Things you wish you knew about before you started M1...

[Fumoffu]

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Was wondering if some of the medical students would enlighten us new people on some of the things you wish you knew about before you started school, and perhaps some warnings on the things to avoid.

Thanks.

 

[Jalby]

The way you studied for undergrad might not work in medical school.

 

[KylieP54]

I just wanna say I can't wait to answer this one once ms1 is over...i'm sure i'll have lots to say! 😀

 

[Stinger86]

Don't put too much stock in your classroom experience first year, because traditionally you don't learn anything fun or practical until your second year. I abhorred my first year... nearly quit too... because it was like spending a ton of money to take a fifth year of college biology.

Medicine's pretty cool when your school eventually gets around to teaching it.

 

[brianjc]

In med school you can't cram anymore. If you were a person who could attend class and study the weekend before an exam and still do well in undergrad, chances are that type of studying will barely get you by in medical school. So my advice is don't wait until after the first round of exams to buckle down and study. Study your ass off from day one and after your first exams then re-evaluate your study habits to fit your goals of where you want to be in school.

 

[Carb Addict]

In med school you can't cram anymore. If you were a person who could attend class and study the weekend before an exam and still do well in undergrad, chances are that type of studying will barely get you by in medical school. So my advice is don't wait until after the first round of exams to buckle down and study. Study your ass off from day one and after your first exams then re-evaluate your study habits to fit your goals of where you want to be in school.

I don't totally agree with this. I went to class ~94.6% of the time and would generally cram the week of exams. We had exams about every week. I've done pretty well at it these past 2 years. It was kind of out of necessity, too, since there was always an exam coming the next week. I just couldn't study every single night - I'd have shot myself. But going to class was key for me. Helps for studying for Step 1, also.

 

[Xmulder]

What about suggestions on the non-academic side of M1?

 

[equine_05]

Non-academically? I wish I wouldn't have went into med school thinking that I knew everything already. Being a science major, I took some basic human anatomy for my undergrad and that kind of made me think that I had an edge on everyone else. At least where I go to school, everyone is kind of competitive. As bad as this may sound, don't think everyone's automatically willing to help you or be your friend.

 

[moo]

Don't put too much stock in your classroom experience first year, because traditionally you don't learn anything fun or practical until your second year. I abhorred my first year... nearly quit too... because it was like spending a ton of money to take a fifth year of college biology.

Medicine's pretty cool when your school eventually gets around to teaching it.

Totally agree, first year was really horrible. Second year is more tolerable, a lot ofwork, but you do learn a lot more as well. Even as I am two days away from taking Step I (and studying for this exam has been a bitch), second year is still way better than first year.

 

[flsweetlady]

Was wondering if some of the medical students would enlighten us new people on some of the things you wish you knew about before you started school, and perhaps some warnings on the things to avoid.

Thanks.

I wish someone would have told me to read over the first few chapters of information that I would have to learn during the summer prior to my first year....i would have had an upper hand at least when it came time for the subjects that I had the most trouble with..like the embryo and biochem....

 

[rugtrousers]

Start studying neuroanatomy early by doing the Sidman and Sidman workbook. It's really old - 1965? - and contains totally brainless work, but I can't emphasize how much it helped me when we got to neurobio.

 

[hans19]

1) Relax. The hardest part about medschool was GETTING IN.

2) Relax. Don't be part of the rat race. I don't know about your school, but my school had a bad rep for being cut throat. I was worried to death about keeping a 4.0 GPA in medschool. Then I got my first B the very first semester.
It was liberating. Though my dreams of being valedictorian were crushed, I knew that a 4.0 was in no longer in my cards so I didn't have to bust my ass worrying about that anymore.

3) Relax. Resist the urge to buy every full length text book under the sun. Its overkill, its expensive and you won't have time to read the whole damn thing. Keep up with lectures. Scribe notes and syllabus should be enough.
If you must buy a review book, (save this until its time to study for Step 1 b/c newer editions are always coming out). Get ONE book and actually READ it. Less is more. Med school is about cramming facts. There is NO WAY ANYONE could remember everything. Stick to the major points. Look for 'high-yield' type facts. For the most part things that are relavent in clinical practice are likely to be the things tested over.

4) Relax. Its only your first year. If you totally bomb, you still have 2nd and 3rd years. Even if you aren't a top student you still can land a competitive residency if you REALLY want to. My place on the class rank spectrum was opposite of AOA and I still matched in an academic radiology program near the top of my rank list. 👍

5) Relax. I found I had a TON of free time my 1st and 2nd years. More than I had in undergrad.

Good luck! So far, my med school years were the best of my life!
😀

 

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

1) make no mistake about it, even if your professors blatantly tell you that all they care about is the "big picture" and understanding concepts, etc. they will turn around and test you on minutiae like you wouldn't believe. memorize everything if you want to do "well."

2) if you're not an auditory learner, attending lectures for X hours a day will not help your cause. study on your own if that works best for you.

3) don't forget to have fun and always keep things in perspective.

 

[paramed2premed]

1) make no mistake about it, even if your professors blatantly tell you that all they care about is the "big picture" and understanding concepts, etc. they will turn around and test you on minutiae like you wouldn't believe. memorize everything if you want to do "well."

2) if you're not an auditory learner, attending lectures for X hours a day will not help your cause. study on your own if that works best for you.

3) don't forget to have fun and always keep things in perspective.

So true, so true...

There are students in my class that still ask the professor "Do we have to know this? Will it be on the test?" DON'T ASK THAT. Just assume that:
1) Pretty much any piece of information, however well-hidden in the text, or however deemphasized in lecture, is fair game for tests; if not know, them fior Step 1. If you think to yourself about some recondite fact "I wonder if this will be on our test..." just assume it WILL be.
2) Having said that, you can't know all of these facts! Accept that you will not master the material (there is just too much), and learn to sort out what YOU believe that YOU should master. Prioritizing the material will be mostly time-dependent.
3) Don't go to class (and don't feel guilty!) unless you are sure that you are a person who learns well in a lecture. If you find yourself daydreaming or passing notes STOP GOING TO CLASS! Go study on your own. You will save time, study more efficiently, and have time for all the sundry other activities of living.

 

[BubbleBobble]

Start studying neuroanatomy early by doing the Sidman and Sidman workbook. It's really old - 1965? - and contains totally brainless work, but I can't emphasize how much it helped me when we got to neurobio.

This is a *fantastic* book. 👍

 

[donnyfire]

Good luck! So far, my med school years were the best of my life!
😀

I hope to find myself in those shoes in a few years.
Thanks everyone for all of the great advice.

Don

 

[thackl]

1)
5) Relax. I found I had a TON of free time my 1st and 2nd years. More than I had in undergrad.

Good luck! So far, my med school years were the best of my life!
😀

Did you attend lectures?

 

[hans19]

Skipped mostly b/c I overslept. First year, first semester we would go out TIW (3x /week) I guess it was playing catch up from my repressed, studious undergrad. Second year I skipped a lot of class as well. Don't get caught up in this guilt trip thing if you miss lecture.

Also the first semester you will look around you and it seems like EVERYONE ELSE is studying more than you are. Don't let this psyche you out. You will soon find out how much you need to study. Funny thing is no matter how hard I studied I pretty much got the same grade. There is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to studying. They will try to test you on a lot of crap. You can't know everything. Try to remember the big things for sure and as many of the smaller details if you can.

Good luck. Have fun! And relax... 😎

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I need a couple of $.01

How well does the white/chalk board method work. (i.e. charting out pathways, equations) with a small group of 2-3 friends? It helped me get through undergrad with excellent results, and seemed to be my best study tool. Can this be applied to Medical School with equal success? What's your opinion/observation?

Thanks 👍

 

[hans19]

I have seen it work extremely well. You have to make sure that everyone in the study group is committed, if any one person doesn't pull their weight it won't work. I'm sure you already knew that.

As for me personally, I was more effective as a self-studier.
Good luck.
-Hans

PS self-study... Is that like saying 'self'-employed or 'self'-pay?

 

[Deuce 007 MD]

I got along fine buying only review books, anatomy atlas, and memorizing lecture notes. I felt if it wasn't in an A rated review book from first aid or not mentioned in lecture, I don't need to know it. Oh yeah the one text book I did buy from our required text was Physiology by Costanzo, this book is the bomb.

 

[sunflower79]

there is a similar thread called "invaluable advice to incoming med student", read that.

If I had to do it again...
- I would've stayed home the minute lecturers start reading from their notes.
- I would've anticipated how much med school thinks it owns its students. e.g. not giving class schedules in advance until we complained, student-unfriendly exam calendar, etc. Getting respect is always an uphill battle.

Otherwise med school has been great so far 😎 Make sure to make time for the things/ppl you love!

peace,
~sunflower

 

[Gunny]

Coming to this time of year again ~ BUMP!

 

[virilep]

I got along fine buying only review books, anatomy atlas, and memorizing lecture notes. I felt if it wasn't in an A rated review book from first aid or not mentioned in lecture, I don't need to know it. Oh yeah the one text book I did buy from our required text was Physiology by Costanzo, this book is the bomb.

great avatar.. great.

 

[anamarylee]

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Find out right away what resources your school has (tutors, review sessions, professor's office hours) and avail yourself of them. Even if you think you won't need them, find out what's out there, just in case.

 

[omarsaleh66]

Be consistent. In first year, i would take 1-2 weeks off after blocks and now i realize that I dont know anatomy or biochem that well cuz i crammed. Im regretting it now cuz i got the USMLE in about 2 months.

I worked hard in phys and neuro and I am just going to have to review it now for a couple days instaed of trying to learn it now. So my advice is really try to learn it well and u will retain alot when u take step 1 at the end of second year.

So be consistent. Studying 3-4 hrs a day consistenly is better than cramming hardcore at the end. (even tho i still cram, its not as bad as it used to be).

I dont go to class, and I love it. I think if I went to class, i'd prolly be a solid A student but I would be unhappy and would have no time to work out, play intramural sports, do papers and extracurriculars, spend time with freinds and the woman. Med school can consume you if u arent careful, I always make time for family, freinds, DVDs and the gym even if it hurts me on my grades (a couple of points).

If u want to derm or orthopedics or somehting hard, then u might wanna be ready to make some sacrifices. Not only is it alot of work, but its stressful being on top. I know i couldnt handle it.

later
Omar

 

[Blue Scrub]

This is a great thread, thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[tinkerbelle]

Start studying neuroanatomy early by doing the Sidman and Sidman workbook. It's really old - 1965? - and contains totally brainless work, but I can't emphasize how much it helped me when we got to neurobio.

I bought this book from the advice on this & other threads, and it really is an awesome book. I've only done the first section so far, but I feel a million times smarter already 🙂 The repetition really helps make the facts stick... and I am actually retaining the info (a miricle for my brain). So if you have trouble with neuro or never learned it in undergrad, get this book!

 

[Elysium]

Please, for the love of god, enjoy all the freetime you have right now. Go on trips, spend time with family and friends, read books for pleasure, go out and have a good time. It's not that you won't be able to do these things in med school - you'll just feel guilty about it while you're doing it. I miss that freedom and I look forward to this summer so I can just do the creative things that medical school completely obliterates. There is no critical thinking first year, at all. It's just memorizing facts and more facts and more minutia and more bullsh1t that has about 0% clinical relevance. Biochem is awful, so is embryo, so is anatomy (though some people like it - I absolutely hate this class. It is the bain of my existence. Not helping matters is that our course is a year long, our teacher is a sociopath, head and neck anatomy stretched on for 8 weeks and is worth 50% of our second semester course grade and he's shoving upper and lower limb and pelvis and perineum in the last 5 weeks of the semester - along with our cumulative final). We have had no shadowing, no clinical exposure, nothing. It's just one long bullsh1t parade and I hate every second of it. Some of my classmates are great and we've had some good times this year, no doubt about it. But med school changes you, at least it has for me and my friends.

Keep it all in perspective and remember that this is a means to an end. I thought about quitting every second of every day until I remember that medicine has nothing to do with the first two years of medical school. I hope things get better next year.

It's a journey.

And, I thought this was interesting too.

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/6174/premed-advice.htm

 

[alliemac]

1. Realize that you really don't have to study 24/7. There were a lot of people in my class who insisted on staying at the library from the minute class ended to the minute the library closed. Get serious. If you can figure out what works for you early, stick with it. I found that I can't study at home or the library, and I can't study for more than 2 hours continuously.

2. Make sure you reward yourself with breaks. Again, studying ALL the time is ridiculous.

3. Don't share your grades with people and don't try to find out how everyone else did--we're all competitive as it is. No need to turn friends into enemies.

4. Try to keep some sort of a schedule, ie., make sure you work out 3-4 times a week, or make sure you have time to spend with others...

5. Which leads me to saying: Don't forget those that matter to you. I think that I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to make it through this year without my parents and my fiance. MS1 was a rough adjustment for me, and if I didn't have people not involved in med school to vent to, I might have had to commit myself by now. You need a life outside of school, and make sure those people are acknowledged and not ignored 🙂

I hope this helps someone--and like another poster said: be proud that you're in...a lot of people don't make it this far!!

 

[alliemac]

addendum:

6. There's a reason we get tons of notes--know your notes front and back.

7. Don't buy books in the bookstore. Use amazon.com, and buy them used from there. The trick is then to know what you need before you need it so that it arrives in time. I think that I've saved atleast $250 by buying my books from amazon.

8. Never underestimate any review series. You might as well log onto amazon.com and pick up your Chung's right now so you have it in time 🙂

9. Plan your summer after MS1 wisely. Give yourself a break, but make sure you do something so that it looks like you weren't just a big loaf all summer. The timing of that summer is key since it's really "the last summer you'll ever have."

 

[backrow]

Just a few things I thought of.

1) When given a box of slides for histology class it's a good idea to study them.

2) All those books I thought I would need for reference from undergrad are now just extra weight I carry when moving. Sell em back

3) However much you study there will always be someone who scores better than you. On the flip side if you did poor you probably didn't do the worst.

4) A 79/89/99 just means you studied 9 points too much.

5) Forget going to class and study on your own. I did so much better when I started this.

 

[pillowhead]

ebay and half.com are your friends for buying books. Don't even think about going to the bookstore on campus.

Talk to upperclassmen at your school for the real scoop about stuff. SDN is helpful, but you need to know what's specific to your school.

Know when to skip class. I don't think skipping every single class is a good thing, but if you know a particular lecture sucks or you're just going to sleep anyway, stay home.

Find a good study partner. Study groups are too inefficient, but a good partner will keep you on track and motivated and will point out things when you thought you knew a topic but really didn't.

Always, ALWAYS get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. As an M1 or M2, there is absolutely no excuse not to unless you have children. you can't function properly without adequate sleep. pulling all-nighters does not make you cool.

Try to maintain balance whatever that means for you. Don't neglect your marriage/personal relationships/dog. Study Friday night or Saturday, not both, even if you have a day full of exams on Monday. That extra two hours of studying will probably benefit you one question at most on an exam, but it might make you feel a whole lot more like a human being if you just relaxed for a little bit. It takes a while to strike that balance, but always be aiming for it.

 

[pillowhead]

ebay and half.com are your friends for buying books. Don't even think about going to the bookstore on campus.

Talk to upperclassmen at your school for the real scoop about stuff. SDN is helpful, but you need to know what's specific to your school.

Know when to skip class. I don't think skipping every single class is a good thing, but if you know a particular lecture sucks or you're just going to sleep anyway, stay home.

Find a good study partner. Study groups are too inefficient, but a good partner will keep you on track and motivated and will point out things when you thought you knew a topic but really didn't.

Always, ALWAYS get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. As an M1 or M2, there is absolutely no excuse not to unless you have children. you can't function properly without adequate sleep. pulling all-nighters does not make you cool.

Try to maintain balance whatever that means for you. Don't neglect your marriage/personal relationships/dog. Study Friday night or Saturday, not both, even if you have a day full of exams on Monday. That extra two hours of studying will probably benefit you one question at most on an exam, but it might make you feel a whole lot more like a human being if you just relaxed for a little bit. It takes a while to strike that balance, but always be aiming for it.

One semester of mediocore grades is not the end of the world. An adjustment period is normal. I went from straight Bs my first semester to making straight As the following three semesters of med school. Nothing is ever set in stone, esp. your future!

 

[erin682]

I wish I had known that studying the most hours for an exam does not always equal doing the best you can do. One of the best tests I've had this year was the monday following a Saturday all day long adventure race. I played in the woods all day and then on Sunday I was so tired I kept falling asleep but I was on top of the world emotionally and did great on my exam. Never underestimate your emotional well being's effect on your performance. I'm not saying I didn't study hard but I did other stuff too and the balance paid off.

 

[adrenalin junki]

I found the hardest transition to medical school was
A) the test questions. I had to relearn how to take tests. I personally overnalyzed and would change the question to fit the answer. All the answers are right but which one is better is the key

B) I expected it to be like college. Everyone is your friend. Wrong! Everyone has their own personality and everyone is competitive. Look out for yourself and do what is best for you. Yeah you will make a few friends along the way but it is no where near undergrad.

C) enjoy your time and break up your studying some. You will hear this alot but balance is key. I struggled the first year trying not to feel guilty if I was not studying every waking moment.

 

[heldicus]

Set a policy of not asking other peoples' grades, and a policy of not sharing yours. Do NOT compare yourself to other people. Do what's best for you, and you alone. You do not have to be the best student (or even close) to be a good doctor. Just ask your faculty.

 

[Skichic56]

I bought this book from the advice on this & other threads, and it really is an awesome book. I've only done the first section so far, but I feel a million times smarter already 🙂 The repetition really helps make the facts stick... and I am actually retaining the info (a miricle for my brain). So if you have trouble with neuro or never learned it in undergrad, get this book!

Do you need any background in neuro to do the workbook? Are you using or do you need to use a neuro textbook at the same time? Thanks!

 

[Doctobee]

Start studying neuroanatomy early by doing the Sidman and Sidman workbook. It's really old - 1965? - and contains totally brainless work, but I can't emphasize how much it helped me when we got to neurobio.

What is the full title/author for that book. I can't seem to find it on half.com (and I think I should be able to). thanks!

 

[mx_599]

So true, so true...

There are students in my class that still ask the professor "Do we have to know this? Will it be on the test?" DON'T ASK THAT. Just assume that:

what a bunch of geeks...

 

[tinkerbelle]

What is the full title/author for that book. I can't seem to find it on half.com (and I think I should be able to). thanks!

It's called Neuroanatomy: A programmed Text (Volume 1) by Sidman and Sidman. I bought my copy from Barnes and Nobles, but I had to special order it since the bookstores in my area didn't carry such old books.

 

[tinkerbelle]

Do you need any background in neuro to do the workbook? Are you using or do you need to use a neuro textbook at the same time? Thanks!

Nope. I've never taken a neuroscience class or an anatomy class, and I'm understanding the workbook just fine. You don't need to buy a textbook... the workbook is sufficient.

*Edited*

Actually, now I remember what I has having troubvle with. On the first few pages, the workbook started using words like cortical and cortex and i wasn't sure exactly which part of the brain that was, and it was annoying me. But other than that, the book explains things really well.

 

[noncestvrai]

Most things are logical and there is always an exception to the rule.

noncestvrai

 

[utmd]

One thing that has helped me out my first year has been to volunteer in a local clinic for the uninsured. Although first year is very stressful, going to the clinic let me see first hand what I was learning about in class. AND - things that I saw in clinic really stuck with me better than things in class. I also got to know older students better, and they always have great first hand advice to give you.

So, if you can - try to work it into your schedule - it'll be worth it! 🙄

 

[werd]

med school isn't nearly as hard as most med students would have you believe. work out, run, go out, whatever makes you happy... you'll gain as much in productivity as you lost in time doing those things.

 

[KEC]

I wish I had known to not listen to any 2nd year students. They will go on and on about how easy some things are and then I found them hard and felt stupid. What happened even more, though, was that they would make a HUGE deal out of some exam or some other aspect of the first year of medical school and I found that particular thing to be incredibly easy. Stick to your own plan- you know what to do.

 

[ericana_83]

bump
Does anyone know the title of that thread that was EXTREMELY long and circulating a few months ago? It was really similar to this one, but much better.
Anyway, I just thought it was time to resurrect some advice since school is starting soon.

 

[megadon]

When they say you are going to learn basic science, what they really mean is you are going to memorize (not learning). I was an engineer, which I THOUGHT was a science, and this is completely different. I was in the Navy, ran a nuclear submarine, and this is the hardest thing I have ever done.

 

[BEMD]

never mind 0🙂