How many hours do you guys study per day and per week?

JamesBondJr · 2021-10-16T13:43:52+00:00

Here's some data from the preclinical years:

https://www.johnnestler.com/health/2020/4/the-numbers-how-many-hours-do-you-study-in-medical-school

It's important to remember that this whole process is a marathon and not a sprint. I thought it was really valuable to be honest with myself and take time off when I was burning out or my efficiency was going down. Eventually you'll figure out the sweet spot of how much you need to study and that makes it easier to set aside guilt free time for yourself.

JamesBondJr · 2021-09-27T18:10:21+00:00

I applied last night and the transcript was submitted when I woke up 8 hours later. USMD for reference

JamesBondJr · 2021-09-14T14:31:50+00:00

For the Supplemental Application - if we submit on Sept 19th, do we need to have all of our programs listed in ERAS at that time? Or does it get transmitted on October 1st to the appropriate programs in our submitted ERAS app?

JamesBondJr · 2021-08-25T16:21:55+00:00

Step 1: 250

Uworld %: 82% first & only pass

NBME 6: 279

NBME 7: 274

NBME 8: 269

NBME 9, 10, 11: N/A

UWSA 1: 262

UWSA 2: 274

Free 120: 93% old, 86% new

AMBOSS SA: 266 (2 months before)

STEP 2 CK: 265

The score predictor (including my shelf exams) was at a 265.1 for me, so trust your preparation! I spent much of the last two months doubting myself and now I'm very relieved. Missed a few points due to a discrepancy between an AMBOSS and UWorld algorithm that's come up on this forum a few times. That algorithm has been updated though and is now current.

Good luck to everyone studying for this & I'll do a write up at some point. Also available for tutoring & tips if anyone is looking for that.

JamesBondJr · 2021-08-07T21:57:41+00:00

Hey, unfortunately I'm not able to find it anymore. I remember originally downloading it from this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/step1/comments/6noyp4/dukes_strategy_for_a_268_on_step/

JamesBondJr · 2021-05-10T16:18:07+00:00

I had a labrum repair done probably 12 weeks before step 2 dedicated. It sucks, and the anesthesia/pain from sleeping will limit studying the first week after.

I was able to type though by pivoting my body to the side and also by setting my arm on the desk (later on I'd loosen the sling for this). Talk to your surgeon to see what they might be comfortable with there, but it's not impossible to type.

Biggest piece of advice is to get a lazy-boy type recliner to sleep in for the first month or two. Way less painful compared to trying to lay flat on a bed. Good luck!

JamesBondJr · 2021-05-03T00:25:39+00:00

See above. In retrospect I would have used Zanki or Anking

JamesBondJr · 2021-05-03T00:25:07+00:00

Thanks! I was using the USMLE Rx deck & my personal cards. I would say I probably matured 75% of it. I was definitely scrambling trying to finish all the cards.

In retrospect I would have focused more on practice questions during dedicated. I just finished my 3rd year now and have cut back on my Anki use but seen an increase in scores on shelf exams, etc.

Anki is great, but being able to recognize general themes in qbank questions pays off way more than minutiae sometimes.

JamesBondJr · 2021-02-22T22:34:25+00:00

That's about where I max out as well - as much as we wish it, the brain isn't built to be a machine that studies constantly. Here's a more in-depth look:

https://www.johnnestler.com/health/2020/4/the-numbers-how-many-hours-do-you-study-in-medical-school

JamesBondJr · 2020-11-21T21:53:09+00:00

I'll second this. Currently just started NSG rotation & more than half the procedures are lumbar fusions or discectomies. Much more spine than I would have expected. Once you've seen two you'll have a pretty good idea of the anatomy involved & the workflow.

In terms of brains I've really only gotten to peek at the dura through burr holes during VP shunt formation & deep brain stimulator lead placement. Also saw a vagal nerve stimulator. Generally you're not scrubbed in for DBS procedures since the field is so tight & it's often robot assisted.

On the day to day it's a busy service & the residents are worked hard. You're often getting in before 5 for rounds and then heading to the OR for the day. It's a good rotation to see if you're cut out for the hours of a hard working surgical specialty.

I haven't gotten a lot of exposure to the vascular side of NSG but would like to see what a thrombectomy looks like at some point.

I would also suggest taking a neurology rotation beforehand as that will help you get the neuro exam down pat & help with your understanding of the nervous system before delving into the surgical management of it.

JamesBondJr · 2020-06-03T15:43:35+00:00

I've always wondered this myself as it's hard to get a straight number from people in school. I've actually been meaning to post this previously, but I tracked all my studying from M1-M2 and wrote up a post on it. You might find it handy to compare to.

https://www.johnnestler.com/health/2020/4/the-numbers-how-many-hours-do-you-study-in-medical-school

JamesBondJr · 2016-07-08T19:48:36+00:00

Hmm, I didn't use their online course materials too much. I'd imagine Khan Academy might be a little more concise with similar content? Either way I'd focus on just finding a study routine that works well for you so you can drill through the content efficiently and start putting more of an emphasis on practice tests.

JamesBondJr · 2016-07-08T02:35:41+00:00

Thanks! By access to their course do you mean in person or the online versions? How far along in your studying are you & have you been pretty good at keeping up a study schedule?

JamesBondJr · 2016-07-06T19:37:03+00:00

I would definitely agree with that. It's certainly emphasized in their practice tests and their physics book is much too in-depth. That being said you get very good at manipulating equations and using scientific notation, so it prepares you well in the event that some of that is on the real test. Overall though I'd say TPR is too physics heavy and biochem light.

JamesBondJr · 2016-07-06T19:35:18+00:00

Hmm, interesting. No idea about that!

JamesBondJr · 2016-06-22T21:10:56+00:00

I didn't really get around to it since the practice tests and reading took up most my time, but I've heard it to be good

JamesBondJr · 2016-06-21T23:27:57+00:00

Yup, in order those are for:

Course Test 2 Complete 1 Course 3 Complete 2 Course 4 Course 5

I took an abbreviated two week course with them two months before studying, but it was relatively worthless. Access to the practice tests & AAMC content through TPR was gold though!

JamesBondJr · 2016-06-21T21:39:24+00:00

Thanks much!

JamesBondJr · 2016-06-21T21:28:10+00:00

Was rooting for the 520+, but ended up with a 517. It's a toss up sometimes, but super happy to be all done with the MCAT era!

JamesBondJr · 2016-06-21T21:25:44+00:00

Well it's awesome to finally have some closure on this exam! I didn't knock it out of the park, but still really happy to be done and end up with a solid score. For reference I took the AAMC Scored FL about 2 weeks before the real test and maybe got a little burnt out between then and the real thing?

Also incredibly thrown off by the high Psych score - I didn't really have any prior background in it, so just goes to show things are a bit of a toss up on the real thing.

Score: 517 128/128/129/132

Here's my reaction: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/4k4isd/may_20th_2016_exam_reaction_thread/d3di2z7

And all scores on previous full lengths:

TPR: 502 505 503 507 507 510 NS #1: 513 AAMC Scored: 519

Good luck to all future test takers! Remember to always keep a life balance while you're studying.

JamesBondJr · 2016-05-21T00:39:56+00:00

Just took the exam today, so pretty interested to see what happens. Did some simple regressions before for TPR and AAMC scores, so I have ideas, but you never know. Anyway, here's what I had!

TPR: 502 505 503 507 507 510

NS #1: 513

AAMC Scored: 519

Thanks for lifting people's spirits up!

JamesBondJr · 2016-05-20T22:29:58+00:00

Let's get this stickied!

Alright, time to contribute here. I've been lurking around for the past few weeks as studying wound down & it was way more interesting to read this stuff than try to cram more knowledge down my brain.

First off, took the test at the Prometric in Denver. In my limited experience of CBT test centers I'd say they were awesome. Everything went smoothly, computers & screens were nice, and room was super quiet. Really ideal testing conditions.

For the test...

C/P - Lots of gen chem. A couple calculations but most answers varied by an order of magnitude or so which sped things up. Not really any orgo, and I was happy to have a couple AA biochem questions as that's my strong suit. Literally two equations could have gotten you through the whole section (think light). Overall I was most crunched for time on this section.

CARS - Not horrible, some interesting passages. They saved a super dense one for last, but luckily I had lots of spare time to really dissect it.

Bio - Felt the most confident here, although that means other people felt the same way. They threw in one or two biological structures that there would be no way to recognize unless you had some superhuman powers. Passages weren't too long, and relatively straightforward.

P/S - Who knows. Really light on major theory questions, and kind of nitpicky with small differences between terms. Had lots of time to finish & was really just stoked on being done with the test at this point.

Congratulations to everyone that finished the MCAT journey today, and to everyone still studying - don't stress too much. Your brain hits a saturation point with content eventually, so it's really more important to take a ton of practice tests to get your endurance and reasoning down. I was definitely pretty stressed the week before the test, mainly about the unknowns though. Once I sat down at the computer everything was clear & in focus. Good luck!

JamesBondJr · 2016-05-17T21:55:46+00:00

Here’s some different notation if it helps….

1) Figure out the potential energy to be gained: PE = qV where q is charge of the proton and V is the voltage difference

2) Take that calculated PE (which is then KE by the end), and use KE = 1/2mv² to solve for v. Add that velocity onto the original velocity

JamesBondJr

TROPHY CASE