Struggling in med school and grades

[manunited7]

I have been struggling in med school as I feel like I never have time to fully grasp the material and memorize it. I got a C in gross anatomy and currently in my PBL class I have a C as well. I used to be in the top of my classes before coming to med school, and now I'm struggling. I just am really worried how to do well in PBL and that my options for specializations are going to be very limited. I

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[starri]

It's an old cliche, but everybody in your class is at least as smart, and worked at least as hard, as you did when you were in undergrad.

If you focus on learning the material and worry a little less about grades, your grades will probably catch up. I struggled a lot in my preclinical years (and still do to an extent), and was convinced at every turn that disaster was just over the horizon. But it never got there. You'll be okay too. Just keep swimming.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

I have been struggling in med school as I feel like I never have time to fully grasp the material and memorize it. I got a C in gross anatomy and currently in my PBL class I have a C as well. I used to be in the top of my classes before coming to med school, and now I'm struggling. I just am really worried how to do well in PBL and that my options for specializations are going to be very limited. I

I understand this fear as well. I am likely to get a C in MGA as well, and I definitely think about it. But its alright. I knew the first semester would be rough for me and I have some A's as well. This is part of the growth process, you put a bunch of smart people together and some will have different strengths. I am sure there are classes your above average in too.

I think that as long as you pass everything the first time and have a decent grade mix (like not all C's) you will be alright. Its first semester, there will be plenty of time to improve later. Plus if I understand correctly, clinical>preclinical grades and you will get plenty of opportunity to do better in those.

Plus there are enough friendly specialties out there to us that you don't have to do primary care. I mean Anesthesia, Nuero, Psych, ObGyn, General Surgery, PMR, various IM subspecialties, etc. All these are within reach and not crazy to get into.

Also sometimes you just accept that you end up where you end up, and that your abilities can only take you so far. Doesn't mean you should stop trying, but it does mean you need to accept what are real options and what are shames. Just cause we are in medical school doesn't mean that all of us can become Nuerosurgeons, Derm, ENT, or Ortho. So find the real options for yourself (which you won't know till boards anyhow) and pick the one you like best. If you can't find anything do FP w/ NMM fellowship and become a Dean so you can take your rage out on all the incoming gunners!

When you do your best and you are only in the bottom quarter of your class, good for you. You did as much as you could and went as far as your abilities could take you. We have too much of the Ricky Bobby "if your not first, your last" mentality. Thats not true, and a stupid line of thought. Chin up partner.

 

[scoKraz4]

Work harder. If you want it bad enough you will get whatever you want.

 

[Seth Joo]

I have been struggling in med school as I feel like I never have time to fully grasp the material and memorize it. I got a C in gross anatomy and currently in my PBL class I have a C as well. I used to be in the top of my classes before coming to med school, and now I'm struggling. I just am really worried how to do well in PBL and that my options for specializations are going to be very limited. I

A friend of mine is at LECOM Erie and some of his classmates are in the PBL Pathway, from what he told me the PBL students study 10 to 12 hours a day even though they only attend PBL meetings and occasional anatomy and OMM labs for a few hours a week, these are the people that are doing really well. I think you are going to have to spend extra hours to study or just find someone in academic support who can evaluate your study plan and help you with a better strategy.

That being said as long as your passing that is a good thing but I still understand your concerns.

 

[deleted564680]

PBL only curriculum = independent study. You HAVE to study at least 8 hrs./day to "catch up" with all of the rest of the students that are having lectures. The bonus is that you will likely due better on the boards because you have gobs of time to study directly for them. Down-side is that clinical medicine takes a huge hit.

 

[Goro]

Get thee to your school's learning or education specialists STAT! it's not just about memorizing, it's being able to apply.

What worked for you in college isn't working now; you're going to have to change.

Start asking your classmates who are doing well for tips.

Find out what learning style works best for you. Drawing pictures? Making tables? Mind mapping????

here's one: get a good night's sleep before exams. And do NOT cram. You'll never retain anything.

I have been struggling in med school as I feel like I never have time to fully grasp the material and memorize it. I got a C in gross anatomy and currently in my PBL class I have a C as well. I used to be in the top of my classes before coming to med school, and now I'm struggling. I just am really worried how to do well in PBL and that my options for specializations are going to be very limited. I

 

[yanks26dmb]

Work harder. If you want it bad enough you will get whatever you want.

What happens if 2,000 seniors all want Derm? Will they all get it if they all work super-duper hard?

 

[ortnakas]

Work harder. If you want it bad enough you will get whatever you want.

I think you are going to have to spend extra hours to study or just find someone in academic support who can evaluate your study plan and help you with a better strategy.

That being said as long as your passing that is a good thing but I still understand your concerns.

While studying hard is obviously essential, I think it's a little unfair to assume OP isn't already giving his/her full effort (I doubt either of you were being condescending on purpose-- it's just one of my pet peeves when we're told by certain faculty or admin to "make sure we're studying enough" like we hadn't already thought of that).

@manunited7 , the first PBL exam is rough on a lot of people, so good on you for passing. Learn from this one and figure out what you need to do next-- it might be about quantity of studying, but more likely it's about strategy. All of @Goro 's advice is solid no matter what school you go to. Get help from second years; we've been there. Your learning style has to adjust from college to keep up, and might end up being different depending on the subject, too. You should be able to get a tutor through administration, or you could ask your Big for help. Personally, I do a quick read, then a more detailed read where I outline/make flash cards, and then I review my notes/flash cards and do practice questions from various sources in the week up to the exam. I'm at LECOM-SH and can give you some more specific tips if you PM me; I'm not an A student but I'm pretty successful in PBL so far. Hang in there!

 

[apr27]

While studying hard is obviously essential, I think it's a little unfair to assume OP isn't already giving his/her full effort (I doubt either of you were being condescending on purpose-- it's just one of my pet peeves when we're told by certain faculty or admin to "make sure we're studying enough" like we hadn't already thought of that).

@manunited7 , the first PBL exam is rough on a lot of people, so good on you for passing. Learn from this one and figure out what you need to do next-- it might be about quantity of studying, but more likely it's about strategy. All of @Goro 's advice is solid no matter what school you go to. Get help from second years; we've been there. Your learning style has to adjust from college to keep up, and might end up being different depending on the subject, too. You should be able to get a tutor through administration, or you could ask your Big for help. Personally, I do a quick read, then a more detailed read where I outline/make flash cards, and then I review my notes/flash cards and do practice questions from various sources in the week up to the exam. I'm at LECOM-SH and can give you some more specific tips if you PM me; I'm not an A student but I'm pretty successful in PBL so far. Hang in there!

Out of curiosity, are you using the UCSD approach to active studying? Just sounds a little too familiar.

 

[seminoma]

While studying hard is obviously essential, I think it's a little unfair to assume OP isn't already giving his/her full effort (I doubt either of you were being condescending on purpose-- it's just one of my pet peeves when we're told by certain faculty or admin to "make sure we're studying enough" like we hadn't already thought of that).

@manunited7 , the first PBL exam is rough on a lot of people, so good on you for passing. Learn from this one and figure out what you need to do next-- it might be about quantity of studying, but more likely it's about strategy. All of @Goro 's advice is solid no matter what school you go to. Get help from second years; we've been there. Your learning style has to adjust from college to keep up, and might end up being different depending on the subject, too. You should be able to get a tutor through administration, or you could ask your Big for help. Personally, I do a quick read, then a more detailed read where I outline/make flash cards, and then I review my notes/flash cards and do practice questions from various sources in the week up to the exam. I'm at LECOM-SH and can give you some more specific tips if you PM me; I'm not an A student but I'm pretty successful in PBL so far. Hang in there!

Lots of people think studying while answering texts/facebooking/watching hulu is efficient. It's not condescending.

I was an A student and I still had lots to learn about efficiency as the 2 years passed. Still, "work smarter, not harder" is, in general, most appropriate for med students.

I've tutored close to two dozen M1s/M2s in the past year and a half and every single one of them improved when they stopped trying to study like their friend or the people at the top of the class and started figuring out what worked best for them.

 

[Jinxapotato]

See I never get the saying of : don't worry about your grade, just work on understanding the material...Last I checked the grades ARE an indication of your understanding of material...That being said, learn the material as well as test taking strategies should help you with your scores (obvious ones like go to bed at 10pm the day before exam and get a good night sleep, even if you didn't finish going through your stuff one last time)

 

[adamanteus]

Also, don't despair if your grades don't come up enough to get that super-duper awesome specialty. You never know what's going to click with you in third year. When I started med school I couldn't imagine wanting to do primary care. Now I can't imagine doing anything but primary care. Things change as you progress through these four years, and exposure to different areas of medicine can really change your outlook on what you want out of medicine and what you want out of life.

 

[scoKraz4]

What happens if 2,000 seniors all want Derm? Will they all get it if they all work super-duper hard?

No but the ones that work the hardest will...after the ones with family connects secure a spot.

 

[ortnakas]

Out of curiosity, are you using the UCSD approach to active studying? Just sounds a little too familiar.

Honestly I've never heard of it. But I got advice on how to study for PBL from students in classes above me. And it's very possible that they came up with their system based on an established approach.

 

[ortnakas]

Lots of people think studying while answering texts/facebooking/watching hulu is efficient. It's not condescending.

I was an A student and I still had lots to learn about efficiency as the 2 years passed. Still, "work smarter, not harder" is, in general, most appropriate for med students.

I've tutored close to two dozen M1s/M2s in the past year and a half and every single one of them improved when they stopped trying to study like their friend or the people at the top of the class and started figuring out what worked best for them.

Missed this before, and all of these points are absolutely fair. Suggesting methods to focus and that people try to make their own study strategies instead of emulating others are both very good things to do and very appreciated. My pet peeve is when people (not you) assume it's a quantity issue, as if it hadn't occurred to the struggling student to try "studying more."

 

[Njdevils30]

You will learn how to study better with time. It took me a while to learn good study techniques. You just started and you have to give it time. The way I studied in college did not work in medical school. Just keep studying. Just read the material over and over and over.

 

[seminoma]

Missed this before, and all of these points are absolutely fair. Suggesting methods to focus and that people try to make their own study strategies instead of emulating others are both very good things to do and very appreciated. My pet peeve is when people (not you) assume it's a quantity issue, as if it hadn't occurred to the struggling student to try "studying more."

Oh, yes absolutely. The majority of people (in my experience) think quantity is the key and many of them never adjust their thinking and just get killed by burnout.

 

[randomguy123456]

I have been struggling in med school as I feel like I never have time to fully grasp the material and memorize it. I got a C in gross anatomy and currently in my PBL class I have a C as well. I used to be in the top of my classes before coming to med school, and now I'm struggling. I just am really worried how to do well in PBL and that my options for specializations are going to be very limited. I

The problem may lie in the way you study. Look online and learn to memorize a bulk of information quickly. Good lucky my friend.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

The problem may lie in the way you study. Look online and learn to memorize a bulk of information quickly. Good lucky my friend.

It's not always easy as that. Some people are not memorizers. I certainly was not at all. It wasn't until the middle of first year that pushing that memorization muscle that finally got me in track. Things that previously I tried and didn't work now magically work for me. Part of it is just doing things over and over.