When someone tells you that the first year of medical school will be one of the most challenging experiences ever, they weren't lying. Here are the different parts to M1 year that I thought were important and wanted to share some tips.
Studying: This is going to DOMINATE your life until you find out exactly how much you need to study in order to do well. Over studying will lead to burn out while understudying will cause you to fail your classes. Furthermore, the amount of resources out there is quite overwhelming. You have to find out what studying tools and techniques work best for you and stick to it. Changing your studying style in the middle of a unit will hurt you tremendously. Be ready, especially for your "foundation classes", to be studying over 60 hours of power points with another 60 hours of cases for your final. This is not to scare you but to tell you the truth so you know what to expect studying-wise. It's kinda like taking the MCAT every single month. Furthermore, don't fall into the trap of listening to others on their study habits. Everyone studies differently so make sure you stick to your style for the best results.
- You can always use outside resources to reinforce ideas. Your best friends will be youtube (channels such as Ninjanerd), B&B, and Sketchy
Mental Health: The simple fact is, almost everyone in medical school will have a time where there mental health slips. Whether it is due to imposter syndrome or burn out, every student at one point will face a mental health problem. Thus, if your mental health does slip, you should realize that it is a completely normal thing that happens to everyone so seeking the right help is never taboo. Furthermore, you should make a strong friend group which you can lean on. Take the time to hang out with friends and party a little, it won't hurt.
Physical Health: A lot of people on tik tok talk about how they get up early to go to the gym to start their day. However, in reality, getting up early after a long night of studying is not sustainable. But it is also crucial to take care of your physical health so you are at your best. I understand that a lot of people might not feel like they have time but I recommend taking 30 minutes out of your day to do some light walking or some other light exercise. Just like freshmen year in undergrad, being an M1 can result in a freshmen-15 but it's important to take care of yourself and go to the gym. On lighter weeks, I would play long hours of basketball with my friends to get in some exercise. On heavier weeks, I would go to the gym for 45 minutes or walk outside to clear my mind.
Relationships: Speaking from my friends' experience, relationships will be strained. Your significant other will feel like you don't have enough time for them and that you aren't giving them the attention that they need. However, it is important to remind them that they are your support system and that you are doing this for the both of them. Although relationships do get strained, you can come out stronger if you make the right moves.
Friendships: Finding "your people" in medical school is the most crucial thing one can do. Not only will these people be your support group, but they will understand everything you are going thru because they will be going thru it too. Studying with a friend or two can also be beneficial as you can ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other. You should try to find people with similar interests and studying styles so that you complement each other instead of contradict.
Professors: It is crucial to have a relationship with some professors. These people are well-rehearsed in their fields and know how to write AMAZING recommendation letters. For my current summer internship, the professor I asked for a recommendation letter already knew the Institute and helped me get into the program. Professors have affiliations and connections everywhere so talking to them is crucial! I would suggest talking about something that interests them and going from there. Furthermore, most professors in medical school have their own labs so you can get research experience from them.
Summer Internships: Try to find internships early. I would suggest that over winter break, you slowly start looking over internships that might interest you and start preparing essays and recommendation letters for them so that right when they open up, you can apply. I honestly applied late to a lot of internships which hurt my chances so I would start a lot earlier.
Previous students: I would highly recommend talking to students in the year ahead and students applying for residencies. The students in the year ahead can guide you about classes and resources you should use. Students applying for residencies can teach you about that process. Furthermore, when you apply to your own residencies, knowing people in programs can tremendously help you and they can vouch for you to the program. You can also learn more about the career path you want to pursue.
If you're starting off medical school or are applying soon, don't be afraid to reach out with any questions! I'll try my best to answer them.
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