Simulating med school studying?

[glassesvar]

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I always hear the “drinking water from a fire hose” and eating pancakes analogy, but I’ve never actually seen the amount of material med students are required to learn in x amount of time. Is there anywhere online that I’d be able to find for example, all of the lecture slides/material for 1 block at a med school? I’m just really curious to see exactly how much info it is and the depth of it.

 

[Catalystik]

I always hear the “drinking water from a fire hose” and eating pancakes analogy, but I’ve never actually seen the amount of material med students are required to learn in x amount of time. Is there anywhere online that I’d be able to find for example, all of the lecture slides/material for 1 block at a med school? I’m just really curious to see exactly how much info it is and the depth of it.

Just learn all of Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry in 6 weeks, and you'll get a feel for a traditional curriculum. Don't forget, you'd be taking other classes at the same time: Anatomy, Physiology, etc.

 

[deleted964050]

It's really difficult to get a sense of how intense medical school is without actually slogging through it. Luckily, the human mind is extremely malleable, and amazingly, will response well to the increased stress that you apply to it. Medical school has a special way of applying stress from an external sense-it would be hard to apply that same pressure on the self without outside forces.

In short-when you get in, stay committed, study daily, and you'll make it!

 

[MarineMDHopeful]

I haven't had much trouble. Maybe an hour to 2 hours of studying 3x a week and I am good. I think it depends on the person. I internalize 90%+ of the lecture as uts veing given and then work on the other little parts when necessary.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

I’ve never actually seen the amount of material med students are required to learn in x amount of time.

And you won't unless you are in medical school. I suppose I can try to give you an example though. In 2.5 weeks of lectures and small groups (but only 7 days total) we covered glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, citric acid cycle, glycogen formation and storage diseases, and mitochondrial genetics and diseases. During that same time we had a test over the entire thorax and abdomen, then learned the perineum and pelvis which includes genitals, rectum, ****loads of neurovascular stuff, physiology of reproductive organs, embryology of reproductive organs and urinary systems, histology of reproductive and urinary systems, radiology of the pelvis, and we started on lower limb stuff. During this same time frame we also had 1 group presentation (very easy, took maybe 30 minutes of my time) and 3 hours of mandatory practice on history taking each week.

Overall this was approximately 50 hours of classes, of which about 30 was mandatory.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Is medical school any more or less intense than the Navy's nuclear officer program?

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Is medical school any more or less intense than the Navy's nuclear officer program?

How would anyone except a nuke who later became a doctor know that? And why do you expect to find them by throwing this question out into the ether?

 

[965978]

It's really difficult to get a sense of how intense medical school is without actually slogging through it. Luckily, the human mind is extremely malleable, and amazingly, will response well to the increased stress that you apply to it. Medical school has a special way of applying stress from an external sense-it would be hard to apply that same pressure on the self without outside forces.

In short-when you get in, stay committed, study daily, and you'll make it!

Oddly enough this made a lot of sense haha

 

[Mike Bagwell]

I would actually try and attempt the pancake analogy if you can stomach it. Try and eat 15 pancakes every day with a little syrup for 7 days and see how it goes.

That's really what med school is. You have X amount of work/studying that you MUST complete each day to stay above water and if you fall behind, that work gets tacked on to the next days work. If you miss a few days, you're pretty much in a position that you can't recover from. So if you skip two days with the pancakes, try eating 45 pancakes the next day. It's almost impossible because you will feel sick.

You can't recreate med school at the undergraduate level. In undergrad, you are learning things that you don't need in medical school and the things that you do need are not taught at the level that is expected at medical school.

Honestly, the closest you can get to recreating the mental pressure is to take five lab sciences a term and then get a minimum of a B+ in all of them.

 

[glassesvar]

I would actually try and attempt the pancake analogy if you can stomach it. Try and eat 15 pancakes every day with a little syrup for 7 days and see how it goes.

That's really what med school is. You have X amount of work/studying that you MUST complete each day to stay above water and if you fall behind, that work gets tacked on to the next days work. If you miss a few days, you're pretty much in a position that you can't recover from. So if you skip two days with the pancakes, try eating 45 pancakes the next day. It's almost impossible because you will feel sick.

You can't recreate med school at the undergraduate level. In undergrad, you are learning things that you don't need in medical school and the things that you do need are not taught at the level that is expected at medical school.

Honestly, the closest you can get to recreating the mental pressure is to take five lab sciences a term and then get a minimum of a B+ in all of them.

The reason I asked this question is because I want to see what it would be like for me specifically. For example, there are certain classes at my school that are notorious for being extremely hard and time consuming. Literally every student bitches and moans about them, even the ones that do well. But I find myself not really struggling or putting in as much time as a lot of other people.

Also, I feel like the pancake analogy doesn’t really apply to every medical student. I was talking to a med student during an event we had at our university. She said she actually has way more free time in med school, and that the studying burden is way overhyped. She said she just studied 2-3 hours a day and is even able to skip some days and doesn’t really feel that stressed. This is at a pretty reputable mid tier MD school. So it seems like while a lot of med students struggle, there are also some that don’t. I guess I just wanted to try and gauge which type I would be.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

The reason I asked this question is because I want to see what it would be like for me specifically. For example, there are certain classes at my school that are notorious for being extremely hard and time consuming. Literally every student bitches and moans about them, even the ones that do well. But I find myself not really struggling or putting in as much time as a lot of other people.

Also, I feel like the pancake analogy doesn’t really apply to every medical student. I was talking to a med student during an event we had at our university. She said she actually has way more free time in med school, and that the studying burden is way overhyped. She said she just studied 2-3 hours a day and is even able to skip some days and doesn’t really feel that stressed. This is at a pretty reputable mid tier MD school. So it seems like while a lot of med students struggle, there are also some that don’t. I guess I just wanted to try and gauge which type I would be.

That med student sounds like a lot like me (except I'm a guy). I got away with studying only a couple of hours a day and got great grades to match. But I had classmates who would study for most of the day, every day.

All in all, it's multifactorial. Some med students will not struggle, others will struggle greatly. You really won't know until you actually take a med school class and feel that pressure. Perhaps you'll be one of those students who won't find medical school that bad. I certainly didn't.

 

[907914]

The reason I asked this question is because I want to see what it would be like for me specifically. For example, there are certain classes at my school that are notorious for being extremely hard and time consuming. Literally every student bitches and moans about them, even the ones that do well. But I find myself not really struggling or putting in as much time as a lot of other people.

Also, I feel like the pancake analogy doesn’t really apply to every medical student. I was talking to a med student during an event we had at our university. She said she actually has way more free time in med school, and that the studying burden is way overhyped. She said she just studied 2-3 hours a day and is even able to skip some days and doesn’t really feel that stressed. This is at a pretty reputable mid tier MD school. So it seems like while a lot of med students struggle, there are also some that don’t. I guess I just wanted to try and gauge which type I would be.

And it is just that: different for everyone. You won’t know for yourself until you are in it.

I have not yet applied, but I know my time in the military had a section that was the equivalent of 40 semester hours in 6 months with 3 hours of military activities on top of it. I personally know I spent around 50 hours a week in mandatory classes, did my military activities, and did jack for studying - just golfing and video games. Still got a 3.4 out of the whole thing and passed licensure. Basing off of that, I know medical school for me will be somewhere around 30-40 hours a week (with the occasional 60) and I will come out in the STEP score of 240ish range unless I put in more effort.

Then there are some people who will need to study 80 hours a week because they just can’t do well without it. Then there are others who will need less time, merely read the book, do the flash cards for the day and call it good. At that, the quality and type of residency you want to go to will also affect you. If you are the “show up and do well” kind of person, 20 hours a week will probably get you in to Path/EM but you will still need 50 hours a week for ortho. If you are the 80 hours a week kind of person just to scrape by...well then IM is your ballpark. It is so person specific that you really cannot quanitfy Medical school.

 

[sunshinefl]

Imagine undergrad finals week if you took 5 science courses plus associated labs, plus a foreign language course with oral exam, plus a humanities course essay exam=normal week of medical school studying, stress, lack of time, and feeling sick.

Now during exam weeks.... exponentially worse.

 

[907914]

Imagine undergrad finals week if you took 5 science courses plus associated labs, plus a foreign language course with oral exam, plus a humanities course essay exam=normal week of medical school studying, stress, lack of time, and feeling sick.

Now during exam weeks.... exponentially worse.

On this note, however - unlike undergrad, everything in medical school is through the same lense and is all interconnected. The volume is substantial, but the topics aren’t like undergrad where it ranges from Diels alder reaction to the conquest of Afro-Asia by the Moors. You will be tested on a large substantial volume of information...but the specifics of one thing are related to the general concepts of another.

 

[sunshinefl]

On this note, however - unlike undergrad, everything in medical school is through the same lense and is all interconnected. The volume is substantial, but the topics aren’t like undergrad where it ranges from Diels alder reaction to the conquest of Afro-Asia by the Moors. You will be tested on a large substantial volume of information...but the specifics of one thing are related to the general concepts of another.

That’s true.

 

[Isoval]

Pick one of your science classes with two halves (Gen Chem 1/2, Ochem 1/2, etc.).

Take every slide set they’ve ever given you.

Now learn both semesters in three or four weeks.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Basing off of that, I know medical school for me will be somewhere around 30-40 hours a week (with the occasional 60) and I will come out in the STEP score of 240ish range unless I put in more effort.

Then there are some people who will need to study 80 hours a week because they just can’t do well without it. Then there are others who will need less time, merely read the book, do the flash cards for the day and call it good. At that, the quality and type of residency you want to go to will also affect you. If you are the “show up and do well” kind of person, 20 hours a week will probably get you in to Path/EM but you will still need 50 hours a week for ortho. If you are the 80 hours a week kind of person just to scrape by...well then IM is your ballpark. It is so person specific that you really cannot quanitfy Medical school.

Are you really trying to say that you are predicting your Step score without even being in medical school based on a completely different type of education and how much time you put in? This might be the most ignorant thing I have ever heard in my entire life.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

Would it be possible for any current med students to upload any of their current class powerpoints? Tell us what else you're taking and how long you have to learn this material

 

[redsox93]

And it is just that: different for everyone. You won’t know for yourself until you are in it.

I have not yet applied, but I know my time in the military had a section that was the equivalent of 40 semester hours in 6 months with 3 hours of military activities on top of it. I personally know I spent around 50 hours a week in mandatory classes, did my military activities, and did jack for studying - just golfing and video games. Still got a 3.4 out of the whole thing and passed licensure. Basing off of that, I know medical school for me will be somewhere around 30-40 hours a week (with the occasional 60) and I will come out in the STEP score of 240ish range unless I put in more effort.

Then there are some people who will need to study 80 hours a week because they just can’t do well without it. Then there are others who will need less time, merely read the book, do the flash cards for the day and call it good. At that, the quality and type of residency you want to go to will also affect you. If you are the “show up and do well” kind of person, 20 hours a week will probably get you in to Path/EM but you will still need 50 hours a week for ortho. If you are the 80 hours a week kind of person just to scrape by...well then IM is your ballpark. It is so person specific that you really cannot quanitfy Medical school.

Hasn’t applied but predicting 240s step score hahahahaha wtf

 

[redsox93]

Would it be possible for any current med students to upload any of their current class powerpoints? Tell us what else you're taking and how long you have to learn this material

What would this do for you? Every med school has a different curriculum. I never read a single PowerPoint the first two years my school had NBME exams so I could just use board relevant stuff. It doesn’t matter how much info there is it’s how efficient you are with learning it. Some people can watch a video once and understand it. I usually had to watch them twice before everything stuck. So that doubled my time learning the material.

 

[sunshinefl]

And as far as anatomy goes (not physiology, just the anatomy parts) 90% of it follows the same naming conventions: It will be the distal/proximal/inferior/superior bunch-o-Latin-roots. Again, lots and lots of volume, but just knowing naming conventions and a few Latin roots you can derive the right answer (there are some things named after the guy that found it, or Germanic roots instead of Latin, or it was named after a horse... but most is patterns).

This same principle applies to everything in the basic sciences of medical school - knowing what the enzyme types are let’s you figure out what the thing does based on its name without having to actually learn what it does. Learning what triggers insulin to be released and what different tissues do can allow you to infer what the effects of insulin are in different tissues...and so on.

Everyone on here exclaims how difficult Medical school is...but you realize that if 95% of people who get in to medical school go on to become attending physicians, it really can’t be that hard. I am by no means suggesting medical school is easy, however it is not MED school itself that is difficult - it is what you challenge yourself to do in it that makes it difficult. It is not that the information is hard or that you can only do well by always studying...it is that there is always something that you can be studying. You don’t have to study everything, you just can. And if you plan your school list well, ensuring that you only apply to unranked P/F for preclinical, you will find yourself in a position where if you just don’t want to study anymore then you can stop and go for a hike without any added stress of thinking you will fall behind.

Okay when you replied to my first post I gave you that yes they are all related. Then you replied to that with this whole monologue talking down to me about how medical school isn’t that hard which I ignored, thinking you were just a medical student who was exaggerating or just speaking to your subjectively easier experience. Now I find out you are a premed disagreeing with me, an M2, about how much studying is involved in medical school on a thread asking for medical students to inform OP about medical school.

Yes, it is ignorant and naive and I know my pre-MED is showing. But I know that all else equal in every activity I have done (with SAT, MCAT, National licensure exam(s), academia etc) I have provided the same proportional* effort in all aspects (key words ‘proportional effort’) and have always consistently fallen in the 88th to 92nd percentile. When I provide no effort in something I am at least familiar with I fall in the high 70s percentile and when I provide maximum effort I never fall below the 94th percentile and never budge the 96th percentile. While medical school is completely different from undergrad which was completely different from military schooling which was completely different from high school and so on, regardless of the field, educational environment etc. my performance is extraordinarily consistent. It may come off as ignorance, but I am comfortable with my level of performance.

The field of people you are competing against for your precious percentiles is different on STEP than on the MCAT. The others also (mostly) did very well on the MCAT.

Would it be possible for any current med students to upload any of their current class powerpoints? Tell us what else you're taking and how long you have to learn this material

I don’t know about others and I would love to help, BUT we are forbidden from sharing course lecture material. It’s a serious violation. Every time I login to my school account to view lectures I am “attesting that I am the student enrolled in this course.......”. Just to reiterate this is to view lectures, not take exams.

 

[907914]

Hasn’t applied but predicting 240s step score hahahahaha wtf

240 is like the 67th percentile...that is not a hard score to achieve...That is like a 506 on the MCAT. I know they are completely and not-at-all comparable exams...but you can be fairly confident knowing what kind of student you are.

So comparing to the pool of MED students, the 67th percentile if those who are accepted is going to be around a 514. Which still isn’t that difficult. I am sorry that my arrogance is interrupting the thread, I will delete the rest of the posts and stop replying.

 

[Jaxey]

Pick one of your science classes with two halves (Gen Chem 1/2, Ochem 1/2, etc.).

Take every slide set they’ve ever given you.

Now learn it in three weeks.

This is probably the most accurate comparison I have seen on this thread.

 

[Mike Bagwell]

The reason I asked this question is because I want to see what it would be like for me specifically. For example, there are certain classes at my school that are notorious for being extremely hard and time consuming. Literally every student bitches and moans about them, even the ones that do well. But I find myself not really struggling or putting in as much time as a lot of other people.

Also, I feel like the pancake analogy doesn’t really apply to every medical student. I was talking to a med student during an event we had at our university. She said she actually has way more free time in med school, and that the studying burden is way overhyped. She said she just studied 2-3 hours a day and is even able to skip some days and doesn’t really feel that stressed. This is at a pretty reputable mid tier MD school. So it seems like while a lot of med students struggle, there are also some that don’t. I guess I just wanted to try and gauge which type I would be.

If you think you’re going to study 2-3 hours a day in medical school and then take STEP 1, you are only kidding yourself.

I suggest you do what I said with the pancakes. It might sound funny but that is what you will experience in medical school.

Undergrad in no way, shape, or form resembles medical school.

 

[931408]

240 is like the 67th percentile...that is not a hard score to achieve...That is like a 506 on the MCAT. I know they are completely and not-at-all comparable exams...but you can be fairly confident knowing what kind of student you are.

So comparing to the pool of MED students, the 67th percentile if those who are accepted is going to be around a 514. Which still isn’t that difficult. I am sorry that my arrogance is interrupting the thread, I will delete the rest of the posts and stop replying.

My friend had a 37 MCAT and couldn't break a 240. A 240 is not a joke and is not like a 506 on the MCAT. The people who are taking the STEP are extremely bright students - don't just take the raw percentile and make judgments on a score range.

Honestly, man, you need to first take the MCAT, then apply to med school, and then gain some sense of humility. If you clear that, then you can come back and tell us about what STEP score is appropriate. I understand that you were in the military, and many thanks for your service. But, you make too many condescending remarks about scores without even taking the exams for yourself, both in this thread and the thread where you asked us to help you make a list of med schools before even taking the MCAT. Even if you took the exams, do you understand that those around you have various strengths/weaknesses or different educational backgrounds? It's really not that simple.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

"Yes, it is ignorant and naive and I know my pre-MED is showing. But I know that all else equal in every activity I have done (with SAT, MCAT, National licensure exam(s), academia etc) I have provided the same proportional* effort in all aspects (key words ‘proportional effort’) and have always consistently fallen in the 88th to 92nd percentile. When I provide no effort in something I am at least familiar with I fall in the high 70s percentile and when I provide maximum effort I never fall below the 94th percentile and never budge the 96th percentile. While medical school is completely different from undergrad which was completely different from military schooling which was completely different from high school and so on, regardless of the field, educational environment etc. my performance is extraordinarily consistent. It may come off as ignorance, but I am comfortable with my level of performance."

I just want the above preserved because a comment was made about deleting everything and it looks like you already deleted that.

240 is like the 67th percentile...that is not a hard score to achieve...That is like a 506 on the MCAT. I know they are completely and not-at-all comparable exams...but you can be fairly confident knowing what kind of student you are.

So comparing to the pool of MED students, the 67th percentile if those who are accepted is going to be around a 514. Which still isn’t that difficult. I am sorry that my arrogance is interrupting the thread, I will delete the rest of the posts and stop replying.

Glad you think a 514 and a 240 are not difficult. Let me know how studying a few hours a day and then getting those scores goes.

 

[907914]

"Yes, it is ignorant and naive and I know my pre-MED is showing. But I know that all else equal in every activity I have done (with SAT, MCAT, National licensure exam(s), academia etc) I have provided the same proportional* effort in all aspects (key words ‘proportional effort’) and have always consistently fallen in the 88th to 92nd percentile. When I provide no effort in something I am at least familiar with I fall in the high 70s percentile and when I provide maximum effort I never fall below the 94th percentile and never budge the 96th percentile. While medical school is completely different from undergrad which was completely different from military schooling which was completely different from high school and so on, regardless of the field, educational environment etc. my performance is extraordinarily consistent. It may come off as ignorance, but I am comfortable with my level of performance."

I just want the above preserved because a comment was made about deleting everything and it looks like you already deleted that.


Glad you think a 514 and a 240 are not difficult. Let me know how studying a few hours a day and then getting those scores goes.

I have not said I study a few hours a day. In medical school I fully anticipate studying 8-10 hours a day. Right now, I go to all classes and I study for my classes about 2 hours a week per class because, for me, undergrad is not challenging. I also study about 3 hours every other day for the MCAT with weekends off. I have drill with the army, a wife and child, 10 hours of work per week and about 15 hours of research spread across 2 labs so there isn’t much other time to study, although I would like to study more. My baseline AAMC FL1 was 510 before I started dedicated MCAT time. FL2 was a 514 2 weeks later and FL3 was a 519 with a month of my study schedule and the mistakes I am making are very simple either content based or unit conversion based errors that I will have mostly under control by my real test. Like my post above says that you quoted (which is fine, I said what I meant and only deleted so as to avoid future interruptions of the thread like this...) I am comfortable knowing where I fall in my abilities. If you send me a reminder come May first I will gladly post my score and if it isn’t at least a 512 as I anticipate then by all means I will eat my words. I guess I feel those scores are easy as none of my weaknesses have ever fallen in the acedemic or performative realms. It is an internal bias basing others perceived performances on my own and I will work on that and sop saying difficult things are easy. Thank you for correcting my mistake and I was wrong to make that judgement of putting my standards on others.

 

[skeptastic]

Pick one of your science classes with two halves (Gen Chem 1/2, Ochem 1/2, etc.).

Take every slide set they’ve ever given you.

Now learn it in three weeks.

Both semesters in 3 weeks, or one semester in 3 weeks? Either would still be insanely challenging.

 

[907914]

My friend had a 37 MCAT and couldn't break a 240. A 240 is not a joke and is not like a 506 on the MCAT. The people who are taking the STEP are extremely bright students - don't just take the raw percentile and make judgments on a score range.

Honestly, man, you need to first take the MCAT, then apply to med school, and then gain some sense of humility. If you clear that, then you can come back and tell us about what STEP score is appropriate. I understand that you were in the military, and many thanks for your service. But, you make too many condescending remarks about scores without even taking the exams for yourself, both in this thread and the thread where you asked us to help you make a list of med schools before even taking the MCAT. Even if you took the exams, do you understand that those around you have various strengths/weaknesses or different educational backgrounds? It's really not that simple.

No intent at condescension in this thread, I apologize and understand my mistake now. When academia and academic performance has never been a weak suit for me (save for needing 16 drafts to perfect a PS...) it is just difficult to understand how others have difficulty. Knowing where I fall on the spectrum and how I predict school will be does not help others. And that is why questions like OPs will be fruitless as the answer will vary so greatly from every individual.

Thank you for correcting my error/addressing I held bias and I will work to improve it.

 

[Isoval]

Both semesters in 3 weeks, or one semester in 3 weeks? Either would still be insanely challenging.

Both semesters in 3 weeks.

I’ll edit to clarify.

 

[redsox93]

240 is like the 67th percentile...that is not a hard score to achieve...That is like a 506 on the MCAT. I know they are completely and not-at-all comparable exams...but you can be fairly confident knowing what kind of student you are.

So comparing to the pool of MED students, the 67th percentile if those who are accepted is going to be around a 514. Which still isn’t that difficult. I am sorry that my arrogance is interrupting the thread, I will delete the rest of the posts and stop replying.

240 is a score that makes you relatively competitive for any field except derm/plastics and those fields. And with decent step 2 and research those are even attainable. It is definitely not an easy score to obtain. People score >90th percentile MCAT and struggle to break 230. And people score 505 MCATs and get 260s, they are not comparable at all. This probably won’t sway you're opinion and it’s just something you’ll have to realize in medical school.

 

[skeptastic]

Both semesters in 3 weeks.

I’ll edit to clarify.

Nutty! I don't care how confident one is... that is astonishing, haha.

 

[907914]

240 is a score that makes you relatively competitive for any field except derm/plastics and those fields. And with decent step 2 and research those are even attainable. It is definitely not an easy score to obtain. People score >90th percentile MCAT and struggle to break 230. And people score 505 MCATs and get 260s, they are not comparable at all. This probably won’t sway you're opinion and it’s just something you’ll have to realize in medical school.

Nah, I understand the tests are not comparable which is why is was foolish to compare them in the first place. The MCAT/STEP correlation is a very low correlation and the two tests will test vastly different things.

 

[Mike Bagwell]

I think the bigger idea here is to help some of these pre-med's see what it is like to be medical students because some are obviously not aware of what is ahead or are grossly misinformed.

Here are a few more bits of advice in addition to the pancake analogy which every pre-med should try if they are up to it.

1. Imagine listening to an undergrad lecture and then having to master that lecture that evening. You don't get another day for that one lecture. You have to master it that evening. Now take that one lecture and master three more.

2. Not having the liberty to read your textbook. Sure, you can read your text but you will be taking away very valuable time from your slides.
Read that textbook in undergrad because you won't have that freedom in medical school.

3. Imagine taking every single test and feeling, at best, that you just passed. In undergrad you can study the material inside and out and pretty much predict if you will get an A or even a 100 on an exam. That feeling will NEVER happen in medical school.

4. You will have to accept that you did good enough. You will never have that feeling of "knowing everything."

5. Wondering at least a few times a week as to why you are doing this in the first place.

 

[Gurby]

I always hear the “drinking water from a fire hose” and eating pancakes analogy, but I’ve never actually seen the amount of material med students are required to learn in x amount of time. Is there anywhere online that I’d be able to find for example, all of the lecture slides/material for 1 block at a med school? I’m just really curious to see exactly how much info it is and the depth of it.

If you want to see what the firehose is like it's really not hard:

Download Zanki for free here: www.reddit.com/r/medicalschoolanki/comments/6cx6be/zanki_original/

At this point I'm ~14 months into my medical school career and have learned ~32000 flash cards = ~2300 new cards/month = ~80 new cards/day.

It might be a reasonable approximation to do 200 new cards per day for a week, since you won't have a pile of old cards to review each day.

Or you could also not do that, because it'd be a big waste of time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[redsox93]

If you want to see what the firehose is like it's really not hard:

Download Zanki for free here: www.reddit.com/r/medicalschoolanki/comments/6cx6be/zanki_original/

At this point I'm ~14 months into my medical school career and have learned ~32000 flash cards = ~2300 new cards/month = ~80 new cards/day.

It might be a reasonable approximation to do 200 new cards per day for a week, since you won't have a pile of old cards to review each day.

Or you could also not do that, because it'd be a big waste of time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you can do all of zanki plus sketchy micro and pharm and there will still be questions on step you’ve never seen before haha.

 

[SouthernGent]

Is medical school any more or less intense than the Navy's nuclear officer program?

I know a nuke who became a doc. Dude was f*ing nuts, and not in the good way.

240 is like the 67th percentile...that is not a hard score to achieve...That is like a 506 on the MCAT. I know they are completely and not-at-all comparable exams...but you can be fairly confident knowing what kind of student you are.

So comparing to the pool of MED students, the 67th percentile if those who are accepted is going to be around a 514. Which still isn’t that difficult. I am sorry that my arrogance is interrupting the thread, I will delete the rest of the posts and stop replying.

You are comparing all-state athletes to olympians. STEP makes the MCAT look like a freshman bio exam. Don't talk about something that you don't actually know about.

Sincerely, a very bitter M2 studying for STEP

 

[glassesvar]

Would it be possible for any current med students to upload any of their current class powerpoints? Tell us what else you're taking and how long you have to learn this material

Yes I would be very interested in seeing something like this as well, and I think a lot of other premeds would be too. I'm surprised this resource doesn't exist.

 

[Mike Bagwell]

Yes I would be very interested in seeing something like this as well, and I think a lot of other premeds would be too. I'm surprised this resource doesn't exist.

There's probably some legal aspect associated to that as those slides are the property of the school.

Why are you pre-med's so thick headed? Just listen to what you are being told and be grateful. Eating those pancakes is the absolute best way for you to understand what you will see in medical school. You can stare at random slides and pretend you know the material but you haven't taken a test on it.

 

[glassesvar]

Pick one of your science classes with two halves (Gen Chem 1/2, Ochem 1/2, etc.).

Take every slide set they’ve ever given you.

Now learn both semesters in three or four weeks.

Not to sound cocky but this honestly doesn't seem that bad if you don't have other obligations like ECs, volunteering, etc...

 

[redsox93]

All I’ve gotten from this thread is that premeds know more about med school than med students haha.

 

[Gurby]

Not to sound cocky but this honestly doesn't seem that bad if you don't have other obligations like ECs, volunteering, etc...

It really isn't so bad.
At least for me, the suck is all self-inflicted. At least for M1/M2 - the clinical years may be different.

If I was trying to pass by the skin of my teeth and was aiming for a 200 on Step 1, I bet I could do it with 10-15 hours/week including class time.

But I end up putting in more like 60-70 hours/week because I'm trying to drop a 260 and get a bunch of research done along the way. And also because I enjoy learning the material and want to become a good doctor.

Really it comes down to your ability level and your goals: if you 1) are smarter/more efficient than me or 2) are not aiming as high, then your med school experience will be proportionally more relaxed than mine.

Now it's 11:30pm and I wasted 10 minutes writing this useless post... I still want to get through 1 more chart review for a project I'm working on, and get some sleep before 8am class tomorrow...

 

[Mike Bagwell]

Here's a final tip for the pre-med's. Go buy First Aid. Imagine memorizing every single page and know every single thing on each page inside and out. If you can do that then...maybe you will just barely pass STEP 1.

Hint: Nobody wants to just pass STEP 1

 

[907914]

Here's a final tip for the pre-med's. Go buy First Aid. Imagine memorizing every single page and know every single thing on each page inside and out. If you can do that then...maybe you will just barely pass STEP 1.

Hint: Nobody wants to just pass STEP 1

Tangential question, what is "First Aid," as it applies to STEP 1? I assume based on your comment it is not a 'comprehensive guide' sort of thing. I know First aid is the standard for the med-student's pocket book, but how does the information within apply to STEP 1?

 

[Jaxey]

Tangential question, what is "First Aid," as it applies to STEP 1? I assume based on your comment it is not a 'comprehensive guide' sort of thing. I know First aid is the standard for the med-student's pocket book, but how does the information within apply to STEP 1?

First Aid is the prep book for the STEP. It has most topics that you should know for STEP. However, there is a reason most students annotate it. It does not go in too much of a detail, more of a skim through topics. And even if you know everything in the FA, STEP still will have questions that were not covered.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Not to sound cocky but this honestly doesn't seem that bad if you don't have other obligations like ECs, volunteering, etc...

I wouldn’t say it doesn’t sound grueling, but I agree that it will be nice not to be working 48 hrs a week as a crit care nurse, taking uni classes, volunteering, and trying to chase down doctors to shadow. It’s trying to fit all the random pieces together that is hard for me. Keeping my patients alive while writing papers and studying the sciences, lol.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

1. Imagine listening to an undergrad lecture and then having to master that lecture that evening. You don't get another day for that one lecture. You have to master it that evening. Now take that one lecture and master three more.

This is such a huge one for me. I really want to be able to go back and re-examine the slides from the day before but you have new material piling up. If you struggle with a concept, you have to add a review of that to the next day's slides/pages/cards/lab which you have to master as well. Larger exams are hell because you have to assume that you knew most the material the first pass (even though you know there are things your forgot or missed) because you won't get through a thorough review of all of anatomy in the 2 days you have between your last block exam and your final exam.

Then add the overarching stress of knowing you will have to dredge up material from months or year+ back for Step...

 

[Jaxey]

I wouldn’t say it doesn’t sound grueling, but I agree that it will be nice not to be working 48 hrs a week as a crit care nurse, taking uni classes, volunteering, and trying to chase down doctors to shadow. It’s trying to fit all the random pieces together that is hard for me. Keeping my patients alive while writing papers and studying the sciences, lol.

That's what I thought before school started. It's not that med school is easier or harder than working, going to UG, and doing all EC's. It's just different kind of suck. Apples and oranges

 

[Isoval]

Not to sound cocky but this honestly doesn't seem that bad if you don't have other obligations like ECs, volunteering, etc...

I never claimed it was bad. I still have plenty of free time in my personal experiences. But, for the record, you are expected to engage in ECs same as undergrad in preparation for residency.

You asked what medical school is like, so I told you.

 

[bioboy23]

SDN gonna SDN lol

OP, I don’t think we really want to see what is required in med school. We probably wouldn’t care for it much. Just let it be a fun little surprise 🙂