What should I study between now and matriculation???

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DaSein77

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Hi everyone,
I just graduated from college and will be working between now and August when I matriculate into medical school (Commonwealth Medical College). Since I will have a lot of free time, I was thinking I would like to start learning (or at least becoming somewhat acquainted) something that I will be learning during medical school, maybe just to make my first year just a tad bit less stressful.

I'm just wondering what you weathered medical students would suggest I study. I was thinking about just looking at Anatomy. Basically take a body system and learn it pretty well and then move on to another one. That way at least Anatomy wouldn't be as hard and even if I don't cover everything, I would know some parts of the body.

What do you think?
 
DaSein77 said:
Hi everyone,
I just graduated from college and will be working between now and August when I matriculate into medical school (Commonwealth Medical College). Since I will have a lot of free time, I was thinking I would like to start learning (or at least becoming somewhat acquainted) something that I will be learning during medical school, maybe just to make my first year just a tad bit less stressful.

I'm just wondering what you weathered medical students would suggest I study. I was thinking about just looking at Anatomy. Basically take a body system and learn it pretty well and then move on to another one. That way at least Anatomy wouldn't be as hard and even if I don't cover everything, I would know some parts of the body.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

Go buy your copy of Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, open up to page 1 and get started. Quit that job you've got, say goodbye to family and friends now and start living life like a medical student.
 
DaSein77 said:
Hi everyone,
I just graduated from college and will be working between now and August when I matriculate into medical school (Commonwealth Medical College). Since I will have a lot of free time, I was thinking I would like to start learning (or at least becoming somewhat acquainted) something that I will be learning during medical school, maybe just to make my first year just a tad bit less stressful.

I'm just wondering what you weathered medical students would suggest I study. I was thinking about just looking at Anatomy. Basically take a body system and learn it pretty well and then move on to another one. That way at least Anatomy wouldn't be as hard and even if I don't cover everything, I would know some parts of the body.

What do you think?
Click to expand...


Have fun and do nothing.....

Any studying you do will not benefit you, enjoy the free time you have because that will quickly evaporate once the school year begins.
 
You should enjoy your free time. However, getting slightly into what will come is not a bad idea.

IMHO, since it's holidays and such, get Netter. It will be great for light reading. You can check the pics, start seeing where some muscles are and such... It will be of great use.
 
I asked the same question to several medical students and my mentor/employer who is a doc. The students told me to get a head start on anatomy. My mentor threatened to fire me if I opened a book before medical school. He said that I would have the rest of my life to worry about keeping up with my studies, he told me to enjoy the time that I have now before medical school....
 
Don't study. It would be nearly a complete waste of time.
 
Last edited:
HEROWANTABE said:
My mentor threatened to fire me if I opened a book before medical school. He said that I would have the rest of my life to worry about keeping up with my studies, he told me to enjoy the time that I have now before medical school....
Click to expand...

Your mentor is right.
 
I'd say just work on earning more money. You are gonna be broke, and it will be nice to have a few more dollars in your pocket before school starts. Other than that, do what you enjoy. Pleasure read, go skiing, spend a lot of time with family/friends, because you have more free time now than you will have for the next 7+ years. Congrats on getting in.
 
I guess it looks like I should take some time off! Fortunately/Unfortunately I'm the type of person who has to read a something of lasting value each day, if only a little bit, or I start to feel like a bum. So I guess I'll just do what feels comfortable without going over the top.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it.
 
DaSein77 said:
I guess it looks like I should take some time off! Fortunately/Unfortunately I'm the type of person who has to read a something of lasting value each day, if only a little bit, or I start to feel like a bum. So I guess I'll just do what feels comfortable without going over the top.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...


I would suggest reading about non-medicine related interests. I'm sort of the same way, so during my time off I would read up on all kinds of other things like politics, science, etc. There is no reason it won't have lasting value; it will make you well rounded in the long run and people will think you are smart for being versed in other areas. You won't have nearly as much time in school for lots of reading in other interests, so I would suggest pursuing them now.

You'll get get enough medicine real soon, I promise!
 
DaSein77 said:
I guess it looks like I should take some time off! Fortunately/Unfortunately I'm the type of person who has to read a something of lasting value each day, if only a little bit, or I start to feel like a bum. So I guess I'll just do what feels comfortable without going over the top.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Then read some great literature. Don't waste your time trying to study for med school.

If you try to "study ahead" here is what may happen
1) You will drastically underestimate the pace of medical school - the amount you study in a month will get covered in 3-4 days of med school
2) You will fail to retain the same amount of info because there is no real pressure to learn it
3) You will overestimate how much you already know when the real work starts in med school, and you may be unpleasantly surprised by your first round of test scores
 
Don't study anything, save up as much money as possible.



Close thread. Oh, and by Commonwealth Medical College do you mean MCV/VCU?
 
DrYoda said:
I plan to study the bottom of a shot glass. Over and over from now til' August.
Click to expand...

But if you are reading the bottom of a shot glass, wont the tequilla fall out onto your lap?? 🙂
 
DaSein77 said:
Hi everyone,
I just graduated from college and will be working between now and August when I matriculate into medical school (Commonwealth Medical College). Since I will have a lot of free time, I was thinking I would like to start learning (or at least becoming somewhat acquainted) something that I will be learning during medical school, maybe just to make my first year just a tad bit less stressful.

I'm just wondering what you weathered medical students would suggest I study. I was thinking about just looking at Anatomy. Basically take a body system and learn it pretty well and then move on to another one. That way at least Anatomy wouldn't be as hard and even if I don't cover everything, I would know some parts of the body.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

You shouldn't study at all. I'd recommend having as much fun as possible while you can, whatever that means for you.
 
do absolutely no studying! you will regret not using this time to enjoy life and have fun before med school starts.🙂
 
If you absolutely have to do something medicine-related, go get a couple of the light-reading personal memoirs at Borders or something Atul Gawande, Michael Collins, and Pauline Chen are a couple good ones, there's plenty of threads of this with a search.

Plus they're great reading when you have a hangover and are watching Sportscenter on its 4th runthrough.

But yeah, go have fun. Whatever that means to you, whether its knitting a pair of long johns, dating a stripper, collecting model airplanes, scaling large rock walls, whatever. Your time will quickly become not-your-own which makes it very difficult to fit those things in. Especially dating strippers.
 
DaSein77 said:
I guess it looks like I should take some time off! Fortunately/Unfortunately I'm the type of person who has to read a something of lasting value each day, if only a little bit, or I start to feel like a bum. So I guess I'll just do what feels comfortable without going over the top.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Read biographies. Read up on health policy. Maybe throw in some literary classics. The only "school-type" book I used before med school was an anatomy coloring book to familiarize myself with some things.

I've always been an avid reader, but I'm really lucky to finish a book or two in a month as a medical student. I've switched to reading short stories, just so it's easier to put down for weeks at a time. There is a lot more out there than just medicine to learn and this is an excellent time to do some of that (pick up tennis, travel, learn something you have always wanted to do).
 
One of the IR docs here told me... "For the next 6 months.. don't even have a thought in your head.. Wonder around aimlessly and try to do nothing".

Lol... Good advice. He said Medical school was the hardest thing that he ever did. Residency was "easy".
 
meister said:
Don't study anything, save up as much money as possible.



Close thread. Oh, and by Commonwealth Medical College do you mean MCV/VCU?
Click to expand...

Isn't that the name of that new medical school in PA?
 
The people above are right. Pre-studying is a waste of time.

Racing bikes is also a waste of time. However, it's how I like to waste my time.

Study if you want to study or like to study. If you're lucky, you'll like studying anatomy.

Reading books about medicine and journal articles before medical school helped me to figure out what I wanted to do the summer between 1st and 2nd year, because it directed the shadowing I did in the fall.
 
I heard learning the brachial plexus ahead of time would save you a weeks worth of headache in M1
-durty
 
dude, you're asking medical students what they would do if they could go back in time. they're obviously incredibly busy now and swamped beyond imagination so it's not like they're gonna look back and wished they STUDIED more leading up into school. Wrong place to ask.
 
DaSein77 said:
Hi everyone,
I just graduated from college and will be working between now and August when I matriculate into medical school (Commonwealth Medical College). Since I will have a lot of free time, I was thinking I would like to start learning (or at least becoming somewhat acquainted) something that I will be learning during medical school, maybe just to make my first year just a tad bit less stressful.

I'm just wondering what you weathered medical students would suggest I study. I was thinking about just looking at Anatomy. Basically take a body system and learn it pretty well and then move on to another one. That way at least Anatomy wouldn't be as hard and even if I don't cover everything, I would know some parts of the body.

What do you think?
Click to expand...


There is nothing that you can study in isolation that is going to make much difference in your first year grades. If you want to make your medical school experience less stressful, have a pile of money in the bank, have a convenient and secure place to live lined up and get your partying experience out of your system before you start. Otherwise, enjoy your free time because you are going to want it back just about the third week of class.
 
So I have been accepted to medical school for August 2009 and I have a lot of free time on my hands now. I want to spend some time studying for some of my first year classes but I am at a loss where to start.

I figured I would start by learning Netter's anatomy but if anyone has any other advice as to what book/books I could pick up that might help me out when I start I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your help.
 
Don't study. You'll study enough once you start school.

Chances are you won't have another significant break for a while. Treasure the free time you have now.
 
Prep for med school? I recommend GoLytely.
 
I think the dudes in the other thread covered it pretty well, but for the sake of reiteration, I STRONGLY suggest doing very very little in the way of academics. You've reached the best part in your medical school stay: you've got the credit of being a medical student, without having to do any of the work yet.

But in all seriousness, medical school is about finding a way to balance your own sanity with learning what you need to learn. If you feel like you gotta prepare for med school now, think of all the time off you are going to take as a lesson in learning to relax, because believe you me, that is a valuable skill to have!

So my advice is to take the chance to travel, see family that don't live so close, teach yourself how to cook quick yummy meals, find a hobby or enjoy the one you got. There will be plenty of time to study later (ie the rest of your career as a physician) so take some time now to savor the end of the 'civilian' period of your life by doing something unadulterated by the need to study.
 
Doing nothing is highly advised, and another reason why - unlike undergrad - you will NEVER get ahead in Med School, you will always be behind, you can never process it all as fast as it comes at you.

All those people told me to not do anything before I started Med School and I didn't take their advice. But I should have now looking back on things...
 
Polish Farmer said:
Doing nothing is highly advised, and another reason why - unlike undergrad - you will NEVER get ahead in Med School, you will always be behind, you can never process it all as fast as it comes at you.

All those people told me to not do anything before I started Med School and I didn't take their advice. But I should have now looking back on things...
Click to expand...

Then what's the point of studying ahead in the first place?
 
Rooter76 said:
That's crap. I knocked the BP out in like an hour. Just draw it a bunch of times.
Click to expand...
Word. I had one of those wtf moments when I first saw it, but after I buckled down to study it, I drew it over and over and then it was cake.
 
durty said:
I heard learning the brachial plexus ahead of time would save you a weeks worth of headache in M1
-durty
Click to expand...

Haha. Yeah here's what you need to know about medschool. You don't get "weeks" to learn a concept. You get hours. Learning the BP ahead of time might save u 30 minutes. If it takes you weeks to learn a concept you'd fail out. The good news is that if they've accepted you it means you probably have the capabilities to learn it in 30 minutes just like everyone who came before you.

So just relax and enjoy not feeling guilty because you are taking a study break to eat or shower, that you can watch mindless tv without the nagging feeling that the hour you spent watching house could mean a few points on the upcoming exam, that you can just hang with your friends until you want to go home not have to bounce before everyone else because you have to go study, that you can get drunk and not worry if you'll have issues keeping your stomach contents down in anatomy lab the next morning. Enjoy your freedom while u have it. Breaks are short and few in the upcoming years.
 
wow, you are so ardent, actually, my opinion will not be diiferent from most of the guys' opinions here.
So enjoy your free time till you get started.
 
Chill. Do absolutely nothing. You will have enough studying coming up to last a lifetime. Seriously. It's fun though and well worth the effort. Congrats.
 
How many times do we have to tell you guys you can't prepare for sex by jerking off. Jeez!!
 
dont study. it would be a major waste of time
 
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