Medical School Essentials

In today’s post, I am going to talk about some medical school essentials which would be helpful for people that are just getting into medical school. Without hurting your eyes, let’s get straight into it.

First Aid

This is a gold standard if you plan on applying to a residency program in the united states. But, I have to remind you that First Aid is a review book. This means you cannot understand the book if you don’t have adequate prior knowledge.

I actually advise those around me not to get the book until they are in MD4/5. Nevertheless, if you can’t wait to get your hands on it and you believe it would be of help to you before then, please get it.

You can get the book here using my amazon affiliate link.

Highlighters and Pens

If you have read my previous post on memorization tips for studying, you would know that I advise you to write than highlight your materials.

But, I know that there are people that highlight and it works well for them which is why I made this essential.

If you would be highlighting or writing, you need good materials so that there are no smudges when you use them. Also, if you would be using either pens or highlighters, try to have various colors so as to help in the organization of your materials. You should try this pen and highlighter.

Laptops and Headphones

Almost all your class lectures would be in the form of slides. You also take your exams on the school computers or your laptops.

If you plan on watching videos make sure you have your headphones. This would help you study when and wherever you want without disturbance.

Try to get a spare charger and headphones if you would be coming to the Caribbean for schooling.

Hard drive

Try to get a hard drive or flash drive whichever you have access to. This is so you can collect softcopy of resources from other people.

Coffee

This is literally a medical student’s best friend. There would be times you are extremely tired but you also need to attend your classes. Taking 1 to 2 cups a day is ok but the problem arises when you start taking more than 2 cups of coffee every day just to stay awake.

Let me tell you a funny story. I have a friend that was studying for an exam and in order for him to study more, he took a strongly caffeinated drug the day prior to his exam.

Guess what happened, the exam got canceled on the morning of the scheduled date and he had to stay awake the whole day.

Please don’t be like my friend and depend on coffee every time. You should also when to close your books and rest.

Question bank

One of the best ways to excelling in medical school is to be a good test taker. You need to have a good question bank and most students go with Uworld.

You don’t have to go with Uworld, there are several other question banks such as Amboss, Kaplan, Usmle Rx, and Achievable. Most of the q-banks allow for free trials for some days.

I do not want you to feel pressured into subscribing to any q-bank. This is why it is important to talk to those ahead of you so as to get access to the offline questions they have.

Stethoscope and BP cuff

This is the last med school essential on my list. You should have these items especially if you plan on volunteering at various health organizations.

They would also come in handy when you take ICM( Introduction to Clinical Medicine).

I hope this list has been helpful to you. If so, let me know in the comment section. Also, please let me know in the comment section any other medical school essentials that were helpful to you.

See you next Sunday!