They just don't understand

[psipsina]

Congratulations on your impressive attention span. Trust me, not all of us have it. If I sat in a room and just tried to grind out four hours of studying, it wouldn't work. I wouldn't learn. I'd daydream, zone out, or just plain fall asleep. I need to break up my study time with things like SDN, calling a friend, etc. I know my weaknesses, so I never bring my laptop to school, I never study at home, and I go somewhere where I can focus, but I'll always get thirsty, tired, bored, etc. Honestly, I'd rather spend 6-7 hours studying at a casual pace than 4 hours of intense memorization. There's still another 18 hours in the day anyways. My social life doesn't really bite the dust until the week before (and during) exams. Even then, I see my wife every day for at least an hour or two (if not a lot more).

I agree, I study sporadically throughout the day with breaks in between which keeps my mind fresh, if I just tried to sit there for hours and hours straight I would end up with nothing actually consolidated into my memory, just a whole bunch of highlighted pages with doodles in the margins.

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[Doctor Bagel]

Tell that to the person who's currently getting a 46% in our pharm class right now and needs to get a 97% on the cumulative final in order to avoid repeating the entire second year.

I agree that MOST students can find time for friends/hobbies/family/watching paint dry and do fine (although maybe not derm fine), but there are always a few people in every class that really don't have that luxury.

Yeah, that's true, but naegleria brain's not one of 'em, at least based on his other posts. The vast, vast majority of students aren't going to be in that position, either.

 

[smq123]

Personally, I take most weekends off, but we have test blocks, so I guess that makes it easier. If you can't take the weekend off, I think you could probably at least take off one day a week. I guess I'm undisciplined, but I couldn't study every day of every week.

Wow, I guess I'm sounding like you guys' friends who don't get it. I'm a med student, and I don't get it. You need to make it a priority to have spare time and to spend time with friends. I don't think med school makes it impossible to do that. It's just we're all a little too neurotic.

Hmm...so, if you take a weekend off, do you make up for it during the week? I mean, do you study 15 hours a day M-F, and then relax on the weekend?

Also, I'm wondering if it is different between 1st and 2nd year. I think 1st year was "stressful" because everything was so new and I wasn't as accustomed to it. But I think 2nd year is stressful because of a) Step 1 is looming, and b) there really is a lot of material.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Hmm...so, if you take a weekend off, do you make up for it during the week? I mean, do you study 15 hours a day M-F, and then relax on the weekend?

Also, I'm wondering if it is different between 1st and 2nd year. I think 1st year was "stressful" because everything was so new and I wasn't as accustomed to it. But I think 2nd year is stressful because of a) Step 1 is looming, and b) there really is a lot of material.

Honestly, I don't study very much at all, and I really don't know why that works for me. I also might truly be screwed second year. I don't have a great concentration span, but I don't study more than 5 or so hours most days, and yeah, I very rarely study on the weekends. Again, my school has test blocks, so the vast majority of my weekends are in non-exam times. I'm not going to make AOA, but I'm comfortably in the top half of my class.

I'm really not trying to brag or anything, but medical school hasn't demanded that much of my time thus far. And yes, second year might kill me, and I know I'll have no life during third year.

I guess I'm sensitive to this whole they don't understand thing because I've been on the other side of it and have been blown off by friends who were in med school and have had these same friends make the automatic assumption that my life was way easier than theirs.

 

[45408]

Honestly, I don't study very much at all, and I really don't know why that works for me. I also might truly be screwed second year. I don't have a great concentration span, but I don't study more than 5 or so hours most days, and yeah, I very rarely study on the weekends. Again, my school has test blocks, so the vast majority of my weekends are in non-exam times. I'm not going to make AOA, but I'm comfortably in the top half of my class.

Yeah....that's why your posts aren't relevant to many of the rest of us.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Yeah....that's why your posts aren't relevant to many of the rest of us.

Maybe I just go to easier school.

 

[akpete]

It's all right Bagel. I'm right there with ya. Except this week. We have cumulative finals for Path and Pharm next week. And I'm determined to keep a hefty schedule for boards studying.

My studying definitely went up this year some, but, yeah, last year, it was as if I only went to school 1.5 week/month because the rest of the month I would do other stuff. M2 year has required some more studying.


But I totally agree that this topic is highly individual.

 

[LJDHC05]

Honestly, I don't study very much at all, and I really don't know why that works for me. I also might truly be screwed second year. I don't have a great concentration span, but I don't study more than 5 or so hours most days, and yeah, I very rarely study on the weekends. Again, my school has test blocks, so the vast majority of my weekends are in non-exam times. I'm not going to make AOA, but I'm comfortably in the top half of my class.

I'm really not trying to brag or anything, but medical school hasn't demanded that much of my time thus far. And yes, second year might kill me, and I know I'll have no life during third year.

This is pretty much how I roll. I generally don't use my brain for much more than alcohol induced neuronal apoptosis for about a week after exams. 2-3 weeks before exams I start to ramp up my study time to about 3-4 hours outside of class. And then the week before exams I tend to study for most of my waking hours. Again, I'm not AOA material and I'm not looking to match into anything that's super competitive (EM...although that's not necessarily true any more).

Although I've had to blow off friends a few times because of exams, I still make room for the GF and the fam on weekends even though they're 3-5 hours away by car. People prioritize things differently and I won't let my life be consumed by this asinine "indoctrination" into the world of medicine... for me, it's a job not a way of life.

 

[naegleria brain]

i apologize for the previous dichotomy. the OP said he cant find time for them. so i'm telling him that he's gotta take the hit.

there's no shame in admitting you need to study 24/7 to pull off a 70, and there's no shame in honoring everything. there is shame in dropping out because you decided your old college buddies were more important than your career.

 

[Psoriatic]

the ppl claiming to study 300 pages/week...what the f@#$% are u reading??..seriously...300 pages?...i hope greatly exaggerating because that is ridiculous...and if you are reading that much are passing your exams??..because there is no way your doing focused studying if your reading that much...

 

[DoctorFunk]

the ppl claiming to study 300 pages/week...what the f@#$% are u reading??..seriously...300 pages?...i hope greatly exaggerating because that is ridiculous...and if you are reading that much are passing your exams??..because there is no way your doing focused studying if your reading that much...

Our school provides comprehensive course notes (sometimes reprints of powerpoints) for every class. On average, these notes run about 20 pages/lecture. We usually have 3 lectures a day, so we pretty easily hit 300 pages simply of notes to cover every week. Add in the pages I read out of BRS/Goljan/Pocket Robbins to supplement and I'm probably racking up more like 350-400 at the end of the week.

As for your second question, I'm not sure how much more focused I can get than reading straight from the hopelessly condensed lecture notes they provide us, and you can sleep well knowing that I'm passing my exams just fine, thank you.

 

[Psoriatic]

Our school provides comprehensive course notes (sometimes reprints of powerpoints) for every class. On average, these notes run about 20 pages/lecture. We usually have 3 lectures a day, so we pretty easily hit 300 pages simply of notes to cover every week. Add in the pages I read out of BRS/Goljan/Pocket Robbins to supplement and I'm probably racking up more like 350-400 at the end of the week.

As for your second question, I'm not sure how much more focused I can get than reading straight from the hopelessly condensed lecture notes they provide us, and you can sleep well knowing that I'm passing my exams just fine, thank you.

if your talking about lecture notes thats a different story. I thought ppl we're saying they're studying 300 basic science textbook pages.

 

[angel80]

if your talking about lecture notes thats a different story. I thought ppl we're saying they're studying 300 basic science textbook pages.

Trust me, 300 pages of class notes is probably worse than 300 pages of textbook. With textbook, you read a page through, and there are probably a few important points on the page that you have to remember. With notes, they are so condensed, that each page of notes is the equivalent of several pages of textbook. The notes do not contain any fluff. You basically have to memorize everything on every page, and yes, it is very tough to do.

 

[soeagerun2or]

With notes, they are so condensed, that each page of notes is the equivalent of several pages of textbook. The notes do not contain any fluff. You basically have to memorize everything on every page, and yes, it is very tough to do.

Lol do you have no long term memory? If your notes are anything like ours, or the other schools' notes I've seen, they are entirely redundant. Like when the OB-Gyn lecturer decides to tell you about both male and female development during the amenorrhea lecture, or that 7 different lecturers felt it was imperative you learn diapedesis as if it just came out yesterday. Of the 30 pages of notes we get per day they could be condensed to 1.5 pages of single spaced text of important information. Thats a 20-fold excess! Textbooks would require cranes to open if they were that bad.

 

[45408]

Lol do you have no long term memory? If your notes are anything like ours, or the other schools' notes I've seen, they are entirely redundant.

Um, the notes usually are redundant, but I don't see what that has to do with long-term memory. Our notes often just have a graph or two on a page, but sometimes there are several full paragraphs and illustrations. But like angel said, a textbook (say Guyton) has endless little tidbits that aren't testable, but everything in the notes is completely fair game.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Um, the notes usually are redundant, but I don't see what that has to do with long-term memory. Our notes often just have a graph or two on a page, but sometimes there are several full paragraphs and illustrations. But like angel said, a textbook (say Guyton) has endless little tidbits that aren't testable, but everything in the notes is completely fair game.

I'm saying if you have 30 pages of notes and only 1.5 pages are new you skim until you find the relevant material. It's beyond me how one can spend more than an hour studying for a one-hour lecture when the testable material was presented in the lecture or a prerequisite for the lecture. It should take less than the hour because some of it is nonsense.

 

[naegleria brain]

true. 4 hrs of lecture a day X 5 days per week is 20 hrs. 1 hr of review for each lecture is another 20 hrs. you have to review last weeks material though; once isn't enough or forgetting will take place. 1/2 hr each? another 10 hrs. and the week before that? 15 mins a lecture, another 5 hrs. but those group nonsense, see patients, grand rounds. anywhere from 5-10 hrs a week.

We're at 65 hrs a week. there's probably going to be some stuff that the lecturer sucked at and a textbook is now required, and we're at 70+ a week. if you do research, we are now beyond the "mandated" 80hr resident week.

in summation, it adds up, nonsense or no nonsense.

 

[pagemmapants]

We usually have 3 lectures a day

Oh man. We have 5-6 hours of lecture on most days, and fewer only if the time is taken up by path lab or micro lab. 4/5 days a week we're doing SOMETHING 9am-4pm, then the last day is a "light" 3-lecture morning.

Thank heaven we have non-cumulative tests every two weeks or I might die.

 

[45408]

I'm saying if you have 30 pages of notes and only 1.5 pages are new you skim until you find the relevant material. It's beyond me how one can spend more than an hour studying for a one-hour lecture when the testable material was presented in the lecture or a prerequisite for the lecture. It should take less than the hour because some of it is nonsense.

LOLZ @ the idea that only 1.5 pages are new. Some of our lectures are almost entirely new. Some of our neuro lectures are 15 pages of "WTF IS THIS STUFF??" You either have a photographic memory (possible), or your school doesn't teach any material that takes very long to learn, but neither of the above apply to me.

What's the point of having lectures if the testable material was a prereq?

 

[doctorp82]

i apologize for the previous dichotomy. the OP said he cant find time for them. so i'm telling him that he's gotta take the hit.

there's no shame in admitting you need to study 24/7 to pull off a 70, and there's no shame in honoring everything. there is shame in dropping out because you decided your old college buddies were more important than your career.

I figured as the OP I could come back and weigh in a bit. Addressing Naegleria's comments, it's not that I can't make time for them, but rather the difference in lifestyle that I've changed to and what they still know makes it hard to communicate "Hey, I still want to hang out, but you need to do better than call me at 10:15 pm on a Wed. night to do something right then." I can't say yes to that too often (if at all) and for some people it's turned into a "well you don't want to do anything at all."

It's not that I dont have any social life, but trying to continue keeping up with friends is difficult when they won't try to work with you with their time, or presume you're unavailable. My original post was simply to see if anyone else ever deals with it. It was more of a rant than a request for advice, I suppose.

 

[akpete]

but rather the difference in lifestyle that I've changed to and what they still know makes it hard to communicate "Hey, I still want to hang out, but you need to do better than call me at 10:15 pm on a Wed. night to do something right then." I can't say yes to that too often (if at all) and for some people it's turned into a "well you don't want to do anything at all."

I think this sums it up quite nicely.

Even though I tend to not put in quite as many hours as some others, my non-med school friends make it a habit to call the weekend before a Monday and Tuesday exam schedule. Then they assume I'm always busy and can never go out.

 

[doctorp82]

When I ask people how life is going I'll sometimes get, "Things are really busy right now, but I know you've gotta be busier than I am with med school."

 

[megadon]

In the next 5 days, we will be covering about 90 pages of clinical/science material.

Just wait till you get to physiology and get big Robbins. Although you can get away with reading baby Robbins, big is where its at.

 

[pagemmapants]

I agree with Mega. That book is always on my coffee table. Best. Coffee table. Book. Ever.

A close second would be my "anatomical pathology" which is basically a photojournal of diseased organs. My parents hate that one.

 

[smq123]

Just wait till you get to physiology and get big Robbins. Although you can get away with reading baby Robbins, big is where its at.

Actually, even though I'm currently finishing up 2nd year, I've never cracked open Robbins. Our school teaches out of Rubin and Farber - mostly because Rubin and Farber work at my school. The 90 pages that I was referring to is syllabus that contains a condensed version of the relevant chapter in Rubin's, since the person who wrote that chapter is the same person who wrote the syllabus for that class. I like Rubin's though - no complaints. Is Robbins really that good?

 

[doctoresse]

Robbins is the one book in med school that was definitely worth shelling the bucks IMO. It has come handy in a lot of classes other than path. Everything is clearly explained, it's well written and ironically not boring for its size. I swear I don't have any Robbins stocks (and i sound tragically nerdy )

 

[naegleria brain]

yeah, robbins is that good; i don't even bother with rubin anymore
i hate that the rest of the country uses robbins yet because we probably get some deal since rubin and farber work here, we have to use their stuff

and the robbins review book is a far better companion than rubin's. rubin's review is good for our test, but robbins review was much more in line with qbank.

 

[Shredder]

What is apparent is a fundamental lack of imagination. I was under the impression that medical school students have a basic understanding of metaphors and hyperbole.

Doctor's schedules vary enough that your last sentence is an erroneous blanket statement. ER docs definitely work a set schedule and are not slaves to their jobs.

Seconded; there are plenty of docs with decent or even great work schedules