What I Wish I Knew at the Start of Medical School
Written by Elizabeth Bashian, MD
Medical school—the best of times, the worst of times, and everything in between. My perspective currently (three days from graduation, status post weeks of celebration) is that medical school was the best four years of my life: amazing patient experiences, the most supportive mentors I could ask for, and friendships that will last a lifetime. That said, the past four years have also contained plenty of stress and a few too many tears. I’ve learned about a lot more than just medicine and wish I would have learned a few of these lessons a little faster. For anyone just starting their medical school journey, here are five things I wish I knew as an M1.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I asked for help a lot throughout med school. I asked upperclassmen for advice on studying, I asked mentors and administrators for help with career guidance, and I asked counselors for help with mental health stuff. Everyone was happy to help in so many ways and I truly don’t think I could have made it this far without all the help I received. Administrators are involved in med ed because they want to work with students and want to help, so don’t be shy about reaching out, to talk about anything from physiology, to time management, to career advice.
Take care of yourself. We’ve all learned about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and that applies to med school as well. It’s easy to neglect self-care when you are trying to fit so many things into a crammed schedule, but med school is a marathon, and you need to properly take care of yourself. Drink water, try to eat a vegetable at least once a day and prioritize your sleep. Taking time away from the library to exercise can feel like an indulgence, but your mental and physical health will thank you in the long run.
Study plans are not one-size-fits-all. My classmates all spent the first few months of medical school sharing precise details on how to best study, from the necessary number of “passes” through the material, the *highest-yield* Anki deck, or the most useful outside resources. So, I spent the first few months of medical school jumping from my second pass to an enormous Anki deck to Pathoma to First Aid and got completely overwhelmed. There’s no perfect plan or study hack and you probably already know the best way to study for you—that’s how you got into medical school in the first place. While it may be helpful to try some new strategies or resources (see#4), keep blinders on and focus on your plan.
Outside resources are what you make them. Pathoma, Sketchy, Anki, the random YouTuber claiming to have the top “study hacks” – there are a lot of options. Some are more helpful for certain topics, but less so for other topics…I don’t quite understand how people learned microbiology before Sketchy existed, but I found the Sketchy physiology videos far less helpful. That said, none of them work if you don’t work, so figure out which ones you like and how to best incorporate them into your study plan. My advice is to try one at a time over the first year.
Keep things in perspective. Medical school is an endless series of challenges—as soon as you finish one exam, there’s another one looming in the not-too-distant future. As soon as you finish boards, it’s time to start thinking about residency applications. But, you also are doing crazy impressive things on a routine basis: pre-med you would be so proud that you passed your first medical exam. M1 you would be thrilled that you passed Step 1. Take time to celebrate your accomplishments and keep the big picture in mind for the days when everything seems extra hard.
