MS1, First test in 2 weeks...

[auburnO5]

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This is a little bit related to the other anatomy thread, but..

I have my first test in 2 weeks, and looking at our schedule I really don't see how it will be possible for me to learn all of the material.

Class attendance is mandatory, so I'm debating on whether I should continue trying to prepare for class and pay attention to the lecture, or just say screw it and study old material during the lectures for 4 hours each day.

I never went to class during undergrad, because I didn't really get anything out of it. For pretty much all of my tests then, I actually felt adequately prepared - is this something that goes away in med school? At this rate, I feel like I will never actually be "prepared" for any test we have.

Is this normal?

 

[txprodigal]

hopefully if your class is large enough, you can sit in the back with headphones on and study the stuff on your own - it really sucks that class attendance is mandatory

 

[auburnO5]

Welcome to med school where you have to actually cram stuff like insane just to get a C you'll probably forget in 3 months anyways. Either get used to it, or eventually drop out. Nobody said getting that elusive MD was a piece of cake. If it were so easy, everyone would be doing it.

I also went to a school with mandatory 80% attendance rates with really horrible schedules and survived it, but half of my friends dropped out after only 2 years. Not all med school is like the first 2 years, but it's just 1 little mountain you have to jump. This is only the beginning. I also struggled with my first semester just getting used to the new hyper speed of information (and to boot in my second language to make things harder). People that didn't suffer are either liars or were insanely gifted people with photographic memories and one person that I know that was one of those gifted few eventually dropped out of medicine when he saw that he hated the actual job and didn't excel in the paperwork aspect of it that had nothing to do with book cramming.

Great.


Did you study during class or actually try to listen to the lecture?

 

[da8s0859q]

This is a little bit related to the other anatomy thread, but..

I have my first test in 2 weeks, and looking at our schedule I really don't see how it will be possible for me to learn all of the material.

You adapt to this kind of volume over time, so if you're feeling like that now, hang in there -- just have to stick it out as you get better at it.

Class attendance is mandatory, so I'm debating on whether I should continue trying to prepare for class and pay attention to the lecture, or just say screw it and study old material during the lectures for 4 hours each day.

My condolences on the mandatory thing... that sucks. Probably best to keep up with where you are in class and study that day's material, because doing what you're talking about will just have a net effect of ensuring you're always one day behind. You'll just have to make sure you review that material adequately, and earlier stuff if possible, before the next day comes around.

I never went to class during undergrad, because I didn't really get anything out of it. For pretty much all of my tests then, I actually felt adequately prepared - is this something that goes away in med school? At this rate, I feel like I will never actually be "prepared" for any test we have.

Someone told me around halfway through my M1 year (I'm an M2) that "you're never really ready for exams here. You just decide it's not worth studying anymore." That's probably the best I can say as far as that goes, but I will say that as you decide on what works and doesn't work in terms of retaining information, and as you get better at it like I said before, you'll get more comfortable with all this.

Is this normal?

Yep.

^

 

[BigRedBeta]

I just have to laugh at the sympathy you're getting for "mandatory" attendance...3rd year (and residency for the matter) will have far higher mandates in terms of attendance. In fact, you'll have to stay at the hospital even if NOTHING is happening.

If you can't handle someone actively trying (and the key word is trying) to teach you something for a couple hours a day, then I can only imagine how you're going to handle 3rd year when it's possible a sizable portion of your time will involve you being ignored (for example, holding retractors for hours on end in the OR or rounding for hours at a time on patients that aren't yours while on Medicine rounds). Even worse, residency, when you have no control over your schedule and you have to be where they tell you, when they tell you to be there, is nothing but mandatory attendance.

Good luck, kid...

 

[auburnO5]

I just have to laugh at the sympathy you're getting for "mandatory" attendance...3rd year (and residency for the matter) will have far higher mandates in terms of attendance. In fact, you'll have to stay at the hospital even if NOTHING is happening.

If you can't handle someone actively trying (and the key word is trying) to teach you something for a couple hours a day, then I can only imagine how you're going to handle 3rd year when it's possible a sizable portion of your time will involve you being ignored (for example, holding retractors for hours on end in the OR or rounding for hours at a time on patients that aren't yours while on Medicine rounds). Even worse, residency, when you have no control over your schedule and you have to be where they tell you, when they tell you to be there, is nothing but mandatory attendance.

Good luck, kid...

Sorry, but that is completely irrelevant and does not even really remotely deal with my concerns, much less make sense.

 

[da8s0859q]

I just have to laugh at the sympathy you're getting for "mandatory" attendance...3rd year (and residency for the matter) will have far higher mandates in terms of attendance. In fact, you'll have to stay at the hospital even if NOTHING is happening.

Mandatory attendance like you're talking about is fine. But clinical and residency years aren't intended to do the same thing as M1 and M2 are, and even though I've gone to more lectures than not, I don't quite see a problem when my classmates skip out because they'd rather learn by their own means and spare the hour of having some guy read off his Powerpoint slides as if you can't.

 

[C5toC9]

plenty of people do not go to class M1 and M2

 

[Orbo]

I just have to laugh at the sympathy you're getting for "mandatory" attendance...3rd year (and residency for the matter) will have far higher mandates in terms of attendance. In fact, you'll have to stay at the hospital even if NOTHING is happening.

If you can't handle someone actively trying (and the key word is trying) to teach you something for a couple hours a day, then I can only imagine how you're going to handle 3rd year when it's possible a sizable portion of your time will involve you being ignored (for example, holding retractors for hours on end in the OR or rounding for hours at a time on patients that aren't yours while on Medicine rounds). Even worse, residency, when you have no control over your schedule and you have to be where they tell you, when they tell you to be there, is nothing but mandatory attendance.

Good luck, kid...

That you're trying to compare mandatory attendance of clinical years vs. pre-clinical years is...well, quite frankly, ******ed.

 

[ctpmd]

1. Pay attention in Lecture, then review once you're done with classes that day. Write down any questions/concepts you're unsure of and look it up or ask the professor the next day

2. On the weekends, go over that week's lecture material pretty hard.

3. Repeat every week

🙂

 

[DrDrToBe]

That suck's that attendance is mandatory, about half my classmates never come to class, and they do just as well as people who do go. Most of the times I go to class, but if a lecturer's style isn't working for me I read the syllabus during class.
Here's my strategy for making sure I keep up:
1) Pre-read for all your classes the day before. By pre-reading I don't mean going through the nitty gritty details of the syllabus, but skim it to get a general understanding of what the lecture will be about (usually about 10-20 mins for a 1 hr lecture is good for me). Any word/ equation/figure that I don't understand, I put a sticky note to make sure I pay attention to that in class.
2) Try to get the most out of the lecture as possible while you're there, whether that means reading the syllabus in class or listening and taking good notes is up to you.
3) At the end of each 1 hour lecture, take 3 minutes (literally) and write down buzz words, equations etc that stick out in your mind (chances are they are important since they stick out). This doesn't have to be fancy sentences or anything, just scribble somewhere.
4) At the end of the day, synthesize your material. For each one hour lecture, figure out the main points that are testable (your 3 min post lecture scribbles can help with this. Email your TA or professor with anything you don't understand. Each 1 hr lecture takes me about 20 mins, since I already read and highlighted main points in class.

Each night I took 3-4 hour to do my pre-read and synthesis, then reviewed on weekend. It worked for me, so try it if you'd like. Regardless, since you have to go to class, try to make the most of you time there. Also make sure you keep up as best as you can.
Good luck on your test!

 

[Mister Gutsy]

Lecture attendance isn't mandatory at my school, but I go anyway. here's what I typically do.

Pay attention in lecture and take notes on the important stuff. Notice I said important stuff. The minute details on the powerpoint you can probably download later if you really need them.
My school puts our lectures on podcasts, so when I get home that day, I fire up iTunes, grab the podcasts, and listen to them again on 1.5x speed, making sure my notes have all the important concepts and making sure I catch the details that I may have missed the first time around. If you don't have podcasts (I don't imagine you do, since attendance is mandatory), just record the lecture yourself and play it back. Then, I'll take the key concepts and summarize them into a powerpoint for that week. I'll use that powerpoint as my primary study material on the weekends. also serves as a great review tool.

Everyone can tell you what they do until they are blue in the face, though. Won't matter until you find what works for you. Get in a groove and stick with it until you see that it won't work. Then try other things. You'll hit your stride soon enough.

Good luck!

 

[VoiceofReason]

That suck's that attendance is mandatory, about half my classmates never come to class, and they do just as well as people who do go. Most of the times I go to class, but if a lecturer's style isn't working for me I read the syllabus during class.
Here's my strategy for making sure I keep up:
1) Pre-read for all your classes the day before. By pre-reading I don't mean going through the nitty gritty details of the syllabus, but skim it to get a general understanding of what the lecture will be about (usually about 10-20 mins for a 1 hr lecture is good for me). Any word/ equation/figure that I don't understand, I put a sticky note to make sure I pay attention to that in class.
2) Try to get the most out of the lecture as possible while you're there, whether that means reading the syllabus in class or listening and taking good notes is up to you.
3) At the end of each 1 hour lecture, take 3 minutes (literally) and write down buzz words, equations etc that stick out in your mind (chances are they are important since they stick out). This doesn't have to be fancy sentences or anything, just scribble somewhere.
4) At the end of the day, synthesize your material. For each one hour lecture, figure out the main points that are testable (your 3 min post lecture scribbles can help with this. Email your TA or professor with anything you don't understand. Each 1 hr lecture takes me about 20 mins, since I already read and highlighted main points in class.

Each night I took 3-4 hour to do my pre-read and synthesis, then reviewed on weekend. It worked for me, so try it if you'd like. Regardless, since you have to go to class, try to make the most of you time there. Also make sure you keep up as best as you can.
Good luck on your test!

didnt read this post but your blog title is terrible

 

[Ischiowhat]

...

 

[Ischiowhat]

I just have to laugh at the sympathy you're getting for "mandatory" attendance...3rd year (and residency for the matter) will have far higher mandates in terms of attendance. In fact, you'll have to stay at the hospital even if NOTHING is happening.

If you can't handle someone actively trying (and the key word is trying) to teach you something for a couple hours a day, then I can only imagine how you're going to handle 3rd year when it's possible a sizable portion of your time will involve you being ignored (for example, holding retractors for hours on end in the OR or rounding for hours at a time on patients that aren't yours while on Medicine rounds). Even worse, residency, when you have no control over your schedule and you have to be where they tell you, when they tell you to be there, is nothing but mandatory attendance.

Good luck, kid...

It's entirely different from rotation attendance. It's variable learning styles vs. standardized training. There very different ways to learn the basic sciences in MS1 and MS2, but after that everyone has to be trained for, and exposed to, somewhat standard clinical experiences. The outcome matters in MS1/2, whereas the process begins to matter in MS3/4. So I have no problem with telling people where and how they have to train and learn within the hospital, but learning the basic sciences should be very open. If you can learn from the book alone then you should be allowed to do so.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Required attendance at lectures is ridiculus, in this day and age. Nearly every school has their lectures posted online. I watch every lecture. I never GO TO lecture. If there is four hours of lecture in one day, I watch the four lectures at home on double-speed. Four hours of lecture trimmed down to an hour and forty-five minutes, at most, when you cut out the 10-15 minutes of wasted time between lectures. Schools love to preach to us about the neccessity of efficiency in studying. Double-speeding lecture from home is the definition of efficiency.

Back to the point of this thread though, it's your first test. Of course you feel a little overwhelmed. You'll feel better when you adapt to med school. Come tell us how you're feeling this spring.

 

[littlejuan]

.

 

[secants]

My first anatomy exam is tomorrow as that's the two week mark at my school. I have to say, I feel so incompetent just memorizing stuff but not being able to put it in practice aka seeing the clinical relevance. I'm just waiting for anatomy to end, two more block and a final to go! Let's hope I can pass, I just want to PASS...*cries in the corner*

 

[LRAccord624]

Auburn and secants- have you guys looked at BRS Anatomy? I just started using it- not sure how well my methods work yet as my first anatomy test isn't until mid September- BUT it is awesome. An MSII recommended it to me. Everything you need to know + clinical significance (helps me memorize bc I know why it's important) + review tests at the end of each chapter. Check it out if you haven't so far.

 

[thedoctor8706]

Good stuff here. We start classes tomorrow, after two weeks of pretend doctoring, and I'm really starting to get nervous! I never went to class in undergrad, but here they have that 80% attendance rule and I guess we'll see how that plays out.

 

[Rollo]

You won't feel "adequately prepared" for your first couple of exams. This is normal. Keep working hard.

 

[bleeker10]

This is a little bit related to the other anatomy thread, but..

I have my first test in 2 weeks, and looking at our schedule I really don't see how it will be possible for me to learn all of the material.

Class attendance is mandatory, so I'm debating on whether I should continue trying to prepare for class and pay attention to the lecture, or just say screw it and study old material during the lectures for 4 hours each day.

I never went to class during undergrad, because I didn't really get anything out of it. For pretty much all of my tests then, I actually felt adequately prepared - is this something that goes away in med school? At this rate, I feel like I will never actually be "prepared" for any test we have.

Is this normal?

I also go to a school with mandatory attendance. It's not that bad. I have done just fine by going to class. I don't pay attention in every class. You will learn what classes you need to pay attention to and which ones you can get away without it. I go through every lecture after class the same day it was presented it. Then I review on the weekends. There are times when I study during lecture too.

 

[HPSPpayissues]

That you're trying to compare mandatory attendance of clinical years vs. pre-clinical years is...well, quite frankly, ******ed.

Although I agree that making lectures mandatory is ludicrous, talking like that to a resident - your superior- and you're not even an MS2? 👎
If you can't learn and remember by listening, good luck trying to survive the clinicals and rounds

 

[C5toC9]

Interesting, I didn't know any MD schools that had mandatory or 80% mandatory lectures.

 

[da8s0859q]

Although I agree that making lectures mandatory is ludicrous, talking like that to a resident - your superior- and you're not even an MS2? 👎
If you can't learn and remember by listening, good luck trying to survive the clinicals and rounds

How would you have him phrase it?

 

[auburnO5]

Although I agree that making lectures mandatory is ludicrous, talking like that to a resident - your superior- and you're not even an MS2? 👎
If you can't learn and remember by listening, good luck trying to survive the clinicals and rounds

You do realize that this is the internet, right?

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Although I agree that making lectures mandatory is ludicrous, talking like that to a resident - your superior- and you're not even an MS2? 👎
If you can't learn and remember by listening, good luck trying to survive the clinicals and rounds

He's not his superior, he just happens to be a resident. If Orbo was doing a rotation at the same hospital and in the same field that BigRedBeta is doing his residency you might have a point.

 

[Ischiowhat]

Although I agree that making lectures mandatory is ludicrous, talking like that to a resident - your superior- and you're not even an MS2? 👎
If you can't learn and remember by listening, good luck trying to survive the clinicals and rounds

Clinicals aren't lectures though, they're not supposed to present you with cold information to remember, a lot of what is learned is through active thought processes. There is nothing active about lectures.

 

[Concordia]

It's tough, but not impossible. Get off SDN, turn off your TV, limit chatting with friends and concentrate on your studies. It sucks, but it works.