Med school not as bad as everyone says?

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I haven't bothered really timing it seriously, but there are plenty of days where I have nothing mandatory; on those days I can watch all the lectures at 2x (maybe about 2 hours total) and then I probably wouldnt study more than 2 more hours on my own. And if you decided you could ignore lectures completely that would obviously save time too.

Although I'd say <21 hours including everything for school would be tricky... for me though, hours spent watching lecture or doing PBL etc I count differently than hours spent actually learning/studying. Usually mandatory hours are pretty low-key and you can relax

Yeah that’s how I count it too. I probably spent 2.5-3 hours studying and then a couple hours watching lectures (well, BnB or sketchy because I didn’t watch school lectures at all).

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Cornfed101]

I definitely study more than OP, but I’ve also matured 20% of step 1 Anking after first semester... and I’m still not sure I should be because step and COMLEX are both looking more and more sure to be p/f, but I can’t stop

 

[slowthai]

I definitely study more than OP, but I’ve also matured 20% of step 1 Anking after first semester... and I’m still not sure I should be because step and COMLEX are both looking more and more sure to be p/f, but I can’t stop

Your step 2 score will thank you, keep it going.

 

[jambro]

I definitely study more than OP, but I’ve also matured 20% of step 1 Anking after first semester... and I’m still not sure I should be because step and COMLEX are both looking more and more sure to be p/f, but I can’t stop

Ive matured I think 15% of the Zanki part of anking since that’s my primary study method, is that what you mean or are you doing stuff other than the zanki part? I agree it seems pointless with p/f but honestly a good study method regardless.

I was actually worried I wasn’t gonna get to 100% before step at this rate but I think the first few blocks of my school weren’t super correlated to it but going forward it should be.

 

[IMG69]

How many preclinical years do you have? Also you didn’t answer if you’re including you mandatory stuff.

1, I do/did 2-3 hours outside of mandatory stuff but mandatory stuff wasn't exactly learning; PBL was just repeating whatever uptodate said and a waste of time because everyone already knows the cases. Other than PBL and skills sessions nothing else was mandatory.

 

[longhaul3]

You study 2-3 hours a day? So conservatively, you spend at max 21 hours in a 7 day week on med school?

I probably spent a total of 2-3 hours a day on med school when I was a student. I found med school much easier than college, where I spent most of my energy writing papers trying to make an argument that would be graded completely subjectively by a grad student. In med school you get a question, you either know the answer or you don't, and you move on to the next one.

How do you know which specialties are more competitive? I'm interested in ob/gyn with subspecialty in infertility and endocrinology.

obgyn is on the less competitive side but I believe REI is the most competitive fellowship among the subspecialties. they make bank.

 

[datboi_58]

I probably spent a total of 2-3 hours a day on med school when I was a student. I found med school much easier than college, where I spent most of my energy writing papers trying to make an argument that would be graded completely subjectively by a grad student. In med school you get a question, you either know the answer or you don't, and you move on to the next one.


obgyn is on the less competitive side but I believe REI is the most competitive fellowship among the subspecialties. they make bank.

I’m just confused. From what I understand, my school has less class time than some. Apparently some schools have 30-40 hours of class. Assuming your school like mine has ~15-20 hour of lecture per week, you would have to not go to any of the lectures AND cover all of the material covered in ~15 hours.

Did you use any of the school’s material or just 3rd party stuff? I feel like if you don’t go to lecture and don’t do any of the video prep stuff, I have about 50 pages worth of scientific literature reading per week. And that doesn’t even include that we have at least 5-6 hours of mandatory stuff per week that’s not studying related, it’s just getting us ready for clinical.

 

[jambro]

I’m just confused. From what I understand, my school has less class time than some. Apparently some schools have 30-40 hours of class. Assuming your school like mine has ~15-20 hour of lecture per week, you would have to not go to any of the lectures AND cover all of the material covered in ~15 hours.

Did you use any of the school’s material or just 3rd party stuff? I feel like if you don’t go to lecture and don’t do any of the video prep stuff, I have about 50 pages worth of scientific literature reading per week. And that doesn’t even include that we have at least 5-6 hours of mandatory stuff per week that’s not studying related, it’s just getting us ready for clinical.

I almost never ever read. Damn, reading other people's experiences makes me reconsider my frustrations with my school!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

1, I do/did 2-3 hours outside of mandatory stuff but mandatory stuff wasn't exactly learning; PBL was just repeating whatever uptodate said and a waste of time because everyone already knows the cases. Other than PBL and skills sessions nothing else was mandatory.

You only have 1 preclinical year? Aren’t you in the UK?

 

[longhaul3]

I’m just confused. From what I understand, my school has less class time than some. Apparently some schools have 30-40 hours of class. Assuming your school like mine has ~15-20 hour of lecture per week, you would have to not go to any of the lectures AND cover all of the material covered in ~15 hours.

Did you use any of the school’s material or just 3rd party stuff? I feel like if you don’t go to lecture and don’t do any of the video prep stuff, I have about 50 pages worth of scientific literature reading per week. And that doesn’t even include that we have at least 5-6 hours of mandatory stuff per week that’s not studying related, it’s just getting us ready for clinical.

My school had 2-3 hours of lecture per day plus occasional skills sessions or whatever. I'd watch the lectures on 1.5-2x speed most of the time, or just look through the slides. Almost all of what I studied in preclinical was the lecturers' slides. I didn't use any board prep stuff until my dedicated Step 1 time, although they were much less robust and pervasive then than they are now, as I understand.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Man I wish I was as smart as the people in this thread. I can’t just watch a lecture on 2x and remember it until the exam.

 

[datboi_58]

Man I wish I was as smart as the people in this thread. I can’t just watch a lecture on 2x and remember it until the exam.

Lmao same. I don’t remember anything like 6 hours after lecture

 

[jambro]

Man I wish I was as smart as the people in this thread. I can’t just watch a lecture on 2x and remember it until the exam.

This is why I love anki. I can watch a 2x lec to make sure I'm not missing anything big, watch bnb, unsuspend anki, and inevitably if I stick to my reviews Ill know it. I imagine med school must've sucked before without all these resources

 

[slowthai]

This is why I love anki. I can watch a 2x lec to make sure I'm not missing anything big, watch bnb, unsuspend anki, and inevitably if I stick to my reviews Ill know it. I imagine med school must've sucked before without all these resources

Seriously. Anki is everything. It allows people like me to close the gap between the mentally talented and myself with my work ethic.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

This is why I love anki. I can watch a 2x lec to make sure I'm not missing anything big, watch bnb, unsuspend anki, and inevitably if I stick to my reviews Ill know it. I imagine med school must've sucked before without all these resources

Yeah that’s what I do too. But I can’t watch 2 hours of lecture and do all my anki in 2.5 hours.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Seriously. Anki is everything. It allows people like me to close the gap between the mentally talented and myself with my work ethic.

Yeah anki and qbanks have been key. That’s the only way I’ve done well lol.

 

[IMG69]

You only have 1 preclinical year? Aren’t you in the UK?

I'm post grad UK, second year is exactly 50/50 placement (Surgery, Medicine and GP) and PBL, we're just given a list of 300~ diseases/conditions and could be asked literally anything about them.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

I have about 50 pages worth of scientific literature reading per week. And that doesn’t even include that we have at least 5-6 hours of mandatory stuff per week that’s not studying related, it’s just getting us ready for clinical.

50 pages per week? I have maybe read 50 pages worth of scientific literature this entire semester...

 

[Nucleophile1]

I'm also not convinced that someone who studies ">10 hours a day" is necessarily going to do better than someone who studies 4 hours a day, or even much better than if that same person studied 4 hours a day. I guess I just really couldn't see myself studying that much every day but maybe people really are that much more dedicated than me. Maybe I'm biased, but I firmly believe most people couldn't accurately gauge how long they really studied, and don't necessarily study efficiently.

I don't really agree with this.

I wanted to get AOA/top of class so I would routinely study anywhere from 8-12 hours a day depending on how close the exam was. I used the Pomodoro method and planned out each hour of my study time (i.e. 9-10 Cardio Anki, 10-11 Sketchy, etc.) It wasn't easy but it paid off. If I had studied 4 hours per day, I would not have gotten honors and AOA. It wasn't that difficult to get to average/slightly below average on exams, but going from average to top of the class required significantly more work.

I know people in my class who studied less than me and scored the same as me but honestly, I never let that bother me. I knew I could score well if I put in the time I needed, so at that point, it was really up to me. I don't agree with this comparison culture because everyone learns differently and some people need to go over the material more times to make it stick.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I don't really agree with this.

I wanted to get AOA/top of class so I would routinely study anywhere from 8-12 hours a day depending on how close the exam was. I used the Pomodoro method and planned out each hour of my study time (i.e. 9-10 Cardio Anki, 10-11 Sketchy, etc.) It wasn't easy but it paid off. If I had studied 4 hours per day, I would not have gotten honors and AOA. It wasn't that difficult to get to average/slightly below average on exams, but going from average to top of the class required significantly more work.

I know people in my class who studied less than me and scored the same as me but honestly, I never let that bother me. I knew I could score well if I put in the time I needed, so at that point, it was really up to me. I don't agree with this comparison culture because everyone learns differently and some people need to go over the material more times to make it stick.

What he said is that studying more won’t necessarily have you score higher. An anecdotal example of that not being true doesn’t disprove it. I honored every block of preclinical but one, and I only do about 5 hours of studying a day. The one block I didn’t honor, I studied 7-8.

 

[Nucleophile1]

I have also personally never found studying to be chore. I don't mind studying for long hours per day and I'm personally able to understand things at a deeper level because of it.

Yeah I have essentially treated medical school like a full time job + studying on the weekend.

I also had a job through in high school and college so it wasn't uncommon in college for me to be very busy in college when combining studying, working, volunteering, lab, etc.

What he said is that studying more won’t necessarily have you score higher. An anecdotal example of that not being true doesn’t disprove it. I honored every block of preclinical but one, and I only do about 5 hours of studying a day. The one block I didn’t honor, I studied 7-8.

That's why I said I don't like the comparison culture. For some people, 4-5 hours per day is sufficient to honor classes whereas other people might need more time. I don't think one way is "right" or "wrong", I think it's highly dependent on the individual and their own learning style. I know someone who would study one week before the test and honored all of preclinical. That would not have worked for me personally but I never compared myself to that person because they learn differently than I do and that's totally fine.

I would also find I needed more time for some classes (looking at you kidney block) and less time for others.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yeah I have essentially treated medical school like a full time job + studying on the weekend.

I also had a job through in high school and college so it wasn't uncommon in college for me to be very busy in college when combining studying, working, volunteering, lab, etc.

That's why I said I don't like the comparison culture. For some people, 4-5 hours per day is sufficient to honor classes whereas other people might need more time. I don't think one way is "right" or "wrong", I think it's highly dependent on the individual and their own learning style. I know someone who would study one week before the test and honored all of preclinical. That would not have worked for me personally but I never compared myself to that person because they learn differently than I do and that's totally fine.

I would also find I needed more time for some classes (looking at you kidney block) and less time for others.

Totally agree. Comparing is dumb. We don’t do that really in my class which is nice.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I only know like 15 people in my class because of COVID (hence, no comparing), so there's that. It's going to be interesting/weird to see my classmates for the first time as a MS2. lol

Yeah I’m glad I got to be in person for at least most of M1 before going to virtual. I’ll at least know the people I’m on rotations with next month lol.

 

[readmypostsMD]

Honestly it’s way easier than u-grad

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Honestly it’s way easier than u-grad

Yeah I majored in math. That was way harder lol.

 

[datboi_58]

Lol some of you must have went to some wild high schools and undergrads.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Lol some of you must have went to some wild high schools and undergrads.

Math is just harder than medicine. Especially upper division.

 

[readmypostsMD]

Math is just harder than medicine. Especially upper division.

yeah kinda confused why people think doctors are “smart”

my friends in software/tech are definitely smarter

 

[Lawpy]

yeah kinda confused why people think doctors are “smart”

my friends in software/tech are definitely smarter

Yeah math, computer science, physics and engineering are really challenging

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

yeah kinda confused why people think doctors are “smart”

my friends in software/tech are definitely smarter

I mean doctors are smart. And there are some brilliant doctors. But medicine is not harder than math, physics, etc.

 

[Detailsmatter]

I mean doctors are smart. And there are some brilliant doctors. But medicine is not harder than math, physics, etc.

I think also those fields suit different types of learners. I feel like the typical MD/DO student doesn’t do well with that kind of abstract type thinking required for those fields.

 

[Lawpy]

I mean doctors are smart. And there are some brilliant doctors. But medicine is not harder than math, physics, etc.

I have a lot of respect for math and engineering oriented doctors. I learned a lot about physiology and pathology from very surprising directions.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I think also those fields suit different types of learners. I feel like the typical MD/DO student doesn’t do well with that kind of abstract type thinking required for those fields.

Yeah, it actually handicapped me slightly in the beginning. Medicine is so much rote memorization and math is very much the opposite. But I adapted quickly thanks to anki.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have a lot of respect for math and engineering oriented doctors. I learned a lot about physiology and pathology from very surprising directions.

Yeah the math/physics background really helped in cardio/pulmonary/renal and neuro.

 

[efle]

Getting into med school is much harder than getting through it, at least by the numbers. Your typical ORM in a populous coastal state needs A grades and a top 10-20% MCAT to feel good about their chances of admission. Meanwhile the AAMC has been showing us for years that lower GPAs and 50th percentile scores complete the med school curriculum without issue. So you do need to be pretty bright to get in, but med school itself is not that demanding.

 

[DrRiker]

This is not true for every school. Some schools use NBME exams and everything is standardized, so yes you can BnB + anki + flip through lectures 40-50 hrs a week and do fine...if you’re a fast processor you’ll do great.

But a lot of schools have professor written exams, and it takes more than 9-5 M-F to do well. Other schools have more mandatory stuff that eats up study time. I know this is the MD forum, but don’t forget that DO students have extra hours they have to put in each week for OMM lectures and labs. Needing more than 40 hours a week does not indicate someone has a mental health issue preventing them from doing well.

n=1, Pathoma/BnB/Anki/qbanks have worked wonderfully for professor-written exams. Maybe my school is watered down?

 

[DrRiker]

I'm also not convinced that someone who studies ">10 hours a day" is necessarily going to do better than someone who studies 4 hours a day, or even much better than if that same person studied 4 hours a day. I guess I just really couldn't see myself studying that much every day but maybe people really are that much more dedicated than me. Maybe I'm biased, but I firmly believe most people couldn't accurately gauge how long they really studied, and don't necessarily study efficiently.

I see your point, but I have a hard time imagining someone being successful (not just bare minimum) while putting in less than 40 real working hours per week (not instagram studying)

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

n=1, Pathoma/BnB/Anki/qbanks have worked wonderfully for professor-written exams. Maybe my school is watered down?

Mine is not watered down at all, and those resources were fine for me. Course, my school endorses stuff like FA and anki.

 

[slowthai]

n=1, Pathoma/BnB/Anki/qbanks have worked wonderfully for professor-written exams. Maybe my school is watered down?

Not watered down. It just means that the curriculum aligns more with the boards.

 

[DrRiker]

Depends on the major in my opinion. My Mechanical Engineering major was more difficult than M1 so far, but lots more med school left to go so it is too early to compare.

In my experience, M2 is busier than engineering (I’m a cheme) but the concepts easier. Especially if you want to be competitive for ROAD, managing a hundred responsibilities is the hardest part.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

In my experience, M2 is busier than engineering (I’m a cheme) but the concepts easier. Especially if you want to be competitive for ROAD, managing a hundred responsibilities is the hardest part.

I’ve definitely been busier in med school even in M1/2 than in undergrad, courses wise. It’s not the difficulty of the material with med school, it’s the volume. Much greater.

 

[doyinDO]

Yeah I majored in math. That was way harder lol.

Same. I would spend hours trying to understand real analysis and abstract algebra and I still wouldn't totally get it. Some stuff I couldn't even begin to understand before exams. Proofs were hard. Spent a lot of time going to office hours to have my professors help me. I don't have to do any of that in med school so far.

Yes, I still spend hours studying but at least it's easier to understand the material. The more hours I spent studying in med school, the better grades I got. That was not the case for math.

Regardless, I still think med school is pretty hard and I think most of my classmates would agree. It also depends on your goals like other people have said.

 

[deleted889094]

Same. I would spend hours trying to understand real analysis and abstract algebra and I still wouldn't totally get it. Some stuff I couldn't even begin to understand before exams. Proofs were hard. Spent a lot of time going to office hours to have my professors help me. I don't have to do any of that in med school so far.

Yes, I still spend hours studying but at least it's easier to understand the material. The more hours I spent studying in med school, the better grades I got. That was not the case for math.

Regardless, I still think med school is pretty hard and I think most of my classmates would agree. It also depends on your goals like other people have said.

Yeah, it kind of depends what you mean by hard. Like, if hard means a lot of time because there's a lot of material, then yeah it's often hard. But I don't think most of the content is that complex - especially since you tend to approach it in gradually increasing complexity.

Plus it's cool. No relative has ever asked me for math advice.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Same. I would spend hours trying to understand real analysis and abstract algebra and I still wouldn't totally get it. Some stuff I couldn't even begin to understand before exams. Proofs were hard. Spent a lot of time going to office hours to have my professors help me. I don't have to do any of that in med school so far.

Yes, I still spend hours studying but at least it's easier to understand the material. The more hours I spent studying in med school, the better grades I got. That was not the case for math.

Regardless, I still think med school is pretty hard and I think most of my classmates would agree. It also depends on your goals like other people have said.

LOL abstract algebra. I somehow got an A in that because I could just intuitively figure it out most of the time, but I could not for the life of me explain why.

 

[Lawpy]

Same. I would spend hours trying to understand real analysis and abstract algebra and I still wouldn't totally get it. Some stuff I couldn't even begin to understand before exams. Proofs were hard. Spent a lot of time going to office hours to have my professors help me. I don't have to do any of that in med school so far.

Yes, I still spend hours studying but at least it's easier to understand the material. The more hours I spent studying in med school, the better grades I got. That was not the case for math.

Regardless, I still think med school is pretty hard and I think most of my classmates would agree. It also depends on your goals like other people have said.

LOL abstract algebra. I somehow got an A in that because I could just intuitively figure it out most of the time, but I could not for the life of me explain why.

Thanks for the nightmare flashbacks

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Plus it's cool. No relative has ever asked me for math advice.

Lol I actually have a case report about helping the family member of a suicide victim using math and physics

 

[deleted889094]

Lol I actually have a case report about helping the family member of a suicide victim using math and physics

Whaaaaa - ok, I guess it's possible after all