Done with 1st year. Need advice for 2nd year

[Gpan]

So I just finished one hell of a final block exam week to conclude my 1st year of med school. That was fun and interesting. Going into 2nd year, what should I expect? What should I do? What should I NOT do? When to do things? and how and where to do those things? Real advice appreciated

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[cyclohexanol]

Going into 2nd year, what should I expect?

More of the same.

What should I do?

Study hard, do well in your courses.

What should I NOT do?

Don't expect that 2nd year will be much different. When you start to burn out (which will happen), don't freak out, it will pass eventually.

When to do things?

Step 1 sometime between May - July, whenever you can schedule a ~4 week block of free time to study. Start doing some practice questions using USMLEWorld starting about 4 months out from your test date. Even if you only do 5-10 questions a day, practice is practice.

and how and where to do those things?

Follow the directions on the NBOME (for COMLEX) and NBME (for USMLE) websites. You won't be able to schedule for COMLEX until December-ish, when your school verifies that you are indeed a student there.

Real advice appreciated

You're welcome.

 

[rddoms]

At least I'm not the only one. I wish finals were over with, though.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Take the summer off and relax....do not do ANYTHING related to medical school/medicine....listen to this advice b/c I didn't

 

[Lastmanstanding]

Take the summer off and relax....do not do ANYTHING related to medical school/medicine....listen to this advice b/c I didn't

I'm just an OMS-1 who is still 5 exams shy of completing year one but I can't entirely agree with that statement. The professor I respect most at my school advised me to study...and he is literally head and shoulders above 90% of the doctors (MD, DO, sub-specialist, etc) out there.

I heard him name his old anatomy professor (who now teaches us) the 20 muscles attached to the scapula off the top of his head without forewarning... he can literally "spot" a tender point from across the room.

He told me the difference between mediocre physicians and great physicians is an intimate knowledge of anatomy. Hence, thats what I'll mostly be studying this summer.

But really I think it depends on the amount of stamina you possess and the passion you have for what you are studying. If this is just a career to you then yeah you should probably take the summer off...if learning medicine isn't a burden for you (which would probably put you in the minority) then continuing to learn isn't that big of a deal.

I'm not gonna do "gunner gone wild this summer" either. I'm just going to learn more about the topics that really interested me this year and fill in the gaps in my knowledge base.

 

[MDpride]

Take the summer off and relax....do not do ANYTHING related to medical school/medicine....listen to this advice b/c I didn't

I think OP is asking advice on what to do in SECOND YEAR.

I don't think he is asking what to do in BREAK between first and second year.

 

[JStub]

Do the same thing as 1st year... Study hard and remember this is last year of the classroom when you start burning out