Tag Archives: College of Medicine

Justin, MS1

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Baylor College of Medicine
WashU St. Louis, B.S. Cognitive Neuroscience
From Houston, Texas
Age 23

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

Four 50-minute lectures from 8-12, then afternoon classes from 1-4, then review anki and any other things to do

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

Studying is completely different from undergrad because in college the concepts were loftier and more dense. In med school, the difficulty lies mainly in the amount of information and the pace of which it’s delivered. As such, you have to study every day and review often/daily or else you’ll get behind and stressed out by exam week. Doing a bit most every day makes sure you aren’t as stressed out later.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

Anki is the best way to review daily, but our school has student-made decks which we use for lecture class materials.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

While gunners exist, they don’t actively undermine other students. We are very collaborative and love to relax on the weekends or at the end of the terms. Block parties are the best parts of any term. I love my classmates because they work hard but aren’t too hard on themselves.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

We’re located in the biggest medical center in the world, so it is very urban and busy. I like the hustle and bustle, but I would like more green spaces. Luckily, it is adjacent to a park/zoo/Rice so there’s green space nearby.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

The older students really look out for the younger ones with resources, tips, and advice. The professors are truly experts in their field. The proven step scores are evidence of the teaching quality. The low tuition is amazing. Being in the medical center is one of the best opportunities to grow as a student.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

Anki of the lectures. I go through the 4 daily lectures, then do review cards – as much as I can each day.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

We have an entire class dedicated to clinical skills where we take quizzes, do standardized patient exams, and have a preceptor in a local hospital where we interact with patients.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I would not have done basic science research the summer before and instead just done nothing.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I need family and friends to stay mentally sane, which luckily I have at this school.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

Take breaks and know when too much studying is too much. Learning when to take a break is crucial.

Brian James, MS2

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Brian James
From Laguna Nigel, CA
UCSB
USF Morsani College of Medicine

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

On a typical day (Mon, Wed, or Fri) I’ll wake up at 5:30 and go to the gym from 6:00-7:15. I’ll shower there and then head to class as 8 AM. There are usually 4, 50-minute lectures: 8:00-9:00, 9:00-10:00, 10:00-11:00, 11:00-12:00. We get 12:00-1:00 off for lunch every day regardless of what’s happening. Then there will usually be a 1:00-2:00 lecture. Then I go home and am done for the day. Once a week we’ll have a 2-hour anatomy lab, either Monday or Wednesday from 2-4, switching days each week. And on Thursday from 2-5 (Tuesday for the other half of the class) we drive 10 miles south to downtown Tampa for “Doctoring” in which they teach us the basics of patient interaction and how to conduct an H&P. We also have a class called Evidence Based Clinical Reasoning Tuesday’s from 9-11 where they teach us about academic research and how to read and write papers.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution? 

All of our lectures at the medical school are given via PPT and are also recorded. Lecturers post their lecture beforehand. Only about 1/4 of the entire medical school class goes to lecture and then rest watch the lecture from home. We also have “Turning Point” in which we can real-time answer multiple choice questions to see how the class is doing. Exams are on our computer in the main lecture hall. Each hour of lecture corresponds to 2-3 questions on the test, each test about 120 questions. Each exam is non-cumulative but the final exam for each course is cumulative for that course. We have 4 courses in our first year.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I am definitely studying more frequently. I would slack and weekend-before-the-test-study in undergrad but now I rewrite all of my notes the day of and review them almost everyday. I study about the same net hours but more spaced out.

Looking back on when you were applying to medical schools and deciding which school was the best fit, what do you think are the most important things to learn about a medical school when you are deciding which school is right for you?

For me it was the requirements. My GPA was a bit low and my letters of rec were limited so I needed to find schools that fit my requirements. I wanted to be somewhere near family, but honestly anywhere that took me I was going to go.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

Tampa is an amazing city. The medical school is moving downtown which makes it a bit more crowded with downtown Tampa but away from the main campus. All Major sports are here, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are only a few blocks away. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 10 minutes away, and the Tampa Bay Rays are 30 minutes West in St. Petersburg. Tampa is one of the fastest growing cities in the USA so it’s very exciting. Good bar scene, Ybor City has a great nightlife and is the cigar capital. St Petersberg and Clearwater are only 30 minutes away and have beautiful beaches and nightlife. Florida is nice and warm. Orlando is only 1 hour easy so Disney and Universal are close.

What organizations or activities are you involved in outside of your regular classwork? Additionally, are there any organizations (even if you aren’t a part of them) that you think are unique to your school?

USF offers the Scholarly Concentration Program, which is super cool. All CORE Students (130 CORE, 40 SELECT) are a part of 1 of 11 total and they all have cool focuses, like “law and medicine”, “business and medicine”, “nutrition and medicine”, “gender and medicine”, etc. also the SELECT program is super amazing. You have to apply specifically for it but it’s super nice for medical leadership and patient-focused values. There are a ton of Student Interest Groups and other clubs too. USF has its own Bridge clinic for the underserved, there’s Tampa Bay Street Medicine, and many others.

In retrospect, which classes in undergrad do you think were the most useful coming into medical school?

Biochemistry, Genetics, Pharmacology, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Cell Biology.

What is a unique aspect of education at your medical school that has been valuable to you thus far as a medical student?

The faculty here are very receptive to feedback and will accommodate almost immediately. Also we have a lot of standardized patients to prescribe with to help hone in our skills. We are organ-based (I know most but not all schools are).

What is one way your outlook on medicine or understanding of medicine has changed in your time at medical school?

It’s super important to have a basics in all aspects of medicine for any specialty you go into. Even if you are a hand-specialist orthopedic surgeon, you still need to know the basics of medicine and how to conduct H&P. You have to know of cardiology and basics in all other disciplines. It’s not as much learn-and-dump like undergrad.

If a young undergraduate interested in applying to medical school came to you seeking advice about ‘which major is best,’ what would you tell them?

Anything science related. If they are super passionate about something else I would recommend it since undergrad is the last time to take things that interest you. But learning science in medical school is hard. It’s much easier to learn the background in undergrad and then apply it to medicine aspects in medical school. For USCB, I’d recommend Cell and Developmental Bio or Biochem.

What do you wish you had known as an undergraduate and/or as a student in the medical application process?

Create an Excel doc with all the school you wanna apply to and keep track of ALL information there. Include in it the school’s portal, your usernames and passwords, their letter of rec requirements and app fee plus due dates. It’s SO important to submit everything early or on time.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

Of course I’d study harder. Not that I would want another medical school but it’s much nicer having options to chose from (I only got into USF). I had an amazing time and got all the fun outta me but I wish I realized that unlike most other majors I would actually be using a lot of the info I learned for medical school and beyond. Also I wish I shadowed more different types of doctors to get a general feel for medicine.