Congratulations! You have been accepted to the medical school of your choice. After years of sacrifice, staying in on weekends and studying, you will be going to medical school. You will now embark upon a rewarding, exciting and rich career in medicine. Your only concern right now is how to properly prepare yourself for the next several years in this field. This is a life changing experience and will be difficult, stressful and overwhelming on the initial day.
Here are the top seven tips to prepare for medical school:
1. Get a Part-Time Job
Let’s face it: medical school is expensive. It isn’t just tuition, but everything else as well: textbooks, living on campus, food, activities, technology and the list goes on. It would be a wise idea to get a part-time job to help cover some of the costs involved.
2. Forget Pre-Studying
A common mistake that students planning to go to medical school make is that they pre-study. Before you begin medical school, there really is no need to start studying anatomy, biochemistry or anything else related to your field. You will learn everything in class.
3. Learn About Various Specialties
In the field of medicine, there are countless specialties. It is up to you which one you want to hone in on: proctology, podiatry, neuroscience, oncology, gynecology, etc. This is something that you don’t need to decide on right away, but it’s best to have some type ofidea from the start.
4. Speak with Other Doctors
To get the best advice and to get an inkling of what life is like in medicine, you should speak with other doctors. If you have a family doctor then see if you can sit down with him or her and garner some wisdom.
5. What Are Your Primary Goals?
It’s important to determine what your primary objectives are studying medicine. Is it because you want to earn a lot of money? Is it because you want to save people? Is it because you’re remarkable in this area? Whatever the case, you should write down what your goals are and revisit them from time to time.
6. Spend Your Free Time with Family & Friends
Since you will be spending the next seven years buried in books, examinations, classes and everything else associated with medical school, you won’t get to spend too much time with friends and family back home. Before you make your departure, spend your free time with your loved ones.
7. Always Keep Your Parents in the Loop
Any and all updates relating to your first year in medical school should be relayed to your parents. Because they are likely paying some of the freight, and because they are your parents, you should always keep them in the loop.
