Remediation Woes

[soitbegins]

I have been an active member of student doctor for quite a few years now, but due to the embarrassement of my present state I'm admitting to creating a new account because I desire anonimity.

I am an OMSI, and after the first few exams I find myself seriously struggling. most of my classmates are far outperforming me. I'm afraid if this keeps up I may end up having to remediate more than one course. I'm terrified of remediating... if I'm having trouble keeping up with the sheer volume of course work now, how on earth am I supposed to have time for my second semester and have time to take the remediation exams.

I also feel incredibly isolated. With so many of my peers outperforming me, I feel like I am the only one who is failing. While I know that is not true, I also do not know anyone else who is struggling.

There are plenty of reasons I am struggling, and most of them due to my lack of study skills. Something I am working on remedying and have an appointment to meet with our learning skills department to correct.

But in the meantime, is there anyone else out there who is in this boat? Are there any 2nd, 3rd, or 4th years around who can share their experiences.... My school is not one that places much emphasis on rank. Our class ranks are never posted rather we have to request to see them. But, none-the-less I feel so very inadequate.

There are so many of my classmates who have come to the decision of med school from many different routes, but I am one of those for whom medicine is all I have ever wanted to do. Here I am only on the cusp of this journey, and already demonstrating all the indicators that I will not be successful. It has taken me several attempts to get accepted into medical school, and I'm beginning to feel as though all of those rejections were perhaps correct. Am I foolhardy for continuing to try? At what point is it wise to stop taking out loans and pursuing in vain this dream that seems continuously just out of reach? Mostly I just want to see if anyone else out there is currently or has been experiencing some of what I'm going through.....

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[Daedra22]

It's good that you're approaching a department at your school that helps with studying. They could prove to be a truly great resource for you. Don't hesitate to talk to your professors, either... I'm sure they've seen hundreds of students who struggled with the material, and they might have some great tips to give you. I'm only a first year, but I failed my first anatomy exam by 1 question... by working with my professors and analyzing my study habits, I was able to do much, much better on the second exam. The volume of material that we're facing can be intimidating, and everyone goes through some kind of trial-and-error period in order to handle it better.

My last piece of advice is this: Don't let the negativity drag you down even further. Try to stay positive, and do the best that you can. There's a reason that we have 4 years to figure this medicine thing out.

 

[Another Chance]

I've been there. The isolation. The feeling that you're alone in your struggles. The fear of not succeeding. My fears came true. I was dismissed from medical school. I appealed and fortunately won. I was given a second chance. It was in this second chance that I realized what I was doing wrong.

I can tell you how I study but it may not help you, just like people who told me how they studied did no good for me. I go to lecture. I then write down everything I thought was important about it. Then I meet my friends on the weekends and we go over all the lectures. Sometimes they've picked something out as important that I didn't and vice versa. We then skim through relevant board review books to understand what's important and why. It's helped so much, I can't even tell you. I'm passing everything and even getting a couple of High Pass's here and there.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Medical school, as you now know, if very difficult due to the sheer volume of information that is being given to you in such as small period of time. The key to remembering things in medical school is repetition, repetition, repetition.

Keep reading things and eventually you will understand it. Don't fall into the trap of trying to find blame with things like the school, the professor, etc. There is no point to it. You are the one responsible.

It is good that you are going for help. Try different key words when doing web searches and even look in youtube because there can some good resources there as well.

Good luck.

 

[anthroguy]

Its good that you're meeting with the right people for help. Try to stick with one resource per class. I know in beginning there's a feeling for some people that you have to learn the minutiae from large textbooks to be excellent, but its really in those class notes and those pertinent review books where you'll do most of your learning. Start studying early and do it often so cramming something others HAVE to do, whereas for you its something that you may need to do to be amazing.

I dont see how you blamed anyone else for this, so I dont really know what the previous poster is talking about. Though I do agree with his sentiment repetition is important.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I also feel incredibly isolated. With so many of my peers outperforming me, I feel like I am the only one who is failing. While I know that is not true, I also do not know anyone else who is struggling.

If it makes you feel any better, just be aware that many of your peers could be having a harder time than they've been letting on. A lot of medical students seem to inflate their stated test performance because they feel insecure or want bragging rights. How is your performance comparing to the class averages? Are you in serious danger of failing any particular subject?

 

[Instatewaiter]

I have been an active member of student doctor for quite a few years now, but due to the embarrassement of my present state I'm admitting to creating a new account because I desire anonimity.

I am an OMSI, and after the first few exams I find myself seriously struggling. most of my classmates are far outperforming me. I'm afraid if this keeps up I may end up having to remediate more than one course. I'm terrified of remediating... if I'm having trouble keeping up with the sheer volume of course work now, how on earth am I supposed to have time for my second semester and have time to take the remediation exams.

I also feel incredibly isolated. With so many of my peers outperforming me, I feel like I am the only one who is failing. While I know that is not true, I also do not know anyone else who is struggling.

There are plenty of reasons I am struggling, and most of them due to my lack of study skills. Something I am working on remedying and have an appointment to meet with our learning skills department to correct.

But in the meantime, is there anyone else out there who is in this boat? Are there any 2nd, 3rd, or 4th years around who can share their experiences.... My school is not one that places much emphasis on rank. Our class ranks are never posted rather we have to request to see them. But, none-the-less I feel so very inadequate.

There are so many of my classmates who have come to the decision of med school from many different routes, but I am one of those for whom medicine is all I have ever wanted to do. Here I am only on the cusp of this journey, and already demonstrating all the indicators that I will not be successful. It has taken me several attempts to get accepted into medical school, and I'm beginning to feel as though all of those rejections were perhaps correct. Am I foolhardy for continuing to try? At what point is it wise to stop taking out loans and pursuing in vain this dream that seems continuously just out of reach? Mostly I just want to see if anyone else out there is currently or has been experiencing some of what I'm going through.....

So a few questions/comments:
First, are you actually failing or doing poorly yet still in the passing range?

Second, there are a lot of smart people in med school. All you need to do is pass.

Third, some people cannot learn by listening. I am one of those people. I learned that going to class was a complete waste of time (because my school had a syllabus that had literally everything we needed to know). So, I skipped class and used that extra time to study. My grades went up when I started doing this. I'd only recommend this if they don't add a whole heck of a lot during class.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

So a few questions/comments:
First, are you actually failing or doing poorly yet still in the passing range?

Second, there are a lot of smart people in med school. All you need to do is pass.

Third, some people cannot learn by listening. I am one of those people. I learned that going to class was a complete waste of time (because my school had a syllabus that had literally everything we needed to know). So, I skipped class and used that extra time to study. My grades went up when I started doing this. I'd only recommend this if they don't add a whole heck of a lot during class.

+1. I agree with this line of thinking completely. Plus, some schools have either a scribe service or lecture recordings that essentially enable you to get all the extra stuff added in class without having to be there. With the terrific scribe service established at SOM this year, I've had no reason to go to class whatsoever - and I'm 100x more efficient than I was before.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

I have always said that medical education is a very selfish thing. Do not worry about anyone else but yourself at this point. If a classmate says they are honoring everything, congratulate them and move on. It does not matter to you if they are honoring or failing. If they come to you for help, certainly help them but do not gauge how you are performing based on someone else.

 

[gocatgo]

+1. I agree with this line of thinking completely. Plus, some schools have either a scribe service or lecture recordings that essentially enable you to get all the extra stuff added in class without having to be there. With the terrific scribe service established at SOM this year, I've had no reason to go to class whatsoever - and I'm 100x more efficient than I was before.

You're lucky. I wish we didn't have mandatory attendance at my school.
Thsi is definitely something I should've taken into consideration when I was applying to schools but at the time, all I cared about was getting in somewhere.
If I didn't have to attend my classes, I would be a lot less stressed and have more time to study.