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Wei Ming Liang, OMS-2

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Age 28
From New York City, New York
B.S. Biology from Stony Brook University

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

Monday: An exam in the afternoon, followed by lunch with friends. After that, I study until about 7 to 8 pm at school before calling it a day. T
Tuesday: I attend an OMM lecture from 9-10 am, followed by Behavioral Science class from 12-1 pm, and an OMM lab from 1-3 pm. After that, I study at the library until 10 pm.
Wednesday: I have Clinical Science classes from 9-12 pm and then usually study until 10 pm.
Thursday: I work on my studies from 11-5 pm and then continue studying until 10 pm.
Friday: I attend Medsim from 8-2 pm, and then study until 10 pm. Saturday and Sunday are usually days off, with just a bit of studying, unless it’s near an exam, in which case they become full study days. It seems like a lot of studying, but honestly, there are also times where I just talk with friends or watch YouTube videos to unwind.

Are there unique aspects to the curriculum at your medical school or niches that your medical school has emphasized with respect to medical education?

OMM has really helped me improve my palpation skills and has made me more comfortable using my sense of touch. While there are both pros and cons to OMM, and some topics make me question its effectiveness, I believe that the ability to palpate and solidify my anatomy knowledge is a real advantage.

What clubs and organizations (both academic and non-academic) are you a part of? Additionally, are there any organizations or club events (even if you aren’t a part of them) that you think are unique to your school?

I am part of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons student organization as its vice president and the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association student organization as its treasurer. One of the events that I find really helpful and unique is the biannual health fair that Touro puts on in Harlem, where all the student organizations participate. APAMSA also hosts Project Heal, where we teach high school students about hepatitis B. Another distinctive event/program at Touro is Medachieve, where high school students come in on a weekly basis and are taught and mentored by medical students.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school? What are some of the more common things you or your classmates have done in the surrounding area during your free time for fun?

There are plenty of restaurants around Harlem where my friends and I go during our free time. We have also caught a number of movies in the movie theater, which is just a block away. Additionally, there are multiple gyms and a rock climbing place near the school that we often visit for recreation.Some people end up going to medical school very close to where they grew up, whereas others move to a completely new place.

Depending on your personal experience, can you describe how the location of your medical school relative to your family/support system/home base has affected your experience?

I grew up in New York City, and I consider myself lucky to still live with my family, who are a big part of my support system. Being able to come home to a home-cooked meal and having someone to talk to (my brother is also in med school as a first-year) has been a tremendous support during my medical school experience.

How would you describe the social scene outside of medical school?

The social scene outside of medical school is less frequent now, but during the first year, after exams, we used to go out to eat or go out for drinks. It almost without fail ended with us at K-town for karaoke.How has your medical school facilitated physical and mental well-being?

To expand on this question… Do you think your program has prioritized the well-being of its students? Do you have access to a gym or other ways of exercising? Do you have access to mental health resources?

Touro has been supportive of our physical and mental well-being. The program has prioritized student well-being, and we have access to a gym and other ways of exercising. Moreover, we have access to mental health resources to ensure we can address any challenges or stress that may arise during our medical education.

How has your medical school helped you connect with mentors, and how have these mentors helped you?

Each student gets an upperclassman as a mentor the minute they begin their first year, as well as a faculty advisor. These mentors have been instrumental in providing guidance, support, and advice throughout my journey in medical school.

During your first and second year of medical school, what exposure to clinical medicine have you had? Are there unique experiences during the pre-clinical years that expose medical students to patient interaction?

During the first and second year of medical school, we have had some exposure to clinical medicine, including interactions with patients through unique experiences integrated into the pre-clinical curriculum.

What would you say has been the most difficult part of medical school? An alternative question… What do you think has been the biggest sacrifice you have made in going to medical school?

The most difficult part about medical school was dealing with the sheer amount of material and learning to accept that it is impossible to know everything and be perfect at everything. Initially, the volume of material was overwhelming, but with time, I adapted and learned to focus on doing my best rather than striving for perfection.

If you could go back in time to the beginning of your undergraduate years, what advice would you give yourself?

I would tell myself to participate in more clubs and socialize more during my undergraduate years.

How are your pre-clinical courses graded? Are video lectures available? Either live or for review?

Pre-clinical courses are graded on a z-score scale based on the averages and standard deviation of the previous three years. Video lectures are available, and we have both live classes and recorded lectures for review.

Jonathan Carnino, MS1

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Age: 24
Hometown: Foxboro, MA
Undergrad: Boston University
Major: Human Physiology

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

My typical day of medical school starts with waking up around 5/5:30am, having my coffee, then going straight to school for studying or working on one of my research projects. I usually study/work every morning until my first class of the day, which is usually at 8am or 9am. For 3/5 days of the week, we finish class by 12pm at the latest and the afternoon we are free to use as we wish. On those days I head home, eat lunch, then continue studying until 3/4pm. I try my best to give a hard cut off of 5pm every day, and use my nights to cook, exercise, watching Netflix, and decompress. In a typical week, 2/5 days we have “Doctoring” in the afternoon which usually runs until 4pm. With morning classes being typical curriculum, “Doctoring” is where we learn how to actually be a doctor. One day is used for clinical skill practicing, longitudinal preceptorship, or standardized patient interviewing. The other day of Doctoring is small group learning where we go through patient cases and develop our clinical reasoning skills. After these Doctoring afternoons I typically take the afternoon off as described above. Most weekends are pretty busy with studying or working on research, so I usually start early around 7am and finish by 3 or 4pm. I always use the weekend after an exam to rest and recharge, not allowing myself to start any work until at least mid day Sunday. I definitely start my days front heavy but it’s always worth it to have my afternoons/nights free to do whatever I want. That’s a typical day!

Are there unique aspects to the curriculum at your medical school or niches that your medical school has emphasized with respect to medical education?

BUSM definitely puts an extra emphasis on incorporating social determinants of health and serving the underserved into our curriculum. 2-3 times a semester we have an entire week blocked off called “LEADS”. The workload these weeks is very low but there’s a full schedule of didactics, physician panels, and small group case work that we work on. For those interested in incorporating this into their medical education, BUSM is definitely a program worth considering. In addition, the faculty is certainly open to student feedback and we’ve seen our recommendations be implemented in real time as we go through the year. This is probably not as common at other schools and really appreciated by the students.

What clubs and organizations (both academic or non-academic) are you a part of? Additionally, are there any organizations or club events (even if you aren’t a part of them) that you think are unique to your school?

So far I’ve joined Socially Responsible Surgery, Surgical Society, some interest groups (Otolaryngology, EM, Anesthesia), and BU Mentoring for Aspiring Physician Students (MAPS). Socially Responsible Surgery is actually a growing national group that was started at BUSM a few years back by our trauma department. They’re expanding rapidly and there’s definitely a lot of neat opportunities coming from that. Even if you don’t end up at BUSM, it’s worth checking to see if your school has the club too, and if not, start a chapter of your own! MAPS is definitely my favorite, and although it’s specific to BU, I am sure every program has a similar club involved in mentorship. I have really loved working with pre-meds in the area and offering them advice on MCAT studying, application tips, and any other questions that come up.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school? What are some of the more common things you or your classmates have done in the surrounding area during your free time/for fun? 

The main teaching hospital (which is physically attached to the school) is BMC. BMC is the largest safety net hospital in New England and is situated in an area that makes it very accessible to the underserved communities in the area. An obvious side effect of its proximity is some low levels of crime nearby, but the University police do a fantastic job of keeping the students safe and comfortable. There’s genuinely never been a report of any student having a problem walking around the area that I know of, but just wanted to mention this before people visit! Even if it may not look the safest one block away, I assure you the community is great and everyone looks out for one another. Our class so far has planned a few social events such as group discounts at local bars, a ski trip to Vermont, and many other smaller events. I’m biased but Boston is genuinely the greatest city there is. We have absolutely amazing food, you can never run out of places to try. We have many great bars and breweries in the city. Lots of fun stuff like kayaking in the summer, rock climbing places, and things like that. Plus, if you like to snowboard or ski like me, it’s just a short 2 hour drive to some decent mountains in NH/VT.

Some people end up going to medical school very close to where they grew up where as others move to a completely new place. Depending on your personal experience, can you describe how the location of your medical school relative to your family/support system/home base has affected your experience?

I grew up in MA and went to school in Boston just an hour away from my hometown. I really do appreciate being nearby home, but I still feel far enough away that my life is very much separate from my family/friends from home. If I ever want to run home for dinner one night or stay a weekend, I have the luxury of it being nearby. But if I need time to myself and really need to study/focus, I’m far enough that I don’t end up being bothered.

How would you describe the social scene outside of medical school?

Although our class size is pretty big (I think ~160, don’t quote me), the class doesn’t feel too big. Everyone seems to know each other to some degree or at least of one another. We are constantly being rotated into different groups so at this point 6 months in I would assume everyone has met one another at least once. Most people are open to share their study resources like notes or Anki decks, so I don’t believe we have any sort of competition between one another. Plus, being fully P/F pre-clinical with no internal rankings, there’s really no need for competition which has fostered a great atmosphere in the class.

How has your medical school facilitated physical and mental well-being? To expand on this question….Do you think your program has prioritized the well-being of its students? Do you have access to a gym or other ways of exercising? Do you have access to mental health resources? 

It seems BUSM offers just about any resource a student could need. If you’re falling behind in class or need to retake an exam, the school sets you up with a tutor to help you catch up and get back on track. Need to miss class for a doctor appt., from what I’ve heard the school has no problem with that. They emphasize the top priority being the students well-being, and second priority being that you are keeping up with class and succeeding. The student dorm has a gym and all medical students have access (for free) to BU’s undergrad gym. Overall I think the resources are there it’s just about seeking them out.

How has your medical school helped you connect with mentors and how have these mentors helped you?

As for general career mentors, we are assigned to an AME advisor from day 1 who we see weekly for Doctoring class and also meet with every semester 1 on 1. These advisors are all super nice people who are open to students emailing them at any point and/or meeting for extra time. I definitely feel supported in general by the faculty and our advisors. As for research, just like every school there are some departments/professors who are extremely open to having a student take on a project with them, then there are some who are not. If you sent out 6 emails looking for research, I’m sure at least 4 would answer you if that helps get an idea. BUSM loves research and is pretty well ranked in terms of NIH funding.

During your first and second year of medical school, what exposure to clinical medicine have you had? Are there unique experiences during the pre-clinical years that expose medical students to patient interaction?

Fall of M1 you start interviewing patients in the hospital just 2-3 weeks in. I LOVED this. It was great interview experience but also really “broke the ice” for students that were nervous for their first patient encounters. Spring of M1 we have longitudinal preceptorship, which is basically working under a physician in their clinic 1x a week for 3-4 hours. In preceptorship, we’ll have the opportunity to do everything from patient interview, physical exam, presenting the patient, etc.

What would you say has been the most difficult part of medical school? An alternative question…what do you think has been the biggest sacrifice you have made in going to medical school?

The most difficult part of medical school, I think, is that you need to be much more disciplined. For example, staying up till 1am in college to binge watch a Netflix series you’re hooked on was okay. But now, I feel like if I don’t get enough sleep just one night my entire day becomes a waste and I end up 1 day behind. Then I just need to work even harder the rest of the week or all weekend to make up for that. It’s really easy to fall behind.

If you could go back in time to the beginning of your undergraduate years, what advice would you give yourself?

If I could go back, I wish I enjoyed undergrad a bit more. I worked 20-25 hours a week throughout undergrad while taking classes full-time, and that really cut back on how much I got to enjoy the experience overall. I definitely underestimated the time commitment medical school would take, and while you still have some time for fun, it’s just a fraction of what was available in undergrad. I just wish I enjoyed it back then while I still had time to.

What else would you like to share with future medical students?

I was actually a reapplicant. I applied right out of undergrad and had an unsuccessful cycle. At the time, I was so upset and felt like this was going to just set me back and delay my life. In retrospect, it was the greatest thing that could’ve happened to me so far in my journey. I spent those 2 years working in biotech drug development, was able to properly study for my MCAT and do really well the second time around, plus reconnected with some friends. Overall, I grew so much as a person in terms of maturity and that helped me feel truly prepared going into medical school. Moral of the story is, don’t rush your way into medical school. Very few people are emotionally prepared to start right out of high school, so don’t be afraid to take some time off. You absolutely won’t regret it in the long run.

Jonathan Carnino, MS1

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Age: 24
Hometown: Foxboro, MA
Undergrad: Boston University, Human Physiology

During your undergraduate studies, did you focus at all on involving yourself in research? If so, can you describe how you found out about the research opportunity, what getting the research position required, and what your responsibilities were for your research position?

I started research my summer entering junior year of college. Boston University (BU) has a website for PI’s to post opportunities on and I basically just emailed 5-10 of them all at once. I ended up only hearing back from 1 or 2 of them, and started working in a basic science lab that summer. I was fortunate to get funding from BU to support me through the summer. Then when that program ended, by PI ended up hiring me and paying me to stay. I ended up working their part-time junior year, full-time during the summer going into senior year, and again part-time senior year. Having longitudinal research was really critical to becoming efficient and being able to take on many responsibilities in the lab. After being trained on various basic lab techniques my first summer (RT-PCR, animal handling, Western Blot, cell culture, etc.), I was able to take on my own projects and eventually publish those results.

Looking back on your research experience during your undergraduate studies,  what do you think makes for a great research mentor or PI?

A great PI is one who is willing to give a student responsibility and who publishes very often. When seeking out PI’s, it’s always good to 1) check their yearly publication count, 2) see how often undergrads/med students are put on their papers, 3) see if they have NIH funding. If you find a PI with all 3, they’re likely a great person to get in touch with. Some PI’s also tend to give undergrad students just one experimental technique to do for other’s projects. For example you could get trained in PCR and just do PCR experiments every week for other researchers in your group. It will be difficult to run your own project, become skilled in other techniques, and gain independence if this is the case.

In a research position, what do you think is important for someone to do to help build a strong rapport with your PI/research mentor?

Never say no. Always take on any work your PI offers you. Even if you don’t necessarily know how to do what they’re asking, it can never hurt to say something along the lines of, “I don’t have any experience in this, but I’m willing to learn and take this on if you’d like”. If you repeatedly do this you’ll end up being the go-to person for your PI and learn a lot in the process. Don’t be afraid to fail or mess up either, it’s just part of the process.

How much do you think your research experience played a role into getting into medical school? Would you recommend all pre-medical students try and get involved with research?

Research was definitely a strong component of my application but surprisingly it didn’t come up too often in my medical school interviews. Most questions were focused on my clinical experience and/or impact I made on the community during school. I guess I’ll never know exactly how big of an impact it made. Regardless though, research is important during medical school especially if you are pursuing a competitive specialty. If you enter medical school with strong experience, it will be a lot easier to jump right into a project once you start school. Most students will need some time to adjust and figure out how research works, while you are able to hit the ground running. Therefore I’d definitely recommend students get involved in some capacity during undergrad or their gap year(s).

In medical school, when did you decide to involve yourself in research and what led you to make this decision? Looking back, would you have gotten involved in research at a different time? Earlier? Later?

I got involved in research about half-way through undergrad. In retrospect, I think this was a good time or I could have even got started a little later. It takes some time to get comfortable in undergrad and be able to add more to your plate. Overall, your grades matter more than having research experience at this stage. If you’re doing well in classes and find you have added free time, definitely get started in research or other application-building activities as soon as possible. But don’t be afraid to hold off on starting research later if you’re still focusing on acing your classes!

What types of research projects do you think are most suitable for medical students to complete on a realistic timeframe? Alternatively, can you describe one or some of the major research project that you are involved in and what your role is?

As a medical student, I think clinical research is the best area to get involved in. It’s much less time consuming and the pace is a lot more flexible. Basic research requires weekly commitment for months and even years to get results that are worth publishing. As a med student, it’s very difficult to find that amount of time to commit consistently. I find I can be very flexible working on my clinical research projects. For example, it’s no problem at all if I take an entire week off of doing anything research-related while preparing for exams, then cram extra work in on my project the weekend after an exam.

 If you are unsure about what specialty you are going to apply to, how would you approach getting involved in research?

I would just pursue research in anything that sounds exciting to you. When people ask you about your research, they’re more interested in seeing if you have a passion for pursuing it, no matter what area it’s in. Research-oriented medical students will become efficient and motivated researchers in residency too, that’s the trend they are looking for. I’d also look for a PI who will let you run your own project, being a first-author and the main person taking a project from start to finish holds a lot more weight than just helping out on smaller tasks.

If someone is unable to get a publication out of a research project, how else can you derive value from a research experience?

Very few people are able to publish their first research project. Your first project may be a real learning experience for you and you’ll likely make a few mistakes along the way. Over time, you’ll apply these lessons and become more efficient on the next projects you take on.

Do you have advice for medical students about how to balance class-related responsibilities (preparing for tests, etc.) and research?

I live off my google calendar. At the start of the week schedule in everything you need to get done, including classes, studying, research, and exercise. If you have it all planned out and follow your calendar, you’ll find it’s not too difficult to balance it all. Becoming a planner definitely will help you out in balancing all of these commitments.

Kyung Park, MS2

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From Dallas, Texas
Washington University in St. Louis, B.S. Biology

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

Right now, I am currently in a course where we are transitioning to clinical experiences so typically we are in classes 8-5 PM for the next 2 weeks. For pre-clinicals, my weekly schedule varied depending on which classes I had but my typical schedule looked like this below: Monday: Mechanism of Health and Disease Content Application Sessions 9 AM -12 PM (MHD CAS is our main basic sciences course during our didactics) and rest of the day was white space which means we can use that time as we need such as studying, working on research, ECs, and so on. Tuesday: 8 AM-12 PM Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship 1 (LIC 1) where we were are assigned to a preceptor in either family medicine or internal medicine and see patients in clinic approximately 1-2 times a month. If I did not have LIC 1, I would have my Scholarly Pursuit and Thesis course (SPT) from 1 PM – 3 PM which is a class to help people go over the fundamentals of research, help find a mentor, or work on our projects as we need to complete a thesis to graduate. Wednesday: Mechanism of Health and Disease Content Application Sessions 9 AM -12 PM. 12 PM- 1PM was lunch. Then I had Clinical Skills (CS) 1 PM – 5 PM where we learned the basics of gathering a history, writing a HPI, and how to do a physical exam. Sometimes, it would alternate the Compassionate Practice course (TCP) from 1 PM – 3 PM where we learned skills related to communication and empathy through humanities pedagogies and Preparation for Practice (P4P) where we discussed topics of ethics, healthcare policy, patient safety, population health, and team-based care. Thursday: MHD CAS 9 AM-12 PM. Rest of the day was white space Friday: MDH CAS 9 AM-12 PM: Rest of the day was white space. For most people the schedule can vary when you have your other classes (SPT, TCP, P4P, CS, and LIC1) but we all had the same MHD schedule. We also had a course called Future Accelerators of Medicine and Beyond (FAB) where we talked about the future of medicine and topics such as design thinking, genomics, AI, and screening assays throughout the year.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

Honestly, I think undergraduate material was harder than medical school in terms of material difficulty; however, the sheer amount of material that you are expected to learn is a lot more than I had to learn during my undergraduate career. I think being pass/fail during our didactics helps minimize stress and allows us to focus more on learning the material. Also being in a class of 60 students, the faculty are incredibly invested in your success and often know us by name, which was a big departure from undergraduate when I could be in a course with over 900 students.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I procrastinate a lot less than I did during my undergraduate career. I also think I have become more of an independent learner during medical school as our curriculum is built for students to really become responsible for their own education and learn to customize their studying. Our school gives you all the tools to succeed but it is your responsibility as a medical student to take advantage, be on top of your work, and be in charge of your own education to prepare us for our future careers.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

As a whole, I think our student culture is welcoming and students are willing to help support each other. As a new school, I think there is a sense of excitement with being able to leave a legacy and a focus on exploring ways to improve our school and the student experience. With a class size of 60, each class forms a tight bond with each other as we spend so much time with one another. We are paired with a “big” which is a medical student one year above us to give us advice, guidance, and an additional resource. We are each assigned to one of the 6 houses, which creates even more sense of a tight knit community as they each have their own events such as my house holding an annual potluck. Each house has 2 coaches, and I think the coaches embody the values of our school very well. My coaches always check in after exams, provide career advice, and have been some of the biggest advocates for me at the school. The sheer amount of resources and support I have been given truly has made the transition to medical school a lot easier and less terrifying to navigate. Also having access to the TCU university main campus, allows us to interact with the undergraduate students. This has given my classmates and I access to multiple opportunities to engage with the TCU culture and participate in school events such as going to several sporting events such as tailgating football games, which have been some of the most fun moments of my 1st year.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

I think Fort Worth is a hidden gem. It has all the perks and resources of a big city but has the community and feels like a smaller city. For fun, Ft. Worth is known for the stockyards so I recommend getting a nice pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat as well. There is a robust nightlife scene such as West 7th or even the stockyards with tons of cool bars and clubs to go relax/have fun with friends after tests or stressful weeks of medical school. There are tons of museums such as the modern art museum, Amon Carter museum, science and history museum that are cheap if not free! There is also the Fort Worth Zoo which is named one of the best zoos in America (some people debate this) and the botanical garden nearby, which host tons of events throughout the year. Lots of classmates also go explore Dallas which is only a 30-40 minute drive and also has tons of fun things to do as well (tons of great Asian food too!)

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

Independence during phase 1! You have a lot of white space that you are able to do things you love and find balance. Tons of friend went rock climbing, weekly sand volleyball, extracurriculars, and whatever else makes you stay sane. Early clinical exposure is another strength because it really helps ground you and remind you why you are grinding and studying every day. I looked forward to being in clinic and it really helped correlate everything I learned from the main basic science course. We are also NBME tests only so you can use all the board resources and start studying early (just make sure to keep up!).

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

It really depends on each person because everyone learns differently. I personally used B&B, Anki, Pathoma, Amboss, and Scholar Rx practice questions (this resource is free but the other ones are not). We get “bricks” which are online chapters to read so I would skim and find the topics on B&B and watch those videos. If I was really struggling, I would watch Pathoma as well and Anki the cards. Then the weekend before and during exam week, I would do all the relevant ScholarRx questions and do more Amboss questions for extra practice.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

So we have a clinical skills class, which I thought was really good at teaching you the basics. The beginning half focused a lot on history taking but midway it picked up a lot as you begin to learn the physical exam for different organ systems (ie. The cardiac physical exam). The cohort faculty are true gems of the program and they go above and beyond to make sure you learn. Almost every session, we would interact with a standardized patient and have a simulation to help us practice our skills. We have a final OSCE during phase 1 and a full head to toe exam check before you begin clinical rotations to ensure you are ready before you start seeing real patients.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

Travel more and have fun! I kept thinking that I needed to grind nonstop, and once I got into medical school that I could relax. I fell into the trap of hyper focusing on the destination instead of enjoying the journey. You will always be busy but there is always a way to include fun hobbies or trips during the year. Also make sure to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally because it is a long journey and medical school will test you in ways you did not expect. So make sure you have a great support system!

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I think self-doubt is one of the most common things to feel in medical school. My biggest change that has helped me has been being kinder to myself and reframing my mindset. I think medical students are often really hard on themselves and I have had to work through being okay not knowing everything. It is impossible for a person to know everything in medicine, but I can always strive to know more and do better the next time!

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

TCU is phenomenal when it comes to mental health resources, particularly we have a counselor who is designated for medical students only and she has been wonderful so far! The school also provides Headspace which is an app that provides mediations and helps calm you down when you have a lot going on. The coaches have also been super helpful (they are mandatory reporters), and they have reminded me to take care of my mental health, especially when I was busy and would try to focus solely on school. The most important thing for me has been having a solid support system like I mentioned above. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my best friends, peers, and my coaches in medical school.

Does your medical school provide access to lecture recordings/podcasts?

TCU is mandatory in person “content application sessions”. So you will have in-person classes and they are usually not recorded. I have had friends record it via voice memos or share notes. The school provide bricks and the faculty share their slideshow presentations afterwards, which is often more than sufficient. We use ScholarRx, which has an associated podcasts with topics we cover, and some of the episodes I listened to were helpful. The school also provides Osmosis which can be a great review and explanation of topics that you need a little bit more clarification on.

How are your pre-clinical and clinical course work graded? (Pass/Fail, Honors, etc.)

Preclinical is P/F which has been such a blessing. Clinical are graded; however, only the outpatient experiences are graded (H/P/F). After you finish phase 1 (the didactics), you have immersions which is 10 weeks of nonstop inpatient rotations (IM, OB/GYN, Surgery, and Pediatrics). During this time, you do not get any grades, but you do get feedback from your preceptors, which helps you figure out areas of improvement. This is different compared to my friends at other schools who get thrown into clinicals and are graded right away. TCU gives its students 10 weeks to just really go and learn as much as we can without having to worry about grades.

Ana Khatia, MS2

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From Los Angeles, CA
UCLA, B.S. in Psychology

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

I wake up around 7:30AM and get started by 8AM. Most mornings I start by doing Anki. I do new cards first, take a short break and then work through all the reviews that are due. After I take a lunch break I start working on the new material. During first year I watched my schools lectures since that’s what we were being tested. But as an MS2 I will strictly be using outside resources. Depending on the theme we are in, I finish somewhere around 5-7PM, at which point I try to work out or do something not related to medical school in order to recharge for the next morning. If I am working on research then I try to get a paragraph or so written before I walk away from my computer for the day.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

UCLA had a quarter system in which we went through materials fairly quickly, but it still does not compare to medical school. The amount of information being covered is immense and we do it at record speed. Not all lectures are a full hour like they were back at undergrad, but there is definitely a lot more material being coved. Classes so far have been completely online, which I enjoy since I can watch them on my own time. Instructors are nice but there are definitely few topic that I have had to look up on my own to either review the background information on or help me understand better what was being taught. Compared to undergrad the instructors at AMC have been a lot easier to get in touch with. Many of them are willing to get on the zoom call with you right away and work with you/ help you understand whatever topics might be confusing, which I have found to be really helpful.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I definitely had more free time in undergrad and even while doing psychology and pre-med I would often wait till the last week before the finals to really sit down and study. I never had any issues with that approach while at UCLA and often earned high grades. In medical school I do my very best to study every single day. There is no waiting till the week of the exam to study. It would be impossible to pass any of the exams if that was the approach I took. Nowadays I prioritize doing work daily and trying to retain what I learned yesterday as I tackle new material the next day.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

Everyone at AMC is very friendly and willing to help out. Starting from upperclassmen to my own classmates. Everyone shares resources and is willing to give you guidance on how to be successful in the upcoming theme. The students at AMC very much have the “we are all in this together” mentality. I feel very lucky to attend a medical school were we support each other and celebrate each others accomplishments.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

Coming from Los Angeles to move to a smaller city like Albany was quite a bit of an adjustment for me. I am used to a city where there is always something to do where as Albany is much smaller and there are just a handful of bars that everyone frequents, meaning that its almost guaranteed that you will run into the people you know from school while you are out. Albany is in a great location if you are willing to drive a bit. You can visit Boston, NYC etc. There are A LOT of places to hike at which are beautiful. There are lakes, places to go skiing/snowboarding. You can go apple picking in fall. Spring is absolutely beautiful here although…I wont lie…Winters can be quite brutal and dark. If you are an outdoorsy person you will enjoy living in upstate NY. If you are looking for bars and clubs, then Albany will probably not be the place for you (although you can always take a train down to NYC).

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

A strength of AMC is how much support your peers and faculty are willing to provide you with. I had some family emergencies during my first year of medical school and the school was extremely understanding and accommodating, making sure I had time to be with my family without falling behind. At the end of the day it means the world to me to know that I am supported and my well being is prioritized by my school

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

For first year I used a lot of Ninja Nerd. I would skim the power point for my schools lecture to see what material would be covered and then watch his videos, paying extra attention to parts that overlapped with my schools material. It helped me gain a better understanding of multiple topics that were being taught. BNB and First Aid were also helpful although they give a bit too much information for a first year med student.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

We have a longitudinal theme in clinical skill which has been the most helpful in developing clinical skills. I will also say that physicians that I have shadowed at AMC are very hands-on when it comes to first and second year medical students and they encourage you to be involved in patient interactions.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I am inclined to say that I wish I had studied more or studied better in undergrad, but looking back I know I gave it my best at the time. I also tried really hard to spend time with my friends when I was living in LA. Regardless of the “mistakes” I might have made in my approach then it still got me where I am today and I am proud of that. My only true regret right now is the fact that I moved so far away from my family. I wish I had considered that more when picking a school to attend.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

There are days when I still feel doubtful of myself, and if I get too caught up in those feelings it might even interfere with what I had planned to do that day. During such times I try to remind myself how far I have come in my journey so far and that I am here for a reason. My loved ones and my classmates also play a huge role in helping me overcome these feelings since we are so supportive of each other.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

Working out a schedule that works for me has been a huge help in maintaining my mental health. Planning out the week ahead and setting timelines for myself allows me to not feel overwhelmed and take things one day at a time. On there I try to schedule time to call my family, work out etc. It’s unfortunate that I have to plan these activities for myself but otherwise I feel I would solely focus on how much I have to study and never leave the house.

Does your medical school provide access to lecture recordings/podcasts?

Given that all our lectures are online we definitely have access to the recordings.

How are your pre-clinical and clinical course work graded? (Pass/Fail, Honors, etc.)

First two years are P/F where passing grade is broken down into Excellent with Honors, Excellent, Good, etc. Although I believe the school is switching to simply P/F in the upcoming year.

Zach Donato, MS2

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From Denver, CO
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Emory University Major, B.S. Neuroscience

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

The NextGen Curriculum for Miami has changed so that we are on clerkships during our second year. I wake up around 6AM on average to go into the hospital. Depending on my rotation, I will be done anywhere from 2-6pm. We have integrated didactic days that vary based on rotation and we have cut-out time in our schedule for that day to attend lectures.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

Miami now operates on a case based learning curriculum or “flipped classroom”. During our preclinical year, we had it structured to first learn the normal physiology of systems. We would then progress block-by-block in a symptoms-based fashion through each organ system. We had pre-learning each day that we would complete before attending a series of lectures the next morning. We would then have a UMCL case that was facilitated by a faculty member where we would be given a case to go through in small groups. For example, on our cardiology unit, we would learn about “chest pain” and then have a case focused on coronary artery disease and various presentations of stable vs unstable angina, NSTEMI, and STEMI. This method of learning was completely new to me. Instead of what was standard in our undergraduate classes, where we were simply lectured at, there was much more responsibility on us to learn material on our own, often through scholar RX Bricks, B&B, or Pathoma.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

There was an emphasis on personal responsibility to learn on our own in medical school. Given this, my studying has become much more structured. I have to allot time during the day for each item on my to-do list in order to stay on track. Instead of my previous way of studying in undergrad, which heavily involved making my own study guides, with so much material to cover I need to attack studying from various angles. Now I use Anki flashcards for longitudinal learning, videos to enforce information, and UWorld to test my knowledge through questions.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

Miami is a very service-oriented school. The DOCS clinic is a popular activity at our school, with over 70% of students participating. It is a student-run clinic that hosts health-fairs every month in various underserved areas within the community. It’s run by students of across all years, and you can sign up for a station based on your area of interest. For example, I am interested in Orthopedics, so I often did the bone scan station. Many students go on to be station leaders and it’s a great way to be involved and develop leadership skills. This has made UM very involved with community health and Jackson is home to a very diverse patient population which reflects the culture of this school.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

Most students live in Brickell or Downtown, which itself feels like a mini-New York City. There is a lot of fun night life and students adopt a very work-hard-play-hard mentality. It is very expensive to live here, but students ultimately enjoy their experiences and there are many social events held by the school to facilitate social interaction among the students. I love the environment of Brickell and Miami; there is always something happening. There aren’t too many things I’d say I dislike…but Brickell traffic can be quite annoying.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

Our strengths include a diverse patient and student population, very early clinical experience integrated into the curriculum, ample time for electives and specialization in your field of interest. Additionally, everyone here is very nice and we have a very non-cutthroat culture from my experience. We also have access to Jackson and UMH and abundant research opportunities early on.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

Pathoma was the bible for my first year. The associated videos made tough topics like Heme/Onc very simple because they break it down so well. Anki is something people either love or hate. I have not found a better way to retain information long-term. If Pathoma was lacking some information, Boards and Beyond is a little bit more of a deep dive with really in-depth explanation. I loved Amboss for Clerkships. It’s legit an encyclopedia and question bank that prepared me well for shelf exams. UWorld is the gold standard for clerkship and shelf studying. It’s important to not just do the questions, but to go over them to makes concepts stick. Osmosis, in my opinion, is useless compared to these other amazing resources.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

Having early clerkships has made the integration between the book knoweldge and real-life knowledge much easier for me. Seeing things that we learn in real patients is what makes you remember it. Many things in the real-world are not like UWorld. Seeing these concepts in practice also makes you understand the goal of what they wanted you to learn in preclinical years.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

Organization, organization and…I’ll say it again…organization. I honestly don’t know how I made it through college without a daily plan or to-do list. Whether it’s studying or anything else, life is much more manageable when you stick to a schedule.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

“White coat syndrome”, as they call it, is real. When I first started in the hospital I was overwhelmed and everything I learned in the books went right out the window. It takes time and patience to develop skills, and you have to understand that as a medical student it is the proper time and place to mess up. Learn from your mistakes while you are not the one responsible for the patient. It is ok to not know everything, but study your patients! I have constant doubts, but after each rotation or each block during pre-clinicals, I can always look back and see how far I have come. I used to compare myself to other people…do not do this! This is a journey for yourself and this is something I reflect on a lot. Coming to this realization is when I really gained confidence…when I saw my own personal growth in taking histories, physical exam maneuvers, and clinical knowledge.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

Do not make medical school your work and hobby. It is a big part of your life and it is inevitable that at some point you will feel like it is your identity, but it isn’t. Take the time to do one thing for yourself each day. I like to go on runs and read at the end of a long day. Also, Netflix. I am an avid scuba diver and find time to still do this. Adapt to a new normal. Do not let medical school overtake your life. When I feel that it is, I take a day off from studying (yes, I actually do). If you don’t have your mental health you will not learn anything well. I can guarantee this!

Bao Vu, MS1

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Age 24
From Mercer Island, WA
University of Washington, B.S. Neurobiology, B.A. Biochemistry

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

Currently our school has class 3 days a week, but it will change with the new building next year. On a day we have school we are in class for around 4-8 hours depending on the day.

My normal schedule:

Monday
6 AM – 8 AM Wake up, breakfast, getting myself ready for the day, get to school
8 AM – 12 PM iRat and tRat (theses are diagnostic exams to see how well we retained from online pre lecture material) followed by 5-6 30 minute sessions for the day
12 – 1PM Lunch Break, play super smash bros with friends at school
1PM – 3 PM Weekly clinical case presentation and preparation
3 – 5 PM Study
5-6 PM Go to gym and work out
6-7 PM Dinner
Study until 10-11 PM, sleep

Tuesday
6-8 AM Wake up, breakfast, getting ready, get to school
8-10 AM Lab Session #1 for everyone (Can be anatomy, pathology, histology, or other discipline)
10 – 5 PM 2 hour rotations for Lab Session #2, Clinical Skills, and break. We switch schedules every 3 weeks to make sure it’s fair for everyone, but here is an example schedule. (10-12 PM Lab session #2, 12-1 PM Lunch, 1-3 Break time, 3-5 PM Clinical Skills)
5-6 PM Go to gym and work out
6-7 PM Dinner
Study till 10-11 PM then sleep

Wednesday
6 AM – 8 AM Wake Up, breakfast, getting myself ready for the day, get to school
8 AM – 11 PM iRat and tRat (theses are diagnostic exams to see how well we retained from online pre lecture material) followed by 4-5 30 minute sessions for the day.
11 – 1PM Lunch Break, play super smash bros with friends at school
1PM – 3 PM College Colloquium. This class is pretty much our ethics, and other misc topics related to medicine
3 – 5 PM Optional Anatomy Lectures. These are only when we start a new unit, otherwise this time is for personal studying time.
5-6 PM Go to gym and work out
6-7 PM Dinner
Study until 10-11 PM then sleep

Thursday-Sunday

My schedule varies a lot when I don’t have scheduled school activities. But I study anywhere between 6-10 hours per day during this time depending on other commitments (shadowing, clubs, research, etc..). I like this system as it gives you a lot of time to pursue what you want.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

At our school we use a flipped classroom setting. Before school, we have to get through pre-lecture material, and then during flipped classroom we will apply the material via a clinical case or practice board style questions. Quality of the flipped classroom sessions vary a lot between professors. There are some professors that do this pretty well and keep us engaged, but there are others that can’t really teach at all so you have the option of picking and choosing which flipped classroom sessions to attend. At the start of the course (we are systems based), we get the schedule for all the lectures therefore we can plan for which ones to attend and which ones to skip. I personally attend all the flipped classroom sessions, but there are other that skip some or skip all the flipped classroom sessions.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

My study habits have definitely changed between undergrad and medical school. In undergrad I was able to get away with passively looking at my notes throughout the quarter and get a good score on exam.

In medical school, I’ve had to make changes to be more active with my learning while processing an exponentially high quantity of information.

My current strategy is to get a good baseline for the information from Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, and Sketchy and then activating the associated Anki Cards (I use Zanki). I currently only do cards related to the current body system we are learning, but I do around 500-ish cards a day on average once I get through all the cards at least once. In the beginning the number of cards can range from 200 to 1000 depending on how many cards I activated and the number of review pending.

Towards finals week, I start doing practice questions to help me integrate all the material I learned for that block. I currently use USMLE Rx for my questions, but I have UWorld ready for my M2 year.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

We are a Pass/Fail school so the culture at my school is very very chill and laid back. Everyone is super nice and we are always willing to share notes or support each other in times of need. Especially since we are a new school, it gives my class a lot of opportunity to shape the culture.

I can’t think of anything specific that represents the culture at my school because there are so many clubs, events and activities that are being started from ground one. I’m personally involved with building the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Scene, SnowSports (Ski/Snowboarding), and Arts in Medicine which all have helped me to build more rapport with my classmates. Honestly the culture here at CUSM helped me to put more emphasis on personal wellness, and knowing that there’s a lot more than just studying for exams/Step1.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

We are located in San Bernardino/Colton so there isn’t as much to do compared to some of the other SoCal Med Schools which is a double edged sword. There are less distractions, but on the other hand we have to go a ways to do “fun” stuff.

In terms of options nearby, there is a pretty decent nightlife and bar scene in Redlands or Riverside (which are 5-15 minutes away from school). In terms of big post-exam/Halloween parties, they’ve been mostly been hosted at other classmates houses/apartments.

The more “fun” options are around 1-2 hours away depending on traffic which include

-Big Bear/Snow Summit Resorts for Skiing/Snowboarding

-Orange County where I got to visit family and enjoy some nice food/nearby beaches

-Los Angeles (don’t really need to explain this one)

Personally what I do for fun in the area

-Going to Smash Bros Tournaments around the Inland Empire (occasionally)

-House Parties or going to Beach after exams

-Skiing/Snowboarding (occasionally)

I honestly don’t mind there isn’t much to do in the immediate area since I study most of the time, but some of my classmates do like to venture into OC or LA more frequently to get more of the big city feel.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

1) Students have a lot more say since we are a New School. We were able to changes a lot of stuff such as the grading system (ABC to P/F System), and the schedule (5->3 days a week).

2) Most faculty are heavily invested in your success – very good open door policy.

3) ARMC (our teaching hospital) is very interested in working with our school and medical students. They are continually designing ways to have students in the hospital during clinical years via shadowing, and research opportunities. There aren’t many opportunities at the moment but I can imagine things taking off within the next couple of years.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, Sketchy Micro/Pharm to get a good baseline for the material. Reinforce with Zanki Deck.

USMLE Rx – help to integrate information once I have a grasp of the material. Use towards finals week.

UWorld for MS2 year – for Step 1

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

We have a clinical skills course for both M1 and M2 years. They teach you the related history and physical exam techniques by the body system we are learning. For example in the MSK course, we took histories related to joint pain, decreased ROM, and for physical exam we learning how to examine the joints and muscles all over the body.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I had to apply twice to get admitted into medical school. My biggest piece of advice is to be confident and be yourself. I had 3 interviews the first time I applied and got rejected from all of them straight out. I took the mindset of trying to say what my interviewer would want to hear from me and honestly I cringe when I go back and remember what I said during those interviews.

The second time I applied, I was focused on being passionately about who I was and what I would be bringing to the table if the med school accepted me.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I try not to think or take time doubting myself since there are 100 different things that I could be doing with my time whether those things are school related or not. Just keeping a positive mindset and knowing that I have a lot of time to improve myself helps me to positive approach these feeling of doubtfulness if they crossed my time.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

I try to do a variety of activities unrelated to school with my classmates such as Super Smash Bros, Skiing/Snowboarding, and various art activities.

Other than that I try to take care my myself physically and mentally via balanced diet, exercising at the gym, sleeping 7-8 hours (please get enough sleep).

Abraham Cheloff, MS2

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Brandeis University, Biology, Neuroscience, Chemical Biology, Legal Studies, B.S./M.S.
From the Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

As our preclinical curriculum lasts only 14 months, I am currently in my core clerkship year, also called the Principal Clinical Experience, or PCE. Each day can vary by clerkship and what service I am on at the time. For inpatient weeks I tend to get to the hospital around 6am to pre round on my patients before rounding, which can last until noon. After a lunch talk, afternoons are spent writing notes, calling consults, and coordinating with the rest of the care team. Outpatient clinics start around 8:30am or 9am, and generally involved quick chart review, initiating a patient encounter, and presenting to your attending.

In the preclinical year, we use a flipped classroom with Case-Based Collaborative Learning (CBCL) in class structure. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we are in the classroom 8am-12:30pm, with the afternoons off for class prep and other commitments (see the next question for more information). Wednesday are spent at our clinical site, working in a longitudinal primary care clinic, and practicing history taking and physical exams on inpatients.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

The preclinical curriculum at HMS is pretty unique as we use the flipped classroom/CBCL structure mentioned above. The night before class you spend some amount of time learning the basics of information for the subject matter, primarily through videos and annotated handouts created for the course, along with a few textbook readings. In class, cases with both basic science and clinical questions are worked through in groups of 4 before being further discussed in the big group (a big group refers to one Harvard “society” equivalent to around 40 students). There are faculty members present to help organize the discussion and ensure that the teaching points are thoroughly discussed.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I don’t think it has changed as much as I expected. I’ve always been someone who is a very activate class participant that reviews lecture notes after class, and I think that has worked well for me in our preclinical courses. As I continue through my clinical year, the biggest change I’ve found is becoming more efficient in my studying, as there is limited time outside of clinical duties to eat, sleep, complete daily tasks, and study as much as one would like. Limiting distractions like facebook has been most helpful to me so far.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

As HMS has a full pass/fail curriculum in both the pre-clinical and core clerkship years (M1/M2) and no internal/external ranking or AOA membership in any year, we have what I find to be a collaborative learning environment that allows friendships to blossom outside of the classroom. The first year is filled with opportunities to get to know each other outside of the classroom, with the two most well-known being the class music video and FABRIC, a yearly multicultural class-show put on for Revisit weekend. The entire class comes together and puts together some really amazing work, while continuing our studies and clinical responsibilities.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

The passion of the educators here, both preclinical and clinical, has really struck me. Whether is was extra support, mentorship, or research and other extracurricular opportunities, there are so many faculty who love working with students. The number of possibilities at HMS truly feels endless, and the faculty support only makes those possibilities even more attainable.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

Entering my clinical year (as previously described in my M2 year) I felt extremely prepared clinically. In the first year each Wednesday was dedicated to clinical skills with a mix of working in a longitudinal primary care clinic, practicing history and physical exam skills on inpatients, and round-robins where patients with specific conditions come and allow us to examine them. There are also extracurricular opportunities, such as working at our student-faculty clinic that allow additional clinical time in the first year if desired.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

Imposter syndrome is extremely pervasive in medical school given the number of amazing and intelligent colleagues and faculty that I get to work with each day. However, for each instance in which someone else has an answer, there are going to be just as many times when you will be the one in a place to help others. Never forgetting what your strengths are and what you bring to the table really helps in those moments where it feels like everyone else is bringing more than you. Of course, it is hard to be constantly reminding ourselves of this, but fortunately I have an amazing partner and friends who lift me up in those times, and I hope that I am able to act as that same support for others.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

In the first year, having classes 8am-12:30pm four days a week allowed for plenty of schedule flexibility to complete appointments and other commitments that need to occur during business hours. This relieved a lot of stress, and made the balance of medical school much more seamless. Even in the core clinical year we have dedicated “flex” time in each rotation that is a certain number of afternoons off in order to complete those need to do tasks.

Catherine Boatman, M2

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SUNY Buffalo, B.A. Media Study
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

I usually wake up around 5:00am. I try to make it to school by 6:30am and study before lecture starts at 8:00am. I do attend lecture everyday, mostly to use my time efficiently. I tried watching the lecture recordings a few times, but I noticed that I was slacking off and putting off watching them for too long. While I’m in lecture, I’ll make Anki cards as the lecture is going along. This keeps me focused throughout the presentation, and I have a study resource completed when the lecture is over. I take an hour for lunch, and in the afternoon I have different things to do depending on which day of the week it is. For example, we might have Problem Based Learning, or Physical Diagnosis, etc. I get home around 5pm, eat dinner for an hour, and study until 9-10pm. Some days if I don’t have an afternoon class, I’ll go to my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and train after lectures get out at noon.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

There has already been a lot of great advice given on this subject. I will add though, that undergrad is NOTHING like medical school, and medical school is NOTHING like residency. I think a lot of younger premeds doubt if they are on the right path when they hit the Organic Chemistry wall. Just push through it, get the grade, and then move on because the vast majority of undergrad content has nothing to do with what it actually means to be a doctor day to day. Don’t think if you’re bad at chemistry or physics that you’ll be a horrible medical student or doctor.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

When I was an undergrad, I studied by reading the textbook and supplementing with YouTube videos. I also did a lot of practice problems for classes like General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics. In med school, the material is so dense and presented so quickly, that I struggled transitioning. There is simply too much material to read the book for everything, and there is so much detail in the book that isn’t tested on. I changed my study strategy from making my own summary sheets, to group study, and eventually found Anki which changed everything. I wish I had found it sooner; I remember so much more information in a short time by using Anki. I make all my own cards because I think making them myself adds a layer of understanding.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

Our school is unique in that we have this program called the Academic House System. On the second and third floor of the medical school building, there are these little apartments with kitchenettes, couches, TVs, study space, etc for students. There are 13 of these mini apartments, and each student is assigned to one of the 13. This lets you get to know a smaller section of classmates (our class size is upwards of 200). Houses usually go on outings together like dinner, pottery painting, paintball, bowling etc to relieve stress and get closer with classmates. And of course, it’s all paid for by our awesome Office of Academic Affairs. At the end of the year we have an annual event called the House Olympics which is basically like a big field day with inflatables/dodgeball/volleyball etc. The winning House gets to keep the House Cup in their house for the next year. Students get really into the House system, and each house has their own pin that students proudly display on their white coat. It’s basically like getting sorted into a Harry Potter house. The Academic House System was one of the leading factors that resulted in me choosing MCG for medical school. They really put a lot of time and effort into student health and wellness.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

Our faculty and staff is so incredibly supportive, and I didn’t realize how important that would be while I was interviewing at different medical schools. So much of the potential stress at MCG is removed because our instructors really care about helping us in any way they can. Many of the lecturers are receptive to feedback, and willingly update slides so that concepts are more easy for future classes to understand.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

I’ve already mentioned this before, but Anki is LIFE! The sooner you can try it out, the better. It is a decent time commitment, and you have to do it every day. That being said, the people I know who are successful with Anki don’t use anything else to study, so the time commitment is a non-issue.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

We start Physical Diagnosis during year 1, and learn basic physical exam techniques throughout the year. Mostly this has helped me get comfortable with putting my hands on a stranger. In year 3 and 4 we’ll get better at the actual techniques. We also have shadowing opportunities readily available from year 1. Once you get your white coat, students are also able to volunteer in many free clinics the school offers. There’s is a Mental Health Clinic, a Women’s Clinic, a Pediatric Clinic, and an LGBTQ Equality Clinic that are all free to the community. Most of our students participate in a clinic.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I took six gap years. That’s right, SIX. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I was so ready and prepared for medical school when the time came, and my stress level was decreased significantly because of this. I didn’t feel pressure from parents or peers to finish at a certain pace or with certain grades. I am in medical school because it is my passion, and all the studying and long hours are my choice. I don’t think that I would have had that clarity if I went straight from undergrad to medical school. I was also able to try out other careers like web design, teaching, and veterinary medicine before attending. This helped solidify my decision that medicine was the right choice for my career.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

I have a very supportive fiancé that I could not succeed without. He makes sure all my meals are prepared and healthy, and ensures all my scrubs are clean. He really does everything around the house so I don’t have that extra added stress, and I am very blessed to have him in my life. So a supportive partner helps me, but that person could be a parent or roommate just as well. I also do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu whenever my schedule allows, and I try to force myself to make time for it at least once a week. It’s a great form of physical stress relief, and my BJJ friends have nothing to do with medical school, so talking to them helps get my mind off all the studying and tests. BJJ also helps keep me humble, and aware that there is a world outside of medical school.

Chetna Thawani, M2

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Chetna Thawani
From Voorhees, New Jersey
Rutgers University, B.S. Biological Sciences
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, M2

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

MWF we have lectures 8-2. Tuesday mornings we have SELECT, which is a course focused on things like learning leadership in the healthcare system and emotional intelligence. Tuesday afternoon we have DCE, which is essentially like clerkships but a little less intense / just for practice and just for a day a week. Thursday we have a class called Doctoring where we conduct patient historys and physicals on standardized patients and practice more clinical skills.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

They’re similar to more advanced courses in my undergrad, where one lecture is basically an entire topic in the field. Each professor is an expert in their subject. Here are some example class topics: “Hemolytic Anemia” “Blood Borne Hemorrhagic Viruses”

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I used to write out all my notes, and just read them through a lot. I’ve since moved towards more active studying – Anki, practice questions, making graphs/ outlines instead of writing out every word. I still haven’t figured out a perfect balance or perfect studying technique, and I think everyone would agree that they’re constantly tweaking their study method to better serve the increasingly dense material.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

We have these things kind of like Hogwarts houses, called Collegias, which are “learning communities” that we’re split into for things like anatomy lab, doctoring groups, etc. We also have intercollegia competitive events where we compete with other Collegias (my Collegia always wins, by the way). Each Collegia also has a career adviser and it’s a great way to get advice from career advisers and also upperclassmen.  Most people are really into Collegia and it’s really nice! Everyone at my school is very friendly and cooperative, the student culture overall is a nice “work hard, play hard,” mentality.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

The school is moving downtown this year, so I’ll talk about the downtown area. There’s a couple different areas downtown; there’s one with a more party vibe and one with a more classy vibe; the school is moving to the more classy area; it’s near the Tampa bay area and has a lot of nice restaurants and shops nearby. CAMLS, the patient simulation center, is very close to the Riverwalk and many downtown Tampa landmarks as well. There’s a few different options for bars that we all go to the evenings after exams. There’s also many different types of restaurants for just grabbing dinner with friends. The school has a couple large gyms that many of us like to go to to relax, as well. And of course, there are many beaches 30-45 minutes away! The only thing I don’t love about it are the parking problems, but that’s in any big city.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

We have a student board that very efficiently takes the classes feedback on things like lecturers, lecturing styles, content, exam fairness, etc, and brings it to the faculty. The faculty meets the student board very often and they are consistently trying to make our school experiences the best possible, and so they’re constantly implementing new ideas based on our feedback. That’s a huge strength in our med school – the faculty listens to the class and actually tries to adjust based on the classes needs. We also have many diverse clubs and interest groups, as well as a couple student-run clinics.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

Zanki, Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, Sketchy. I use outside resources to help clear things up and keep in mind the bigger picture. It’s also a good way for me to review important key points and make sure I’m honing in on the right things – most often, the things most tested on in our class exams are things that are constantly mentioned in outside materials. I know a few people in our class that only learn from outside materials and almost ignore lecture material, which is a fair technique in my opinion.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

I really like that USF has a Doctoring course. I’ve had so much practice by now interviewing standardized patients, and practicing physicals on each other and standardized patients. The school puts us in different scenarios – we did a sexual history taking focus,  focused specifically on standardized patients with disabilities, we even had an emergency simulation with people from other colleges (pharmacy, physical therapy) and things like that. We’re going to be doing things like digital rectal exams on standardized patients this upcoming year, which I’m definitely excited for – it’s definitely a leg up to have that standardized patient exposure before clinicals.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I didn’t take a gap year, and I wish I had. I feel very close to being burnt out already, and feel like if I had taken the year, I would have been a bit more relaxed and less on the edge, and been able to focus more on learning medicine instead of just being constantly stressed and struggling with time management.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I’m still doubtful of myself, especially being straight out of undergrad, I’m one of the youngest in my class and I always feel like everyone is older and wiser than me. I made a really good friend here whom I had originally thought had her whole life together, and as I got to know her she helped me realize that no one has it fully together; we all suffered from imposter syndrome, and we all feel like everyone’s better than we are. Like everyone else, we all just got to continue faking it.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

I try to force time for going to the gym or out running, since I know it helps me blow off steam and energizes me at the same time. One of my good friends and I started going on short morning runs together, which really kept me sane throughout the year. It’s hard and I’d say most of the time, I don’t balance it all very well. But I’m surviving right? Luckily, my family and my boyfriend back home are very supportive and understanding of my time limits these years.