Help me prepare for M1

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working_hard1

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Hello! I start my MD/PhD program in a few weeks, and am super nervous about doing well in school. I studied biomedical engineering, and memorizing was never my strong suit. Is there anything I should do to prepare for the workload or anything I should familiarize myself with that will help me do well? I did poorly my first year of college and cannot afford to have that same behavior during M1. I'd appreciate all and any advice!

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Don't actually pre-study, but it might help to chat with some current students about resources they find useful and just briefly peruse those to see what works for your learning style. Download Anki and mess around with it a little and read some articles on using it efficiently to see if it might be a tool that will work for you. Would also encourage you to sit down with your school's academic success team or whatever they call it where you are early on to develop a study plan.

Beyond that, focus on your wellness - learn some quick, healthy recipes, figure out what you need to keep yourself sane, exercise regularly, etc. You've got this!!
 
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Hello! I start my MD/PhD program in a few weeks, and am super nervous about doing well in school. I studied biomedical engineering, and memorizing was never my strong suit. Is there anything I should do to prepare for the workload or anything I should familiarize myself with that will help me do well? I did poorly my first year of college and cannot afford to have that same behavior during M1. I'd appreciate all and any advice!
No need to pre-study, enjoy your last bit of freedom. You will have plenty of time to study your life away and figure out study strategies that work for you so seriously don't worry right now....
 
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No need to pre-study, enjoy your last bit of freedom. You will have plenty of time to study your life away and figure out study strategies that work for you so seriously don't worry right now....
This. Spend lots of time with your family and friends. Indulge in your hobbies. If you're the wanderlust type and you have the time and money, go on a trip somewhere. You're about to be very busy for a very long time.
 
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I'm starting this fall too, and also had troubles my first go starting over in a new town for college. I talked to some others in my shoes, including some M4s I knew from High School and this is the plan I've made for myself..

First of all I'm seeing my friends and family far my than I ever have because I'm about to move away from all of them. That said, I'm 7 years out from any anat and phys/med terminology class. In line with what a few other people in my shoes have said, it can help to spend 30-60 minutes a night just glossing over some basics in those areas to get back in the mindset. I know that's heresy to say around some people here, but it's giving me a great deal of peace which cannot be understated. It's still a vacation compared to life before graduation, anyone can look at something 1 hour a night without going crazy.

I'm also going to be getting my anki deck in order and refamiliarizing myself with all of that, and doing a "mock week" where I try out a work-flow based on the schools mock week year 1 schedule they've given us. It includes all the things we'd be doing for that week. I'll do free trials of amboss, BnB, pathoma, sketchy, etc. and unsuspend cards in the anki deck, then watching the lectures and do the practice quizzes they have provided. Zero stakes, it'll help me start to see how it'll actually all work out, and again... once we're in our new apartments and the days are counting down, doing a little work to prepare, in my mind, is always a great way to ease anxiety about it all. Especially if you're like me and your school pushed your start date back so I have 7 weeks from the time I move to the time school starts.

Another goal is familiarizing myself with the campus, hospital, and city before class starts. There are a bunch of other tips they gave like how to organize rotations and other stuff more pertinent after preclinicals, but this is the plan for right now.
 
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