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Had some downtime after being killleeddd by boards and am a week from starting good ol' year 3 and I also realized a lot of y'all are about to start med school.
So listen up.... I'ma give y'all some MAJOR game.... gems.... jewels... and some DOs and DON'Ts.. as well as some things I would do different. *MAJOR KEY ALERT (Dj Khaled Voice)*
So here we gooooo..
1) There is NO such thing as studying too much. Everybody has a different "too much".
- So... you got you first exam coming up in 2 weeks.. and you got like 40 lectures to get through. Some people are gonna brush it off to the 4 days before and some will be killing all lectures all day.
FIND YOUR LIMIT. You only can focus from 8-5...? Ok.. well bust your butt those hours. You feel better studying from 12-7:00 AM and are a night owl...? Then looks like you will be studying then.
2) Nobody owes you ****. Depend on yourself and help others along the way AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
- Your professor didn't give a good lecture? It was just a hodgepodge of random ass slides and youtube video links? Oh well. Deal with it. Go do your own readings and get that info SOMEHOW. You have google, you have PDF books, and NO REASON why you can't hammer in the info. Your friends don't wanna study together? so what. Let them do their thing. If they fail out...will YOU pay their loans? I didn't think so. This goes vice versa too.
3) Learn to get along with EVERYBODY and don't be a hater or doucher.
- You are gonna meet "gunners"... you are gonna meet people who try to sound smart all the time.... people who are barely passing.... You know what's common amongst all of these people? They are all trying to be a doctor... just like you. Learn to see the good in EVERYBODY. You don't know their life story... you don't know what they have been through... Before you judge them... walk in their shoes. I made very good acquaintances from all "social circles" in med school... from the Ortho jock gunners... to the fashionista chicks... to the kids with felonies that still managed their way to squeeze into med school... they all taught me how to deal with people from all different worlds. JUST LIKE YOU WILL BE DEALING WITH ALL TYPES OF PATIENTS...
see what I did there?
4) Mind your business. Don't discuss dating, don't discuss grades, don't discuss your favorite frickin' tv show or movie unless you actually get along with that person.
- A lot of students don't care. and also... a lot of people will only ask you your grades only to determine your "worth". Ignore all of that bull. Keep doing you.
5) DON'T BE A SENSITIVE LITTLE "FEMALE DOG".
- Your professor called you out in front of the small groups because you don't know the answer and you said "i don't know" and are afraid of looking dumb..? Oh well. Get used to it. This is your life now. You cannot and will not know everything in medicine. It's more important to know WHAT you know and also know what you DO NOT know so you can try to be a well-rounded person in terms of knowledge. Say "I don't know" and move on.
- Nobody owes you anything (like I said above) and your job is to give this your all in terms of effort and due diligence.
I got some more gems but ay.... I'll leave it up to y'all to chime in and I'll add as I go along.
I gotta get back to binging some netflix and killing this pizza.
<3
***edit***
- figured I'd add the rules onto this list as the thread goes on and I think of more things so that y'all don't have to scroll down if you don't want to.
6) Relax. You "made it". Well... kinda.
- Pre-med is NOTHING like med school. In fact, pre-medical and undergrad sucked huge donkey testicles more than the worst week of med school in my opinion. BUT NOW is NOT THE TIME to GET LAZY. I really think med school is enjoyable if you are shooting for average to slightly above-average ranking and performance.
- In undergrad, you were able to game the system... choose your professors (shoutout to ratemyprofessor.com) that were easier, make your own schedule, and choose how many units you wanted to take and how many fluff classes to take. NOT ANYMORE. Everything is laid out for you. Everybody has the same lectures... the same time to get thru material and the same exams now. It is YOUR JOB to get that info in somehow.
7) Be like water and just flow. There's more to life than medical school.
- UNLESS you are aiming for something like Ortho and surgery or something super competitive.... med school can be somewhat chill. If you are like me and still have NO idea what you wanna do, then you just try your best everyday and let the chips fall where they may.
- If you are a US student.. MD or DO... chances are you WILL make it to residency.... Ok... it may not be WHAT you wanna do.. or WHERE you wanna do it... but you will make it through and have a job at the end of the day unlike those pesky Caribbean kids or FMGs. Is that a good way of looking at it? IDK. It's for you to decide.
I personally do not care what I end up in or where. But I will work my ass off every single day because one thing that keeps things in perspective is that ALL OF THIS **** IS TEMPORARY. You cannot take this stuff with you when you die. But being a physician is one of the most badass things we can do in this lifetime.
We literally get to learn about and see the whole cinema of life as it is laid out before us. From conception... to life... and to death. And it will continuously be expanded upon.
Idc if you went to "hahvuhd" or stanford ... or if you end up doing psych in hicksville by the bayou... kill your ego and enjoy the ride.
8) Don't be a nosey prick. (kinda similar but peep this example).
- Don't be that guy or gal who only comes up to you during his/her break to peep at your laptop to see what you are working on or doing. It ABSOLUTELY PISSES ME OFF. BRUH?! WHERE THE EFF IS MY GODDAMN PRIVACY?
- NIP THIS IN THE BUDD RIGHT AWAY.
- Example) It is board prep season and I'm in class waiting for lectures to begin... so I am doing questions... like any sane med student would be doing at this time. The bozo behind me (Ok... not much a bozo... but the dude has major insecurities and is always trying to bud in on stuff and just worried about others.. u know the type) used to come up to me MULTIPLE TIMES during and in between classes just to chop it up (which is cool... i get it... I do the same...minus the stare at your laptop and see what you are doing... because it's none of my goddamn business) but then would literally BUD IN ON ME DOING QUESTIONS and give his input...
Ummm... homie... did I ASK? lol
- I get it. You read FA. You watched sketchy 9 times... You don't have to prove to me you know ur stuff. I believe you... but LET ME DO MY GODDAMN QUESTIONS.... please.
This used to happen NUMEROUS times... UNTIL... everytime I would hear him get up... what would I do?
SHUT MY LAPTOP. PLUG IN MY HEADPHONES.
CRANK THAT SOULJA BOY... YUUUUU
Homeboy eventually got the hint and stopped messing with my personal space.
Was this douchey of me?
Sure. Probably was.
Do I care?
No.
My learning is top priority to me.
AS it should be.
9) Take care of yourself. Don't get fat or lazy.
- I was on a HUGE fitness craze before med school. I felt emotionally, spiritually, and physically sharp... hell... probably the sharpest I had ever been in life.
- I let that all go and put on more than 50 pounds since school started due to the constant sitting, eating, and lack of sleep and huge cortisol spikes all the time.
- I REALLY wish I maintained a regimen of even just an HOUR of fasted cardio or hitting the weights before class.
- Make time for yourself and your own body will thank you for it.
- You know how much it sucks wearing a tight white coat that you can't button up anymore???
So listen up.... I'ma give y'all some MAJOR game.... gems.... jewels... and some DOs and DON'Ts.. as well as some things I would do different. *MAJOR KEY ALERT (Dj Khaled Voice)*
So here we gooooo..
1) There is NO such thing as studying too much. Everybody has a different "too much".
- So... you got you first exam coming up in 2 weeks.. and you got like 40 lectures to get through. Some people are gonna brush it off to the 4 days before and some will be killing all lectures all day.
FIND YOUR LIMIT. You only can focus from 8-5...? Ok.. well bust your butt those hours. You feel better studying from 12-7:00 AM and are a night owl...? Then looks like you will be studying then.
2) Nobody owes you ****. Depend on yourself and help others along the way AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
- Your professor didn't give a good lecture? It was just a hodgepodge of random ass slides and youtube video links? Oh well. Deal with it. Go do your own readings and get that info SOMEHOW. You have google, you have PDF books, and NO REASON why you can't hammer in the info. Your friends don't wanna study together? so what. Let them do their thing. If they fail out...will YOU pay their loans? I didn't think so. This goes vice versa too.
3) Learn to get along with EVERYBODY and don't be a hater or doucher.
- You are gonna meet "gunners"... you are gonna meet people who try to sound smart all the time.... people who are barely passing.... You know what's common amongst all of these people? They are all trying to be a doctor... just like you. Learn to see the good in EVERYBODY. You don't know their life story... you don't know what they have been through... Before you judge them... walk in their shoes. I made very good acquaintances from all "social circles" in med school... from the Ortho jock gunners... to the fashionista chicks... to the kids with felonies that still managed their way to squeeze into med school... they all taught me how to deal with people from all different worlds. JUST LIKE YOU WILL BE DEALING WITH ALL TYPES OF PATIENTS...
see what I did there?
4) Mind your business. Don't discuss dating, don't discuss grades, don't discuss your favorite frickin' tv show or movie unless you actually get along with that person.
- A lot of students don't care. and also... a lot of people will only ask you your grades only to determine your "worth". Ignore all of that bull. Keep doing you.
5) DON'T BE A SENSITIVE LITTLE "FEMALE DOG".
- Your professor called you out in front of the small groups because you don't know the answer and you said "i don't know" and are afraid of looking dumb..? Oh well. Get used to it. This is your life now. You cannot and will not know everything in medicine. It's more important to know WHAT you know and also know what you DO NOT know so you can try to be a well-rounded person in terms of knowledge. Say "I don't know" and move on.
- Nobody owes you anything (like I said above) and your job is to give this your all in terms of effort and due diligence.
I got some more gems but ay.... I'll leave it up to y'all to chime in and I'll add as I go along.
I gotta get back to binging some netflix and killing this pizza.
<3
***edit***
- figured I'd add the rules onto this list as the thread goes on and I think of more things so that y'all don't have to scroll down if you don't want to.
6) Relax. You "made it". Well... kinda.
- Pre-med is NOTHING like med school. In fact, pre-medical and undergrad sucked huge donkey testicles more than the worst week of med school in my opinion. BUT NOW is NOT THE TIME to GET LAZY. I really think med school is enjoyable if you are shooting for average to slightly above-average ranking and performance.
- In undergrad, you were able to game the system... choose your professors (shoutout to ratemyprofessor.com) that were easier, make your own schedule, and choose how many units you wanted to take and how many fluff classes to take. NOT ANYMORE. Everything is laid out for you. Everybody has the same lectures... the same time to get thru material and the same exams now. It is YOUR JOB to get that info in somehow.
7) Be like water and just flow. There's more to life than medical school.
- UNLESS you are aiming for something like Ortho and surgery or something super competitive.... med school can be somewhat chill. If you are like me and still have NO idea what you wanna do, then you just try your best everyday and let the chips fall where they may.
- If you are a US student.. MD or DO... chances are you WILL make it to residency.... Ok... it may not be WHAT you wanna do.. or WHERE you wanna do it... but you will make it through and have a job at the end of the day unlike those pesky Caribbean kids or FMGs. Is that a good way of looking at it? IDK. It's for you to decide.
I personally do not care what I end up in or where. But I will work my ass off every single day because one thing that keeps things in perspective is that ALL OF THIS **** IS TEMPORARY. You cannot take this stuff with you when you die. But being a physician is one of the most badass things we can do in this lifetime.
We literally get to learn about and see the whole cinema of life as it is laid out before us. From conception... to life... and to death. And it will continuously be expanded upon.
Idc if you went to "hahvuhd" or stanford ... or if you end up doing psych in hicksville by the bayou... kill your ego and enjoy the ride.
8) Don't be a nosey prick. (kinda similar but peep this example).
- Don't be that guy or gal who only comes up to you during his/her break to peep at your laptop to see what you are working on or doing. It ABSOLUTELY PISSES ME OFF. BRUH?! WHERE THE EFF IS MY GODDAMN PRIVACY?
- NIP THIS IN THE BUDD RIGHT AWAY.
- Example) It is board prep season and I'm in class waiting for lectures to begin... so I am doing questions... like any sane med student would be doing at this time. The bozo behind me (Ok... not much a bozo... but the dude has major insecurities and is always trying to bud in on stuff and just worried about others.. u know the type) used to come up to me MULTIPLE TIMES during and in between classes just to chop it up (which is cool... i get it... I do the same...minus the stare at your laptop and see what you are doing... because it's none of my goddamn business) but then would literally BUD IN ON ME DOING QUESTIONS and give his input...
Ummm... homie... did I ASK? lol
- I get it. You read FA. You watched sketchy 9 times... You don't have to prove to me you know ur stuff. I believe you... but LET ME DO MY GODDAMN QUESTIONS.... please.
This used to happen NUMEROUS times... UNTIL... everytime I would hear him get up... what would I do?
SHUT MY LAPTOP. PLUG IN MY HEADPHONES.
CRANK THAT SOULJA BOY... YUUUUU
Homeboy eventually got the hint and stopped messing with my personal space.
Was this douchey of me?
Sure. Probably was.
Do I care?
No.
My learning is top priority to me.
AS it should be.
9) Take care of yourself. Don't get fat or lazy.
- I was on a HUGE fitness craze before med school. I felt emotionally, spiritually, and physically sharp... hell... probably the sharpest I had ever been in life.
- I let that all go and put on more than 50 pounds since school started due to the constant sitting, eating, and lack of sleep and huge cortisol spikes all the time.
- I REALLY wish I maintained a regimen of even just an HOUR of fasted cardio or hitting the weights before class.
- Make time for yourself and your own body will thank you for it.
- You know how much it sucks wearing a tight white coat that you can't button up anymore???
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