Hi everyone!
My name is Jamie and I’m a first year emergency medicine resident.
Today I want to talk about five things I wish I knew before starting medical school.
Let’s jump right in.
Number 1 is Self Studying
When I first started medical school I found it surprising how much self-directed studying
there was.
In one of my videos, a lot of you guys asked why the lecture halls were so empty and the
reason is medical schools are moving in the direction recording lectures so students can
watch the videos at home at their own pace.
It’s not uncommon for medical students to “miss” class and study at home.
And unlike in high school or college, where one professor might be in charge of teaching
a class and writing the exams, in medical school, there were several different professors
and doctors coming in to talk about what is often their specialty or research interest.
So lecturers didn’t necessarily stress what would be on our board exams.
This means that a lot of the board studying is done your own.
A lot of you guys ask me how to best prepare for medical school and I think the best advice
is to develop good study skills and habits, no matter what you’re studying at your level.
I think having a good set of tools for memorization and comprehension will come in handy at all
levels of learning.
Number 2 Medical school is EXPENSIVE.
ESPECIALLY in the United States.
But it’s hard to actually grasp the magnitude of cost until you look at your loans at the
end of medical school and see that you are literally in hundreds of thousands of dollars
in debt.
The average med student in 2017 graduated with close $200,000 of debt and 14% percent
of them have debts exceeding $300,000 in education debt including pre-med debt.
Needless to say, going into medicine means you will be delaying true financial independence
for a long time.
Some of the things you can do to minimize this debt burden is by lowering your pre-med
or undergraduate debt as much as possible.
So if you have several choices in where to go for college, I would definitely keep this
in mind.
I would say the same is true for the most part when it comes to choosing your medical
school.
You will likely have a similar quality of education at one US medical school versus
another so definitely keep cost in mind when you are choosing a school.
Number 3 is Support system is everything
When it comes to training in medicine, you’re really in it for the long haul.
Your medical training doesn’t end with 4 years of medical school- it continues throughout
residency which can last up to 7 years in certain specialties.
So you may not be thinking about family or having kids right now, but you might be in
your late 20s and early 30s while you’re still in training.
I once spoke to a female neurosurgeon who had FIVE kids.
When asked how she manages everything she said it all comes down to having a supportive
partner.
I want to echo that sentiment and stress how incredibly important it is to have a partner
who understand the demands of working in medicine.
I have a great partner who knows that my hours are long and often inflexible.
It doesn’t always mean our schedules line up perfectly but just knowing that he understands
puts me at ease even when my schedule gets crazy.
Number 4 You will still have time for things outside of medicine
Probably the most surprising thing about medical school was how much time I actually had to
develop new hobbies and pursue other interests.
Of course it takes a bit of time management and prioritizing but it’s definitely doable.
For example, fitness and YouTube are relatively new hobbies that I picked up while still in
medical school.
I know many of my colleagues have picked up and continued their hobbies of traveling,
reading, photography, and even runway modeling while in medical school.
I would say it’s even encouraged that you look beyond the world of medicine to develop
yourself as a well-rounded person.
At the end of the day, we work in a profession where we talk to and relate to patients and
having a broad knowledge about things OUTSIDE of medicine will make you a much better doctor.
Number 5 is Imposter syndrome
In the beginning of my medical school career, we were given a talk about Imposter syndrome
and how a lot of us, even the best of us, deal with it.
Personally, there were times when I totally felt like an imposter at my medical school
and even now at my residency.
I think it helps to know that other people also feel the same way.
Especially in medicine, it’s impossible to know everything and we tend to be pretty
hard on ourselves.
My advice to you is the same one Sheryl Sandberg had for her readers in Lean In: fake it til
you make it.
If you don’t feel like you have the confidence, fake it and act as if you’re the most confident
person in the world and slowly you’ll start to believe it yourself.
Another advice is to be kind to yourself.
Like I said, we can’t possibly know everything.
We will make mistakes.
I think it’s best to accept and acknowledge our gaps in knowledge, apologize when we are
wrong, and try the best we can.
That’s all we can do.
AND that’s all I got for today.
Before I close the video, I want to thank Skillshare for sponsoring this video.
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design, technology,
productivity, and more.
If you have the premium membership, you can get unlimited access to high quality classes
from experts working in their field so you can really develop new hobbies and explore
new opportunities.
Recently, I’ve been taking the Fundamentals of Photography course to better connect with
you guys through my photos.
I love that the classes are online and easily accessible so it really works around my busy
schedule.
Skillshare is also affordable at less than $10/month for the annual subscription.
If you want to try Skillshare for free, you can click the link in the description box
below for 2 months of free trial.
This offer is only for the first 500 people so make sure to try it before it runs out.
So that’s it for today’s video.
I hope you guys found it useful and interesting.
If you are in medical school, please comment below on some of the things you guys wish
you knew before medical school.
As always, if you want to support the channel, please check out thestrivetofit.com for some
merchandise including sweatshirts and stationery.
If you’re already not following me on instagram or twitter, you can do so @thestrivetofit.
AND lastly you can check out some of my other videos by clicking over here.
Thanks again and see you in the next video!