what if...

[NKMU]

so last night at work i was looking at a nursing student's practice organic test, and i struggled with most of the problems. i realized that i forgot virtually everything i learned in orgo last year (seemed like it at 3:00 AM anyway). i started wondering, "should i be worried about this?"

seriously, i think i've forgotten many of the details of the core sciences that i knew so well (ok, well enough) for the MCAT last august. should i be concerned about being rusty on the details? everybody says don't study the summer before med school, but it's just so hard to accept that...

input?

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[OMMFellow06]

DO NOT STUDY BEFORE YOU START!!! Just enjoy as much as you can before you start.
Besdes, basically everything that you learned for the MCATs last year is GARBAGE. You don't need to know organic chemisty for medical school. This is why I think the MCATs are not a good measure of medical school performance. Most of the things that you studied for the MCATs are useless in medical school.

 

[LovelyRita]

Don't worry.

No organic necessary. Mostly just physiology and biochemistry, but I'm guessing that they will let you know what they expect you to know in your 1st year courses.

Relax. Even if you try to study this summer, you might not really retain anything, because, 1. It's summer. 2. You are about to start Medical School 3. You'll have a lot of other things to worry about.

Have fun!
M.

 

[NKMU]

biochem! oh no, i've forgotten even more of that! hopefully it will help that i've had one semester in undergrad.

so you're saying i shouldn't even go over krebs, citric acid, etc.?






don't worry, i don't think i'd actually get around to studying this summer. it's just time to do the whole "start worrying before a new phase of school thing."

 

[md_student10021]

please don't worry about this. enjoy your summer.

you only need a very minimal knowledge of organic chemistry, and you will remember these things. as for all the details...not important.

 

[DrMom]

They will teach you whatever they want you to know...don't waste time studying in advance.

 

[Rads Resident]

I can't think of a single instance in which the care of a patient depended whatsoever on a clinician's knowledge (or ignorance) of a carbon chain. You'll do fine.

A funny story...

One of my med school professors (a PhD) talked about his (failed) med school interview. The first question they asked him (before he even had a chance to sit) ... "Son, what are the six isomers of glucose?" He says that it was at that exact moment that he knew he'd never be a doctor.

Thank goodness the interview process has changed over the last 30 years.

 

[T.A.M]

I'll just add that it helps to have an understanding of the reactivity of organic molecules, but its not an absolutely vital skill. Don't worry if you can't remember an Sn2 vs E2 reaction, or the details of amine reactions. And I echo: don't study this summer!

 

[BrooklynDO]

its three am, and your er patient codes...
quick, what are the enzymes in the electron transport chain, in order, and how many electrons does each one transfer!

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by BrooklynDO
its three am, and your er patient codes...
quick, what are the enzymes in the electron transport chain, in order, and how many electrons does each one transfer!

 

[Fenrezz]

Originally posted by DrMom
They will teach you whatever they want you to know

Unless, of course, you take Biochem at OSU.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Fenrezz
Unless, of course, you take Biochem at OSU.

Well, the "real" instructors teach the biochem to us in other classes!

I'll make an exception for the one or two decent biochem instructors we had