Tests

[arcin]

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Okay so I am a Pre-Med Student but I had a question for the Med School students:

I was just wondering what the tests are like in Med School?

I know a lot of people say it is just very detailed but I would like an idea of what I am up against. I also understand that I may not be able to fully comprehend the vastness that I need to learn but it would put my mind at ease knowing what I have to look forward to. Any assistance would be greatly appreciate it.

 

[chrisisinnocent]

Go to your local B&N and leaf through one of the Pre Test books on various subjects. Should give you an idea. Med school tests aren't that difficult it's just the volume of information that is daunting.

 

[Tiger26]

So this is what med school's like: Here's 700 pages worth of biochemistry. Make sure to know every random, esoteric, and unimportant detail because that's what we like to ask on the tests. In the event that we tell you that said detail isn't important to know, make sure to really know it inside and out.

The thing is, I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. After finals, my roommate walked into the living room after stacking all the lecture notes for our three classes on top of each other (no books or anything, just notes) and it was easily a foot thick top to bottom. What makes it hard is that it's not even like just having to read that stack all the way through will be enough. No, you've got to be able to recall every fact, chart, table, graph and anything else in there with enough clarity that you don't doubt yourself on the exam.

With that said, you get used to the pace of it all. If you've ever played sports, it's like moving from jv to varsity or high school to college athletics. It's not that it's much harder, it's just that everything moves a lot faster. Of course, you also lose any other intellectual abilities in the process. See the thread about getting smarter in med school (actually feel dumber, can't spell anymore)

 

[psipsina]

Go to your local B&N and leaf through one of the Pre Test books on various subjects. Should give you an idea. Med school tests aren't that difficult it's just the volume of information that is daunting.

Yeah and the fact that its A, B, C, A&C, All of the Above, None of the Above . . . I can' t tell you how many times I know C is right, I know B is wrong but I can't remember what the hell A is so I guess between C & A&C. Blech. You have to know the same detail that you did in undergrad but the volume is overwhelming. Sometimes by the time we get to the end of a block I can't even remember the topic of one of the first lectures anymore, and I spent hours on it at the time we did it.

 

[PenguinHead]

Yeah and the fact that its A, B, C, A&C, All of the Above, None of the Above . . . I can' t tell you how many times I know C is right, I know B is wrong but I can't remember what the hell A is so I guess between C & A&C. Blech.

God I hate that

 

[tacrum43]

Sometimes by the time we get to the end of a block I can't even remember the topic of one of the first lectures anymore, and I spent hours on it at the time we did it.

Whew...it's not just me then. 😳

 

[DrLizzie]

And it really blows when you know that the answer to a question is on the bottom of page 726 but you can't really remember the specifics. It was only mentioned once in the lecture, and told to not be that important so you thought for sure that it wouldn't be asked on the exam 😕 😕

 

[OncoCaP]

On the plus side it sounds like everyone is in the same boat and relatively few ?1-2%? fail out of med school. It sounds like a pain that most people survive because most med students are smart and work hard. Of course, survival isn't everything and excelling is the goal, but it's at least a start ...

 

[arcin]

Well that gives me as much information as I could hope for without actually being there. I mean it sounds kind of scary but at the same time it sounds like quite a bit of a challenge and well I lilke challenges. Thanks for the input...keep it coming. I like knowing as much as possible. Perhaps it is my OCD coming out. Some would call it detail oriented.

 

[psipsina]

Whew...it's not just me then. 😳

Yeah, I keep telling myself that because I already studied it the first time it goes into my brain faster the second time but I'm not so sure that I'm not just making myself feel better about the hours of my life I've spent shoving information in that inevitably falls out again. Ah well. Such is medschool.

 

[chrisisinnocent]

Yeah and the fact that its A, B, C, A&C, All of the Above, None of the Above . . . I can' t tell you how many times I know C is right, I know B is wrong but I can't remember what the hell A is so I guess between C & A&C. Blech. You have to know the same detail that you did in undergrad but the volume is overwhelming. Sometimes by the time we get to the end of a block I can't even remember the topic of one of the first lectures anymore, and I spent hours on it at the time we did it.

haha been there done that. I think though that 3rd year is easier to study for clerkships because i have real patients to hang the information onto. Makes it easier to keep things straight when I remember that the patient in the vignette reminds me of Mrs. Jones etc.

 

[pristine21]

Yeah I agree that it is crazy rediculous, but you suprise yourself- I was spitting out differential diagnosis on a case on the show House and was surprised at how much I actually learned. If I had been asked to learn this **** in undergrad I would have not made it though-

Undergrad is training for the marathon that is Med school, you start out with a 9 min mile, and end up finishing the boston marathon that is med school (1st or last place) doesn't matter cause everyone had to qualify to get in... get it?