pace of med school

[RDO]

I have heard consistantly that the pace of work in med school is unimaginable. For example, a second year at one med school said that in one semester at med school she goes through as much material as she did in four years at Cornell. From the tone, I don't think she was exaggerating at all--at least not intentionally.

Anyway, I would like to know from you med students how you find it possible to remember your stuff. I know you forget a lot, but you must remember something--how? I find that cramming a bunch of facts usually leads to remembering almost none of them.

I understand that a lot of the memorizing comes from application of the principles, but it doesn't seem like you can do that for all (or even most) of the material. I just can't imagine there being enough time. Please enlighten me. thanks.

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[OMD 2]

Whomever you spoke with was NOT exaggerating. The material itself is not all that difficult. The big adjustments from Ugrad world not only has to do with the pace; but also the fact that you will be taking ALL difficult courses. In Ugrad, you usually had 1 or 2 challenging classes and the rest were comparatively easier. In med school, they will ALL be tough and very time consuming.

The key to success is time management and a solid work ethic. You must put in large quantities of high quality time.

You will find some course will lendthemselves to wrote memorization. Although, I am not a proponent of learning things that way, I am certain simply memorizing lists will come back to haunt you come board time! Personally, I retain things much much better if I learn things as an integrated & dynmaic process. This is especially helpful when you begin 'manipulating' [aka: diseases, fluids, compromise...] the systems later on.

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Old Man Dave
KCOM, Class of 2003

Nothing Risked, Nothing Gained!!

 

[Deb]

Don't worry, you'd be amazed at how much you can accomplish when you have no
other choice. What it comes down to is a "sink or swim" situation, but the
vast majority learn how to survive and eventually adjust to the vol of material.
So for now, try not to be scared...there'll be plenty of time for that later!
heh heh heh

Deb MS-3

 

[Mayqswet]

Deb,

I think I will agree with your post when I start next Aug. The reason I say that is that my first 500 level nutritional biochemistry class in undergrad was a bit overwhelming. Even though I was a biochem major, half way through this class, I had serious doubts if I could handle it and wondered if I was cut out for grad school.

When I got into the master's program, the courses were quicker-paced, they were harder, and I was working several hours a week on my thesis research. However, I adapted and graduated, no problem. My guess is that the same will happen when I start med school next fall. It's a matter of having the bar raised.

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Phillip Snider, MS, RD
UNECOM '04
Happiness isn't having what you want, it is wanting what you have.

 

[2bdoc]

I found the first semester to be quite overwhelming! The material for each exam is almost equivalent to an entire semester course of undergrad! However, with time I learned how to study more efficiently. You must spend the first two years memorizing key facts and then you can incorporate them into your third and fourth years. I hated th system at first but now that I've learned how to master it, it's not that bad. Medical school has little to do with intelligence and more to do with discipline. However, to be a good physician, you need both qualities!

 

[Diane Ev]

the analogy used by Dr. James Pelley to medical school learning "it is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant", is quite fitting. I have never had so many details thrown at me at once. The amount of material is tremendous and one never does get ahead until the last day before exams. 5 weeks classes (5 courses 2 labs)1 week exams start over 6 times.

It is something you really must consider before embarking on this journey I have seen too many people fail out of school because they do not realize how HARD and stressful medical school is. In my class the normal class hours are 30 hrs/wk and most study 35-50hrs/wk on top of that.

Although the stress is overwhelming I would do it all over again in a second... the rewards outplay the short lived misery.

[This message has been edited by Diane Ev (edited 12-28-1999).]