Good Things to Do While Waiting for Medical School to Start

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dorian baltar

dorian baltar

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Mostly self-explanatory.

I'm specifically interested in things that will help in medical school, since I can come up with plenty of leisure things I want to do while I can.
Are there any medical students that wish they had done a little extra preparation?
Are there any apps, books, software, etc. that would be good to use to get ready (I'm thinking this would be best for anatomy).
Fun recommendations are welcome too!
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No no no no no.

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I've been trying to be more mindful of this year with the amount of free time that I have. Simply relaxing, and spending time with my family/friends/significant other. Other things you can do is play some games, go to the gym, play some sports, learn an instrument, Netflix.

In terms of actually "preparing" for medical school, I've been told to NOT pre-study. It's just not an efficient use of your time right now. What you might learn in 1 month could be possibly be learned in <1 week in medical school. HAVE FUN! This will probably be the most amount of free time that you will have for the rest of your life (maybe until retirement). Let that thought soak in for a moment...and enjoy it. Congrats on your acceptance!
 
learn how to cook healthy, cheap, delicious food
build a foundation of physical fitness
spend time with friends and family. tie up loose ends in relationships.
volunteer, doing something that you enjoy, anywhere
travel, make music, make art.
figure out what you need to stay happy and healthy, and start reinforcing it
 
karayaa said:
learn how to cook healthy, cheap, delicious food
build a foundation of physical fitness
spend time with friends and family. tie up loose ends in relationships.
volunteer, doing something that you enjoy, anywhere
travel, make music, make art.
figure out what you need to stay happy and healthy, and start reinforcing it
Click to expand...

this and no studying.
 
malick1 said:
GET A JOB !!! , Part time if still in school, full time if on gap year, and save save and save $$
Click to expand...
I've been working at a full-time job since Fall 2013. Rather than save money, we're paying off debt. I will officially own my car this month!

mcloaf said:
No no no no no.
Click to expand...
Definitely expected that 🙂

allenlchs said:
Travel 🙂
Click to expand...
Other than travel for work and other interviews, that's out of the question unfortunately.

Heplayer92 said:
I've been trying to be more mindful of this year with the amount of free time that I have. Simply relaxing, and spending time with my family/friends/significant other. Other things you can do is play some games, go to the gym, play some sports, learn an instrument, Netflix.

In terms of actually "preparing" for medical school, I've been told to NOT pre-study. It's just not an efficient use of your time right now. What you might learn in 1 month could be possibly be learned in <1 week in medical school. HAVE FUN! This will probably be the most amount of free time that you will have for the rest of your life (maybe until retirement). Let that thought soak in for a moment...and enjoy it. Congrats on your acceptance!
Click to expand...
Full-time job right now, so definitely not the most free time I've ever had. Fortunately I have a "go home and forget it" kind of job, so it's better than next year will be. l'll definitely enjoy it!

karayaa said:
learn how to cook healthy, cheap, delicious food
build a foundation of physical fitness
spend time with friends and family. tie up loose ends in relationships.
volunteer, doing something that you enjoy, anywhere
travel, make music, make art.
figure out what you need to stay happy and healthy, and start reinforcing it
Click to expand...
My wife and I are doing the first three and the last.
Job is ruining the others 🙁
 
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Hey, FWIW, I was wondering the same thing. I'm married, working, etc. but now that my interview season is over (I think) I'm looking for something to keep my brain occupied until next year. I saw a gunner elsewhere talking about starting to study for Step 1 and I was wondering how one even goes about doing that.

Yes, I'm a nerd.
 
karayaa said:
avoid all kinds of students. - There goes my after-work income 😛
spend time with very old people and very young people. - Parents and daughter? Ugh, I wish I could set up volunteering. My job and it's unpredictable schedule (money) and scheduling volunteering have been at odds since I started working.
create a budget and investment goals. - Budget check. Investment goals? Pretty sure I won't have money to spare until after residency
teach yourself how to maintain a car, a house. - Will probably be living in an apartment. Car- check (thanks Dad ;-) )
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BillrothI said:
If you have Netflix, I recommend checking out Breaking Bad, Black Mirror, and/or House of Cards.

-Bill
Click to expand...

Amazon Prime has free movies you can watch. Plus, students get Prime for half off. 2 day shipping is a necessity for school books, etc. Who wants to wait a week for regular shipping
 
asyouwish said:
Hey, FWIW, I was wondering the same thing. I'm married, working, etc. but now that my interview season is over (I think) I'm looking for something to keep my brain occupied until next year. I saw a gunner elsewhere talking about starting to study for Step 1 and I was wondering how one even goes about doing that.

Yes, I'm a nerd.
Click to expand...
Until posting, this is basically what I was thinking about. It's weird to not be studying.

So, I get that the consensus is to not pre-study.
Like I said, I already know what I want to do during the leisure time I have (pretty much do anything with wife and baby, exercise, and play some video games).
I guess what I'm looking for is something I can do while I sit at my desk.
I work out of town a little more 50% of the time. The rest of the days I have about an hour of work to do. There's zero chance of me making extra money by seeking out more work.
So, reading about certain issues or subjects would be a great use of time.
I'm learning Spanish online right now. That's going fairly well.
Any more things along those lines?
 
Last edited:
BillrothI said:
If you have Netflix, I recommend checking out Breaking Bad, Black Mirror, and/or House of Cards.

-Bill
Click to expand...
I watched the first and third earlier this year. We moved to a cheaper place and don't have internet now, so I'll have to wait for the other. Thanks for the recommendations!
 
Lysinee said:
Amazon Prime has free movies you can watch. Plus, students get Prime for half off. 2 day shipping is a necessity for school books, etc. Who wants to wait a week for regular shipping
Click to expand...
I'll definitely get that when school starts. Great point!
 
asyouwish said:
Hey, FWIW, I was wondering the same thing. I'm married, working, etc. but now that my interview season is over (I think) I'm looking for something to keep my brain occupied until next year. I saw a gunner elsewhere talking about starting to study for Step 1 and I was wondering how one even goes about doing that.

Yes, I'm a nerd.
Click to expand...

Don't. Please don't. Such a waste of time. It makes zero sense to review (which is what Step 1 prep books help you do) for a test when you haven't learned the material yet. Either the kid is lying to make himself look cool or he has absolutely nothing better to do with his time than to completely waste it.
 
BillrothI said:
If you have Netflix, I recommend checking out Breaking Bad, Black Mirror, and/or House of Cards.

-Bill
Click to expand...
Please, add Lillyhammer to the list and thanks me later. You are welcome.
 
Haha, don't worry like the OP I'm making good use of my Netflix account. Maybe refreshing my Spanish is a good idea. And I'll add those shows to my queue.
 
I've been reading philosophy and making tons of notes about it--something that I always wished I could do but working 2 jobs+near full time school+EC for the past many years made it impossible until now. Currently working on books by Will Durant and the Meditation

I'm also going to travel after I save some money, learn Spanish for sure. These days if I'm not working in a fine food store, I spend time doing free dog sittings for people or help elderlies in my area to give their dogs free bath.

I don't planning on actually studying for step 1, but I am gonna buy the new First Aid 2015 edition when it comes out in Jan just to read through what's going to be relevant in med school. I also downloaded a 3D anatomy app to explore. Much fun.
 
asyouwish said:
Hey, FWIW, I was wondering the same thing. I'm married, working, etc. but now that my interview season is over (I think) I'm looking for something to keep my brain occupied until next year. I saw a gunner elsewhere talking about starting to study for Step 1 and I was wondering how one even goes about doing that.

Yes, I'm a nerd.
Click to expand...
I started reading BRS Biochemistry, FWIW ...
but that's mainly because I just wanted to learn Biochemistry in the medical context.

I stopped after two days, though, and started reading literature and history. 🙂
 
I told myself that I was going to learn how to cook "fresh, healthy foodstuffs," but two days into my recipe plans I kind of gave up and started trying my hand at cake decorating.... now my fridge is all full of various vats of cream cheese icing and custard fillings. I may not know how to properly grill salmon, but now I can make a mean limoncello cheescake and do those little icing roses. No regrets, no regrets.

Had to donate my old collection of the Sims to avoid the temptation of re-installing them on my computer and squandering all my time away. Seriously debating buying myself Skyrim (probably not a good idea)... and I'm waiting on tenterhooks for the next season of House of Cards (Feb 27th wooooo!).

Wish I could drop everything and travel the globe... but... bills. 🙁
 
My friend (now a resident) studied medical statistics and behavioral sciences in his gap year - he said it helped him a lot. Definitely do not try to "get ahead" by reading Netter's for 6 months straight :stop:
 
I feel you, OP.

As of right now, I feel like I have nothing to do, but I also know that this kind of free time is likely something I won't have for another 30-40 years. Everyone's been telling me to just "travel", which I do plan on hopefully doing a little of. In the meanwhile, I've just been playing piano (something I stopped in college), might finally try writing and recording my folk debut, and I plan to hopefully learn how to cook a lot more and just take things easy.
 
dorian baltar said:
Until posting, this is basically what I was thinking about. It's weird to not be studying.

So, I get that the consensus is to not pre-study.
Like I said, I already know what I want to do during the leisure time I have (pretty much do anything with wife and baby, exercise, and play some video games).
I guess what I'm looking for is something I can do while I sit at my desk.
I work out of town a little more 50% of the time. The rest of the days I have about an hour of work to do. There's zero chance of me making extra money by seeking out more work.
So, reading about certain issues or subjects would be a great use of time.
I'm learning Spanish online right now. That's going fairly well.
Any more things along those lines?
Click to expand...
This is a much more sane, reasonable question than your initial post, OP 🙂
 
dorian baltar said:
Until posting, this is basically what I was thinking about. It's weird to not be studying.
I guess what I'm looking for is something I can do while I sit at my desk.
I work out of town a little more 50% of the time. The rest of the days I have about an hour of work to do. There's zero chance of me making extra money by seeking out more work.
So, reading about certain issues or subjects would be a great use of time.
I'm learning Spanish online right now. That's going fairly well.
Any more things along those lines?
Click to expand...
Online poker?
TED talks?
MOOCs?
podcast lectures? some of the medical schools have "mini med school" talks that they podcast.
Quora is another great way to waste time.
 
hellanutella said:
I told myself that I was going to learn how to cook "fresh, healthy foodstuffs," but two days into my recipe plans I kind of gave up and started trying my hand at cake decorating.... now my fridge is all full of various vats of cream cheese icing and custard fillings. I may not know how to properly grill salmon, but now I can make a mean limoncello cheescake and do those little icing roses. No regrets, no regrets.

Had to donate my old collection of the Sims to avoid the temptation of re-installing them on my computer and squandering all my time away. Seriously debating buying myself Skyrim (probably not a good idea)... and I'm waiting on tenterhooks for the next season of House of Cards (Feb 27th wooooo!).

Wish I could drop everything and travel the globe... but... bills. 🙁
Click to expand...

I want to get destiny. I'm replaying borderlands 2 right now!

shtumpa said:
My friend (now a resident) studied medical statistics and behavioral sciences in his gap year - he said it helped him a lot. Definitely do not try to "get ahead" by reading Netter's for 6 months straight :stop:
Click to expand...

There are lots of courses you can do online. I'm trying to do one right now in addition to working full time and I'm already behind and the stupid course just started! Lol.
 
hellanutella said:
I told myself that I was going to learn how to cook "fresh, healthy foodstuffs," but two days into my recipe plans I kind of gave up and started trying my hand at cake decorating.... now my fridge is all full of various vats of cream cheese icing and custard fillings. I may not know how to properly grill salmon, but now I can make a mean limoncello cheescake and do those little icing roses. No regrets, no regrets.

Had to donate my old collection of the Sims to avoid the temptation of re-installing them on my computer and squandering all my time away. Seriously debating buying myself Skyrim (probably not a good idea)... and I'm waiting on tenterhooks for the next season of House of Cards (Feb 27th wooooo!).

Wish I could drop everything and travel the globe... but... bills. 🙁
Click to expand...

:O I LOVE CHEESECAKE OMG
 
dorian baltar said:
Haha Oblivion and Skyrim are out of the way.
I don't know if I want to brave the ancient Arena and Daggerfall.
Click to expand...

Play Far Cry 4 until you begin school. It's what's currently distracting me from medical school.
 
dorian baltar said:
Haha Oblivion and Skyrim are out of the way.
I don't know if I want to brave the ancient Arena and Daggerfall.
Click to expand...

MORROWIND. I think it is easily the best game in the series, especially if you get game of the year edition and install graphics/scenic mods.
 
Read up on "Active Studying", get a good program to organize notes (I use OneNote and I love it), practice a little how you are going to learn/study the material, and then relax.

Being ready with study strategies is the only thing you should do.... other than avoiding SDN.
 
hellanutella said:
Seriously debating buying myself Skyrim (probably not a good idea)... and I'm waiting on tenterhooks for the next season of House of Cards (Feb 27th wooooo!).

Wish I could drop everything and travel the globe... but... bills. 🙁
Click to expand...
Hella, you have to play Skyrim!!! It'll change your life!!!
skyrim_1173DragonMountains.jpg
 
ProudMD said:
It absolutely baffles me how so many people enjoy Dark Souls...

Whipping oneself repeatedly seems to be a better experience, imo.
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🤣
I haven't played it for that very reason :laugh: I hear it's utterly unforgiving.
But I figured it would be better than studying for Step 1 before med school starts. Or perhaps not :laugh:
 
Cyberdyne 101 said:
🤣
I haven't played it for that very reason :laugh: I hear it's utterly unforgiving.
But I figured it would be better than studying for Step 1 before med school starts. Or perhaps not :laugh:
Click to expand...

Haha...there are soooooooo many better alternatives to Dark Souls.

I did attempt to play the game, but I had to constant grind in order to level up and have sufficient health to survive more than 2 hits from the weakest enemy. Even worse, the game is DESIGNED to be played this way.
 
ProudMD said:
Haha...there are soooooooo many better alternatives to Dark Souls.

I did attempt to play the game, but I had to constant grind in order to level up and have sufficient health to survive more than 2 hits from the weakest enemy. Even worse, the game is DESIGNED to be played this way.
Click to expand...
Yup, some gamers relish that sort of "challenge." I'm not one of them though. Video games are supposed to be fun-lol.
 
If you need something to "occupy your brain", study something you are interested in but won't have time for in med school, such as reading classic novels (lots of books are online at Project Gutenberg and there's another site with audiobook recordings of classic books but I don't remember the name) or learning a language.
 
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