- Joined
- Jul 13, 2000
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
What should I expect heading into 2nd year at NYCOM? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
NYCOM 2nd Year???
- Thread starter molly223
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2000
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 0
Molly,
You should expect the first half of the year (i.e., until december) to be very light relative to the exam schedule. The most difficult exam in the first part of the second year is the Cardiology (the first exam in pharm II is in a class all by itself, just like its author). The Cardiology is wonderfully taught by Dr. Shinbrot, but the exam is a real pain in the you know what.
Watch out for the Clinical Nutrition course at the beginning of the year. Take very good notes, because the handouts are in my opinion not very good. They are too bulky, repetitive, and often do not correlate with the lecture. When it comes time to study for the exam, it is hard to know exactly what to study because there is just too much to look at. Make sure you know every detail about Kwashiorkor and Marasmus for the exam. She did not ask us fact based questions about these two topics, but gave them to us in a clinical format with values for protein,fat, etc. and you had to determine whether the characteristics were that of Marasmus or Kwashiorkor. The professor is a very nice lady but she was too disorganized (in my opinion) and her exam was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! A lot of people in my class were upset with her exam and quite a few people failed. So do yourself a favor and take good notes. As for Medical Jurisprudence, the professor is very good and her exam is very very fair. For the Behavioral Science exam, read everything (especially the studies) and USE YOUR COMMON SENSE.
The other exams in medicine are very manageable IF YOU STUDY. For the Pharmacology, MAKE SURE YOU ACE THE FIRST EXAM BECAUSE IT IS THE EASIEST ONE (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!). If you don't do well in the first one, a retake is basically assured because it is very difficult to save yourself on the second exam. I (and most of the members of my class) found the second exam to be the hardest. Furthermore, you will also be taking the toxicology exam with the second pharm II exam (on the same day) and therefore you will very likely be a zombee by the end of the day. So make sure you put your best foot forward on the first exam.
Things become a little easier after the pharm and tox, but they also become more hectic. The time between exams will be very short and the amount that you have to read will increase. SO BE PREPARED.
The pediatrics and the surgery are the hardest exams in the second part of the year. They are also your last two exams. Pediatrics is taught by Dr. Henry Schaeffer. Although his presentation of the lectures was very good and interesting, his exam left much to be desired. He gave us 4 hours to complete 265 questions. It seemed as if he had given us the same exam he gave to his residents, but only with a NYCOM title page. IT WAS REDICULOUS AND TERRIBLY DIFFICULT!! I felt that I might as well be playing slots in Atlantic City when I was answering the questions. It was a total "crap shoot." After Dr. Mancini "did the voodoo" that he does so well, the bottom 16% of the class re-took the exam. The surgery exam was much more manageable IF YOU SHOWED UP TO LECTURE although it asked quite a few questions on vascular surgery that the professor had never really covered in detail in class.
JUST AS AN FYI and a CAVEAT: A lot of people in my class tried to blow off the dermatology exam, because they thought the notes were excellent. Because of this, a lot of people in my class ended up re-taking the derm test. They were apparently blown away by the amount of detail that was on the test. Do yourself a favor and put the time in and study well for the exam. The same goes for the neuropathology course.
As for the path courses. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU STUDY FOR THE GI/LIVER PATH. I'm sure you heard what happened when we (Class of 2002) took the test last year. If you're not, find a third year during the year and they will gladly fill you in on the details. It is too long of story to discuss here.
For most of the medicine courses (ESPECIALLY ENDOCRINOLOGY) you should read the chapter in the NMS Medicine. IT IS REALLY GOOD!! For OB/GYN I suggest you get the Blue Prints book. It is quite good for the exam and it will help you in the third year. For the Pediatrics, you should also get the Blue Prints or the NMS Pediatrics.
You may want to consult your classmates concerning "study aides" which may be floating around a few days before the exam. They are VERY HELPFUL!!
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by AMS-007 (edited 07-18-2000).]
You should expect the first half of the year (i.e., until december) to be very light relative to the exam schedule. The most difficult exam in the first part of the second year is the Cardiology (the first exam in pharm II is in a class all by itself, just like its author). The Cardiology is wonderfully taught by Dr. Shinbrot, but the exam is a real pain in the you know what.
Watch out for the Clinical Nutrition course at the beginning of the year. Take very good notes, because the handouts are in my opinion not very good. They are too bulky, repetitive, and often do not correlate with the lecture. When it comes time to study for the exam, it is hard to know exactly what to study because there is just too much to look at. Make sure you know every detail about Kwashiorkor and Marasmus for the exam. She did not ask us fact based questions about these two topics, but gave them to us in a clinical format with values for protein,fat, etc. and you had to determine whether the characteristics were that of Marasmus or Kwashiorkor. The professor is a very nice lady but she was too disorganized (in my opinion) and her exam was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! A lot of people in my class were upset with her exam and quite a few people failed. So do yourself a favor and take good notes. As for Medical Jurisprudence, the professor is very good and her exam is very very fair. For the Behavioral Science exam, read everything (especially the studies) and USE YOUR COMMON SENSE.
The other exams in medicine are very manageable IF YOU STUDY. For the Pharmacology, MAKE SURE YOU ACE THE FIRST EXAM BECAUSE IT IS THE EASIEST ONE (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!). If you don't do well in the first one, a retake is basically assured because it is very difficult to save yourself on the second exam. I (and most of the members of my class) found the second exam to be the hardest. Furthermore, you will also be taking the toxicology exam with the second pharm II exam (on the same day) and therefore you will very likely be a zombee by the end of the day. So make sure you put your best foot forward on the first exam.
Things become a little easier after the pharm and tox, but they also become more hectic. The time between exams will be very short and the amount that you have to read will increase. SO BE PREPARED.
The pediatrics and the surgery are the hardest exams in the second part of the year. They are also your last two exams. Pediatrics is taught by Dr. Henry Schaeffer. Although his presentation of the lectures was very good and interesting, his exam left much to be desired. He gave us 4 hours to complete 265 questions. It seemed as if he had given us the same exam he gave to his residents, but only with a NYCOM title page. IT WAS REDICULOUS AND TERRIBLY DIFFICULT!! I felt that I might as well be playing slots in Atlantic City when I was answering the questions. It was a total "crap shoot." After Dr. Mancini "did the voodoo" that he does so well, the bottom 16% of the class re-took the exam. The surgery exam was much more manageable IF YOU SHOWED UP TO LECTURE although it asked quite a few questions on vascular surgery that the professor had never really covered in detail in class.
JUST AS AN FYI and a CAVEAT: A lot of people in my class tried to blow off the dermatology exam, because they thought the notes were excellent. Because of this, a lot of people in my class ended up re-taking the derm test. They were apparently blown away by the amount of detail that was on the test. Do yourself a favor and put the time in and study well for the exam. The same goes for the neuropathology course.
As for the path courses. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU STUDY FOR THE GI/LIVER PATH. I'm sure you heard what happened when we (Class of 2002) took the test last year. If you're not, find a third year during the year and they will gladly fill you in on the details. It is too long of story to discuss here.
For most of the medicine courses (ESPECIALLY ENDOCRINOLOGY) you should read the chapter in the NMS Medicine. IT IS REALLY GOOD!! For OB/GYN I suggest you get the Blue Prints book. It is quite good for the exam and it will help you in the third year. For the Pediatrics, you should also get the Blue Prints or the NMS Pediatrics.
You may want to consult your classmates concerning "study aides" which may be floating around a few days before the exam. They are VERY HELPFUL!!
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by AMS-007 (edited 07-18-2000).]
I thought the hardest exams were:
1) Pediatrics
2) GI
3) Pharm*
4) Tox*
Assuming Dr. Mancini remains at NYCOM
Second year is all about your endurance. It was a very mentally draining year b/c you get barraged with exams EVERY single week, sometimes up to 3/wk. Prepare yourself mentally and know what to expect.
1) Pediatrics
2) GI
3) Pharm*
4) Tox*
Assuming Dr. Mancini remains at NYCOM
Second year is all about your endurance. It was a very mentally draining year b/c you get barraged with exams EVERY single week, sometimes up to 3/wk. Prepare yourself mentally and know what to expect.
- Joined
- May 15, 2002
- Messages
- 376
- Reaction score
- 1
Please pay NO attention to the above info regarding NYCOM's second year. Things have changed since 2000 and some of those professors have retired. For example, Dr. Mancini has retired, pharm is now one block long (and one test), peds is for the most part integrated into each system block, derm is no longer in the same format. Also you have less exams today, as instead of having tests in individual subjects for each system (medicine, path, pharm, etc), it's all integrated into one big exam. More eggs in one basket and more to study at one time, but less stress in my opinion.
DKCDO, I suggest starting a new thread for this topic if you really want info about 1st year classes. This very outdated thread may mislead alot of people...
As far as my advice for 1st year, first off, dont worry about first year until first year! Relax! You have 8 months before it starts. Everyone finds their own way to survive medical school, no matter who or where you are. You will too. Some go to class religiously, others study on their own more. Some work in groups, others hide themselves in a corner and study. In august, they start you out gently with only 3 classes plus OMM. Anatomy is worrisome, but physio and biochem are cake in the beginning, although they increase in difficulty quickly after that. OMM is fun to learn and not something to worry about. Around thanksgiving it gets a bit harder with the addition of histo. The winter months are a bit easier after anatomy ends at christmas, (physio ends in feb). Beforehand you pick up micro and genetics right after the holiday, not too difficult. You average about 3-5 classes simultaneously in 1st year. The end of the year was the most difficult, IMO, with general path, neuroscience, neuropath, neurology, micro, etc and the associated labs.
Hope this helps and as I said, maybe start a new thread b/c this one is a tad old.
DKCDO, I suggest starting a new thread for this topic if you really want info about 1st year classes. This very outdated thread may mislead alot of people...
As far as my advice for 1st year, first off, dont worry about first year until first year! Relax! You have 8 months before it starts. Everyone finds their own way to survive medical school, no matter who or where you are. You will too. Some go to class religiously, others study on their own more. Some work in groups, others hide themselves in a corner and study. In august, they start you out gently with only 3 classes plus OMM. Anatomy is worrisome, but physio and biochem are cake in the beginning, although they increase in difficulty quickly after that. OMM is fun to learn and not something to worry about. Around thanksgiving it gets a bit harder with the addition of histo. The winter months are a bit easier after anatomy ends at christmas, (physio ends in feb). Beforehand you pick up micro and genetics right after the holiday, not too difficult. You average about 3-5 classes simultaneously in 1st year. The end of the year was the most difficult, IMO, with general path, neuroscience, neuropath, neurology, micro, etc and the associated labs.
Hope this helps and as I said, maybe start a new thread b/c this one is a tad old.
.
A-DOG,
I am a first year at NYCOM, and i have enough time to work out for an hour a day about 5-6 times a week, up until exam time, then i sit on my fat a@@ and study. i find it helps me relieve stress and even helps me manage my time better. Good luck with interviews and stuff
A-DOG,
I am a first year at NYCOM, and i have enough time to work out for an hour a day about 5-6 times a week, up until exam time, then i sit on my fat a@@ and study. i find it helps me relieve stress and even helps me manage my time better. Good luck with interviews and stuff
- Joined
- May 15, 2002
- Messages
- 376
- Reaction score
- 1
As A-DOG wrote that on August 19, 2000, I assume his interviews are probably over 
- Joined
- May 15, 2002
- Messages
- 376
- Reaction score
- 1
No, but I've never heard of going to interviews for 3 straight years. If so, he's quite the persistent type.
Similar threads
