Three Things From First Year

This past year has zipped right on by and it seems impossible that its almost over. My first year of medical school was hard, but truly a great experience. I put in countless hours of studying, and I'm not going to lie and say it was always easy to study for such long periods of time (12 hour biochemistry study days anyone?). Looking back though, my first year was great. I'm convinced that the key to being happy in medical school is balance. For me, balance looks like studying hard during the day and minimizing distractions so I can take a break to cook up a nice, healthy meal with Spencer. It's keeping myself on a tight schedule during the week so I can take a Saturday afternoon to spend time with my family. If you're starting medical school this coming fall remember that you always have time for the things you value most. I was recently asked this question, "if you could travel back in time one year and offer yourself three pieces of advice about the upcoming year, what would they be?". So for you soon-to-be medical students out there, here are three things that I felt helped me be successful in my first year of medical school as well as in my much-cherished personal life outside of med school.

~  Be open to different study techniques and actively seek out the one that works best for you. If your old way of studying doesn’t seem to be cutting it, work diligently to find something that does.

~ Time management is the key to enjoying your journey through medical school, and organization is your friend! Nobody wants to spend all their time studying, but in order to have free time, you need to keep track of time. Prepare for things in advance and you’ll be able to take a little time off when you need it.

~  In everything that you do, be all there. This means using lectures and study time effectively by being engaged and staying focused. It also means taking a night off every now and then to forget about studying and focus completely on investing in relationships with the people around you. 

And as an aside, I'll add in that remaining caffeinated helps achieve all three of the above!