How to stand out as a med student?

[imtheman25]

I was recently accepted into med school, and will be starting next year. I was just curious what are some attributes that would make me an exceptional med student, and not just some run of the mill M.D graduate?

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[sliceofbread136]

275+ step 1, 7+ first author papers, LOR from Jesus, starting a multi-million dollar medical non-profit, donating millions to the residency program of your choice

 

[BluMist]

that's a good starting list; here are some additional ideas in your spare time...
3. cure cancer
2. top 20 all-time # of posts on SDN http://forums.studentdoctor.net/members/
... and for #1 on the list ...
*drumroll*


cure neuroticism

275+ step 1, 7+ first author papers, LOR from Jesus, starting a multi-million dollar medical non-profit, donating millions to the residency program of your choice

 

[AlfonsTheGuru]

#1 SDNer with most posts get to work

 

[El-Rami]

Sleep with the dean's daughter. It'll make you stand out, at least.

 

[HelpMe212]

Sleep with the dean's daughter. It'll make you stand out, at least.

I think he meant options that will keep him alive

 

[getdown]

I'm not sure what you mean by run-of-the-mill MD grad or if you mean to be an exceptional student during pre-clinical, clinical or getting ready as an intern.

But I can tell you one thing. Being a go getter and being able to anticipate what needs to be done and doing it is a trait severely lacking in current medical students.

 

[Cotterpin]

But I can tell you one thing. Being a go getter and being able to anticipate what needs to be done and doing it is a trait severely lacking in current medical students.

Thank you for that. I'll definitely work on developing that trait.

 

[mvenus929]

Develop a love of reading the literature. Try to learn something about every single patient you see, even if you've seen the condition in the past. Try to get something out of each rotation you are on, even if it is something you don't want to make a career of. My first medical students as an intern wanted to go into Peds (my specialty) and Psych. They both performed very well and took ownership of their patients, which is all that we really ask of our med students. I've had subsequent students who wanted to do surgery or IM, and their lack of interest in the subject makes me not want to teach them.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Develop a love of reading the literature. Try to learn something about every single patient you see, even if you've seen the condition in the past. Try to get something out of each rotation you are on, even if it is something you don't want to make a career of. My first medical students as an intern wanted to go into Peds (my specialty) and Psych. They both performed very well and took ownership of their patients, which is all that we really ask of our med students. I've had subsequent students who wanted to do surgery or IM, and their lack of interest in the subject makes me not want to teach them.

This is some good advice. It can be very tough sometimes (4th night in a row with 3-4 hours of sleep) but each patient should be seen as a learning opportunity and be thoroughly researched. This is something I myself need to work on (I get lazy!)

 

[GiveMeThatMD]

I think he meant options that will keep him alive

Sleep with the dean's daughter. It'll make you stand out, at least.

Fine, sleep with the Dean's daughter...
and enjoy it.

 

[lmn]

Biggest thing you can do to prepare is prepare yourself for the likely chance that not only will you most likely not be a top student in your class, but that you can easily be in the bottom half of the class. Med school isn't like undergrad, you can't just study a bit and be top of your class with relative ease. Everyone here was top of their classes, people are going to be smarter than you in many different ways, people are going to have more background experience than you, just being able to be an average med student is a good thing - it means you are making it through med school.

Focus on changing your ego from "imtheman" to something more realistic, you may have been an allstar in college, but that is quite likely to change. When you get to school, just focus on adjusting to med school and succeeding in classes, if you are able to get all of that down fine, then start looking at ways to applying yourself to other things.

 

[imtheman25]

Develop a love of reading the literature. Try to learn something about every single patient you see, even if you've seen the condition in the past. Try to get something out of each rotation you are on, even if it is something you don't want to make a career of. My first medical students as an intern wanted to go into Peds (my specialty) and Psych. They both performed very well and took ownership of their patients, which is all that we really ask of our med students. I've had subsequent students who wanted to do surgery or IM, and their lack of interest in the subject makes me not want to teach them.[/QUOTE
Exactly what I am looking for. Thank you!

 

[imtheman25]

Develop a love of reading the literature. Try to learn something about every single patient you see, even if you've seen the condition in the past. Try to get something out of each rotation you are on, even if it is something you don't want to make a career of. My first medical students as an intern wanted to go into Peds (my specialty) and Psych. They both performed very well and took ownership of their patients, which is all that we really ask of our med students. I've had subsequent students who wanted to do surgery or IM, and their lack of interest in the subject makes me not want to teach them.

exactly what I am looking for thank you!

 

[imtheman25]

Biggest thing you can do to prepare is prepare yourself for the likely chance that not only will you most likely not be a top student in your class, but that you can easily be in the bottom half of the class. Med school isn't like undergrad, you can't just study a bit and be top of your class with relative ease. Everyone here was top of their classes, people are going to be smarter than you in many different ways, people are going to have more background experience than you, just being able to be an average med student is a good thing - it means you are making it through med school.

Focus on changing your ego from "imtheman" to something more realistic, you may have been an allstar in college, but that is quite likely to change. When you get to school, just focus on adjusting to med school and succeeding in classes, if you are able to get all of that down fine, then start looking at ways to applying yourself to other things.

Thank you. I am definitely scared of that change of being "an average med student." I have always tried to stand out in high school and college and make the most of my opportunities

 

[lmn]

Thank you. I am definitely scared of that change of being "an average med student." I have always tried to stand out in high school and college and make the most of my opportunities

Don't worry, everyone makes that transition, if you go to a true P/F school I think it's even easier. As long as you are passing your classes safely then you should be proud and happy, everyone has different types of schedules, outside commitments, and goals, some people are just naturally good test takers (or know a lot of material from previous experiences) and others will just study ALL the time. Personally I want to spend some of my team being a normal person, spending time with my friends and SO, doing fun things in my area, working on different groups, doing research, etc. I'm ok not being the top student on every test as a trade-off. Personally I would suggest spending more time shadowing (especially in M1 year when you have more time), see what different things you want to do, imo that's more important than trying to get a perfect score on anatomy or biochem. Then do whatever you need to stay sane and keep up the with the fast pace of med school.

Most med students are still somewhat competitive about grades, but I don't think most people in my class would be super impressed if someone got super high scores on every test. You don't really have to do things for show in med school like you did in undergrad, so spend the time you have free from studying doing something you are passionate about and enjoy, don't worry about trying to beef up your app like what was required for med school.

 

[Mad Jack]

#1 SDNer with most posts get to work

No one can beat @J DUB

 

[Mad Jack]

Go to a top school. Destroy the boards. Publish all of the papers. AOA. Honor everything. Be likable so that people can stand being around you and want to write you letters. Don't be a douche. Do some actual, meaningful ECs that aren't BS.

That's pretty much it.

 

[J ROD]

No one can beat @J DUB

jdh will soon enough. He is worthy until I go on another posting rampage.

 

[Portablemed]

be normal

 

[Catalystik]

AOA.

See if the med school you'll attend has a chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (Medical Honor Society). Check on the qualifications as they vary somewhat from school to school, and start a new check list so you'll meet them by the end of third year.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

See if the med school you'll attend has a chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha (Medical Honor Society). Check on the qualifications as they vary somewhat from school to school, and start a new check list so you'll meet them by the end of third year.

Are there substantial benefits to this?

 

[BluMist]

mostly for match into competitive residencies

Are there substantial benefits to this?

 

[Catalystik]

Are there substantial benefits to this?

For impact in general, see item 18 on page 3: http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/PD-Survey-Report-2014.pdf

You can also look at ranked factors of importance by specific specialty on other pages.

 

[JustaDO]

Posting in the medical student forum is a good start.

 

[Glandzburg]

Posting in the medical student forum is a good start.

OP is not yet a medical student. The medical student forum is meant for medical students only. It would've gotten moved to pre-allo anyways.

There are plenty of medical students browsing pre-allo to answer these types of questions.

 

[JustaDO]

And yet, we have pre-meds in the Emergency Medicine forum, high schoolers in pre-medical, etc.