diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Hi. I am starting medicine in September, I am excited but equally, I am nervous. I made this blog to ask questions to other medical students. The question is, what resources outside of lectures or practicals have you found that are useful. I'm asking this question to hopefully build up a stock of resources I can consult if I feel necessary. These resources can be anything accessible online or as an application on a mobile device. I hope you see what I mean and can be of help. Thank you, Thomas

Hey! Congrats, that’s so exciting!

Some resources I find useful are Dr. Najeeb videos, osmosis app, Uworld, and FirstAid Step 1 book. Doing as many practice questions as possible and using those as study tools are definitley helpful!

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Hey there! I just finished my freshman year at a community college and decided to stop letting my fears dictate my life, so I'm pursuing becoming a surgeon! I'm not really sure what kind of extracurriculars to do or how to shadow doctors or do clinical volunteering, any advice?

Hey! That is awesome, congrats!

Extracurriculars should be anything you enjoy doing. There’s no “single way” to prepare for medical school, aside from GPA and MCAT. Everything else is variable. If you like playing soccer, do that, if you like volunteering at homeless shelters, do that. Etc.

I would definitley recommend doing some volunteer work and/or shadowing in a hospital as well though. The best way to do that is to just look up hospitals near you and see if they have applications for volunteering there. Also, if you know any family friends that are doctors, reach out to them to see if you can shadow them. Or, as your doctor if you can shadow him/her. Best thing to do is always ask, you have nothing to lose, and something will eventually work out.

Overall, just focus on learning the material the best that you can so you can build a competitive GPA, then focus on the MCAT when the time comes for that.

Best of luck :)

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Did you have a back up plan if medical school didn't work out/ you weren't to get in? Medicine is my dream but I am starting to fear I am not good enough & im terrified.

I didn’t necessarily have a back up plan—I was thinking maybe I would do pharmacy, worst case senario. But, I always have had my heart set on medicine. 

Do not fall into the trap of thinking you’re not good enough—just do the best you can, and try your best to not compare yourself to others. Everyone is different, there will always be someone better than us

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If you're not going to be a medical student until Aug 21, who is that in your profile pic?

It’s me... it’s past August 21 lol

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

5 sites every med student should know about!

Folllow my studygram:Studyspiration

When it comes to medicine, understanding the principles is key, however it might be quite difficult to understand even though you attend lectures and read all the chapters, which is pretty normal since most of the times neither professors or text books make any great sense - therefore these different sites, or youtube channels can help you out a great deal. Here are a collection of some that I have found useful and that pretty much everyone I know makes use of. 

1. Dr. Najeeb (https://www.drnajeeblectures.com/). You will often find medical students talking about this guy. He is probably what would be called a superhero between med students and that is for a good reason. His website features tons of videos that explains pretty much everything. He does it in an interactive way where he engages the audience and draws on the whiteboard so that you can follow along. This does cost money - however if you can split the bill between some of your friends, or you can use some other students login (if they are that generous ofcourse) 

2. Kenhub (https://www.kenhub.com/). Now this website is amazing for studying anatomy or the central nervous system (I think they are working on expanding their content, but this is what they have for now). It is very good because it gives you a simple overview over what you need to learn. The content on here consists of videos, articles and many quizesses which I loved during anatomy.

This website costs a monthly fee (there are also other options for payment), however you can split this with some friends as well, I shared my account with my study buddy. 

3. Khan academy (https://da.khanacademy.org/). You have probably stumbled across some of their videos on youtube, however they also have a website where all of these videos have been compiled and they have made up this “interactive” system where you gain points for finishing videos. this is for FREE. Yes you heard right free. 

4. Anatomy zone (Youtube channel) Now this is almost an essentiel for every semester that you do. In almost all of your courses you need a little bit of anatomy, and thankfully this youtube channel has got you covered. It is soo good! I mostly make use of this channel, because honestly they just do it so well and its free. 

5. Armando Hasudungan (Youtube channel). This very talented artist, makes all the medical concepts become illustrative and thereby making the understanding of the principles that we cannot see become more easy. 

Study hard, study smart and stay motivated, 

Love, 

Dunia

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

My first day of medical school is today! I am beyond excited. My studying technique is: 1. Pre-read the lecture notes to get an understanding and mental-map on what is going to be covered 2. Take notes during lectures 3. Make concept maps of the notes and use your books as supplemental resources (to further explain things and provide examples if needed) 4. Study the more difficult material first 5. After piecing together the concepts, memorize the necessary facts/values/etc. 6. Self-test with practice questions from a reputable question bank (such as UWorld, Osmosis, Pastest & Firecracker) This is my study approach--I will keep you posted on how it pays off 👍🏼

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Amazing--it has been done--Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), can generate any cell type of interest for treatment within the patient’s own body. Regenerative medicine is my favorite 👌🏼

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Hey any tips on how to stay chill during this application process?? I just submitted and am waiting to be verified. (MD and DO)

It is definitely not a fun waiting game! But apply to a Caribbean Medical school (specifically St. George’s University, it’s the most reputable/best one) because if that works out, at least you have something. It could relieve some anxieties from the whole waiting game

option 2 would be sucking it up and hoping for the best, everyone goes through it, unfortunately. And it's not easy for anyone, except those really smart people who have 4.0 and perfect MCAT lol

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

If you don't mind me asking, what was your overall college gpa? I am a freshman pre med student and I'm finishing my first year with a 3.5 and I feel terrible and really worried about how this will affect me in the long run.

3.74--do the best you can, make sure you take breaks and something will work out as long as you stay dedicated and are sure medicine is what you want to pursue. If your GPA is on the lower end, you can work to try to make up for it by scoring well on the MCAT and having extra curricular involvement and doing research

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Are you actually a medical student?

Yes, starting August 21

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Very amazing page! Hope your medical school endeavors don't fail you and I am always willing to be apart of your "tumblr support group"😂👌😊

Thank you! I appreciate it! I am really looking forward to starting this month :)

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Reallyyyy love your Tumblr! Love your posts❤️️❤️️your posts are all inspirational❤️️so I am just wondering what is your method to stop procrastinating?

Awh thank you, I appreciate it! That means a lot! I overcome procrastinating by having a plan for each day and I stick to it. It requires pushing yourself and staying motivated and driven and knowing that your goal to be a doctor is a long term goal, it takes time and dedication.--slow and steady wins the race

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Hi! I'm highly considering applying to UF! Do you have any tips on applying? Also, one my teachers (who I am getting a letter of recommendation from) went to UF would that help me in any way? I am a junior and I currently have a 3.7 GPA. Thank you so much and congratulations on getting into medical school! :)

Hey! Thanks!UF is an awesome school (I'm bias lol), I definitely recommend applying, I'm guessing you're referring to medical school? Having a rec letter from a UF professor might help slightly. But what really matters is your GPA, MCAT, personal experiences and extracurricular involvement.

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

What are some events that made you realize you wanted to become a doctor ?

I took a chemistry honors class my 3rd year in high school and loved it! At the same time, my aunt was battling cancer and it got me thinking about how science is applied to the medical field. I started shadowing doctors, volunteering in hospitals and doing research and I fell more in love with medicine with everything I did

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Don't forget to take sanity breaks: going to the gym or finding reasons to smile and laugh! Have to get some comic relief after all that studying!

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Slow and steady wins the race.

[diaryofamedicalstudentblog-blog]

Having knowledge doesn’t make you successful–how you apply your knowledge does.