Slackers asking for notes

[osli]

And OSUdoc: you should start writing in haiku. You're almost there as it is, and at least that way we would know *some* thought went into your post, even if it's not evident by content.

What a lack of class. It saddens me to think that I'm going to continue to run into people like this my whole life.

For the record, I'd send copies of my notes in a heartbeat. I've missed classes for good reasons and bad, and many times people have been kind enough to offer their notes to me before even having asked them. Just the other day an older girl in my lab realized that I had missed class the other day (was on an interview, but she had no idea where I'd been) and that a test was just around the corner. She told me she'd be happy to send them to me by email and I gave her my address. I had expected that she routinely types up or scans her notes, and that it wouldn't be any trouble to quickly send them by email; in fact, they were all handwritten and she took the time to type them into the body of the email.

She is married, as am I, so I'm pretty sure there weren't any ulterior motives for the display of kindness.

This is why I'm a nice person. I remember those who have been nice to me - not the people specifically, but just that there have been people who didn't know me from beans and did something nice. For that reason, everyone is my class is always welcomed to my notes, regardless of their reason for missing. I've partied and missed class before, and I'm not going to hold it against someone else who did the same. I'm going to still make a good grade, and if they do I feel all the better. If I have time, I'll help them study.

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[OSUdoc08]

Having the notes will not substitute for missing the class. Don't worry things will work out according to the amount of effort each person puts in. But there is no reason to be cruel.

I don't see why they wouldn't if the person was taking good notes. You must go to a school that has an attendance policy.

 

[RayhanS1282]

I'd give it to them. I don't like burning bridges and you never know when you might need help.

 

[Bernito]

I don't see why they wouldn't if the person was taking good notes. You must go to a school that has an attendance policy.

You could skip every class as long as you had the notes from someone and expect to do as well as if you attended each class?

 

[Hoberto]

I used to be super friendly with notes and helping others with the homework and studying, but there are far too many people that don't go to class or don't pay attention in class. These people then want someone to hand them the notes, teach them the concepts and give them homework solutions. Now I only help out if the person I'm helping would reciprocate in some way.

***CAUTION ANECDOTAL STORY***
Where I am now, there is a group of students who have copies of several years of past notes, homeworks and exams. Some of the solutions they have are incomplete or incorrect and so, they will try to get the correct solutions from others outside their group. The problem is that they will not share their old material with anyone. Last year I freely gave my notes and homework solutions to members of this clique, now this year, when I could really benefit from seeing the exam questions in advance or getting some complete solutions for the homeworks no one will share their notes. Every once in a while I successfully complete an assignment and if someone finds out suddenly people from this group are knocking down my lab door looking for help. Well, tough ****. (This is in graduate school. No one is pre-med. There is no curve.) Why should I share when they never reciprocate?
***STORY OVER***

So, if this person is your friend and would give you the notes in a similar situation, I say give him the notes. If he will never be able to help you out or would refuse, then tell him to ask the professor for copies of the slides or notes. If there was a legitimate reason for skipping several weeks of class your friend should have no problem asking the instructor for help.

 

[Rendar5]

You could skip every class as long as you had the notes from someone and expect to do as well as if you attended each class?

in med school you can

 

[OSUdoc08]

You could skip every class as long as you had the notes from someone and expect to do as well as if you attended each class?

I don't attend lectures at my school, and have a 4.0

 

[totalcommand]

I used to be super friendly with notes and helping others with the homework and studying, but there are far too many people that don't go to class or don't pay attention in class. These people then want someone to hand them the notes, teach them the concepts and give them homework solutions. Now I only help out if the person I'm helping would reciprocate in some way.

***CAUTION ANECDOTAL STORY***
Where I am now, there is a group of students who have copies of several years of past notes, homeworks and exams. Some of the solutions they have are incomplete or incorrect and so, they will try to get the correct solutions from others outside their group. The problem is that they will not share their old material with anyone. Last year I freely gave my notes and homework solutions to members of this clique, now this year, when I could really benefit from seeing the exam questions in advance or getting some complete solutions for the homeworks no one will share their notes. Every once in a while I successfully complete an assignment and if someone finds out suddenly people from this group are knocking down my lab door looking for help. Well, tough ****. (This is in graduate school. No one is pre-med. There is no curve.) Why should I share when they never reciprocate?
***STORY OVER***

Getting the exam questions in advance is cheating buddy. That might be why nobody helped you. And he's not talking about homework, he's talking about notes. Notes aren't handed in or graded in any way...

So, if this person is your friend and would give you the notes in a similar situation, I say give him the notes. If he will never be able to help you out or would refuse, then tell him to ask the professor for copies of the slides or notes. If there was a legitimate reason for skipping several weeks of class your friend should have no problem asking the instructor for help.

They are just notes...chances are they won't make up for the time he missed anyways. I would give my notes to even people I disliked if they really needed it.

 

[lemonlite]

You obviously don't want to give them your notes. This is understandable. You worked hard, they had fun. Be it Ayn Rand or the Ant and the Grasshopper - it seems wrong to you for them to benifit from your hard work. It does not make you a bad person to feel this way - or for you not to give them your notes.

However, you need to do a cost benifit analysis. Ask yourself, "is following this principle worth losing this person's friendship?" If yes - do what you want. If no, give the notes - and don't feel bad about it - they are your friend. Because really, what are friends for - if not to be imposed upon? You may need a favor in the future. Ride to airport anyone?

(of course you wouldn't ask directly for the following - no tit for tat... as they say - but good vibes lead to these things......) Beers at the bar? Another's gratitude? A date (although notes alone won't get this) Invite to a party? Some symbolic membership to a club - that you could list on AMCAS...Their notes on some class you want to skip....

Not giving the notes will get you nothing good....

The only caveat - if these notes will be used for a paper - be careful your friend doesn't plagarize your ideas. - You could get in trouble.

I like to make summaries of my notes, and give them to strangers in the class - not because I am a nice or good person - as I might be - but because great notes are very valuable. and people are grateful.

- As for "money to be made" this is a very very bad idea - and will make people hate you.

 

[UCDavisdude]

at least it was ur friend, i was leaving review session when some girl ive never even seen before asked if it was ok if she borrow my notes. i said i didnt take notes. and skated away. she was hot though.

 

[banana k]

a friend of mine (a very good friend in fact, not a semi-enemy or a competitor) didn't take notes all semester for one class we had together, didn't revise or use the provided practice exams, then stayed at my house for three days during study week before the final exams and mooched off every single revision question and note set i'd written out. she ostensibly was going to handle the botany side of the class and i the zoology side, but she didn't. she did this to everyone in our group that year, mostly due to her being in an intense relationship at the time... man we were grotty with her, cos she really has never been willing to share much of anything with us even after that incident. BUT we forgave her, and i wound up kicking her ass in that class as proper and fitting revenge.

give your friend the notes. it's good karma. BUT make clear, perhaps with a laugh but a pointed look, that he or she owes you.

 

[_ian]

I understand completely. I may not want to give the notes up, either. People who just float through life piss me off-- education is something you EARN here, people!
However, I do think that you could use this to your advantage. Tell the friend that you don't think it's fair that they blew off the class and then expect you to just give the notes up. So tell them they can earn the notes from you. Like by back rubs and foot massages and washing your car and stuff. There's obviously stuff you COULD'VE been doing had you not been in class earning your grade. Figure out what you think they're worth and then barter. (Money seems a bit inethical)
As for those of you who think I'm a heartless bizitch for saying this: well, sure I am. I'm compassionate but NOT sympathetic. He who wants sympathy, get it elsewhere. He who wants me to help them help themselves? Well that's an entirely different story. I'm happy to help someone if they'll help me back. Otherwise, I'm not going to waste my time on time-burglars.
ALTRUISM is a facticious concept. If you disagree, you're probably lying to yourself.

Something that dinguses consistently have trouble understanding is that many people do not think like them.

 

[fiddler]

What would you do if your friend who hasn't been coming to class (non-science class) asks you for 2-3 weeks worth of notes right before a test/paper? Is this common practice for non-premeds since they are usually not graded on a curve? What's an appropriate way to say no to a friend?

I would just give it to them to make copies of. It takes a few minutes and it won't make any difference anyways.

Anyone who tries to cram for upper level science classes is an idiot. It never works so let them copy.

fiddler

 

[Saluki]

agive your friend the notes. it's good karma. BUT make clear, perhaps with a laugh but a pointed look, that he or she owes you.

I think the making it clear that they owe you kind of takes away from good karma... Give the notes with an open heart, not expecting anything in return. If they do end up helping you in the future, wonderful. If they don't, you don't feel wronged, because you weren't doing it in the hope of getting something back but because you have a generous heart, even with those who screw up in classes...

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Here's a question for you guys regarding something that happened to me. Say you had a friend who attended EVERY single class, but was a bad notetaker. She often asked to borrow your notes for 1/2 an hour after class to supplement her own. Do you lend them to her or say, "Sorry, but if you want good notes you should take your own."

PS - I was the note borrower.

of course not; people who attended class would ask me for my notes all the time; friend or not, i'd help them out. if they purposely didn't go to class b/c they wanted to sleep, it would bother me more....why should i consistently go to sleep on 0-3 hrs of sleep to take notes for all the slackers who wanted 8-10 hrs of sleep a night? I'd usually do it anyway but it was annoying, especially if they wanted it just before an exam and i needed them too.

I had a friend who expected sex from certain girls in exchange for his notes.

 

[oompa loompa]

of course not; people who attended class would ask me for my notes all the time; friend or not, i'd help them out. if they purposely didn't go to class b/c they wanted to sleep, it would bother me more....why should i consistently go to sleep on 0-3 hrs of sleep to take notes for all the slackers who wanted 8-10 hrs of sleep a night? I'd usually do it anyway but it was annoying, especially if they wanted it just before an exam and i needed them too.

I had a friend who expected sex from certain girls in exchange for his notes.

what's a wholesome God-fearing guy like you doing with that sleazebag friend?

I'm so jealous that you can survive on so little sleep....was it a gradually acquired trait--like from too much caffeine?--or just something inherent?

 

[dinesh]

I wouldn't help him/her.
If you dont' come to class...scrunt.

 

[Blisterpeanuts]

When people ask me for assistance (notes, recordings, help with problem sets) I give it to them. Why? Because it costs me nothing, except perhaps a little time.

Last year I recorded all my science lectures and compressed'em to MP3's that I could listen to while exercising or to capture points that I had missed whilst daydreaming.

Then a friend asked if he could have a recording, and before long I was uploading them every week to my web server and probably a dozen or 15 people were using them. I put a disclaimer that they were for my own use, for educational purposes only, not to be redistributed etc. etc.

This generated lots of good will, and people I previously had not met were coming up to me in class and saying "I hear you record the lectures... I was sick last week so..." etc. I'd just jot down the web address and hand it over. No skin off my nose. They still have the responsibility to learn the material.

When people ask me for help, I gladly give it to them. I'm no science whiz, but if I've worked through a problem and verified the answer against the key, then I feel pretty confident explaining it, and by explaining it I gain a deeper understanding of the question as well.

As for bad handwriting, well I'm really good at that; my handwriting is awful. But more and more as I get into science I realize that my notes ought to be so good that anyone can pick them up and learn the entire lecture from them. My diagrams should be clear, my annotations should accurately reflect what the teacher said, plus my own thoughts on each point, and so forth. So I strive to get to that.

I'm going into medicine because I want to help people, I'm a career changer from a more selfish field. I have no problem helping people and I never think of it as sponging. I don't even consider that they "owe" me something. It's good karma, it's good will, and some day as professionals we will expect our colleagues to give us consultations free of charge. Doctors can't be expected to know everything; they are constantly consulting each other to fill in the gaps. What's wrong with starting to build those professional relationships while still in school?

Sure, a few of these people are probably not going to make it in medical school because of their lax attitudes, but a lot of them will, and it's a small world, and you may end up working with them some day so why not be nice and refrain from being judgemental. You may be needing their help someday as well.

Leaders will help other people to succeed; followers need help to succeed. Ask yourself--are you a leader? Are you setting a good example if you refuse to help someone?

Just my 2 (or 20) cents' worth

 

[OSUdoc08]

I wouldn't help him/her.
If you dont' come to class...scrunt.

 

[dinesh]

Well that's your perogative. But I have had the unfortunate experiences of many people leaching off me and my notes in the past. It hasn't cost me anything except the fact that I was basically doing the work for them.

I would give notes 'sometimes', once it doesn't become a recurring situation.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Well that's your perogative. But I have had the unfortunate experiences of many people leaching off me and my notes in the past. It hasn't cost me anything except the fact that I was basically doing the work for them.

I would give notes 'sometimes', once it doesn't become a recurring situation.

You should get along with your classmates in medical school well.

 

[Darth Asclepius]

Leaders will help other people to succeed; followers need help to succeed. Ask yourself--are you a leader? Are you setting a good example if you refuse to help someone?

You'll do much better and be much happier in med school (and life) with that attitude.

 

[dinesh]

Actually I get along with my classmates very well.
I don't make it a habit to keep lending my notes the same person when I know they are simply not shownig up to class because they can 'depend' on their friend to get it for them.
It's not helping them in anyway.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Actually I get along with my classmates very well.
I don't make it a habit to keep lending my notes the same person when I know they are simply not shownig up to class because they can 'depend' on their friend to get it for them.
It's not helping them in anyway.

I was referring to medical school. You are obviously not in medical school yet, since you are so naiive.

 

[dinesh]

Ok

 

[Pretty POHA]

Is it just me or does the title of this thread say "Slackers" as the part of the people asking for notes? Yes, I saw that the OP referred to said "slacker" as a friend, but the OP didn't say anything about the "friend" being out of class due to some reason that was valid. If it was your "friend,"you'd probably know if they were gone because of an illness or death in the family, or whatever you'd find to be a valid reason. This thread isn't about being a "bad friend" or being cold-hearted by not giving out your notes. "Slacker" indicates that the person isn't doing enough to pull their fair weight.
That being said, if you give any "slacker"--friend or not--a reason NOT to come to class by picking up their "slack," you're not only doing them a disservice by conditioning them to believe that their behavior is rewardable, but you're also ENABLING them to continue slacking.
Many of you have turned this into a karma issue, which is fabulous--if those are your inclinations, then go ahead and give the notes to your "slacker" "friend"; however, if you have an inkling of an idea that your "friend" is being a "slacker" and you give them your "notes" then you're not really winning any "karma" by giving your "notes" to the "slackers."
N' Stuff.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Is it just me or does the title of this thread say "Slackers" as the part of the people asking for notes? Yes, I saw that the OP referred to said "slacker" as a friend, but the OP didn't say anything about the "friend" being out of class due to some reason that was valid. If it was your "friend,"you'd probably know if they were gone because of an illness or death in the family, or whatever you'd find to be a valid reason. This thread isn't about being a "bad friend" or being cold-hearted by not giving out your notes. "Slacker" indicates that the person isn't doing enough to pull their fair weight.
That being said, if you give any "slacker"--friend or not--a reason NOT to come to class by picking up their "slack," you're not only doing them a disservice by conditioning them to believe that their behavior is rewardable, but you're also ENABLING them to continue slacking.
Many of you have turned this into a karma issue, which is fabulous--if those are your inclinations, then go ahead and give the notes to your "slacker" "friend"; however, if you have an inkling of an idea that your "friend" is being a "slacker" and you give them your "notes" then you're not really winning any "karma" by giving your "notes" to the "slackers."
N' Stuff.

Who cares whether someone attends class or not? It doesn't affect your life either way.

If slacking by definition is not attending class, than feel free to call me a slacker. My grades started improving since I quit attending class.

 

[Blisterpeanuts]

Is it just me or does the title of this thread say "Slackers" as the part of the people asking for notes? Yes, I saw that the OP referred to said "slacker" as a friend, but the OP didn't say anything about the "friend" being out of class due to some reason that was valid. If it was your "friend,"you'd probably know if they were gone because of an illness or death in the family, or whatever you'd find to be a valid reason. This thread isn't about being a "bad friend" or being cold-hearted by not giving out your notes. "Slacker" indicates that the person isn't doing enough to pull their fair weight.
That being said, if you give any "slacker"--friend or not--a reason NOT to come to class by picking up their "slack," you're not only doing them a disservice by conditioning them to believe that their behavior is rewardable, but you're also ENABLING them to continue slacking.
Many of you have turned this into a karma issue, which is fabulous--if those are your inclinations, then go ahead and give the notes to your "slacker" "friend"; however, if you have an inkling of an idea that your "friend" is being a "slacker" and you give them your "notes" then you're not really winning any "karma" by giving your "notes" to the "slackers."
N' Stuff.

My problem with your logic is that "Slacker" is a judgemental term, not an objective state of being. By calling note borrowers "slackers" (or by agreeing with the original poster who used that term) you are in fact making a negative statement about them. They're selfish, self-centered, lazy, needy--or overwhelmed, behind, triaging, in over their depth.

What difference does it make what their motivations are? School is a communal activity. We are in school to learn not just from the professors and textbooks but also from each other. For some of you, it happens during a period when you are still maturing emotionally and intellectually. No negative there; that's just the way it is for most people between 18-25 in Western societies.

Part of growing up is learning that not everyone is perfect. You're going to encounter all sorts of annoying personalities and behaviors out there in the real world and some of them are not easily avoided. Your attending might be one. Your clinic might be full of such people. For the rest of your career, you'll be dealing with the general public and you will encounter all sorts of pathological personalities, and also some really great people.

So, yes, it is about karma. You are going into a helping profession, so it's important to get used to helping people, but even if you were going into some other kind of business like, say, financial analysis or database design, you still have to get along with people. Karma is a good thing. It means that you are feeding your soul. You are making the world a slightly better place, reversing entropy, building bridges.

So that's why I help my classmates.

 

[Rendar5]

I can only hope that the "not-sharing-notes crowd" change their perceptions and behaviors when they hit med school. Usually happens I would think

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I wouldn't help him/her.
If you dont' come to class...scrunt.

the teeth in your avatar scare me every time...quite freaky

 

[Psycho Doctor]

what's a wholesome God-fearing guy like you doing with that sleazebag friend?

he's basically a really nice guy and all the girls love him; i guess it's a mutual decision. besides i don't have to agree with everything he does to be his friend

I'm so jealous that you can survive on so little sleep....was it a gradually acquired trait--like from too much caffeine?--or just something inherent?

it's become an acquired trait from years of practice and necessity. What's too much caffeine? I start with 4 cups of coffee in the morning and it increases from there. When i pull all-nighters i guarantee i have at least 12 cups of coffee a day, and then there's other forms of caffeine to go with it

 

[Ben Weeks]

wait, you mean I won't have to get out of bed for class and I can get some sucker to give me all the relevant notes? Sweet! No more dragging myself to class to keep a 4.0

 

[Nikki2002]

Here Are My Notes!! Take Them!!!!! Just Make This Freakin' Thread Disappear!

 

[fiddler]

Here Are My Notes!! Take Them!!!!! Just Make This Freakin' Thread Disappear!

fiddler

 

[oompa loompa]

Here Are My Notes!! Take Them!!!!! Just Make This Freakin' Thread Disappear!

seconded. Who knew this was such a hot issue among premeds?
This makes me for med school.

 

[fiddler]

wait, you mean I won't have to get out of bed for class and I can get some sucker to give me all the relevant notes? Sweet! No more dragging myself to class to keep a 4.0

a lot of schools supply notes and have streaming video lectures the same afternoon. So no, you don't have to go to class if you don't want to.

I'm not sure what the big deal is. Some people can utilize the time better than going to lecture and some like to go to lecture because it's more reinforcement. Either way, why be judgemental about their habits. I suppose if it bothers the person that much they can always say they don't have it with them and the person will go find someone else to get notes from.

fiddler

 

[oompa loompa]

I regularly skipped class in college, and while I sometimes got notes from friends, I eventually realized I could just read the book myself, look at the slides and just ask the prof any questions I had. So I didn't need to pester my friends for their precious notes. Of course this isn't the best strategy in classes where test material comes from lecture, and lecture doesn't overlap w/ the reading at all. Still, I realized in most cases, I was getting friends' notes out of some guilty panic that I MUST have every single piece of information out of the prof's mouth. In many cases, this panic is for nothing.

 

[Rendar5]

wait, you mean I won't have to get out of bed for class and I can get some sucker to give me all the relevant notes? Sweet! No more dragging myself to class to keep a 4.0

In medical school, yes, this is perfectly possible. For some people, this is actually a way to higher grades than going to class.

(standard person absorbs 5% of a lecture. say a lecture is an hour. we'll designate this as a retainment of 5 lecture-minutes/hr. If you're a good reader-learner, you might fully absorb 25% of what you read. Let's say it takes 2 hours of reading to get through what you would've covered in that lecture. By skipping that lecture and studying for an hour on your own instead, you have retained 12.5 lecture-minutes/hr. Use someone's notes (you'll get it e-mailed to you by a few people before each test) to supplement your studying and make up for anything you missed, which isn't likely to be much, and for such a person, they have retained more info by skipping class.

Oh, the poor person who takes notes and drags themselves to class? well, for some people that works out well for them. Let's say that they're good note-takers. they'll be writing all the key points as they hear em. up lecture absorption to 10-15% first time through. they'll get roughly the same learning retention rate of 12.5 lecture-minutes/hr. spend some time prepping those notes to ship out to the class and u'll get material retention in that process. Go a step further and organize a study group and teach the material to a friend? something like 80% retention rate right there.

Most of these stats are estimates from posters of studies I saw done at UMich's med school on retention rate.

So my point is everyone gets benefits, whether they're being lazy and ditching class to raise their grades (u'd be surprised at what some of my friends accomplished by skipping entire courses in med school) or taking notes and giving them to all the "slackers".

 

[KNightInBlue]

What would you do if your friend who hasn't been coming to class (non-science class) asks you for 2-3 weeks worth of notes right before a test/paper? Is this common practice for non-premeds since they are usually not graded on a curve? What's an appropriate way to say no to a friend?

First of all, this is exactly why note-taking services exist in med schools (or at least they SHOULD)..............to stop all the incessant bitching about who is or isnt taking notes and who can or cannot have them.


Second, It really depends. If its just a one way street, then yeah, I can see how you might feel that way. But if it goes both ways, as in your hooking up your friend with the notes and your friend hooking you up in other ways, then I dont see the problem.

I never go to class, but I get notes/scribes/slides from friends. At the same time, I get them free copies of expensive textbooks in pdf format, free tix to shows, hook up lonely ppl with other single ppl I know..............basically helping out in any other way I can so that we depend on each other instead of just one person mooching off the other .


Besides, if s/he really is your 'friend', then that means they must have helped you out in some way or done something for you to call them a friend. So why not help them out?

 

[blkkd]

Not giving notes to someone is wack....who cares if they don't come to class or slack or whatever...what the hell do you lose by giving them out?...In undergrad i got notes emailed to me every friday and i never went to class, and the girl had no problem with it...

If your not willing to give notes your not a good person and i can honestly say i hope don't get into medical school...because you don't have the alturism that i think is necessary for a career in medicine...

 

[dinesh]

Notes to friends vs Notes to friends who are slackers vs notes to slackers.

I'll give to friends, and even so coax them after a few times for not attending the lectures. At my university anyway, you can't exactly just use the textbook and hope for the best. Lectureres examine only on what they teach during the class, which makes the value of the notes higher...the notes are very important.

I think this thread is going in circles....
For the guy who dissed my teeth..don't hate the baby with 2 gigantic central incisors Love him..he's going to need it

 

[OSUdoc08]

First of all, this is exactly why note-taking services exist in med schools (or at least they SHOULD)..............to stop all the incessant bitching about who is or isnt taking notes and who can or cannot have them.


Second, It really depends. If its just a one way street, then yeah, I can see how you might feel that way. But if it goes both ways, as in your hooking up your friend with the notes and your friend hooking you up in other ways, then I dont see the problem.

I never go to class, but I get notes/scribes/slides from friends. At the same time, I get them free copies of expensive textbooks in pdf format, free tix to shows, hook up lonely ppl with other single ppl I know..............basically helping out in any other way I can so that we depend on each other instead of just one person mooching off the other .


Besides, if s/he really is your 'friend', then that means they must have helped you out in some way or done something for you to call them a friend. So why not help them out?

We don't take notes at my school. They provide us all of the notes typed up. Some students waste time taking additional notes, but they don't do any better on the exam, and sometimes even worse.

 

[banana k]

just for context... my friend who mooched on all of us recorded all the lectures in the semester after mooching on us, then wouldn't let any of us hear the tapes even when we were all writing an open-book 8 hour exam.

my karma's good, i gave her my notes in good faith without expectation... it was the lack of any appreciation after the fact that made me annoyed.

When people ask me for assistance (notes, recordings, help with problem sets) I give it to them. Why? Because it costs me nothing, except perhaps a little time.

Last year I recorded all my science lectures and compressed'em to MP3's that I could listen to while exercising or to capture points that I had missed whilst daydreaming.

Then a friend asked if he could have a recording, and before long I was uploading them every week to my web server and probably a dozen or 15 people were using them. I put a disclaimer that they were for my own use, for educational purposes only, not to be redistributed etc. etc.

This generated lots of good will, and people I previously had not met were coming up to me in class and saying "I hear you record the lectures... I was sick last week so..." etc. I'd just jot down the web address and hand it over. No skin off my nose. They still have the responsibility to learn the material.

When people ask me for help, I gladly give it to them. I'm no science whiz, but if I've worked through a problem and verified the answer against the key, then I feel pretty confident explaining it, and by explaining it I gain a deeper understanding of the question as well.

As for bad handwriting, well I'm really good at that; my handwriting is awful. But more and more as I get into science I realize that my notes ought to be so good that anyone can pick them up and learn the entire lecture from them. My diagrams should be clear, my annotations should accurately reflect what the teacher said, plus my own thoughts on each point, and so forth. So I strive to get to that.

I'm going into medicine because I want to help people, I'm a career changer from a more selfish field. I have no problem helping people and I never think of it as sponging. I don't even consider that they "owe" me something. It's good karma, it's good will, and some day as professionals we will expect our colleagues to give us consultations free of charge. Doctors can't be expected to know everything; they are constantly consulting each other to fill in the gaps. What's wrong with starting to build those professional relationships while still in school?

Sure, a few of these people are probably not going to make it in medical school because of their lax attitudes, but a lot of them will, and it's a small world, and you may end up working with them some day so why not be nice and refrain from being judgemental. You may be needing their help someday as well.

Leaders will help other people to succeed; followers need help to succeed. Ask yourself--are you a leader? Are you setting a good example if you refuse to help someone?

Just my 2 (or 20) cents' worth

 

[byeh2004]

just give him the notes... you never know maybe he had crap to deal with.... i mean wouldn't you appreciate it if something was to happen to you to miss a few weeks of school and someone gave you some notes?