Study Skills

[YinYin]

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I debated for a very long time before starting this thread, but oh well, what the hell ...

OK, I keep reading in all these forums about people studying 12-15 hours/day. That's a lot. And I think I have ADD/ADHD. How does one sit in a chair for that many hours a day and NOT get distracted? Especially with the computer, food, etc.? Is there something I'm missing? I've been trying to do hour blocks of studying with 10 minute breaks in between but even those are rough. Any tips on staying focused?

Also, any suggestions on home v. library study? I know every one is different but I'm just curious as to what the majority of you did/do.

I'm five weeks out right now and pretty damn scared. I just took NBME 4 this morning and got 190. HELP!

 

[PenguinHead]

I thought there would be no way I could study 12hrs/day. I can't pay attention to one thing for longer than 10-20 minutes. Seriously. Also, I had not gotten up before 9:30am (except for test days) in ages.

Something about the Step though, I'm getting up at 7:30 and studying pretty much all day till 11:00pm with a couple hour breaks (including sdn breaks...). I still have to change study materials to keep from getting stuck on one page in a certain subject though. For instance, today I'm alternating BRS phys, questions, biochem, and HY cell/molec.

I get much more done in the library than at home btw.

 

[Knicks]

Good thread.

Even though there's "something about the Step 1 though", I probably could only manage to get in 8 hours a day, MAX.

I guess it's not the quanitity of hours that matter, but the quality.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I debated for a very long time before starting this thread, but oh well, what the hell ...

OK, I keep reading in all these forums about people studying 12-15 hours/day. That's a lot. And I think I have ADD/ADHD. How does one sit in a chair for that many hours a day and NOT get distracted? Especially with the computer, food, etc.? Is there something I'm missing? I've been trying to do hour blocks of studying with 10 minute breaks in between but even those are rough. Any tips on staying focused?

Also, any suggestions on home v. library study? I know every one is different but I'm just curious as to what the majority of you did/do.

I'm five weeks out right now and pretty damn scared. I just took NBME 4 this morning and got 190. HELP!

FEAR

Fear of failing, fear of doing poorly and not getting the residency or even the specialty you remotely want, etc.

I did NOT use a study schedule. I did NOT study in the library. I studied at home and I started studying within 2 hours of getting up and then studied nearly nonstop until I went to bed. Going to the library was not going to be productive since I like my "amenities" - drinks, snacks, "lounging" in pajamas, etc. Furthermore, transportation to and from the library would take 1.5 hr (waiting for buses, crowded buses, and the slow bus ride itself) each day and that's a serious waste of time and energy. I did NOT watch TV (OK, 3 movies in all of 2 months total), practically did not listen to music at all, did not read extraneous books, etc. The one "entertainment" I had was surfing the net and websites of interest a few minutes at a time, and these constituted the "break" activities which interspersed the study times.

 

[Knicks]

FEAR

Fear of failing, fear of doing poorly and not getting the residency or even the specialty you remotely want, etc.

I did NOT use a study schedule. I did NOT study in the library. I studied at home and I started studying within 2 hours of getting up and then studied nearly nonstop until I went to bed. Going to the library was not going to be productive since I like my "amenities" - drinks, snacks, "lounging" in pajamas, etc. Furthermore, transportation to and from the library would take 1.5 hr (waiting for buses, crowded buses, and the slow bus ride itself) each day and that's a serious waste of time and energy. I did NOT watch TV (OK, 3 movies in all of 2 months total), practically did not listen to music at all, did not read extraneous books, etc. The one "entertainment" I had was surfing the net and websites of interest a few minutes at a time, and these constituted the "break" activities which interspersed the study times.

And how was your performance on the exam? You don't have to necessarily tell me your score, but how you feel about whatever score you got.

While I totally agree with the whole "fear" thing, you can't let it get to you so much that you lose your mind trying to get in 'x' amount of hours.

Health [of all sorts] is the most important.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

And how was your performance on the exam? You don't have to necessarily tell me your score, but how you feel about whatever score you got.

While I totally agree with the whole "fear" thing, you can't let it get to you so much that you lose your mind trying to get in 'x' amount of hours.

Health [of all sorts] is the most important.

Just took it a few days ago...don't know the score. 🙂

 

[IcedTea]

I debated for a very long time before starting this thread, but oh well, what the hell ...

OK, I keep reading in all these forums about people studying 12-15 hours/day. That's a lot. And I think I have ADD/ADHD. How does one sit in a chair for that many hours a day and NOT get distracted? Especially with the computer, food, etc.? Is there something I'm missing? I've been trying to do hour blocks of studying with 10 minute breaks in between but even those are rough. Any tips on staying focused?

Also, any suggestions on home v. library study? I know every one is different but I'm just curious as to what the majority of you did/do.

I'm five weeks out right now and pretty damn scared. I just took NBME 4 this morning and got 190. HELP!

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I get distracted easily. Especially with Grand Theft Auto 4 out now and Call of Duty 4 online, hell yeah I get distracted lol.
But you just have to put distractions aside for the time being and dedicate yourself to studying for Step 1, because it matters a lot when applying to residencies.

This is what I do on a typical day that I'm off:

10 AM - Wake up

1 PM - Start studying

8 PM - Stop studying

8 - 12 AM - Relax, watch TV, play games, go clubbing if I'm in the mood lol

I do take breaks for food, surfing the web, and exercising if I feel like it

Even though my 7 hour studying sessions are nowhere near the 12-15 hour sessions some people have, I think I'm doing pretty damn good. Honestly, I probably wouldn't be able to handle 12-15 hours of studying, I would get distracted easily.

 

[Anaphylactic]

One of my favorite place to study is at the cancer center of my institution, especially at night. I am not morbid but there is something surreal about a place like that. I often sit at the cafeteria and order myself a hot cup of coffee. Then watching families visit one another or just looking at those little kids who often smile despite the uncertainty of their future, I feel a sense of calmness. Sometime, it helps me put things in perspective and often, it makes me feel good and excited to learn or re-learn what seemed to be a distant eternity in med school.

 

[Knicks]

One of my favorite place to study is at the cancer center of my institution, especially at night. I am not morbid but there is something surreal about a place like that. I often sit at the cafeteria and order myself a hot cup of coffee. Then watching families visit one another or just looking at those little kids who often smile despite the uncertainty of their future, I feel a sense of calmness. Sometime, it helps me put things in perspective and often, it makes me feel good and excited to learn or re-learn what seemed to be a distant eternity in med school.

0.o

*slowly backing out of thread*

 

[psychobob]

I debated for a very long time before starting this thread, but oh well, what the hell ...

OK, I keep reading in all these forums about people studying 12-15 hours/day. That's a lot. And I think I have ADD/ADHD. How does one sit in a chair for that many hours a day and NOT get distracted? Especially with the computer, food, etc.? Is there something I'm missing? I've been trying to do hour blocks of studying with 10 minute breaks in between but even those are rough. Any tips on staying focused?

Also, any suggestions on home v. library study? I know every one is different but I'm just curious as to what the majority of you did/do.

I'm five weeks out right now and pretty damn scared. I just took NBME 4 this morning and got 190. HELP!

I know how you feel. You just have to face that there are certain people that have the mental stamina and dedication to sit all day locked in their room studying. For me, even if there aren't any distractions there's a certain threshhold where nothing will be absorbed or understood any further (~8hrs). The best thing is just make a schedule, and finish the subjects allotted for that day as efficiently as possible.

Of course, the distractions are problem. Right now, I was about the start reviewing parasites. I took one look at the FA table, and decided I needed a break. It's easy to lose focus. You can try going to the library if it helps you focus, but like another poster already mentioned the travel time is a problem. So right now, I bought a nice study desk and been studying home ever since. The key is to be in a comfortable surrounding, but not too comfortable. I studied on a couch a few times...big mistake.

At the end of the day, as long as you're satisfied with what you've accomplished it really doesn't matter how many hrs you put into it. Anyways, parasites await.....

 

[Anaphylactic]

0.o

*slowly backing out of thread*

Knicks:

Just because you are anonymous here, it does not give you the right to be discourteous.

One reason I wrote what I did is because I am anonymous here. I would not share those thoughts with my classmates because admittedly, they are somewhat personal. I wrote that to hopefully encourage someone out there to realize that there are worse things than studying.

At the risk of being judgmental but you seem to be the kind of person who lacks the human capacity for sympathy. If that is indeed the case, perhaps you should consider your decision to become a physician.

 

[Knicks]

^^ wow, calm down man. You took my post totalllyyyyy the wrong way.

That post of mine was more of a comedic/joking post. DEFINTELY not a mocking post.

But, nevertheless, since you DID take it the wrong way, I'll apologize: Sorry.


This was an example of the short-comings of communicating through text; a lot lost "through translation", so to speak. =-/