50 Helpful Little Things To Know for Med School

Originally posted June 15th, 2015

1. Never hang your stethoscope from your rear view mirror
2. Also don’t hang your white coat in front of a car window
3. ID badge is life, ID badge is love
4. Keep a sweater with you somewhere, all the time
5. Save the sleeves, watch out for “pens all over the place” syndrome
6. Once the first person caves for the fancy pens, everyone else falls like dominoes
7. Ascetically pleasing powerpoints are hard to come by
8. There will be one rare disease your school harps on like everyone has it
9. Most instructors care about you and your success
10. And those who don’t are miserable already, don’t waste your time being upset about it
11. Be nice to all faculty and staff even if they have no effect on your grades
12. A 3-hole punch is a coveted prize for the binder dependent
13. Movement is necessary, do it every once in a while
14. Glove size matters
15. Shoe covers have zero traction
16. Real life things will just start smelling like anatomy lab
17. Anatomy lab will always make you hungry no matter how much you eat
18. Don’t be ashamed, if you think the anatomy lab smells to high hell, wear the mask
19. No, you cannot use an animal otoscope on a person
20. Yes, you can use a regular stethoscope on a little animal (be gentle!)
21. It’s always better to touch too softly at first than to kill your partner
22. Practice your poker face
23. Being graded on empathy makes you less empathetic
24. Most med students don’t have a ton of physical ailments, so practice on many classmates to get a feel for what is “normal”
25. If something feels odd on your partner, ask your teacher for help before you scare the crap out of them
26. There will be one disease/bug/drug that you will never be able to remember no matter how many times you look at it
27. Many gunners will not realize they are gunners, don’t bother pointing it out
28. If you get any legit equipment, it should be your stethoscope
29. A reflex hammer is still a hammer
30. Food is alternative currency
31. Coffee runs are bonding time, even if you don’t drink coffee
32. Be courteous and remember to remove a used K-cup
33. You will not know when burnout will happen, but when it does, it’s too late
34. It’s always better to be too covered up in professional wear
35. There is no shame in walking around in your socks
36. While it feels like high school, remember everyone is an adult
37. Nice can be a relative term when it comes to medical students
38. But some people will be completely fantastic
39. If someone is doing something nice and they aren’t your fav, don’t be a dick
40. For every horrible group you will work with there will be an amazing one
41. It will take time, but you will find those who you mesh with
42. It’s okay to decide someone is not a person you want to be close with
43. Every term is impossibly hard to get yourself back into a solid study routine
44. You will change study techniques 100 times even after you find one that works
45. The difference is that you can adjust faster each time
46. Break downs are the rule rather than the exception
47. Success happens more often than you would think
48. Even if it seems impossible, the grades, the specialty, the residency put in 110%, your best is never something to be ashamed of
49. Do not do this if you aren’t 110% sure
50. Continue to find love in it, you’ll only do it once