Top 5 Things That Have SAVED Me In Medical School!
Tags: Schools, Efficient Working, Tips And Tricks, Studying, Medical School

Top 5 Things that have SAVED me in Medical School!

If you haven’t heard by now, medical school is tough. Real tough. It’s one of several careers that is incredibly hard to get into and get through. So, knowing some tips and tricks that I learned along the way, has made the entire process easier and enjoyable! Here are the top 5 things I use in medical school that have saved me! *

Anki — This is an app that allows me to practice spaced repetition in the form of “flash cards” I make my own or use pre-made decks. This allows me to see material that I’m weak on more frequently but less frequently on others that I am strong in. This allows me to save time and study effectively. Because, who wants to study 1000+ cards every day when they can study maybe a fifth of that amount and is targeting your weak points? Am I right, or am I right? Sketchy Medical — Cartoons, cartoons, CARTOONS! Yep, I said it. I watch cartoons in medical school and boy, have they have helped me. They’re not your typical cartoons you’ll see on Nickelodeon though. They are like a mix of “sketches” and cartoons and they use unique and memorable symbols that can represent drug names, mechanism of actions, bacteria, viruses, fungal, and all sorts of pathologic diseases. It’s really nifty when you have to all of a sudden remember 50+ different drug names and what they do and when to use them. It’s a lifesaver for those types of minutiae and esoteric factoids that medical schools require you to know. First Aid — “A textbook?! Yuck, no way you’re going to make me read a textbook after recommending me to watch cartoons!” This is what you must be thinking as you’re reading this and scratching your head. Just hear me out. It’s literally the backbone of the first two years in medical school and it is organized so beautifully. It has some little mnemonics here and there that the authors have graced us medical students with. It has pictures. It has little snippets of consolidated information that covers majority of your pre-clinical education. This book is not your ordinary textbook that makes you cringe with anxiety and dread. It may not be 100% inclusive of every single thing but it sure comes close. Annotating this along with using my other resources have set me up greatly in terms of laying a strong foundation. Pathoma — Yeah, I’m giving you another book, but it is considered to be the gold standard if you want to learn and master pathology. Like First Aid, it has all the wonderful things I listed above, but with one exception. It has associated lecture video series that is given by Dr. Sattar, the author of Pathoma. He explains the most complicated concepts so well that it just clicks in your head. It just makes sense. Question banks — I know, I know, practice questions seem so dry and boring. It is. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. But you need it. What’s the point in studying and absorbing all this material like a sponge if you can’t apply the information? That’s what the entire medical field is about! Think of it like a climbing a pyramid or a mountain or… well, something tall and dangerous. You start at the bottom and everything is swell, it’s easy and safe, and within your comfort zone. It’s just one layer of material. Now, you climb a little higher. The material becomes a little denser and begins to connect anatomy, physiology or biochemistry. It seems convoluted at first glance but it’s not. That’s another layer of material you need to know. Stakes increase you rise to the top. Everything intertwines with everything else. One concept is linked to three others and those three concepts are linked to many others. Anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, pathology, all become meshed together to form the big picture. THAT is what is important and needed to understand for medical school exams. Doing many questions will you master this and set up you up for success down the road.

These aren’t in a particular order but if they had to be, I would put all of them as #1, because honestly, they all deserve that rank. All five are interconnected and used together in a way, like how fabric is weaved together into one to make a shirt or a pair of pants. The list is not exhaustive though, there are many other things that I use on a daily basis for medical school, but these are the five that just top everything else.

Now, before I leave you, I would like to leave you with this important advice. Assuming you are an aspiring medical student reading this, no matter what resource you use or how you use it, your future patients will thank you for all the hard work and hours you put in now. All this work you are investing in now, will help save their life later. And in the grand scheme of things, that is the only thing that matters. Passion + hard work = success!

*Side note: Not all things listed above are free and require a one-time purchase or a subscription to use the resources. Please look into them as this is just a short recap of what I personally use. Do what fits you best in your studying style! No use in doing something you find ineffective. Now, using these resources doesn’t guarantee anything but they are promising, and if used correctly, can help you on your journey to becoming the physician you have always dreamed to become!

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