To Buy or not to Buy? Medical Student Resources
Written by Samuel Fuller
If you are reading this post then you likely have recently been accepted to medical school, so congratulations, that is a huge accomplishment! If you are early in your medical school career, then hopefully you can also find use from this post. Of note, Inside The Match does not receive benefit from endorsing these products – these are products this article writer found helpful and ones that you should think about before buying.
Things I recommend buying:
Standing desk: Much of your time during medical school will be spent studying. Without a standing desk, I would end up slouching and have back pain from sitting at a desk for extended periods. An adjustable standing desk is a great investment so that you can stand when you want, but also sit if needed. Check out sites like Costco for possible discounts on a standing desk or Facebook Marketplace.
Ergonomic chair: Building on my last point, a good quality but inexpensive ergonomic chair is a must to avoid back pain and help promote good posture while studying.
Laptop stand: Another thing I found especially helpful was an adjustable laptop stand. This is also convenient so that you can collapse the stand and take it with you if you would like to work at a coffee shop or the library.
Desktop monitor: Medical school is busy, and multitasking is almost inevitable. A good way to help with multitasking is a dual monitor home setup.
Whiteboard: This is dependent on how you study. If you find writing things down and drawing out pathways for biochemistry, then this is a must for you. If you want a large one, consider purchasing this at a home improvement store like Home Depot as they have large wall whiteboards that are inexpensive!
First Aid for USMLE Step 1 and Pathoma: I think First Aid is most useful. These resources cover a lot of the high yield information and are helpful to annotate and stay organized throughout your preclinical blocks.
Professional clothing: This is essential, especially during the first two years of medical school. Often during the first two years of medical school, I was wearing professional clothes.
Quality headphones: Whether you will watch lectures online or other outside resources, you will watch videos to study, sometimes for extended lengths of time. As such, it is important to have good quality and comfortable over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones or earbuds.
Blue light glasses: You will spend a lot of time working at your computer, so it may be beneficial to get blue light glasses to prevent headaches.
External storage for computer: This is always a good thing to have, and while you never want to expect your computer to have issues... this is a reliable way to store files safely.
Things you may not need:
Textbooks: Most people may have rented/purchased textbooks for classes in college or maybe you were the person that never purchased textbooks. Either way, I can reassure you that you do not need to buy any “textbooks” for medical school. Many lectures may recommend textbooks for additional reading, but typically they are necessary. If you want the textbook, most school libraries have access to the textbook either online or a physical copy.
iPad/Tablet: My medical school included this in my tuition payment for medical school, so check to see if your school includes one or if there are discounts before you purchase one. Remember that the Apple Store includes an education discount and typically has a history of promotional opportunities (like free AirPods) at the start of an academic year.
Laptop: Similar to my thoughts on the iPad, schools may not provide a laptop, but they may have a school discount. Check first to see if your school has a discount. Otherwise, you can use your current laptop or buy a new one because especially with lots of virtual learning opportunities, you will likely be using it a lot.
Stethoscope and other medical tools: Check to see if your medical school supplies these tools or has discounts available. Our school gave us reflex hammers and tuning forks and provided a hefty discount on our stethoscopes. If you want a cheaper option, this is something you can buy, but likely will not need immediately.
Expensive scrubs: Yes, we always see photos of the expensive scrubs on social media, and you invest in them, but your school may provide free scrubs. For anatomy lab during the first year of medical school, you do not want to wear expensive scrubs! You can wait to invest in nicer comfortable scrubs for your clinical experiences.
