Who has studied ahead before starting med school?

[8744]

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Our school has all the powerpoints for freshmen and sophmore year online. Anyone can access them. Maybe your school has something similar and rather then doing "unguided studying" you can read ahead the same lectures that will be given to you when you start.

You might also get the NTS notes from someone at your school.

I'm not advocating this, you understand, but if you're determined to pre-study this would give you the most bang for the buck.

 

[ncalcate]

Originally posted by daphilster

However, this being said, I will urge you to get a copy of syllabus from another student b/c unguided indepedent study is likely to be a waste of time. You don't just pick up netters and start memorizing. Most schools will not teach every single muscle and bone, and you will need to know which ones you need to memorize or not. Also, don't just pick up a random physiology text because its like to be out-dated: most medical professors teach from their lecture notes that are up-to-date because they are researchers in that field. If you don't have access, then sign up for Kaplan board review prior to medical school to get access to medically relevant information. Do whatever it takes to succeed and don't worry what others will say. Of course, if you wish to have fun and relaxation prior to starting school, then by all means do this! Its really up to each individual. [/B]

Daphilster,

I am one of the self-proclaimed "tools" who plans to get a head start on medical school. To prepare, I bought the entire set of Kaplan 1999 USMLE Step I books on ebay. Do you think that would be a good place to start? I figure that if it is on the Step I boards, I will need to know the info, regardless of the school at which I ultimately matriculate. What do you think?

ncalcate

 

[DW]

Originally posted by VienneseWaltz
Ah, Dr. X, I guess that makes me a gunner then ... Oh, wait, silly me, of course I'm a gunner, I'm going to be at Hopkins, right?

yes you are!!!! GUNNER!!!!😡


sweet revenge! 😉

 

[lowbudget]

I studied b/f med school... my school offered a "pre-matriculation" program, which surveyed the 1st year classes. Professors volunteered their time as did 2nd year students to teach and tutor. I had a great time. I worked for a couple of years and so it helped getting back into school. Can't say I did well or worse because of prematric, but it was helpful nevertheless because of the routine, the language, the peer pressure, and social aspects of med school. Plus, I met some of my best friends during that summer program. It was awesome getting settled and getting preview. I quit work early to travel, and we had a break in between which was plenty. If your school offers one and you've been out of school for a couple of years, I'd definitely recommend it.

That said, I would not have studied First Aid or BRS or any crap like that. You'll be studying for the rest of your life. What's a couple of months? If you're compelled to study, don't study biochem and don't study anatomy. You'll forget that crap.

My recommendation if you seriously HAVE to study is to pick up Cell Bio and Physiology. Those are classes that overlap well with undergrad and are germane to med school. Biochem, anatomy/embryology, molecular bio are all BS. Microbio, maybe, but that takes too much memorization that you'll forget. The conceptual stuff like Phys and stuff you have a foundation in like Cell Bio would be really high yield. I'd recommend the BRS series for these two subjects.

Best of luck gunners.

 

[Entei]

I don't understand these feelings of academic inadequacy. Med school admissions committees are familiar with all of your credentials, and they wouldn't accept you if they didn't think you could handle the course load. There must be a reason why anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc. aren't considered pre-reqs for med school.

I could understand pre-studying if you were out of the game for a while. If I was in that position, I might take a class to get myself back into the academic groove. If the school offers a pre-matriculation program, then that sounds like something worthwhile for anyone to do.

But I can't fathom how studying out-of-date USMLE review books would be of any help to anyone. Well, maybe it'll help reduce pre-matriculation anxiety level, but I doubt it will help much academically. But what do I know? I've got only one week until I start school, and I've spent my summer frying my brain with video games. I figure they'll help my hand-eye coordination for when I'm a surgeon. 🙄

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by DW
yes you are!!!! GUNNER!!!!😡


sweet revenge! 😉

😛

 

[Neuronix]

They gave us some pre-orientation stuff to study. I laughed at it and did something else.

For those who are curious what it is, it's like an organic chemistry review (functional groups, reactions) with some biochem thrown in. They also gave us a genetics review with mendelian genetics, terms, pedigree interpretation, etc.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I actually don't think these folks are gunners. A true gunner would recognize what he/she has to do to suceed and then do it.

These folks haven't even started yet, so they are just doing blind studying.

Like several people have mentioned, you need to have some method to your madness, so find out exactly what you need to study before you just throw your summer to the wind.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by Herpeto
ItsGavinC,

Over the past three and a half years I have watched as my girlfriend has worked her way through veterinary school. The number of subjects, different species and amount of material she imbibed every week was amazing. Compared to her other classmates however, she rarely studied and made it look easy. Plus, she is at the top of her class and been given several scholarships based on scholastic merit. I am lucky because I have her experiences along with a few friends in medical to base my judgments upon. For in veterinary school, they are given similiar class loads and quantities of material.


What it comes down to is the type of studying one partakes in, the level of retention and devotion to the subject matter. For everyone is a bit different in how they adjust too and deal with difficult situations. For some, there shall never be an utterance of disdain or confusion, while others will become overwhelmed upon realization of the level of responsibility required. For instance, while in undergraduate I took 20-22 credit hours (1/2 grad. level), worked full time, did research 30 hours a week and maintained a relationship several semester in a row. On the other hand, many of my counterparts were busy working, attending part-time and spending time at the bars. So even though one will not truly mimic the level of knowledge required while enrolled, they can certainly develop a more comprehensive understanding of the basic organ systems, bone names and structures, pathophysiology etc... Ultimately, this shall provide a level of comfort and confidence that many people will lack upon begin the long arduous road of medical school. Can studying ahead of time actually be detrimental to oneself, not unless they are learing the information incorrectly. I wish all those well who are deciding to study ahead of time and hope those not studying will enjoy their time off doing what it is they love.


Herp

Nice, but I'm still not sold on your thesis. I had to get persmission from my undergrad university to take the number of credit hours I did each semester, I worked 43 hours a week for three years, was married in undergrad, and had a child.

None of that even came close to preparing me for the workload. Good luck with your plan. It's nice to see somebody with dedication!