How to Get Through Medical School

Did you know that not everyone who enters into medical school will graduate? Did you know that in some places, the dropout rate is over 50%? I am just as shocked as you are. The bottom line is that medical school classes are difficult.

You study so hard, day and night, weekdays and weekends just to get into medical school. You do well in college. You do well on the MCAT. And on that one joyous day, you get accepted into medical school. You are confident in your abilities because you have been the top of your classes ever since elementary school. You think medical school will be no different.

That is until you receive your first exam score back. You passed, but barely and by the skin of your teeth. And then you realize that the hard work is just beginning. Soon, you are studying with all your energy just to keep up. All your classmates are studying all the time just to keep up.

Medical school is a completely different ballgame.

Then you ask yourself this very important question, "How am I going to survive medical school?" This article is going to present to you three guidelines to follow on how to survive medical school.

First, you have to understand the subject matter. The very first thing you have to do is to get an idea of what the teacher is talking about or what the author is writing about. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers. There are good writers and there are bad writers. Do not think you have to go to class or read a book just because they are there. Pick and choose your battles wisely. Go to class if it helps. Read a book if it works. And if a source is bad, dump it and find a better one.

Second, you have to retain everything you understand. Studying to be a doctor is akin to drinking a pool of information. You will have to drink it all up and spit it back out during the exams. For the very few with a photographic memory, this will not be a problem. But for the rest of us who are not so mentally gifted, the best way to retain is to practice. Do question problems! It takes more work than just reading. But the more work you put in, the better your grades will be.

Third, you will have to be efficient. Unfortunately for medical students, there are only 24 hours in a day. That will not be enough time to read every single book and attend every single class. As I said above, choose your sources wisely. You have to get the most out of your limited time. Be adaptable. Experiment wildly and find out how you best learn.

Did you know that not everyone who enters into medical school will graduate? Did you know that in some places, the dropout rate is over 50%? I am just as shocked as you are. The bottom line is that medical school classes are difficult.

You study so hard, day and night, weekdays and weekends just to get into medical school. You do well in college. You do well on the MCAT. And on that one joyous day, you get accepted into medical school. You are confident in your abilities because you have been the top of your classes ever since elementary school. You think medical school will be no different.

That is until you receive your first exam score back. You passed, but barely and by the skin of your teeth. And then you realize that the hard work is just beginning. Soon, you are studying with all your energy just to keep up. All your classmates are studying all the time just to keep up.

Medical school is a completely different ballgame.

Then you ask yourself this very important question, "How am I going to survive medical school?" This article is going to present to you three guidelines to follow on how to survive medical school.

First, you have to understand the subject matter. The very first thing you have to do is to get an idea of what the teacher is talking about or what the author is writing about. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers. There are good writers and there are bad writers. Do not think you have to go to class or read a book just because they are there. Pick and choose your battles wisely. Go to class if it helps. Read a book if it works. And if a source is bad, dump it and find a better one.

Second, you have to retain everything you understand. Studying to be a doctor is akin to drinking a pool of information. You will have to drink it all up and spit it back out during the exams. For the very few with a photographic memory, this will not be a problem. But for the rest of us who are not so mentally gifted, the best way to retain is to practice. Do question problems! It takes more work than just reading. But the more work you put in, the better your grades will be.

Third, you will have to be efficient. Unfortunately for medical students, there are only 24 hours in a day. That will not be enough time to read every single book and attend every single class. As I said above, choose your sources wisely. You have to get the most out of your limited time. Be adaptable. Experiment wildly and find out how you best learn.

Did you know that not everyone who enters into medical school will graduate? Did you know that in some places, the dropout rate is over 50%? I am just as shocked as you are. The bottom line is that medical school classes are difficult.

You study so hard, day and night, weekdays and weekends just to get into medical school. You do well in college. You do well on the MCAT. And on that one joyous day, you get accepted into medical school. You are confident in your abilities because you have been the top of your classes ever since elementary school. You think medical school will be no different.

That is until you receive your first exam score back. You passed, but barely and by the skin of your teeth. And then you realize that the hard work is just beginning. Soon, you are studying with all your energy just to keep up. All your classmates are studying all the time just to keep up.

Medical school is a completely different ballgame.

Then you ask yourself this very important question, "How am I going to survive medical school?" This article is going to present to you three guidelines to follow on how to survive medical school.

First, you have to understand the subject matter. The very first thing you have to do is to get an idea of what the teacher is talking about or what the author is writing about. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers. There are good writers and there are bad writers. Do not think you have to go to class or read a book just because they are there. Pick and choose your battles wisely. Go to class if it helps. Read a book if it works. And if a source is bad, dump it and find a better one.

Second, you have to retain everything you understand. Studying to be a doctor is akin to drinking a pool of information. You will have to drink it all up and spit it back out during the exams. For the very few with a photographic memory, this will not be a problem. But for the rest of us who are not so mentally gifted, the best way to retain is to practice. Do question problems! It takes more work than just reading. But the more work you put in, the better your grades will be.

Third, you will have to be efficient. Unfortunately for medical students, there are only 24 hours in a day. That will not be enough time to read every single book and attend every single class. As I said above, choose your sources wisely. You have to get the most out of your limited time. Be adaptable. Experiment wildly and find out how you best learn.