I hate class. I always have. Not only am I not an auditory learner, I remain unconvinced that anyone can really focus on professors droning over powerpoint slides for FOUR HOURS. I have become a highly selective class attender, and my grades second semester rose as a result. If class isn't helpful, it is an enormous time sink. This probably isn't for everyone. The more general message is to not be afraid of learning the way that works best for you, even if it means giving up something that classmates may swear by or taking on something they have sworn off.*
Step 5 - Creating the Perfect Study Environment
I have a new, non-ghetto apartment. It comes complete with a living room large enough for my desk and bookshelves, so I can move these items out of the bedroom. If I learned anything in Doctoring last year, it is that studying near or on your bed is poor sleep hygiene. Though I am usually in the library, it is good to have backup study spaces for when the library is overcrowded and for when you reach that special point during exam week that makes you deeply ponder stripping down and running through the library in your undies, clucking like a chicken, just to change things up a bit.
Step 6 - Embracing my Inner Homebody
I am not going to go out if I would honest-to-God rather be studying on a Saturday night. While it is going to be important to take time to relax, it is also important to be able to stand up and proudly say, "I'm a dork and I am staying in." Sometimes I find it more relaxing to read over some new material than to do something else and worry about the fact that I am not studying.
Step 7 - Textbook Selection
I am fed up with professors requiring books that they wrote, or that they have used for the past 20 years. I'm not buying them. They are in the library, and all my friends will have copies sitting in their carrels as well. I am only buying books that I think will make good learning/reference aids based off of reviews from other students and online. There are excellent textbooks out there. Purchasing lousy ones kills me a little on the inside.
Step 8 - Remembering Step 2
I will lapse in my exercise program. It is written in the stars. No matter how busy I get, I am simply going to have to tell myself over and over to make the time. Most likely, I am going to need to start getting up in the morning and exercising first thing every day to make myself keep a set schedule. I cringe to think of it now.
Step 9 - It Is Never Too Early to Think About Boards
From everything I have read, it is helpful to have board review subject books that you use while taking the classes. It is an extra resource while preparing for med school exams, and when board review time does come around you can study from books you are already familiar with. I have heard some med schools actually get their students to read First Aid over the summer between 1st and 2nd year. I have not done that, but it gives me something to think about.
Step 10 - Maintaining Mental Health
I was treated for depression during my first year. I don't think this is uncommon. Medical school is hard. People get low grades. People get stressed, so much so that marriages can fall apart. I didn't have those particular problems, but people who get into medical school are the driven, tightly-wound types who are prone to be harsh self-critics. As it turns out, self-worth is not determined by academic achievement, and a robust acknowledgment of this can do wonders for your mood.
Step 11 - Clinging to an Extracurricular
I sing in a chorus. And don't you know? Every performance we have seems to fall on an exam week. But I will keep singing till I am blue in the face, because I need something that is completely unrelated to medicine that I do with an entirely different group of people than my classmates. It is a healthy break.
*Eating the syllabus is not an effective study method.
