Studying In Med School Help

[belichek]

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hi! i was accepted to several schools, but i was wondering if some current med students could tell me what they believe is the most efficient way to study once in med school. As an undergrad, i usually read a chapter and underlined/highlighted key concepts, i then take those key concepts and create a brief outline. Is this too time conusming for med school? and is there a better more efficient way?

THANKS

 

[jzeidenb]

there are 100 ways to study used by the last 100 people i asked. you really gotta figure out what works for you in the med school environment. itll take some adjustment, but you wont really know in what way until you begin.

for me, i study most effectively by rewriting/typing my notes

 

[Isoprop]

the allo/osteo boards have threads just like this. some paraphrasing:

high-yield: there is too much information to learn. go for the high yield stuff instead
be flexible: what may work in physiology may not work with histology
find the "recommended" texts: not all "required" texts are required. ask MS2's for suggestions
syllabus is your friend: ties in with high-yield- too much information, the syllabus/notes will illuminate what information is important

some advice on this blog: http://ifinding.blogspot.com/2007/08/practical-advice-for-new-ms1.html

 

[nlax30]

It's probably going to take you a little while to really figure out what works for you once you start. And what may work for anatomy may not work for physiology, etc.....

I know a lot of people like the high-yield review style books. Personally, I'm not a good memorizer, so I just can't look at a list of high yield facts and get much out of it. I need to see the big picture and really get a good understanding of the underlying science/mechanism for me to retain it, so I need to read the actual textbook. Another thing is to use multiple sources. If you're stuck on a certain topic or just trying to really nail something down go read about it in another book, or find an online review site, or use a review book.

And not all textbooks are written well. Our embryology required text is just horrible and so I've gotten my hands on another one that is (for me at least) written much better and will use that if I come across something that doesn't make sense in ours.

I'm still trying to figure out how much note taking I should do. I'm in a PBL program so I we don't have lectures or syllabus/outlines to go by, so I have to read the text. But I've been doing a combination of making an outline of a chapter, if I know that I'm not going to read that chapter again I may make the outline fairly detailed and then use that to study from later. Sometimes I may just highlight as I go along, and may go back and outline from that if I have time. And for some things I don't do any notes, especially for physiology where I just need to understand a mechanism or concept I just do a one-time slow read through.

 

[nascardoc]

There are many different ways, so you are going to get a ton of different answers. Whatever works best for you in order to efficiently and accurately reproduce the material is the best for you. For myself, I rewatch lectures (all lectures at DCOM are video recorded, along with powerpoint slides and markings on them). Then I do a lot of "thinking" on our whiteboards, and duplicate any good "thoughts" on my computer. This is where having a tablet PC is really nice 😉 I use a lot of board review books b/c they condense the info down really well, giving me the important info - no fluff. And, most importantly, constantly adjusting b/c each block (or month here) can be a little different, and I'm sure the same will hold once we start our systems next semester.

 

[Nasem]

my other question is...
How many hours per week do you medical students study?

My friend is in his MS1 right now at wayne state, he says he studies approx 40 hrs per week (granted he is honoring every exam), but 40 hrs seems a bit TOO MUCH !!

 

[scpod]

...but 40 hrs seems a bit TOO MUCH !!

For some people it is, but for others that won't be enough. In medical school you will have some time on your own, but to do well you will be studying for hours every day. It never lets up. There really is that much material to cover.

 

[Tanner82]

hi! i was accepted to several schools, but i was wondering if some current med students could tell me what they believe is the most efficient way to study once in med school. As an undergrad, i usually read a chapter and underlined/highlighted key concepts, i then take those key concepts and create a brief outline. Is this too time conusming for med school? and is there a better more efficient way?

THANKS

Is your avatar actually you?

 

[Old Grunt]

Is your avatar actually you?

Is your avatar actually you?

 

[jzeidenb]

Is your avatar actually you?

F'n LOL

 

[belichek]

why wouldnt it be?

 

[jzeidenb]

why wouldnt it be?

what other schools have u been accepted to? (i know i heard nsu once)

u might wanna ask current students at those schools how they study for some ideas. Us premeds have no more exposure to the material than you do and are really only tossing out unfounded ideas.

 

[belichek]

NSU, UNECOM, Dartmouth.

 

[Tanner82]

why wouldnt it be?

cuz you look pretty hot👍

 

[Old Grunt]

F'n LOL

I am just asking. I mean if Bob Saget is here, he probably wants to check out the "nontraditional forum".

 

[Tanner82]

I am just asking. I mean if Bob Saget is here, he probably wants to check out the "nontraditional forum".

Whose bob saget? I always get that.... I am Danny Tanner from wake up San Fransico. I'm too cool for the non-trad forum. But I am as non-trad as you can get. I have 3 kids and I house like 20 different people.

 

[prionsRbad]

Whose bob saget? I always get that.... I am Danny Tanner from wake up San Fransico. I'm too cool for the non-trad forum. But I am as non-trad as you can get. I have 3 kids and I house like 20 different people.

Cool! You live down the street from me in San Francisco! I drive by your house all the time!

 

[Vee]

Some of my classmates spend hours upon hours making elaborate study guides and recopying the notes that we are given for every lecture. For me, that's inefficient. I study from the notes that we are given (and any that I take during class) primarily and I go to the texts if something is unclear to me. I spend about 2 hours each weeknight (sometimes I take Friday off) and 5-7 hours each weekend day, unless we have an exam. If there's an exam it becomes 10-12 hours. It works for me, but like everyone has said, you need to come up with your own system of studying and you will. It might take you a couple of weeks/courses to figure it out and you might have to keep changing things up, but you'll find a rhythm.

 

[dizzle69]

What's wrong with Dartmouth ... if that is where you really got in 😉

 

[belichek]

What's wrong with Dartmouth ... if that is where you really got in 😉

the kids there are REALLY intense, and most came from schools like duke, cornell, columbia, Wash U, emory etc. Besides, hanover NH is dull and depressing so if im gonna be under a lot of pressure studyn i dont want to be in a non conducive environment. (as for the mcat question I got a 23Q when i took it without studyn in june, then i got a 33O in august 11B 11P 11V) I didnt feel the need to belabor the point and make people feel let down. The fact of the matter is that I got into dartmouth mainly because my father is an MD who is on the faculty, and is a full time professor there.

 

[amathew]

the kids there are REALLY intense, and most came from schools like duke, cornell, columbia, Wash U, emory etc. Besides, hanover NH is dull and depressing so if im gonna be under a lot of pressure studyn i dont want to be in a non conducive environment. (as for the mcat question I got a 23Q when i took it without studyn in june, then i got a 33O in august 11B 11P 11V) I didnt feel the need to belabor the point and make people feel let down. The fact of the matter is that I got into dartmouth mainly because my father is an MD who is on the faculty, and is a full time professor there.

I think its pretty cool that you admit that...Good luck in whichever school you decide to attend...

 

[MaximusD]

why wouldnt it be?

how you doin'?

 

[Tanner82]

how you doin'?