MD MD Class of 2022 How we feeling?

[Dox4lyfe]

Do some schools provide these subscriptions or at least a discount? I'm going to be on a pretty rough budget and I'm seeing people talk about getting all these subscriptions but they are like $300-$400 per year, per bank. I won't be in a traditional curriculum and would like every advantage I can get.

It seems like some schools do. I'd wait until orientation and see if they say anything and maybe ask the upper-class men. You don't need every resource. They say "less is more".

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[BadSanta]

Do some schools provide these subscriptions or at least a discount? I'm going to be on a pretty rough budget and I'm seeing people talk about getting all these subscriptions but they are like $300-$400 per year, per bank. I won't be in a traditional curriculum and would like every advantage I can get.

Not trying to take over the thread, just trying to help. Talk to your class sga and have them work out a discount on things people want! My class got a discount on Pathoma and Sketchy.

 

[mybluedog]

Not trying to take over the thread, just trying to help. Talk to your class sga and have them work out a discount on things people want!

your advice has been helpful!!

 

[Apothecary Aquinas]

Anki is a program that uses spaced repitition to show you flashcards/questions you create. Zanki is a "deck" of pre made cards found within anki. Both are free. Firecracker uses the same spaced repitition algorhithm with pre made cards, questions, videos, step 1 style questions. If you just youtube both, youll get a feel for what they are

Pretty much the same for me. I’m gonna use Firecracker along side my systems based curriculum by adding things to the deck as we go over them. Although, after a lot of reading I’m also going to use Zanki for review and straight memorization after the completion of each organ system and during dedicated.

Firecracker is all premade cards. It's also ~$500.

Anki is free and allegedly has a better algorithm for the spacing. At its base, you have to make your own cards for Anki, which a lot of people prefer. There are also premade Anki decks out there. The most popular historically has been Brosencephalon's, however in the past couple years Zanki has become the go to on SDN.
This is a really good guide to using Zanki. Well, it's a good guide to setting it up, I'll have to wait to see if it's a good guide to actually using it.

It was $300 for a 2-year subscription last I checked (a week ago). But there’s also a free trial if anyone wants to check it out and see if it suits them.

The major difference is that Firecracker allows you to get really detailed answers to things you don’t know while you’re studying and you can modify it easily to only present things you’ve gone over in class so far (hence why I’m using it along with my classes, as a teaching aid along with memorization help).
Whereas Zanki is just straight flash card memorization without all the extra detail. I have heard the pattern/algorithm it uses to present cards is really nice though. But I’ll be using Zanki after I complete each organ system to really beat what I’ve learned into my memory and during dedicated, for sure.

But ultimately it comes down to each person’s prefered learning style and what they feel comfortable with.

 

[luxaeterna6]

Anyone looking to do Boards and Beyond? I saw some of their sample videos yesterday and they seem good. but I have no baseline to compare haha

I'm thinking now Zanki+own modification (FC does look more appealing to me software wise though), BB, Pathoma, sketchy

I plan on doing everything you said

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Any thoughts on Rx flash cards? I won't buy the book until M1 officially starts, but first aid seems to provide an outline of almost everything you need to know for step 1. If you know and understand everything in FA, it seems that you should be in good shape for 90%+ of questions on step 1. (And the 10% of questions that not in FA won't be covered in any one resource, as the possible medical knowledge that can be tested is simply too broad.) So it seem like it may be good idea to purchase the official first aid flash cards to help hammer in the first aid info, as I proceed through classes. If you're already planning on getting the Rx Qbank (which seems to be superior than kaplan to do along with classes, since it helps you learn FA and apparently covers less irrelevant minutia), getting the flash cards and FA videos is around 100$ more. I also plan on doing sketchy micro and pharm along with zanki to help memorize micro and pharm, pathoma along with zanki to help me understand pathology, B&B to help me understand lecture concepts but not directly for step 1, and UW during dedicated. It's a bit silly to plan all this out now, but it's a nice to have an idea of what resources I plan to use for preclinicals + step 1 before med school, with all its demands, starts.

 

[seekere]

Any thoughts on Rx flash cards? I won't buy the book until M1 officially starts, but first aid seems to provide an outline of almost everything you need to know for step 1. If you know and understand everything in FA, it seems that you should be in good shape for 90%+ of questions on step 1. (And the 10% of questions that not in FA won't be covered in any one resource, as the possible medical knowledge that can be tested is simply too broad.) So it seem like it may be good idea to purchase the official first aid flash cards to help hammer in the first aid info, as I proceed through classes. If you're already planning on getting the Rx Qbank (which seems to be superior than kaplan to do along with classes, since it helps you learn FA and apparently covers less irrelevant minutia), getting the flash cards and FA videos is around 100$ more. I also plan on doing sketchy micro and pharm along with zanki to help memorize micro and pharm, pathoma along with zanki to help me understand pathology, B&B to help me understand lecture concepts but not directly for step 1, and UW during dedicated. It's a bit silly to plan all this out now, but it's a nice to have an idea of what resources I plan to use for preclinicals + step 1 before med school, with all its demands, starts.

I heard that the Rx flashcards aren't that great (mistakes+extraneous info+bad algorithm+slow) and Zanki is way better and is more all inclusive.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Any thoughts on Rx flash cards? I won't buy the book until M1 officially starts, but first aid seems to provide an outline of almost everything you need to know for step 1. If you know and understand everything in FA, it seems that you should be in good shape for 90%+ of questions on step 1. (And the 10% of questions that not in FA won't be covered in any one resource, as the possible medical knowledge that can be tested is simply too broad.) So it seem like it may be good idea to purchase the official first aid flash cards to help hammer in the first aid info, as I proceed through classes. If you're already planning on getting the Rx Qbank (which seems to be superior than kaplan to do along with classes, since it helps you learn FA and apparently covers less irrelevant minutia), getting the flash cards and FA videos is around 100$ more. I also plan on doing sketchy micro and pharm along with zanki to help memorize micro and pharm, pathoma along with zanki to help me understand pathology, B&B to help me understand lecture concepts but not directly for step 1, and UW during dedicated. It's a bit silly to plan all this out now, but it's a nice to have an idea of what resources I plan to use for preclinicals + step 1 before med school, with all its demands, starts.

I agree; zanki trumps the Rx cards and I believe it incorporates stuff from other resources as well. Since I learn better with questions, I was planning on doing kaplan first and Rx later or potentially both at the same time if time permits. Reason being, if I'm already learning the systems in detail, might as well grind out the minutia to make sure I learn it really well during the block. Rx done later can help test the broader concepts and hammer down FA closer to dedicated in early-mid m2, assuming I don't already do it at the same time as kaplan with each system.

 

[Eleithyia]

I might end up going with FC just because I could never figure out how to make the damn Anki cards I needed to supplement existing decks (I wanted to use Anki during MCAT prep--didn't work out).

 

[DubbiDoctor]

I need help, I really need help am a graduate I study veterinary surgery DVM but I want to switch to Human Medicine. Is there any master degree course that I can study in further studies to switch to human medicine?

Not sure why you posted this here, rather than premed. Are you almost done with your DVM? If you are, you could probably work as a veterinarian while gaining clinical experience dealing with (human) patients for a year or two, and then apply to med school. You'd be really interesting person to interview.

 

[Goro]

I need help, I really need help am a graduate I study veterinary surgery DVM but I want to switch to Human Medicine. Is there any master degree course that I can study in further studies to switch to human medicine?

Are you in the US?

 

[gyngyn]

Not sure why you posted this here, rather than premed, but perhaps @Goro @gonnif @gyngyn or @LizzyM may help if I tag them. Are you almost done with your DVM? If you are, you could probably work as a veterinarian while gaining clinical experience dealing with (human) patients for a year or two, and then apply to med school. You'd be really interesting person to interview.

Are you in the US?

I redirected him to a couple of fora where he might get some help!

 

[ekmf27050]

Started researching my school's curriculum today, got about 15 mins in, and switched to reading about therapists in my school area.

But hey... managing mental health is important for success, right? ......right?

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Started researching my school's curriculum today, got about 15 mins in, and switched to reading about therapists in my school area.

But hey... managing mental health is important for success, right? ......right?

What's stressing you out? My school sent the schedule for the first block, which is 8 weeks long. Seems like a lot of classes and labs but nothing worse than a heavy undergrad semester. Of course, they'll likely be a lot more info to memorize - but that's where flashcards and review resources, such as B&B and later sketchy and pathoma, come in. If you did well in undergrad taking science heavy courses and did reasonably well on the MCAT, there's no reason to think you shouldn't succeed in med school.

 

[RockMcat520]

Did anyone look up LightYear Anki cards? A lot of people started switching from Zanki to LightYear since cards are tagged and more organized than zanki, this easier to follow along classes.

 

[ADSigMel]

What's stressing you out? My school sent the schedule for the first block, which is 8 weeks long. Seems like a lot of classes and labs but nothing worse than a heavy undergrad semester. Of course, they'll likely be a lot more info to memorize - but that's where flashcards and review resources, such as B&B and later sketchy and pathoma, come in. If you did well in undergrad taking science heavy courses and did reasonably well on the MCAT, there's no reason to think you shouldn't succeed in med school.

I’m super concerned about this. I did fine on the MCAT (mostly because of the non-science sections), but I’ve never taken a science-heavy undergrad semester. Any other non-trad career changers have thoughts about how to tackle this aspect of our new adventure?

 

[ekmf27050]

What's stressing you out? My school sent the schedule for the first block, which is 8 weeks long. Seems like a lot of classes and labs but nothing worse than a heavy undergrad semester. Of course, they'll likely be a lot more info to memorize - but that's where flashcards and review resources, such as B&B and later sketchy and pathoma, come in. If you did well in undergrad taking science heavy courses and did reasonably well on the MCAT, there's no reason to think you shouldn't succeed in med school.

Honestly, it wasn't so much the curriculum specifically as it was the idea of moving/starting school/hitting the ground running in a couple short weeks.

Though, speaking of curriculum, I did have a slooooow start in undergrad. I'm hoping my adjustment period is a little quicker in med school! Basic sciences have never really been my strong suit, tbh.

 

[hurtem&healem]

I’m super concerned about this. I did fine on the MCAT (mostly because of the non-science sections), but I’ve never taken a science-heavy undergrad semester. Any other non-trad career changers have thoughts about how to tackle this aspect of our new adventure?

I started my (extremely science heavy) undergrad at 30, and I graduated high school 13 years earlier with a 2.8 gpa, so I feel like I may have something to add here. I'm not going to sugar coat it; it took a lot of time and effort in the library to figure out what worked for me. Like... a LOT of time. I don't know what you did before, so maybe it prepared you better, but I had to learn how to study from scratch while taking 20+ credits of mostly science courses. The biggest mistake I made was trying to do it on my own. SDN is obviously a phenomenal resource, so spend some time right now with the search function to read up on how other people have succeeded. Everyone is a little different and there are a lot of opinions out there, but you will find some things that ring true to you. Whatever you decide on, give it a solid effort, but also be willing to change if it's clearly necessary. The key is finding what works for you! The other giant resource is the school's learning resource center (or equivalent). Every med school has one, and they do know what they're talking about. Consult them early and often!

 

[Basil246]

How early before orientation/start of classes/whenever your stuff starts are you guys moving up? Trying to maximize time with family and friends, but I don’t want to miss bonding time with future classmates

 

[Apothecary Aquinas]

Does anyone know a systems based curriculum might affect STEP prep?

I’m not sure of any data that suggests if either traditional or systems is better for STEP prep in general but I do know systems based will allow you start going through question banks a lot earlier if you want to. Because you start pathology along with your first system you have everything you need to start doing questions over that system first year, first semester, if it behooves you.

How early before orientation/start of classes/whenever your stuff starts are you guys moving up? Trying to maximize time with family and friends, but I don’t want to miss bonding time with future classmates

I’m moving in the day of orientation because I’m trying to maximize my time with family/friends whom I’m moving far away from...

*cough* poor planning *cough*

But In all seriousness, in my point of view, I’ve got 4 years to socialize with these nerds so I’m not stressing. And to be honest at this point in my life I’m far less concerned with making new friends than I am with focusing on my future goals, grades, research, etc. But that’s just me and I do understand that some people need to be more social to be happy. You can catch me with some ‘Death Wish’ coffee going over Zanki on Saturday nights......

existential dread intensifies

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

You can catch me with some ‘Death Wish’ coffee going over Zanki on Saturday nights......

It got me through undergrad + the MCAT and bawh gawd it better get me through medical school. Just ordered another bag last night.

 

[Yasuo]

All day, every day, lol. I've got my zanki all set up and ready to go, library ebooks bookmarked in chrome, videos and qbanks lined up to purchase (haven't heard anything about my school supplying any, but hoping to find out otherwise at orientation ). I'm definitely not doing any pre-studying, but I'm ready to hit the ground running!

me irl

 

[puahate]

I might end up going with FC just because I could never figure out how to make the damn Anki cards I needed to supplement existing decks (I wanted to use Anki during MCAT prep--didn't work out).

just Youtube it. it's easy

 

[Eleithyia]

just Youtube it. it's easy

Dude, I definitely did Youtube it (wouldn't give up on something so useful without trying Youtube first), and it continues to not make a lot of sense to me. I could eventually get the cards made, but it always took an egregiously long time and I wasn't getting any faster as time went on. It's not for me, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Tim_Hortons_Cafe]

I might end up going with FC just because I could never figure out how to make the damn Anki cards I needed to supplement existing decks (I wanted to use Anki during MCAT prep--didn't work out).

 

[Tim_Hortons_Cafe]

How early before orientation/start of classes/whenever your stuff starts are you guys moving up? Trying to maximize time with family and friends, but I don’t want to miss bonding time with future classmates

Literally the weekend before orientation. I'm going to my nephew's birthday party and then leaving for school the morning after. That'll be my last family event for a bit.

 

[Doctor_ruski]

I officially quit my job this week to have some down time before classes start, and realized this is the last paycheck I’ll get for the next 4 years. As someone who has always been working, this just feels wild!

After a nice and restful gap year, can’t wait for classes to start and really get thrown into things!

 

[MusicManiac19]

I officially quit my job this week to have some down time before classes start, and realized this is the last paycheck I’ll get for the next 4 years. As someone who has always been working, this just feels wild!

After a nice and restful gap year, can’t wait for classes to start and really get thrown into things!

I know. I work right up until the weekend before orientation (probably not the best idea but I want/need the money) and I have been working at least part-time since the summer before my undergrad started. Not getting a paycheck will make me feel like I’m spending so much money haha and I’m not ready


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[hurtem&healem]

The closing date on my new house keeps getting pushed back. At this rate I'll be in a hotel when classes start.

 

[YCP Pre-Med]

I’m with everyone that out off housing arrangements until shortly before orientation. Since I’m a bit of a planner, that was stressful. Signed the lease and moving in has commenced.

Spending some last - minute vacation time with family, and going over medical school study aids during my downtime. I know I won’t have much time for this later.

While I’m excited to start and absolutely dive in, some part of me is sober about the challenge. I suppose the self - reflection will stop once my face is in the information fire hydrant haha.

 

[MissGamerMD]

I officially quit my job this week to have some down time before classes start, and realized this is the last paycheck I’ll get for the next 4 years. As someone who has always been working, this just feels wild!

After a nice and restful gap year, can’t wait for classes to start and really get thrown into things!

I feel you - my last shift is Thursday and my last pay is Friday. Definitely going to be weird but I am so looking forward to the time off.

Also, I'm moving in the week after orientation starts lol. Luckily my family and SO are taking care of my move and I'll be in an airbnb until I get the keys to my new place.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Ugh second day of classes and all I want to do is sleep!

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Ugh second day of classes and all I want to do is sleep!

Does your class go out every night of orientation week like mine has (in past years) or is it already that bad?

 

[MicrobeParade]

I am so thrilled right now. My school e-mailed us about our financial aid packages, and I discovered I received one of their merit scholarships. I'm usually passed over for scholarships, so this was a very pleasant surprise!

Also, I'm currently down to nine work shifts and slated to move on the 29th. I just want to get moved and settled in!

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Orientation is still a couple of weeks away. Getting inpatient, as anime and video games get boring after awhile, and I have no desire to pre-study. Looking most forward to meeting new people and making new friends.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Does your class go out every night of orientation week like mine has (in past years) or is it already that bad?

Yes lol!! A healthy amount go out for drinks (which is crazy in my opinion), but the rest of us sensible folks have chosen to study for exams next week

 

[wholeheartedly]

Orientation is still a couple of weeks away. Getting inpatient, as anime and video games get boring after awhile, and I have no desire to pre-study. Looking most forward to meeting new people and making new friends.

love the slip there, lol

 

[DubbiDoctor]

I had a dream last night where I had $4 million in my bank account. Opening my eyes was a rude awakening.

 

[BurntFlower]

Third day of med school went fine. My class is HUGE (like 300 people) so I'm hoping I can make some friends.

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

I had a dream last night where I had $4 million in my bank account. Opening my eyes was a rude awakening.

For the sake of masochism, I looked at my financial aid tab on my school's portal to remind myself how much I was taking out in loans this year. Anyone know how much a kidney goes for these days?

Am poor medical student. Pls buy mah kidney

 

[MissGamerMD]

For the sake of masochism, I looked at my financial aid tab on my school's portal to remind myself how much I was taking out in loans this year. Anyone know how much a kidney goes for these days?

Am poor medical student. Pls buy mah kidney

Lmao you get me. My first tuition installment is due in September (don't start til next month), and I've already wondered if my kidney would cover it. Maybe even a lobe of liver, or like some bone marrow or something.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Third day of med school went fine. My class is HUGE (like 300 people) so I'm hoping I can make some friends.

I’m just thankful next week exams were cancelled!

 

[PhysioG318]

I had a dream last night where I had $4 million in my bank account. Opening my eyes was a rude awakening.

Wouldnt that be nice!

 

[PhysioG318]

I’m not sure of any data that suggests if either traditional or systems is better for STEP prep in general but I do know systems based will allow you start going through question banks a lot earlier if you want to. Because you start pathology along with your first system you have everything you need to start doing questions over that system first year, first semester, if it behooves you.



I’m moving in the day of orientation because I’m trying to maximize my time with family/friends whom I’m moving far away from...

*cough* poor planning *cough*

But In all seriousness, in my point of view, I’ve got 4 years to socialize with these nerds so I’m not stressing. And to be honest at this point in my life I’m far less concerned with making new friends than I am with focusing on my future goals, grades, research, etc. But that’s just me and I do understand that some people need to be more social to be happy. You can catch me with some ‘Death Wish’ coffee going over Zanki on Saturday nights......

existential dread intensifies

I 100% agree with this! I have for the most part not been to social with my classmates. Although I do hope to friend a few and get to know them. However, my main focus is securing a residency spot that I want and not because I did not do well enough in med school or the boards to get. Sorry for whoever this offends.

 

[mybluedog]

Sorry to derail the thread here. I’m buying a used MacBook Air 13.3” (2013) and wondering if it’s worth $200 and good for taking notes.

I’ve always been a PC person but own an iPhone. I just bought an iPad Pro for taking notes and thought syncing would be nice. I’ll be giving my normal PC to my younger sib! Thoughts are appreciated!


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[hurtem&healem]

Sorry to derail the thread here. I’m buying a used MacBook Air 13.3” (2013) and wondering if it’s worth $200 and good for taking notes.

I’ve always been a PC person but own an iPhone. I just bought an iPad Pro for taking notes and thought syncing would be nice. I’ll be giving my normal PC to my younger sib! Thoughts are appreciated!


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idk about the price on the mac, but I can only imagine my frustrating trying to use any computer from 2013. There's definitely going to be some serious lag.

As for syncing notes, you'll probably be using OneNote, which syncs pretty seamlessly between any OS.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

idk about the price on the mac, but I can only imagine my frustrating trying to use any computer from 2013. There's definitely going to be some serious lag.

As for syncing notes, you'll probably be using OneNote, which syncs pretty seamlessly between any OS.

Not so seamless with Mac from what I heard. Get a surface pro! That’s by far the #1 laptop of choice at my school. It doubles as a tablet, which makes it really great for taking notes on PowerPoint slides (uploaded into OneNote)

 

[MicrobeParade]

Sorry to derail the thread here. I’m buying a used MacBook Air 13.3” (2013) and wondering if it’s worth $200 and good for taking notes.

I’ve always been a PC person but own an iPhone. I just bought an iPad Pro for taking notes and thought syncing would be nice. I’ll be giving my normal PC to my younger sib! Thoughts are appreciated!


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If you already use an iPad Pro, I'd go with the MacBook Air. It's easier to sync your apps across both devices, and as long as you keep the iOS updated, you shouldn't have a problem downloading your apps to all your devices. MacBooks have a pretty long shelf life if you take good care of them, so it may be a worthy investment.

Also, fair warning from somebody who owns an iPad Pro-- while they're portable, they look more professional than a phone when looking things up (will only apply to clinical experiences), and make a great interface for note-taking, they are not conducive to multitasking. I'm one of those people who likes having multiple programs on the screen when taking notes (note-taking app in one window, PDF documents in another, Anki in another), and it's a little harder to accomplish that with the iPad Pro. The good thing about Notability is its PDF import function, but I may still have to just use the MacBook Air for Anki (no way should anyone pay $25 for a free desktop program) and my PDF of FA.

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Sorry to derail the thread here. I’m buying a used MacBook Air 13.3” (2013) and wondering if it’s worth $200 and good for taking notes.

I’ve always been a PC person but own an iPhone. I just bought an iPad Pro for taking notes and thought syncing would be nice. I’ll be giving my normal PC to my younger sib! Thoughts are appreciated!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

idk about the price on the mac, but I can only imagine my frustrating trying to use any computer from 2013. There's definitely going to be some serious lag.

As for syncing notes, you'll probably be using OneNote, which syncs pretty seamlessly between any OS.

I've had my Mac Pro since 2012 and don't have any issues with it. I suppose it depends on how the last person took care of it. Sounds like a solid purchase IMO even if it just lasts you through pre-clinical years

 

[wholeheartedly]

My macbook pro lasted me 8 years and at that point it was mostly the battery that swelled up bit the dust. Performance was otherwise good.

Biggest thing is check how much memory is on it.