Your tips?

[kurite]

Hello everyone! I am an incoming osteopathic medical student and I am both excited and terrified to begin. For all those who have already accomplished their first year or more could you please give me advice? Anything you could have told yourself back then that might have made things easier?

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[YankeeCandle1141]

Hello everyone! I am an incoming osteopathic medical student and I am both excited and terrified to begin. For all those who have already accomplished their first year or more could you please give me advice? Anything you could have told yourself back then that might have made things easier?

Dont flood your social media accounts with posts about med school. Dont beat yourself up if you arent the smartest student in your class anymore. Chances are you will be average.

Make a couple friends in your class. Your classmates will be the only people in your life who understand what you are going through.

 

[Pisiform]

First 2 years suck!! Level 1 sucks more. Just get through it. Many times you would think about quitting etc but you just gotta pull through. 3rd year way way better and more interesting. Biggest problem I had in the first 2 years was to keep myself motivated.

 

[Goro]

Be efficient at time mgt

Get a good night's sleep before exam. This helps retention

Find out what your optimum learning style is. What worked in college might not work in med school. Go to class if you're struggling; conversely, if you really get nothing from being at lectures, then do something else in that time period

Seek out your professors if you need help; they're there for you. Seek out your school's learning or education specialist for help with learning difficulties. Test taking anxiety? Get help for it immediately!

Medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break healthy students. If you have ANY mental health issues, seek out the school's counseling center stat!

Have or develop good coping skills in case life hits you with a beanball.

Always develop a support group.

Don't try to memorize everything; you can't.

Always be able to look at the big picture

Repetition is the key to learning

Board review books are for bard review, period.

If you feel you know particular material, it's OK to spend less time with it, and better to

Always be aware of what you're weakest subject areas are, then fill in those holes.

Do NOT learn by merely re-reading PPT files; make use of as many resources as you can find

Do as many practice questions as you can. Do lots of COMSAE/COMBANK questions.

Do not cram. Cramming hurts retention.

You might be one of my students! But wherever you are, and to all reading this, good luck!! You're on a big journey, and you're going to make the world a better place.

Hello everyone! I am an incoming osteopathic medical student and I am both excited and terrified to begin. For all those who have already accomplished their first year or more could you please give me advice? Anything you could have told yourself back then that might have made things easier?

 

[DloopF2]

I'm in the same boat and am nervous as hell.

Thank you for the good advice, Goro!

 

[Dharma]

I wrote this to another new student:

One thing at a time rookie! And that's the motto you need to keep throughout this entire process. Yeah, you plan and prioritize, but it's still one thing at time. That said, here is some basic advice:

1. Health comes first... yeah even before your grades. Don't go flushing life down the drain for some garbage exam you won't even remember a year from now. Sleep 6-8hrs a night (regardless of what the zombied-eye nerd-herders are spewing), eat well, and EXERCISE regularly. In the long runs, your grades will benefit from this as well. So start the routine early.

2. Don't let the neuroticism that stews in the lecture hall seep into your system. Stay cool. It's only school. Seriously. If you put in your time daily and focus on the right stuff, you'll learn your $#!+ and you'll sleep at night like a baby. For these kids who don't know anything but graduating college, working a summer job or workstudy here and there and then jumping straight to med school, most haven't tasted how nasty the real world can be. Remember what's it like to struggle and that you are where you WANT to be. When it starts getting gnarly... remember that you're doing what you want and the fight is as much a part of it as is the end goal. Smile when the $#!+ hits the fan because this is what will separate you from the pack and most importantly, allow you to continue to grow.

3. Minutia... don't go losing sleep on this. Focus big... then work your way down to the nitty gritty. (This is where you're friends Pathoma, Qbanks, and FA come into play. And I don't give a rat's rear what the naysayers think, this trifecta should become a part of your life once anatomy is wrapped up or whenever it is you start core/systems. Don't let them be your main source, but they should be involved in the game as much as possible as realistically early as possible, mostly so you can really snuggle up and get to the know them well. You'll be thankful you did come May of your 2nd year).

4. And this is the best advice a physician friend of mine gave me: "It's a marathon, not a sprint." Sure there will be times when you need to kick it up, but leave gas in the tank. It's a long haul. If you want to get through this, remember that. I've seen kids sprint the last 3+ years and man... have those little ones aged. Some of them really look like crap. Older, beaten up a bit. I feel the anti-McConnauhhay "They keep getting older, and I stay the same age..." All joking aside, don't let this journey age you TOO much. The real stuff doesn't even start until after they call you doctor, so don't go busting the juice before the real fun even begins.

Alright, that's enough of my mind candy for now. I wish you the best of luck. Go get em!

 

[JeBrAs]

Be flexible, I changed my study strategy 3 times just in my first week. I anticipate I will continue to change and fine tune my strategy depending on the block by utilizing various resources and study tools on my belt throughout the first two years. Also, keep up with the pace of classes and don't fall behind.

 

[NurWollen]

I wrote this to another new student:

I wholeheartedly agree with #3. Doing Qbanks and Pathoma and FA is a great way to get a feel for what kind if stuff they like you to know for boards, and what kind of stuff is more fluff/low yield.

 

[UTsksk]

I wholeheartedly agree with #3. Doing Qbanks and Pathoma and FA is a great way to get a feel for what kind if stuff they like you to know for boards, and what kind of stuff is more fluff/low yield.

I think it depends at what school you're at. Pathoma is practically useless at TCOM until the end of spring in first year since that's when pathology gets integrated. For 2nd year, it's been great. Same thing with Qbanks.

To be honest, I didn't use First Aid during 1st year and did just fine. I used powerpoints and BRS, then robbins later on towards the end of 1st year when it's needed.

 

[kp11]

I'll be an OMS-2, and it makes me smile that there are a whole bunch of anxious med students ready to start off their medical careers! If you weren't smart enough, you wouldn't be where you are...so you can do it! @Dharma and @Goro both gave great advice, and two things I'd like to stress from them are:
1) Med school is tough and exciting, but remember to keep doing the things you love. They will help keep you healthy, and not get sucked into/tormented by the soul crushing mentality of the gunners in your class.
2) changing your study habit is difficult, but will most likely need to happen. Most med students can't remember EVERYTHING, so assign importance to the big picture and work your way down (I still have trouble with this).

Side note: if you are a visual learner and slightly goofy, picmonic is fun to use. Im a nontrad, so it made some of the biochemistry stuff a little more palatable.

 

[Dharma]

I'll be an OMS-2, and it makes me smile that there are a whole bunch of anxious med students ready to start off their medical careers! If you weren't smart enough, you wouldn't be where you are...so you can do it! .
2) changing your study habit is difficult, but will most likely need to happen. Most med students can't remember EVERYTHING, so assign importance to the big picture and work your way down (I still have trouble with this).

Be willing to adapt to changes and refine your study habits along the way. This takes some mindfulness and self-awareness. Trust your gut. It takes time to learn which instincts are accurate and what is really just wishful thinking. Differentiate the two along the way; it will serve you well.