Medical students that DO NOT study/review, etc during the weekend?

[cephalexinRX]

Hello,

I am not a medical student but a 26 allied health/medical lab professional hoping to start medical school in Fall of 2014. I was hoping some medical students can answer the following:

In medical school (MD or DO), is it reasonable NOT to study on most weekends? In undergrad I almost never studied during weekends, including around exams and finals. This is because studied during the week (Mon-Thursday) so my Friday evenings through all day Sunday could be free. Some others in undergrad left lots of studying/school work for the weekend.

I never procrastinated. I often wondered why students made things worse for themselves.

So, do anyone of you study up Mon-Thurs and just relax Fri-Sun?
Not every week of course.....things happen.

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[DrYoda]

I only study on weekends if there is an exam on Monday.

 

[boggvir]

I would fail hard if I did that. I'm sure some might - I'm nowhere near being able to do that.

There is no one that I'm friends with who can do that either. However, that doesn't mean no one can.

2-3 days out of 7 is a LOT. I pretty much try to keep up uring the week and get familiar with it but there is so much info that I really don't "learn" it until the weekend. Of course everyone is different.

 

[MossPoh]

I tried to put a few hours in even on slow weekends. During rotations, the weekends are my best time for uninterrupted studying. I sit there and drink coffee and read/do questitons. It isn't that bad.

 

[cephalexinRX]

I would fail hard if I did that. I'm sure some might - I'm nowhere near being able to do that.

There is no one that I'm friends with who can do that either. However, that doesn't mean no one can.

2-3 days out of 7 is a LOT. I pretty much try to keep up uring the week and get familiar with it but there is so much info that I really don't "learn" it until the weekend. Of course everyone is different.

If I get there I will see how it goes. Makes sense that its different for everyone since medical students have a variety of backgrounds (some strong in this, some weaker in that, etc).

 

[Sheldor]

I never studied on weekends because that was family time. The exception was if there was a test on Monday so that it could be fresh in my head. If you have good time management it is definitely possible!

 

[jmillski]

Studying only on the weekends before tests is very doable. You would certaintly want to be in a pass/fail program. Additionally, if you take that mindset going in, be ready to spend extra time to re(or w/o the re) learn things for Step 1. Third year, all this advice goes out the window.

BUT additionally - I would avoid this approach. You are there to learn all you can and contribute your brainpower to mankind. Just make sure you wouldn't be throwing that opportunity away.

 

[tiedyeddog]

I only study on weekends if there is an exam on Monday.

I think a lot of people do this. We are on block schedule, so we have an exam covering all the material after the last exam at one time. I hardly every study the first two weekends, just study really hard during the week.

I study the entire weekend the week before an exam. It's fully possible if you work really hard during the week, not a big deal.

Probably better from a mental health prespective that you take off a day or two each week, anyway.

 

[Sheldor]

BUT additionally - I would avoid this approach. You are there to learn all you can and contribute your brainpower to mankind. Just make sure you wouldn't be throwing that opportunity away.

I was able to excel in school and do well on step 1 even taking the weekends off.

It is a false assumption to say that in order to do well with grades or step 1 that you can't take the weekends off. Some people may not because they struggle with the material, time management, etc. However, it is not implicit in medical school that you can't have your weekends, so my suggestion is to try it and see how it goes.

 

[zebalong]

I was able to excel in school and do well on step 1 even taking the weekends off.

It is a false assumption to say that in order to do well with grades or step 1 that you can't take the weekends off. Some people may not because they struggle with the material, time management, etc. However, it is not implicit in medical school that you can't have your weekends, so my suggestion is to try it and see how it goes.

I think the point is that it is individual and you won't know whether or not you can take weekends off until you actually start medical school - so don't count on it. If you can, then great, but don't kill your grades just because you came into med school with a mind set that you will take weekends off and continue to do so even though you feel like you're getting behind.

Med school will be different then anything else you did - not super tough but i'd say very oriented around time management - like to the last hour in the day. Most people that got into med school have a mix of some studying skills, cramming, and reliance on good test taking skills to get here - and many of those people realize that it doesn't work as well as it used to in undergrad - but a select few are able to do it fine still.

Some people can take the weekends off and some people can't. Sometimes their goals for step 1 is the determining factor. I do have to say though that most people who take weekends off take off sat-sun not fri-sat-sun - if you did that then come monday all the material you learned friday you'll have to review plus the new stuff you learn monday, it can get rough. If you are shooting for the best possible step 1 score you can get, i'd say taking the weekends off would not be too smart - you can score high- but to do your personal best you really should be exposing yourself to the material on a semi-daily basis even if just for an hour or two on the weekends.

 

[FSU2013]

It's just like undergrad - there are people who can show up and get high scores with minimal studying. There are people who are going to 'will themselves' into passing by working 16h/d 7d/wk.

It's doable, but it's impossible to say whether or not YOU can do it without knowing you.

Personally, I study most days. In the first two years I would study half days saturdays then a couple hours on sundays. This would allow time to hang out with my fiancee and go to church but I wouldn't feel guilty for not studying at all.

It's a little different third and fourth year. Most of your weekdays (at least where MossPoh and I go to school) is dominated by clinic time. Weekends are when you do most of your studying.

For step1 - It depends on how much time you have. If you only have 3 weeks to study, it wouldn't be advisiable to take weekends off. If you have 6 weeks - sure, do 4 day workweeks.

Finally, in addition to it being a function of your own capabilities, it's also a function of your goals. There are some people that can take weekends off and still rock out (i.e. Sheldor) and there are some people that work 100h/wk and still just barely get by.......BUT the vast majority (in my opinion) are somewhere in the middle. They can be in the top 1/4 of class of bottom 1/4 of class depending on their work ethic. If you are in that middle range you need to figure out your priorities. Are you planning on going into IM, Peds, FM, etc? or do you want to be the next chief of plastics at harvard?

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

There is a big difference between making notes/reading vs. actual studying.

 

[boggvir]

Surprised at how many people are able to take weekends off. Good for you.

I wonder if it's my school or just the subset of people who are on SDN. This hasn't been the case in my experience, albeit anecdotal with a small sample size.


I usually go to class, and make notes during the week and study on the weekends from notes (comes in handy exam time to have notes). I don't have a science degree so I haven't taken any of these courses so maybe that's why but all my friends who have still need to study on the weekends. I'm probably just stupider than many of you guys (which is totally fine, as long as I pass!) I need to go trough it once to get an idea, second to understand, third to memorize, and fourth to review/pick up details!

Whatever gets you through - must say I'm impressed with people who can do it while keeping weekends free! I am usually right around the 45-65th percentile on most exams so effectively an average student. I don't study 16 hours a day or anything but i dont have hours and hours of free time on weekdays either.

From what people say about how much harder year 2 is, and how little you guys seem to be working right now, I'm a little scared for when it comes.

 

[boggvir]

Any tips lol?

 

[Isoprop]

I study only on weekends. =)

 

[gmcguitar4]

it depends on the curriculum too. For PBL curriculums aren't students basically in test mode all the time? You have to know the material before going into class essentially.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Any tips lol?

Yes, eat HW and notes, let intestines absorb the nawledge, then poop your way to victory.

 

[MT Headed]

Yes, eat HW and notes, let intestines absorb the nawledge, then poop your way to victory.

Is that the source of the proverbial foot-long poop hotdog then?

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I personally wouldn't be able to get by without studying on the weekends. Does that mean that everyone studies on the weekends? No. I'm sure some of my classmates don't. That doesn't work for me though. Weekends are the one chance I get to learn/review material without adding more new material on top. If I'm behind, I can catch up. If I'm caught up, I can review and better store the material in my long-term memory. If you can look at material once or twice and remember it for a while, more power to you. I don't think most of the people in med school can pull that off though, at least based on anecdotal evidence. Do whatever works for you.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hello,

I am not a medical student but a 26 allied health/medical lab professional hoping to start medical school in Fall of 2014. I was hoping some medical students can answer the following:

In medical school (MD or DO), is it reasonable NOT to study on most weekends? In undergrad I almost never studied during weekends, including around exams and finals. This is because studied during the week (Mon-Thursday) so my Friday evenings through all day Sunday could be free. Some others in undergrad left lots of studying/school work for the weekend.

I never procrastinated. I often wondered why students made things worse for themselves.

So, do anyone of you study up Mon-Thurs and just relax Fri-Sun?
Not every week of course.....things happen.

Most med students will devote at least part of every weekend studying or reviewing. I found weekends important because they were the only days of the week without new lectures, so to the extent you were going to review material rather than just try to keep up the weekends were important. Plus you are defining weekends as 3 days, you are nuts -- nobody can do this. Don't compare med school to undergrad. It's not the same league. The key is to do what you need to learn a much much greater volume of material in med school, but not just learn it for a single test, but to retain it for Step 1 and the wards. And that's just the first two years. During rotations, forget it. In many rotations you will only get 4 weekend days off a month, and you will be often need some of that time to study for the shelf exams, which you will have on top of your 80 hour work week. Bear in mind that there is no single med student experience. A lot if the first year of med school is learning how to study, as most of your undergrad skillset simply doesn't work well for the med school volumes and pace. Every person is going to be a little different and every school is going to be a little different. There will be one or two people who will routinely jump on SDN and say they never have to study on the weekends, but they are usually outliers. You will come across far more people who would do poorly if they try this, or people who simply won't try this because they would rather have an ortho residency than a few nights of fun. On average, med students will spend part of every weekend studying.

 

[loveoforganic]

If you can maintain 100% intensity and put in the hours on the weekdays, I think you could definitely get by without time on the weekends. Easier said than done though. Props to those who can

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Most med students will devote at least part of every weekend studying or reviewing. I found weekends important because they were the only days of the week without new lectures, so to the extent you were going to review material rather than just try to keep up the weekends were important. Plus you are defining weekends as 3 days, you are nuts -- nobody can do this. Don't compare med school to undergrad. It's not the same league. The key is to do what you need to learn a much much greater volume of material in med school, but not just learn it for a single test, but to retain it for Step 1 and the wards. And that's just the first two years. During rotations, forget it. In many rotations you will only get 4 weekend days off a month, and you will be often need some of that time to study for the shelf exams, which you will have on top of your 80 hour work week. Bear in mind that there is no single med student experience. A lot if the first year of med school is learning how to study, as most of your undergrad skillset simply doesn't work well for the med school volumes and pace. Every person is going to be a little different and every school is going to be a little different. There will be one or two people who will routinely jump on SDN and say they never have to study on the weekends, but they are usually outliers. You will come across far more people who would do poorly if they try this, or people who simply won't try this because they would rather have an ortho residency than a few nights of fun. On average, med students will spend part of every weekend studying.

That's an important thing to point out. In undergrad, I rarely had to worry about comprehensive exams that tested everything I learned in a semester. It's different in med school. At least where I attend, you're expected to retain material for the long-term since we have multiple comprehensive exams, either at the end of the semester or at the end of the year. This means that you have to, at the very least, get fairly familiar with the material for quick review before the end-of-the-year exams. That, in turn, generally means that you have to make multiple passes through the material in order to remember all that stuff for a longer period of time. And that takes a lot of time due to the volume and detail of the material.

Everyone has to figure out what works for them and stick with that method. Some people can go to lecture, study for an hour or two on top of that, and be absolute rock stars. Some people may only need to go through the material once and can remember every minor detail. These types of students are in the minority though. Most of us mere mortals have to put in a fair bit of time to retain this stuff. 🙂

 

[DOCTAfoHIRE]

The reason there seems to be an overwhelming opinion that you can take weekends off in this thread is because all of the students who would disagree are currently studying.

 

[mauberley]

The reason there seems to be an overwhelming opinion that you can take weekends off in this thread is because all of the students who would disagree are currently studying.

I like your style.