Just Applied said:
Hey everybody,
I am currently applying to medical school and based on my stats I probably will not end up going to one of the top 25 medical schools (I already have an acceptance at Drexel). Well my first question is:
1. How can I make it possible to get into a competitive residency from an average medical school. Its not that I am a gunner, I just want to keep my options open.
2. I know you need to do well on the boards step 1, but I would like to prepare myself way in advance to make sure I really do well. I just recently started studying real hard (Post MCAT) and know that I am determined. For example, while I am taking my medical school classes, is it possible to prepare yourself for the USMLE step 1 in the subject you are currently taking?
3. Would using certain books help me for the boards and the class so I can pretty knock down 2 birds with one stone?
4. Are there any mistakes medical students have made and wish they didn't?
I know I sound naive but any help would be appreciated. I just want to make sure that I have a decent game plan before starting medical school in the fall of this year.
Thanks in advance for the responses.
First of all realize that for many people (not all, unfortunately) medical school is an amazing experience. My experience (Im halfway through my 3rd year) will be different from the next persons, but I generally dig it. I didnt have great stats either, but I got in, and you got in. No one cares that I made a 27 on the MCAT (which I did). My 27 means nothing when I can knock your socks off presenting at morning report. Youll truly amaze yourself when you fall into your niche, the Oh this is what Im
totally going to do for the rest of my life! epiphany. Youll have to be patient (not a common redeeming feature of med students the world over), but youll get there.
Listen to what the other students said. The biggest mistake you can make right now is rushing in headfirst without testing the waters, because I have seen more fellow students crash that way. We say don't study over the summer, because it really, really,
really doesn't help. You will have plenty of time to agonize over books. Enjoy one of the last truly free periods of your life. (Thats not meant to sound cynical, but its definitely something you will understand later.) And your questions are not naïve. They are good and certainly justified.
Now, since we cant very well tell you to twiddle your thumbs when you are obviously asking for something to do
so if you are really aching for something to do, I would suggest (and have suggested to other incoming students) to perhaps pick up a medical pharmacology review textbook and go over the autonomic system. Do NOT go and get a pharmacy school encyclopedic text that will only confuse you and will (worse) be completely unnecessary.
Important illustrative teaching (heh) point:
We don't need to learn bad habits from the get go! (read: trying to learn the information
only from enormous textbooks in the library because they are more "established". Dont be an information snob. Be flexible in your use of resources. Sometimes the big guns are necessary, sometimes they really are not.)
Just get a review book and start to familiarize yourself as to where alpha/beta, etc receptors are located in the body and what they affect. This is good information to know, the information doesn't change and people historically have trouble with it. Most likely you will not even need to know this information at
all right off the bat, but this information will lend more in depth understanding of not only pharmacology but more importantly, physiology.
I find that this is enough to tide most people over for the summer. Lets face it, its hard not to be excited! As for anatomy, histology, biochemistry, etc...you
never know what will be emphasized by your particular lecturers, but the autonomic system always is. Its far too important in the grand scheme of things.
Now, as for being in school...take the first couple of weeks to try out different studying styles, places, times, etc. Its all about finding efficiency and unfortunately, thats different for everyone. For me, it involved making charts of information that I had learned and re-writing explanations (especially for physiology) in my own words.
Unfortunately, a lot of the material in first year is rote memorization. Cognitive psychology has fairly well established that the best way to learn material is to
1. Restate it in your own words and to
2. Practice recall.
For me, reading a textbook is a waste of time. I can glance over words and not remember one of them. But trying to explain a concept to myself is hard, frustrating and the absolute best thing I could do. Better yet, find an equally dedicated fellow student or a group of students. Explain stuff to each other, ask each other questions. Its amazing what your classmates will think of that you might never have dreamt. It will add needed depth to your understanding.
As far as Step I, perhaps you can get First Aid like they said above and start to make notes in it as you go along in your classes. This would certainly be helpful, but even more helpful is not so much as "studying specifically for Step I" as actually taking the time out to review and understand what you have already done.
Another important point: Students are generally
very poor at judging which are the important topics. So I would hesitate to write a bunch of stuff in First Aid, because it might not be relevant or necessary and make studying for the exam (when the time comes) complete hell. Instead I would use First Aid to help recognize those important topics. And along the way, if you happen to make a chart that was particularly useful or you wrote out an explanation for female endocrinology that deserves a Nobel Prize in Clarity and Ease of Understanding, put it in the book!
Its really hard to study for Step I just for the sake of Step I. And you shouldnt get overwhelmed thinking about this test when youll be overwhelmed enough with your classes. Everything is in its own due course (which youll realize more fully with hindsight ahhh, beloved, evil hindsight). So for studying for Step I during the first two years, just try to understand the core of what you are being taught. Easier said than done, but sometimes you really just have to do it to know it.
If you want to knock out two birds with one stone pick up a First Aid at Barnes and Noble (or whatever bookstore you have up there) and flip to the index. It will have book recommendations for every subject you will be likely take in the first two years (path, pharm, phys, behavioral science, etc). Good place to start. Lots of books are good, but no two students are made equal. You need to flip through the books, test them out and see if you really like outline styles versus more textbook-like styles, etc. So, thats really up to you. Like I said, though, its a good place to start.
As far as residency is concerned, pick up Isersons,
Getting Into a Residency (Im pretty sure thats what it is called. The author is correct for certain.) It will help to alleviate some fears and give you more insight into the process. Yes, you must certainly do well in your first two years, but lets face it, the first two years of medical school are just a bunch of numbers.
You are not a number. (DO YOU HEAR THAT PEOPLE?! *the type A crickets*)
Its hard to hear, but Step I is not the end all, be all of existence. I can see the responses now
If you fail, blahblahblah. Well, obviously. But so much emphasis should not be placed on that ONE exam, because it does not definitively make or break your future by percentage points.
(In fact, if you want to place emphasis on one exam, it seems you should place it on Step II. The Americal Journal of Surgery had an article in August, I believe, that found the only statistically significant predictive factor of satisfactory surgical intern performance was Step II score, and the scores werent even that high. (Other factors considered were Step I, gender, GPA, etc.)
However, not doing well in your clerkships third and fourth year can be nigh on devastating. It wont matter if you did well on Step I and Step II. If you cannot communicate with patients effectively, with professionalism, compassion, and play well with others, you will be worthless to any residency program. (Unless they are looking for someone to stick in a box and do research for them.)
A mistake would be to take this all too seriously, drown yourself in books, and assume that if you live in the library, there should be a shower
somewhere. Dont give up your previous interests and hobbies. Theyll make your world go round. Ive never seen a more depressed medical student than one who did nothing but school all the time. It is possible to enjoy yourself, do well, get into an excellent residency and not be a rocket scientist. The key is maintaining interest and curiousity. Nothing kills that quicker than spending eight hours a day in the library.
Its amazing I can condense a progress note to one page.
