Thoughts from 2 months into D.O. School

[FindingPeaceinDecision]

As someone who is now two whole months into his career in medical school, I feel well qualified to speak to the perennial concern of "What should I do before attending medical school". The traditional advice that I encountered any time I typed in any search remotely on this topic almost uniformly led to the adage of "there is nothing you can do to prepare for what is coming in medical school, so just go enjoy yourself."

I do agree with the latter half of that statement, and sentiment. I had an amazing year prior to beginning school, which I had planned. One year ago this week, I was finishing a 50 day California to Minnesota cross-country cycling trip. It was definitely a highlight of my early 30s. I also had the opportunity to go on a 2 week climbing trip around California in Mid February, raft the Grand Canyon for 28 days in April, and spend one last summer raft guiding on my home river in Northern California, a place that I love and miss dearly, as I have now relocated to Washington for school. If you have the chance, and the means, I would definitely vote that you take time off from a normal job, or regimented school work, for a good long time before starting up medical school.

That said, there are things that you can do to prepare yourself for school, in ways that I believe will pay dividends for you. The two that come to mind are start learning muscle attachments, innervations, blood supply, and functions in the body. This will serve you well in Anatomy, and in Osteopathic Principals (If you matriculate into a D.O. school). Study the pathway of the arteries and nerves, You can do this in approximately 3 hours a week, and then incorporate the knowledge into a 30-40 minute yoga session each morning. Making a routine out of it allows you to practice meditation and mindfulness while reinforcing the learning you are doing. This can be done anywhere, as you have your own body to work with, and really does not take up that much time. If you have the financial means, or general access, prior to medical school, Complete Anatomy is a really great application that I highly recommend utilizing as a resource to get you a good long ways into your anatomy education in Medical School.

Secondarily, and perhaps more important that Complete Anatomy, and learning Anatomy in general, is to learn microbes and antimicrobial agents. This is best accomplished by checking out some fun learning pneumonic videos. I use a program called Sketchy, and they are fantastic. The videos are all around 10 minutes long, with some at 15, and some at 5. I'd say just watch 1-2, maybe 3 a week. Nothing crazy, maybe watch them over a couple times in the months ahead. You will be miles ahead of the game when it comes time to learn all of these crazy critters, their main clinical symptoms, and ways to treat them.

For that matter, Sketchy has lots of good videos on pathology, and clinical applications in the later years of education. I would say just stay digesting resources like this one, which falls outside of the "standard" curriculum, but helps to augment it significantly.

Important Note!!!! Don't work 40-50 hours a week on this. That is a waste of the little freedom that you have left. But 3-5 hours a week, that is reasonable, and you can make some good gains if you get going on it now, as opposed to waiting until school starts. Enjoy your time.......and think ahead. Don't worry if you don't understand everything, or there are some gaps. I've still got gaps, big ones, that I will fill over time, as will you.

One more note...more of a plug than anything else.....If you are someone who is currently in undergrad, looking to go to medical school as fast as humanly possible, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to consider taking some time off. Not time off to just build your resume to get into medical school as fast as humanly possible, but time off to be a human, fully and wholly. Explore interests beyond the principal career that you have chosen in this moment. Take hold of the freedom that you do currently have to explore, and EXPLORE!! I spent 7 years as an environmental scientist, 3 before that as a raft guide, brewer for a micro brewery, and international volunteer. There is time to do all that and still go to medical school. Maybe don't take the 12 years it took me to get here, but more than a half a second might not hurt the humanistic component of practicing medicine. Work the industry jobs of the people you will see, you might learn how to empathize with them better.

Blah Blah Blah.....I think you get the point.....Complete Anatomy, do Yoga, consider learning bugs and drugs, among others, in Sketchy (or another pneumonic device) and don't forget to make the most of the 1 life you've got.

Or, just go about doing you. This is just one, relatively new, medical school student's opinion.

All the best! And know that We all believe in you.

---

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[TragicalDrFaust]

Pre-study works for some people. I wouldn't have gotten much from it because my struggle upon entering medical school was predicting and understanding the scope of the material. Some schools focus on anatomy less than others. I wouldn't recommend pre-learning anatomy across the board since some school emphasize it a lot more than others. Nor would I recommend early exposure and spaced repetition of sketchy for everyone. For me, the value of sketchy is that I can watch once and remember. For others sketchy doesn't "click" and feels like a waste of time.

The only constants of medical school studying are evidence-based: active learning like anki or Feynman is better than passive learning. Spaced repetition is better than cramming. Pomodoro is better than studying for hours straight with no breaks. Outside of that, most everyone has different strengths, weakness and preferences. Listening to too much anecdotal advice honestly hurt my grades during my first year because I tried to copy students I perceived as successful instead of trusting myself.

 

[drstranger]

yeah, I do not think pre-studying would help very many people. why use your only free time in the next 7-12 years learning things you will have the time to learn in school. Use sketchy as your curriculum goes through it, learning all the bugs and drugs before school starts is a lot, and most you won't learn till 2nd year so you will forget them. as for anatomy yes there is a lot to learn for attachment, innervation, and blood supply but most of this is pretty low yield in the long run. As an OMS-2 it amazes me how much fluff is in anatomy and how little relates to other systems.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

yeah, I do not think pre-studying would help very many people. why use your only free time in the next 7-12 years learning things you will have the time to learn in school. Use sketchy as your curriculum goes through it, learning all the bugs and drugs before school starts is a lot, and most you won't learn till 2nd year so you will forget them. as for anatomy yes there is a lot to learn for attachment, innervation, and blood supply but most of this is pretty low yield in the long run. As an OMS-2 it amazes me how much fluff is in anatomy and how little relates to other systems.

After taking anatomy I see the argument for eliminating it from modern medical school curriculums or making it an elective. It ate up maybe 3-10 hours per week of my first year (leaning more towards 3 but that’s still plenty). I struggle to think of a time my knowledge of sloppily dissected cadavers has been conducive to my learning any other systems. It did help me get comfortable with the human body though. Also could be seen a helpful “hazing” or initiation where we all go through this arduous thing together which brings us closer and makes us feel more like real doctors. There’s value there but the ratio of value to time isn’t very compelling.

 

[FindingPeaceinDecision]

yeah, I do not think pre-studying would help very many people. why use your only free time in the next 7-12 years learning things you will have the time to learn in school. Use sketchy as your curriculum goes through it, learning all the bugs and drugs before school starts is a lot, and most you won't learn till 2nd year so you will forget them. as for anatomy yes there is a lot to learn for attachment, innervation, and blood supply but most of this is pretty low yield in the long run. As an OMS-2 it amazes me how much fluff is in anatomy and how little relates to other systems.

You know, I took a couple COMLEX practice exams over the past week and was pretty amazed at how many anatomy related questions there were on both Step 1 and Step 2 exams. 12% is not an insignificant amount of questions, which I tallied. So while it might not be all that related to the classes you are currently taking, it was on the NBOME practice tests I took, which are the end game, at least in my book.

 

[FindingPeaceinDecision]

yeah, I do not think pre-studying would help very many people. why use your only free time in the next 7-12 years learning things you will have the time to learn in school. Use sketchy as your curriculum goes through it, learning all the bugs and drugs before school starts is a lot, and most you won't learn till 2nd year so you will forget them. as for anatomy yes there is a lot to learn for attachment, innervation, and blood supply but most of this is pretty low yield in the long run. As an OMS-2 it amazes me how much fluff is in anatomy and how little relates to other systems.

Pre-study works for some people. I wouldn't have gotten much from it because my struggle upon entering medical school was predicting and understanding the scope of the material. Some schools focus on anatomy less than others. I wouldn't recommend pre-learning anatomy across the board since some school emphasize it a lot more than others. Nor would I recommend early exposure and spaced repetition of sketchy for everyone. For me, the value of sketchy is that I can watch once and remember. For others sketchy doesn't "click" and feels like a waste of time.

The only constants of medical school studying are evidence-based: active learning like anki or Feynman is better than passive learning. Spaced repetition is better than cramming. Pomodoro is better than studying for hours straight with no breaks. Outside of that, most everyone has different strengths, weakness and preferences. Listening to too much anecdotal advice honestly hurt my grades during my first year because I tried to copy students I perceived as successful instead of trusting myself.

I can get behind listening to yourself. That's a solid piece of advice.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

You know, I took a couple COMLEX practice exams over the past week and was pretty amazed at how many anatomy related questions there were on both Step 1 and Step 2 exams. 12% is not an insignificant amount of questions, which I tallied. So while it might not be all that related to the classes you are currently taking, it was on the NBOME practice tests I took, which are the end game, at least in my book.

My end game is what will be clinically relevant. Besides, dissecting a cadaver is not the highest yield way to understand anatomy for written exams for most people. If it was, you probably also would prefer culturing each of the microbes to watching sketchy.

 

[drstranger]

You know, I took a couple COMLEX practice exams over the past week and was pretty amazed at how many anatomy related questions there were on both Step 1 and Step 2 exams. 12% is not an insignificant amount of questions, which I tallied. So while it might not be all that related to the classes you are currently taking, it was on the NBOME practice tests I took, which are the end game, at least in my book.

you are taking COMLEX practice exams 2 months into 1st year?? that makes no sense. and yes there is anatomy on boards but I highly doubt you will see an action or insertion question. I will say COMLEX loves spinal level innervation but besides that, if you know the basics board will be okay.

 

[darlingletsgocrazy]

would it be helpful to study some microbiology, anatomy, and cellular biology if we did not take it in undergrad?

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

would it be helpful to study some microbiology, anatomy, and cellular biology if we did not take it in undergrad?

In my opinion, it would be low yield. You won’t know the scope of what’s expected until you get to class and start seeing power points, lectures and practice questions for your in house exams. There’s a good chance you’ll be using your time and energy, a rarified resource for medical students, and focusing on the wrong topics or studying in too much or too little detail.

 

[DO2015CA]

You know, I took a couple COMLEX practice exams over the past week and was pretty amazed at how many anatomy related questions there were on both Step 1 and Step 2 exams. 12% is not an insignificant amount of questions, which I tallied. So while it might not be all that related to the classes you are currently taking, it was on the NBOME practice tests I took, which are the end game, at least in my book.

I didn’t have more than 12 total questions on anatomy throughout my level 1, 2, and 3... may be exaggerating but not by much lol. The ones you will have will be deficit of function/sensory. Not origin/insertion. You’ll only have the most high yield innervations such as paralyzed diaphragm, brachial plexus, etc etc. Blood supply would be even be super low yield.

Coming up on the end of the tunnel, I can’t emphasize and stress enough that prestudying isn’t worth it. As above, understanding scope just doesn’t happen until you start. Then the cost:benefit ratio doesn’t come out ahead.

 

[petomed]

As someone who is now two whole months into his career in medical school, I feel well qualified to speak to the perennial concern of "What should I do before attending medical school". The traditional advice that I encountered any time I typed in any search remotely on this topic almost uniformly led to the adage of "there is nothing you can do to prepare for what is coming in medical school, so just go enjoy yourself."

I do agree with the latter half of that statement, and sentiment. I had an amazing year prior to beginning school, which I had planned. One year ago this week, I was finishing a 50 day California to Minnesota cross-country cycling trip. It was definitely a highlight of my early 30s. I also had the opportunity to go on a 2 week climbing trip around California in Mid February, raft the Grand Canyon for 28 days in April, and spend one last summer raft guiding on my home river in Northern California, a place that I love and miss dearly, as I have now relocated to Washington for school. If you have the chance, and the means, I would definitely vote that you take time off from a normal job, or regimented school work, for a good long time before starting up medical school.

That said, there are things that you can do to prepare yourself for school, in ways that I believe will pay dividends for you. The two that come to mind are start learning muscle attachments, innervations, blood supply, and functions in the body. This will serve you well in Anatomy, and in Osteopathic Principals (If you matriculate into a D.O. school). Study the pathway of the arteries and nerves, You can do this in approximately 3 hours a week, and then incorporate the knowledge into a 30-40 minute yoga session each morning. Making a routine out of it allows you to practice meditation and mindfulness while reinforcing the learning you are doing. This can be done anywhere, as you have your own body to work with, and really does not take up that much time. If you have the financial means, or general access, prior to medical school, Complete Anatomy is a really great application that I highly recommend utilizing as a resource to get you a good long ways into your anatomy education in Medical School.

Secondarily, and perhaps more important that Complete Anatomy, and learning Anatomy in general, is to learn microbes and antimicrobial agents. This is best accomplished by checking out some fun learning pneumonic videos. I use a program called Sketchy, and they are fantastic. The videos are all around 10 minutes long, with some at 15, and some at 5. I'd say just watch 1-2, maybe 3 a week. Nothing crazy, maybe watch them over a couple times in the months ahead. You will be miles ahead of the game when it comes time to learn all of these crazy critters, their main clinical symptoms, and ways to treat them.

For that matter, Sketchy has lots of good videos on pathology, and clinical applications in the later years of education. I would say just stay digesting resources like this one, which falls outside of the "standard" curriculum, but helps to augment it significantly.

Important Note!!!! Don't work 40-50 hours a week on this. That is a waste of the little freedom that you have left. But 3-5 hours a week, that is reasonable, and you can make some good gains if you get going on it now, as opposed to waiting until school starts. Enjoy your time.......and think ahead. Don't worry if you don't understand everything, or there are some gaps. I've still got gaps, big ones, that I will fill over time, as will you.

One more note...more of a plug than anything else.....If you are someone who is currently in undergrad, looking to go to medical school as fast as humanly possible, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to consider taking some time off. Not time off to just build your resume to get into medical school as fast as humanly possible, but time off to be a human, fully and wholly. Explore interests beyond the principal career that you have chosen in this moment. Take hold of the freedom that you do currently have to explore, and EXPLORE!! I spent 7 years as an environmental scientist, 3 before that as a raft guide, brewer for a micro brewery, and international volunteer. There is time to do all that and still go to medical school. Maybe don't take the 12 years it took me to get here, but more than a half a second might not hurt the humanistic component of practicing medicine. Work the industry jobs of the people you will see, you might learn how to empathize with them better.

Blah Blah Blah.....I think you get the point.....Complete Anatomy, do Yoga, consider learning bugs and drugs, among others, in Sketchy (or another pneumonic device) and don't forget to make the most of the 1 life you've got.

Or, just go about doing you. This is just one, relatively new, medical school student's opinion.

All the best! And know that We all believe in you.

This is a question I've posed to the medical students at each school I interview with. While the results are mixed, there is an overwhelming trend towards not pre-studying at all. Then again, most of the sampled students are not into their 30's like some of us nontrads are.

I've actually encountered an OMSII who was advising us that they 'had tons of free time during OMSI'. A follow-up question revealed they had also completed an intensive post-bacc with the medical school just before beginning OMSI. Did pre-studying help them have more free time during OMSI? It's hard to believe the answer could be no.

Your opinion on this matter is actually the first one I've seen that strikes a balance between filling the precious remaining free time with pure fun and performing rigorous academic preparation. A common denominator nearly everywhere is that balance is best, so your advice is refreshing.

Thank you for taking the time to write things as you see them.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Did pre-studying help them have more free time during OMSI? It's hard to believe the answer could be no.

The answer is no.

If you don’t have free time in medical school you’re doing it wrong.

And don’t pre-study. I can’t emphasize enough just how big of a waste of time it is

 

[DO2015CA]

This is a question I've posed to the medical students at each school I interview with. While the results are mixed, there is an overwhelming trend towards not pre-studying at all. Then again, most of the sampled students are not into their 30's like some of us nontrads are.

I've actually encountered an OMSII who was advising us that they 'had tons of free time during OMSI'. A follow-up question revealed they had also completed an intensive post-bacc with the medical school just before beginning OMSI. Did pre-studying help them have more free time during OMSI? It's hard to believe the answer could be no.

Your opinion on this matter is actually the first one I've seen that strikes a balance between filling the precious remaining free time with pure fun and performing rigorous academic preparation. A common denominator nearly everywhere is that balance is best, so your advice is refreshing.

Thank you for taking the time to write things as you see them.

A SMP isn’t the same as prestudying. That’s seeing 80% of MSI material in a year. And they see the scope.

The answer is no.

If you don’t have free time in medical school you’re doing it wrong.

And don’t pre-study. I can’t emphasize enough just how big of a waste of time it is

Mandatory lectures here. Had no free time. The sad thing is CHOSE the school against another because of mandatory attendance. I was terrible at going to class in UG and didn’t wanna get caught changing after the fire hose and try to drink so I chose a school that would force me to go. To bad I made the decision before my SDN days. I 100% should’ve chosen the other

 

[drstranger]

A SMP isn’t the same as prestudying. That’s seeing 80% of MSI material in a year. And they see the scope.


Mandatory lectures here. Had no free time. The sad thing is CHOSE the school against another because of mandatory attendance. I was terrible at going to class in UG and didn’t wanna get caught changing after the fire hose and try to drink so I chose a school that would force me to go. To bad I made the decision before my SDN days. I 100% should’ve chosen the other

I attend your alma mater, it only took 2 years of pandemic and zoom to get them to drop mandatory attendance

 

[DO2015CA]

I attend your alma mater, it only took 2 years of pandemic and zoom to get them to drop mandatory attendance

That’s amazing! Best news I’ve heard all weekend

 

[Ho0v-man]

This is a question I've posed to the medical students at each school I interview with. While the results are mixed, there is an overwhelming trend towards not pre-studying at all. Then again, most of the sampled students are not into their 30's like some of us nontrads are.

I've actually encountered an OMSII who was advising us that they 'had tons of free time during OMSI'. A follow-up question revealed they had also completed an intensive post-bacc with the medical school just before beginning OMSI. Did pre-studying help them have more free time during OMSI? It's hard to believe the answer could be no.

Your opinion on this matter is actually the first one I've seen that strikes a balance between filling the precious remaining free time with pure fun and performing rigorous academic preparation. A common denominator nearly everywhere is that balance is best, so your advice is refreshing.

Thank you for taking the time to write things as you see them.

Started in my 30s. Several years s/p UG. Prestudying would’ve been worthless. Please don’t do this.