First two years of med school: what should I focus on?

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yaoming

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Hi,

I will be a first year student in medical school. Can you please name some things I should focus my brain cells on to get into a good residency specialty? I know grades and boards, but what else? research? community service? leadership? anything else?

which subjects should i focus on to do well during clinical rotations? i heard pathology and pharmacology. ?? anything else? which topic does the boards emphasize most?

thank u for ur input. it would be most appreciated.

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You should focus on CALMING DOWN! Sorry to be rude, but you're just a little too intense. Seriously though, at least for the first year, you should focus on your grades and finding the time to relax and enjoy yourself.

BTW, this particular forum is for residency issues. Perhaps you'd have better luck if you posted in the med student forum.
 
ok.

i figured since you guys got into residency, you must know what are good things to do in medical school. however, those who are still medical students havent been successful in obtaining residency so they might not know the correct answers.

i know i am intense. i dont think you can calm me down. i hope someone can help me focus on what to be intense on to obtain a good residency.

thank you.
 
Originally posted by yaoming
ok.

i figured since you guys got into residency, you must know what are good things to do in medical school. however, those who are still medical students havent been successful in obtaining residency so they might not know the correct answers.

i know i am intense. i dont think you can calm me down. i hope someone can help me focus on what to be intense on to obtain a good residency.

thank you.

All joking aside, focusing on relaxing and enjoying med school would probably be good advice for you. Med school is not a good place to burn out, it's an endurance run, not a sprint. If you want good advice, read "Iserson's getting into residency" or "First aid for the match".
 
I would visualize where you want to be in 10-15 years and then work backwards. This may sound silly and intuitive but I think it worked in my case. It allows you to define what is and is not important in your life.
For the first two years most of it however is important due to your exams.
I agree that just trying to enjoy what you are learning is (should be) a priority.
 
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