Study habits and weekends...

[Ischemia]

Hey,

During the week I study for about 4-5 hours each day. When the weekend comes, I'm exhausted. Consequently, I get only maybe 3-4 hours in for the entire weekend. No matter what, I always feel like I'm not doing enough. I feel guilty if I'm not studying, if I'm enjoying something non-academic.

We don't have an exam 'til late October, so maybe the pressure of impending doom isn't kicking in yet. I do feel like I'm adequately learning the material, however.

How much do you guys study during the week? During the weekend? Is it okay to use the weekend predominately for relaxing? Anyone mind sharing what they do during the weekend in terms of studying? Am I doing too much? Too little? (I know there are a lot of questions here. Just respond by saying whatever it is you want to say.)

Thanks

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[Blake]

Hey,

During the week I study for about 4-5 hours each day. When the weekend comes, I'm exhausted. Consequently, I get only maybe 3-4 hours in for the entire weekend. No matter what, I always feel like I'm not doing enough. I feel guilty if I'm not studying, if I'm enjoying something non-academic.

We don't have an exam 'til late October, so maybe the pressure of impending doom isn't kicking in yet. I do feel like I'm adequately learning the material, however.

How much do you guys study during the week? During the weekend? Is it okay to use the weekend predominately for relaxing? Anyone mind sharing what they do during the weekend in terms of studying? Am I doing too much? Too little? (I know there are a lot of questions here. Just respond by saying whatever it is you want to say.)

Thanks

It depends on everyone. Maybe studying that amount of time is more efficient for you, who knows ? My school is mainly PBL, so no long classes, so we have a lot of time to study, and we have to study a lot, since we only cover like 10 % of the material in class. On average, I study 6-10 hours a day. Week-ends work the same way. A lot of people I know have similar schedules. From what I've seen so far, the slackers ( those claiming they only study like 1 hour a day ) don't understand the material as much as the rest of us. Oh well, we'll find out in 3 weeks who can walk the walk...

My advice to you is, don't focus on the amount of hours you study. It's only a number. If you feel like you understand the material enough to either pass/high pass/ honor the exam ( depending on your goals ), then you can stop studying imo.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Ah yes, walking the walk...

Being a professional slacker/procrastinator, I've found the best way to do well in medical school is being the ever amorphous--"Efficient."

Some have a lot to say about efficiency. But what it comes down to, is proper study technique. If you can study "efficiently" for an hour, you don't need 5-6 hours each night. The rest of the time, can be used for resting your mind, so that you can be at the top of your critical thinking game.

Ways to study efficiently:
1)Study while in class (good for lecture style, bad for PBL). Mark up your notes with stars, etc. that pinpoint all encompassing concepts that the lecturer covers and or emphasizes. i.e. when the prof points to a diagram and says this is a good overall diagram that explains the "concept", bells and sirens should be going off in your head to make sure to know that one thing really well.

2)Mneumonic devices, and acronyms for large concepts are your friends. Those devices have a way or reaching deep into your long term memory, and pulling out the esoteric pieces of information that will be tested on.

3)Condense an entire lecture onto one page. This is the most efficient way to study and review. Rely on the fact that your brain is an amazing information recalling device. Yes, you may not be able to regurgitate an entire lecture on command, but if I asked you a specific question, or a related clinical vignette to a particular piece of information covered in class, chances are that the brain can widdle the Mult-Choice answers down to 1 or 2.

4)Stop asking the question WHY??? This is medical school and not graduate school. Chances are that if you ask the question WHY??? it will A) not help you on the test, B) only confuse you more, and C) only detract your attention away from the material you need to really know for the tests.

5)On first pass, focus on the big concepts. On second pass, fill in the necessary nitty-gritty details to your diagram. On third pass (the weekend prior to a test) get with a study group and quiz each other on the various aspects of the big picture and the details it encompasses. This technique is called SPIRALING LEARNING (do a google search), and has been proven effective since the Late 70's, but has been underemphasized because Educators of yester-years are not amenable to changing their styles of teaching (this is slowly changing with older teachers and profs retiring, and newer ones with more forward thinking taking their place).

These are just a few things I focus on. In all, I study about an hour each night during the week, focusing on the big concept from each lecture, condensing it all to one page.

On the weekends, I spend ~7 hours filling in some of the details of my big picture diagrams.

And the weekends before a test, I get with my friends, ~4 others, and we quiz each other for an entire day, filling in our points of weakness.

Best of luck, Regards,

-Salty

 

[ParisHilton]

Keep in mind that some people are way faster than others. Just look around the room during an exam. Some people are finished at the 1 hour mark, others are still bubbling-in their scantrons after 2 hours and the proctor is threatening to turn off the lights after their 5th announcement that "the exam is over - your time is up!" These people would still stay if they had an extra 30 minutes ? even if they were finished a while ago! This carries over to the library. Some people psychologically have to stay in the library until it closes - no matter what. It doesn't matter if they were napping or on the internet half the time. In the beginning, before there are any exams, people informally compete by how much they study. After the first set of exams, it's the results that count - not the effort. So don't feel bad if some study much, much longer than you ? instead, feel sorry for them.

 

[omarsaleh66]

Hey,

During the week I study for about 4-5 hours each day. When the weekend comes, I'm exhausted. Consequently, I get only maybe 3-4 hours in for the entire weekend. No matter what, I always feel like I'm not doing enough. I feel guilty if I'm not studying, if I'm enjoying something non-academic.

We don't have an exam 'til late October, so maybe the pressure of impending doom isn't kicking in yet. I do feel like I'm adequately learning the material, however.

How much do you guys study during the week? During the weekend? Is it okay to use the weekend predominately for relaxing? Anyone mind sharing what they do during the weekend in terms of studying? Am I doing too much? Too little? (I know there are a lot of questions here. Just respond by saying whatever it is you want to say.)

Thanks

I relax during the week after class and cram hardcore on weekends. That is what works for me. During the week, I will go to class, and when i get home I will chill or whatever, if i go out, it would be better for me to go out on wed or thurs nite.

On weekends, it just me and the books man, On fridays, Ill knock out a class and wont sleep until its done, then sat knock out another class, and on sunday - finish up work for the third class. This is very hard to do, but this is how I am. My school uses the block system. I work my ass off like this for atleast 3 weeks before the tests. After tests I will take a whole week off. I wil go to class, but after class just watch movies and chill and on that weekend maybe go on a trip or something to decompress. After that 1 week break, its back to work

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I relax during the week after class and cram hardcore on weekends. That is what works for me. During the week, I will go to class, and when i get home I will chill or whatever, if i go out, it would be better for me to go out on wed or thurs nite.

On weekends, it just me and the books man, On fridays, Ill knock out a class and wont sleep until its done, then sat knock out another class, and on sunday - finish up work for the third class. This is very hard to do, but this is how I am. My school uses the block system. I work my ass off like this for atleast 3 weeks before the tests. After tests I will take a whole week off. I wil go to class, but after class just watch movies and chill and on that weekend maybe go on a trip or something to decompress. After that 1 week break, its back to work

Ah yes, the punctuated equilibrium mode of studying. hehe...

 

[azzarah]

others are still bubbling-in their scantrons after 2 hours and the proctor is threatening to turn off the lights after their 5th announcement that "the exam is over - your time is up!"

That's totally me...It takes me forever to study too...very inefficient.

Now to the OP, I couldn't give you good advice, because on Fridays I think to myself....I am so glad it's the weekend....I can finally catch up!

It sounds to me like you are studying enough though.

 

[SarahGM]

I relax during the week after class and cram hardcore on weekends. That is what works for me. During the week, I will go to class, and when i get home I will chill or whatever, if i go out, it would be better for me to go out on wed or thurs nite.

On weekends, it just me and the books man, On fridays, Ill knock out a class and wont sleep until its done, then sat knock out another class, and on sunday - finish up work for the third class. This is very hard to do, but this is how I am. My school uses the block system. I work my ass off like this for atleast 3 weeks before the tests. After tests I will take a whole week off. I wil go to class, but after class just watch movies and chill and on that weekend maybe go on a trip or something to decompress. After that 1 week break, its back to work

Wow, I'm completely opposite. My boyfriend lives far away from me, so during the week I might study 3-4 hours a day, but I don't do hardly any work on the weekends. Maybe some on the flight to see him, or on the bus to get him from the airport.

Of course, when it's test time, we don't go visit each other... and I do study on the weekends.

On those weekends when we're not visiting each other, I usually do some review bc everyone around me is studying and it guilts me into it. Plus, no one can hang out if they're hitting the books!

But for the most part, Mon-Thurs during the day are hellish... but come Thurs night through Sunday afternoon, I am free as a bird. Yay.

 

[thackl]

A couple hrs a night (except fridays) and a few each day on the weekends. Bust ass test week (but still sleep). That's it for me.

 

[lilmo]

During the week I try to review what was covered during that particular day's worth of lectures. On the weekends, I try to review what was covered for that week and condense it done to the important points. And then the week before exams, I study my ass off. I'd say 2-3 hours/day during the week and 4 hours/day on the weekend. But it most definitely varies depending on where we are within the block.

 

[JennieFinch]

Cram on Sundays. Do hobbies Monday - Friday

 

[novacek88]

Salty's response is gold. It should be made a sticky because that's how valuable his post is. This is one of those threads that veteran medical students should respond to because it can actually help other students instead of the mindless rants that we all engage in.

Here are my do's and don'ts I was a slacker and procrastinator too so I learned these principles the hard way.

#1
Don't: Concern yourself with the number of hours being studied. The number of hours are meaningless to your study.
Do: Focus on your efficiency and what you actually accomplished

#2
Don't:spend too much time reading. Reading your notes over and over is a waste of time. Yes, you may understand the material better but you won't be able to recall facts as quickly or recognize them on an exam
Do:spend time memorizing. The more you memorize, the more likely you will be able to pass an exam. You don't have to understand things to pass or get a B. To get an A, you will have to understand how those details interconnect. But for the sake of time, memorize first and understand later.

#3
Don'tfocus on undestanding a few concepts really well at the detriment of missing other areas of your study.
Do] study in a broad manner. Broad understanding is better than in depth knowledge

#4
Don't waste time making flashcards
Do condense information onto one page like Salty mentioned above. Make you own exams to try to trick youself and see where you deficiencies lie.

#5
Don't Don't panic
Dobe calm. Have faith and relax. A relaxed mind can study.

#6
Don't go to class if you are a visual learner. The professor is going to test everything in your handout anyway. There is no point trying to listen to cues. Trust me, it doesn't help. I tried that technique and it is useless. Whatever is in that packet is fair game so you should know it all. I disagree with Salty here

Do Memorize your lecture packets and study on your own

#7Don't Ask why. This is brilliant. Salty deserves props. Asking why will just worry and cause you to explore a topic in depth that doesn't require investigation. This isn't undergrad where a limited amount of material will be asked in 10 different ways. Med school will ask you things in a straightforward manner (for the most part) but will encompass everything

Do Memorize the concept and move on. You may not understand it very well but so what. Move on. learn to not rely on understanding everything in the beginning. You will being to understand it later as you recall it and apply it more.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Salty's response is gold. It should be made a sticky because that's how valuable his post is. This is one of those threads that veteran medical students should respond to because it can actually help other students instead of the mindless rants that we all engage in.

Here are my do's and don'ts I was a slacker and procrastinator too so I learned these principles the hard way.

Thanks...

#1
Don't: Concern yourself with the number of hours being studied. The number of hours are meaningless to your study.
Do: Focus on your efficiency and what you actually accomplished

Yes, concerning yourself with time is a waste of your time...

#2
Don't: Spend too much time reading. Reading your notes over and over is a waste of time. Yes, you may understand the material better but you won't be able to recall facts as quickly or recognize them on an exam
Do: Spend time memorizing. The more you memorize, the more likely you will be able to pass an exam. You don't have to understand things to pass or get a B. To get an A, you will have to understand how those details interconnect. But for the sake of time, memorize first and understand later.

Yes, Big concept first, Mass-Memorization of details Second, Interconnectedness Third.

#4
Don't Waste time making flashcards
Do condense information onto one page like Salty mentioned above. Make you own exams to try to trick youself and see where you deficiencies lie.

This is ultimately subject dependent. i.e. Biochem amino acid flash cards are helpful, Coronary Heart Disease risk factors flash cards are not...

#6
Don't go to class if you are a visual learner. The professor is going to test everything in your handout anyway. There is no point trying to listen to cues. Trust me, it doesn't help. I tried that technique and it is useless. Whatever is in that packet is fair game so you should know it all. I disagree with Salty here
Do Memorize your lecture packets and study on your own

I agree and disagree at the same time. It is best when you sit at the back of the class making your one page of notes with one earphone in, while listening with the other ear for testing queues. Ah yes, the wonderfullness of multi-tasking.

#7Don't Ask why. This is brilliant. Salty deserves props. Asking why will just worry and cause you to explore a topic in depth that doesn't require investigation. This isn't undergrad where a limited amount of material will be asked in 10 different ways. Med school will ask you things in a straightforward manner (for the most part) but will encompass everything

Again, this can't be emphasized enough. Medical School is not intended for indepth analysis. You're not there to ask research questions. You are there to know a little about everything, all else is reference material and values that can easily be looked up.

#8
Do Memorize the concept and move on. You may not understand it very well but so what. Move on. learn to not rely on understanding everything in the beginning. You will being to understand it later as you recall it and apply it more.

So very true. Have faith that the brain will make the connections later on. It is amazing how that works; often in my sleep!!!

Again, best of luck to everyone in their studies. Remember Efficiency is Key!

 

[esposo]

Hey Salty

From one slacker to another, I say wad ap. Okay, I need your advice in the worst way. Being a slacker, I didn't study last week like I should have. I know I'm in trouble. I have an exam in 8 days. Can you advise a crash course study plan for anatomy? I'm just trying to pass. Obviously, I have to study 24/8 but what you do if you are me. What techniques would you use knowing I have such limited time.? I need some emergency advice.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Hey Salty

From one slacker to another, I say wad ap. Okay, I need your advice in the worst way. Being a slacker, I didn't study last week like I should have. I know I'm in trouble. I have an exam in 8 days. Can you advise a crash course study plan for anatomy? I'm just trying to pass. Obviously, I have to study 24/8 but what you do if you are me. What techniques would you use knowing I have such limited time.? I need some emergency advice.

Sorry,

But these types of study techniques are not the best for anatomy or histo. They work in practically all the other areas of medical school. Anatomy and histo just need to be brute forced. I recommend study group quizzing with flash cards, a white board for repitition, and some IV caffiene for the long nights you'll be pulling.

 

[esposo]

Hey Salty

By shotgunning it, I take it you mean just forced memorization. Yeah, I have been doing that. 12 lecture packets to go

 

[fpr85]

I try and study, but I end up falling asleep on my desk

I'm way behind in my biology reading -- my prof doesn't teach out of the book but rather through his own powerpoint presentations. I feel that I should be reading the book to further understand it though.

Only 200 pages of reading to go before the test on Oct. 15, yay!

 

[Discobolus]

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[Giving My .02]

Man, I wish I could do that and still pass.

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[fpr85]

Just think, had the test been on Star Wars you would've aced it.

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I bow myself before a more worthy procrastinator... NOT WORTHY... NOT WORTHY...!!!

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[Discobolus]

Having said all this I should point out a number of things:

1. This is NOT how you should approach your medical education and I'm trying to change.
2. I may have passed, but that is about it.
3. It's really a pretty sad thing that I'm being such an underachiever and I'm not trying to do the slacker thing of bragging how little I can study and still pass.
4. It does make for a funny story of the extremes one can take med school cramming to, and that was my main motivation for posting it, I figured someone would get a good laugh out of it.

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[thackl]

I'll tell the story of consistent mid-level effort. Go to class (if it helps), work a coulpe hrs a night during the week. Take Fridays off. 5hrs sat, 5hrs sun, then work hard test week reviewing and bringing it all together (at this point you should have seen everything atleast twice). I also found that a small study group is a real good thing when reviewing to test understanding and learn things that were missed. Go high yield. Know the stuff talked about in class. Know the hit list for lab. Know things they specifically tell you to know.

I'm not at the top of the class, but I have free time for myself and family and finished atleast 1 standard deviation above the average in everything so far.

Keep doing the things you enjoy. Depression will not improve you scores.

 

[Philo Beddo]

That is truly awesome. That is almost exactly how I approached my medical education. I never watched so much of The History Channel in my life as in medical school (mostly at 2AM the morning of a test ofcourse).

You should submit that to hippocritis.com. Its a medical satire site run by residents. They'd post it for sure!


philo

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
1. Attend 0-2 lectures for a block (fall asleep, zone out, or write up your workout routine for the day in your notes during the lecture, but whatever you do, do not listen)
2. Do not study the material on your own because you are busy cramming for the next test in another class.
3. You have 2 weeks before the given test so you relax because you have so much time
4. It is now Tuesday of the week before the test and you still have not studied anything yet.
5. Tuesday, buy Star Wars DVD set and do a quick run through each DVD to see if the rumors are true about George Lucas screwing up his movies any more (they are), attend a worthless review session (for another class) and go home and watch more of the box set. Another day with no studying
6. Wednesday, attend your first lectures of the block (for the class you have the test in) and some others because you hear a rumor of a pop quiz (there is one). Go to the grocery store buy a lot of candy and soda (movie theater food). Go home and watch A New Hope. No studying.
7. Thursday, sleep in until about 11:00 and drag yourself to school for the afternoon classes (in my defense we didn't have any morning classes that day). Do online path quiz that is not due until the next morning but you have no internet at home and want to give yourself the opportunity to sleep until noon if you so desire (although you PLAN on getting up early to study). Go home and watch The Empire Strikes Back.
8. Friday, no class. Sleep in until about 1:00 P.M. Rest of the day I don't really remember. Watch Return of the Jedi and bonus materials DVD.
9. Saturday, wake up around 9:00 and start covering material for the very first time. Get distracted and play lots of minesweeper. Watch the Hogs play Alabama on CBS and SNL. Cover about 3 out of 18 lectures that will be on the exam. Go to bed.
10. Sunday, sleep in until about 2:00 P.M. and justify it by saying you will do an all nighter. Study all day and lay down for a 1 hour nap at about 3:00 A.M. (while you lie in bed and tell yourself you are never doing this again) Get up at 8:00 A.M. and do more studying. Go to school and do some last minute studying.
11. Take test, click on button to see score, pass (barely).

This is how to not approach medical school

 

[m1forever]

We have self-scheduled computer exams and can take tests on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Being a procrastinator I always schedule mine for Monday.

The routine typically goes like this:
This is how to not approach medical school

Damn...I wish I was an arkansas resident. I maybe could pull something like that off for a few classes, but what about gross? How would you manage to pull something like that off then?

 

[Discobolus]

Damn...I wish I was an arkansas resident. I maybe could pull something like that off for a few classes, but what about gross? How would you manage to pull something like that off then?

I was at the top of my class in gross anatomy (pulled 100's on the upper limb exam), and put in a lot more work. As the semester went on I learned how to get by with less studying and went from 100's to low A's/High B's but never as extreme as my example.