Originally posted by PACtoDOC
Someone asked about biochem books.......*laughing my ass off*....don't even worry about it. I never took biochem a day in my life other than the crap you get in a genetics, an AnP course, or bioII. And I have never made anything but an A in any course. These courses are not hard; they are just long and arduous. What kills people is the magnitude of the material (in kilograms!!), not the depth of it.
You can make it all the way through Cell Science and the entire first 2 years pretty much without ever using a book. If you read the powerpoints and go look up what you don't understand, you won't have a problem.
With all due respect to Matt, I have to disagree about the book thing. That's nice that he was able to make the Dean's list without ever purchasing a book--however, I strongly recommend you take such advice with a grain of salt. I was told the same thing, and it was the wrong advice for me. Fortunately, I had the sense to listen to myself and know that we all learn differently. While it is true that you can get a lot from the powerpoints (given that you go to class or at least listen to lecture tapes), I have always learned a lot from reading on my own, then going to class to get reinforcement. Powerpoint presentations are meant to be a summary, and for many, it's just not enough to look at powerpoint. Personally, I learn best by understanding concepts, not by memorizing powerpoint slides. I feel much more cofident on a test when I know I understand the concepts and can reason through whatever they throw at me. More than one of our professors have emphasized that we need to understand concepts, not just memorize factoids. That has been good advice for me so far.
I know you guys are wanting advice...but please understand that we ALL do this differently and that you should be wary of anyone who tries to tell you definitively that their way is the way you should do things to be successful. I have watched classmates of mine fail because they took advice that didn't work for them...like not reading the textbook...
There were plently of science-smart people (not just the artsy literary types like myself) in my class who really benefitted from the biochem review books--it's the one area that can make you feel really dumb really fast if you don't at least have some of the general concepts under your belt.
While it is true that the classes are not "hard"--undergrad was much tougher--you have to understand that Matt was a PA for a number of years. He better be making straight A's.
🙂 The majority of people have no clinical experience and only the science they got in undergrad. We are all working hard--don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Some people get things faster than others--good for them. They are the top 10%. The other 100 people in your class will be getting mostly Bs and still working hard, and that's fine. This is a marathon and not a sprint...so don't make plans now to be top in your class. Just do your best, have a life, and if you excell academically, great. If you do just okay, that's fine too. Your grades in your first two years are only one piece of the puzzle that will get you a good residency. And there are a number of people who will tell you that class rank and grades are the last thing that residency directors look at (and yes, that is firsthand information that I was given by a residency director and several residents).
Finally, there is a lot of intellectual d*ck-measuring that goes on in medical school. People telling you how easy it is to make straight A's, how they never study and never buy books yaddah yaddah. You have to do what works for you and not get intimidated or think you are stupid if you actually BUY your physiology book, clinical medicine book, and anatomy book...then actually go home and read it.
I didn't mean to write so much. Wow. I guess I just feel strongly about this.
Which reminds me, I have some reading to do...
🙂
so I can get the house ready to sell. Also that will give my wife and I time to make a trip to Fort Worth over spring break to look at a few houses!! I almost feel like I am doing this to early. But without turning in my notice now, my wife and I will not be able to look at housing until late May. Which is when we hope to close on our house we live in now. And that would not give us time to find something in Fort Worth to move into. And I sure don't want to be homeless!
July will be here before you know it.
