Medical Starting med school this summer- haven't taken any classes in 2 years. How should I prepare?

[Mr.Smile12]

I am a non-traditional student- was a teacher and then went back 2015-2017 to take all my prereqs doing an informal postbacc. My last classes I took were spring of 2017- it's almost been 2 years and I already feel like I've forgotten stuff. I don't want to start med school being way behind my peers who just finished undergrad with all this stuff fresh in their minds.

If you could go back to your first semester of med school, what would you have done/studied (if anything) to prepare for a smoother transition? I've heard things like Biochem and A&P, but I'm open to whatever. Would just be self-studying using internet resources as I am too poor to enroll in any more classes.

I would ask other students at the school you are about to start at, especially any non-traditional current students. I think it's good to know what resources they used to refresh their memories on basic content that you'd need to be sure to cover but you'll get to a point where it's all new to everyone and it's a lot of stuff. I'm hoping the med students, alumni, and advisors can give you insight on what they did or online resources they found most helpful. I'm sure there are some online resources you may discover (that likely require a subscription or some fee) that many med students use.

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[gyngyn]

Make an appointment with the Learning Skills Specialist at the school you will attend. They can do an assessment of your learning style and make recommendations.

 

[Jolie South]

I was out of school for several years prior to starting medical school. You will not be behind. You will likely be refreshed and ready to go not having finished finals only 2-3 months prior. There is nothing that can really prepare you and even having a science background I don't think helps that much. Just focus on what is covered in lectures and study daily. The biggest mistake is letting reviewing pile up for before exams. Med school exams are much more comprehensive, detail oriented and nit picky. There is so much volume of information.

 

[gutonc]

I was a "mild" non-trad (took 3 years off to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, doing research all the time). I went in to med school going full out, balls to the wall studying every spare second of my life. Had a great first year grade-wise but otherwise was totally horrible.

If I could got back to my first semester of med school I would have chilled the hell out. Because I made up for it 2nd year and my grades suffered dramatically.

 

[BC_89]

Different program, but same predicament. I’m a fellow non-trad that earned a BS in Biochemistry with 1 year of undergraduate research dealing with preserving the purity of proteins in different buffer settings.

Why do I mention this? Looking back on all my notes and past research literature in 2014, I have no idea what I was talking about (lol)

It’ll be 4 years from the time I was in undergrad to when I start my program (albeit I work in an outpatient / inpatient setting dealing closely with calculating and monitoring specific nonformulary medications) but when speaking with advisors in my professional institute this is what they told me: R.E.L.A.X.

They see it all the time with nontrads and noticed the ones who excelled were the ones that enjoyed the summer before school. The brain truly is an amazing instrument. You’ll be surprised what you quickly remember and before you know it, your back on track.