Current med students, what are some must-have items for med school?

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This might be blasphemous. But I drink nescafe instant some times. I enjoy cold coffee, so rather then brew, and chill, or brew overnight. I will make it in some cold water, pour some ice, and instant cold coffee.

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This might be blasphemous. But I drink nescafe instant some times. I enjoy cold coffee, so rather then brew, and chill, or brew overnight. I will make it in some cold water, pour some ice, and instant cold coffee.
That's ok but only if you do this with it.
 
  • Noise canceling headphones -- turns anywhere into a study location
  • Costco / BJs / Sams Club membership (split the cost with a classmate) -- you will save loads on food and they have a killer return policy for electronics
  • Set money away as your emergency fund, you will have unexpected expenses from time to time
 
Could we get some feed back on Anki?


I'm personally skeptical that it's the end all be all, as while many people swear by it, many of my friends are also doing well without it-- chalk it up to finding your own strategy that works best I guess?
Anki is my saving grace. I genuinely believe that if I had used it in college my I would've gotten a 4.0 GPA in all of my biology classes with about 5x less work. Whatever formula they used to write that program works. It's not like college where you can store everything in your short-term memory; there's way too much information. But I'll find myself somehow pulling things out of my subconscious on the test and getting the correct answer. I never used flashcards in college but I swear by Anki now. Image Occlusion is extremely helpful for anatomy as well. All that being said, everybody has their own method of learning things and it's important to do what works for you.
 
Bros deck is good for sure. I have friends that use it and love it. I just wanted to highlight that in Firecracker, the notecard gives you the answer. If you feel like you want to review the topic, you can click "more info" and it gives you a paragraph that is enough for you to understand why. Then, you can click to get even more info, which brings you to a page full of info on that and related topics to show you how it all works together.

I've got classmates who use bros and are top of the class. It is defnitely good, but yes there are differences in the amount of info you get. Anki will help you memorize facts you learn in class. Firecracker can help you learn it if you didn't already.

I feel like a salesman.
Bros deck on anki and firecracker have more or less the same info though, for those tight on cash. Don't ask me how I know this lol

@libertyyne Check with your school first; some schools like Wayne give Uworld "free" (at least they used to, no idea if they have stopped) and some at least give huge student discount codes.
 
Bros deck is good for sure. I have friends that use it and love it. I just wanted to highlight that in Firecracker, the notecard gives you the answer. If you feel like you want to review the topic, you can click "more info" and it gives you a paragraph that is enough for you to understand why. Then, you can click to get even more info, which brings you to a page full of info on that and related topics to show you how it all works together.

I've got classmates who use bros and are top of the class. It is defnitely good, but yes there are differences in the amount of info you get. Anki will help you memorize facts you learn in class. Firecracker can help you learn it if you didn't already.

I feel like a salesman.

Don't worry Shaq. We still love you
 
Bros deck is good for sure. I have friends that use it and love it. I just wanted to highlight that in Firecracker, the notecard gives you the answer. If you feel like you want to review the topic, you can click "more info" and it gives you a paragraph that is enough for you to understand why. Then, you can click to get even more info, which brings you to a page full of info on that and related topics to show you how it all works together.

I've got classmates who use bros and are top of the class. It is defnitely good, but yes there are differences in the amount of info you get. Anki will help you memorize facts you learn in class. Firecracker can help you learn it if you didn't already.

I feel like a salesman.
giphy.gif
 
Bros deck is good for sure. I have friends that use it and love it. I just wanted to highlight that in Firecracker, the notecard gives you the answer. If you feel like you want to review the topic, you can click "more info" and it gives you a paragraph that is enough for you to understand why. Then, you can click to get even more info, which brings you to a page full of info on that and related topics to show you how it all works together.

I've got classmates who use bros and are top of the class. It is defnitely good, but yes there are differences in the amount of info you get. Anki will help you memorize facts you learn in class. Firecracker can help you learn it if you didn't already.

I feel like a salesman.
This is true, and I like how FC tells you where the question is from as well. Like First Aid 2016 page this, Pathoma chapter that. Pretty cool.
 
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Bros deck on anki and firecracker have more or less the same info though, for those tight on cash. Don't ask me how I know this lol

@libertyyne Check with your school first; some schools like Wayne give Uworld "free" (at least they used to, no idea if they have stopped) and some at least give huge student discount codes.
I was curious about if schools will increase COA if we needed other materials. Or will i have to budget out of the COA money for books to buy this stuff. It seems like if the school doesnt give you the material you will have to budget out of the COA that you get to buy this stuff.
 
I was curious about if schools will increase COA if we needed other materials. Or will i have to budget out of the COA money for books to buy this stuff. It seems like if the school doesnt give you the material you will have to budget out of the COA that you get to buy this stuff.

It could be different from each school, I don't really know but with my school - you'll have to budget things yourself after the loans are distributed. It's really not that bad. After almost 2 years of school, I've always had a nice amount of loan money left over and the only classmates that get somewhat close to running out of loan money are the ones with families that have 3+ kids.

If you're concerned about the cost of things like Uworld or firecracker, you can always pick one student out of your class to email the company as ask if they offer class discounts. Uworld did it for my class, I think Sketchymicro offered us a discount, Boards and Beyond offered my class a discount.
 
Good headphones for music, a redundant amount of junk earbuds for the backpack etc.

Someone mentioned Spotify earlier, but I'd really recommend Google Play subscription for music. Stream quality is better (if you're an audio snob like I am), and it comes with free YouTube Red. No ads is wonderful and it works on all signed in platforms.


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Non academically, I would say come with a fresh mind. If you have time before you start, please do something you love- travel, volunteer, whatever makes you happy. Your mind needs to be in good shape to handle the stress b/c burnout is real and you will have plenty of days where you will need to rely on your coping mechanisms to get by and you need to make sure you have healthy outlets while you are in school as well.
 
Lol @ all you coffee drinkers. Was told I'd break my habit of drinking tea and switch to coffee, still don't touch the stuff. Teavana is where it's at.


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All this coffee talk reminded me of this video

I recently stopped drinking coffee for the most part because it makes me feel like absolute crap 95% of the time I drink it. I miss it. I've switched over to tea, which works pretty well for me since I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. I'm becoming a matcha and chai addict.
 
All this coffee talk reminded me of this video

I recently stopped drinking coffee for the most part because it makes me feel like absolute crap 95% of the time I drink it. I miss it. I've switched over to tea, which works pretty well for me since I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. I'm becoming a matcha and chai addict.

If I need some caffeine, I'll grab some tea too. Can't stand coffee, and I've seen what the withdrawal does to people. No thanks.
 
SketchyMicro and SketchyPharm.

Brilliant stuff.
 
All this coffee talk reminded me of this video

I recently stopped drinking coffee for the most part because it makes me feel like absolute crap 95% of the time I drink it. I miss it. I've switched over to tea, which works pretty well for me since I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. I'm becoming a matcha and chai addict.
I like the video. I'm a combo of three of those (addict, healthnut [sort of], and "coffee" drinker.)

I usually get the skinny venti no whip caramel macchiato, 5 splenda.
or a soy chai latte, hot. And yes, I have the SB app on my phone.
 
Anybody try the new Trader Joes Cold Brew? I currently have 3 jugs of it sitting in my fridge, it's that good (if you like cold brew.)
 
I like the video. I'm a combo of three of those (addict, healthnut [sort of], and "coffee" drinker.)

I usually get the skinny venti no whip caramel macchiato, 5 splenda.
or a soy chai latte, hot. And yes, I have the SB app on my phone.
I mean if you don't have the app, you're not doing it right. Gotta get those stars!

Most mornings I do instant black coffee right when I get to work, tho sometimes I'll get black drip coffee from SB, DD or McD. For my afternoon coffee tho, cortado from the local coffee place. Smooth espresso goodness mmmm
 
I mean if you don't have the app, you're not doing it right. Gotta get those stars!

Most mornings I do instant black coffee right when I get to work, tho sometimes I'll get black drip coffee from SB, DD or McD. For my afternoon coffee tho, cortado from the local coffee place. Smooth espresso goodness mmmm
Step 1: Brew a pot
Step 2: Pour in thermos
Step 3: Coffee all day
 
Step 1: Brew a pot
Step 2: Pour in thermos
Step 3: Coffee all day
But that means I have to wake up earlier to make coffee :arghh::arghh::arghh: I might consider buying a timed coffee maker when I move, though I think the GF might get pisssed if I buy one more coffee-related apparatus 🙄
 
But that means I have to wake up earlier to make coffee :arghh::arghh::arghh: I might consider buying a timed coffee maker when I move, though I think the GF might get pisssed if I buy one more coffee-related apparatus 🙄
You're your own man! Do what you want
 
But that means I have to wake up earlier to make coffee :arghh::arghh::arghh: I might consider buying a timed coffee maker when I move, though I think the GF might get pisssed if I buy one more coffee-related apparatus 🙄
I bought mine with a timer from Goodwill for maybe 5 bucks. Only downside is that it gains a minute every 5 days or so so I have to correct it about once a month.
 
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