What does your typical day of medical school look like?
Monday: Exam in the afternoon followed by lunch with friends and then study to about 7 to 8 pm at school before calling it a day
Tuesday: OMM lecture (9-10 am), Behavioral Science (12-1 pm) & OMM lab (1-3 pm) followed by studying at the library til 10 pm
Wednesday: Clinical science from 9-12 pm and then usually study til 10 pm
Thursday: Work study from 11-5 pm and then study til 10 pm
Friday: Medsim from 8-2 pm and then study til 10 pm
Saturday and Sunday are usually days off (just a bit of studying) unless it's near the exam, in which case it becomes a studying day
It seems like a lot of studying, but honestly there is a lot of time where it's just talking or watching youtube videos.
Are there unique aspects to the curriculum at your medical school or niches that your medical school has emphasized with respect to medical education? (Any insight you can give about how your medical school may provide a unique clinical/learning experience compared to other medical schools)
OMM has really helped me improve my palpation skills and helped me get used to using my sense of touch. While there are pros and cons to OMM as well as topics that make me question if it really works, I think that being able to palpate as well as cementing some of the anatomy knowledge is a real plus.
What clubs and organizations (both academic or non-academic) are you a part of? Additionally, are there any organizations or club events (even if you aren't a part of them) that you think are unique to your school?
I am a part of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons student organization as its vice president and the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association student organization as its treasurer. I think that one of the events that is really helpful and unique is the biannual health fair that Touro puts on in Harlem where all the student organizations participate. APAMSA also hosts Project Heal where we teach HS students about hepatitis B. I think one of the more unique events/program that Touro does is Medachieve where high school students are able to come in on a weekly basis and are taught and mentored by medical students.
Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school? What are some of the more common things you or your classmates have done in the surrounding area during your free time/for fun?
There are plenty of restaurants around Harlem that my friends and I go to in our free time. We have also caught a number of movies in the movie theater a block away. There are also multiple gyms and a rock climbing place near the school as well.
Some people end up going to medical school very close to where they grew up whereas others move to a completely new place. Depending on your personal experience, can you describe how the location of your medical school relative to your family/support system/home base has affected your experience?
I grew up in New York City. I am lucky enough to be able to still live with my family which is a big part of my support system. I am able to come home to a home cooked meal as well as have someone I can talk to (my brother is also in med school as a 1st year).
How would you describe the social scene outside of medical school? (The answer to this question could comment on how tight-knit you feel your class is, how frequently you find yourself doing things with your classmates during your free time, what class activities the school has organized to facilitate class bonding, or the relationship between the different years at your medical school)
It's less frequent now, but during first year, after exams we would all go out to eat or go out to drink. It almost without fail ends with us at K-town for karaoke.
How has your medical school helped you connect with mentors and how have these mentors helped you? This can be research mentors, career mentors, or other mentors..
Each student gets an upperclassman as a mentor the minute they begin their first year as well as a faculty advisor.
What would you say has been the most difficult part of medical school? An alternative question…what do you think has been the biggest sacrifice you have made in going to medical school?
I think the most difficult part about medical school was the amount of material and taking out the need to know everything & always be perfect at everything. The amount of material was difficult to handle at first, but eventually I started getting the hang of it. I also understood pretty quickly that I was not going to know & memorize everything. As long as I was doing as much as I could, I learned to live with that.
If you could go back in time to the beginning of your undergraduate years, what advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself to be part of more clubs and socialize more.
How are your pre-clinical courses graded? Are video lectures available? Either live or for review?
Lecture videos are available. There is live class. Preclinical grades are being graded on a z score scale based on the averages and standard deviation of the previous 3 years.
What is the general structure of your medical school pre-clinical curriculum?
The structure of the curriculum is that of a switch classroom style. Students watch lecture video in advance of class. During class, there is no lecture given. Rather, clicker questions based on those videos are discussed and answered as a group.
What is the grading scheme of your classes and what percentage of your lectures are mandatory in-person? Do you have access to video lectures to be able to re-watch lectures?
The grading scheme is A - F scale. I would say about 70 to 80 percent of the first year were mandatory attendance as the clickers would account for grades, but some of the classes have made it so that there is no location lock on the clickers, so some people answer from home. As for second year, most of our classes are not mandatory with the exception of OMM. Most of the classes are recorded, but recordings are usually only given out when requested.
How have your study habits changed between undergraduate and medical school classes?
I think in medical school, I learned to put more emphasis on repetition and questions, which has really helped me be a better student and understand the material.
How do you maximize the time you spend in lecture (either virtual or in-person)? Do you take notes during class? Are you just listening?
I would take notes while watching lecture videos. However when I attend classes, I am mostly listening. I used to write down notes for class as well, but I found it repetitive to the notes that I have already written.
How do you study outside of the classroom? Are there particular resources that stand out to you either in preparation for class tests or for Step? (This can be books, websites, apps, etc.)
For 1st year:
- Anatomy: mainly lecture video & questions from Gray's Anatomy + Lippincotts
- Biochemistry: mainly powerpoint
- Physiology: lecture video & reading the assigned textbook (Costanzo)
- Histology: lecture video, lippincott's (for questions), flashcards & blue histology / yale histology (websites with images)
- Immunology / Microbiology: Sketchy, lecture video
- Neuroanatomy: lecture video
- Pathology: lecture video, pathoma
- OMM: lecture video
- Pharmacology: lecture video, sketchy
- Genetics: lecture video
For 2nd year:
- Immunology / Microbiology: sketchy, lecture video
- Systemic Pathology: lecture video
- Pharmacology: sketchy, lecture video (packet of drugs that the professor provides)
- Clinical system: lecture video
USMLE / COMLEX: boards & beyond, pathoma, sketchy, first aid, Uworld
If you had to choose one, most useful resource in preparation for Step exams, which would you choose and why?
I would have to say Uworld as I feel like even if I knew enough of the material, I had to test it against practice questions, which I value very much. I feel like some questions are able to teach me through the explanations of why I got the question wrong.
How common is it for medical students at your institution to form study groups and study together? Do you personally spend a significant time studying with your classmates and, if so, how have you worked together to learn more efficiently together?
It is about half and half. Some like to study alone at home or in a study room. Some, like me, study with a group of friends. I feel like it has its pros and cons. Pros include friends being able to bring their own knowledge to the table as well as randomly throwing out questions to keep me on my toes. The con, however, is that it becomes easier to get off topic and distracted.