When your school focuses on stuff that won't be on boards

[Espressso]

our school seems to love to teach us OMT theories/techniques that they explicitly say won't be on boards. In short, they tend to go too specific, and then say that for boards, you don't need to worry about "this" or "that", but you do for the exams.

How do you approach this? Being now in the midst of second year, I'm realizing how valuable time is and it seems like such a ridiculous proposition to have to learn things that are not even not board relevant, but not on boards at all.

Anyone have similar experiences? I notice the issue is specifically with OMT. How do you deal with this?

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[shadowlightfox]

I notice the issue is specifically with OMT.

You better start counting your blessings if that problem is only with OMT at your school.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

our school seems to love to teach us OMT theories/techniques that they explicitly say won't be on boards. In short, they tend to go too specific, and then say that for boards, you don't need to worry about "this" or "that", but you do for the exams.

How do you approach this? Being now in the midst of second year, I'm realizing how valuable time is and it seems like such a ridiculous proposition to have to learn things that are not even not board relevant, but not on boards at all.

Anyone have similar experiences? I notice the issue is specifically with OMT. How do you deal with this?

Just do what you gotta do and move on. Go down to 6 hours of sleep a night, and increase discipline. Sometimes putting your head down and going forward is the only way.

 

[libertyyne]

Just do what you gotta do and move on. Go down to 6 hours of sleep a night, and increase discipline. Sometimes putting your head down and going forward is the only way.

Agree with most of the advice except the sleep. You need that stuff to memorize and perform well, dont skimp on it.

 

[Espressso]

You better start counting your blessings if that problem is only with OMT at your school.

It's not just OMT, but OMT seems to be the most aggravating because they emphasize it so much at our school. There's plenty of non-OMT gaps in the curriculum though.

 

[Espressso]

Just do what you gotta do and move on. Go down to 6 hours of sleep a night, and increase discipline. Sometimes putting your head down and going forward is the only way.

Agree with most of the advice except the sleep. You need to stuff to memorize and perform well, dont skimp on it.

Yeah i still get my 7-8 hours a night, don't you worry. But I'm realizing that time is so valuable now and I'm going to have to start skimping on the classwork and put more time and energy into filling in those gaps for boards.

 

[NotYou20]

For omm I'd ignore it if it's not on the boards. But for other stuff don't get caught in the mindset that if it's not high yield for boards you don't need to care. It's hard to know what's going to matter once you hit clinicals and beyond. My school taught a lot of step 2 style stuff during second year. I'm glad I made an effort to learn it because I've been able to impress residents and attendings. It also means I need to study less during 3rd year. Finally no one actually knows that something won't be on step 1. You may well get a few questions right by learning that stuff that you "dont have to know for boards."

 

[Moose A Moose]

Ah, yes. The DO difference.

 

[sab3156]

Ah, yes. The DO difference.

#Osteopathy4LYFE

 

[Gilbert Syndrome]

Board prep at home, don't got to class unless you have to. Cram all the school info a few days before the test and you should be fine. My school basically taught us no pathology 2nd year and it was mostly clinical step2/level2 stuff. The people that went to class and actually tried to learn all that stuff suffered on boards. Learning guidelines and how to manage a patients is easy compared to the critical thinking/amount of material that step 1 requires.

 

[Goro]

It's not just OMT, but OMT seems to be the most aggravating because they emphasize it so much at our school. There's plenty of non-OMT gaps in the curriculum though.

Definitely not just OMT. You'd be surprised over in the MD student forum how often people complain about how Faculty will be teaching about their own research.

There's some good advice on coping skills in this thread, but I'll just add:
A) Complain to the OMM/OMT Dep't Chair (unless they're the one doing the extraneous teaching!)
B) Complain to the course coordinator (unless...see above)
C) Complain to the Curriculum Dean
D) Complain to the Dean

A and B are dependent upon how much of a True Believer those people are.

 

[mdh2]

Definitely not just OMT. You'd be surprised over in the MD student forum how often people complain about how Faculty will be teaching about their own research.

There's some good advice on coping skills in this thread, but I'll just add:
A) Complain to the OMM/OMT Dep't Chair (unless they're the one doing the extraneous teaching!)
B) Complain to the course coordinator (unless...see above)
C) Complain to the Curriculum Dean
D) Complain to the Dean

A and B are dependent upon how much of a True Believer those people are.

In a perfect world. My experience is that administration (at many not all programs) is generally contemptuous of students and that they will at best do nothing and at worse retaliate. I remember feeling especially vulnerable as a DO student.

FWIW I am still convinced that OMT is an excuse for 65+ year old docs to manhandle young female students so I am biased.

 

[Goro]

In a perfect world. My experience is that administration (at many not all programs) is generally contemptuous of students and that they will at best do nothing and at worse retaliate. I remember feeling especially vulnerable as a DO student.

FWIW I am still convinced that OMT is an excuse for 65+ year old docs to manhandle young female students so I am biased.

I guess my students are lucky in that our administration is rather student-centric.

 

[shadowlightfox]

It's not just OMT, but OMT seems to be the most aggravating because they emphasize it so much at our school. There's plenty of non-OMT gaps in the curriculum though.

Learning way too many stuffs about relevant topics is better than learning irrelevant topics.

 

[Medic741]

our school seems to love to teach us OMT theories/techniques that they explicitly say won't be on boards. In short, they tend to go too specific, and then say that for boards, you don't need to worry about "this" or "that", but you do for the exams.

How do you approach this? Being now in the midst of second year, I'm realizing how valuable time is and it seems like such a ridiculous proposition to have to learn things that are not even not board relevant, but not on boards at all.

Anyone have similar experiences? I notice the issue is specifically with OMT. How do you deal with this?

smile and nod & focus on what's in FA