Preparation for M1 year

[jordansnfootbal]

Hello guys,

I am just seeking advice on how best to prepare for MS1 year (ex: joining clubs, study tips, things that are important for future years i.e residency vs things that are less important, etc.). Any tips are appreciated. I just feel like I should be doing something right now to get ahead of the game.

Thanks

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[Lannister]

Do nothing. Maybe buy some business professional clothes if you don't have some already. Honestly, just enjoy your last few months of freedom.

 

[whatisthisstuff]

Corona on the beach


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[Syns]

I agree with my peers. Relax.

If you have an itch to do something useful, try to organize your living space to be consistent with the lifestyle you are about to engage with. Look for comfortable study chair/desk combinations, standing desks (or other studying alternative), etc. Start reaching out to classmates and forming relationships (those will save your ass when you need a favor). Contact the hospital that is associated with your medical school and go shadow EM docs or other specialties you're interested in (these experiences turn into great times to get advice or find research opportunities). The list of possibilities is utterly endless but DO NOT start to study.

Cheers and congratulations on admission.

 

[raiderette]

If you don't know how to cook quick meals and use a Crock-Pot, practice. Collect recipes.

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[Goro]

Hello guys,

I am just seeking advice on how best to prepare for MS1 year (ex: joining clubs, study tips, things that are important for future years i.e residency vs things that are less important, etc.). Any tips are appreciated. I just feel like I should be doing something right now to get ahead of the game.

Thanks

Read this, and have fun in the mean time,. and good luck! And congrats!
Goro’s guide to success in medical school-v.2016

 

[takeurmeds02]

n/a

 

[echidna001]

Enjoy the summer and be ready to hit the ground running! Do not "pre-study". The volume of material will be overwhelming at first but you will adjust. Get yourself organized and empty your "to do list" so that once school starts you can focus primarily on school instead of errands/appointments/cleaning. Make sure you get in the habit of doing everything you want to continue doing while in medical school (working out, cooking, ect...). I agree that getting your wardrobe ready is a great idea. Determine how you plan on taking notes and organizing lectures. Learn how to use Anki and the image occlusion add-on. But seriously, your number one priority should be Netflix, travel, reading books that have nothing to with medicine, sitting by a pool and enjoying life. Congratulations and best of luck!

 

[MerYangBey]

Get in really good shape. When school starts don't stop exercising. Get in the habit of taking care of yourself.

When school starts make an effort to get to know your classmates. Even the ones that don't go out as much.

I second the buying business clothes thing.

I just purchased an external monitor that I'm connecting to my laptop. I got sick of staring at a 12 inch screen.

 

[sholamd]

I had a little video series about this last month - might run it again at the end of May...but my points were that you should definitely do NOTHING to prep for M1, but if you insist:

Summer Reading (a few highly recommended med-related books, not studying)
Get Your Finances in Order
Make a Daily Schedule
Etymology and Anki
Plan Your Study Technique

 

[jordansnfootbal]

Enjoy the summer and be ready to hit the ground running! Do not "pre-study". The volume of material will be overwhelming at first but you will adjust. Get yourself organized and empty your "to do list" so that once school starts you can focus primarily on school instead of errands/appointments/cleaning. Make sure you get in the habit of doing everything you want to continue doing while in medical school (working out, cooking, ect...). I agree that getting your wardrobe ready is a great idea. Determine how you plan on taking notes and organizing lectures. Learn how to use Anki and the image occlusion add-on. But seriously, your number one priority should be Netflix, travel, reading books that have nothing to with medicine, sitting by a pool and enjoying life. Congratulations and best of luck!

I had a little video series about this last month - might run it again at the end of May...but my points were that you should definitely do NOTHING to prep for M1, but if you insist:

Summer Reading (a few highly recommended med-related books, not studying)
Get Your Finances in Order
Make a Daily Schedule
Etymology and Anki
Plan Your Study Technique

How would you plan your study technique? Sorry if its a dumb question.

 

[cbrons]

Joining clubs is of no importance. All of your questions have been asked and answered many, many times.

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[jordansnfootbal]

Joining clubs is of no importance. All of your questions have been asked and answered many, many times.

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Look at how much time you couldve saved if you just read the post and didnt look back....

 

[wanderingorion]

Joining clubs is of no importance. All of your questions have been asked and answered many, many times.

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All clubs? please elaborate.

 

[ortnakas]

All clubs? please elaborate.

Clubs are good for: fun, occasional cool field trips/guest speakers/etc, study guides, and free food.

Join whatever you're interested in, but don't expect it to matter when it comes to residency applications.

 

[TheFutureFatMan]

class up your wardrobe and enjoy your freedom. If you're looking for more information, there are about eight thousand posts on this topic and you should take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[raiderette]

Re: clubs. This is what you join for free lunch.

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[echidna001]

How would you plan your study technique? Sorry if its a dumb question.

Of course this is individualized based on how you learn best, your goals, and your school's curriculum. For me, I used one note to organize my power points by exam and that worked really well. Since I like writing notes by hand, I got an ipad/apple pencil so I could write on the power point slides and highlight during lecture. I have used Anki off and on depending on the material. I used it very heavily for anatomy/neuroanatomy memorization, taking screen shots of Netters images and using image occlusion to drill myself on terms. That being said, nothing substitutes for time in the lab. Using Anki helped to memorize the terms, know what it was supposed to look like and have the general location down. I also used Anki for anything else that appeared to be route memorization (drug names, virus names). For biochemistry, immunology, genetics and neuroscience, I found drawing out charts and pathways by hand far more helpful. Then of course it's just repetition. Definitely focus on things that are high yield. Of course, there will always be a couple questions on minutiae, but you can always work through the details later before the exam if you have time. Study smarter not harder. It is far better to commit to a study schedule and be as focused as you can be during that time period. Let yourself enjoy the evening sometimes rather than trying to study while half watching a football game in the background (guilty of this and get nothing productive done). And lastly, make sure you spend some time doing things outside of medicine. Do not give up everything you enjoy. To learn every last bit of material, you could study 14+ hours a day every day. Some people do it. I personally don't think it's worth it.

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

Have sex

 

[Pasmal]

I just feel like I should be doing something right now to get ahead of the game.

God forbid you were merely in-line with the (highly successful/accomplished) game

Enjoy your summer! Ensure good personal habits as others have mentioned.

 

[Luka75]

Have sex

safe sex***

You don't want anything ruining the rest of your promising life.

 

[TheFutureFatMan]

What does this mean using OneNote to 'organize ppts by exam'? Like you use it to take notes on your powerpoints right?

a lot of students will import powerpoint presentations into a one note page, then use a stylus to write notes on that page, or type in text boxes.
This works well, I would be sure that your text is not in-between slides as you can lose information when you print.