what would you tell the august 2007 version of yourself if you could go back in time and tell him something important?
Just one thing? Wow, well, that's tough, because there probably several comments I might be tempted to say. However, the most important thing I can probably say is to
NEVER FALL BEHIND. I cannot emphasize this enough. I threw everything I had into the first section, FOM, studied pretty inefficiently, and I stumbled out with an A- in that section, but I burned myself out a bit in the process. Consequently, I fell a bit behind in MSK and I've been behind in various degrees since then, because, being behind, there was no buffer zone, so any little thing that happened in my life could take me further behind. It's very hard to catch up when you get behind and if you manage to take up the slack, it will cost you a lot of precious energy. However, somehow, I managed to compensate for all that by studying more effeciently and effectively. After FOM, I coasted at a B/B+ level for the rest of the first year.
Dear incoming students, learn to
stay ahead of the material. At the very least, stay on top of it. Falling behind in medical school is costly at best and sometimes fatal to your academic career.
Most of the test questions come directly from the notes.
STUDY THE NOTES. All other resources, unless specifically indicated, are there to help you understand the notes and the concepts delineated in them. I didn't understand this at first, so I studied everything like I would in undergrad. No, that is ineffective. Reading countless pages in thick, incomprehensible textbooks won't help you that much, and indeed can suck away time and energy, unless you are using them appropriately. Realize that they are
adjuncts to the class notes. If you understand the notes, then you don't need to waste time reading textbooks, unless you have extra time, which is rare. Make sure you understand the concepts though. You can actually do quite well on the tests without truly understanding what you are doing, but it'll hurt you when boards come around. Therefore, if there is something you don't understand in the notes, do take the time to use other resources to help you understand.
Ideally, I recommend a preview/review system for studying. You want to quickly
preview the notes (half an hour to an hour, more if necessary, but I wouldn't recommend it) prior to class. This sets it up so that you can receive the information a bit easier, when lectured on it. Then, right after class, immediately
study the notes that you were lectured on. Take your time on doing this. It helps cement the material in your mind. If you have the time and energy, make your own summary of the notes/lecture, and/or flesh out the learning objectives. This can save you a bit of time.
Review the material again. Then before the exam,
review the material at least once again.
Take a look at my prior posts on the individual professors for hints on how to approach the subject matter/professors. I hope you find them helpful.
Don't let the school freak you out. They have something called JiTT ("Just in time teaching," or something like that) Quizzes on a regular basis. They are online quizzes supposedly based on your lectures and generally used to see how well the material was taught. These quizzes can be a bit tough. Don't let them psych you out. You don't need to pass them to get credit. You get credit simply by doing them.
Don't sweat the JiTT quizzes. If you have no idea where the question is coming from, nobody else does either. The averages on these JiTT quizzes are not spectacular. Just do them and get the points. Also, definitely do well on the actual section quizzes, but
realize that what is often going to make or break you is the final exam, which generally make up the majority of the points for the section. Practicals are important, too, since you have to pass them and often they will have a higher point value than the section quizzes.
The school loves to place the section final and all your practicals in the same week or so. Studying for all these at the same time can be a nightmare. Learn to use your time effectively. Sometimes, you have to triage your situation and come up with a good game plan on how to approach the week so that you can pass everything, but weighting the points accordingly. You probably don't have to do this as much if you
NEVER FALL BEHIND, like I said, earlier.
For the pathology,
I highly recommend doing Quizbank. It is where most, if not all, of your pathology didactic questions are going to come from. Read ERF's notes if you have time, but they are pretty dense. Generally, his notes are very informative. I only ever had time to skim them. If you can, make the time to at least skim them, since extra credit questions may come from them. Also,
make sure to look at as many pictures/slides as possible. At least review all the linked pictures noted in his lectures and slice of life. Do more if you have time. Use the pathology resources listed on his websites for additional places to view pictures. Use Google Images, too.
Get a pathology tutor and get powerpoint slide presentations prepared by prior classes. Review ERF's old pathology tests and practicals, which are available on his website. Do the Pathology Sign-outs without unnecessary delay.
For your path presentation, write it up using a SOAP note format and
be as accurate as possible. If ERF ever asks you something, don't ever make anything up. Just say you don't know, if you truly don't know.
Make sure you list normal lab values (using the sources ERF gives you), when you list the patient's labs. Also, if there is particularly difficult word you have to say during the presentation, make sure you review how to pronounce it before you do your actual presentation. Don't forget to have Dr. Garcia and/or Dr. Yagoda look at your presentation prior to presenting.
For anatomy lab, make sure you take the Lab List and learn everything on it, without exception. Try to identify everything on the list on as many cadavars as possible.
Enlist the help of a tutor to guide you, but also to show you how things need to be written and how things are tagged. This is how to succeed. You'll probably have to come early in the mornings, or stay late after classes to review the list. It's worth it. MSK anatomy is tough. Put in the extra time. You won't regret it. Also, make sure to join SOMA (I think that's the club, but now I don't remember) for the mock practical.
Lastly, while it's easy to get overwhelmed with studying all the time,
make sure to take your head out of the books regularly. You will feel tired a lot, if you don't change your scene. Definitely take the time to hang out with friends and see a movie, or go out into town, or workout, or whatever makes you happy. I didn't do enough of this, so I was feeling a bit socially isolated and weary. I'm going to change that for my MS-II year.
Anyway, take my suggestions and comments with a few grains of salt. They are just the incoherent ramblings of a incoming 2nd year, who scored decently, but not extraordinarily, his first year. Get several opinions and adjust for individual preferences. Good luck, Class of 2012. Drop me a line, if you need any help.
