Questions about first year

[wannabeemd]

Hey guys,

I'll be starting med school at the UofA in the fall and I have a few questions.

I wanted to get an idea of how classes are structured. How would you recommend organizing notes? Would you recommend getting an iPad/tablet? Is it sufficient to just take typed notes on pdfs or are there a lot of structures and drawings that would require a tablet or written notes?

I was also wondering if someone could shed some light on what their first year schedule was like and how much time you had for extracurriculars. I know a sample schedule was shown after the interview, but I was too stressed to remember anything lol.

Is there anything you wish you had done the summer before med school to prep yourself? Anything that you wish you'd known going into your first year?

[GH0ST]

@wannabeemdPlease see below. Congratulations and best wishes.

- G

On 5/8/2018 at 12:51 PM, wannabeemd said:

Hey guys,

I'll be starting med school at the UofA in the fall and I have a few questions. NICEEEEEEEE :3

I wanted to get an idea of how classes are structured. How would you recommend organizing notes? Would you recommend getting an iPad/tablet? Is it sufficient to just take typed notes on pdfs or are there a lot of structures and drawings that would require a tablet or written notes?

First year courses are primarily a mixture of group-based (cases, physicianship, physical exams) and didactic-based (lectures) learning. Your sessions are built into blocks with 1st year being foundations + inf. disease, endocrine, cardio, pulm, renal, with physicianship lectures / group sessions in between. Tablet/iPad's are a personal preference as I've seen people use it or not. I personally just like using a laptop as the lecture rooms have adequate chargers all around (in general). There can be a lot more free form writing for anatomy but even so the notes you're given are quite good in my opinion. It really is to each one's own. 

I was also wondering if someone could shed some light on what their first year schedule was like and how much time you had for extracurriculars. I know a sample schedule was shown after the interview, but I was too stressed to remember anything lol.

First two years were very relaxed overall... as long as you put in the time you won't do poorly/struggle to pass. You will have time to pursue interests and hobbies along with other ECs... something much harder to achieve in clerkship.

Is there anything you wish you had done the summer before med school to prep yourself? Anything that you wish you'd known going into your first year?

Please enjoy your time off... you won't have it after 2nd year of medical school. Don't stress about things and focus on being in the moment once you arrive.