Should I go to class?

[dreee]

Should I go to class in medical school (non-mandatory ones)?

This question stems from hearing different advice on the best way to be successful in med school. On one end I hear, "study the way you know best." That for me would NOT be lectures. I daydream during class and I do not take notes. In ugrad I learned through online vids, picking the vids that were the clearest for me, as well as reading PowerPoint slides repeatedly. I would also seek outside one-on-one tutoring.

On the other hand I hear "go to class! what you did In ugrad will not work in med school. You need more exposure to the material." My only qualm with this is if I'm supposed to treat med school like a 9-5 job, but I'm in lecture literally from 9-5 absorbing/hearing less than 50% of the info, wouldn't that be a waste of time for me?

Should I just wait for class to start and see what happens? I'll be going to every lecture at least for the first couple weeks regardless. I just don't want to feel guilty by not showing up to class and know I can still do well.

TLDR: should I go to lecture or skip lectures and learn the way I know best?

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[chibaddie]

You should just really enjoy your time off right now and see how you feel after the first couple weeks. Either way, there's nothing to feel guilty about if you decide not to go. It's all about maximizing your time and figuring out what works for your learning style. You do you, homie.

 

[trs88]

Yah, wait till you get to class to see what works. I went to class for every lecture and it wasn't until I had a professor that I just truly could not keep up with in class that I finally stopped going to lecture and my grades improved and my stress levels went down a little. I would stream the lectures at double speed and was able to sleep more than 6 hours at night since I didn't need to get ready in the mornings. When class starts up again in a month, I plan to keep skipping lectures.

 

[LaurenMD]

You guys have lecture from 9-5?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Try both ways and use the method that works best for you.

FYI, no one is going to care if you don't go to non-mandatory classes and just watch the lectures at 2x speed.

Not going to class can be isolating though, so make sure you do get out and make friends in your spare time!

 

[jqueb29]

As somebody who didn't attend a single non-mandatory class after 3 months into the semester, I would strongly advise everybody attend class for at least the first few weeks. Then, and only then, give home schooling an attempt.

 

[padfoot777]

Never went to class and it was great. Learned way more efficiently and could make my schedule however I wanted.

 

[mcloaf]

I went to zero non-required sessions for all of preclinical years. No regrets. Do whatever works for you.

 

[tymont12]

There's a lot of people on SDN who tout the, "watch from home at 2X speed!" method. But whenever I tried that, I did worse on exams. It really comes down to how you learn and more importantly, the specific professor that is lecturing. We have professors that teach certain topics and you learn who you should avoid like the plague.

Like everyone else says, go to all the lectures and opt out as you see fit.

 

[StraightOuttaBrooklyn]

Try both ways and use the method that works best for you.

FYI, no one is going to care if you don't go to non-mandatory classes and just watch the lectures at 2x speed.

Not going to class can be isolating though, so make sure you do get out and make friends in your spare time!

Its also good to branch out and make friends outside of medical school, especially if you're living somewhere new. Why, yes - I love my free drinks.

 

[dreee]

You guys have lecture from 9-5?

Somewhat. Some days are until 5, some until 2, some until 4.

 

[dreee]

As somebody who didn't attend a single non-mandatory class after 3 months into the semester, I would strongly advise everybody attend class for at least the first few weeks. Then, and only then, give home schooling an attempt.

Why would you advise everyone to attend class the first few weeks? Did it not work out for you?

 

[lymphocyte]

Why would you advise everyone to attend class the first few weeks? Did it not work out for you?

Because it might work for you.
Because your lecturers might be pretty good.
Because you might go to the lucky few schools that do flipped classrooms.
Because you're too undisciplined to study on your own (not meant to be harsh, but some people just are).
Because your roommate's cat creeps you the hell out.
Who knows?

The first few months of medical school are shock and awe anyways. Just keep experimenting until you find something that works for you.

 

[username456789]

Because you might go to the lucky few schools that do flipped classrooms

Lucky? There is nothing lucky about that. The whole basis for the ridiculous "flipped classroom" debacle is "hey, studies at least haven't showed its significantly worse than the old way". Change for change's sake is silly, but it gets a few Med Ed. people a few more publications and it makes it a whole lot easier for the teachers to sit back and let someone else do all their work.

What a great ruse, all in all.

 

[Affiche]

Why would you advise everyone to attend class the first few weeks? Did it not work out for you?

I hate lectures. I keep hearing that it will be different in medical school, but I really hate lectures. I'm planning to go for the first couple of weeks to make friends and scope out some decent study partners, and then I'll be home school med school from that point on.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Lucky? There is nothing lucky about that. The whole basis for the ridiculous "flipped classroom" debacle is "hey, studies at least haven't showed its significantly worse than the old way". Change for change's sake is silly, but it gets a few Med Ed. people a few more publications and it makes it a whole lot easier for the teachers to sit back and let someone else do all their work.

What a great ruse, all in all.

Just my experience, but flipped classroom was dumped from my med school because profs would just make it a double lecture (students cover content at home, profs cover more content in lecture).

We called them "flopped classroom" behind their backs.

....but we were good kids.


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[DocWinter]

Everyone does it different. I found that not all leacture(rs) are created equal and after a semester started to figure out who and what was worth listening to and who or what I could gain more from on my own time.

Highly recommend going to class to start to gauge your learning curve eve (no pun intended).

Ended up going to most at the end, simply because I did learn enough from just being there going through material at a slow pace for the 1st time

 

[musclebro]

no

 

[Psai]

Flipped classrooms makes sense as a concept but it's too new and people don't know what they're doing

 

[Barrel Proof]

This varies from person to person as well as from school to school.

I don't go to lecture and here's why. I'll spend up to 30 mins in my car each way to and from school (DC traffic sucks). Yes, watching at 2x speed is your best friend! I also found that I can hear the lectures much better with headphones on compared to sitting in a big, wide open lecture hall. I can rewind something if I missed it. I can pause if I need to look something up. Or I can fast forward/stop watching if the lecture is garbage and move on to the next one.

Med school is about time management and efficiency as you will soon learn. I save anywhere from 2-5 hours per day by watching at home!

 

[WedgeDawg]

Go to lecture for your first block or so and see how it works out for you. If it seems like you're getting something out of it, great, keep doing it. If you feel like it's not working so well or you could be more efficient at home, great, then switch it up.

Going to class (or not going to class) won't intrinsically make you a better student or improve your test scores, no matter how much some people tell you it will.

 

[futuremdforme]

Read Medical School 2.0. I would go to class in the start to meet your classmates and then gauge from there.

 

[Donald Juan]

Go to class at first...it's what everybody does and you'll figure out whether or not it works for you. *Spoiler alert: it doesn't work for most* The first semester (or year) can be a trial and error of sorts. You will almost assuredly have to relearn how to study because what you did in undergrad to make 4.0 will not be efficient enough for med school. Just don't fall into the trap of, "Oh, I'm doing X [going to class, rewriting ppts, reading books, making anki cards, making flash cards, annotating first aid, whatever] and I'm only making low Bs/Cs, if I change it I might start doing worse!" Be willing to try things, especially when things aren't working for you.

 

[bahdahboom]

.

 

[Goro]

Go read my post on guide to med student success. TLDR, you have to do what works for you, and it sounds like lecture would be a waste of your time.

Should I go to class in medical school (non-mandatory ones)?

This question stems from hearing different advice on the best way to be successful in med school. On one end I hear, "study the way you know best." That for me would NOT be lectures. I daydream during class and I do not take notes. In ugrad I learned through online vids, picking the vids that were the clearest for me, as well as reading PowerPoint slides repeatedly. I would also seek outside one-on-one tutoring.

On the other hand I hear "go to class! what you did In ugrad will not work in med school. You need more exposure to the material." My only qualm with this is if I'm supposed to treat med school like a 9-5 job, but I'm in lecture literally from 9-5 absorbing/hearing less than 50% of the info, wouldn't that be a waste of time for me?

Should I just wait for class to start and see what happens? I'll be going to every lecture at least for the first couple weeks regardless. I just don't want to feel guilty by not showing up to class and know I can still do well.

TLDR: should I go to lecture or skip lectures and learn the way I know best?

 

[dreee]

Go read my post on guide to med student success. TLDR, you have to do what works for you, and it sounds like lecture would be a waste of your time.

Thanks @Goro , will do!

 

[dreee]

Thanks everyone for the replies!!

 

[Lee Ik-jun MD]

You paid for those lectures.. go hear it.
That person in front of you can answer the questions you have in the 60+ pages you just read.

I did well in my med school because I study on my time, listen to lectures and asked questions to the professor/lecturer/speaker etc.
You can read everything you want about diabetes and get a perfect score in the exam
BUT you can't match the " clinical pearls" from an endocrinologist with 30+ years of experience
who's giving the same lecture.

If you want to get more time, maybe you need to cut down on going out on the weekdays.
If you want to pass or get a good grade SKIP the lectures
if you want to learn and be prepared for residency training you have to go through everything.

In Internal Medicine residency, 1 hour everyday is "protected hour" for lecture/case report/ journal club etc.
and it's mandatory. why? because it works!

 

[mcloaf]

You paid for those lectures.. go hear it.
That person in front of you can answer the questions you have in the 60+ pages you just read.

I did well in my med school because I study on my time, listen to lectures and asked questions to the professor/lecturer/speaker etc.
You can read everything you want about diabetes and get a perfect score in the exam
BUT you can't match the " clinical pearls" from an endocrinologist with 30+ years of experience
who's giving the same lecture.

If you want to get more time, maybe you need to cut down on going out on the weekdays.
If you want to pass or get a good grade SKIP the lectures
if you want to learn and be prepared for residency training you have to go through everything.

In Internal Medicine residency, 1 hour everyday is "protected hour" for lecture/case report/ journal club etc.
and it's mandatory. why? because it works!

You do realize those of us who didn't go to class still watched the lectures, right? We just did it in half the time and a more convenient environment. That is unless you go somewhere that doesn't record and broadcast lectures, which is medieval.

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

What are flipped classrooms?

 

[lymphocyte]

What are flipped classrooms?

It's a fad-ish educational movement largely sponsored by content makers like McGraw-Hill to shift the onus on encountering the material to students.

The students learn at home through short lectures and assigned reading (as made by McGraw-Hill and others) and come to class to engage the teacher with questions, exercises, and dialogue. It originated in the physics world (which lends itself to this model of teaching) and, contrary to what some have said above, has been shown to be tremendously effective in the right hands. As with most things in life, done well, it can be powerful (like PBL). Done poorly, and... might as well stay home (like PBL).

I'm a fan because I had a renal-medicine rotation with didactics taught via a flipped classroom model. It's not for everyone or for every discipline, but it worked well for me because I'm naturally autodidactic and love inquiry-based learning. One of the best learning experiences I ever had.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/turning-education-upside-down/

Deslauriers L, Schelew E, Wieman C. Improved learning in a large-enrollment physics class. Science. 2011;332(6031):862-4.

Mcdaniel CN, Lister BC, Hanna MH, Roy H. Increased learning observed in redesigned introductory biology course that employed web-enhanced, interactive pedagogy. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2007;6(3):243-9.

 

[CharakaComplex]

Go to as many as you can. Moreso than just learning the material, going to classes is a great way to show the professor that you're invested in learning. May be helpful later on to suck up.

You guys have lecture from 9-5?

Y-you don't? We've got class eight to four with an hour for lunch, five days a week. I thought this was standard.

Lucky? There is nothing lucky about that. The whole basis for the ridiculous "flipped classroom" debacle is "hey, studies at least haven't showed its significantly worse than the old way". Change for change's sake is silly, but it gets a few Med Ed. people a few more publications and it makes it a whole lot easier for the teachers to sit back and let someone else do all their work.

What a great ruse, all in all.

Flipped classroom was utter hell and chaos over here. No one understood the material and the professors did end up just turning it into double lecture and kept chastising us for not 'studying hard enough'. I skipped every single flipped classroom after the first disaster even though it took a huge chunk out of my attendance but I still did just fine. Almost our entire renal physiology block was done in flipped classroom style and the teacher who took those classes wouldn't even give us the powerpoint.

 

[lymphocyte]

Go to as many as you can. Moreso than just learning the material, going to classes is a great way to show the professor that you're invested in learning. May be helpful later on to suck up

Pardon, but this is ludicrous advice. You have three jobs as a preclinical student: 1) smash Step 1, 2) stay sane, and 3) don't fail. 1 and 3 tend to go together. Nobody cares about what your non-clinician biochem professor thinks about you. Clinical evaluations count for so much more. If lectures help you learn, go to lectures. If they don't, don't go. Done.

Also, professional graduate school is when you stop trying to "show" people you're X. Just be X, and the results will naturally follow.

And I take back what I said about flipped classrooms. It worked well for us, and I had a good experience. Clearly opinions vary.

 

[dreee]

You paid for those lectures.. go hear it.
That person in front of you can answer the questions you have in the 60+ pages you just read.

I did well in my med school because I study on my time, listen to lectures and asked questions to the professor/lecturer/speaker etc.
You can read everything you want about diabetes and get a perfect score in the exam
BUT you can't match the " clinical pearls" from an endocrinologist with 30+ years of experience
who's giving the same lecture.

If you want to get more time, maybe you need to cut down on going out on the weekdays.
If you want to pass or get a good grade SKIP the lectures
if you want to learn and be prepared for residency training you have to go through everything.

In Internal Medicine residency, 1 hour everyday is "protected hour" for lecture/case report/ journal club etc.
and it's mandatory. why? because it works!

I do want to clarify, when I said missing lectures, I meant actually showing up to class. I will listen to the recorded lectures on my own time regardless.

I just didn't know if there would be that much of an added bonus showing up to class 9-5, then still having to relisten to recordings, read power points, etc. if I can cut out the least fruitful part my day (going to lecture), I can use that time for more effective studying.

Passive lectures do nothing for me. I need to be actively engaged in my learning, and unless my professor allows me to discuss topics with him during class, it doesn't work for me. I love tutoring because I can talk one-on-one with the person tutoring me and have a dialogue.

 

[neoevolution]

At my school, I know several people who exclusively read the PDF syllabus (as do I). Lecture emphasizes key concepts but we're still tested on what's in the syllabus that they don't have time to cover in depth in lecture.

Reading for me is more time efficient than 1.5x videos, and it's easier to take notes when I don't need to pause the video. The effectiveness of this might depend on how comprehensive your MS's syllabus is though.

I'd still attend the first few weeks to meet people though; there's a somewhat short window in which that's easiest

 

[jqueb29]

Why would you advise everyone to attend class the first few weeks? Did it not work out for you?

The main reason is because you really need to get to know your classmates. The first few weeks is a great time to make new friends; cliques are largely formed for good after the first couple months.

Also I advise it because, while it doesn't work for most people, class attendance definitely helps about 25% of people. It's much easier to start out as a class goer and convert to home schooling than it is to do the opposite. Attending class at the beginning just helps you ease your way into things, it's really an intangible thing to describe how but it definitely does.

Like I said, I went to zero optional lectures after the first 3 months, but I would still very much recommend going at first.

 

[neoevolution]

The main reason is because you really need to get to know your classmates. The first few weeks is a great time to make new friends; cliques are largely formed for good after the first couple months.

The cliquiness factor is definitely one of the weirder things in med school. Our school has a dorm that most first years stay in, but we still rarely mix social groups unless it's a post-exam event that's on our class FB page. I feel like it also creates a difficult situation for those who don't mesh into a group early on if they want to branch out later on, but I don't know if there's much that the school can do to alleviate that.

 

[rimbleton]

As others have said, you have to do what works for you. I will recommend at least going for the first couple weeks just to get a feel for things, but if you already hate being in the classroom to learn then you will quickly stop going. Yes, med school is different from undergrad, but your study habits will probably be somewhat similar.

With that said, I started out by going to every lecture because I just felt like it was what I was supposed to do. Med school is this scary, new thing and you want to hit the ground running. But honestly, I was like you...I hated being in class, more often I would daydream or start online shopping for random crap. So I stopped going, and it was awesome!

Suddenly I had a lot of free time to spend with my wife, workout, study, etc. It was still like a job to me, except it was a job where I made my own hours and usually slept in every day. And I still managed to do very well in my classes and on exams.

My point is, if you feel like you do not need to be in class, then simply don't go. You need to learn the material to the best of your ability, not by anyone else's methods.

 

[lymphocyte]

The cliquiness factor is definitely one of the weirder things in med school.

+1. It's worse than high school. Recognise it for what it is and participate if that's your thing but don't feel obligated.

I've been happy in medical school with zero social events attended and 10 or so very close friends. Also frankly many medical students are awful to be around (I love you guys, but it's true): they generally have nothing interesting going on in their lives that isn't related to medicine; they grapple with bizzare interpersonal drama that normal people seem to handle just fine; they stress you the **** out during exam times; and AOA election (from what I've heard) can get all Game of Thrones at some schools.

Just do what feels comfortable for you, especially if that means not struggling to "fit in."

 

[managedcarefin]

This is going to be harsh but I apologize in advance.

Why are you asking random people for advice who know absolutely nothing about you? The question you asked is extremely personal to the way your brain works and no one here could possibility know better than you how it works. Now I could understand if you were looking weigh pros & cons about not going to class but this question has been beaten to death on this site a quick search would have netted you numerous threads.

 

[lymphocyte]

This is going to be harsh but I apologize in advance.

Why are you asking random people for advice who know absolutely nothing about you? The question you asked is extremely personal to the way your brain works and no one here could possibility know better than you how it works. Now I could understand if you were looking weigh pros & cons about not going to class but this question has been beaten to death on this site a quick search would have netted you numerous threads.

Isn't that the whole point of SDN? Random people asking advice from strangers? Presumably we're all in medicine (or dentistry or public health or audiology or physiotherapy or social work or research or premedical or pre-pre medical), but if somebody asks a fair question, why be harsh?

And actually, the question netted an interesting discussion about flipped classrooms, cliques in medical school, and what strategies have worked for others. Even @Goro stopped by. Goro! Who took the jelly out of your doughnut?

 

[Goro]

Jelly donuts? Can't stand them. Give a me a good old Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Honey Dipped or a Dutch Crumble one any day!

Isn't that the whole point of SDN? Random people asking advice from strangers? Presumably we're all in medicine (or dentistry or public health or audiology or physiotherapy or social work or research or premedical or pre-pre medical), but if somebody asks a fair question, why be harsh?

And actually, the question netted an interesting discussion about flipped classrooms, cliques in medical school, and what strategies have worked for others. Even @Goro stopped by. Goro! Who took the jelly out of your doughnut?

 

[LostinLift]

I hate lectures. I keep hearing that it will be different in medical school, but I really hate lectures. I'm planning to go for the first couple of weeks to make friends and scope out some decent study partners, and then I'll be home school med school from that point on.

They're not. Some lectures are worth watching. These lectures are all better viewed at home while sitting in PJs watching on 1.5-2x speed. Go if you want, socialize a bit at the start of the year, then enjoy the freedom of choosing (mostly) your own schedule.

 

[Lee Ik-jun MD]

Jelly donuts? Can't stand them. Give a me a good old Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Honey Dipped or a Dutch Crumble one any day!

Dunkin Donuts, especially their coffee is what i truly miss here in the West coast.
Honey dew is a close second.
back home, you'll find one in every corner.
LA people don't know what they're missing.
( not really a fan of Pete's coffee, Seattle's best, Etc)
Coffee Bean is alright!

and coffee goes well while listening/watching lectures 🙂

 

[LilySmith]

I think you should try going to the class for some time and then if it really won't work for you go back to the way you get used to.

 

[LaurenMD]

Y-you don't? We've got class eight to four with an hour for lunch, five days a week. I thought this was standard.

During pre-clinical, we were only there until 5 about two days a week (sometimes only one). The other days, we were done somewhere between 12 and 2.

 

[iDOliveinMD]

On average how many hours a week are spent in required labs during M1?

 

[Lee Ik-jun MD]

We rescued a puppy during my M1.
Best decision ever. He was with us for the next 14 years.
my girlfriend, who's also an M1 shared responsibility with our little puppy.

A pet is not for everyone, even if you're not in medschool

 

[kmp0410]

On average how many hours a week are spent in required labs during M1?

Depends on your school. We basically had only 2 per week in lab. 4 in doctoring. There will be various other required things at times as well. People who do anatomy lab over a block and not a year obviously spend much more time in anatomy lab per week than we did.

But to the OP: No, but you should watch the lectures at home. 2x speed lectures is (imo) the most efficient way to do things, since you are already that way with your learning I would embrace it. Most people get there eventually. I wouldn't go to the extreme though and totally disregard lectures. Silly to ignore the people writing your test questions. Many will emphasize what's important and not. A good example of this is whole Biochem pathways where they want you to know a step or two.


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[NeuroMaster316]

I went to all my classes (all are mandatory), and at first I was taking notes and studying the lectures and the notes and listening to recordings etc... That helped me with nothing at all... Instead I realized studying on my own was the best way and was way more rewarding.... I then stopped taking notes and instead started watching series in class, listening to music, browsing the interweb....
My point is unless you have an exceptional teacher, it's not worth it to waste your time on plebs...