Med Students: what good habits should I develop before med school

[SchwiftyMD]

Hi, I'm in my gap year and was wondering from a med student perspective, what are good habits I should develop before med school?

I'm asking bc I want to work on something during my gap year that would help me in med school but I've heard countless times that pre-studying is a bad idea. Instead, I've seen people say we should get into good habits.

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[mw18]

Most of the skills you'll need, you can't practice until you need them (time management, flexibility to find a study strategy that works, discipline). My advice is to maybe work on making an effort to keep in touch with your friends now. Kind of develop a routine of going out of your way to talk with people that matter.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I'm in my gap year and was wondering from a med student perspective, what are good habits I should develop before med school?

I'm asking bc I want to work on something during my gap year that would help me in med school but I've heard countless times that pre-studying is a bad idea. Instead, I've seen people say we should get into good habits.

Learn how to learn.
Develop good coping skills
Develop good time mgt skills

 

[WedgeDawg]

1. exercise routine
2. learn how to cook a couple of cheap, filling, nutritious, diverse meals
3. sleep hygiene and discipline
4. spend time with friends and family
5. do not for the love of god pre-study
6. don't pre-study just don't
7. read 1 through 3 again
8. read 5 and 6 again
9. thats it have fun!

 

[SouthernGent]

1. exercise routine
2. learn how to cook a couple of cheap, filling, nutritious, diverse meals
3. sleep hygiene and discipline
4. spend time with friends and family
5. do not for the love of god pre-study
6. don't pre-study just don't
7. read 1 through 3 again
8. read 5 and 6 again
9. thats it have fun!

This needs to be the automated bot reply to all threads asking about pre-studying, etc. Just add a line about making a budget.

 

[Save a life]

Hi, I'm in my gap year and was wondering from a med student perspective, what are good habits I should develop before med school?

I'm asking bc I want to work on something during my gap year that would help me in med school but I've heard countless times that pre-studying is a bad idea. Instead, I've seen people say we should get into good habits.

Self-care and general adult skills (budgeting, cleaning, cooking, socializing, etc.)

 

[WedgeDawg]

This needs to be the automated bot reply to all threads asking about pre-studying, etc. Just add a line about making a budget.

This is basically a list of things I didn't do that would have made my life easier. But instead I drank beer and posted on SDN.

And before you ask, I didn't prestudy

 

[mistafab]

Exercise, sleep, and diet.

 

[Perrotfish]

Hi, I'm in my gap year and was wondering from a med student perspective, what are good habits I should develop before med school?

I'm asking bc I want to work on something during my gap year that would help me in med school but I've heard countless times that pre-studying is a bad idea. Instead, I've seen people say we should get into good habits.

If you can learn to be fluent in Spanish during your year off that would help you in medical school and for the rest of your career after that.

 

[naway]

Everyone says don't pre-study, and while I generally think that is great advice, I constantly found myself thinking during my first block that my life would have been a hell of a lot easier had I put in the effort over the summer to learn the major metabolic pathways (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycogen storage and breakdown, lipid metabolism, TCA cycle, amino acid biogenesis and catbolism, etc) cold. I spent so much time just trying to re-learn the basics that I struggled to find time to study the actual metabolic diseases we were learning about. So if someone really wanted to study, that would be my advice. Don't try to memorize every nerve, artery, and vein in the human body, but your life will be a lot easier if you already have a firm grasp on basic human metabolism.

Other than that, if you struggle with confidence issues, anxiety, or depression, do whatever you can to work on those. My confidence issues have been a huge detriment when I'm expected to come across confident during patient encounters and I just don't.

I don't think there are too many other things I could have prepared for until I got here. Doing things like finding time to clean my apartment and take care of myself when I feel like everything is go go go at school all of the time has been a struggle, but I couldn't really prepare for that ahead of time since there was no way to place myself into the pressure cooker ahead of time.

 

[Oh_Gee]

stare at a computer screen every waking hour

 

[libertyyne]

Mature zanki.
Just kidding. Enjoy every last moment of your freedom.

 

[glip-glop]

learn how to use anki

 

[SchwiftyMD]

These are all great, thanks all

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

learn how to use anki

Second this. I learned the absolute basics of Anki and I was honestly so happy I did once the semester started. Keep in mind, though, that anki might not be your style.

 

[Medic741]

Get a hobby and figure out what you enjoy doing in your free time besides drinking. Become an interesting person, it *sucks* how many boring people got to medical school.

 

[HY Guru]

Wow! I love this question because I reflected on this a lot.

I am just about to finish residency and I definitely think these consistent habits are a work in progress for me even after the years in medical school.

I would first say that developing positive habits and understanding that to be great in medical school does not require good genetics of genius, rather, mastery of the fundamentals on a diligent, daily basis.

Here are my top three tips:
1. Wake up early.

I have done a lot of research behind this topic - some of the most successful people in the world wake up around 5 AM. Make it a consistent habit, and your productivity will soar.​

2. Stay organized and regimented with a proven system that works for you.

Whether it is keeping an online to-do list, or writing it down with pen and paper - go one step beyond. Do not just make a list but schedule them into your calendar. The things that get scheduled are the things that get done. If you couple this with focused blocks of time when you can be productive, you will soar into a mindset of quality studying > quantity studying.​

3. Confidence & faith in your self and your support system.

Maturity in medical school is to realize that the world ('your peers') will be doing so many different things compared to you - especially during USMLE step 1 season, people will be doing such different resources. At times, this can cause you to freak out and question your current system. Keep your blinders on, have faith and recognize that consistency will drive mastery. It is not about what works for everyone else, however it is what works for you.
​

Stay brilliant, stay resilient, & best wishes to you!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-med.

For the record, I agree with a lot of the recommendations above.

 

[puahate]

Youtube how to use Anki.

Know how to cook cheap and basic stuff.

Start lifting. If you already lift then increase your volume and workload, get as jacked as possible.

Learn how to schedule working out with school.

 

[john pelley]

Learn how to learn.
Develop good coping skills
Develop good time mgt skills

Learn how to learn.
Develop good coping skills
Develop good time mgt skills

This is excellent advice. Most med students don't know how to learn but they easily learn this skill when they realize its importance. Another habit to develop in your gap year is to develop your sense of "awareness." Becoming aware of how you prefer to learn helps you identify blind spots that you need to develop. A common blind spot is the belief that memorization is the key to success. Learn to achieve an internal locus of control and minimize an external locus. This keeps you from becoming a victim.

 

[Goro]

This is excellent advice. Most med students don't know how to learn but they easily learn this skill when they realize its importance. Another habit to develop in your gap year is to develop your sense of "awareness." Becoming aware of how you prefer to learn helps you identify blind spots that you need to develop. A common blind spot is the belief that memorization is the key to success. Learn to achieve an internal locus of control and minimize an external locus. This keeps you from becoming a victim. There are few teachers out there that will teach you this, but you can get a good start at the SuccessTypes Medical Education Site (free online access, links in attachment).

I'd like to follow up these wise words by adding that med students need to apply information, not merely memorize ut.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

6. don't pre-study just don't

Why. Can you explain? Thanks

 

[WedgeDawg]

Why. Can you explain? Thanks

Do a search and you’ll find a lot of perspectives pretty much all saying don’t do it. If you search my recent history you’ll find a more in depth explanation. But basically it boils down to the premise that it’s not necessary, it’s a waste of time, it won’t help you get ahead, you’ll probably study the wrong things, you’ll forget it before you need it, you don’t have the framework or context necessary to retain it long term or understand why it’s important, it’s a waste of time, the cost benefit is all cost for pretty much 0 benefit, this is your last 100% free summer so use it wisely, it’s a waste of time, and don’t do it.

Sorry I don’t have time to rehash why in depth, but seriously search my history and the forums at large and you’ll see what people have to say. Ultimately if you want to do it, no one here is going to stop you, you’ll just come back in a few months to a year and be one of the many people giving this advice to people like you down the road saying “yeah I did it even though people told me not to and it wasn’t worth it”.

Hope that was helpful in any way

 

[Kpw101]

+1 to not pre-studying. I thought about pre-studying myself and now see that it would've been almost worthless.

Read a couple books, hit the beach, go blackout at the bars.

 

[Dwight K Schrute]

If you’re in an urban area learn how to cook. If you’re in a rural area learn how to farm. Get exercise and eat healthy. Maybe take up martial arts.

 

[Boros]

If you’re in an urban area learn how to cook. If you’re in a rural area learn how to farm. Get exercise and eat healthy. Maybe take up martial arts.

This is great lol. Rural students: Better learn how to farm potatoes lmaoo

 

[Mad Jack]

This is great lol. Rural students: Better learn how to farm potatoes lmaoo

I learned how to operate a printing press and the art of bookbinding so I could hand-craft my own medical textbooks since it's a well-known fact that textbooks don't exist outside of urban areas and creating your own is both a wise investment and great use of one's time

 

[altblue]

I'm def interested in learning medical Spanish before med school but only have experience with a different foreign language. Think it would be a good use of my time to learn it starting now?

 

[gyngyn]

I'm def interested in learning medical Spanish before med school but only have experience with a different foreign language. Think it would be a good use of my time to learn it starting now?

Every word you learn will be a blessing.

 

[altblue]

Every word you learn will be a blessing.

Haha, I can imagine. I have a couple interviews coming up at programs with substantial Spanish speaking populations so it might be pretty useful if I end up going there

 

[ski89]

Why. Can you explain? Thanks

Meh, I actually disagree with this bit of conventional wisdom. Leading into Med school I was super excited to hit the ground running. Channeling that excitement into studying over the summer was an enjoyable outlet for me. So yeah I prestudied with a copy of first aid and started making Anki cards out of the biochem section.. don’t regret it at all.. I think the point is, don’t do it if you feel like you HAVE to do it, cause you don’t. But I was happy to do it and I’m glad I did. It didn’t have a huge impact but it made my first block a little more comfortable. No reason to be dogmatic about weather or not to prestudy.. just do it if you want, and if you want to do it, you won’t regret it.