Pre-Clinical Years: Possible to Self-Study?

[willclock]

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Hey guys,

How much of your learning in the pre-clinical years do you think is affected by the school and its teaching system? I don't learn in lectures very well and always need to go over the materials myself, and am wondering if it would be a good idea for me to attend a lecture-heavy school. One doesn't have to attend lectures, and I was told that many don't go to the lectures and study on their own- does this mean that as long as you can access the lecture notes and have some studying material provided by the school, it's possible to self-study the materials and do well? How much does the school system affect your learning in the pre-clincal years for people who need to go over things on their own anyway?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Saluki]

Hey guys,

How much of your learning in the pre-clinical years do you think is affected by the school and its teaching system? I don't learn in lectures very well and always need to go over the materials myself, and am wondering if it would be a good idea for me to attend a lecture-heavy school. One doesn't have to attend lectures, and I was told that many don't go to the lectures and study on their own- does this mean that as long as you can access the lecture notes and have some studying material provided by the school, it's possible to self-study the materials and do well? How much does the school system affect your learning in the pre-clincal years for people who need to go over things on their own anyway?

Thanks for your help.

I don't go to a school where the do it on your own system would be possible, but I met several people on the interview circuit who said they never went to class and just studied online notes/textbooks on their own and did fine. I would think that the ideal would be to attend the lectures and then go over the material on your own afterwards, but obviously that's asssuming an infinite number of hours in the day...

 

[psipsina]

I don't go to school, really rarely ever. I went for anatomy lectures because we had to be there for the dissections afterwards and it was nice to get a review of whatever we were cutting into, but thats it. We have a notetaker service so I get the class notes a day or two after the lecture. Between the noteset and the powerpoint and books its all good. Some people learn in lecture and thats great too but I'm not one of them. Whenever I stopped going to lecture in any course my grade shot up because I had more time of really absorbing and more free time to stay sane then when I was going to lecture. If your school has a notes service or recordings of the lectures available you should be fine self studying.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hey guys,

How much of your learning in the pre-clinical years do you think is affected by the school and its teaching system? I don't learn in lectures very well and always need to go over the materials myself, and am wondering if it would be a good idea for me to attend a lecture-heavy school. One doesn't have to attend lectures, and I was told that many don't go to the lectures and study on their own- does this mean that as long as you can access the lecture notes and have some studying material provided by the school, it's possible to self-study the materials and do well? How much does the school system affect your learning in the pre-clincal years for people who need to go over things on their own anyway?

Thanks for your help.

If your school doesn't mandate attendance, and you find you are learning more by studying on your own, then by all means do so. For some this works well. For others it doesn't always work out the way they hope.

 

[ColinHay]

Attendance in our class this semester is about 20%.
Lecture notes are provided by the profs so you know they are good (that's what they expect us to know).

Going to class is fun for socialization. C'est tout.

 

[naegleria brain]

i say go for the first couple weeks and test the waters. its not necessary; most give syllabi for you to learn from. dont worry too much, its very possible.

 

[LMarie_MD2b]

If you're worried about forced attendance, for the love of G-d, do NOT go to a PBL school! You'll have "supplemental lectures" on top of small group, and you'll still have to go through and teach yourself all the material afterward.

Law2Doc had a good point, too...make sure there isn't a mandatory attendance policy at your lecture-based school, and you should be fine.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Search this site and you'll find dozens of threads on this or very similar topics. My thoughts - not only is it possible, it is also preferable to self-study. Only a portion of the lecturers you have will be worth attending. Many people will tell you to check each lecturer out and then determine whether or not you will attend, but I wouldn't bother doing that if you don't like lecture; just skip lecture altogether and keep consistent study habits (if they are working, that is).
All in all, listening to lecture is not efficient unless you are able to remain highly attentive and actively think about material during lectures. I pity the folks in my class that show up tired to each lecture, write down every other word a prof writes down, and then leaves four hours later having learned next to nothing. Crappy way to make your way through med school, I say.