Will there ever be a time when you feel adequately prepared?

[kl323]

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It seems to me that thru my 1.5 years of med school, there has yet to be an exam or quiz which I feel prepared. Some of my classmates can say they'll pass with confidence, but I just can't muster that sense of security.

No matter how much I study, I can never feel like I've studied enough. The only feeling I get from studying and studying is... "let's just get this over with."

The only reason I would stop studying is probably because I am tired of going through the same thing over and over again..

Enlighten me!

 

[Music MD]

For me doing practice questions is what triggers the "Ok I can do this" feeling. At first its a train wreck of course, but usually I'll get there eventually.

 

[itellitlikeitis]

It seems to me that thru my 1.5 years of med school, there has yet to be an exam or quiz which I feel prepared. Some of my classmates can say they'll pass with confidence, but I just can't muster that sense of security.

No matter how much I study, I can never feel like I've studied enough. The only feeling I get from studying and studying is... "let's just get this over with."

The only reason I would stop studying is probably because I am tired of going through the same thing over and over again..

Enlighten me!

How well have you been performing on previous exams despite your feelings?


For me, my confidence builds up with each repetition of the material. The first time around I feel like c*** and overwhelmed, then with each repetition, things speed up and I feel better. After the second repetition, I go through test/question banks, then for my third repetition of the materials, I focus on what I was missing while going through the questions. Things really start to click for me by the time I get a third look through the materials. My big sib (we have a big sib/little sib program) gave me her old First Aid book so I'll sometimes glance through to see if there's a helpful mnemonic or not. How well I perform on exams (and how I feel going into exams) have so far matched up with how many repetitions I have been able to get in- if I am on top of things and get my optimal 3x repetition, I do very well, but if there's no time because of the ridiculous schedule, I will only go through the materials 1.5 times with question banks and take a hit on exam day with the minute, detailed questions


Wow... that was too long. Summary: more repetitions = more prepared I feel (plus question bank before repetition)

 

[kl323]

I do alright. I've been passing and hitting the mean. I'm not really aiming for much. I just want to pass and get thru this year.

I wanna do well for boards though.

The only Q bank I use is Robbins Review. Normally I can get lik 70-80% right. Big spread... but I never really keep track.

 

[StIGMA]

I go through each lecture twice. The first time I spend about 1.5-2 hours on a 50min lecture [I don't go to class so this basically means watching the video and taking notes]. The second time is the day before the test where I spend about 15-45 minutes flipping through the powerpoint and my/our class notes. I always feel prepared for exams because from the beginning I organize the material in my head and actively compare/contrast diseases. I gloss over material that is overly detailed but unlikely to be on the exam. In certain subjects I read the book, such as neuroanatomy and cardiology. I dont do practice questions/question banks. I usually do around the mean (P/F school) but have been consistently above it on the past few exams. Sometimes I try to do more (like read goljan) but that has only happened for one class - I just cant get myself to do it. Maybe having some fear is good for you (I would work a lot harder if my school was not p/f). I have been freaked before a few exams because I don't consolidate the material until the very end, but it has always worked out well.

 

[Cruzinman]

Get used to making decisions with an incomplete set of information. You can never know everything for an exam, and you will be making patient decisions with incomplete information. Get comfortable with it or your obsessive compulsiveness will tuen into a personality disorder.

 

[ACSurgeon]

It seems to me that thru my 1.5 years of med school, there has yet to be an exam or quiz which I feel prepared. Some of my classmates can say they'll pass with confidence, but I just can't muster that sense of security.

No matter how much I study, I can never feel like I've studied enough. The only feeling I get from studying and studying is... "let's just get this over with."

The only reason I would stop studying is probably because I am tired of going through the same thing over and over again..

Enlighten me!

A lot of it is how you think about it. For me, early on in second year, after passing a couple of brutal exams, I realized I was *most likely* going to be fine through the end of the year. Did I ever feel perfectly confident going into any exam? No. But I had the sense of security coming from probability and previous performance.

On the other hand, another student who constantly had A's on all exams would call me the night before each exam, freaking out about possibly failing. I knew she would never fail, and I think she must have also known deep down inside, but she couldn't coup with the feeling that she didn't know everything!

 

[2012mdc]

A lot of it is how you think about it. For me, early on in second year, after passing a couple of brutal exams, I realized I was *most likely* going to be fine through the end of the year. Did I ever feel perfectly confident going into any exam? No. But I had the sense of security coming from probability and previous performance.

On the other hand, another student who constantly had A's on all exams would call me the night before each exam, freaking out about possibly failing. I knew she would never fail, and I think she must have also known deep down inside, but she couldn't coup with the feeling that she didn't know everything!

That's a important step in med school. You have to realize you will never know everything but you can still know enough.

Confidence comes from repetition particularly practice questions. If you are hitting 70-80% on Robbins Review you are learning the material and you will be fine for Step 1

 

[vanbamm]

Repetition- it starts with the terminology, and then the concepts- and then tying the concepts together. It's like practicing for anything; a sport or instrument- the more you do it, the less you think about it and the more confidence you have in executing it...