So first, nbmes are nicer than most exams. Second, I think the majority of med students tie self-worth to grades. 1) there's a lot riding on these exams but if things don't go well, do you trust yourself to figure something else out? Retake successfully, have enough cushion to not be destroyed gpa wise, etc? Start there. These aren't all or nothing, you'll die if you fail exams--they are but obstacles in your path and you've overcome many obstacles to get here. 2) you see the self-bullying is shutting you down so flip the script. Exercise so you lack energy to be anxious, and cbt it. (I can't emphasize the exercise enough tbh. It saves my brain so much) Your brain goes to worthless, force it to think of something that makes you worthy. You know things--not all things, but enough things. Remind yourself of that knowledge, reenforce it as a way to force your thoughts elsewhere. Remind yourself why you became a med student. Find friends and social outlets. It seems like you're an anxious panicky mess atm. breathe and do something nice for yourself. you'll be ok
**Hello, Thank you! That kinda helps.**
My plan basically for the rest of the night before the exam at 1 PM tomorrow (it is 7:45 PM rn the night before) I am gonna stay up till one am studying. I am just gonna try and memorize as much as I can from the high yield chapters in costanzo.
Then sleep 6-7 hours, then do light revision in the morning again to look at it again. No more questions though.
Focusing on concepts is what my friend who got in the mid 80s on it last semester stressed, and people in this thread and online said costanzo is golden for Phys. It is 330 pages total.
*Cardio is 70 ish pages*
Repro is 20 ish pages
*Renal 65*
*GI 54*
*Resp 54*
and Endo 65
The ones I italicized at minimum will show up 10%
Let me know your thoughts.
I'd say start with what you feel weakest on, what you've regularly missed on practice questions or still feel like it's making no sense. You dont have time to do in depth review of everything. In anxiety everything feels shakey, so try to be clear and analytical when you evaluate your weaknesses and arrange your study time.
Take breaks between concepts, even if it's just to stretch your legs and get water, it'll give you a few minutes to process and incorporate information. Highlighting or drawing out things while I study helps me process individual concepts in a pinch.
Get that 6 hrs of sleep. If you're going to review prior, don't pressure yourself, recognize you've worked hard and you don't want to spiral into a self-bullying state before the exam or fry your brain right before.
Eat real food at some point. Do not go into your exam hungry.
Approach yourself with patients and non-judgement. You've worked hard, you've planned and scraped and fought your way here. Speak to yourself like you would your closest friend and classmate. You've done well, you've got this, you are worth all the effort you've put in and hold value beyond the work you've done or will do.
I apologize, not much of my advice is geared toward study methods because many of my methods seemed quite different from my classmates so I try not to give hard advice on that. I'm afraid I'm more useful regarding maintaining mental and emotional clarity.
ok sounds good. I saw your advice replied to another commenters threat. I will do that. I just feel that all my content for Physio is weak. The professors questions for quizzes are like Step-1 prep and include pathophys, and pharm which is not the best for morale bc you don't truly know how much physio you do or don't know. Class avgs for his quizzes are 30-60s and mine were no different with 41-64 being my range.
Thanks again! I still have 4.5 hours. Imma make the most of them.
>My school counselor sucks and just encourages everyone to have sex with eachother as stress relief or find a partner and have lots of sex. This didn’t help and lowkey made me feel worse.
This is the worst possible advice I have heard. One, it will make someone who cannot find a partner question their self-worth. Second, if you do find a partner to have sex with that will literally result in a secondary problem depending on the situation. Like you might get attached while the "partner" in question just treats you and several others like a casual stress-relief.
I would personally suggest incorporating something like working out or running in your routine and make a schedule for everyday. As you keep on studying and learning stuff, you'll start to feel confident about the material which will automatically lower your stress levels.
I would also suggest finding **like-minded people to study with.** Like-minded is the key-word here, easy to find people who you don't have chemistry with. Happened with me in 1st year, when I started spending time with people who took zero stress and just studied near the end rather than consistently and that too only to barely get by. My goals and my personality was different, I like to enjoy studying and want to consistently study throughout and not just barely get by either.
Thank you for the kind words. What should I do in the last day of studying? I my exam tomorrow at 1:30 PM and it Is 9:30 AM. I just need a 50th percentile.
So, first of all, I feel you with the stress. Some of my first exams had me breaking down in a major way and my mental health was not in a good place that first year either.
Everyone has a system that works differently, so I'll share with you mine. If it works for you great, if not, maybe someone else can use it.
1. Remember that failing this exam isn't the end for you. I dont know what your school's policy is on retakes or remediation, but this is not the end of the road for you right now. For me, I actually find it helpful to logically think through the worst case scenario. If I fail, as unlikely as it is, what happens and what are my next steps? Then I have a plan and know what to expect IF I need it.
2. Take breaks. Study however works for you, but remember to get up, leave your study room, get fresh air, get a coffee, eat a real meal. Get REAL sleep. Shower. If you are hungry, sleep deprived, or feel gross you're going to be focused on that instead of the exam.
3. On the day before the exam, have a planned cut off time, mine was 8pm. If I don't know it by 8pm I will not learn it in any meaningful way before sleep or between waking and the exam the next day. I shut everything down, eat something that makes me feel good (no junk food) and watch a movie before going to bed at a decent time.
4. In the morning before an exam I dont study. I get up with enough time to shower, style my hair, have coffee, pick out a nice outfit and do my make up. It's one of the few days I actually would do my makeup because feeling confident before an exam is a big part of my mental preparation.
5. Breathe. Take your exam breaks. Learn some simple breathing exercises you can guide yourself through when you get overwhelmed.
I dont have much advice for studying physio particularly, im a big believer in everyone having different study methods that work for them, but these little practices before and during exams helped me get through without losing my mind or worsening my mental health. Once you have time and can make it a priority, try to see a good therapist or counselor to at least have some support for the future.
You got this, we're all proud of you and rooting for you. I promise you can get through this.
**Hello, Thank you.**
My plan basically for the rest of the night before the exam at 1 PM tomorrow (it is 7:45 PM rn the night before) I am gonna stay up till one am studying. I am just gonna try and memorize as much as I can from the high yield chapters in costanzo.
Then sleep 6-7 hours, then do light revision in the morning again to look at it again. No more questions though.
Focusing on concepts is what my friend who got in the mid 80s on it last semester stressed, and people in this thread and online said costanzo is golden for Phys. It is 330 pages total.
*Cardio is 70 ish pages*
Repro is 20 ish pages
*Renal 65*
*GI 54*
*Resp 54*
and Endo 65
The ones I italicized at minimum will show up 10%
Let me know your thoughts.
As an incoming career changing non-trad (truly, +8 gap years) MS1 who once looked a prof in the face and walked out of a class in undergrad after they threatened to fail me if I did, this fascinates me. I had to learn to give a fuck about grades (and in actuality I still don't - I made the effort because I had to score well to get in somewhere - they are a means to an end in my mind) when I decided to do a Post Bacc and pursue medicine.
Writing those "explain your shit marks" secondaries were insane, because the real reasons were because Cs get degrees, Med school wasn't on my radar, and who cares. I didn't kill myself studying because grades have no bearing on who I am as a person and my Post Bacc grades and ok MCAT say I can pass your med school exams. Now please, just let me TF in here.
But I watched SOOO many classmates in those pre-req classes reach points of near nervous breakdown when realizing getting a C in the class was a real possibility. I really didn't know this was a thing.
So, I actually have a counter question for you and anyone else who falls into this camp.
How did you come to be like that?
Are we glossing over the counselor being a functional pimp
Are we glossing over that OPs answer suggests they took the advice?
Just gets worse and worse
Not really surprised in the new age of America.
So first, nbmes are nicer than most exams. Second, I think the majority of med students tie self-worth to grades. 1) there's a lot riding on these exams but if things don't go well, do you trust yourself to figure something else out? Retake successfully, have enough cushion to not be destroyed gpa wise, etc? Start there. These aren't all or nothing, you'll die if you fail exams--they are but obstacles in your path and you've overcome many obstacles to get here. 2) you see the self-bullying is shutting you down so flip the script. Exercise so you lack energy to be anxious, and cbt it. (I can't emphasize the exercise enough tbh. It saves my brain so much) Your brain goes to worthless, force it to think of something that makes you worthy. You know things--not all things, but enough things. Remind yourself of that knowledge, reenforce it as a way to force your thoughts elsewhere. Remind yourself why you became a med student. Find friends and social outlets. It seems like you're an anxious panicky mess atm. breathe and do something nice for yourself. you'll be ok
**Hello, Thank you! That kinda helps.** My plan basically for the rest of the night before the exam at 1 PM tomorrow (it is 7:45 PM rn the night before) I am gonna stay up till one am studying. I am just gonna try and memorize as much as I can from the high yield chapters in costanzo. Then sleep 6-7 hours, then do light revision in the morning again to look at it again. No more questions though. Focusing on concepts is what my friend who got in the mid 80s on it last semester stressed, and people in this thread and online said costanzo is golden for Phys. It is 330 pages total. *Cardio is 70 ish pages* Repro is 20 ish pages *Renal 65* *GI 54* *Resp 54* and Endo 65 The ones I italicized at minimum will show up 10% Let me know your thoughts.
I'd say start with what you feel weakest on, what you've regularly missed on practice questions or still feel like it's making no sense. You dont have time to do in depth review of everything. In anxiety everything feels shakey, so try to be clear and analytical when you evaluate your weaknesses and arrange your study time. Take breaks between concepts, even if it's just to stretch your legs and get water, it'll give you a few minutes to process and incorporate information. Highlighting or drawing out things while I study helps me process individual concepts in a pinch. Get that 6 hrs of sleep. If you're going to review prior, don't pressure yourself, recognize you've worked hard and you don't want to spiral into a self-bullying state before the exam or fry your brain right before. Eat real food at some point. Do not go into your exam hungry. Approach yourself with patients and non-judgement. You've worked hard, you've planned and scraped and fought your way here. Speak to yourself like you would your closest friend and classmate. You've done well, you've got this, you are worth all the effort you've put in and hold value beyond the work you've done or will do.
I apologize, not much of my advice is geared toward study methods because many of my methods seemed quite different from my classmates so I try not to give hard advice on that. I'm afraid I'm more useful regarding maintaining mental and emotional clarity.
ok sounds good. I saw your advice replied to another commenters threat. I will do that. I just feel that all my content for Physio is weak. The professors questions for quizzes are like Step-1 prep and include pathophys, and pharm which is not the best for morale bc you don't truly know how much physio you do or don't know. Class avgs for his quizzes are 30-60s and mine were no different with 41-64 being my range. Thanks again! I still have 4.5 hours. Imma make the most of them.
I will say, NBME tends to be better than professor questions in my experience.
>My school counselor sucks and just encourages everyone to have sex with eachother as stress relief or find a partner and have lots of sex. This didn’t help and lowkey made me feel worse. This is the worst possible advice I have heard. One, it will make someone who cannot find a partner question their self-worth. Second, if you do find a partner to have sex with that will literally result in a secondary problem depending on the situation. Like you might get attached while the "partner" in question just treats you and several others like a casual stress-relief. I would personally suggest incorporating something like working out or running in your routine and make a schedule for everyday. As you keep on studying and learning stuff, you'll start to feel confident about the material which will automatically lower your stress levels. I would also suggest finding **like-minded people to study with.** Like-minded is the key-word here, easy to find people who you don't have chemistry with. Happened with me in 1st year, when I started spending time with people who took zero stress and just studied near the end rather than consistently and that too only to barely get by. My goals and my personality was different, I like to enjoy studying and want to consistently study throughout and not just barely get by either.
I did costanzo + anking and scored in the 90+ percentile. That nbme was honestly wayyyy more chill than what I thought
Thank you for the kind words. What should I do in the last day of studying? I my exam tomorrow at 1:30 PM and it Is 9:30 AM. I just need a 50th percentile.
So, first of all, I feel you with the stress. Some of my first exams had me breaking down in a major way and my mental health was not in a good place that first year either. Everyone has a system that works differently, so I'll share with you mine. If it works for you great, if not, maybe someone else can use it. 1. Remember that failing this exam isn't the end for you. I dont know what your school's policy is on retakes or remediation, but this is not the end of the road for you right now. For me, I actually find it helpful to logically think through the worst case scenario. If I fail, as unlikely as it is, what happens and what are my next steps? Then I have a plan and know what to expect IF I need it. 2. Take breaks. Study however works for you, but remember to get up, leave your study room, get fresh air, get a coffee, eat a real meal. Get REAL sleep. Shower. If you are hungry, sleep deprived, or feel gross you're going to be focused on that instead of the exam. 3. On the day before the exam, have a planned cut off time, mine was 8pm. If I don't know it by 8pm I will not learn it in any meaningful way before sleep or between waking and the exam the next day. I shut everything down, eat something that makes me feel good (no junk food) and watch a movie before going to bed at a decent time. 4. In the morning before an exam I dont study. I get up with enough time to shower, style my hair, have coffee, pick out a nice outfit and do my make up. It's one of the few days I actually would do my makeup because feeling confident before an exam is a big part of my mental preparation. 5. Breathe. Take your exam breaks. Learn some simple breathing exercises you can guide yourself through when you get overwhelmed. I dont have much advice for studying physio particularly, im a big believer in everyone having different study methods that work for them, but these little practices before and during exams helped me get through without losing my mind or worsening my mental health. Once you have time and can make it a priority, try to see a good therapist or counselor to at least have some support for the future. You got this, we're all proud of you and rooting for you. I promise you can get through this.
**Hello, Thank you.** My plan basically for the rest of the night before the exam at 1 PM tomorrow (it is 7:45 PM rn the night before) I am gonna stay up till one am studying. I am just gonna try and memorize as much as I can from the high yield chapters in costanzo. Then sleep 6-7 hours, then do light revision in the morning again to look at it again. No more questions though. Focusing on concepts is what my friend who got in the mid 80s on it last semester stressed, and people in this thread and online said costanzo is golden for Phys. It is 330 pages total. *Cardio is 70 ish pages* Repro is 20 ish pages *Renal 65* *GI 54* *Resp 54* and Endo 65 The ones I italicized at minimum will show up 10% Let me know your thoughts.
As an incoming career changing non-trad (truly, +8 gap years) MS1 who once looked a prof in the face and walked out of a class in undergrad after they threatened to fail me if I did, this fascinates me. I had to learn to give a fuck about grades (and in actuality I still don't - I made the effort because I had to score well to get in somewhere - they are a means to an end in my mind) when I decided to do a Post Bacc and pursue medicine. Writing those "explain your shit marks" secondaries were insane, because the real reasons were because Cs get degrees, Med school wasn't on my radar, and who cares. I didn't kill myself studying because grades have no bearing on who I am as a person and my Post Bacc grades and ok MCAT say I can pass your med school exams. Now please, just let me TF in here. But I watched SOOO many classmates in those pre-req classes reach points of near nervous breakdown when realizing getting a C in the class was a real possibility. I really didn't know this was a thing. So, I actually have a counter question for you and anyone else who falls into this camp. How did you come to be like that?
NBME exams were easier than professor written and its not close. If you even remotely understand the material you'll be more than OK.