I wish I would have known....

[BGGA]

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Hi Guys,

What things do you wish you would have known/done before you started medical school. I know that this is a very broad question but personally, financially, academically, spiritually...is there anything that you would have done differently knowing what you know now. Thanks for letting me pick your brain.

BGGA

 

[PublicEnemy]

a working in depth knowledge of anatomy, head and neck. is that an acceptable answer?

 

[BGGA]

a working in depth knowledge of anatomy, head and neck. is that an acceptable answer?

I will take anything. Thank God I will be going to medical school next year but I feel like I should be doing something in preparation. The preparations will probably not be rereading my Biochem text but something. I've had suggestions ranging from selling my car which I will not be able to payoff before I start school 🙁 to evaluating my relationship with my boyfriend 🙄 Like I said any serious answer will do. I know hindsight is 20/20 and that probably holds for the hindsight of medical students too.

 

[PublicEnemy]

true that. i'm in a similar position and just knowing what to be ready for is a big help. is there any way you can budget your car payments through loans?

 

[BGGA]

true that. i'm in a similar position and just knowing what to be ready for is a big help. is there any way you can budget your car payments through loans?

I'm not really sure. I've heard that students are able to live 'comfortably' with their loan money, but I not sure how many actually have car payments. And almost all of the schools that I've interviewed at we are told to get rid of our debt before enrolling. I'm working on the credit card but the car is just not doable 🙁

 

[phoenixsupra]

I will take anything. Thank God I will be going to medical school next year but I feel like I should be doing something in preparation. The preparations will probably not be rereading my Biochem text but something. I've had suggestions ranging from selling my car which I will not be able to payoff before I start school 🙁 to evaluating my relationship with my boyfriend 🙄 Like I said any serious answer will do. I know hindsight is 20/20 and that probably holds for the hindsight of medical students too.

Ok here it is. Cliche chiche chiche. Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. And while medschool is fascinating it can be nasty too, so tread cautiously. 😉

Yes, get rid of the car. I had car payments, and debt going in and it was crippling. Even without the debt it's extremely hard. Truth is that most people in school taking financial aid also get help from their parents. If you aren't then you wont find it "comfortable" unless by comfort you mean sheer pain. BTW when I was 17 my first true love broke up with me after entering medschool. I still carry the wound. If you do that I won't be able to resist having some unkind words for you. j/k Good luck. 🙂

 

[CaptainJack02]

Ok here it is. Cliche chiche chiche. Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. And while medschool is fascinating it can be nasty too, so tread cautiously. 😉

Yes, get rid of the car. I had car payments, and debt going in and it was crippling. Even without the debt it's extremely hard. Truth is that most people in school taking financial aid also get help from their parents. If you aren't then you wont find it "comfortable" unless by comfort you mean sheer pain. BTW when I was 17 my first true love broke up with me after entering medschool. I still carry the wound. If you do that I won't be able to resist having some unkind words for you. j/k Good luck. 🙂

um, dude, that's statutory rape. she was 20 something and you were 17...

i can tell you one way of getting back at her

 

[phoenixsupra]

um, dude, that's statutory rape. she was 20 something and you were 17...

i can tell you one way of getting back at her

I'm more interested in healing the hole left in my heart. Got anything for that? 😀

 

[katrinadams9]

I wish I would have known where the majority of the med students here would be living. Our school is in Detroit, so everyone commutes and hardly anyone actually lives in the city. It would have been nice to know for study groups, nights out on the town, etc. I'm actually about 40 min away from everyone, so it's kinda lonely. Next year I'm moving closer to everyone else. At least then I'll be able to go to more of the parties and study in the coffee shops where everyone else hangs out.

I would suggest finding out from student affairs where most of the students at your school live before you pick your residence...

 

[TTSD]

I need sex.

 

[missmod]

how great pass/fail is. how much grading sucks. you already have enough on your hands in med school without having to worry about a 91 versus an 88 and that ONE question you could have gotten right. we're moving onto honors/pass/fail next semester and i'm scared.

 

[babyruth]

I have a car payment and am doing just fine. Although my car payment is just around $120 a month. I live pretty comfortably, meaning I can go out to eat every once and a while, but usually its cheaper to buy groceries. I don't go and spend a lot of money on the weekends (on movies, dinner, or drinks) either. I just do it every once and a great while.

I would have taken the opportunity to study abroad if I could have done anything before I came here; more travel.

 

[cytoborg]

I would have taken a year off to travel and otherwise recover from undergrad. I think I was a bit burned out in medical school - NOT the time or place for burnout! Granted, I'm very glad to be finishing now, while my friends who took extra years here and there are still doin' time, so I guess there's an upside to not delaying things.

Undergrad, medschool, residency, fellowship #1, fellowship #2...you get the point. It's a long road. Take time to pace yourself, but don't take more time than you need! 😉

 

[azzarah]

I wish I had spent more time with my family, ex-BF, and friends.

 

[Chemguync]

That all the guys' GFs would dump them first semester and all the girls' BFs would propose first semester.

 

[Chronotropic]

Wish I knew this wasn't like undergrad where I could ignore the "easy" classes and just study the hard ones.

 

[Long Dong]

That all the guys' GFs would dump them first semester and all the girls' BFs would propose first semester.

Agreed and don't buy text books, review books are the way to go, and if that isn't enough detail in the review books then look it up on emedicine.com, pub med or try this new one http://scholar.google.com/ (google scholar) in pbl you gonna learn how to look up alot of stuff.

 

[jaboy]

I would say don't travel or anything like that. Get a job and really bust your a$$ for 8 months and when you get to medical school you will think it is a piece of cake compared to the real world and you will not complain about how hard it is, bucause it will probably be easier than working 60 hours a week. I thought undergrad was a break! (that sounds like a joke, but I worked a really sucky job for a while after college and I wished everyday that I was back in college)

 

[drdr2010]

i wish i would have known how important it is to remember your "other selves". for awhile there it seemed like medical school was solely defining me and my life. and it made me unhappy.
when i realized this and started being a sister, a girlfriend, a runner, a pianist, a party animal (ok, only 1 day per week...when there aren't upcoming exams) AND a med student, things were so much better and i felt like myself again.

don't forget all the amazing things you are besides a student.

 

[OB1🤙]

That there is no bigger waste of time in the Universe than 1) going to class, and 2) buying and reading textbooks.

 

[ermonty]

That there is no bigger waste of time in the Universe than 1) going to class, and 2) buying and reading textbooks.

1) yep and 2) yep

Study while others are in class = more productive. Use review guides (grids, FirstAid, etc.) with lecture handouts or whatever your school gives you to learn.

 

[trex92499]

Financially be prepared for unexpected expenses and heavy duty expected expenses....paying for step 1 and step 2 will take a chunk out that even though you are expecting it, still hurts

Also have some contigency plans in place because your car will break down during exam week, your power will go out the night before an exam, and other disasters will befall you and unlike before, you have no time to deal with them.

Also realize many people in your class are STILL parentally subsidized...that is why they are driving mercedes, etc and wearing prada. Thats just life.

 

[jaboy]

That there is no bigger waste of time in the Universe than 1) going to class, and 2) buying and reading textbooks.

very true. Sometimes I will read a textbook and then think...what the hell! I still have to go over the crappy syl.