SGU Term 2

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Hmm.

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Hello all
Right now, I'm in a downward spiral with my negative thoughts. I just finished term 1 at SGU with less than desirable scores. I didn't fail any courses, but I also don't have a 75% WMPG. I feel like, if this is how term 1 went, how will I survive the rest of the terms? This might be a long shot, but I'm hoping for some sound advice that isn't too harsh. I know what you're thinking, "you're in med school, this is a harsh life, deal with it!!! :slap:" I would like just a bit of compassion and empathy, because right now I feel absolutely awful.

If the school does allow me to continue, I was hoping to get some advice on how to tackle term 2 and what I should review before going back. Also, any advice on how to review material, answer multiple choice questions, or any books would be really really helpful. Oh, and if anyone knows what happens when you appeal?? I haven't gotten an e-mail saying I can't continue, so I'm not sure exactly what's happening with my situation.

I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong, but just for you to get an idea, pre-midterm I fell incredibly behind and didn't know how to review material, still kind of don't. Post-midterm I white-boarded A LOT, but definitely got caught up in trying memorizing every single slide. I'm not sure how to pick up the key facts from all the fluff and I don't know how to ask myself questions while I study, or try to think,"how can they test me on this material?" I'm also not too great at reasoning out answer choices. I did a few study groups here and there, but maybe not enough? The material itself wasn't difficult for me to understand, I just couldn't get it to stay in my head.
Thanks to anyone who responds!

Sincerely,
:boom:

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1. Looking into your schools learning center for a learning specialist or counselor.
2. There are tons of learning techniques online that even medical students use.
3. If you are feeling a sense of being overwhelmed, I highly suggest a psychologist to talk about organization.
4. Continue study groups, but make sure meetings are effective.
 
Hello all
Right now, I'm in a downward spiral with my negative thoughts. I just finished term 1 at SGU with less than desirable scores. I didn't fail any courses, but I also don't have a 75% WMPG. I feel like, if this is how term 1 went, how will I survive the rest of the terms? This might be a long shot, but I'm hoping for some sound advice that isn't too harsh. I know what you're thinking, "you're in med school, this is a harsh life, deal with it!!! " I would like just a bit of compassion and empathy, because right now I feel absolutely awful.

First things first, step back and breathe. Term 1 is rough, med school is way different than anything else you've likely ever done, and Grenada life is probably way different than you're used to. You got through it, and that ain't nothing. Failure (or near failure) is an inevitable part of learning, and your worth as a person isn't tied to your WMPG.

Okay, on to the good stuff, then

1). Get in touch with DES and get hooked up with one of the learning strategists. I highly recommend Joanna Buckland, she is super sweet and very good at working with students to formulate study schedules. She gives excellent talks on evidence-based learning & memory theory. Highly recommend you attend next term, she usually does them around the 2nd week of class.

2). Don't bother trying to review anything from Term 1 now, there will be time for that before Step 1. Focus on the coming terms. Don't spend your break re-memorizing the brachial plexus. Enjoy your time off, visit with friends/family, partake in your hobbies. This is one of the last breaks you will have for a while, make the most of it and enjoy yourself, and then be ready to hit the ground running for Term 2.

3). Don't get behind. This is the Little-Death that brings total obliteration. Don't freak out over memorizing every detail perfectly the first time. You're going over the material multiple times, like in waves or passes. If at each pass you retain 60% of the material, you're doing fantastic. Allot yourself enough time to review the new material one time per study session, and then MOVE ON. I would typically review material 3 times in total: once the day of by myself, then again that weekend with study partners (more on that later), and then again before an exam with study partners.

4). Make your study tools work for you, and not the other way around. If white-boarding is your thing, go nuts. I knew a girl that literally carried one with her everywhere to study. But if it's not working for you, drop it and find something that does. Make sure you're not just fooling yourself into thinking that you're studying, though. If concept-maps don't help you learn, then drawing 50 of them isn't just not-helping you, it carries an opportunity cost of time that you could have been learning something else. Figure out what helps you and what slows you down, and figure it out NOW so that you're not just treading water in Term 4 and 5. I imported the lecture slides onto my iPad and then used iAnnotate and a stylus to take notes directly on the slides. Figure out what works for you.

5). Find 1-3 people and study with them consistently and efficiently. This was really hard for me because I'm an introverted loner by nature and I lived off-campus, but it was probably the only reason I made it through the program without hangups. You can't know everything, and often times other people will ask questions that you never would have thought to ask. Try to explain concepts to each other to find knowledge gaps. When you don't feel like studying and want to piss off to Dodgy Dock for trivia night, they will guilt you into studying. Do practice questions together. Discuss the ones you get wrong. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, and it will force you to become better.

6). Learn to separate high-yield and low-yield concepts. Buzzwords can help with this, as they're virtually always high-yield. If you're faced with memorizing subtypes of renal tubular acidosis or the most common bacteria implicated in pneumonia, go with the pneumonia. This is a learned skill and becomes easier with practice. In Term 1, everything seems high-yield. If you're really struggling with this, consider picking up a copy of First Aid for Step 1, but DO NOT use it as your primary learning tool. It's purpose is for rapid review of high yield bullet-points to refresh your memory, and does not explain underlying principles or concepts. Use it during your second or third pass of a topic to make sure you're hitting the high-yield info. Find question banks and do as many of those as you can stand, they will also help you zero in on what's high-yield and what's not.

7). Use your break to try out other study resources, but limit yourself to just 1 or 2 external resources. Pick up a copy of First Aid. Subscribe for a free trial of Picmonic. Check out some Anki/Brosencephalon flashcard decks. Check out some of the BRS books. There are lots of options here, and it's easy to spread yourself too thin. Pick the one or two that you really like and chuck the rest. The lecture slides will get you 90% of the way there, but sometimes hearing the same information in a different way can make it click.

8). Give yourself some breaks. Grenada is a beautiful country with a lot of neat places to explore. Take a couple of hours each weekend to do something fun to decompress. It's hard to get away from medical school when you're basically surrounded by it, but it's worth it.

I think they changed the schedule around a year or two ago so I don't know which classes are in Term 2 now other than Physio. If you want advice for the individual classes you'll have to be more specific.

Hope that helps. Good luck.
 
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Do you have an academic success (Study skills) office?

Yeah, I went to them a few times, but all they told me to do was pre-read, go to lecture, then post-read. There didn't really give me any solid techniques on how to review.
 
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First things first, step back and breathe. Term 1 is rough, med school is way different than anything else you've likely ever done, and Grenada life is probably way different than you're used to. You got through it, and that ain't nothing. Failure (or near failure) is an inevitable part of learning, and your worth as a person isn't tied to your WMPG.
Thank you so so so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate your post. The classes for term 2 are immunology, genetics, physio, & neurosci. If you have any pointers on those classes, that would be great. Also, I'm eternally in your debt!!
 
I found term 2 much more comfortable (not easy) than term 1. Term 1 is a lot to get used to and overwhelmed me as well. Academically I did much better in term 2.

Getting to know you is a big part of academic success when the learning is apologetically self directed. I know my best work is done before 4 pm. I'm ok when it comes to post reading after lecture lets out, but I'm MUCH better at 6 am in the library in a cubicle void of other distractions. Trying to study late at night in the comfort of my room was a losing arrangement.
 
Thank you so so so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate your post. The classes for term 2 are immunology, genetics, physio, & neurosci. If you have any pointers on those classes, that would be great. Also, I'm eternally in your debt!!

Immuno was just straight-up memorization. Here's 60 cytokines, memorize their functions. Memorize the CD markers for these immune cells. Memorize the complement cascade. There are a handful of clinically relevant immunodeficiency diseases towards the end, First Aid has a nice summary table of these in the immuno section.

Neuroscience was pretty straightforward. The first half is focused on neuroanatomy, again mostly rote memorization. The second half is divided up into physiology, pathology, some embryo, etc. There is an imaging workshop and a clinical skills lab with it that are pretty good. No tricks here, just put in your study time and don't neglect it.

Genetics was tough for only a 2 (3?) credit course, there are a fair number of difficult concepts combined with a lot of memorization of obscure genetic diseases. Dr. Sobering is a spastic genius and his test questions tend to be difficult. He is a great teacher, though, and he usually holds LOTS of practice question sessions before exams. Definitely attend those, he usually sneaks a handful of very similar questions into the exams.

Physio is the beast of Term 2. Lots of challenging concepts, lots of topics, a fair bit of (admittedly simple) math. Again, do not get behind in this one, there is no way to catch up. The first few weeks are in general physio concepts like cell membrane potentials and kinematics, then it's system based. Very well taught course, find questions banks and practice, practice, practice questions. BRS Physio was a solid resource for this.

Edit: This is 3 year old information, so y'know, buyer beware.
 
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That is so mean and heartless. God help you.
It is true though. I just finished SGU term 1 and wGPA was 98. I worked very hard sure but there were some people who definitely were not cut out to be physicians (not a huge number, but a small amount...most of which were likely weeded out by now). This student had a wGPA <75% which at SGU is essentially a failing grade. The amount of work they give you there really shows who shoudn't and should be there. This student needs to realize with that wGPA are they actually going to be able to attain a competitive score on their board exams...most likely not. Sure there is the possibility to improve but term 2 will be even more difficult than term 1 so it is only an uphill battle.
 
It is true though. I just finished SGU term 1 and wGPA was 98. I worked very hard sure but there were some people who definitely were not cut out to be physicians (not a huge number, but a small amount...most of which were likely weeded out by now). This student had a wGPA <75% which at SGU is essentially a failing grade. The amount of work they give you there really shows who shoudn't and should be there. This student needs to realize with that wGPA are they actually going to be able to attain a competitive score on their board exams...most likely not. Sure there is the possibility to improve but term 2 will be even more difficult than term 1 so it is only an uphill battle.



Yay!! Congratulations . I will be tackling term 1 in Jan. I am totally on the same page as you are . You work hard , get and maintain great grades or you are out. it is the harsh reality in any medical school. Still, there is no way any person with a heart would respond the way that individual did. This person just shared their pain on a forum and you tell them they are not cut out for it like seriously that is just unnecessarily mean and heartless. Don't you think they probably have not thought about it or even second guessed their life choices. I know a few students whom the dean of their MD and DO schools once said those same words to and are currently in great residencies and doing incredibly well. She needed encouragement and compassion. Not a harsh comment from a mean person.
 
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