What Should You Be Doing Before Medical School
A lot of the time, we hear things we should not do before we start medical school. You have accomplished a great feat in getting accepted to medical school and now is the time to relax before the next journey. This is the time to hang out with friends, travel, sleep, catch up on TV, make money, or stare at a wall for 3 hours straight. I am definitely enjoying my time of rest by doing all of these things. Well, I’m not staring at the wall but I am doing the rest. Besides relaxing and choosing schools, there are things that we should actually be doing. Here I share a few of those things with you.
Hone in on your study skills - Now, I did not say study. I said hone your study skills. This means, make sure you know and understand the study tactics that work best for you and how to adjust. I have heard that your studying tactics can change in medical school depending on what you’re learning. However, knowing what works best for you will hopefully (I’ll let you know in a few months) make things easier when starting. For example, I liked using Anki for the MCAT. This is something I have heard a lot of medical students use and either you like it or don’t. I am going to spend some time learning how to use Anki (not studying but learning more Anki components) so that I can integrate it again into my learning. I also know that I prefer watching videos to reading and questions notes rather than regular notes.
Look for scholarships - I understand that for many of us we will be in debt because of medical school. That does not mean we cannot mitigate it. Every little bit helps. Right now, I am looking at scholarships offered by the schools I am applying to, my town, my state, and national scholarships. Applying for scholarships can be time consuming but its worth the benefits if you are accepted. A scholarship can make a difference in terms of how you live in school or the amount you owe later.
Build daily living habits - I can only speak for myself but when it comes to studying I tend to deprioritize things like cooking and cleaning. These things do not go away. They are part of your life and so you must incorporate them. I am spending some time making healthy simple meals that are not time consuming. I am also trying to be consistent with when I grocery shop (Saturdays), meal-prep (Sundays), and go to the gym (early mornings). I also try to read every day as a way to destress. I know that these habits may change in medical schools but being consistent now will hopefully allow me to be consistent later on.
What are some things you are doing or learning before medical school? How are you spending your time? Let me know!
