Med #2 - How Should I Study in Medical School?
One of the most common questions students ask is how should we study in medical school? Is it the same as in undergrad? Do we need to attend lecture? Should we take notes? Should we record the lectures and rewatch them?
1) Is studying in medical school the same as undergrad? Pretty much. The only real difference may be that in medical school, textbooks are only their as a helpful guide. The professor's lecture is where all the juice of the material comes from. So if you never paid attention in class and learned straight from the book (like I did) then you might want to prepare yourself for this change.
2) Should I record the lectures? Most medical schools now actually record the lectures themselves and upload them online. If you have the option to download the video file, I suggest you do so and play it using VLC and play it in 1.5x speed. Saves you some time for those slow-talking professors.
3) Should I pre-read before coming to lecture? This is almost always help you. I never did it though I might get in the habit of doing it. As you will find, your professors truly are experts in whatever it is they are teaching you. Having said that, this does not mean they are good professors - in fact, they could be horrible. If the lecture is on a subject you never covered before and you have some free time, I suggest you do a bit of pre-reading. By that, I mean go over that lectures notes and lecture slides before entering class. That way, if the professor is a poor lecturer, you'll at least have a decent idea of what's going on.
4) Should I read the textbooks? That's really your call. From my experience, the textbooks for every course thus far have only been there as a resource guide. We haven't received any reading assignments - and if they do, we cover the same exact material in class and weren't tested on anything outside of the professor's lectures. I would definitely suggest getting the textbooks and using them as supplemental pieces of information. If you don't use them - no problem. Just sell them to the incoming students.
Perhaps the most important advice I can give you about studying in medical school is do whatever works for you. This is probably the most common advice you'll ever get. Don't worry about what other students do or don't do. If someone spends 15 hours a day studying and fills up 10 white boards with notes - then good for them. Do what works best for you. Don't worry yourself with what others do. I did that at first and thought that I should have been studying way more. Later, I realized that I was being silly. Everyone studies different and learns at different rates. If that's the case, why concern myself with the studying habits of everyone else?
Studying for medical school really isn't all that different from studying for any other class. It'll definitely be more labor intensive and you'll be going through a lot of information at a rapid pace but that's expected. Study the way that works best for you and keep your head down when it comes to other people's studying habits. And hey - if you think that someone has a better studying strategy than you, try it out! If it doesn't work, then no worries. Just go back to doing your own thing.
One of the most common questions students ask is how should we study in medical school? Is it the same as in undergrad? Do we need to attend lecture? Should we take notes? Should we record the lectures and rewatch them?
1) Is studying in medical school the same as undergrad? Pretty much. The only real difference may be that in medical school, textbooks are only their as a helpful guide. The professor's lecture is where all the juice of the material comes from. So if you never paid attention in class and learned straight from the book (like I did) then you might want to prepare yourself for this change.
2) Should I record the lectures? Most medical schools now actually record the lectures themselves and upload them online. If you have the option to download the video file, I suggest you do so and play it using VLC and play it in 1.5x speed. Saves you some time for those slow-talking professors.
3) Should I pre-read before coming to lecture? This is almost always help you. I never did it though I might get in the habit of doing it. As you will find, your professors truly are experts in whatever it is they are teaching you. Having said that, this does not mean they are good professors - in fact, they could be horrible. If the lecture is on a subject you never covered before and you have some free time, I suggest you do a bit of pre-reading. By that, I mean go over that lectures notes and lecture slides before entering class. That way, if the professor is a poor lecturer, you'll at least have a decent idea of what's going on.
4) Should I read the textbooks? That's really your call. From my experience, the textbooks for every course thus far have only been there as a resource guide. We haven't received any reading assignments - and if they do, we cover the same exact material in class and weren't tested on anything outside of the professor's lectures. I would definitely suggest getting the textbooks and using them as supplemental pieces of information. If you don't use them - no problem. Just sell them to the incoming students.
Perhaps the most important advice I can give you about studying in medical school is do whatever works for you. This is probably the most common advice you'll ever get. Don't worry about what other students do or don't do. If someone spends 15 hours a day studying and fills up 10 white boards with notes - then good for them. Do what works best for you. Don't worry yourself with what others do. I did that at first and thought that I should have been studying way more. Later, I realized that I was being silly. Everyone studies different and learns at different rates. If that's the case, why concern myself with the studying habits of everyone else?
Studying for medical school really isn't all that different from studying for any other class. It'll definitely be more labor intensive and you'll be going through a lot of information at a rapid pace but that's expected. Study the way that works best for you and keep your head down when it comes to other people's studying habits. And hey - if you think that someone has a better studying strategy than you, try it out! If it doesn't work, then no worries. Just go back to doing your own thing.
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