall is not exactly on point. I feel like this little smiley guy---> It's reassuring to know that it's not just me!

 

[ShoTyme]

Uh... What was the question again?? 😉