Tips/Advice for transitioning to P1

[LegendaryTurbo]

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I will be attending Scholl this upcoming year for the graduating class of 2016. I was wondering if anyone had some advice, tips, or wisdom on what I should be doing to prepare for classes, living, and etc... Any advice would be appreciative on helping me with the transition to P1.

I will be taking some classes this semester to brush up on my anatomy and biochem etc...

ie: Places to see at Scholl, books to read, best places to park, how to find roommates, what to look for in roommates, how much money you set aside for living, best places to get extra financial aid, best places to find books, just about anything and everything.....

Thanks!

 

[DPMer]

I will be attending Scholl this upcoming year for the graduating class of 2016. I was wondering if anyone had some advice, tips, or wisdom on what I should be doing to prepare for classes, living, and etc... Any advice would be appreciative on helping me with the transition to P1.

I will be taking some classes this semester to brush up on my anatomy and biochem etc...

ie: Places to see at Scholl, books to read, best places to park, how to find roommates, what to look for in roommates, how much money you set aside for living, best places to get extra financial aid, best places to find books, just about anything and everything.....

Thanks!

Note service and hand outs are precious: and you will have large piles of them in thick binders by the end of 1st year. By the time you end 2nd year, you will have several thick binders of note service and hand outs for your major courses.

(Those thick binders, if you keep them, you will use to study for the APMLE Step 1 exam in July of 2014)

 

[amaprez]

Note service and hand outs are precious: and you will have large piles of them in thick binders by the end of 1st year. By the time you end 2nd year, you will have several thick binders of note service and hand outs for your major courses.

(Those thick binders, if you keep them, you will use to study for the APMLE Step 1 exam in July of 2014)

See this post for a very valid opposing view.

 

[handoverfist77]

I would advise against taking refresher classes. Take this time to relax and enjoy friends/family, and pursue your hobbies. You will not have this luxury/free time once school hits.

 

[DPMer]

See this post for a very valid opposing view.

Welcome to medicine, real medicine. It is not supposed to be like college. Medicine is exactly that mount everest pile of notes service and handouts, with info and knowledge geared towards passing the boards and filling our minds to become PHYSICIANS, not nurses. There are no real short cuts, you have to climb up those towering paper mounds of medical knowledge that apply believe it or not in actual clinical practice..

 

[amaprez]

Welcome to medicine, real medicine. It is not supposed to be like college. Medicine is exactly that mount everest pile of notes service and handouts, with info and knowledge geared towards passing the boards and filling our minds to become PHYSICIANS, not nurses. There are no real short cuts, you have to climb up those towering paper mounds of medical knowledge that apply believe it or not in actual clinical practice..

The level of self righteous arrogance in that single post is surely > 9000

Since when is board review books a short-cut or cop out for nurses?? Sure bro. Whatever you say.

 

[PADPM]

Welcome to medicine, real medicine. It is not supposed to be like college. Medicine is exactly that mount everest pile of notes service and handouts, with info and knowledge geared towards passing the boards and filling our minds to become PHYSICIANS, not nurses. There are no real short cuts, you have to climb up those towering paper mounds of medical knowledge that apply believe it or not in actual clinical practice..

Wow. I sincerely hope that comment came out wrong, because if that's the way you really feel, you may have a tough time in the future. I believe I've worked pretty hard and have accomplished quite a bit and have the credentials to back my statements, in addition to a very successful practice to back those comments.

And I would NEVER think of placing myself on a pedestal above nurses. I work with nurses on a regular basis on the floors in the hospital, in the pre operative area at the hospital, in the recovery room at the hospital, in the operating room, etc. In addition, I often work with wound care nurses who take amazing care of my patients at home to optimize healing. And my partners routinely work with brilliant wound care nurses at the wound care center who have tremendous knowledge and dedication.

When you are a resident or attending, and nurses "sense" the attitude attached to the comments you've made, I can assure you that you will quickly develop a horrible reputation in that facility and will never receive the help you need, and you WILL need their help, advice and knowledge.

Don't trivialize the nursing profession or ANY profession. You're not the king of the hill.

 

[347932]

Welcome to medicine, real medicine. It is not supposed to be like college. Medicine is exactly that mount everest pile of notes service and handouts, with info and knowledge geared towards passing the boards and filling our minds to become PHYSICIANS, not nurses. There are no real short cuts, you have to climb up those towering paper mounds of medical knowledge that apply believe it or not in actual clinical practice..

Oy vey. Tone it down quite a bit, huh?

I double dare you to leave school with this attitude and make it through residency (if you even get one). Then a double dog dare you to maintain this horrible attitude once you get into practice, and then blame everyone (APMA, bad school, bad residency, horrible Boards...etc) but yourself when things go bad for you. I sense another bitter Pod in this young Padawan.

 

[flyhi]

My advice is to not wait until the last minute to move to school. I would get there with *plenty* of time to get yourself settled and situated. Get your personal study space set up, house/dorm/apartment furnished (there are always pesky things to buy when you move to a new place), get familiar with the local area - places for eats, laundry services, car maintenance, figure out where you will go for your healthcare, if you have a family (or animals) - get them set up with their doctors, etc, stock up on items like toiletries, school supplies, printer paper, etc etc. If you have a car, make sure it's set up for the lovely winters up there, to include an ice scraper and extra windshield wiper fluid. Grab yourself a snow shovel before it snows! Make sure you have winter clothes and boots if you come from a warmer climate.

Anything you can do ahead of time will allow you to completely focus on school once it starts. There is a lot you can predict and it's best to just take care of it.

Take some time for yourself and get your vacation time in before school starts.

 

[jotfinos]

advice:

do not buy skyrim if you wish to be successful in podiatry school.

 

[amaprez]

advice:

do not buy skyrim if you wish to be successful in podiatry school.

So what you're saying is that you were doing fine but then you took an arrow in the knee? (skyrim joke)

 

[PADPM]

My advice is to not wait until the last minute to move to school. I would get there with *plenty* of time to get yourself settled and situated. Get your personal study space set up, house/dorm/apartment furnished (there are always pesky things to buy when you move to a new place), get familiar with the local area - places for eats, laundry services, car maintenance, figure out where you will go for your healthcare, if you have a family (or animals) - get them set up with their doctors, etc, stock up on items like toiletries, school supplies, printer paper, etc etc. If you have a car, make sure it's set up for the lovely winters up there, to include an ice scraper and extra windshield wiper fluid. Grab yourself a snow shovel before it snows! Make sure you have winter clothes and boots if you come from a warmer climate.

Anything you can do ahead of time will allow you to completely focus on school once it starts. There is a lot you can predict and it's best to just take care of it.

Take some time for yourself and get your vacation time in before school starts.

👍

 

[Ferocity]

Welcome to medicine, real medicine. It is not supposed to be like college. Medicine is exactly that mount everest pile of notes service and handouts, with info and knowledge geared towards passing the boards and filling our minds to become PHYSICIANS, not nurses. There are no real short cuts, you have to climb up those towering paper mounds of medical knowledge that apply believe it or not in actual clinical practice..

Please tell me about fake medicine.

 

[PADPM]

Wow this thread has gotten off topic and for once I wasn't repsonsible. LegendaryTurbo, since I am a 2nd year student at Scholl I'll be sure to respond to this thread sometime tomorrow after my exam in surgery and anesthesia. I think Flyhi has given you the best advice so I won't repeat anything she has said. I'll just give you some information specific to Scholl.

Although you may feel that this has gone slightly off topic, I felt it was my responsibility as a moderator and an "attending" to address the comment/advice given by DPMer. SInce I considered his/her comments completely off-base, I really don't think addressing that issue was off topic.

As per my above thumbs up, I also agree that flyhi's post was excellent.

 

[LegendaryTurbo]

Thanks everyone! I went to nursing school before I applied to DPM school, so I just blew off the ignorant comments seeing how "he" probably has no idea what it really entails... again thanks for the advice everyone and I can't wait to begin my new journey at Scholl!

 

[bobdolerson]

While it's an obvious truth that a physician will inevitably work harder to gain their degree, it does little for anyone to belittle another profession.

I also worked harder than my mechanic to get where I am, but when it comes to the things he does day in, day out, and has done for years...I'll trust him to rebuild the 350 Rocket in my '69 Cutlass more than myself, regardless of the knowledge I've obtained getting a DPM degree.

Be kind to nurses; they can make your life infinitely easier, and the one's I've had the pleasure of working with have been far kinder to me as a lowly undergraduate volunteer than you're being towards them.

Sorry to beat a dead horse...

Anyway, flyhi said it right.

Relax. Take a break. Enjoy the fresh air and the sunlight. I forgot what it looked like after my first semester.

 

[pipetman]

look, there are MD students who would disagree that the work that DPM students do is "real medicine", lol. Just be the best at what you do, no matter what you do (nurse, PA etc) and treat your patients well. Any lingering doubts, listen to them-I know students who went pod only to switch to other professions they really wanted. passion and commitment is a must in this field.

If I could give any advice , settle all of your affairs. I mean all of them. Family, SO , job..make a good support system, don't leave any loose ends. If there is anything I see that gets students in any graduate profession..it is mostly personal issues that impede a students potential. Not having enough money to pay for things if loans and scholarship don't cover it, taking care of a family, a boyfriend/girlfriend back home, divorce..things that most people don't think about when they get accepted. This will take all of your time and attention, and any distractions can become detrimental later on. Some students, if they are not use to being away from family, get increasingly isolated and homesick. You are smart enough for this, just make sure you take care of YOU and make yourself comfortable as possible.

like the others said: change banks, move in early, go to orientation, make some friends..get a car or make sure the one you have is in working condition..have some savings set up..it sounds trite but believe me, it is the little things (like running out of money for coffee before a big test, getting sick) that can screw up the balance. maybe the other posters on these threads are lone wolf and tough as nails or have a very loving financially stable family that can cheer from the sidelines..most don't. so again, take care of the "YOU" things so you can beast it from here on out. best of luck.

 

[Ferocity]

look, there are MD students who would disagree that the work that DPM students do is "real medicine", lol. Just be the best at what you do, no matter what you do (nurse, PA etc) and treat your patients well. Any lingering doubts, listen to them-I know students who went pod only to switch to other professions they really wanted. passion and commitment is a must in this field.

If I could give any advice , settle all of your affairs. I mean all of them. Family, SO , job..make a good support system, don't leave any loose ends. If there is anything I see that gets students in any graduate profession..it is mostly personal issues that impede a students potential. Not having enough money to pay for things if loans and scholarship don't cover it, taking care of a family, a boyfriend/girlfriend back home, divorce..things that most people don't think about when they get accepted. This will take all of your time and attention, and any distractions can become detrimental later on. Some students, if they are not use to being away from family, get increasingly isolated and homesick. You are smart enough for this, just make sure you take care of YOU and make yourself comfortable as possible.

like the others said: change banks, move in early, go to orientation, make some friends..get a car or make sure the one you have is in working condition..have some savings set up..it sounds trite but believe me, it is the little things (like running out of money for coffee before a big test, getting sick) that can screw up the balance. maybe the other posters on these threads are lone wolf and tough as nails or have a very loving financially stable family that can cheer from the sidelines..most don't. so again, take care of the "YOU" things so you can beast it from here on out. best of luck.

I was going to stop reading this post after the first sentence, but aside from that comment, I'm glad I read the rest of it. This is some excellent advice. 👍

 

[trinifootdoc]

As a first year student here at Scholl, I have to tell you that I too was ready to read ahead and things of the sort. I would definitely advise you NOT to do that.

Flyhi had some great advice. Moving up here early would give you that upper edge when classes get rolling in August.

Going back to your original post, you mention that you are taking courses to help refresh your memory on anatomy and biochem... Even though coming in with some prior knowledge may help, the level to which you will be going into those topics when you arrive here is definitely way more in detail than an undergraduate level. I would seriously just take it easy and try to have as much fun with your friends and family at this point. When you get here, as long as you study hard and stay dedicated, I promise you will be just fine. Congratulations and I am sure I will be seeing you around campus!

If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me here or inbox me on facebook as we are already friends on there.

 

[BenPRunkle]

I will also be attending Scholl this upcoming year and I am debating on whether or not to get the iPad. Do any of you have experience using one for textbooks and taking notes? Have you found it beneficial or just a waste of time and money?

 

[amaprez]

I will also be attending Scholl this upcoming year and I am debating on whether or not to get the iPad. Do any of you have experience using one for textbooks and taking notes? Have you found it beneficial or just a waste of time and money?

Do you already have a laptop?

 

[BenPRunkle]

Do you already have a laptop?

Yes I already have a macbook and it still works great, but it is about 5 years old so I am not really sure how much longer it will last. I was hoping that I could get an ipad this year and try to use my macbook until it dies on me, but if the ipad isn't very helpful at Scholl, then I would just go ahead and pull the trigger on a new laptop.

 

[bobdolerson]

Why would you stop reading after the first comment? A lot of medical students do feel this way believe it or not. Just like there are a lot of medical students who respect podiatry students because we take the same classes or they see how hard we are working outside the classroom. If you end up attending a podiatry school linked up with a medical school you will see both ends of the spectrum. There are even medical students who have no idea what podiatry is (kind of like some of the general public).

True story. This is why I'm glad I attend a combined university that integrates their classes, and I get to see every exam that I punched their class average in the face.

A bit frustrating, really...especially after our program did studies comparing the averages of the two programs, and after initial matriculation of a few students, averages were almost identical the entirety of the second year.

 

[LegendaryTurbo]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I've definitely decided on living on campus my first year and I am already pretty familiar with that area of Chicago, so that will definitely make things much easier. Except for finding a roommate! I really don't want to put in a lottery... I've worked on my budgets and my parents will be helping me out financially, but it will be weird living off a student loan budget. I know almost everyone is telling me not to take some refresher courses etc.. but I haven't had Biochemistry yet and I needed a few more hours to be a halftime student and to graduate, so I feel it will be beneficial in the long run, since we are hit with that first thing in P1.

Any advice on finding a good roommate. I've always owned my own home, so I'm not really quite sure how having a roommate will be. I'm extremely free spirited and don't want to get a sour puss for a roommate, but I also don't want to have the first drop out partier either...(unless the room stays unoccupied when they drop out 😀 )

 

[trinifootdoc]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I've definitely decided on living on campus my first year and I am already pretty familiar with that area of Chicago, so that will definitely make things much easier. Except for finding a roommate! I really don't want to put in a lottery... I've worked on my budgets and my parents will be helping me out financially, but it will be weird living off a student loan budget. I know almost everyone is telling me not to take some refresher courses etc.. but I haven't had Biochemistry yet and I needed a few more hours to be a halftime student and to graduate, so I feel it will be beneficial in the long run, since we are hit with that first thing in P1.

Any advice on finding a good roommate. I've always owned my own home, so I'm not really quite sure how having a roommate will be. I'm extremely free spirited and don't want to get a sour puss for a roommate, but I also don't want to have the first drop out partier either...(unless the room stays unoccupied when they drop out 😀 )

For the roommate, I would say to keep trying on the facebook group for the class. If you can't find one there, there is a forum on the housing website where you can post an ad for a prospective roommate. This link should take you there:

http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/forum/Home/tabid/2311/Default.aspx

Other than that, i'm all out of ideas for ya LOL! I found my roommate through the facebook group and it has been great since we moved in.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

.

 

[BenPRunkle]

Any thoughts about getting an iPad?

 

[bobdolerson]

A Laptop will be better for classes, an iPad will be better for clinical.

 

[Ferocity]

A Laptop will be better for classes, an iPad will be better for clinical.

Approximately what percentage of students use a laptop in class? Do you find it easier to just take notes on paper?

 

[that1guyfromFL]

A Laptop will be better for classes, an iPad will be better for clinical.

While I appreciate and respect your carefully explained perspective, I must disagree.


The iPad is an excellent way to carry around the approximately 527,000 pages of notes and power points you have to study just about anywhere, while leaving the heavy stack of 3 ring binders at home. Taking notes on those same pages in class is also easy and fast.


Secondly, if you carry an iPad around clinics you will look like a giant.......you know what, nevermind, knock yourself out.

 

[that1guyfromFL]

Approximately what percentage of students use a laptop in class?

99% in my class.

 

[Royal Rooters]

Approximately what percentage of students use a laptop in class? Do you find it easier to just take notes on paper?

I'm old school and just print stuff out. I bought a $40 laser printer from Staples then get double packs of off brand toner online. Each cartridge lasts almost two quarters (20 weeks)! I use a red pen and yellow highlighter.

It doesn't include Angry Birds nor does it come in a uni-body aluminum chassis with a piece of fruit on the lid, but it's worked very well for me so far!

 

[LegendaryTurbo]

I'm old school and just print stuff out. I bought a $40 laser printer from Staples then get double packs of off brand toner online. Each cartridge lasts almost two quarters (20 weeks)! I use a red pen and yellow highlighter.

It doesn't include Angry Birds nor does it come in a uni-body aluminum chassis with a piece of fruit on the lid, but it's worked very well for me so far!

That's great! I am the same way. I am more physical/hands on with my study habits. I would get distracted really easy if I utilized my laptop as my main study source. I think using my laptop/iPad for additional studying is great, but I will definitely be utilizing Scholls library and printing services. They will bind and print off your lecture materials for you which will keep it easy to keep all your materials together. They will even do glossy paper and make it a more durable and book like. I also like the fact if I drop my book it's no big deal, but if I drop my laptop I'm out my material and $1,300.00 for a new macbook pro etc...

 

[darazon]

A Laptop will be better for classes, an iPad will be better for clinical.

+1 to this.

I use my Xoom everyday while on rotations; whether it's ER, IM or whatever. Very handy for pulling out to study for a couple minutes between patients or looking stuff up. It's narrower than the ipad and fits in my white coat pocket with ease.

I've seen some students use kindles. Cheap, light, and the battery last for a month or so.

 

[347932]

That is really cool!

Do hospitals offer apps so you can pull up radiographs, labs and reports on your tablets?

 

[darazon]

That is really cool!

Do hospitals offer apps so you can pull up radiographs, labs and reports on your tablets?

I've heard of hospitals offering this, but I never have seen it first hand. I've talked to some docs who use tablets in their private practice though. I think it would be very handy.

I would say about 1/4 of our 3rd year class have retired their laptops (to some degree) and now use tablets -either Ipad or Android. A few of the DOs have done the same as well. I carry about 50 different books/manuals and a hand-full of journal articles on my tablet.