Upcoming Pod Student got questions

[docijoon]

Hello Future Doctors!
I'll be starting school this fall and was wondering if you could answer the following questions and provide any general tips

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?


2) what is your most challenging class?


3) favorite/ least favorite course?


3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?


4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen


thank you

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[ftdoc11]

Hello Future Doctors!
I'll be starting school this fall and was wondering if you could answer the following questions and provide any general tips

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?


2) what is your most challenging class?


3) favorite/ least favorite course?


3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?


4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen


thank you

Studying varies week-to-week and as you said, everyone is going to have different answers for all of these questions. I think of a good general rule is that you'll likely find the classes you have no background in more challenging. If you majored in biochem or genetics as an undergrad then you'll likely breeze through those courses, but if you've never taken an anatomy course before you're probably going to need to work a lot harder. The big difference with pod/med school compared to undergrad is that people have different areas of expertise coming in, and thus will have vastly different opinions as to what they consider challenging courses. I don't know the exact number, but there are a lot of students in my class that did post-bac programs and have already taken a good portion of the 1st year curriculum before.

 

[Podstar]

Hello Future Doctors!
I'll be starting school this fall and was wondering if you could answer the following questions and provide any general tips

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?


2) what is your most challenging class?


3) favorite/ least favorite course?


3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?


4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen


thank you

Just finished my first year, but will answer anyway.

1) I do not study much daily outside of lectures, maybe 1 to 2 hours. I tend to start really studying two weeks before exams and put in 4 hours a day outside of lecture until exams and I made Dean’s list both semesters doing this.

2) neurobiology; partly the material and partly the professor.

3a) favorite was biochemistry (was my major in undergrad), least favorite was neurobiology.

3b) I spent a lot of time in the lab IDing structures and quizzing back and forth with my friends. For the lecture portion it was just basic memorization with the help of pneumonics. At Kent our tutoring sessions were very helpful for both gross and lower.

4) Make time for things you enjoy every single day to avoid burnout. When you are studying focus solely on studying, when you are enjoying a hobby do not be thinking about school.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Hello Future Doctors!
I'll be starting school this fall and was wondering if you could answer the following questions and provide any general tips

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?

I attended every lecture so there a little of previewing before a lecture, paying attention and taking notes during lecture, and reviewing it all over again the same day and again that week. This way I was able to go over each material at least 3x before an exam; outside of lectures, I would probably spend 3-4 hours per day.

2) what is your most challenging class?

Biochemistry was tough in the beginning; mainly due to the Prof style of asking very detailed questions.

3) favorite/ least favorite course?

Most fav was probably Anatomy; lots to learn in this course, for both lab and lecture material; get a copy of Rohen Atlas and their flashcard for anatomy; will help on both practical and lecture exams. Least fav was probably biochem/cell-bio

3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?

I followed the same method as stated above, in addition to doing questions using whatever source I could get my hands on. There won't be time to read a textbook, but if you feel like the lecture ppt is not helping then def read the book; use an atlas and try to draw out the anatomy, it will make more sense. Find a buddy and go over stuff every day, teach them, if you can teach it to another person then you know it..this is true for all the classes.

4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen
one step at a time.. if you don't do well on your first few exams then reevaluate your study methods, change, adapt. Get help asap if things are not going your way.

thank you

 

[KnowledgeBot4000]

There are basically 3 determining factors for how much you need to study: How much material natural clicks for you/how good of a test taker you are, how much you started school knowing, and how well you want to do in your classes. Answers for this are very different for everyone. Someone whose super sharp and started school knowing a ton may need to study little to be at the top of the class, whereas weak test takers or those with a weaker background may study excessively and still get B/C's and struggle with boards.

Most useful advice I can give you is figure out what material is relevant (material you'll be expect to know and build on for the rest of your life) and what details just a waste of time. No one cares about knowing how an embryo develops in detail, despite us being lectured on it in anatomy. But you better know lower extremity anatomy backwards and forwards and it's impossible to waste time studying for this class (even if you already know enough to get an A... it's just impossible to know it "too well" as it always pays off).

Other useful advice is to grasp that it's rare to get time to really catch up or get ahead. So, if you have a week off and you decide to go on vacation, but someone else in your class decides to use that week reviewing lower extremity anatomy or going over step-by-step guides to common surgical procedures, they'll get ahead of you and it'll be unlikely you'll get a chance to catch up. You'll really see this snowball over 4 years as there will be a big gap between a top 15% student in your class and bottom 15% when you graduate.

 

[Cpt.Charcot]

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?

I treated each day as a work day. I began class/studying at 7 AM and continued until 5-6 every day including weekends. Sometimes more depending on the exams/ week at hand. Things got easier second year, I found I didn't have to study on the weekends as much. One thing I learned as I went along, its not how many hours you put in its more the quality of those hours you put in.

2) what is your most challenging class?
Pharm was by far the most challenging for me, I think it was the class that forced me to change my study tactics.

3) favorite/ least favorite course?
Absolutely loved lower limb anatomy.

3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?
Most anatomy courses will allow open cadaver labs where you can come in after hours. Most of the time you are not going to want to go in because at the end of the day your tired, you have a lot to do and the last thing you want is to be on campus even longer. I 100% suggest you try and get in there, it helps to connect what you are reading to real life especially for later in your career.

4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen
Work hard, understand that not every day will be a great day of studying/ a major accomplishment but that small victories built up over time are what make people successful. Take time to master the material now so that you are not scrambling to relearn it while out on clerkship.

 

[CappnNono]

know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?

I got to NYCPM so i would be in class from 9-3 (or whenever we end) and i would pay attention in class then maybe study for 5 hours after class. On fridays after school i wouldnt study much then half day saturday and maybe half day sunday.

2) what is your most challenging class?
Neuroscience because i had no background

3) favorite/ least favorite course?
Favorite: biochemistry
Least favorite: histology

3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?
Draw pictures and memorize pictures from the powerpoints! Definitely agree with going to open lab


4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen
Just know that you might not know how to exactly study. I feel like i just kind of figured it out near the end of my first year. Just work hard!

 

[Packers4lifeDPM]

1. If I have an exam Monday, I'll start studying normally Thursday or Friday but I'm a fast learner. When I do study it's all day. For me if I take too many breaks or if I don't do complete studying of the material it doesn't stick as well. My goal is to get through the material 5 times at least. Sometime I get more in, sometimes I don't. You have to figure out how you learn best. I dont go to classes unless it is a podiatry class or it is mandatory. I don't learn very well by going to lectures and all of our classes pretty much are recorded so I watch them at 1.5x speed. Time management is everything.

2. Most challenging class was probably neuro mostly because you could never forget anything from the previous material.

3. Studying for anatomy is straight memorization. You have to just find a way to visually memorize it. Some learn it better by studying the cadavers a lot, others just studied the notes.

4. My advice would be to set your priorities early. You at school for school. Grades are your most important thing you should focus on the first 2 years. It isn't undergrad where you can go party every weekend. I had Monday exams very often and spent my weekends studying to make sure I got good grades. If your not getting the grades you want, study more, change how your studying, be adaptive to the class material, but with all that said, make sure you find time to unwind every day for at least an hour (unless you have an exam the next day. Then just study lol). This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. You don't want to get burnt out. Each school is also set up differently so you will figure this all out when you get there.

Hello Future Doctors!
I'll be starting school this fall and was wondering if you could answer the following questions and provide any general tips

1) I know every student is different, but how many hours a day did you study for the 1st 2 years of school?


2) what is your most challenging class?


3) favorite/ least favorite course?


3) how do you study for classes like anatomy- any useful tips?


4) I'd appreciate any other advice from the fellow pod upperclassmen


thank you