Would sitting through all the lectures before hand be worth it?

[ankitn]

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So I am taking a year off before I start medical school and I realized I have access to the online recorded lectures at my school due to my status as a research knave. I have some free time, but would I be able to gain enough to make it worth it if I just sat through and watched/listened to all of the lecutres in an attempt to prepare myself for med school?

 

[FutureInternist]

You could probably pick at most 2 subjects that you think you might have trouble with. Then during the school year you can spend that much less time on those topics.

 

[Uegis]

That's hardcore. If you have a good memory and motivation to do so, why not. But if you want to enjoy your year off before the rigors of med school, relax and not do anything for a year knowing that you are IN.

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

So I am taking a year off before I start medical school and I realized I have access to the online recorded lectures at my school due to my status as a research knave. I have some free time, but would I be able to gain enough to make it worth it if I just sat through and watched/listened to all of the lecutres in an attempt to prepare myself for med school?

Maybe go over a few per subject...but **** bro, you'll have plenty of time to get stress when your in school. Enjoy your year off.

 

[ankitn]

well, I am not intending to study the material as if I were a med student, moreso just listen in and get a feel for the pace and rigor of med school. Also, anything I learn will just be making the next year easier. I was just wondering if the pace of med school lectures is such that one could really learn just by sitting on or is the hours upon hours of studying necessary even for those who are just looking to get some exposure rather than learn it all

 

[nka1985]

Wow, that sounds terrible, to be honest. Enjoy your year off-you'll have plenty of time when you get to med school, and you want to start the year refreshed and ready to work.

 

[Haemulon]

Honostly, even with the lectures available to you ... you won't be able to get the true feel for the pace and rigor of the courses on your own. Glance over topics that you are interested in maybe, but studying this stuff is really an all or nothing effort. Otherwise, your wasting your time. Just my thoughts though.

 

[JeffLebowski]

well, I am not intending to study the material as if I were a med student, moreso just listen in and get a feel for the pace and rigor of med school. Also, anything I learn will just be making the next year easier. I was just wondering if the pace of med school lectures is such that one could really learn just by sitting on or is the hours upon hours of studying necessary even for those who are just looking to get some exposure rather than learn it all

In my opinion, your time would be better spent if you got ahold of all the course lecture schedules for the year and made a big calendar of what lectures are given on which days, and familiarize yourself with that (if you want to get a feel for the pace). Because it's pretty hard to get a feel for the pace, depth, and rigor unless you're in it, with all the other classes, with all the little requirements (quizzes, small groups, etc.) to take away from your time, with all the exams to study for, etc. Get the lecture schedules and plot those out and that should give you a feel for how quickly you go through material. Maybe go through 1-2 lectures if you want to know what the lectures sound like, but these vary pretty widely depending on the course, topic, lecturer, etc. I agree with the people who say just take your time to get mentally ready for med school so you can hit it hard when you start and have the perseverence to keep up the intensity.

 

[Tiger26]

I never sat through or really even listened to lectures online anyway the first two years and ended up doing fine--don't worry about it at this point. You'll forget it all anyway if you stop for learning for more than a week

 

[DickyV]

well, I am not intending to study the material as if I were a med student, moreso just listen in and get a feel for the pace and rigor of med school. Also, anything I learn will just be making the next year easier. I was just wondering if the pace of med school lectures is such that one could really learn just by sitting on or is the hours upon hours of studying necessary even for those who are just looking to get some exposure rather than learn it all

The pace is often faster than mach 2 and the work is pretty damn rigorous. QED.

Seriously - don't do it. If you're *that* worried, look at some of the things from undergrad that you could stand to bone up on. (Cough-biochem-cough.) Or, better yet, enjoy your time off.

 

[45408]

Um, no. Not at all, in the slightest.

 

[Law2Doc]

Honostly, even with the lectures available to you ... you won't be able to get the true feel for the pace and rigor of the courses on your own. Glance over topics that you are interested in maybe, but studying this stuff is really an all or nothing effort. Otherwise, your wasting your time. Just my thoughts though.

Yeah. I don't know that you get as much from the lectures if you aren't reading in prep for them, taking notes during them, reviewing notes after them and being tested on them. The lectures are really just the empty carcass around which the meat needs to be put on, not the meat itself. In other words, you'd need to do it full time to get much value out of them -- if you are just going to dabble and try to sit through a lecture or so each day, I probably wouldn't bother. You have no sense of what med school is all about yet, and until you do, you really cannot prepare for it in any meaningful way. If you were going to take off a year between first and second year, my response might be different, because you'd know enough from first year what you need to do and can expect from second year. But even then I'd probably not bother.

 

[michaelrack]

I find that I learn better if I am exposed to a subject several times. So I say, go for it👍

 

[TheRealMD]

Doesn't this kind of stuff often make the situation worse down the road? I mean, you'd be practically learning to depend on time that doesn't exist in medical school. What happens after the first year where you would have been forced to learn the skills that prepare you for your second year? If your "pre-studying" made a huge difference, then you'll need to be spending your summer off between M1 and M2 to make sure you succeed as an M2.

And of course, if the pre-studying DOESN'T help, then it would have been a huge waste of time!

However, if anything, go get a college anatomy book and flip through it a few times. Just get familiar with the terms. I'm an M1 right now and so often I've heard people wish they've taken an anatomy class before because they've never heard of these terms before. Other than that, enjoy your year off!

 

[bola]

WARNING: RANT...

It's getting pretty disturbing how much people/premeds want to do anything to get ahead of their future classmates despite a collective body of knowledge..far more experienced than them...advising them against pre-studying, pre-memorizing Netters, pre-ANYTHING!

OP this is not just entirely at you, but I have encountered entering students telling me that they already cut the edge of their FA2008 and have it in a folder for easy access, bought board review books during the last year of undergrad and have already read through them etc. If you annotate all of FA2008 during the first 2 yrs of med school, what happens when you have to take the boards in 2010? With your personality, you will probably want to use FA2010 right?

And the sad thing is that when I asked where they got the idea from, they were quick to mention SDN. Apparently they ignored all the other posts on here advising them that doing such a thing is pointless. IT JUST WREAKS OF "I WANT TO BE BETTER THAN YOU DUMMIES THAT THINK YOU HAVE TO WAIT TILL 2nd YR TO PREPARE FOR BOARDS"

OP if there is anything that might help you while you wait to start med sch, etc there is this book I found at the library called "HOW TO STUDY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL" it was pretty useful for me in terms of knowing what to expect. You could also just digest the posts on here and get ideas about what to expect. Honestly, enjoy your year off so you don't burn out by the time you start. This rant is not entirely directed at you, you're probably just nervous about med school etc but there are some premeds out there that just get under my skin.

 

[njbmd]

So I am taking a year off before I start medical school and I realized I have access to the online recorded lectures at my school due to my status as a research knave. I have some free time, but would I be able to gain enough to make it worth it if I just sat through and watched/listened to all of the lecutres in an attempt to prepare myself for med school?

Likely a total waste of time. If you are that bored, get a second job and make some money (more useful anyway). Contrarly to popular belief, you will have plenty of time to master the material presented in your medical school courses if you are efficient at time management. If not, use that extra year to become efficient at time managment. My guess is that for the time investment, you will have minimal if any gains.

 

[Mr hawkings]

I would do it just for ****s and giggles without really expecting to retain very much.

Besides, unless if you are traveling the world, "enjoying your time off" tends to be incredibly boring after a month or 2.

 

[Law2Doc]

Likely a total waste of time. If you are that bored, get a second job and make some money (more useful anyway).

Agreed. Or if not that, then spend the time learning Spanish or some other second language, that might be truly useful to you in your medical career. You just won't be getting any sort of bang for the buck trying to pre-study. It's sort of like trying to pre-climb Mount Everest by walking around in the Poconos. Might seem like what you are doing would help, but it's going to be a waste of time when you actually get there.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Besides, unless if you are traveling the world, "enjoying your time off" tends to be incredibly boring after a month or 2.

That's the point.

Ideally, you should be bored to tears with everything else by the time you start med school.