How much do you study?

[Guest princejr13]

Hi,

 

This is a question for medical students. I want to know how much do you guys REALLY study during med school, especially in your preclinical years? I understand that some students are able absorb the material faster than others, so there might be some variability in how much everyone studies. If I do get into med school I think that I would be the average student in the class, so how much does the average guy/gal study in med school? Also, is there any method/strategy/program by which one may be able to improve his or her memory, if there is, then I would be very interested in knowing that method.

 

Thanx

[Guest UWOMED2005]

I think I'm fairly average in studying time, maybe a bit below. I do find I'm putting more time into studying the material than I did in undergrad, but I still have time to have fun.

 

Maybe a good way to describe how much you need to study is to describe the time you have off. When interviewing at Queen's last year, I asked one of the 2004s there how much they got to "party." The guy put it this way: "Well, if you were into going out 4 or 5 nights a week during undergrad, you're going to have to cut that out. But I still manage to go out twice on weekends."

 

I think that's pretty accurate, at least as far as I'm concerned. All depends on how much of a studier you are. At UWO, you have "roughly" 30 hours of class a week, and then you do need to find time to study the stuff outside of class. 3rd quarter was really the big killer for us UWO med students (we had our Neuroscience, Psychiatry, GI and Blood blocks.) Then I was probably spending about 15-20 hours a week outside of class studying - so if you add in class time, I was spending about 45-50 hours a week involved in school. Take off another 60 hours for sleep, and that would have left me with about 50 or 60 hours of playtime if I'd managed my time well (unfortunately, I didn't!) The other terms here really haven't been so hairy.

 

To put a different spin on things, there seems to be two major strategies employed by my classmates. Some students study a bit the whole way through, keeping up a constant effort. Others do very little up until about 3 weeks before exams (that seems to be the rule - 3 weeks) and then go pretty nutty for 3 weeks. . . sometimes you can't even drag some of them out for a guy's birthday during that period.

 

And from my experiences, the key really is memory. Stuff in medical school isn't that hard to understand - I'd say even easier than a somewhat challenging undergrad program. But there's just a whole lot more information, and a lot more details you'll need to recall. As for method/strategies/programs to improve learning/memorization, I unfortunately haven't found anything. I remember Ian saying it's key to develop a "system" for remembering things. . . unfortunately I have yet to learn to do that. Maybe he can elaborate on that.

[Guest ThugJaan]

For us we have a exam every month, and I find that sometimes even a week is not enough to get everything covered. When stuff looks hectic I give myself abuot 1.5 weeks of study time, but most of the time 1 week is enough.

[Guest U of O med]

As you can imagine, different strokes for different folks!! I personally find med school to be somewhat easier than undergrad (BSc. molecular biology)... now before you snicker!! First of all it is about one hundred million times more interesting than undergrad. Secondly, I had 5 to 6 classes per semester in undergrad and worked part-time. Thirdly, at Ottawa we only have an exam at the end of every bloc of study (so every 5 to 6 weeks) and usually a good week of study and revision is enough, that is if you keep up during the bloc and pay attention in class!!! Slack off, and you'll need more time to cram it all in your head.

 

I guess to sum it up... it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but then again I thought it was going to be really tough!

[Guest princejr13]

Moderators,

 

Thank you all for your input and sharing your experiences. After reading your comments I think my predictions were pretty close to the reality. Ian, or anyone else for that matter, do you have any opinions on improving memory? I wouldn't say that my memory is bad, its actually pretty good, but I would like to improve on it even more so that I can become for time efficient in undergrad and med school (if I can get in). I often use pnemonics (i.e., coming up with stupid statements that incorporate what you are trying to memorize, but since its a stupid statement its easier to remember), but I think that I have reached a plateau with pnemonics. Is there anything else I can try?

 

Ciao

[Guest Ian Wong]

Same deal as everyone else. Just find out what works for you. Some people summarize their notes, others just read them over, others make flash cards, lots use mnemonics, lots of people highlight the heck out of stuff, some people skip lectures and study on their own while others attend all lectures because they are audio-learners, many people use study-groups. When you get to med school, you'll meet lots of people, all with their own style of learning and studying. You can learn lots about learning from these individuals, and then pick and use what works best for you.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Carolyn]

It also depends if you are talking memory for an exam in the next week vs. long long term memory -- I find in order for it to stick long term I have to see something like it and discuss it. However, I definitely think it is person-dependent.

[Guest ExDent]

So how exactly do you do well? Not only to get by but to really "ace" things. I know I'm sounding naive, whatever, but I just want to know. Any suggestions?

[Guest U of O med]

It comes down to two simple principles I live by.

 

1. make sure you understand the big picture!!

2. learn the details after you've got the big picture.

 

Not only is it easier to learn the details when you understand where they fit in, but you have a lot less memorization to do. If you understand you can always work out why for example why hyperosmolarity triggers ADH secretion, instead of trying to pull it out of your hat during an exam. In keeping with understanding what's going on, a goal you might want to set for yourself might be to understand everything at the end of a given lecture (given within the lecture of course) and ask questions if you don't.

 

The day I started using these principles, I found it relatively easy to get an A+, in any class, undergrad and med school... it seems a little simplistic, but I've done quite a bit of teaching and tutoring and you'd be surprised that most people don't adhere to these principles. Try it, you'll see!!

 

Good luck!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

How to "ace" med school? Get along with your classmates and profs, show compassion for your patients and establish excellent rapport, practice the technical skills you need to know. . .

 

Oh - and remember to do reasonably well on the written exams. But don't stress too much over the written exams - most schools are Honours (80%)/Pass (60%)/Fail, so pulling off a 95 in an exam/course adds nothing to your transcript (though might reflect a more in-depth knowledge of the material, which might be beneficial once you hit clerkship.) I'm not sure medical school is about "acing things." They try and make the system not about "beating your classmates" but more about learning as much as you can. Certainly within a class there are people who are better at interviewing, can remember more details. And when it comes to the competitive programs choosing residents, having a lot of Honours (ie marks over 80%,) blowing the pants off your clinicians in clerkship and electives so you get great reference letters, having a few published papers and NOT ticking all of your co-workers (not just the physicians & residents, but the other med students, nurses, ward clerks - everyone) can't hurt. . .

 

I guess to really "ace" things, you've got to be the total package: brilliant, knowledgeable, excellent recall, friendly, humble, excellent patient rapport, skilled hands, fit, mentally and socially well-adjusted, involved in student politics, and either not stressed out or at least not showing it. In other words, you've got be an uberhuman. I don't really think there's anyone like that in the Meds 2005 class. . . sure we've got some people who stand out (I'd definitely put one of the other Western students who posts here in that category. . .hint he goes well with cheese,) particularly in certain areas, but I don't think anyone sticks out as the "head of the class." There is some talk among the 2004s of one student who does stand out above all the rest - he's actually been mentioned on this board before, by someone who isn't even at UWO! Apparently he was a legend even in undergrad. . . but that's rare. I don't think there's an equivalent in the 2003 or 2002 class though.

 

Carolyn - excellent point about the long-term memory. There really is little point in memorizing facts for an exam only to forget them the next day, or next week. What's key is what you can remember when you see patients. I've heard rumours you guys at Mac don't have formal exams (though I understand you do have something similar to make sure you're keeping up with your studies.) I can see a definite advantage. We at Western have written exams next week, and it's kind of funny to hear us spewing off the entire life-cycle of the Plasmodium genus (causative organisms of malaria) in detail. . . I wonder how many of these details we're currently spewing we'll remember for clerkship? Ian -just curious; how often in clerkship have you been quizzed on the detailed life cycle of Plasmodium Vivax vs. Plasmodium Ovale?