Advice for medical students
Advice for medical students
1. There are no shortcuts to learning the material.
2. The details are important, and anyone or anything that promises to simplify the material is not going to provide enough depth.
2.1 Having said that, it IS worthwhile to buy a board review book as a course supplement.
3. Learning objectives are your best friend. Know them, love them, hate them sometimes, but always spend lots of time with them. If your instructors don’t provide learning objectives, ask for them.
4. Even if you made a perfect score on your MCAT verbal, you will need a medical dictionary. For pronunciation, if nothing else. My lab group actually had several discussions over the course of the semester as to the proper way to pronounce certain words. (Yeah, we’re nerdier than most.)
5. If the dictionary lists a pronunciation that’s completely different from the one commonly used by your instructors, don’t be a dork. Use the local lingo. Just know in the back of your mind that there’s another pronunciation, and don’t display your ignorance by correcting people who use it.
6. The 2nd years will drive you nuts with their refusal to tell you exactly what books to buy. This is because there’s no perfect text. There’s just the required class text, and 20 other textbooks that are just as good. Which pictures do you like better?
7. Netter vs. Rohen. People tend to advocate vehemently for one or the other. Netter’s a better learning tool overall, but Rohen is a better study tool for the practical. I found them both essential.
8. Get involved in stuff at your school. Don’t just study all the time. At the very least, it’ll give you something to talk about besides your classes.
10. Be nice. The world doesn’t suddenly revolve around you just because you’re going to be a doctor.
10.1 Never, EVER mistreat the staff at the school. They work there because they like it, not because it pays well.
source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=95608 , post #2
That’s all I can think of for now.
Advice for medical students
Categorised as: Attitude, Extracurricular Activities, Learning Objectives, Study Skills, Supplemental Reading