Mistakes?

It's hard to know which "mistakes" to which you're referring (for example there's a different set of mistakes for each year of medical school, basically), but to start:

1) Accepting the "pre-clinical grades don't matter for residency" sentiment
2) Underestimating their ability to do well, which is usually due to effort put in, not intelligence
3) Failure to get involved substantively in at least one extracurricular activity
4) Taking yourself too seriously, alienating classmates & friends, being too competitive
5) Convincing yourself you can compromise your integrity because everyone else seems to be
6) Overconfidence that you want to go into something noncompetitive and accepting noncompetitive numbers as a result.

....plus I think there's a book of "250 common mistakes of medical students" or something, I recommend looking that up it seems like people have recommended that book in the past.

 

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make during 1st year is not talking to upperclassmen and getting the real scoop on which books to use (usually not what's "required" or recommended) or whether to use books at all (i.e. "just know the syllabus dead cold" type schools)...ideally, find this info out BEFORE you buy books b/c there's always a ton of ppl who end 1st year with (expensive) books unopened/unused.

 

1) Nailing one too many classmates.
2) Only having medical student friends.
3) Being too conspicuous.
4) Running your mouth carelessly.
5) Having a rocky relationship.

 

Guilty as charged on several of those points. Good list.

 

Don't buy a freaking diagnostic kit (ophthalmoscope, etc.)! That's a huge waste of $600.

 

Biggest mistake is not hitting the ground running. You absolutely cannot wait until the week before exams, much less the day before like in undergrad, to try and cram all this material into digestible and recall-able form. Even when you think the opening material is sooo easy, like amino acid names and structures in biochem, still pre-read and pay attention because 1) it'll establish good habits early and 2) you'll be begging for these easy points as the year progresses.

 

1) Don't listen to your classmates rumors, confirm with upperclassmen or SDN. You'll hear a lot of BS like "No one matches anatomy/radiology without honoring anatomy".

2) Focus on your own work and do the best. I guarantee you're not going to be able to guess who's doing well and who's failing just based on how many notecards they've made and how often you see them in the library.

3) Attend class...or don't. Figure this one out early.

 

learning from a review book and not an actual textbook = mistake.

 

Stay away from classmates around exams. They do more to stress you out than help.

 

Don't worry about anyone else. What they're doing doesn't matter. For all you know, the guy studying for 900 hours in the library for that test is either using AIM and iTunes for 98% of that time. Some really smart people really do study a lot, but there are plenty of people who waste a ton of time. I certainly had to take my share of study breaks in the first two years, or else I'd go nuts. You have to find a balance that works for you, and only you.

I skipped most lectures, and I read and read and read the lecture notes. I used some textbooks and some review books, but I mostly used our lecture notes. I didn't listen to recorded lectures, and some of my classmates were stunned. At first, I was scared that I was missing out on something important, but after listening to a few lectures, I realized that it didn't help me out. It helped other people, but not me.

Now, if your performance is terrible, you should change your strategy, but once you find something that works for you, do it. If it's more efficient and relaxing than someone else's study schedule, you might have more free time and less paranoia.

 

another one i will add (or to paraphrase above) to the many helpful (and true points above) is: just don't get psyched out. work hard, do your best and just keep a chill attitude. as long as you are working hard, there is really not much more you can do so chill! at our school, getting psyched out was so common amongst first years--sometimes i thought the faculty even encouraged it a little. it happened to me during anatomy. but you gotta fight it off. it's hard to avoid when everyone else is going overboard stressing out and you have just started medical school (oooooh, so magical--that's what i used to think at least). but just keep telling yourself that you are working hard and that's all you can do.
i think having a hobby to occasionally distract you is also helpful. i like to lift weights and i think it's (working out) a great way to break the craziness cycle of first year.