[Helpful
for: All LUs/Year levels but not in all schools]
Assalamu
Alaykum! (Greetings of Peace!)
We
have our daily lectures, and we want a copy of the handouts and presentations
by our lecturers as much as possible, but where do we get them? This is where
the heroic term “Transcription” comes in handy.
The
Transcriptions or shortly “Trans” (plural: Transes) are printed and/or
electronic copies of the handouts, presentations, and other discussions in your
past lectures. They are basically (and supposedly) the concise and summarized
version of the whole lecture. These trances will always come in handy during
exams so every medstudent must have a copy of these wherever they go (except
the super nerd ones).
Transes
are prepared by the assigned transcribers or “transers" (will be discussed
on the next post) and it is their responsibility to get all the necessary and
significant information from the lectures in their trans. Depending on the
agreed schedule of deadlines of submissions by your class, the transes will be
uploaded in your class’ online storage account or printed and be delivered to
your respective transboxes.
[photo
of transbox]
Should you Subscribe?
Usually,
you will be given the choice if you want to subscribe to the printed transes or
not. When you subscribe, the printed copies of the trans will be delivered into
your transboxes after 1 or 2 days. But should you subscribe? Well it’s up to
you of course, and it all depends on how effective these transes will be for
you.
Some
students prefer reading transes in paper. They would often say:
“We
love the touch of paper wherein we can highlight and scribble some doodles, I
mean, notes on them.”
“I
can study better with printed transes than the e-copies in my i-pad/tablet. I
get easily distracted when I have my ipad with me”
“Prints
are better, you can keep them and send them as gifts to your future buddy :D”
[photo
of trans]
Some
students on the other hand would rather opt for the electronic copies instead.
Their reasons? “Printed transes are not colored, we can’t identify which is
which in them!”,
“Would
rather have an online copy, it’s easier to search the terms”,
“You
pay for the printed copies and they come in late! What the fumbles is that!”,
“Too
many bills to pay, can’t afford another set of fees.”
“I
just want to feel that I am doing something because I downloaded the e-copies
(and never actually read them until 2 hours before the exam).”
There
might be more undocumented reasons by the students but it all boil down to one
thing: It’s all about your study preferences. Do you perform well reading
printed than electronic copies? Then subscribe. Do you hate papers and you have
a readily accessible internet? Then don’t subscribe just download the e-copies.
The Trans Quality
You
now have ideas about the transcriptions and you have finally decided whether to
subscribe or not. Now you feel you are well prepared and ready to face any
exams that will come your way. But wait, is that the right thing to do?
No.
An important reminder to all medstudent is that “Transes are not sure-win
measures to pass the exams” and “not all transes have good quality”. They may be
helpful because they are summarized and only the important bullet-points are
there, but you have to remember that it can never replace your real references:
the medical books. Transes are also prone to many errors and corrections and
also subjected to the transcribers quality of making the transes—believe me
there will be a few Trash-trans that you will read. And so the best way to
maximize your learning experience here is by doing the following:
1)
Read in advance the past transes from last
year’s class (you will be given copies by your buddies);
2)
Attend your lectures, listen and take notes;
3)
Have a reference book with you to check the
infos in the trans;
4)
Get those transers who do a poor job in
transcribing (not really required)
That
would be all for this topic :D I do hope you are enjoying your first few weeks
in medschool! ;D Welcome to the club!
Salam
kasilasa!
Anakiluh,
MD
For more posts under the "Life in Medschool Series" (LIMS) click
here.
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