On the bus tour, I heard from an awful lot of very concerned first semester students, and rightfully so. Apparently, they had talked to a few upper semester students who scared the crap out of them. Unfortunately, while some of what the upper semesters said may have been true (and only some of it), they did not really provide the whole picture. So, here's what first semesters ought to know right now, in the beginning of the semester (imo):
1. Don't be scared that you're in medical school, because of whatever rumors you may have heard. Be excited, because YOU'RE FINALLY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL!!! Hopefully, you're finally in the place that you've been dreaming of being at for years!
2. Medical school is not really that difficult! Yes, you read that right. Nothing that we learn is difficult. The only potential problem is the sheer volume of information that we're given. You will cover far more anatomy here in 3 and a half months than you would cover in an entire year of college anatomy with lab. But, if you want to succeed, all you have to do is keep on top of things, leading to...
3. YOU MUST KEEP ON TOP OF THINGS! This means that you should study every day, or at least almost every day. The information is not hard, but if you get behind, it is nearly impossible to catch back up. And, getting behind may be just a day or two. 4-6 hours a day should be sufficient.
4. This may not be true in absolutely every situation, but in general, if you're studying 8 hours a day, every day, you're probably doing something wrong and should seek the help of an academic skills counselor (which AUC does provide). You can absolutely have a life in medical school, albeit probably not quite what you're used to at home. During my short time here, I've been to the beach plenty of times, gone SCUBA diving a bunch of times, flown home 4 or 5 times, gone out to eat a ton of times, and kept up with all my TV shows (of which there are a lot). You just need to develop good study habits, which I'm honestly still working on, and balance your time effectively
5. This may be the biggest one, but a lot of people apparently need to hear it. If you want to do well here, you work hard, and use the available resources, you will become an MD in 4 years. Yes, there are a lot of people that fail here. But, with very few exceptions, it was no one's fault but their own. Like I said, there are a very very small number of exceptions, but your performance is directly proportional to your effort. If you slack off, go to the bars, and spend your money at the casino, you may very well fail. If you don't keep up and study the week before an exam, you will likely fail. But, if you really want to be here, study, and keep up, you're going to pass. Don't let the people who failed get you down. Some (but again, not all) people at AUC seem to think that their failures are everyone's fault but their own. They'll tell you how they failed a class because the teacher was awful, the exam was awful, or whatever else they can come up with. The sad truth though is that it was not the exam's fault, or the teacher's fault...it was probably their fault. Lots of people fail, but MOST people don't.
6. Don't forget where you are...sometimes it's easy to lose sight. If you read my blog regularly, you know that, for various reasons, I am not a fan of the island. However, I am a big fan of actually being in medical school. Despite the minor (or sometimes, seemingly major) hiccups that you may experience at AUC, most of the students are great, most of the faculty is great, and the school will get you to where you want to be. It may not seem like it during 1st or 2nd semester, but this is what you've been counting down every day for. Get your head in the books from day one, but don't forget to have a little fun too.
OK, rant -- off
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