Summer after m1 advice

[dentalhopeful10]

I just need a little advice(or tough love). I am just about to enter my last block of M1 in a school in the south, and I am upset about how I have performed this year. I did pretty well(above average) starting out, but I don't know what happened after my first block. My grades have been declining. I did extremely well in undergrad with minimal effort(all nighters the night before exams), and here it just seems like nothing works for me and it is hard to stay focused. I just find myself procrastinating, which I did in undergrad...but it was no problem there.

I am currently in the lower 50% of my class, and want to make changes in my work ethic. For me it is hard to stay motivated when I do poorly on exams. I feel like I do not know what to focus on at all. I have not failed any blocks, I just want to learn how to do better in order to crush second year and do well on my board exams.

This summer I am doing research, and was hoping to build a strong foundation for next year and for step I. I know on here the majority says that no one should study during the summer, but I feel like I do not have a strong enough physiology background in order to tackle pathology.

I wanted to go through some of Dr. Najeeb's physio lectures(specifically Cardio) and correlate it with BRS physio; maybe take a look at First Aid?

Basically I just feel hopeless and completely lost at this point, and want to start off M2 strong. Do you guys have any advice, or plans for how I should approach this summer and M2? Some of my second year friends tell me to start pathoma, but I feel like I do not have a good enough background to go through it.

Thanks!

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[13132]

If you are that concerned about average performance then you should just strengthen your weaknesses. I don't think studying ahead is a great idea. Below is what I think. Note: my school is not systems based.

I am a current MS1 also doing research this summer, and in my downtime all I am going to do is keep first year topics (biochem, physio, anatomy, neuro, etc) fresh by doing Firecracker and FA simultaneously. I plan to go pretty in-depth so that on the 3rd pass during board studying they come back even more easily. I am not going to study pathology because I probably won't retain much of it and I am pretty burned out right now. I need to enter MS2 as refreshed as possible.

About work ethic... Every day I set a goal for myself to make the Anki for the lectures I had that day and to either start or finish them. Maybe you don't do Anki, but the point is that making a goal to complete your own pass of the material the day that you get it will really keep you on top of stuff. Basically I try to go to sleep with a handle on everything that was presented to me that day. I don't always reach my goal, but if you get close then weekend catch up is minimal.

 

[TheRobin]

What's your schedule like? In other words, are you putting in enough hours for you to do well? Some people can do the whole "treat med school like a 9-5 job" schedule. Some need less daily hours of study, while others need more. Figure out how much time you need to put in, and then start putting in the time.

Like you, I had a tough time in the beginning figuring out where to focus my energies when studying. What helped me was starting to go to class again and really focus my study efforts on what the professors emphasized during lecture. YMMV.

As far as the summer, you'll probably have down time while you conduct research during which you could review first-year material or watch Pathoma.

 

[dentalhopeful10]

If you are that concerned about average performance then you should just strengthen your weaknesses. I don't think studying ahead is a great idea. Below is what I think. Note: my school is not systems based.

I am a current MS1 also doing research this summer, and in my downtime all I am going to do is keep first year topics (biochem, physio, anatomy, neuro, etc) fresh by doing Firecracker and FA simultaneously. I plan to go pretty in-depth so that on the 3rd pass during board studying they come back even more easily. I am not going to study pathology because I probably won't retain much of it and I am pretty burned out right now. I need to enter MS2 as refreshed as possible.

About work ethic... Every day I set a goal for myself to make the Anki for the lectures I had that day and to either start or finish them. Maybe you don't do Anki, but the point is that making a goal to complete your own pass of the material the day that you get it will really keep you on top of stuff. Basically I try to go to sleep with a handle on everything that was presented to me that day. I don't always reach my goal, but if you get close then weekend catch up is minimal.

I think that is a good idea, I'll probably just flip through the costanzo physio book with questions from the BRS physio book and do my best to coordinate that with Dr. Najeebs(and see if there is any other physio stuff I don't feel comfortable with). Then tackle biochemistry with the FA?

I was told by some people to start memorizing at Drugs and Bugs with ANKI for second year, but I do not know exactly what the best resource for that would be?

Thanks for the advice about goal setting, I think probably setting realistic goals; while staying on top of things will help a lot.

What's your schedule like? In other words, are you putting in enough hours for you to do well? Some people can do the whole "treat med school like a 9-5 job" schedule. Some need less daily hours of study, while others need more. Figure out how much time you need to put in, and then start putting in the time.

Like you, I had a tough time in the beginning figuring out where to focus my energies when studying. What helped me was starting to go to class again and really focus my study efforts on what the professors emphasized during lecture. YMMV.

As far as the summer, you'll probably have down time while you conduct research during which you could review first-year material or watch Pathoma.

I think what happens to me overall is, I'll start off strong and go to lecture than I miss a day or two and the work quickly piles up. Or if I find something that's hard to understand, I feel like i'm wasting my time because there is so much other stuff to focus on.

Also a big thing is I feel like so many people have so many resources they recommend, and I get lost in finding the best one and then when I finally do...it's so much on top of what is recommended by professors

 

[2Nice]

Does your school have any kind of mentorship program for upperclassmen to advise new folk? If not, I would just try to reach out informally to current M2s and M3s (although I'm sure your M2s are locked away studying for Step now) and see what strategies they have used to prepare for year 2. I'm also an M1, and I plan to study over the summer, but my study schedule will look different from yours because the first courses we have coming back next year are Path and Micro, and the M2s all say that it was a bear. I'm going to do my best to study FA, Lange, Clinical Microbiology MRS, etc over the summer, and maybe even start with Q-banks.

As for motivation and work ethic, I've struggled with that a bit myself. I'm finding that it's a moving target. I have to adjust my strategies on the fly. More than anything, I've learned what doesn't work for me. I can't study at home, and I can't study with certain groups of people. I need to be able to take breaks to move around and get my blood flowing from time to time. I know I do best when I stick to a schedule too, so I try to set one up for myself. But all these things get old over time, and become less effective, so I have to come up with new things.

One thing that has been really helpful for me when I feel like it's all pointless and irrelevant is going back to what initially drew me to working in medicine. For me, that's working with patients. If I'm feeling burnt out, if I go spend some time in the free clinic, it brings me back. There's a reason you've put up with everything that you did to get to where you are; remind yourself of that, and you'll feel better.

Good luck!!

 

[dentalhopeful10]

Does your school have any kind of mentorship program for upperclassmen to advise new folk? If not, I would just try to reach out informally to current M2s and M3s (although I'm sure your M2s are locked away studying for Step now) and see what strategies they have used to prepare for year 2. I'm also an M1, and I plan to study over the summer, but my study schedule will look different from yours because the first courses we have coming back next year are Path and Micro, and the M2s all say that it was a bear. I'm going to do my best to study FA, Lange, Clinical Microbiology MRS, etc over the summer, and maybe even start with Q-banks.

As for motivation and work ethic, I've struggled with that a bit myself. I'm finding that it's a moving target. I have to adjust my strategies on the fly. More than anything, I've learned what doesn't work for me. I can't study at home, and I can't study with certain groups of people. I need to be able to take breaks to move around and get my blood flowing from time to time. I know I do best when I stick to a schedule too, so I try to set one up for myself. But all these things get old over time, and become less effective, so I have to come up with new things.

One thing that has been really helpful for me when I feel like it's all pointless and irrelevant is going back to what initially drew me to working in medicine. For me, that's working with patients. If I'm feeling burnt out, if I go spend some time in the free clinic, it brings me back. There's a reason you've put up with everything that you did to get to where you are; remind yourself of that, and you'll feel better.

Good luck!!

We do have a mentor ship program, but my mentors all said that all they did was research (I'm not sure if that's true or not). At my school it's path and micro for next year as well. I think I do need to spend more time in the clinic, and have more of a daily plan. In undergrad I was always super busy, so when I had two hours to study I knew I had to get a ton done.

Thanks!

Do you guys have any recommendations for what study in terms of biochemistry and also drugs/bugs. Should I look at first aid? or are there any other resources you all recommend! (after I review the physio I didn't get the first time around)

 

[masaraksh]

Does your school have any kind of mentorship program for upperclassmen to advise new folk? If not, I would just try to reach out informally to current M2s and M3s (although I'm sure your M2s are locked away studying for Step now) and see what strategies they have used to prepare for year 2. I'm also an M1, and I plan to study over the summer, but my study schedule will look different from yours because the first courses we have coming back next year are Path and Micro, and the M2s all say that it was a bear. I'm going to do my best to study FA, Lange, Clinical Microbiology MRS, etc over the summer, and maybe even start with Q-banks.

As for motivation and work ethic, I've struggled with that a bit myself. I'm finding that it's a moving target. I have to adjust my strategies on the fly. More than anything, I've learned what doesn't work for me. I can't study at home, and I can't study with certain groups of people. I need to be able to take breaks to move around and get my blood flowing from time to time. I know I do best when I stick to a schedule too, so I try to set one up for myself. But all these things get old over time, and become less effective, so I have to come up with new things.

One thing that has been really helpful for me when I feel like it's all pointless and irrelevant is going back to what initially drew me to working in medicine. For me, that's working with patients. If I'm feeling burnt out, if I go spend some time in the free clinic, it brings me back. There's a reason you've put up with everything that you did to get to where you are; remind yourself of that, and you'll feel better.

Good luck!!

What also works? Looking in your bank account at the money you don't have and then looking at what FM is like..

 

[TheRobin]

Do you guys have any recommendations for what study in terms of biochemistry and also drugs/bugs. Should I look at first aid? or are there any other resources you all recommend! (after I review the physio I didn't get the first time around)

I've heard good things about Kaplan's biochemistry videos, but First Aid should suffice if you learned it well enough the first-time around.

For bugs, look into SketchyMicro or Picmonic. Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple is a good option if you like textbooks.

All in all, remember to have some fun this summer, too.

 

[dentalhopeful10]

I've heard good things about Kaplan's biochemistry videos, but First Aid should suffice if you learned it well enough the first-time around.

For bugs, look into SketchyMicro or Picmonic. Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple is a good option if you like textbooks.

All in all, remember to have some fun this summer, too.

Thanks! I'll take a look at a couple of those for bugs and maybe stick to first-aid for drugs

And I will try to have some fun this summer! I have a couple of trips planned.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[chandshe88]

my advice is to relax. summer after ms1 is a good time to decompress.