well, i agree with what dsmmd said and thought i would also add a bit more to this discussion. Medicine is a very large pool of knowledge and sometimes can seem overwhelming to students that aren't already in it. In fact, i don't think it ever gets easier... you only get better and faster at acquiring and consolidating new info. But, I agree the start of medicine is quite rocky and very intimidating. Therefore, I think it's important also not to dismiss the question about obtaining class notes. When new students arrive into medicine it is nice to have a guide. I know i appreciated mine. I had a really good friend who went to the University of Western Ontario who provided me with some very essential survival techniques to make it thru first and second year medicine. She has an incredible background from working with the BC cancer agency to helping to unlock the mysteries of learning and memory with one of the most prestigious neuroscience labs in the University of British Columbia. And believe it or not, she also said that having notes saved her life.
What I gathered from discussing about medical school with her is that Canadian professors seem to provide very concise notes... they are to the point and considered relevant for both exams and practice. In all, people shouldn't be too discouraged about learning from class notes because they help establish a structured-skeleton to which more sophisticated concepts can be added. It's all about learning in strides and not all at once.
So, back to your question: yes, Saba professors provide excellent course notes. Majority of professors take the liberty to put every word onto powerpoint presentations for the convenience of their students. The files are furthermore put onto class computers and are easily downloaded to zip disks (i.e., 100 meg). My advice is to bring a zip drive and zip disk to the island. The files are very large and will exceed regular 1.44 meg floppies.
Dr. Macri, who teaches pathology, has some of the most thorough notes i have ever had the pleasure to study from. If i had to learn Robbins by myself, I would probably be brain dead from trying to memorize the whole book.
After learning and memorizing those notes, and with time left over til the next black monday, you should definitely move ahead and practice your knowledge with board simulator or go online to Qbank. I also recommend using the internet to surf for clinical cases like from grand rounds... this will enrich your medical learning experience with interesting clinical pearls, and help to solidify your knowledge until you reach clinical rotations.
Anyways, i hope this helps. Keep asking those good questions!!!!
Roger K. Ng, MSIII
SUSOM
Posted on Feb 9, 2003, 5:52 PM from IP address 142.103.240.3
