If you could go back in time?

[rg2o3]

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Hey all,

I recently read a thread about going back to summer of MS1 and it inspired me to write this post. As an incoming medical student, I would like to know if there is anything you all would have done if you could go back in time? Im asking in regard to medical school and setting yourself up to match in your desired specialty. I am not sure that I will really want to pursue a very competitive specialty, but I would like to start from day 1 as if I were. Just incase down the road I decide to and I am not sidelined. Thanks so much!

 

[Meekor]

Hey all,

I recently read a thread about going back to summer of MS1 and it inspired me to write this post. As an incoming medical student, I would like to know if there is anything you all would have done if you could go back in time? Im asking in regard to medical school and setting yourself up to match in your desired specialty. I am not sure that I will really want to pursue a very competitive specialty, but I would like to start from day 1 as if I were. Just incase down the road I decide to and I am not sidelined. Thanks so much!

Matched surgery, only thing I’d do differently was study for STEP earlier. Still scored well but I wanted a higher score.

 

[rg2o3]

Matched surgery, only thing I’d do differently was study for STEP earlier. Still scored well but I wanted a higher score.

When did you start studying? When would have you started? Did you have any dedicated at your school? ACGME? Sorry for the questions. Have some extra time and want to make sure I do this right.

 

[Meekor]

When did you start studying? When would have you started? Did you have any dedicated at your school? ACGME? Sorry for the questions. Have some extra time and want to make sure I do this right.

Didn’t really start studying until feb of 2nd year. It’s never too early to start revising board relevant concepts as you learn them in first year although you’re focused on passing. We had about 6-8 weeks for level1 step 1.

 

[rg2o3]

Didn’t really start studying until feb of 2nd year. It’s never too early to start revising board relevant concepts as you learn them in first year although you’re focused on passing. We had about 6-8 weeks for level1 step 1.

Ah okay thanks. I recently attending my accepted students day at my school and many of those students also said that they wish they would have began earlier and also began studying "for boards" as opposed to "for the class" from day one.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Ah okay thanks. I recently attending my accepted students day at my school and many of those students also said that they wish they would have began earlier and also began studying "for boards" as opposed to "for the class" from day one.

This really depends on how you do in the classes tho. If you have a class that your on the wrong side of say 77 in, I think its time to make sure you don't join the remediation wagon. Some schools line up really well with board studies and others just don't. And of course it is instructor specific as well.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Honestly, I would like to know which DO schools curric line up well with step? I go to one of those self-proclaimed "teach to the boards" school and, let me tell you, it's not even close to what I've been seeing on uworld/ nbme exams. For reference I'm consistently below average (ie the mark you reference) but did pretty good on my first nbme (for being so far out) and I do about average on uworld.

Conversely, I know students who just study for classes, get straight As, and recently started uworld and are getting slaughtered (ie 40s). I've been studying for boards and just doing enough to pass since mid January.

If you can consistently hit that 'just doing enough to pass' without accidentally dipping below than hats off to you. I just can't suggest that to anyone, all it takes is a badly timed breakup, death in the family, or bad flu and that margin that you never had turns into remediation. Why would I tell anyone to shoot for that? I don't like remediating, and do my best to avoid it. I don't think saying get a 77 is anywhere near advocating for straight A's.

As for your second question, if your school is consistently above average on the boards, and you can find them on here cause their students crow about it, then that is probably a curriculum better suited to early board study. Some schools make claims to focus on the boards, but then consistently have below average pass rates, and board averages. Clearly the boards are not their focus. Keep it simple.

 

[DocWinter]

Do less or no rotations at AOA sites.

I wanted ACGME , but was afriad of not matching. (No USMLE, average combined levels, moderately competitive field).

For surgical specialities , I found precious few AOA programs that had adequate surgical volume.

Matched ACGME, happy, but wasted thousands and months of time

 

[Hippocrates II]

Honestly, I would like to know which DO schools curric line up well with step? I go to one of those self-proclaimed "teach to the boards" school and, let me tell you, it's not even close to what I've been seeing on uworld/ nbme exams. For reference I'm consistently below average (ie the mark you reference) but did pretty good on my first few nbmes (for being so far out) and I do just about average on uworld.

Conversely, I know students who just study for classes, get straight As, and recently started uworld and are getting slaughtered (ie 40s). I've been studying for boards and just doing enough to pass since mid January.

Do you attribute that to the school, or the students? Kind of scary to hear that someone can do so well in class and do that poorly on the assessments. You're at KCU, right? Everyone always espouses the "brutal" and "board-focused" curriculum there, but your comment is a little scary.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Do you attribute that to the school, or the students? Kind of scary to hear that someone can do so well in class and do that poorly on the assessments. You're at KCU, right? Everyone always espouses the "brutal" and "board-focused" curriculum there, but your comment is a little scary.

Those comments from KCU are not surprising -- that's just the standard Dubin-Putthoff show from TCOM in the mid-2000s -- it's "adult learning" (i.e. teach yourself).

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Those comments from KCU are not surprising -- that's just the standard Dubin-Putthoff show from TCOM in the mid-2000s -- it's "adult learning" (i.e. teach yourself).

Well, this is disheartening. What would you suggest for adult learning then?

 

[CajunMedic]

1- Not overloaded myself in undergrad and done better GPA and MCAT wise
2- Realized I needed to shift gears earlier in OMS-1 to different study methods and found a study group earlier
3- Not fallen for the "you're #1" hype from my #1 choice, taken USMLE and applied more broadly, so I would have matched this year

 

[JustPlainBill]

Well, this is disheartening. What would you suggest for adult learning then?

Well ---

1) For whatever system/subset of the system you're studying, make sure you have a good grasp of the big picture. it's way too easy to get stuck down deep in the histopathology or whatever and miss the overall concept. How you do that is up to you. Understand the organization. This is where a pathoma or path review comes in handy -- second year is usually all about path and treatment.

2) repetition is the mother of skill --- there's something about putting pencil/pen to paper and taking your own notes in a way you understand them that locks things in the brain. At TCOM, we were "advised" to read Robbins and "outline". The system/subset stated with a 1 hour overview with PPTs about what was considered salient. I never really picked up on that and suffered greatly. So, learn from my mistakes (although not having a strong clinical background (I.e. former PA) it's hard to say it was a mistake) -- think about medicine logically -- when a patient presents, there are certain ways to develop a ddx -- first is age -- what's most likely to hit what population ages -- things that happen in a 20 year old will be less likely in a 50 year old -- then learn the disease by gender -- 40 y/o F vs 40 y/o M -- then learn race based --- that helps you get your large categories out of the way. Once you get that down, then start with the basics -- etiology, pathophys, histology, common presentation, things that differentiate this disease from others close to it and finally, basics of treatment.

Wash, rinse, repeat

3) Outline -- more like take notes very well -- if you spend the time doing a formal Roman Numeral outline, you're toast. Do not buy others notes as they're not yours and you'll spend more time figuring out the nomenclature, plus you're got a different base you're starting from so what's important to you is not important to them. Write down only that which you don't already know or have a hard time remembering.

4) after about 4 passes of fleshing out the notes, you should have a pretty solid study guide -- then get to remembering that thing and working practice questions before the exam......

Get ready for a long year of wash, rinse, repeat ----

Breaking the disease down from who likely gets it, when do they get it, how does it cause a problem, what are the distinguishing features, what else could it be (mimicry) and how do I fix it tends to be useful.....

Enjoy ---

 

[Tozanzibarbymotorcar]

1- Not overloaded myself in undergrad and done better GPA and MCAT wise
2- Realized I needed to shift gears earlier in OMS-1 to different study methods and found a study group earlier
3- Not fallen for the "you're #1" hype from my #1 choice, taken USMLE and applied more broadly, so I would have matched this year

@CajunMedic what was the #1 hype about?

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Well ---

1) For whatever system/subset of the system you're studying, make sure you have a good grasp of the big picture. it's way too easy to get stuck down deep in the histopathology or whatever and miss the overall concept. How you do that is up to you. Understand the organization. This is where a pathoma or path review comes in handy -- second year is usually all about path and treatment.

2) repetition is the mother of skill --- there's something about putting pencil/pen to paper and taking your own notes in a way you understand them that locks things in the brain. At TCOM, we were "advised" to read Robbins and "outline". The system/subset stated with a 1 hour overview with PPTs about what was considered salient. I never really picked up on that and suffered greatly. So, learn from my mistakes (although not having a strong clinical background (I.e. former PA) it's hard to say it was a mistake) -- think about medicine logically -- when a patient presents, there are certain ways to develop a ddx -- first is age -- what's most likely to hit what population ages -- things that happen in a 20 year old will be less likely in a 50 year old -- then learn the disease by gender -- 40 y/o F vs 40 y/o M -- then learn race based --- that helps you get your large categories out of the way. Once you get that down, then start with the basics -- etiology, pathophys, histology, common presentation, things that differentiate this disease from others close to it and finally, basics of treatment.

Wash, rinse, repeat

3) Outline -- more like take notes very well -- if you spend the time doing a formal Roman Numeral outline, you're toast. Do not buy others notes as they're not yours and you'll spend more time figuring out the nomenclature, plus you're got a different base you're starting from so what's important to you is not important to them. Write down only that which you don't already know or have a hard time remembering.

4) after about 4 passes of fleshing out the notes, you should have a pretty solid study guide -- then get to remembering that thing and working practice questions before the exam......

Get ready for a long year of wash, rinse, repeat ----

Breaking the disease down from who likely gets it, when do they get it, how does it cause a problem, what are the distinguishing features, what else could it be (mimicry) and how do I fix it tends to be useful.....

Enjoy ---

Thank you! I will try my best.

 

[rg2o3]

1- Not overloaded myself in undergrad and done better GPA and MCAT wise
2- Realized I needed to shift gears earlier in OMS-1 to different study methods and found a study group earlier
3- Not fallen for the "you're #1" hype from my #1 choice, taken USMLE and applied more broadly, so I would have matched this year

Im sorry to hear. What is your plan?

 

[Meekor]

@CajunMedic what was the #1 hype about?

Basically if your #1 program says they want you and will rank you, don’t listen to it. Always rank enough programs and go to enough interviews to match a specialty. This also applies if you get multiple correspondences from programs saying they’re ranking you highly or are “excited to see you there next year”.

Always rank based on how you feel, and believe it does all work out in the end if you went through the ERAS season intelligently and interviewed well.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Basically if your #1 program says they want you and will rank you, don’t listen to it. Always rank enough programs and go to enough interviews to match a specialty. This also applies if you get multiple correspondences from programs saying they’re ranking you highly or are “excited to see you there next year”.

Always rank based on how you feel, and believe it does all work out in the end if you went through the ERAS season intelligently and interviewed well.

And for the love of St. Barnabas --- do a rotation month at your top 3 picks -- anyone can hide faults for the 2 days of interview -- you never really learn about a place until your rotate there -- that's when you find out where most of the bodies are buried and get to talk to the people who are pissed that they keep away from you during interviews.....

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Well ---

1) For whatever system/subset of the system you're studying, make sure you have a good grasp of the big picture. it's way too easy to get stuck down deep in the histopathology or whatever and miss the overall concept. How you do that is up to you. Understand the organization. This is where a pathoma or path review comes in handy -- second year is usually all about path and treatment.

2) repetition is the mother of skill --- there's something about putting pencil/pen to paper and taking your own notes in a way you understand them that locks things in the brain. At TCOM, we were "advised" to read Robbins and "outline". The system/subset stated with a 1 hour overview with PPTs about what was considered salient. I never really picked up on that and suffered greatly. So, learn from my mistakes (although not having a strong clinical background (I.e. former PA) it's hard to say it was a mistake) -- think about medicine logically -- when a patient presents, there are certain ways to develop a ddx -- first is age -- what's most likely to hit what population ages -- things that happen in a 20 year old will be less likely in a 50 year old -- then learn the disease by gender -- 40 y/o F vs 40 y/o M -- then learn race based --- that helps you get your large categories out of the way. Once you get that down, then start with the basics -- etiology, pathophys, histology, common presentation, things that differentiate this disease from others close to it and finally, basics of treatment.

Wash, rinse, repeat

3) Outline -- more like take notes very well -- if you spend the time doing a formal Roman Numeral outline, you're toast. Do not buy others notes as they're not yours and you'll spend more time figuring out the nomenclature, plus you're got a different base you're starting from so what's important to you is not important to them. Write down only that which you don't already know or have a hard time remembering.

4) after about 4 passes of fleshing out the notes, you should have a pretty solid study guide -- then get to remembering that thing and working practice questions before the exam......

Get ready for a long year of wash, rinse, repeat ----

Breaking the disease down from who likely gets it, when do they get it, how does it cause a problem, what are the distinguishing features, what else could it be (mimicry) and how do I fix it tends to be useful.....

Enjoy ---

Do you think using baby robbins with pathoma, FA, Sketchy would be analogous to only big Robbins?

 

[JustPlainBill]

Do you think using baby robbins with pathoma, FA, Sketchy would be analogous to only big Robbins?

There is no substitute for big Robbins -- people have tried to skate all the time -- with Putthoff -- read ALL (even the freakin' figure captions and asterisks in those things) of Robbins....trust me on this one.....

 

[You shall know the Truth]

There is no substitute for big Robbins -- people have tried to skate all the time -- with Putthoff -- read ALL (even the freakin' figure captions and asterisks in those things) of Robbins....trust me on this one.....

Good to know, thank you.

 

[CajunMedic]

Im sorry to hear. What is your plan?

Thanks. I was applying to EM this year. I decided after not matching AOA, to take a TRI at my #1program that would either help me match there next cycle, or set me up for next year's match. I only had 2 ranked in the ACGME (and only 3 AOA) and my TRI wasn't holding any spots for people in ACGME. I've doubled the programs I'm applying to and looking for more. My PD is pretty sympathetic and will work with me for interview time off. Topping it all off, I'm taking Step 1. I'm done with rotations and off until my TRI starts at the end of June. I'm finishing USMLERx now, fixing to start my first pass of UWorld.

what was the #1 hype about?

@Meekor hit the nail on the head. I had been told for 2 years that I was one of their top picks, rotated there, got a great SLOE. I let that dictate how I planned boards and 4th year. Not matching came as a complete shock to everyone at my school.

 

[rg2o3]

Thanks. I was applying to EM this year. I decided after not matching AOA, to take a TRI at my #1program that would either help me match there next cycle, or set me up for next year's match. I only had 2 ranked in the ACGME (and only 3 AOA) and my TRI wasn't holding any spots for people in ACGME. I've doubled the programs I'm applying to and looking for more. My PD is pretty sympathetic and will work with me for interview time off. Topping it all off, I'm taking Step 1. I'm done with rotations and off until my TRI starts at the end of June. I'm finishing USMLERx now, fixing to start my first pass of UWorld.



@Meekor hit the nail on the head. I had been told for 2 years that I was one of their top picks, rotated there, got a great SLOE. I let that dictate how I planned boards and 4th year. Not matching came as a complete shock to everyone at my school.

I wish the best of luck to you! I'm assuming if you could go back, you would have ranked a lot more programs? I am extremely risk averse and think that when the time comes, I will probably be on the opposite end of the spectrum and rank far too many, haha.

 

[Meekor]

I wish the best of luck to you! I'm assuming if you could go back, you would have ranked a lot more programs? I am extremely risk averse and think that when the time comes, I will probably be on the opposite end of the spectrum and rank far too many, haha.

It’s not just ranking programs, it’s also about applying properly and getting enough interviews in order to have the flexibility needed in your rank list. And to have backup programs you would be happy at. And ranking more doesn’t hurt you as an applicant trying to match, just make sure when you rank that every program on your list is somewhere you are at the very least OK with ending up at. If there is a program you would rather die, quit medicine, do another specialty over, don’t rank that program.

 

[rg2o3]

It’s not just ranking programs, it’s also about applying properly and getting enough interviews in order to have the flexibility needed in your rank list. And to have backup programs you would be happy at. And ranking more doesn’t hurt you as an applicant trying to match, just make sure when you rank that every program on your list is somewhere you are at the very least OK with ending up at. If there is a program you would rather die, quit medicine, do another specialty over, don’t rank that program.

Yeah that makes senes. It seems as if the difficult part is applying properly. I have no idea how one would go about knowing which programs they should be applying to.

 

[CajunMedic]

I wish the best of luck to you! I'm assuming if you could go back, you would have ranked a lot more programs? I am extremely risk averse and think that when the time comes, I will probably be on the opposite end of the spectrum and rank far too many, haha.

I would have applied to more, especially DO friendly ACGME ones that took COMLEX. That would have given me (hopefully) a couple more. I also really limited myself geographically. Backup plan #1 fell through about 2 weeks into the audition, so I only had what I'm doing now. Next year, I'm going with the "2 is 1, 1 is none" principle of backups

 

[Meekor]

Yeah that makes senes. It seems as if the difficult part is applying properly. I have no idea how one would go about knowing which programs they should be applying to.

Well I took a shotgun, double loaded it with bird shot, took thirty paces back, and fired at a map of the US. And I applied everywhere. I concerned myself with sorting out what programs I liked AFTER I got the interviews there.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

1. I wish I had known how bad the curriculum at my school was and had gone to my other interviews instead of just jumping into this chool.
2. My school had a program for students that had been out of school for some time to acclimate them to medical school. I wish I had done that since just jumping into anatomy was really painful.
3. I wish I had never done Firecracker. It was a complete waste of my time. Instead, I wish I had done USMLE-Rx after every class and made flashcards regarding those facts or the Bro's cards.

Those would be my main ones. I think the one you can't prepare for is finding out you might like other stuff. I was surprised I like Surgery and Pediatrics a lot. I didn't end up doing those fields, but when people say you might be surprised at what you like, they mean it.

 

[ortnakas]

@CajunMedic I can't think of anything more miserable than studying for Step 1 during/after fourth year, so mad props to you for your dedication. Wishing you all the best in intern year and next cycle.

 

[rg2o3]

Well I took a shotgun, double loaded it with bird shot, took thirty paces back, and fired at a map of the US. And I applied everywhere. I concerned myself with sorting out what programs I liked AFTER I got the interviews there.

Fair enough! Sounds like I will be doing something similar when the day comes.

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Honestly, I would like to know which DO schools curric line up well with step? I go to one of those self-proclaimed "teach to the boards" school and, let me tell you, it's not even close to what I've been seeing on uworld/ nbme exams. For reference I'm consistently below average (ie the mark you reference) but did pretty good on my first few nbmes (for being so far out) and I do just about average on uworld.

Conversely, I know students who just study for classes, get straight As, and recently started uworld and are getting slaughtered (ie 40s). I've been studying for boards and just doing enough to pass since mid January.

Do you attribute that to the school, or the students? Kind of scary to hear that someone can do so well in class and do that poorly on the assessments. You're at KCU, right? Everyone always espouses the "brutal" and "board-focused" curriculum there, but your comment is a little scary.

I think you're confusing us two @Hippocrates II 😉 I am the other flesh-eating disease on SDN.

It appears we share the same birth year though. Whaddup brotha.

 

[MrTaco92]

3. I wish I had never done Firecracker. It was a complete waste of my time. Instead, I wish I had done USMLE-Rx after every class and made flashcards regarding those facts or the Bro's cards.

I feel like this is the first time I've ever seen someone here say they regret using firecracker. I always thought it worked great for anyone who actually stuck with it for a while

 

[Spectreman]

Hey all,

I recently read a thread about going back to summer of MS1 and it inspired me to write this post. As an incoming medical student, I would like to know if there is anything you all would have done if you could go back in time? Im asking in regard to medical school and setting yourself up to match in your desired specialty. I am not sure that I will really want to pursue a very competitive specialty, but I would like to start from day 1 as if I were. Just incase down the road I decide to and I am not sidelined. Thanks so much!

I’m just finishing 1st year, but let me tell you, I relied on classmate notes for one exam during finals of first semester. EVERYONE said it was such an easy exam, read so-and-so’s review and you’re gold. So since it was finals week and we had 3 other exams I did just that and got wrecked. Lost my A in that class, completely screwed up my class rank. F@#k review sheets and “TQ notes”, DON’T be lazy and rely on anyone but yourself. People clamor for my Anki decks like they’re crack because they’re so desperate to not do any actual work themselves. Then they get their butts kicked and come to me for advice. I always say “STOP USING OTHER PEOPLE’S STUFF! Be the one who makes the notes everyone wants!” Falling into those lazy-kid traps are a death sentence to your future.

 

[DrMcCoyDO]

Hey all,

I recently read a thread about going back to summer of MS1 and it inspired me to write this post. As an incoming medical student, I would like to know if there is anything you all would have done if you could go back in time? Im asking in regard to medical school and setting yourself up to match in your desired specialty. I am not sure that I will really want to pursue a very competitive specialty, but I would like to start from day 1 as if I were. Just incase down the road I decide to and I am not sidelined. Thanks so much!

If I could go back in time, I’d go to culinary school and be a chef instead. I’d be equally happy with my choice with a lot less debt.

With respect to med school, I’d start studying for boards way sooner and put more effort into micro (definitely would have bought Sketchy); it’s two years later, and I still struggle with antibiotics and pathogens.

 

[sunshinefl]

There is no substitute for big Robbins -- people have tried to skate all the time -- with Putthoff -- read ALL (even the freakin' figure captions and asterisks in those things) of Robbins....trust me on this one.....

So I’m wrapping up first year, and I have already purchased pathoma, first aid, and sketchy. I had considered Robbins but thought it wouldn’t be necessary. After reading your post here you changed my mind though. I literally opened a new tab to buy it but was overwhelmed with all the versions/editions etc. Not to mention electronic (portable, convenient, always with me) vs book (no potential for weird ebook formatting). Which Robbins do you recommend?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I feel like this is the first time I've ever seen someone here say they regret using firecracker. I always thought it worked great for anyone who actually stuck with it for a while

A lot of people regret it. I recall many instances of people saying so on here.

 

[Meekor]

I have also regret purchasing firecracker. Most useless study aid I’ve attempted using in my 4 years of medical school.

 

[sunshinefl]

I have also regret purchasing firecracker. Most useless study aid I’ve attempted using in my 4 years of medical school.

Great. Our school is incorporating it (somehow??) into our year 2 curriculum this fall.

 

[JustPlainBill]

So I’m wrapping up first year, and I have already purchased pathoma, first aid, and sketchy. I had considered Robbins but thought it wouldn’t be necessary. After reading your post here you changed my mind though. I literally opened a new tab to buy it but was overwhelmed with all the versions/editions etc. Not to mention electronic (portable, convenient, always with me) vs book (no potential for weird ebook formatting). Which Robbins do you recommend?

I’m a textbook fiend...I’ve still got my 4+ inch thick hard copy of the 7th edition in my bookshelf at work...and yes, I still reference it, along with Cecil’s....get the one recommended by the school....I guarantee you, Putthoff will read the appropriate chapter at least 3 if not 4 times while teaching it....and he’s not going to want to hear any nonsense about it being to hard, detailed, whatever...very old school, no BS kinda guy....do the work to earn the grade without whining and you’ll do fine....

 

[Chibucks15]

Great. Our school is incorporating it (somehow??) into our year 2 curriculum this fall.

I don't think its the WORST tool out there if they're incorporating it it'll still be more useful than some lecture material. I have it and its nice for extra questions during first year because someone synced it up with my curriculum in addition to the board prep it already has. More practice questions are never a bad thing for exams

 

[Haxx]

Everyone is posting about things to do for school specifically, but aside from that my advice would be to try to get involved in research early. I worked on a few projects in between my OMS-1 and OMS-2 years during the summer and even though I matched PM&R (not the most competitive specialty ever, but getting more and more as the years go on) I think my research helped me land auditions and interviews at the top-tier institutions.

 

[rg2o3]

Everyone is posting about things to do for school specifically, but aside from that my advice would be to try to get involved in research early. I worked on a few projects in between my OMS-1 and OMS-2 years during the summer and even though I matched PM&R (not the most competitive specialty ever, but getting more and more as the years go on) I think my research helped me land auditions and interviews at the top-tier institutions.

Im still attempting to find ways that DO students go about this. It seems like a difficult task as my school has minimal research opportunities.

 

[Haxx]

Im still attempting to find ways that DO students go about this. It seems like a difficult task as my school has minimal research opportunities.

I cold-called every research institution in my home town that was related to my field of interest and asked if I could get involved. In the end, they even ended up paying me for my work! It doesn't necessarily need to be research that's done at a teaching institution. Just put in the leg work and get involved any way you can. It's ok to get creative and sell yourself to places that haven't taken med students before. You have a unique skill set and knowledge base as a med student research intern that undergrads (whom many places that take interns primarily use) don't!

 

[rg2o3]

I cold-called every research institution in my home town that was related to my field of interest and asked if I could get involved. In the end, they even ended up paying me for my work! It doesn't necessarily need to be research that's done at a teaching institution. Just put in the leg work and get involved any way you can. It's ok to get creative and sell yourself to places that haven't taken med students before. You have a unique skill set and knowledge base as a med student research intern that undergrads (whom many places that take interns primarily use) don't!

Thanks for the advice! I think that around the beginning of the Spring semester I will begin contacting them for the summer.

 

[Spectreman]

I cold-called every research institution in my home town that was related to my field of interest and asked if I could get involved. In the end, they even ended up paying me for my work! It doesn't necessarily need to be research that's done at a teaching institution. Just put in the leg work and get involved any way you can. It's ok to get creative and sell yourself to places that haven't taken med students before. You have a unique skill set and knowledge base as a med student research intern that undergrads (whom many places that take interns primarily use) don't!

Same, make yourself a killer CV, and start reaching out to everyone you can find in the area. You’ll get a lot of people saying no, but it only takes one yes.

 

[QueenJames]

And people gave me crap for telling kids on here to start studying for step early lol

For real though... If I could go back in time, I would have worked harder in undergrad and maybe chose a different DO program.

My classmates suck. They are very type A.. backstabbing.. lying.. egotistical brats.

Other than that... everything is gucci.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Start zanki day one. Maybe even day negative seven.

For real though i probably just wouldnt attend.

 

[rg2o3]

Start zanki day one. Maybe even day negative seven.

For real though i probably just wouldnt attend.

Why is that?

 

[Ho0v-man]

Why is that?

It kind of derails the thread a little to say, but in short its a very miserable grind. I just hate it. This is of course not everyones experience and i dont want to discourage you in your future endeavors.

Feel free to PM me if you’d like specifics for whatever reason.

 

[rg2o3]

It kind of derails the thread a little to say, but in short its a very miserable grind. I just hate it. This is of course not everyones experience and i dont want to discourage you in your future endeavors.

Feel free to PM me if you’d like specifics for whatever reason.

Well, I hope you the best. Most misery is temporary. I hope you will find at least some enjoyment once you get past this step!