Not as hard as I thought it would be

[Sondra]

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I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

 

[footcramp]

did you already ace a test?
they might be easing you in.
i thought it was easy too. then i took my first quiz and found out why everyone was studying so hard. lol. then it just got harder and harder.
enjoy 🙂

 

[anon-y-mouse]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

I don't think it's difficult but it is certainly more volume.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

That's not that wierd. If I remember back to M1 I think they didn't start the daily floggings and psychological torture until week 2.

Best of luck!

 

[indo]

It is orientation week...it was meant to be easy.

 

[Antigunner]

I wouldn't be too worried. The first year really is almost entirely rote memorization, which some people can just do a lot faster than others. Amount of time studying doesn't necessarily mean a blessed thing about how well you know the material. I'm able to memorize stuff very quickly, which is a good thing because I'm also an expert procrastinator 🙄

 

[Blade28]

Wait until Step 1.

Or third year rotations.

Or the interview trail during fourth year.

Or residency.

🙂

 

[Nerdoscience]

Wait a month. Then see if you still think it's easy. Often it's not the complexity of the material that makes it difficult; it's the sheer quantity. Sometimes it's both. In the end, I don't think med students would use the word difficult. Maybe frustratingly time-consuming.

 

[BaylorGuy]

It is orientation week...it was meant to be easy.

Ohhhhhhh, so that's why i was acing those panel questions. Man, I knew something must have been up. [/sarcasm] 👍 👍


nice, kudos

 

[NonTradMed]

Well, I thought the same in college until my first exam came in. 🙂

Classes begin next week for me, but my college experience tells me to be cautious of seemingly 'easy' material.....just because I studied to my satisfaction doesn't mean others did not do more than me. Only exams will tell how 'hard' med school is for all of us. 😀

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I certainly think it's possible that it's not as hard as people can make it out to be -- people do tend to be over-dramatic about how hard stuff is. I found law school to be way easier than most people found it, and I did well, so it's certainly possible that your perception is correct. I'm expecting the opposite experience with medical school, especially the first year, just because rote memorization is not my thing and I don't have a strong science background.

 

[akpete]

I don't think it's difficult but it is certainly more volume.

Enough said. 👍

 

[MarzMD]

We started on anatomy, embryo, histo, and cell bio. I think a lot of people are thinking it is not all that hard, and those are the people my anatomy professor keeps saying are going to fail the first quiz. Judging from previous performances(the first quiz average being 11/20 an F) they arent really understanding what all they need to be studying. There is a ton of info, most of it is glossed over by the professor...but you still need to know it. I could be wrong, but you may not have grasped the volume of stuff you are REALLY expected to know. Surface knowledge of the topics wont cut it.

I would suggest reciting what all you should know in a particular class to a classmate. Then you will see what you actually know.

 

[latinfridley]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

Med school starts with the basics, which means biology majors, chem majors, etc.. will especially find the initial material easy. Believe me though when I say it gets more difficult, and you struggle to find the time to memorize testable material. Time management becomes an issue as you progress during school.
So, don't get too complacent and do the best you can. The material isn't abstract, its pretty concrete, so some folks say its 'easy.' But again, as others have said, volume gets to be a big issue, cuz ya gotta know alot of the minutia when step 1 comes around.

 

[deleted109597]

I would suggest reciting what all you should know in a particular class to a classmate. Then you will see what you actually know.

And he or she will then hate you.
You can't really judge how much you need to study until you get your first test back. To everyone here's shock and amazement, some people don't have to study that much in medical school. They do to be in the top 5% of the class (usually), but I am in the top half (barely) and averaged less than 1 hour per day during the first two years.
Other people were studying the very first day, and this one girl was studying during orientation. To each his own.

 

[Nerdoscience]

I remember waiting for a list of structures that we would be responsible for on the first anatomyuu test, then realizing that it was ALL THE STRUCTURES IN THE PARTS OF THE BODY WE HAD LEARNED ABOUT! EVERY SINGLE LITTLE TINY PIECE! EVEN IF THEY NEVER TOLD US ABOUT IT! You are really responsible for everything, which is qutie a change from undergrad.

 

[Pewl]

Uh, i'm just finishing my first week and it feels like a month already. Being in lecture or anatomy lab from 8-6 and then studying when you get home really sucks. =P

 

[Vizsla]

Uh, i'm just finishing my first week and it feels like a month already. Being in lecture or anatomy lab from 8-6 and then studying when you get home really sucks. =P

you are in lecture/lab from 8-6!?!?..makes me love vcu's 8-12 even more

 

[tomatoattack]

I thought med school was a peice of cake for the first few weeks. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Well then I was like 😱 when it came time for exams, thats when I realized that boozin' thru-out da week was risky business.

Then you get used to it, ace some tests and it doesn't seem "hard" so much as time consuming. I guess that I gauge difficulty now by how long it takes to learn something. Anything would be easy given enough time to study it.

 

[psipsina]

If you are approaching anatomy as sheer memorization then you are screwed already, you have to grasp relationships and the whole big picture to do well in anatomy. I took it as an undergrad, in a less volume intense environment, and even then if you tried to just memorize insertions/origins etc you would be screwed on the practical exam, you have to be able to be a detective in the practicals. I hit the ground running, I read ahead from day one and haven't stopped sprinting . . and I spend most of my time trying to understand connections and relationship and function more than memorizing tables of information.

 

[WhatUpDoc!]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

Wow... that's interesting. I have a good friend that just started in your class at UMMC. He called me earlier today almost in tears over the mass influx of material he was being force fed. I don't start till Monday, but here's hoping to God that I'll feel like you this time next week. 👍

 

[Law2Doc]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

Agree with the others on this thread. First, they take it easy on you at the onset, and things will not so gradually speed up as you go along. Second, it is a volume thing -- none of the material is, per se, hard, but when you get closer to a test and look back at all the stuff you need to review for it, and may realize that you weren't as organized as you could have been and cannot possibly get through it all again in the time you have, you will start to see the challenge. Thirdly, you may end up shocked with your grade on the first test -- what got you A's in college may no longer be keeping you at the same level in the class now that your dimmer classmates from college have been truncated out. EVERYONE in med school got their share of A's in college, and a formerly A student may suddenly realize s/he is pretty average in med school and needs to gear it up a notch. (And FWIW, genetics is not the most challenging material you are going to see in first year by any stretch). Hope that helps.

 

[Miami_med]

Just remember that the curve will no longer save you. I came to medical school scoring about the same as I did in undergrad. The problem is that everyone else is also doing that. After the first test, everyone will pick it up a notch.

I miss 80% As in a class with an average of 50%. It is easier than some say, but it is not easy. If you are in anatomy, be careful. That is where most people are surprised. 🙂

 

[njbmd]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

Hi there,
That's great that you have found your first week easier than you thought it would be. Keep up and keep doing what you are doing and with hope, the rest of first year will be easy for you too. Good work!

njbmd 🙂

 

[tupac_don]

I am wondering if there is something wrong with me, but as I am about to finish my first week of med school, it doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought. I notice that everyone around me is studying more than I am. I keep thinking that I am going to be in for a rude awakening, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. So far it just seems like a lot of memorization (most of which I did in undergrad) plus a few biochem math problems and some statistics in genetics.

Any body else?

Wait till you have your first test. Ever hear of the expression calm before a storm. Yea it may be EASIER if you had some of these courses before. But trust me it won't be like that for all subjects. Plus you might notice that you need to study harder for some subjects than for others. I wouldn't get too cocky just yet.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

of course Orientation is not hard. ......

it's pretty easy to find the library and the classrooms, to understand the fail policies, etc.

👍

 

[MarzMD]

Anyone else feel like the more they study anatomy, the less they know?

 

[Tristy]

Anyone else feel like the more they study anatomy, the less they know?

I was just saying that last night 😴

 

[MarzMD]

And he or she will then hate you.
You can't really judge how much you need to study until you get your first test back. To everyone here's shock and amazement, some people don't have to study that much in medical school. They do to be in the top 5% of the class (usually), but I am in the top half (barely) and averaged less than 1 hour per day during the first two years.
Other people were studying the very first day, and this one girl was studying during orientation. To each his own.

I didnt mean go up to some random classmate and act like a ******. I meant in a study session, dont just look at your notes and have some false sense of security thinking you know everything because the pictures are familiar to you and the topic doesnt seem that hard. You have to be able to draw it out and explain the stuff to someone, or you really dont know it at all.

 

[Pewl]

you are in lecture/lab from 8-6!?!?..makes me love vcu's 8-12 even more

Well lecture is over by 11am, but then we go dissect and that often takes most of the afternoon. And then we stick around to review with the TA's and professors roaming around the labs.

 

[Sondra]

of course Orientation is not hard. ......

it's pretty easy to find the library and the classrooms, to understand the fail policies, etc.

👍

Just to clarify - I finished orientation. I meant the first week of lecture.

Also...

I took some of the advice here and realized from class mates and M2s that I needed to be studying a little more from the textbook and not just the surface knowledge from what is covered in class.

 

[Law2Doc]

Just to clarify - I finished orientation. I meant the first week of lecture.

Also...

I took some of the advice here and realized from class mates and M2s that I needed to be studying a little more from the textbook and not just the surface knowledge from what is covered in class.

A relatively small percentage of folks don't have to do some amount of tinkering to their study methods and gameplan during first year. Assume that there is more to this than you think you know, and be prepared to revamp.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

oh gosh you poor soul....it must be sooooo hard to sit at the neighborhood bar drinking a beer all aloooooone while your classmates exercise camraderie by studying together every night. i feel so--

oh wait, actually that's not what i meant to say...I meant EAT $HIT AND DIE!

i really don't feel sorry for you as i sit here friday night studying while hovering around the 50th percentile in my class.

do let us know how you get on after your first test. i'm dying to know....

 

[Doctor Bagel]

oh gosh you poor soul....it must be sooooo hard to sit at the neighborhood bar drinking a beer all aloooooone while your classmates exercise camraderie by studying together every night. i feel so--

oh wait, actually that's not what i meant to say...I meant EAT $HIT AND DIE!

i really don't feel sorry for you as i sit here friday night studying while hovering around the 50th percentile in my class.

do let us know how you get on after your first test. i'm dying to know....

Maybe the op thinks it's not so hard because she's pretty cool with being the 50% percentile of her class or even lower, provided she graduates on time.

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe the op thinks it's not so hard because she's pretty cool with being the 50% percentile of her class or even lower, provided she graduates on time.

IMHO, unless you are getting top grades without busting a sweat, you don't get to say it is easy.

 

[deleted109597]

I think top half and not busting a sweat counts as easy, considering how hard the rest of the world makes it out to be.

When I was in high school, one of my guidance counselors told me that I couldn't get into medical school because I didn't make straight A's. That is the kind of world that exists. And the reason is because we make it out to be that way.
The percentage of medical students who finish is much higher than the percentage of most PhD programs out there. Is it because we help each other along more, or because theirs is tougher, or what? I don't know, but I can assure you that medical school isn't tougher than chemistry graduate school, since I have done both.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

IMHO, unless you are getting top grades without busting a sweat, you don't get to say it is easy.

Why? Just because you set stringent goals doesn't mean other students need to. As long as someone is honest about their goals, I don't think it's wrong to say they're easy to achieve.

 

[MarzMD]

Why? Just because you set stringest goals doesn't mean other students need to. As long as someone is honest about their goals, I don't think it's wrong to say they're easy to achieve.

If you set your goals to be a low B high C student, then you are already conceded to the fact that med school is hard. Therefore, you dont get to say it is easy.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

If you set your goals to be a low B high C student, then you are already conceded to the fact that med school is hard. Therefore, you dont get to say it is easy.

Last I heard, all you needed were Cs to be a doctor. So, again, if that's your goal, then maybe that's not hard. I guess we're arguing about semantics here, and I guess I'm also not getting why it's so offensive to say medical school isn't super, super hard. Well, I am getting it -- we don't like it because it makes our achievements seem less impression. Maybe they really are less impressive?

Anyway, I'm not positing that medical school is easy, but I'm sure it is easy for some people. If so, go them.

 

[Law2Doc]

Last I heard, all you needed were Cs to be a doctor. So, again, if that's your goal, then maybe that's not hard. I guess we're arguing about semantics here, and I guess I'm also not getting why it's so offensive to say medical school isn't super, super hard. Well, I am getting it -- we don't like it because it makes our achievements seem less impression. Maybe they really are less impressive?

Anyway, I'm not positing that medical school is easy, but I'm sure it is easy for some people. If so, go them.

Sure you get to be a doctor with C's, but most people have C's thrust upon them, they don't strive for them. And even if you strive for them, as a prior poster suggested, you are in effect conceding that it would take more effort to get better. If it was just as easy to get the A, you would obviously take the A. As I said before, saying it's easy is fine if you are actually walking the walk and doing what you need to do to get A's, but it is a bit insulting to folks busting their a&& and finding it hard otherwise.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Why? Just because you set stringent goals doesn't mean other students need to. As long as someone is honest about their goals, I don't think it's wrong to say they're easy to achieve.

Shouldn't all medical students somewhere deep down set stringent goals for themselves? Striving for a C, or being satisfied with subpar/mediocre performance is in my opinion disingenuous. Granted, we are not here simply for the goal of doing well in med school, but we should do our best to have the best, broadest and deepest knowledge base for our patients. And that correlates with setting high standards and stringent goals for oneself. Anything less, in my opinion, is a copout. 👎

 

[lord_jeebus]

Gentle OP,

I am sorry to inform you that mentioning personal success on SDN is strictly forbidden. Please be aware that every aspect of your future medical training will be incomprehensibly worse than anything you have experienced in the past, and your current achievements only make things worse for everyone else here.

Please return when you have a problem and wish to be berated for allowing it to happen. Or if you have a question and would like speculatory answers presented as authoritative fact by people who know less about the subject than you.

Or if you want to start a new discussion on which stethoscope is best.

Love,

LJ

 

[Jaider]

Gentle OP,

I am sorry to inform you that mentioning personal success on SDN is strictly forbidden. Please be aware that every aspect of your future medical training will be incomprehensibly worse than anything you have experienced in the past, and your current achievements only make things worse for everyone else here.

Please return when you have a problem and wish to be berated for allowing it to happen. Or if you have a question and would like speculatory answers presented as authoritative fact by people who know less about the subject than you.

Or if you want to start a new discussion on which stethoscope is best.

Love,

LJ

Jeebus, you're the coolest.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Sure you get to be a doctor with C's, but most people have C's thrust upon them, they don't strive for them. And even if you strive for them, as a prior poster suggested, you are in effect conceding that it would take more effort to get better. If it was just as easy to get the A, you would obviously take the A. As I said before, saying it's easy is fine if you are actually walking the walk and doing what you need to do to get A's, but it is a bit insulting to folks busting their a&& and finding it hard otherwise.

If you choose to be insulted by that, then I think you're being a bit sensitive. People who set lesser goals have an easier time, that's how it goes. If they say it's easy to fulfill their goals, why do you assume they're saying it should be easy for you to fulfill yours? Also, most likely, no one here is the smartest, most talented person around (I know I'm not). Dealing with the fact that things that are hard for you are easy for other people is sort of part of being an adult.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Gentle OP,

I am sorry to inform you that mentioning personal success on SDN is strictly forbidden. Please be aware that every aspect of your future medical training will be incomprehensibly worse than anything you have experienced in the past, and your current achievements only make things worse for everyone else here.

Please return when you have a problem and wish to be berated for allowing it to happen. Or if you have a question and would like speculatory answers presented as authoritative fact by people who know less about the subject than you.

Or if you want to start a new discussion on which stethoscope is best.

Love,

LJ

 

[closertofine]

Last I heard, all you needed were Cs to be a doctor. So, again, if that's your goal, then maybe that's not hard. I guess we're arguing about semantics here, and I guess I'm also not getting why it's so offensive to say medical school isn't super, super hard. Well, I am getting it -- we don't like it because it makes our achievements seem less impression. Maybe they really are less impressive?

Anyway, I'm not positing that medical school is easy, but I'm sure it is easy for some people. If so, go them.

As I've heard before, I think some people may find parts of med school easy but other parts harder...everyone has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. I honestly didn't find the academic years of med school too difficult at all (aside from a few days of cramming-- or "concentrated studying" --before some tests)...but the hours of 3rd year are wearing me out already, though this isn't a bad rotation...to each his own...

 

[thackl]

Just keep up, but stay laid back. I thought it wasn't too bad either, then had a serious case of self doubt about 4wks in...... then got over it and got back to thinking it wasn't too bad 😎 If what you're doing already is working, then you are a lucky one and won't have to make serious changes to adapt. Good lu 😎 ck with it all 👍

 

[ahumdinger]

maybe someone has already said this, but it seems to me that people go into 1st year at various levels because some people were biochem majors, others were physiology majors, and others like me were lingusitics majors. 1st year may kick the asses of people like me, but for the biochem and physiology buffs, it's a breeze because it's a lot of getting people on the same page to start year 2. In the 2nd year, everyone's hit with a massive amount of new information, that pretty much no one has had in undergrad. Still, I've been told that it's more the sheer volume rather than level of difficulty of any one subject.

so OP, you're probably not alone as you yawn your way through 1st year. go hang out with the other people who aren't studying either and have a good time.

 

[Brainsucker]

maybe someone has already said this, but it seems to me that people go into 1st year at various levels because some people were biochem majors, others were physiology majors, and others like me were lingusitics majors. 1st year may kick the asses of people like me, but for the biochem and physiology buffs, it's a breeze because it's a lot of getting people on the same page to start year 2. In the 2nd year, everyone's hit with a massive amount of new information, that pretty much no one has had in undergrad. Still, I've been told that it's more the sheer volume rather than level of difficulty of any one subject.

so OP, you're probably not alone as you yawn your way through 1st year. go hang out with the other people who aren't studying either and have a good time.

You'd be surprised how quickly the biochem knowledge runs out. (6 weeks, for me)

 

[kirexhana]

i'm two weeks in, first test on monday. it seems pretty easy, but we're in block 1 which for us is pass/fail, so no stress at all. we'll see what happens when we enter block 2 🙂