Once again, I am wondering, how did I even get here?

[lolomghelp]

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I am sorry for the whiney post, but I have been feeling super down lately. I am a first year med student in my 2nd semester, and I don't even understand how I got here.
Last semester, I passed literally all my classes with C's, and then I failed anatomy. This obviously lowered my confidence, but I tried to put it pass me and moved on so I could do better this semester...
Well, now I am in my second semester, and I just don't get what more I can do. We had an exam in the beginning of our semester, which I studied extremely hard for, and I barely passed it! I was one point off from failing. While, my friends, who didn't even know what they were reading, scored great. I felt like I knew the material well. I had gone over it several times. I was ready to take it... And then well, now that happened. This is not the first time this has happened. It happened a lot last semester.
Now, in my second semester, everything is going super fast, and I am already clueless. We are learning EKGs, and a lot of heart stuff, and lipid metabolism... And I am just not getting it. I have tried so many resources, and I am still struggling. Maybe, there are better resources out there that you guys know of that can help me with this stuff, but I am not sure.
Methods I have tried;
-Reading the textbook 2-3 times
-Reading the textbook and highlighting important details. When re-reading, only paying attention to the highlighted stuff
-Reading the textbook once and taking notes
-Watching videos before reading the textbook
-Anki (I make so many cards, I get overwhelmed??? How am I supposed to keep up with them?)

I am a LECOM student and we are 100% PBL, which is why we mainly rely on our textbooks.
After spending 2-3 days 10 hours per day staring blanklessly at my textbook and watching videos... I am seriously feeling frustrated. I feel like everyone is so far ahead of me, at least the group I hang out with. I know I shouldn't compare, but I can't help it.
I am trying my best, and my best is only barely getting me by.

 

[ciestar]

Youre passively studying here and trying to memorize rather than learn it. I think that is one of the problems.

 

[lolomghelp]

Youre passively studying here and trying to memorize rather than learn it. I think that is one of the problems.

Yeah, ur right. That is most likely a good portion of the problem.

 

[lolomghelp]

Yes stop with the passive studying. I was in your shoes first semester minus the failure, but had solid low 70s in all classes.

Second semester I started using Anki and a whiteboard to draw out pathways, and talked out loud to myself and everything just took off. You don’t have to use Anki, it just happened to be what worked for me.

I really enjoy Anki... But, I normally end up with soooo many cards that a good half of my day is spent on them.. Then I am exhausted to learn new material.
Any tips on how to use Anki more efficiently ??

 

[anonymouskoala28]

I'm also a LECOM student and have received all A's thus far. Feel free to message me and maybe I can help. I'm not PBL but did two PBL-based classes in the MMS at LECOM.

 

[deleted600623]

I really enjoy Anki... But, I normally end up with soooo many cards that a good half of my day is spent on them.. Then I am exhausted to learn new material.
Any tips on how to use Anki more efficiently ??

Are you making your own or using AnKing? If you’re making your own, stop now. If you’re using AnKing, try not to do more than 100 new cards a day. You may have to get creative with planning out when you do the new cards depending on the day’s topics. Lastly, do your reviews first thing in the morning and don’t let yourself spend more than 10 seconds on each card. If it takes longer than that you don’t know it and need to see it agin. Rinse and repeat every day.

 

[lolomghelp]

Are you making your own or using AnKing? If you’re making your own, stop now. If you’re using AnKing, try not to do more than 100 new cards a day. You may have to get creative with planning out when you do the new cards depending on the day’s topics. Lastly, do your reviews first thing in the morning and don’t let yourself spend more than 10 seconds on each card. If it takes longer than that you don’t know it and need to see it agin. Rinse and repeat every day.

Yes, I was making my own. I haven't heard of AnKing before, I will look into it tonight. Thank you

 

[Mindyaown]

Maybe try reading and write down every main idea as you go along on a sheet of paper. At the end try saying everything you remember about that topic. If you can't remember what you just went over right after reviewing theres a good chance you may not be able to on the test. When you understand a topic generally its not as hard to get the details. First pass - able to understand and recite what that topic is. Second pass - go deeper/ try to get the details down. Third pass - Get everything down!

Having trouble understanding something? Try drawing it out on the white board to get the whole picture. Still cant get it? Call up a friend, tutor, or go to your professor. Also consider watching boards and beyond / osmosis for a topic you dont understand. Osmosis has some great videos on EKGs.

 

[Goro]

I am sorry for the whiney post, but I have been feeling super down lately. I am a first year med student in my 2nd semester, and I don't even understand how I got here.
Last semester, I passed literally all my classes with C's, and then I failed anatomy. This obviously lowered my confidence, but I tried to put it pass me and moved on so I could do better this semester...
Well, now I am in my second semester, and I just don't get what more I can do. We had an exam in the beginning of our semester, which I studied extremely hard for, and I barely passed it! I was one point off from failing. While, my friends, who didn't even know what they were reading, scored great. I felt like I knew the material well. I had gone over it several times. I was ready to take it... And then well, now that happened. This is not the first time this has happened. It happened a lot last semester.
Now, in my second semester, everything is going super fast, and I am already clueless. We are learning EKGs, and a lot of heart stuff, and lipid metabolism... And I am just not getting it. I have tried so many resources, and I am still struggling. Maybe, there are better resources out there that you guys know of that can help me with this stuff, but I am not sure.
Methods I have tried;
-Reading the textbook 2-3 times
-Reading the textbook and highlighting important details. When re-reading, only paying attention to the highlighted stuff
-Reading the textbook once and taking notes
-Watching videos before reading the textbook
-Anki (I make so many cards, I get overwhelmed??? How am I supposed to keep up with them?)

I am a LECOM student and we are 100% PBL, which is why we mainly rely on our textbooks.
After spending 2-3 days 10 hours per day staring blanklessly at my textbook and watching videos... I am seriously feeling frustrated. I feel like everyone is so far ahead of me, at least the group I hang out with. I know I shouldn't compare, but I can't help it.
I am trying my best, and my best is only barely getting me by.

Lots of good tips in this thread.

Read this:

• Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2018 edition)

 

[PapaGuava]

Plenty of good advice has already been shared on this thread so I won't repeat it, but I will say just don't be afraid to adjust moving forward. It's great that you've identified the changes you want to make rather than doing the same thing over and over.