What are medical school doing differently?

[DoctaJay]

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Ok, at my school (and I'm sure at alot of schools) our senior year is geared to mimmick the first year at medical school. We take a full year of biochemistry, a full year of gross anatomy (with the cadaver), molecular biology, physiology, etc. But still, folks in medical school complain about how crazy the work is. So is it that you cover harder material in medical school or more material or just more detailed information of the stuff that I'm already currently learning now? I guess I wonder whether taking the classes now are going to help if still every medical school feels overwhelmed by the medical school coursework.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Ok, at my school (and I'm sure at alot of schools) our senior year is geared to mimmick the first year at medical school. We take a full year of biochemistry, a full year of gross anatomy (with the cadaver), molecular biology, physiology, etc. But still, folks in medical school complain about how crazy the work is. So is it that you cover harder material in medical school or more material or just more detailed information of the stuff that I'm already currently learning now? I guess I wonder whether taking the classes now are going to help if still every medical school feels overwhelmed by the medical school coursework.

I took a semester-long Virology course senior year of undergrad, and virology was included in a 6-week Med Micro block that also included parasitology. There was a larger volume of material with more details, but it isn't harder per se, unless you consider we were also doing cardiovascular pathology, renal pharmacology, and other tough stuff to keep track of in other courses. Taking the stuff in undergrad gets you at least the basics like vocab, possibly more. But it varies from person to person on how much it will help you at the next level. The cadaveric dissection should be particularly useful, wish my undergrad had offered it looking back. But yeah, you'll still feel swamped all the time. We had biochemistry majors struggle with biochem.

 

[braluk]

Its most likely the sheer volume of information. As an example, my medical physiology syllabus is nearly 1300 pages in length we all needed to have it fully read from front to back to just get by with a passing grade. Combine that with medical biochemistry and all the other classes and the work quickly piles on.

 

[Uncle Izzy]

So I think the posts above are kinda intimidating. There is a ton of information, but it is hardly unmanageable. We covered all of the biochem i learned in a semester in just a few weeks but your whole class is in the same boat. You learn to work together. The pace is faster but essentially, you learn how to learn.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I think the classes you're taking now will help you in medical school, just because at least those things won't be foreign to you when you come in first year. I took the majority of the stuff that I'm taking now in both undergrad and postbac. While I have to study just as much as my classmates, the material is easier to understand and it all seems at least somewhat familiar. I think I'm spending more time learning the little things that I missed the first time, instead of trying to grasp the major concepts and the little things now. But don't worry about the workload. Like the people above have stated, you're all in the same boat and loads of people before you have done it. You'll be fine!

 

[medstylee]

Ok, at my school (and I'm sure at alot of schools) our senior year is geared to mimmick the first year at medical school. We take a full year of biochemistry, a full year of gross anatomy (with the cadaver), molecular biology, physiology, etc. But still, folks in medical school complain about how crazy the work is. So is it that you cover harder material in medical school or more material or just more detailed information of the stuff that I'm already currently learning now? I guess I wonder whether taking the classes now are going to help if still every medical school feels overwhelmed by the medical school coursework.

i don't really think undergrad can simulate medical school, nor do i think it's necessary. i agree with the poster that said it might be helpful to pick up some of the lingo - especially in classes like neuro. having gone through gross once will be helpful too. i know a number of people in my class who took the bare-bones basics - chem, organic, physics, bio - and they're doing just fine. i think the most important thing for succeeding in first year is getting disciplined. figure out how you study most efficiently - do you read lectures over and over? do you write out notes/charts? are you better off skipping lecture? stuff like that. get tivo. learn to embrace/resist coffee. get a study group together if that works for you. in my experience, just "getting used to" medical school was more helpful than any classes i've taken.

obviously what works for one guy might not work for someone else. but, it's important to figure out what works best for you. make the best use of your first exam block to try and work things out. best of luck! medical school is a lot of work, but it's great (so far, at least!).

 

[TheMightyAngus]

For the love of God, don't load up on courses that mimic med school! Why put yourself through this kind of tedium only to do it again for the next two years? Only do this if you're GPA is so low that you don't think you'll get accepted. Take courses that are interesting, different, and fun. This is your last chance to indulge yourself academically. Seriously.

You should read this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=323844

 

[PurpleHaze]

For the love of God, don't load up on courses that mimic med school! Why put yourself through this kind of tedium only to do it again for the next two years? Only do this if you're GPA is so low that you don't think you'll get accepted. Take courses that are interesting, different, and fun. This is your last chance to indulge yourself academically. Seriously.

You should read this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=323844

Hmm.. I'd have to agree with this advice as well! Make sure to take some fun classes that have nothing to do with sciences! When you get to med school, those classes don't exist.

 

[NonTradMed]

The biggest difference between college and med school for me was the sheer volume of information they throw at you. The level of difficulty of the subject matter was actually much easier than what I was used to (I was CS major so alot more analytical work than med school). However, I was not used to memorizing so much since our school emphasized concepts rather than memorization (even in the premed courses). As a result, I was not used to the type of studying demanded of me for med school. Also, I just have a lousy work ethic. This is easily covered in college where there's always somewhere else taking the hit for the lower end of the grade spectrum. Med school is filled with people who can and will study their ass off, meaning if I goof off even a little bit, I'm screwed. So....med school is harder b/c of the work load and the student quality. At least for me it is.

 

[dilated]

For the love of God, don't load up on courses that mimic med school! Why put yourself through this kind of tedium only to do it again for the next two years? Only do this if you're GPA is so low that you don't think you'll get accepted. Take courses that are interesting, different, and fun. This is your last chance to indulge yourself academically. Seriously.

You should read this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=323844

This is an often missed point. You're not going to learn the minutae that will be required for med school in undergrad and even if you did you couldn't remember them all for more than a month or two. The real enemy of strong performance in med school isn't inability to learn in time, it's burnout. You get tired of reading the same crap and you don't want to do it anymore. There are a few classes that are useful for having an idea what's going on (biochem is really the only one), but too much more may actually be counterproductive.

 

[Law2Doc]

This is an often missed point. You're not going to learn the minutae that will be required for med school in undergrad and even if you did you couldn't remember them all for more than a month or two. The real enemy of strong performance in med school isn't inability to learn in time, it's burnout. You get tired of reading the same crap and you don't want to do it anymore. There are a few classes that are useful for having an idea what's going on (biochem is really the only one), but too much more may actually be counterproductive.

I agree with this camp as well. Med school will teach you what you need to know about the basic science courses. Not much value putting yourself through that a second time. The only thing it is sure to do is make you bored the second time around. And it's much easier to plod through a tome of class notes if you find it somewhat interesting. (Sort of like trying to read a mystery when you already know the butler did it -- it holds no appeal).

 

[Polypeptide]

For the love of God, don't load up on courses that mimic med school! Why put yourself through this kind of tedium only to do it again for the next two years? Only do this if you're GPA is so low that you don't think you'll get accepted. Take courses that are interesting, different, and fun. This is your last chance to indulge yourself academically. Seriously.

I second this also. I centered my whole undergrad major around this concept. I did a BA in Chemistry. While I could have easily gotten the BS with about three more chem courses, I chose to take history, bible, and music courses. In my last semester of undergrad I had no science classes besides my senior research. It was wonderful! And I'm not saying that I don't love science classes. I admit I did take anatomy and physiology in undergrad in order to get a "preview" of the material, but I did not consider it a stand in for Med school coursework as it was tailored to Nursing students. I just did it for fun and maybe some of the terminology will stick in my head.

Please take time to develop your non science/medial interests and passions now while you have the chance.

 

[turkleton]

I'd rank taking pseudo med school courses as an undergrad as one of the dumbest things to do... right next to starting a land war in Asia or getting into a death match with a Sicilian- Princess Bride btw. Aren't you all supposed to be amongst the most intellectually curious? Take a humanities or a math course for god sakes- med school material is interesting, but it will be unbearably tedious as a 1st and 2nd year- aside from which you're going to be knee deep in it for the rest of your life. Learn something new.

 

[DoctaJay]

Lol, guys, don't crucify me. These class are electives that are required as part of my major. I'd rather take gross anatomy elective than a botony elective. Anyway, I hear what yall are saying...its just more information and more details in that information.

 

[MarzMD]

Lol, guys, don't crucify me. These class are electives that are required as part of my major. I'd rather take gross anatomy elective than a botony elective. Anyway, I hear what yall are saying...its just more information and more details in that information.

I sent you a PM

 

[DoctaJay]

thanks alot. I'm going to definitely check it out!!!

 

[bigdan]

The mere fact the courses are "a full year of..." means it is not at all like medical school.

Burnout is a huge factor, but so is the amount to "learn" in a short amount of time.

dc

 

[Critical Mass]

I don't think that undergrad schools would gain much by simulating M1 during college. Since so many people change majors during undergrad, I don't see it being a valuable recruiting tool; and I also don't see what value it would have to the student who doesn't go into medicine after undergrad.

I agree with everything else said here, so feel free to prove us wrong, OP. If you can answer all of the questions in our board review material for instance, you're well off.

 

[GuzzyRon]

If the medical schools think we applicants need more than the bare basic sciences to survive in medical school they would have recommended them. I think...