Part II to my number of hours in the gym question..free time and going to class

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So, it seems that if one goes to class, working out 8 hours a week is possible. However, if you don't go to classes, it's definitely possible.

For those not attending a school with mandatory attendance without audio/video recordings of the lectures, do you feel you are not disadvantaged at all by not attending lectures? Are there any motivational factors for not attending lectures .....not getting some key points mentioned in lecture....etc....

 

[ZagDoc]

Every person is different. I was doing well on exams when I attended lectures, so decided to stick with it because if it ain't broke... Our school also didn't stream lectures or anything like that, and our syllabus could be notoriously spotty in parts, so it was a bit disadvantageous to skip at my school. You could be guaranteed a handful of questions each exam you would miss if you skipped. Some found themselves willing to miss those questions in lieu of having more free time and flexibility in their schedules afforded by skipping. When it comes down to it, lectures aren't the most efficient way to spend time learning and lecturers are not the most efficient educators. But I found the additional time commitment worth it because I felt lectures did really aid my learning.

For schools which stream the lectures, skipping lecture really doesn't hurt as long as you are a disciplined learner. Watching the lectures on 2X speed allows you to more efficiently utilize your time, you don't miss the points, etc. But you can only really pull this off if you can self-motivate yourself to do it every day.

My advice would be to start out with the intention of going to every lecture. That's what almost everyone in my class did, and then over the course of the first month or two the class filtered out. Some people like the structure of going and sitting in a seat for x hours every day in order to learn. Others, either due to children in day care, etc, needed more flexibility in their schedules. You'll find out what works for you. And what works for you for one subject may not for another. You may find you need to be in class every day to do well in biochem/metabolism, but can largely teach yourself physiology, etc. Or vice versa or whatever. Studying in medical school is a constant evolution of trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, and its a very individualized endeavor.

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

Every person is different. I was doing well on exams when I attended lectures, so decided to stick with it because if it ain't broke... Our school also didn't stream lectures or anything like that, and our syllabus could be notoriously spotty in parts, so it was a bit disadvantageous to skip at my school. You could be guaranteed a handful of questions each exam you would miss if you skipped. Some found themselves willing to miss those questions in lieu of having more free time and flexibility in their schedules afforded by skipping. When it comes down to it, lectures aren't the most efficient way to spend time learning and lecturers are not the most efficient educators. But I found the additional time commitment worth it because I felt lectures did really aid my learning.

For schools which stream the lectures, skipping lecture really doesn't hurt as long as you are a disciplined learner. Watching the lectures on 2X speed allows you to more efficiently utilize your time, you don't miss the points, etc. But you can only really pull this off if you can self-motivate yourself to do it every day.

My advice would be to start out with the intention of going to every lecture. That's what almost everyone in my class did, and then over the course of the first month or two the class filtered out. Some people like the structure of going and sitting in a seat for x hours every day in order to learn. Others, either due to children in day care, etc, needed more flexibility in their schedules. You'll find out what works for you. And what works for you for one subject may not for another. You may find you need to be in class every day to do well in biochem/metabolism, but can largely teach yourself physiology, etc. Or vice versa or whatever. Studying in medical school is a constant evolution of trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, and its a very individualized endeavor.

Helpful post, thanks.

 

[ella umbrella]

At my med school, few classes were mandatory and we did have recorded lectures streamed for us. I stayed away and attended class every day at first, but then I started just watching the video and self-directed my learning because I felt less stressed and more in control of my learning -- I could go back a re-listen to something or I could do the lecture on double speed and get through it more quickly. My reason for changing to homeschooling was because there was just more [and more difficult] material to learn 2nd semester of 1st year, in my opinion anyway. I was able to work out more with the whole homeschooling thing too, and that was a needed plus.

But the disadvantages: 1) homeschooling takes a tremendous amount of self-motivation, especially when you are nearing the middle or end of the school year or term and are feeling VERY burnt out and nonchalant. 2) Also, there's the social aspect of it. Homeschooling is very effective and also very lonely if you're sitting in your house or at the same chair in the library listening to videos for hours on end. There were days when the only people I saw were the lecturer and the heads of students who went to class on the tape. Med school doesn't foster much time for friendship and relationships outside of school, so count your lucky stars if you are able to maintain good relationships and still home school. And 3) Lastly, but most importantly, it's VERY easy to get caught up in the idea that you've been studying for 4 hours when really, you've been listening to lectures for 4 hours. Two completely and totally different things, don't forget...

You'll figure things out, even with the work out schedule. Definitely try to go to class at first and figure out how that feels. Work out for as long as you can without getting too tired to study later [that's important!] But not going to lie, you're definitely not going to be working out for the same amount of time in undergrad in medical school without some serious sacrifices. GOOD LUCK!

 

[E92]

i attend a school where 1st adn 2nd year are completely P/F and there are a few mandatory conferences but thats usually once, MAYBE twice a week. with that being said, i went to 1 lecture all year b/c the stuff they taught was definitely not boards oriented. i would wake up, eat breakfast, watch sportscenter, study with brs/kaplan/qbank for about 5-6 hours while everyone else was in class and call it a day. mind you that would balloon to like 9-10 a week or two before test time but for the most part, the gym was a godsend. 2 hours a day without fail.

my mentality is that eating and staying fit are essential to doing well in class. thus i would not feel guilty when i worked out, shopped for food, cooked, etc etc. (maybe thats why going to the market is relaxing for me now?) i guess it depends on your style and school. i swear some of our lecturers were slightly demented as well (he was 86 years old)

 

[Slide]

A lot of it just depends on your test schedule. First semester of M1 year we had tests almost every week. Very rarely did a weekend go by where I didn't have to study for an upcoming test. Oddly,the only times I went out were on Mondays or Tuesdays, because I knew I wouldn't have a test for at least the next 3 days. Second semester, when the tests became more manageable, I went out maybe every other weekend. However, it doesn't compare to undergrad one bit. Even my junior year, where I was taking PChem, Bio, Advanced Organic Lab, and Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, I still found time to go out almost every weekend to go clubbing or bar hopping, etc. In med school such carefree weekends won't exist, at least for very long.

 

[vgirl712]

I don't go to lectures. Our school records lectures and puts them online--I listen to about 10% of these, on 1.5x speed. I also started doing better on tests after I stopped going to lecture, but it's hard to say it was because of that or just because I was getting the hang of the whole med school thing.

You are not at a disadvantage if you don't go to lecture. Occasionally they will say things that are important to study, but it's not worth it to me to sit a whole hour just for a tidbit here and there. Plus you can get the important stuff from your friends who go to class. Syllabi are very complete. If you memorize your notesets you will be golden. And I do mean MEMORIZE, not just read and understand. There are some conceptual things in medical school, but not many.

Socially, I like being at school all day, so I study there. That way I see my friends every day, hang out with them at lunch, study with them after classes.

I agree with trying class at first. See if you like it. Find your group of friends. I personally just have a hard time sitting in lecture for 5 hours and then still being motivated to study for an extended period of time.

 

[Blesbok]

A lot of it also depends on whether or not your school uses shelf exams or school specific tests.

 

[Law2Doc]

Are there any motivational factors for not attending lectures .....not getting some key points mentioned in lecture....etc....

The biggest problem some people have with not attending lecture is motivational, but maybe not the way you mean. I know of a few folks who, once they gave up the structure of attending lecture, they fell into bad habits of sleeping in late, goofing off much of the day, and not actually starting their studies until late afternoon, about the same time the folks who attended lectures were getting out. So they ended up with about the same study time, but without the lecture as a first pass through the information. Since med school learning is, for most people, largely about repetition, losing one pass through the material is bad. The most disciplined folks will get up and hit the library and maximize the time they are not in lecture. The undisciplined folks will squander it, and end up less prepared then if they attended lecture. Unfortunately all too often folks fall into this latter category, and end up doing poorer when they don't attend class. You have to find out what works for you -- everybody is going to be different, in terms of what maximizes getting the info into their brain. But if you are not the most disciplined type, you need the structure of a fixed schedule that regularly attending class tends to provide.

I have to say from observation that the folks who end up AOA and matching into the most competitive specialties do tend to be regular class attendees.