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

Advice for medical students

Watch your back….the gunners are never the one’s you think. They’re usually not the one’s sprouting facts from harrisons and up to date, but rather the ones sitting quietly, watching, absorbing everything and plotting how to steal your Robbins the night before the exam. Oh, and never trust anyone who says “i haven’t studied for the exam at all yet, i’m soooo behind, definitely going to fail this block”

Source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=95608  ; post #9

Advice for medical students

Advice for medical students

Advice for medical students

Advice for medical students

1) There are cheap used medical textbooks on eBay. I was able to get a current edition Rohen atlas in perfect condition for $20. It is an easy way to add a few books to your collection with out breaking your wallet. .

2) If you get to chose your anatomy partners, chose wisely. I have been very fortunate but I have heard some horror stories. DO NOT become lab partners with someone you want to date or are currently dating!

3) There are some fantastic medical websites out there for histology and anatomy. There are links from several SDN threads and the SDN links page. Others can be found by using google. Some of them offer great self-tests and quizzes.

4) Board review books are a great help summarizing info before exams. I love the Chung anatomy review and the BRS physiology book.

5) Take everything a step at a time and enjoy yourself. It is an amazing experience.

source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=95608 ; post #7

Advice for medical students

Advice for medical students

Dont let other people’s anxiety get to you. Its self-destructive, not usually informative, and not usually reflective of what’s really going on.

source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=95608  ; post #6

Advice for medical students

Advice for medical students

1. If your school has transcript service, dont bother going to class.

2. If #1 applies to your school, dont bother with textbooks.

3. Use review books throughout.

4. Realize that you will be forced to memorize many details that
you will forget the second you leave the exam. SUCK IT UP.

5. Dont listen to classmates who say they “never study”

6. Study your butt off for Step 1 unless you are sure you wanna be primary care doc or medicine subspecialty.

7. Dont be an obnoxious jerk on the wards.

Source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=95608 ; post #4

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