Pre-Study MS1 Poll...

[TexasTriathlete]

You can study all you want. It just won't do you much good. You don't really know what's important, or how to apply it. Best-case scenario is that you pick up a thing or two here and there that you would have picked up in about two seconds once you started school anyway. Worst-case scenario is that you burn yourself out before you even get started, and you make yourself into a ****ty med student from day one.

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[TexasTriathlete]

You can study all you want. It just won't do you much good. You don't really know what's important, or how to apply it. Best-case scenario is that you pick up a thing or two here and there that you would have picked up in about two seconds once you started school anyway. Worst-case scenario is that you burn yourself out before you even get started, and you make yourself into a ****ty med student from day one.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

If you're going to study anything, learn the body control systems. Start with the autonomic nervous system and go from there. You don't need all the details yet, but the big picture. Then you'll recognize what they're talking about first year and be able to integrate it.

thx for the advice.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

You can study all you want. It just won't do you much good. You don't really know what's important, or how to apply it. Best-case scenario is that you pick up a thing or two here and there that you would have picked up in about two seconds once you started school anyway. Worst-case scenario is that you burn yourself out before you even get started, and you make yourself into a ****ty med student from day one.

Here is the way I look at it;

#1 not worried about being efficient and I know that I likely won't be able to find the important stuff/how to apply.

#2 I just like the idea of learning about the body, I am a nontrad who worked a different career for years, I feel fortunate to get to study.

#3 I am ok if 95% of the stuff I work on doesn't help, as everyone has reminded me.

#4 If I burn out after studying (nowhere near med school pace) for 1 year then I couldn't have made it anyway. If I chose a long residency I could have 10 years of tough challenges ahead, so... if tacking one year on the front side burns me out before I even reach year 4 then there is no way I could possibly have made years 7,8,9 or 10.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

I can already tell that your classmates are going to love you.

They always do

 

[MegaSpectacular]

Repeating MS1 after having already gone through it is one thing. You/your poll question is assuming that you can read all the required reading of an MS1 year and gain roughly the same knowledge. This is simply not the case. You're better off making a poll (or even better, searching for past threads as it has most likely been discussed) reading: "In hindsight, would pre-studying have made any difference in M1?" I can assure you that most people reading the poll were approaching your question under the hypothetical of either (a)failing and being forced to repeat the year or (b)just having to do it again after having already gone it.

I think what people haven't told you yet is that med school, at least the first two years, doesn't live up to the hype. People have referred to it as "the Mt. Everest for nerds" but in reality, you're not going to working/studying 16hrs a day everyday. I was an Econ major that took 2 years off to teach in Las Vegas after college. The first two years of med school, after having a real job, is a never ending vacation. If you go to every class and study immediately afterwards like you should theoretically do, you'd still have enough time to pick up hobbies and such. Point being: very rarely is mastering content an issue in medical school. If you have enough discipline to seriously considering pre-studying then studying for classes will not be an issue. Medical knowledge in the basic sciences isn't rocket science...I know people that struggle on tests sometimes but it's not because they had spent hours and hours studying and still don't get it.

Anyway, I hope we've all been of at least some help. Keep in mind that SDN is a community of individuals in the medical field. This means that the people replying to your queries are your peers and most likely a pretty good sample of the people you will meet in school and in your journey towards becoming a doctor. Taking our advice with a grain of salt is good and all...but hopefully after your M1 year you'll realize the worth of listening to overwhelming consensus.

wow super helpful. I just want to understand what is ahead and you have helped.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Here is the way I look at it;

#1 not worried about being efficient and I know that I likely won't be able to find the important stuff/how to apply.

#2 I just like the idea of learning about the body, I am a nontrad who worked a different career for years, I feel fortunate to get to study.

#3 I am ok if 95% of the stuff I work on doesn't help, as everyone has reminded me.

#4 If I burn out after studying (nowhere near med school pace) for 1 year then I couldn't have made it anyway. If I chose a long residency I could have 10 years of tough challenges ahead, so... if tacking one year on the front side burns me out before I even reach year 4 then there is no way I could possibly have made years 7,8,9 or 10.

You're not the only non-trad here. I am also a non-trad who was eager to get started, and I am trying my best to keep you from wasting your time. I am two years into school now and I know what I'm talking about. The only way you might get something out of this is if you had some sort of background, like your previous career was as a PA or something.

As for burn out... we all burn out. We learn to push through it eventually, but the last thing you want is to start off burnt out. I've probably burned out five or six times this year alone, but you suck it up and take care of business.

There is a reason why everyone on here always advises against studying before you get started: it is pointless. And you are trying to convince yourself that you are the exception to a rule that has no exceptions.

You will understand soon enough, but please, do not be a ******.

 

[smq123]

How can I improve myself for my career as a physician other than pre-studying? I have 15 months and I will definitely take SOME time off but I don't need over 1 year away from activity.

Preparing for med school by "pre-studying" is like preparing for your first overnight call by staying up and watching movies all night long. Or like preparing for your first tour of duty in Iraq by skulking around your neighborhood with a gun looking for insurgents.

These activities do NOT come anywhere near to approximating the true feeling of being on call or being a soldier on duty in Iraq. Just like "pre-studying" probably won't do much to help you through the first year of med school at all.

Things I wish that I had become better at, either before med school or during it....

- You should probably learn another language. Spanish is most useful; so is Chinese. You will save an immense amount of time and stress if you can communicate with a patient without having to search for a translator phone. Even sign language can be useful.

- Learning how to deal with emotionally difficult situations. Telling patients to their face that they have less than 8 months to live is always hard, and I wish I was better at it. Talking to patients about being DNR/DNI is also difficult. If you ever follow through on your sadistic notion of being a neurosurgeon, this will be especially important. Volunteering at a local hospice can be useful in this respect.

- Being comfortable with people from all walks of life. Volunteering in the ER may help with this.

The academic stuff you'll get when the time comes. The above stuff is all things that I WISH I had learned in med school, but never had the time. Now that I'm a resident, this is the stuff that trips me up all day. The physiology, the pharmacology, the anatomy - all that stuff became second nature after 4 years of med school. It's this other stuff that keeps me awake at night.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

You're not the only non-trad here. I am also a non-trad who was eager to get started, and I am trying my best to keep you from wasting your time. I am two years into school now and I know what I'm talking about. The only way you might get something out of this is if you had some sort of background, like your previous career was as a PA or something.

As for burn out... we all burn out. We learn to push through it eventually, but the last thing you want is to start off burnt out. I've probably burned out five or six times this year alone, but you suck it up and take care of business.

There is a reason why everyone on here always advises against studying before you get started: it is pointless. And you are trying to convince yourself that you are the exception to a rule that has no exceptions.

You will understand soon enough, but please, do not be a ******.

fine. I will look at not studying before.

Please don't call people "******s", I have a friend that has down syndrome. thx

 

[MegaSpectacular]

Preparing for med school by "pre-studying" is like preparing for your first overnight call by staying up and watching movies all night long. Or like preparing for your first tour of duty in Iraq by skulking around your neighborhood with a gun looking for insurgents.

These activities do NOT come anywhere near to approximating the true feeling of being on call or being a soldier on duty in Iraq. Just like "pre-studying" probably won't do much to help you through the first year of med school at all.

Things I wish that I had become better at, either before med school or during it....

- You should probably learn another language. Spanish is most useful; so is Chinese. You will save an immense amount of time and stress if you can communicate with a patient without having to search for a translator phone. Even sign language can be useful.

- Learning how to deal with emotionally difficult situations. Telling patients to their face that they have less than 8 months to live is always hard, and I wish I was better at it. Talking to patients about being DNR/DNI is also difficult. If you ever follow through on your sadistic notion of being a neurosurgeon, this will be especially important. Volunteering at a local hospice can be useful in this respect.

- Being comfortable with people from all walks of life. Volunteering in the ER may help with this.

The academic stuff you'll get when the time comes. The above stuff is all things that I WISH I had learned in med school, but never had the time. Now that I'm a resident, this is the stuff that trips me up all day. The physiology, the pharmacology, the anatomy - all that stuff became second nature after 4 years of med school. It's this other stuff that keeps me awake at night.

thx for the advice.