MS2 - Complete Self-Study

[minwoo]

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The courses I'll be taking as a MS2:

Pathology
Neuroscience
Immunology
Pharmacology
Microbiology

The plan: skip all classes from day 1, show up only for exams, FOCUS ON STEP1

Why: After being scared into attending every anatomy lecture the first semester of MS1, I realized that it was an incredible waste of time for me as I would fall asleep literally every lecture. After getting through that block, I skipped 99% of the lectures for biochem, physiology, genetics, histology (used only notes, the occasional recorded lectures, and textbooks)...showed up only for mandatory clinical correlation talks and also BS required classes like ethics, physical exam, etc. At the end of first year I ended up with a 3.5 GPA (stupid letter grade system) but overall numeric grade in the 91-92 range, not quite sure yet how that fares in terms of my class rank. I truly believe the same can be done for second year..in fact I believe this is the best way to approach second year (for me personally). Thoughts?

My main objective is to learn the material and have strong grasp/understanding of it for the purpose of doing well on Step 1. Any textbooks/resources that ya'll can recommend for the courses I'll be taking my second year? I've purchased First Aid and Goljan's Path Rapid Review so far. I'll be using the PDF notes provided by my professors but would love to have a GOOD textbook to go along with them. I'll also be using Dr. Najeeb's videos because I think he is one of the best medical professors of all time. All input/comments/bashing appreciated!

Update: 2 weeks into M2 and have commenced my plan to make M2 a complete self-study home-schooling bonanza. Taking Path, Neuro, and Immuno/Micro the first semester along with a physical exam class. Went to class just the first day to pick up the syllabus, note policies, and whatnot. First immuno test coming up in 5 days and feel like I understand the material pretty well so far. Materials I'm using as of now: Pathoma, Gunner Training, Goljan RR, First Aid. Biggest concern currently is that Neuroscience course taught at my school is supposed to pretty tough while the professors are generally not good at teaching the material (maybe why it's so tough??). Plan is to use neuro lectures by Dr. Najeeb (I think there's like Najeeb 80-90 lectures on neuro) to replace the neuro course. Obv the goal is to learn neuro for Step 1 rather than getting a 99 course average.

 

[munchymanRX]

The courses I'll be taking as a MS2:

Pathology
Neuroscience
Immunology
Pharmacology
Microbiology

The plan: skip all classes from day 1, show up only for exams, FOCUS ON STEP1

Why: After being scared into attending every anatomy lecture the first semester of MS1, I realized that it was an incredible waste of time for me as I would fall asleep literally every lecture. After getting through that block, I skipped 99% of the lectures for biochem, physiology, genetics, histology (used only notes, the occasional recorded lectures, and textbooks)...showed up only for mandatory clinical correlation talks and also BS required classes like ethics, physical exam, etc. At the end of first year I ended up with a 3.5 GPA (stupid letter grade system) but overall numeric grade in the 91-92 range, not quite sure yet how that fares in terms of my class rank. I truly believe the same can be done for second year..in fact I believe this is the best way to approach second year (for me personally). Thoughts?

My main objective is to learn the material and have strong grasp/understanding of it for the purpose of doing well on Step 1. Any textbooks/resources that ya'll can recommend for the courses I'll be taking my second year? I've purchased First Aid and Goljan's Path Rapid Review so far. I'll be using the PDF notes provided by my professors but would love to have a GOOD textbook to go along with them. I'll also be using Dr. Najeeb's videos because I think he is one of the best medical professors of all time. All input/comments/bashing appreciated!

This has been my strategy from day 1 of M1 year. If you're not an auditory learner, class is a waste of time. Especially if there's a paid notetaking service like there is here.

 

[CaptainSSO]

This has been my strategy from day 1 of M1 year. If you're not an auditory learner, class is a waste of time. Especially if there's a paid notetaking service like there is here.

There's no such thing as an auditory learner--they actually did studies of the "learning styles," and it turns out they're basically bogus. People did not learn better with their preferred learning style.

But what I've heard is, that auditory learning is the most inefficient way to learn. For everyone. Reading is the most efficient way to learn for all* people, even if they don't think so.

*Hate to say "all" cause that almost never seems to be the case. I'll say vast majority.

 

[von Matterhorn]

Legitimate question here. Does anyone who doesn't attend class have difficulty pronouncing drug names or other various things with difficult-to-pronounce names? I always botch the names of stuff when I just read them

 

[MedicalStudent9]

Legitimate question here. Does anyone who doesn't attend class have difficulty pronouncing drug names or other various things with difficult-to-pronounce names? I always botch the names of stuff when I just read them

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html
www.dictionary.com

or just use google bro.

 

[Ironheme]

Legitimate question here. Does anyone who doesn't attend class have difficulty pronouncing drug names or other various things with difficult-to-pronounce names? I always botch the names of stuff when I just read them

Ya, I'm with the previous poster, I just look them up on google. There is also a pronunciation website that I use, but the dude is British, so that *may* screw me up at some point. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Because I looked it up, I knew how to pronounce the words, and classmates that went to class and heard it couldn't remember how to pronounce the same things oddly enough. So even though you *think* you're missing out, you're actually not.

 

[startswithb]

Ya, I'm with the previous poster, I just look them up on google. There is also a pronunciation website that I use, but the dude is British, so that *may* screw me up at some point. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Because I looked it up, I knew how to pronounce the words, and classmates that went to class and heard it couldn't remember how to pronounce the same things oddly enough. So even though you *think* you're missing out, you're actually not.

Medoola or me-dull-a?

 

[Ironheme]

Medoola or me-dull-a?

Well depends if you want to be like this guy.
Skip to 1 min:

[YOUTUBE]UfC4u5GCy3I[/YOUTUBE]

Or this one:

http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=medulla&submit=Submit

 

[Guevara M.D.]

Sigh. It seems like every year another MS1 / MS2 comes in here to say the same thing "class is such a waste of time!" "I learn better on my own anyway", etc etc.

Here's what I witnessed at my School: two-thirds of that is just people trying to disguise laziness.

I'm not saying lecturers are Goebbels-like in their skills to inculcate students. Most of the time they're pretty terrible. But that's not what going to class is really all about. It's about discipline.

Yes, there are some people out there who can actually wake up every day, on their own, at 6 am, go to a Library and just cram til 5 pm every day. But MOST people just can't do that... they end up sleeping in til 11...chilling til 1...catching an episode of Lost...and then like at 4 pm crack open a book. It takes a lot of discipline to go through a 350 page syllabus in two weeks. Most people don't have it.

This is why I always shake my head whenever I hear another MS1 humble-brag about how awesome they are and how class is SUCH a waste of time. Let's see what happens to you during 3rd year when you won't have the luxury of sleeping in til 11 every day.

 

[illegallysmooth]

I had a PBL program, and we learned from texts mostly. I tried to find my book list for you, because I'm not home right now to look at my bookshelf, but I couldn't find it. Do you just need 2nd year books?

Pathology - Robbins. My technique for path was this: 1) read review book chapter quickly to get a framework for the material. 2) Read Robbins chapter for in-depth understanding. 3) Read review book chapter again before test and do questions.
Neuroscience - we used Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases by Blumenfeld. I liked it. We also had an atlas and that came in handy - I think by Haines. There might be better ones out there.
Immunology - Basic Immunology, Abbas and Lichtman
Pharmacology - Katzung. Also need the corresponding review book. I did the same technique as for path, plus online flashcards.
Microbiology - Nath was my advisor, we used his text - Problem-Based Microbiology. I don't think it's well organized. We supplemented this with a text that I can't find online, sorry, but it was Principles of Micro or something like that.

 

[illegallysmooth]

Let's see what happens to you during 3rd year when you won't have the luxury of sleeping in til 11 every day.

Simple, you don't sleep in til 11.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Two-thirds of that is just people trying to disguise laziness.

👍

 

[NickNaylor]

Sigh. It seems like every year another MS1 / MS2 comes in here to say the same thing "class is such a waste of time!" "I learn better on my own anyway", etc etc.

Here's what I witnessed at my School: two-thirds of that is just people trying to disguise laziness.

I'm not saying lecturers are Goebbels-like in their skills to inculcate students. Most of the time they're pretty terrible. But that's not what going to class is really all about. It's about discipline.

Yes, there are some people out there who can actually wake up every day, on their own, at 6 am, go to a Library and just cram til 5 pm every day. But MOST people just can't do that... they end up sleeping in til 11...chilling til 1...catching an episode of Lost...and then like at 4 pm crack open a book. It takes a lot of discipline to go through a 350 page syllabus in two weeks. Most people don't have it.

This is why I always shake my head whenever I hear another MS1 humble-brag about how awesome they are and how class is SUCH a waste of time. Let's see what happens to you during 3rd year when you won't have the luxury of sleeping in til 11 every day.

If they pass and do well, who cares? 😕 Even if they start studying at 4pm?

 

[VenusinFurs]

Sigh. It seems like every year another MS1 / MS2 comes in here to say the same thing "class is such a waste of time!" "I learn better on my own anyway", etc etc.

Here's what I witnessed at my School: two-thirds of that is just people trying to disguise laziness.

I'm not saying lecturers are Goebbels-like in their skills to inculcate students. Most of the time they're pretty terrible. But that's not what going to class is really all about. It's about discipline.

Yes, there are some people out there who can actually wake up every day, on their own, at 6 am, go to a Library and just cram til 5 pm every day. But MOST people just can't do that... they end up sleeping in til 11...chilling til 1...catching an episode of Lost...and then like at 4 pm crack open a book. It takes a lot of discipline to go through a 350 page syllabus in two weeks. Most people don't have it.

This is why I always shake my head whenever I hear another MS1 humble-brag about how awesome they are and how class is SUCH a waste of time. Let's see what happens to you during 3rd year when you won't have the luxury of sleeping in til 11 every day.

People who skip class don't need to congratulate themselves about it, but neither do you. You should do what you need to in order to do as well as you can/ want to, and don't pay any attention to what other people might be doing. What works for another person doesn't work for another. Trust me, the ability to sit through class doesn't automatically translate into third year success, other than perhaps making you more used to the utter mind numbing boredom of rounds. And it won't even really prepare you for that. Waking up at seven and sitting down for several hours of lecture is a lot less brutal than waking up at four and standing through rounds, spending hours standing in the OR all scrubbed up, standing through evening rounds, and going home at seven or later. As I said, you do what you have to.

 

[Evil_Abed]

Sigh. It seems like every year another MS1 / MS2 comes in here to say the same thing "class is such a waste of time!" "I learn better on my own anyway", etc etc.

Here's what I witnessed at my School: two-thirds of that is just people trying to disguise laziness.

I'm not saying lecturers are Goebbels-like in their skills to inculcate students. Most of the time they're pretty terrible. But that's not what going to class is really all about. It's about discipline.

IMO, it takes more discipline to not go to class. What discipline do you need as a class-goer? All you need to do is wake up in the morning and go to class. Then, the lecturers take over and keep you somewhat caught up with material. So, I would actually argue that the people who go to class tend to be more lazy than the non-class-goers, since they already get a "first pass" on the material by simply going to class.

It doesn't take that much discipline to wake up early enough to go to class. If that's the point you were trying to make (based on your next paragraph), my bad.

Yes, there are some people out there who can actually wake up every day, on their own, at 6 am, go to a Library and just cram til 5 pm every day. But MOST people just can't do that... they end up sleeping in til 11...chilling til 1...catching an episode of Lost...and then like at 4 pm crack open a book. It takes a lot of discipline to go through a 350 page syllabus in two weeks. Most people don't have it.

Just because I choose to sleep in till 11 am instead of waking up at 8 am to get ready for class doesn't mean my studying efficiency is bad. Who cares if you wake up at 6 am and start studying or if you wake up at 11 am and start studying?! Seriously, that doesn't even make any sense.

In my experience (anecdotal, I know, so take that with a grain of salt), those of us who don't go to class have tended to be a few days ahead of the rest of the class. For example, we'd be discussing a topic during group activities and someone who goes to class would freak out because they haven't even covered that material yet. I'd say that most people can read material faster than a lecturer can speak it to them.

This is why I always shake my head whenever I hear another MS1 humble-brag about how awesome they are and how class is SUCH a waste of time. Let's see what happens to you during 3rd year when you won't have the luxury of sleeping in til 11 every day.

Whenever someone talks about how important it is to go to class or about the discipline it takes to go to class, the only thing I see is someone who's been indoctrinated with the idea that you have to go to class in order to be successful. The educational system takes partial blame for that. People go to class their entire lives and become fearful about changing their study habits because they feel that not going class will result in a failure -- I mean, it's all they've done so far in their educational careers.

What happens in 3rd year when we don't have the luxury of sleeping till 11 everyday? It's called we wake up earlier. What happens in 3rd year when class-goers don't have the luxury of someone spoon-feeding them information for 5-6 hours per day? What happens in 3rd year to class-goers who have become so dependent on being lectured that they struggle to teach themselves stuff by looking them up without someone guiding every step of the process? Heck, I even see class-goers freaking out when explicit page numbers aren't given by the lecturer for a reading assignment -- I guess no one's learning how to use an Index these days? See how silly that speculation sounds? I don't think going to class vs. not going to class has any correlation with 3rd-year success.

Again, this is just my personal experience. I'm not saying this is an absolute truth everywhere. Perhaps I'm just surrounded by non-class-goers who do take the time to study everyday.

Edit: Sorry if this came off as a rant. Not my intention. I'm just a little tired of people who go to class having a holier-than-thou attitude about those of us who don't go to class and making claims like how we're not disciplined and are lazy or how we won't be successful during the clinical years, etc.

 

[illegallysmooth]

IMO, it takes more discipline to not go to class. What discipline do you need as a class-goer? All you need to do is wake up in the morning and go to class. Then, the lecturers take over and keep you somewhat caught up with material. So, I would actually argue that the people who go to class tend to be more lazy than the non-class-goers, since they already get a "first pass" on the material by simply going to class.

It doesn't take that much discipline to wake up early enough to go to class. If that's the point you were trying to make (based on your next paragraph), my bad.



Just because I choose to sleep in till 11 am instead of waking up at 8 am to get ready for class doesn't mean my studying efficiency is bad. Who cares if you wake up at 6 am and start studying or if you wake up at 11 am and start studying?! Seriously, that doesn't even make any sense.

In my experience (anecdotal, I know, so take that with a grain of salt), those of us who don't go to class have tended to be a few days ahead of the rest of the class. For example, we'd be discussing a topic during group activities and someone who goes to class would freak out because they haven't even covered that material yet. I'd say that most people can read material faster than a lecturer can speak it to them.



Whenever someone talks about how important it is to go to class or about the discipline it takes to go to class, the only thing I see is someone who's been indoctrinated with the idea that you have to go to class in order to be successful. The educational system takes partial blame for that. People go to class their entire lives and become fearful about changing their study habits because they feel that not going class will result in a failure -- I mean, it's all they've done so far in their educational careers.

What happens in 3rd year when we don't have the luxury of sleeping till 11 everyday? It's called we wake up earlier. What happens in 3rd year when class-goers don't have the luxury of someone spoon-feeding them information for 5-6 hours per day? What happens in 3rd year to class-goers who have become so dependent on being lectured that they struggle to teach themselves stuff by looking them up without someone guiding every step of the process? Heck, I even see class-goers freaking out when explicit page numbers aren't given by the lecturer for a reading assignment -- I guess no one's learning how to use an Index these days? See how silly that speculation sounds? I don't think going to class vs. not going to class has any correlation with 3rd-year success.

Again, this is just my personal experience. I'm not saying this is an absolute truth everywhere. Perhaps I'm just surrounded by non-class-goers who do take the time to study everyday.

Edit: Sorry if this came off as a rant. Not my intention. I'm just a little tired of people who go to class having a holier-than-thou attitude about those of us who don't go to class and making claims like how we're not disciplined and are lazy or how we won't be successful during the clinical years, etc.

But everyone knows that bullet-pointed lists are the preferred format of scientific literature!


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlxP0ZP9KMo[/YOUTUBE]
(problem-based learning vs. lecture-discussion pathway)

 

[Guevara M.D.]

Edit: Sorry if this came off as a rant. Not my intention. I'm just a little tired of people who go to class having a holier-than-thou attitude about those of us who don't go to class and making claims like how we're not disciplined and are lazy or how we won't be successful during the clinical years, etc.

No problem. We are the product of our own experiences. Now I'm not saying that going to class is automatically the key to success. What I'm saying is that the attitude of "They don't take attendance therefore I don't have to go to class and can study on my own" is becoming endemic in medical schools.

As an MS1 during orientation seeking hot "tips" from MS2s that was among the first things they told us: class is a waste of time. Why wake up at 6? Study on your own blah blah...

What happened? Dozens of students fell into the immediate trap of not taking the time to learn their own study skills and how they learn best. They all just ASSUMED that they had the discipline to burn through 35 pages a day of Biochem on their own.

It happened to me. I believed the propaganda and started staying at home. It took less than a week before I felt my discipline go out the window. Waking up later every day, studying less every day, getting distracted by everything in my apt (Nip/Tuck, xhamster, undergrad roomates and their willingness to share beers, etc etc). The result: my grades tumbled.

I saw the writing on the wall and got my ass to class. 90% of the time I didn't just sit there. I actually read the syllabus on my own, annotated it, made my own tables and diagrams, etc. Active learning son. The name of the game. My grades shot up faster than Sputnik.

I just get concerned that this attitude of class being useless is a little too widespread and popular in medical school and many students are harmed by it.

 

[MedicalStudent9]

Why are you guys so obsessed or concerned with what other people are doing.

 

[Guevara M.D.]

Why are you guys so obsessed or concerned with what other people are doing.

Because there are many things in Medical School that textbooks don't teach you or prepare you for. The only resource you have is 1.) experienced med students who you turn to for advice and 2.) fellow med students who have found a good system.

This is why we care what our fellow students are doing.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

No problem. We are the product of our own experiences. Now I'm not saying that going to class is automatically the key to success. What I'm saying is that the attitude of "They don't take attendance therefore I don't have to go to class and can study on my own" is becoming endemic in medical schools.

As an MS1 during orientation seeking hot "tips" from MS2s that was among the first things they told us: class is a waste of time. Why wake up at 6? Study on your own blah blah...

What happened? Dozens of students fell into the immediate trap of not taking the time to learn their own study skills and how they learn best. They all just ASSUMED that they had the discipline to burn through 35 pages a day of Biochem on their own.

It happened to me. I believed the propaganda and started staying at home. It took less than a week before I felt my discipline go out the window. Waking up later every day, studying less every day, getting distracted by everything in my apt (Nip/Tuck, xhamster, undergrad roomates and their willingness to share beers, etc etc). The result: my grades tumbled.

I saw the writing on the wall and got my ass to class. 90% of the time I didn't just sit there. I actually read the syllabus on my own, annotated it, made my own tables and diagrams, etc. Active learning son. The name of the game. My grades shot up faster than Sputnik.

I just get concerned that this attitude of class being useless is a little too widespread and popular in medical school and many students are harmed by it.

My preferred phrasing is choose whatever works best for you but don't think that you have to come to class.

Sounds to me like you're the one that racks disciprine.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9RCpXMiLTA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[alpinism]

Heck, many students that do go to class just end up on FB, skype, reddit, ebay, etc.. after about 15min into lecture anyway (why I stopped taking my laptop to class). Then they just assume since they were in class that they don't need to study as much. Lecture is great if you actually pay attention and take notes (active learning).

The problem with skipping class/indep study is that there are even more potential distractions and ways to procrastinate. Let's face it, most people doing this aren't concentrating on lecture for 4-6hrs straight (w/ short breaks every hr) like in class, they're "studying" while watching tv/movies, surfing the web, texting, eating, etc...

Not saying either is right or better, just that to each his own and its more about the quality of study time rather than the quantity or location.

 

[Smokemont]

Saying that students who don't attend class are lazy is just ridiculous and quite insulting. Much of the information in the first two years simply needs repetition, so why would I go to lecture when I can put the recorded video on 2x speed and get through it twice in the same amount of time?

 

[MedicalStudent9]

Because there are many things in Medical School that textbooks don't teach you or prepare you for. The only resource you have is 1.) experienced med students who you turn to for advice and 2.) fellow med students who have found a good system.

This is why we care what our fellow students are doing.

Lol, none of that is important. I've yet to learn something magical from other med students, some of the best advice I've seen is on SDN anyway. Learning from practicing clinicians >>>>>>> learning what some other medical student is doing.

 

[479260]

I guess it just boils down to people learning the material in the way they know that best works for them. I personally, have just never felt really comfortable not attending lectures and I don't plan on doing so in med school. However, it is not my place to look down on others who do different. It is what it is.

 

[Aclamity]

I hated learning in lecture. During MS1 I went to class, paid attn to the first 5-10 min of lecture... then the prof would hit a slide that I had to spend an extra few min processing (they never seem to understand that this s**t is new for us), and boom! he's moved on and I'm pretty lost for the rest of the 45 min. Then I just went home and podcasted it. I wasted so much time during MS1

During MS2 I skipped all lectures and podcasted every day. My exam scores shot up like a rocket. Everyone learns differently. As long as you keep up with the material you'll be good to go

 

[startswithb]

Heck, many students that do go to class just end up on FB, skype, reddit, ebay, etc.. after about 15min into lecture anyway (why I stopped taking my laptop to class). Then they just assume since they were in class that they don't need to study as much. Lecture is great if you actually pay attention and take notes (active learning).

The problem with skipping class/indep study is that there are even more potential distractions and ways to procrastinate. Let's face it, most people doing this aren't concentrating on lecture for 4-6hrs straight (w/ short breaks every hr) like in class, they're "studying" while watching tv/movies, surfing the web, texting, eating, etc...

Not saying either is right or better, just that to each his own and its more about the quality of study time rather than the quantity or location.

To avoid all those above distractions, I would get up and go straight to school or the library to study while my classmates went to lecture. Then they would come in and tell me how the lecture was and half the time it would be "eh, it was ok" or "sooo boring" all the while I got accomplished exactly what I needed to study. Most of our lectures were poorly-made PowerPoints with a few words and images copied from the textbook I already read.

 

[Mdard]

Saying that students who don't attend class are lazy is just ridiculous and quite insulting. Much of the information in the first two years simply needs repetition, so why would I go to lecture when I can put the recorded video on 2x speed and get through it twice in the same amount of time?

What would you suggest if your school doesn't have recorded lectures (and it's against policy to record lectures). First year was spent playing on Facebook, sleeping, etc during lecture and I did fine, but I felt like I wasted 4hrs/day in lecture. 2nd year wont lend itself that that inefficiency. Basically, would you feel comfortable if al you had was assigned reading and the syllabus? No audio?

 

[Slack3r]

No problem. We are the product of our own experiences. Now I'm not saying that going to class is automatically the key to success. What I'm saying is that the attitude of "They don't take attendance therefore I don't have to go to class and can study on my own" is becoming endemic in medical schools.

As an MS1 during orientation seeking hot "tips" from MS2s that was among the first things they told us: class is a waste of time. Why wake up at 6? Study on your own blah blah...

What happened? Dozens of students fell into the immediate trap of not taking the time to learn their own study skills and how they learn best. They all just ASSUMED that they had the discipline to burn through 35 pages a day of Biochem on their own.

It happened to me. I believed the propaganda and started staying at home. It took less than a week before I felt my discipline go out the window. Waking up later every day, studying less every day, getting distracted by everything in my apt (Nip/Tuck, xhamster, undergrad roomates and their willingness to share beers, etc etc). The result: my grades tumbled.

So because you aren't disciplined enough to study on your own time it's automatically awful and no one should do it?

I saw the writing on the wall and got my ass to class. 90% of the time I didn't just sit there. I actually read the syllabus on my own, annotated it, made my own tables and diagrams, etc. Active learning son. The name of the game. My grades shot up faster than Sputnik.

What about watching lectures at home precludes you from doing these things?

I just get concerned that this attitude of class being useless is a little too widespread and popular in medical school and many students are harmed by it.

Not all of us are lazy 😉

 

[Guevara M.D.]

So because you aren't disciplined enough to study on your own time it's automatically awful and no one should do it?

Sigh. Unless I'm the Laziest Medical Student in the United States of America or the single anomaly in a class of 196 I seriously doubt that I'm the only with the problem.

The whole point of using myself as an example, is that I consider myself a pretty regular guy, therefore if I can happen to me it can happen to anyone. Again, some reading comprehension would be nice in our future docs: I never said ALL MUST GO TO CLASS...I said that the feeling that "Class is a Waste of Time" is everywhere and disseminates really quickly into entering M1 classes. Even if only a 1/3 of those students are susceptible to the temptations I fell for that's still, in my opinion, a third too many.

And you don't have to trust me. If you're an MS1 just do a bit of observation. Next time you have an exam and the class grade average is significantly lower than before watch with amusement as attendance doubles the next class. It's like clock work.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Even if only a 1/3 of those students are susceptible to the temptations I fell for that's still, in my opinion, a third too many.

The way I look at it is that since I could get through a lecture in ~15-20 minutes the first time on my own, I was wasting 40-45 minutes per hour by going to class. In other words, at the end of the day, you've saved yourself a solid 3+ hours for giving in to temptation.

 

[Morsetlis]

So, um, MS-2, class or no class?

For reference, attendance in Pathology is mandatory and every other class is not, for obvious reasons.

I'm not sure what I hate more, the fact that I have to wake up at 7:30am everyday or the fact that I can't go home until 5pm because of Path labs. So much time wasted.

==

As an aside, I also think it's strange that some people are taking Neuro and Immuno in 2nd year when I finished it 1st year. They only left Path, Micro, Physical Diagnosis, Pathophys, and Pharm for 2nd year.

 

[Wordead]

So, um, MS-2, class or no class?

For reference, attendance in Pathology is mandatory and every other class is not, for obvious reasons.

I'm not sure what I hate more, the fact that I have to wake up at 7:30am everyday or the fact that I can't go home until 5pm because of Path labs. So much time wasted.

==

As an aside, I also think it's strange that some people are taking Neuro and Immuno in 2nd year when I finished it 1st year. They only left Path, Micro, Physical Diagnosis, Pathophys, and Pharm for 2nd year.

What's the obvious reason? I thought Path was one of the least necessary for attendance. Labs a little more useful.

 

[Kaputt]

So, um, MS-2, class or no class?

For reference, attendance in Pathology is mandatory and every other class is not, for obvious reasons.

I'm not sure what I hate more, the fact that I have to wake up at 7:30am everyday or the fact that I can't go home until 5pm because of Path labs. So much time wasted.

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As an aside, I also think it's strange that some people are taking Neuro and Immuno in 2nd year when I finished it 1st year. They only left Path, Micro, Physical Diagnosis, Pathophys, and Pharm for 2nd year.

Schools with organ-based curriculums have stuff scattered all over the place. Path for me was stretched out over two years, alongside phys.

And what is path lab? Looking at slides? (Real slides?)

 

[Smokemont]

What would you suggest if your school doesn't have recorded lectures (and it's against policy to record lectures). First year was spent playing on Facebook, sleeping, etc during lecture and I did fine, but I felt like I wasted 4hrs/day in lecture. 2nd year wont lend itself that that inefficiency. Basically, would you feel comfortable if al you had was assigned reading and the syllabus? No audio?

My first suggestion is (would have been) to attend a different school. Against policy to record a lecture? Are you kidding me?

But since that doesn't help you I suggest finding what works. Try doing the assigned reading and following the syllabus without attending lecture and see how you do. Renal pathology should be the same whether you listen to a lecturer or read it yourself, should it not? Of course, the only problem is if the lecturer gives many "hints" for the exam or what will be emphasized.

But if you truly did not pay attention during first year lectures then what is the point? It sounds like you feel guilty for not going. Sleep an extra hour, eat a good breakfast, then get out of your house if you need to. You will have plenty of wasted time out of your control come 3rd year, or so I hear.