Second Semester of Medical School: Review & Tips
Courses:
Physiology (every day)
Biochemistry (every day)
Genetics
Neuroscience
Research Methods
Summary:
The schedule this time around was a lot more relaxed than the first semester, for a few reasons. The first being that instead of having class 8-5pm every day, we finished at 3pm twice a week. On other days our profs would get through material faster than expected and let us out early. This was great because it gave us time to breath and adjust to the new course load. Unfortunately, having more free time often leads to reduced productivity. When you don’t have enough time for work, you make every minute count. When there is an excess of time, one feels that certain tasks can be delayed (for me, that meant studying). The second reason I felt more relaxed this semester was because I felt reassured that I could actually do this, having passed 4 months worth of assignments & exams beforehand. At the beginning of medical school I was constantly wondering, can I really pull this off? So having some sense of accomplishment really helped my mentality going into this semester.
Overall, I used the extra time to get back into exercising and a creating proper meal plan. I regained all the muscle I had lost over the past 4 months, and upped my squat from 20lbs, back to 95lbs. Exercise was another reason I found this semester to be more manageable, because I was consciously eliminating stress at the gym 3-4 times a week. My friends also felt more relaxed, and so we spent a lot more weekends enjoying a night out at the local bars and clubs which was tons of fun!
Tips:
If you can, study from the Kaplan biochemistry and physiology videos, they contributed almost entirely to my success in both of those courses, and highlighted every detail required to know for the Step 1 exam. I CANNOT STRESS HOW USEFUL THEY ARE!!!
BRS physiology was also extremely useful for the course, and the Guyton practice questions were very difficult but great for testing yourself. I’d say the Guyton textbook is a bit too much to stress yourself with, but a great reference point when you have questions that didn’t get answered in class - it entails everything in intricate detail
For research methods, I mostly studied from First Aid in the behavioural science section. This YouTube channel was also helpful in summarizing the main ideas nicely.
All I can say for neuroscience is…pray that you have a good prof. If you don’t, study the Kaplan videos or Dr. Najeeb! Also, USMLE questions…every day.
Everything you need to know for genetics is covered in the First Aid biochemistry section, as only a small unit of medical genetics actually covers patterns of inheritance
Originally published 05/09/2015
