Prepping for medical school is an uphill task for many of the students who get accepted to medical schools. There is not only the pressure to perform but also the fear of venturing into a new field.
Medicine, like any other course, will be tested at various stages, for example, the capstone project for nursing. These tests are not just there for grading, but to also capture the students’ experiences. Whatever the students pick along the way will come in handy when it comes to their actual practice.
There is, therefore, a need for aspiring medical students to know some information before joining medical school. The following are important things to know before starting medical school:
1. You need to love medicine
Practicing medicine should be more than just a source of income to you. You should have the passion for learning. The best way to make it through medical school is to love whatever it is that you are doing.
2. There is time to enjoy more of what life offers
Though most of the time, as a medical student, you will be required to study often, you have a chance to live a ‘fun’ life. With proper scheduling and time management, you will have enough time to do more than just books.
3. Medicine is more than just science
It is more than just what is written in the books. It is about helping people and trying to relate to different kinds of people who will come along the career. It’s all about learning new things daily and learning to deal with people of different temperaments.
4. You will question your reasons for choosing medicine
Along the way, as the studying and tests, like the nursing capstone project, get more challenging, you will doubt your reasons for choosing medicine. The trick to overcoming this is to remember what drives you to medical school in the first place.
5. Identify new studying techniques
The probability of succeeding with old study habits in medical school are slim. It is so because of the extensive content that you should master. To increase your chances of achieving in medical school, find study techniques that will aid your memory and understanding.
6. Importance of Building networks
Though studies may take up most of your time, do not end up being a lone wolf. Establish connections with other students. They may become useful. For nursing students, for example, they may help you come up with a capstone project nursing idea.
7. Don’t forget to take care of yourself
As the learning becomes intense, one may find themselves engulfed in so much study that they forget to take care of themselves. Eat healthily, get enough sleep and exercise. It will not only keep your body in check, but it will also make your brain comparatively more active.
8. Keep an open mind
Don’t join the medical school with a fixed notion of what to do. Keep an open mind to discover what it is that you love best. Before venturing to a particular field in medicine, ensure that indeed you have a yearning for that field.
9. Stay up to date
Medical school requires a little bit of juggling. You have to balance between studying for your most urgent issue, e.g., an exam, but also making sure not to fall behind in your other lessons. It all falls to how well you schedule your time.
10. It will require sacrifice
The medical school will require you to sacrifice a lot. You may even lose some friends along the way. You need to sacrifice some of your activities to remain on track.
11. You don’t have to be necessarily the top of your class
Having gotten to be accepted into a medical school, it means that you are brilliant, and are all the other students in the class. So you should not be worked up if you are not the best in class. Just work hard.
Conclusion
With adequate preparation, one can cruise through medical school without much trouble.