I want to start learning about medicine now! What can I do?

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taaltrek

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I've been out of school for about 9 months now, and ever since I finished my MCATs, I've been kind of missing the tests/studying (crazy, I know). I'll be applying to med schools this summer, but I'd like to start reading/learning now. It sounds to me like medical school is going to be very difficult, and anything I can do to make things easier later on would be great. Are there any good books, even just textbooks, that I can start reading now? Every time I'm shadowing a doctor, I hear all these terms that I don't understand. Besides asking questions and reading about the stuff I hear about at home, what else can I do?
 
just chill until you start med school, you'll thank yourself. And you'll be forced to learn all those silly vocab words, so don't worry about that at all one bit lol
 
There's nothing you should do now until you start med school. If you see an interesting case and want to find more about it, you can certainly find some journals online that can help.
 
Yea I agree, don't overdue it but you can definitely read into some journal articles! Or buy some good books related to medicine (wouldn't recommend textbooks though) at your local bookstore.

Continue shadowing and write down/remember the terms you're unfamiliar with so you can look them up later. Never be afraid to admit your unfamiliar with something and ask the doc you're shadowing.
 
I've been reading books about science or physicians/residents. In particularly, I've recently read "Hot Lights, Cold Steel", "Complications", and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." They're related to science and medicine, but they aren't going to burn you out. Plus, they're really interesting.
 
You are out of school, have taken the MCAT and waiting to apply....
Aside from getting as much experience with real people (because someday they'll be your real patients), you could have some fun doing some do-it-yourself problem based learning (PBL).

Get a decent medical dictionary and an anatomy book (even the anatomy coloring book and a big set of markers). Now go to http://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/clinical-cases and look at some of the frequenctly cited cases. Also make a copy of the lab values for Massachusetts General Hospital (top of the list of most often cited among the list of clinical cases).

Read the cases and look up evey last thing you don't understand. At this point, you are just building vocabulary. Look at the structure of how the case is presented (history of the present illness, past medical history, physical exam, laboratory test results, etc and then look at the way the physicians formulate the differential diagnosis.) Then you can take a look at the expert opinion. One thing to think about after you've digested an entire case, which may take some time, is how you would expain what is going on in lay terms to the patient's family.

Think of this just as a way of building vocabulary of clinical medicine.
 
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Enjoy yourself. Trust me. You have the REST OF YOUR LIFE to learn medicine. But you don't have much time left to do the things you really want to do. I didn't understand this until I started medical school, and now wish I spent more time having fun. Don't blow it, because you won't get your time back.
 
taaltrek said:
I've been out of school for about 9 months now, and ever since I finished my MCATs, I've been kind of missing the tests/studying (crazy, I know). I'll be applying to med schools this summer, but I'd like to start reading/learning now. It sounds to me like medical school is going to be very difficult, and anything I can do to make things easier later on would be great. Are there any good books, even just textbooks, that I can start reading now? Every time I'm shadowing a doctor, I hear all these terms that I don't understand. Besides asking questions and reading about the stuff I hear about at home, what else can I do?
Click to expand...

foreign medical schools start out of high school - Europe.
 
MicroSteph said:
I've been reading books about science or physicians/residents. In particularly, I've recently read "Hot Lights, Cold Steel", "Complications", and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." They're related to science and medicine, but they aren't going to burn you out. Plus, they're really interesting.
Click to expand...

I hated this book so much. It's just journalism, and not terrific journalism, at that. There is very little science, and the whole thing seems wildly biased.
 
Watch a lot of House, Gray's Anatomy, ER, Private Practice, Doogie Howser, Hawthorne, Heartland, Scrubs, Royal Pains, Nip-Tuck. I'm sure I'm missing a ton of others, but that list should keep you busy for a while.
 
red doctober said:
Watch a lot of House, Gray's Anatomy, ER, Private Practice, Doogie Howser, Hawthorne, Heartland, Scrubs, Royal Pains, Nip-Tuck. I'm sure I'm missing a ton of others, but that list should keep you busy for a while.
Click to expand...

Harold & Kumar will make you never see Doogie Howser the same way ever again.
 
LizzyM said:
You are out of school, have taken the MCAT and waiting to apply....
Aside from getting as much experience with real people (because someday they'll be your real patients), you could have some fun doing some do-it-yourself problem based learning (PBL).

Get a decent medical dictionary and an anatomy book (even the anatomy coloring book and a big set of markers). Now go to http://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/clinical-cases and look at some of the frequenctly cited cases. Also make a copy of the lab values for Massachusetts General Hospital (top of the list of most often cited among the list of clinical cases).

Read the cases and look up evey last thing you don't understand. At this point, you are just building vocabulary. Look at the structure of how the case is presented (history of the present illness, past medical history, physical exam, laboratory test results, etc and then look at the way the physicians formulate the differential diagnosis.) Then you can take a look at the expert opinion. One thing to think about after you've digested an entire case, which may take some time, is how you would expain what is going on in lay terms to the patient's family.

Think of this just as a way of building vocabulary of clinical medicine.
Click to expand...

Oh, this is a good idea. I hadn't thought of this before. Perhaps when I get the chance, and I don't feel like studying, this would be a good "productive procrastination" method :laugh:

An idea long these lines - I ran across a blog a long time ago that talked about how she was interested in OB/GYN and started following blogs about women who were having fertility problems. She said that even though she never knew these women and never interacted with them, when she came into contact with women in real life like these women, she was able to understand them a little more and maybe know what to say and what not to say. I think that's a great idea because med school hasn't taught me very well yet on people skills (I guess I was supposed to come in with those...). This is another way to expose yourself to the thoughts of others and help you become more aware of what might be going through a patient's head.
 
LizzyM said:
You are out of school, have taken the MCAT and waiting to apply....
Aside from getting as much experience with real people (because someday they'll be your real patients), you could have some fun doing some do-it-yourself problem based learning (PBL).

Get a decent medical dictionary and an anatomy book (even the anatomy coloring book and a big set of markers). Now go to http://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/clinical-cases and look at some of the frequenctly cited cases. Also make a copy of the lab values for Massachusetts General Hospital (top of the list of most often cited among the list of clinical cases).

Read the cases and look up evey last thing you don't understand. At this point, you are just building vocabulary. Look at the structure of how the case is presented (history of the present illness, past medical history, physical exam, laboratory test results, etc and then look at the way the physicians formulate the differential diagnosis.) Then you can take a look at the expert opinion. One thing to think about after you've digested an entire case, which may take some time, is how you would expain what is going on in lay terms to the patient's family.

Think of this just as a way of building vocabulary of clinical medicine.
Click to expand...

Hey Lizzy, how do you access the full diagnosis from the doctor? It seems like you have to have a subscription and pay for it....
 
Rather than jump into the stuff that you will soon be learning anyways, maybe you should use this free time as a chance to learn and see about medicine in a broader context by learning things they might not teach you down the road. I think every future physician could benefit from some reading into medicine and its history/its place in contemporary society/ethical questions of life&death/philosophy of medicine/economy & healthcare/access to care throughout the world and that sort of thing. All of this will give you a greater perspective into the medical field and may help you step back and see things more holistically when you get swallowed by scientific detail down the road.
 
GomerPyle said:
Hey Lizzy, how do you access the full diagnosis from the doctor? It seems like you have to have a subscription and pay for it....
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry... I have access online through the medical schoo library and I didn't realize that even the old issues of NEJM are not free. A student subscription onlilne comes to about $1/wk but if you aren't a student (gap year(s)) it is a bit more pricey. See if your school or hospital library has a subscription and make a copy of a case.... Done thoroughly, it could take you weeks to get through one case as a pre-med.
 
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