Advice for first year medical students
1. Thank you for filling out this questionnaire. Now that you’ve completed the first year of medical school, what advice would you give the incoming MS1s who are about to start this year? You can fill out this survey as many times as you wish, so come back often to share your piece of advice!
-Avoid signing up for lots of things or thinking you should take on lots of roles. You shouldn’t do anything because of a “should”—those days are over. -Taste every specialty, elective, or talk at least once. Go to plenty of lunchtime talks and see what people have to say. Don’t go just for the food and then leave. That’s not classy. Keep San Francisco classy.
2. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type? Extroverted vs Introverted Sensing vs Intuitive Thinking vs Feeling Judging vs Perceiving Ex. ENFP
ENTJ
3. What equipment did you purchase? Eg. stethoscope, sphygmamometer, tuning fork, etc.
stethoscope. sphygmomanometer. reflex hammer (a nice one). didn’t get a tuning fork. comfortable flat dress shoes…heels don’t cut it when you’re standing a long time on clinical interlude and at preceptorship.
4. What do you wish someone had told you when you first started your first year? What would you do differently if you could do it all over again?
Wish someone had told me that Robbin’s Pathology and Wheater’s are OK and you should get them if you’re into and interested in path. I really liked path lab and probably would’ve enjoyed having them around.
5. Please comment on each topic below:
Scholarships you applied to – None. Should have! There are tons of these that come across the list and are available via easy googling!
Whom to go to if you need help - Sharad Jain. Beth Wilson. FPC Leaders. Anyone you even pseudo-create a relationship with—if you like them, go to them. Email them. Get coffee with them even when you don’t have a problem. Just to talk about life. They will most likely say yes. And they will love it because they love mentoring.
Managing extracurricular activities and academics – Don’t worry about doing ANYTHING unless you really enjoy it or really want to do it. There is no more “resume,” no more “how many clubs you’re in,” none of that matters. Make your life exactly what you want: if that involves lots of coffee sipping and pilates-class-taking, PLEASE DO IT. Just be happy.
Research in medical school – Didn’t do any.
Summer activities – Went to Thailand on OIP Grant for half the summer. Had a blast and was stress-free. Visited family. Went to a wedding. Took a road trip.
6. How did you study for small group? What’s the best way to prepare for small group and to do well in small group?
Give yourself 30min where you don’t do anything but small group. Google a few things you don’t understand—the next day, you may offer up an interesting factoid to the group and look good doing it, too! Reflect on your role in the group throughout first year—if you like the role, great. Reflect on it. When you have “a really great small group,” Think about why that was—did you talk a lot? Did you get up and draw on the board? Did you sit back and listen to others’ opinions more than you usually do? Reflect!
7. What resources (books, websites, etc) did you use for:
Anatomy – Netter’s and Grant’s checked out from the library
Physiology – classmates
Pathology – online modules
Histology – online modules
Biochemistry – classmates, tracy fulton office hours
Pharmacology – memorizing with dry erase markers and repetition
Neurology – classmates, repetition, the book everyone gets (Get it!)
Respiratory system – nothing extra
Cardiovascular system – nothing extra; studied Dave Morgan lecture notes a lot (ppts)
Gastrointestinal system – McQuaid review lecture
Muskuloskeletal system – practiced extra in the anatomy lab; made up a dermatome dance
Advice for first year medical students
