First day of Medical School and I'm Lost!

[RJGOP]

No, but I don't care. I'm aiming for anesthesiology, PM&R, or IM as a route to hospitalist -- nothing competitive. Maybe EM, but I hear that's mildly competitive.

Have fun.

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[DermViser]

My school does it this way as well. I didn't realize that it was out of the norm... Later on in the year we split it up into things like micro/immuno, psych, neuro, nephro, etc.

Guess it depends how it's arranged. Micro/Immuno, Cell Bio, Biochem, Biostats doesn't really fit into an organ system block so they're taught separately.

 

[DermViser]

I have to watch my neuroanatomy lectures at o.75 speed

Did you go to class beforehand?

 

[Mad Jack]

Maybe OP's school just eases them into it more. I know looking at my class schedule makes me want to assume the fetal position and cry

We get weekends off and our schedule is arranged in such a way that we get one 24 hour block of time off in the middle of the week for mental health.

Also we have an hour and a half lunch break so you can hit the gym and study in the middle of the day. They're very big on promoting the emotional health of students and I have zero complaints thusfar.

I love my school.

The material is crazy though. We're going through an entire semester worth of regular college material (like, 15 credits worth) every six weeks.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Hospitalist medicine sounds transiently appealing due to the 7 on/7 off.

But in practice it is an absolute grind. For a nocturnalist you're basically just putting out fires and doing admits overnight. For a daytime hospitalist you're dealing with all the worst bulls*** of residency - dispos, dealing with social work, etc.

I have several friends (and my SO will probably be doing it in a year or two) who have been hospitalists for a couple of years and, despite the generous time off, they all are so eager to get out. They always intended on it as a stopgap measure before applying to fellowships.

It also, if you are considering doing it at an AMC, is largely considered a second class citizen and not a "real" faculty. The prospects for rising within your department or tenure track are limited.

 

[EMDO2018]

Did you go to class beforehand?

The guy ran through the material so fast everybody was like .

 

[Mad Jack]

Guess it depends how it's arranged. Micro/Immuno, Cell Bio, Biochem, Biostats doesn't really fit into an organ system block so they're taught separately.

We've got a pretty sweet setup- we don't do it by organ system, it's just split into two courses: medical knowledge and clinical skills. You learn a little bit of everything all the time with a key concept in each course per week, and we have a block exam week every 6-7 weeks where we're tested on everything.

 

[DermViser]

We get weekends off and our schedule is arranged in such a way that we get one 24 hour block of time off in the middle of the week for mental health.

Also we have an hour and a half lunch break so you can hit the gym and study in the middle of the day. They're very big on promoting the emotional health of students and I have zero complaints thusfar.

I love my school.

The material is crazy though. We're going through an entire semester worth of regular college material (like, 15 credits worth) every six weeks.

Going to a top tier school has it's benefits. Every school gets its weekends off (it hasn't gotten that bad that I know of yet).

 

[DermViser]

The guy ran through the material so fast everybody was like .

LOL. Yes that happens. Another reason why group studying helps. It really helps bring people together.

 

[DermViser]

We've got a pretty sweet setup- we don't do it by organ system, it's just split into two courses: medical knowledge and clinical skills. You learn a little bit of everything all the time with a key concept in each course per week, and we have a block exam week every 6-7 weeks where we're tested on everything.

That's the name of courses? I'm sure it's more than just that? Like they use fancy names like "Patient, Physician, Society" or "Molecular Foundations of Medicine".

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Going to a top tier school has it's benefits. Every school gets its weekends off (it hasn't gotten that bad that I know of yet).

Best part of my research years has been getting weekends off again. Barring the rare looming deadline or upcoming conference presentation, I mentally shut down from 5p friday to 8a monday. Haven't had that luxury in a long, long time.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

That's the name of courses? I'm sure it's more than just that? Like they use fancy names like "Patient, Physician, Society" or "Molecular Foundations of Medicine".

I think at least one of those was an actual course name at my med school.

 

[DermViser]

Best part of my research years has been getting weekends off again. Barring the rare looming deadline or upcoming conference presentation, I mentally shut down from 5p friday to 8a monday. Haven't had that luxury in a long, long time.

I'm surprised all Surgery residencies don't have them. Although I'm sure there are many residents who just want to finish. I think Surgery residency takes you right near your breaking point (end of PGY-2 or 3) and puts in a research year or two right when you need it most. I imagine it esp. helps those who are married or have children. Amazing how little things, like food, drink, sleep, rest, time off become valued luxuries.

 

[Mad Jack]

That's the name of courses? I'm sure it's more than just that? Like they use fancy names like "Patient, Physician, Society" or "Molecular Foundations of Medicine".

They're really just called CS and MK. Nothing fancy. No overselling. Stuff you know and stuff you actually use in practice, it's pretty cut and dry.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I'm surprised all Surgery residencies don't have them. Although I'm sure there are many residents who just want to finish. I think Surgery residency takes you right near your breaking point (end of PGY-2 or 3) and puts in a research year or two right when you need it most. I imagine it esp. helps those who are married or have children. Amazing how little things, like food, drink, sleep, rest, time off become valued luxuries.

Our residents who go straight through have a notorious reputation for being bat **** crazy as chiefs haha...

 

[DermViser]

I think at least one of those was an actual course name at my med school.

What's funny is when schools copy each other's names for courses. I guess with fancier sounding names it's to justify the extravagant amount of tuition to charge during the first 2 years.

 

[DermViser]

They're really just called CS and MK. Nothing fancy. No overselling. Stuff you know and stuff you actually use in practice, it's pretty cut and dry.

Are those courses cut up into blocks?

 

[Mad Jack]

Going to a top tier school has it's benefits. Every school gets its weekends off (it hasn't gotten that bad that I know of yet).

I don't go to a top tier school, just a nice place that's really chill about things and doesn't want to torture their students any more than they have to.

 

[Mad Jack]

Are those courses cut up into blocks?

Six blocks per course per year. First block exam is in like, 30 days. Not looking forward to it, but supposedly if you survive the first two blocks everything sort of gets better from there.

 

[DermViser]

Our residents who go straight through have a notorious reputation for being bat **** crazy as chiefs haha...

ROFL! I can see why. This can wear you down.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

ROFL! I can see why. This can wear you down.

The somewhat creepy attention to detail is by far the most accurate.

I know some obscure **** about hospital logistics and policies.

How long it takes to process certain labs,

who schedules what radiology test and in what order,

I think I have a memorized list of about a hundred direct contact phone lines that get me the correct person without having to wait on hold for various services/tests/etc.

I also can get you from point A to point B in the hospital, regardless of what those points are, in the most efficient fashion, guaranteed.

 

[EMDO2018]

We have a test every 3 weeks. So for anatomy we will have 3 test. I prefer it that way, there is no way I can remember 6 weeks worth of med school.

 

[Mad Jack]

We have a test every 3 weeks. So for anatomy we will have 3 test. I prefer it that way, there is no way I can remember 6 weeks worth of med school.

It's kind of crazy, honestly. And it's not just one test- we've got 4 tests (anatomy practical, clinical skills practical, clinical skills multiple choice, and medical knowledge multiple choice) all in the same week, one test a day for 4 days.

 

[circulus vitios]

I don't even understand how they expect us to remember all of this ****. We're averaging 30-40 slides per hour of lecture, and we have about 13 hours of lecture a week. Let's say half of what we cover is completely worthless, that's still ~450 slides a week times 5 weeks = nearly 2300 slides of material for a single exam that's about 100 questions long and can be completed, in the words of MS2 students at my school, "well under" the 3 hour time allotment.

 

[Mad Jack]

I don't even understand how they expect us to remember all of this ****. We're averaging 30-40 slides per hour of lecture, and we have about 13 hours of lecture a week. Let's say half of what we cover is completely worthless, that's still ~450 slides a week times 5 weeks = nearly 2300 slides of material for a single exam that's about 100 questions long and can be completed, in the words of MS2 students at my school, "well under" the 3 hour time allotment.

From what I've heard, a remarkable amount of the material is worthless. Focus on your course objectives or a study guide if they're provided.

 

[Roxas]

I don't even understand how they expect us to remember all of this ****. We're averaging 30-40 slides per hour of lecture, and we have about 13 hours of lecture a week. Let's say half of what we cover is completely worthless, that's still ~450 slides a week times 5 weeks = nearly 2300 slides of material for a single exam that's about 100 questions long and can be completed, in the words of MS2 students at my school, "well under" the 3 hour time allotment.

I wish we only had that many, we have 29 or something this week and around 25 on the average week

I'm with you, it's hard to know what to really focus on.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I don't even understand how they expect us to remember all of this ****. We're averaging 30-40 slides per hour of lecture, and we have about 13 hours of lecture a week. Let's say half of what we cover is completely worthless

It must be nice, after only a week or so of med school, to know with such confidence that what you're being taught is so worthless...

 

[circulus vitios]

It must be nice, after only a week or so of med school, to know with such confidence that what you're being taught is so worthless...

I'm not confident. I'm just taking a guess because it's impossible to memorize 100% of the material.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I'm not confident. I'm just taking a guess because it's impossible to memorize 100% of the material.

And yet I promise you , some people in your class will find a way to get a 100, or exceptionally close to it, on the exams...

 

[Ismet]

there is no way I can remember 6 weeks worth of med school.

Start figuring that out, because Step 1 tests you on the first 2 years of med school and then some.

I'm not confident. I'm just taking a guess because it's impossible to memorize 100% of the material.

Not with that attitude. Just do your best, learn as much as you can. You don't need to memorize every single detail, but don't go through MS1/MS2 with the "I just need to pass" mentality because boards studying will be even harder than it normally is if you don't have the foundations.

 

[Frazier]

And yet I promise you , some people in your class will find a way to get a 100, or exceptionally close to it, on the exams...

Def.

There are some truly exceptional minds in this environment.

 

[DermViser]

It must be nice, after only a week or so of med school, to know with such confidence that what you're being taught is so worthless...

Not only that, they know everything that ails our healthcare system too and know just the solution. They aced the MCAT and have high undergrad (most of them) GPAs, after all. Who cares if they don't know what Medicare/Medicaid is, bundled payments, and capitations are?

 

[Ismet]

Not only that, they know everything that ails our healthcare system too and know just the solution. They aced the MCAT and have high undergrad (most of them) GPAs, after all. Who cares if they don't know what Medicare/Medicaid is, bundled payments, and capitations are?

I wish they had a class that would teach us stuff like that in med school. And maybe there's some workshops or something they have in the clinical years that I haven't encountered yet. But the closest we've gotten was a 2 hour workshop on insurance in 2nd year and it wasn't that informative. I'm picking little things up along the way, but the business/insurance side of medicine is kind of a confusing blur at this point. Especially keeping up with the inane insurance debacle that's going down in this city.

 

[DermViser]

I wish they had a class that would teach us stuff like that in med school. And maybe there's some workshops or something they have in the clinical years that I haven't encountered yet. But the closest we've gotten was a 2 hour workshop on insurance in 2nd year and it wasn't that informative. I'm picking little things up along the way, but the business/insurance side of medicine is kind of a confusing blur at this point. Especially keeping up with the inane insurance debacle that's going down in this city.

Medical schools do a notoriously bad job in teaching these things (not surprised as many professors think healthcare is a "right" so why would you need to learn the economics?). They will waste days teaching you about the Krebs Cycle though.

 

[sinombre]

I'm not confident. I'm just taking a guess because it's impossible to memorize 100% of the material.

It is definitely possible to do, but memorization is a learned skill.

 

[sinombre]

We have a test every 3 weeks. So for anatomy we will have 3 test. I prefer it that way, there is no way I can remember 6 weeks worth of med school.

That's not true. Many schools have 8-9 week blocks (like mine), with a single test on everything at the end, and somehow we all get through.

 

[MedWonk]

From what I've heard, a remarkable amount of the material is worthless. Focus on your course objectives or a study guide if they're provided.

I dunno about that. I've taken a gander through first aid for things I've gone over in class so far, and I would say a majority of the stuff we've learned up to this point appears to be board-relevant, at the very least. I wouldn't necessarily buy into the "lecture is worthless" mantra that seems to be thrown around all the time here.

 

[Psai]

The things that seem worthless will probably end up being the most relevant when you're on the wards. None of your patients will be impressed by your ability to recite the krebs cycle

 

[GoPelicans]

Sooo I am about to finish my second week of medical school. wtf we are in class like everyday until 3:00-5:00 (is this normal??) and then we have so much **** to memorize at night. I hope it gets easier. I'm pretty sure that starting next week I will skip class and try the onlien video thing

 

[Slack3r]

Hospitalist medicine sounds transiently appealing due to the 7 on/7 off.

But in practice it is an absolute grind. For a nocturnalist you're basically just putting out fires and doing admits overnight. For a daytime hospitalist you're dealing with all the worst bulls*** of residency - dispos, dealing with social work, etc.

I have several friends (and my SO will probably be doing it in a year or two) who have been hospitalists for a couple of years and, despite the generous time off, they all are so eager to get out. They always intended on it as a stopgap measure before applying to fellowships.

It also, if you are considering doing it at an AMC, is largely considered a second class citizen and not a "real" faculty. The prospects for rising within your department or tenure track are limited.

This. Hospitalist sounded cool until day 3 of my IM rotation after I realized the job was 10% patient care, 60% paperwork, and the remaining 30% babysitting and arguing with social work about where to discharge the woman admitted for the fourth time this month demanding pain meds and benzos for her intractable back pain.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

This. Hospitalist sounded cool until day 3 of my IM rotation after I realized the job was 10% patient care, 60% paperwork, and the remaining 30% babysitting and arguing with social work about where to discharge the woman admitted for the fourth time this month demanding pain meds and benzos for her intractable back pain.

Yup, especially when some hospitals relegate them to dedicated "non-teaching services" and preferentially shift the social admits to the hospitalists since those cases are "less educational" for the residents

 

[EmCEm]

Sooo I am about to finish my second week of medical school. wtf we are in class like everyday until 3:00-5:00 (is this normal??) and then we have so much **** to memorize at night. I hope it gets easier. I'm pretty sure that starting next week I will skip class and try the onlien video thing

My school works exactly the same. I started watching lectures online.. Saves time for me. I can't imagine it working for me any other way. Although, I don't do this for all lectures.. Just the ones that move too fast for taking my notes.

 

[Ismet]

Sooo I am about to finish my second week of medical school. wtf we are in class like everyday until 3:00-5:00 (is this normal??) and then we have so much **** to memorize at night. I hope it gets easier. I'm pretty sure that starting next week I will skip class and try the onlien video thing

Now you know why no one goes to lecture.

 

[ChrisGriffen]

I want a good work/life balance. I don't care if I actually like the specialty. A job is a job.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahah

 

[DermViser]

Yup, especially when some hospitals relegate them to dedicated "non-teaching services" and preferentially shift the social admits to the hospitalists since those cases are "less educational" for the residents

Bc we all know in real life if it's no longer "educational" you can shift the work to someone else, amirite?

 

[DermViser]

My school works exactly the same. I started watching lectures online.. Saves time for me. I can't imagine it working for me any other way. Although, I don't do this for all lectures.. Just the ones that move too fast for taking my notes.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

Our anatomy lecture consist of an 80 year old guy coming in presenting 15 poorly put together slides, and then leaving us to figure out the rest . Then there are little bull crap classes like "practice of medicine" where we are told we are nothing, everybody is smarter than us, and to be self depreciating. We are even told by guys making 300k+ to not go into medicine for the money, while they drive off in their 100k plus Mercedes. Quickly seeing how much of a joke this is.

For anatomy, see if your school offers acland's video atlas. I found it extremely useful. Netter's also tends to be useful, and rohens is good if you want pictures of the actual cadavers. The books cost some serious bank though.

For the professional classes: people are bastard covered bastards with bastard filling. It will end quickly enough, and if it doesn't (we have these courses through 3rd year at mine) just tune it out. It's a good time to plan out your week, or just mentally check out.

 

[Ismet]

For anatomy, see if your school offers acland's video atlas. I found it extremely useful. Netter's also tends to be useful, and rohens is good if you want pictures of the actual cadavers. The books cost some serious bank though.

+1. Also if you don't want to shell out for the book, check to see if the library has the books on reserve. I just used the library copy of Rohen's when I wanted to check something out.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

I'm not confident. I'm just taking a guess because it's impossible to memorize 100% of the material.

The more context you have to put it in, the more you realize that "bullcrap" ends up being important. It's impossible to sieve through and say what's truly important at this stage in the game.

If I had to guess, I'd say you're probably panicking a bit at this point. That's totally normal. However, as the other posters have said, you're going to need to adjust your attitude toward the material.

A year from now, you still won't be able to say what's important (at least I sure as hell can't) but you'll be able to guess what they'll test you on. You'll survive this. Once you have some context from the first exam, life will become much more tolerable.

From my experience: if you say you "just want to pass" you're on pace to fail your first exam. Shoot for the top of the class, expect to fail, and adjust. Rest, eat enough, try to exercise, and establish a good routine.

Whatever you do, don't start trying to escape from stuff in netflix/tv/games/whatever. Procrastination is a guaranteed fail.

Good luck

 

[DermViser]

if you say you "just want to pass" you're on pace to fail your first exam.

THIS.