Advice For M1 Year From An M3

      I know that navigating through your journey to medical school can be daunting and I am so thankful that I never really had to go through it alone as I had my friend Alissa to ask for help. Alissa and I actually met in undergrad and went through a few premed classes together. We were in the same year, but as she graduated a year early and I took a gap year after college, we ended up with a two-year gap between our medical careers. Alissa just started her M3 year right after taking Step 1 this summer (Whoo hoo, Alissa!). Naturally, as someone who is about to start their M1 year, I wanted to know if there were any tips and as she's made it through the struggle, and she had some great advice to offer.

Advice for First Year Medical Students: Guest Post by Alissa Z.

1. Enjoy your time off!

     Your time off will slowly start to dwindle away the farther you progress in medical school, so enjoy it while it lasts! During first year, it feels like you have no time, but you really do! Use some of your time to have fun. (P.S. I was told this advice my first year too, and I didn't follow it because I felt like I was sooo busy. But it really is true, so try to have some fun!)

2. Choose efficient ways to study

     Going along with #1, don't choose a study technique that is very time-consuming (aka notecards). You might have enough time to continue studying with it first year, but as soon as second year rolls around, you will not. It is better to try different, more efficient study techniques your first year when you can afford to take the extra time to study. Pay attention to what you like about each study technique so that you can optimize your studying. As a bonus, if you find a more effective study technique first year, you will have more time to have fun!

3. Learn physiology very well

It will be your foundation going forward.

4. It is okay if you don't like your anatomy class.

     Personally, the cadavers really bothered me, but I have loved observing and assisting in surgeries on living people. Being disturbed by a decomposed and dissected dead body does not mean you can't be a good doctor-it means you are human! (Although if they don't bother you, that's fine too. Everyone is different.)

5.  Your medical school experience changes as you go along

     Everything in medical school gets more interesting as the years go by because you begin to learn more clinically relevant information and get to practice more medicine. Keep that in mind as you are studying biochemistry first year because it gets better! It also gets must harder and more time-consuming, but because you will like what you are learning, the time you spend studying will be more enjoyable.

6. Don't throw people under the bus!

     I'm sure everyone has heard of gunners (people that study constantly and actively try to put people down in order to get ahead. I will let you in on a little secret- it doesn't help them get ahead! When you put people down, your classmates won't want to help you, and that can have a big impact on your performance in medical school. Collaboration helps everyone, and medicine is a field that relies on it because that is how doctors take the best care of their patients. Your professors, residents, and attendings will also notice if you are putting people down, and really, no one likes that.

7. Know Your Place

     Don't be entitled because as medical students we literally don't know anything. There will always be many more people who know more than you. Just keep that in mind and don't be arrogant (or a gunner- really, don't do it). 

8. Graciously accept Advice---See #7. 

     You can always learn from someone who knows more than you. Even if you're not planning on going into a certain specialty, you can learn something important from that clerkship (that advice is more applicable to third year, but keep it in mind!)

9. Don't Start Studying for Step 1 Your First Year

     

     You won't learn the majority of the information on Step 1 until your second year, so you won't be able to study effectively for it anyway.

   That's about it! Basically, medical school is all about being able to adjust to different situations. Every time you start to feel comfortable, things will start to change and get more difficult. In third year, you will constantly have to adjust to different clerkships, residents, and attendings. It's hard, but it's good practice for life because life is change. With that in mind, I think #2 is the most important piece of advice because to excel in medical school, you need to be able to adapt. While you are adapting, try to stay true to who you are and take time for yourself so you can stay as sane as possible. 

Good luck!

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         I wish anyone that is starting medical school this week ( or around this week) lots of luck! We've made it! Have a fantastic week and I shall talk to you soon! 

~ Genesis<3

What You Can Do In High School If You Are Interested In Being Premed

     Now, I definitely don't want to scare anyone into thinking that you should already know whether you would want to be pre-med in high school. But if you are interested (like I was), there are a few suggestions I have that could help you as you work your way towards college and exploring your interest in greater depth.

1.) Seek knowledge about the profession
    
      I think one of the best things that you can do if you are considering studying medicine, is to get familiar with the field. Sophomore year of high school, my English teacher had us do a project where we had to research our "future career". Of course, as a little sophomore, it was quite daunting to think about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I think it was a great exercise. Back then, I was interested in becoming a pediatrician, so my research focused on that. For my project, I had to look into the overview of the career (pay, job responsibilities, etc.), research the academic track to becoming a pediatrician (the amount of schooling seemed really scary back then), and then I had to interview a person in that career ( I interviewed my cousin's pediatrician). Overall, the project was very informative, and I obviously wasn't deterred by the amount of work it took to become a doctor. Of course, you might not have to do what I did for school, but I think it would be helpful to do something similar, especially interviewing a doctor. Something that I wish I would've done in high school was to shadow a doctor because it would've allowed me to get a better sense of the clinical environment ( which didn't really happen until junior year of college). Doing your research will help you see if this career is a good fit for you, and I think it is important to start looking into it early on.

2.) Volunteer

     For me, one of the things that reinforced my desire to become a physician was my volunteer work. I did most of my volunteer work in a clinical/hospital setting, but those aren't the only areas that you can volunteer. The medical field is at its core a field of service, so getting yourself familiar with that aspect is very important. I think it's also very important for you to find a cause that you are passionate about, and what a better time to do that than in high school? If you can find a hospital/clinical setting to volunteer in, that's fantastic. You'll be in a good place when your med school apps come around and you can write about how you've been volunteering in a clinical setting since high school. But, I think it's very important to show that you are dedicated to giving back to others, and that can take many different forms.

3.) Focus On School

     I'm sure this one might seem like an obvious one, but it is very important. I think high school is a great time to start getting yourself on the track towards being a great student. Take your classes seriously, challenge yourself, and definitely, find what works best for you. I know your workload might not be exactly comparable to what you'll experience in college or medical school, but it is a great time to start developing the habits that'll help you succeed later on. Aside from working on getting good grades, I think it is important to work on being well rounded. For one, it'll help to clarify whether you love science enough to pursue it as a career. Also, it'll help integrate other skills that will aid in your work as a physician. The greatest example that I can think of is reading. One of the reasons that the MCAT has a verbal reasoning section is because being able to dissect important information from a larger component is something a doctor deals with every day. One day, you'll be listening to a patient giving you loads of information and it is up to you to pick apart the pieces that are pertinent to their diagnosis. Of course, high school isn't the time to become an expert on this, but it is a good time to get your practice in.

4.) Find Yourself A Mentor
     
     This point kind of goes with the first point, but I think it doesn't only have to be a doctor. Your mentor could also be a college student, medical student, etc. The point is to find someone that is going/has gone through the journey that you are interested in. I always find it less intimidating if I know someone has already done what I wish to do, and it's so helpful if they tell me how they did it. Also, it doesn't always have to be a live person. For me, I love to read blogs or follow medical students and doctors on social media. It allows me to get a glimpse into their experience, and that allows me to better direct my own journey.

5.) Do What You Love

     When you apply to medical school, one of the things that they'll ask you about will be your hobbies. If all you do is school, there won't be much to talk about. So, take the time to do the things you love, or take the time to discover what these things may be. Aside from that purpose, I think it's so important to live a balanced life, especially in high school. In high school, you are still in your safety net (you'll get exactly what I mean when you get to college) so enjoy this while you can. Have fun, go out with your friends, and live life to the fullest. There will be plenty of time to be focused on your career and your future and on all the responsibilities that come along with them. Don't start worrying about it all too early.


     I hope you guys all had a great weekend and that you have a lucky St. Patrick's Day week;)
I'll talk to you soon!

~Genesis<3