MS1 AMA

[SpinShady]

Title says it all

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[CatDad26]

What should accepted applicants be doing between now and matriculation to be ready?
Any specific tech or study tool purchases that could help? It's easier to buy things now while I still have an income?
What's one thing you wish you knew before starting medical school?

 

[cryovials]

also going to add on asking about anything to buy prior to med school? should i be stocking up on scrubs or comfortable shoes or professional clothing?

 

[SpinShady]

What should accepted applicants be doing between now and matriculation to be ready?
Any specific tech or study tool purchases that could help? It's easier to buy things now while I still have an income?
What's one thing you wish you knew before starting medical school?

1. Don’t pre-study. Enjoy the time that you have off. I felt bad for not studying ahead of time and once i started classes I quickly realized how pointless it would have been anyway so don’t do it. One thing I wish I had done was prepare more mentally. Medical school is challenging, and certain themes can be very anxiety inducing. Use this time to develop good habits such as integrating working out in your daily routine, mindfulness or whatever else helps you cope in general. It will be easier to continue with these things than start them for the first time while also starting medical school.


2. I purchased an ipad and an apple pencil only because that would make it easier for me to take notes directly on the PPTs. They also incorporate a lot of images whether its scans or charts in lectures so being able to mark those up has been helpful to me. This is by no means an absolute necessity (many of my classmates don’t use one). just something I think could help if you enjoy taking notes directly on the material given to you.

3. That medical school is nothing like pre-med and i need to let go of my "i got to be the best of the class" attitude. It takes a certain type of person and certain type of work ethic to get to medical school but once you are in you've made it. you can retake exams in medical school, repeat themes, repeat the whole year and still be a doctor! Im not saying you should aim for these things to happen, I’m just saying it’s OK if it does. I struggled initially because i was trying to do what i did in pre-med, which was study everything 100%. you simply won’t be able to do that because of the volume of material you are responsible for. Just do your best and focus on the big picture of each lecture. Also, when you are not stressing out so much about your classes it opens up more time for you to do research, get involved in leadership so you can still be a very competitive applicant for residencies.

I hope this helps and please reach out with any other questions!

 

[SpinShady]

also going to add on asking about anything to buy prior to med school? should i be stocking up on scrubs or comfortable shoes or professional clothing?

I wouldnt say you need to be stocking up on shoes or clothing but having few professional outfits and nice comfy dress shoes (ones you acn stand and walk in for hours) helps. I usually have to dress nicely for encounters with standardized patients or when i go into the clinic to spend the day shadowing a physician.

I would also think about where your school is located. Does it get really cold there? invest in a really good dawn jacket etc. Less you have to worry about during school the better.

I wouldnt buy scrubs since most medical schools have scrub machines and they give you access to them.

 

[waspoppen]

what was your fav/most meaningful experience in undergrad? (not nec application wise, just what activity did you feel you got the most out of?)

 

[Dobermann]

What is something you wish you considered when deciding between schools, but didn’t realize at the time?

What is something you thought was important when deciding between schools, but turned out not to be?

Thanks!

 

[Morningnight]

What goals should an entering medical student set for themselves for the end of Fall semester and for the end of MS1 year? Figure out what works studying-wise? Get involved in organizations? Start research?

 

[effectedtag]

What are some must-use study sources I will be using in med school (i.e Boards and Beyond) just so I can get familiar with the names? Especially sources you used early on as an MS1.

Also, is it common for upper-year students to pass on Anki decks that you used for studying?

 

[SpinShady]

what was your fav/most meaningful experience in undergrad? (not nec application wise, just what activity did you feel you got the most out of?)

Pre-med can be totally life consuming. You spend your days thinking about where to volunteer, do research or shadow next and how to do well in your classes (at least thats what I did) Looking back I realize that things that brought me the most joy were things that helped me break away from that cycle.

I went to study abroad during which I took classes that had nothing to do with my pre-med requirements. I took a class in German (probably a language that I wont use when interacting with patients). I learned how to play diffrent instruments.

Point im trying to make is that the journey we have chosen can be very overwhelming and it takes over more and more of your life as you move up the ladder. It important to have things that you can enjoy outside of medicine. It will help you maintain some sanity

 

[SpinShady]

What is something you wish you considered when deciding between schools, but didn’t realize at the time?

What is something you thought was important when deciding between schools, but turned out not to be?

Thanks!

They had recently announced that STEP 1 would be P/F which swayed my decision towards a school where I knew I would be able to do alot of research since I wanted to have that on my CV to stand out for residencies. The downside of that is that I picked a school with a higher cost of tuition so im taking our more loans.

Looking back, I think I still would have made the same decision but i think these are some factors that you should strongly consider.

I also kind of overlooked the location because my thinking was "if im going to be in my room studying all day what does it matter what city im in" well going from Los Angeles to the East Coast was definitely a wild ride for me. Seasonal depression and Vitamin D deficiency hit me hard and its still something Im adjusting to. So I guess I would also consider the location and how you would feel living in that environment for 4 years.

 

[SpinShady]

What goals should an entering medical student set for themselves for the end of Fall semester and for the end of MS1 year? Figure out what works studying-wise? Get involved in organizations? Start research?

My recommendation for the first semester would be to figure out what study method works for you so that during your second semester you can start getting involved in research or at least have enough time to go spend a day shadowing diffirent specialties so you can maybe see what interests you and what youd like to do research in.

starting medical school can be hard and overwhelming but if you can somewhat get a handle on it by the end of the first semester MS1 can also be the year you have the most time to be involved in activities.

I joined almost all the different interest clubs. At my school they dont have requirements for attendace but they send emails with different activities and I go to ones that interest me. So be involved in what your school has to offer. Dont let the amount of material they give you in lectures shut you down and force you to only focus on studying. Try to find a balance where you take your studies seriously but leave time to explore other things. FIrst semester is definitely the time to use for adjusting.

 

[SpinShady]

What are some must-use study sources I will be using in med school (i.e Boards and Beyond) just so I can get familiar with the names? Especially sources you used early on as an MS1.

Also, is it common for upper-year students to pass on Anki decks that you used for studying?

There are plenty of resources but most get used starting in second year including Boards and Beyond, Sketchy, Pathoma.

My schools exams during first year are written by professors who are teaching the lecture so I have been studying off of the school given materials since thats what i'm being tested on. I did buy First Aid textbook because it gives concice explanations on some topics but again that textbook is used for Step 1 so you dont need to get it during the first year.

My most helpful resource outside of lectures so far has been Rohen's Color Atlas of Anatomy textbook and Complete Anatomy on my ipad. So i definitely recommend getting yourself a good atlas. You could also get Gray's Anatomy for students but honestly if your school does a good job at lectures you can just fill some gaps in knowledge with some youtube videos. I personally love Ninja Nerd's explanations, expecially when it comes to emryology.

My school is also super supportive so MS1s get a google drive passed down to them where upper classmen have put bunch of useful resources including anki decks for every theme so i make very few cards myself while watching lectures so it all depends on what your school is like!