Med school inspiration - My first story

Hey guys.

I'll be writing a series on inspirational stories and study tips this year. I'll try to keep them short (Except this one, it's long!)

Since this is my first post, I'll share my first story with you. From the time I entered medical school.

I was a normal, excited and happy to be in medical school kid, just like everyone else.

During terms, I studied causally and attempted the exam. I got my results - I had failed in physiology. My anatomy and biochemistry score was average too.

Yes, I was disheartened. Filled with disappointment. I was an outstanding pre-med. How could I fail in first year med school?

I'll spare you the details about the drowning-in-sadness, frustrated, self loathing me and skip to when I decided to be awesome (I don't quite remember when the transition happened.)

The first thing I did was that I tried to figure out where I went wrong - self analysis.

I realized that medical school needed a little more hard work than before. I had poke-evolved to a new course. I needed to evolve my skills too.

My other flaw was that I wrote really less matter in that paper. Didn't fill up pages with everything I knew. So I learnt how to speed read and highlight the most important information while writing bulk.

I also strengthened my concepts. I ended up reading 3 books on physiology! (Not completely, but chapters that required that little extra.)

For anatomy, I was a diagram machine. I had practiced so much that I could draw and color each diagram in 2-3 minutes.

I knew pathways from biochemistry cold. I practiced writing 2 pathways every day. It was ingrained in my central nervous system.

I had looked into some multiple choice questions as well.

The fear never goes away, no matter how hard you work. But that's okay, let your fear motivate you.  I gave my finals. I made sure I wrote all I knew in the time limit allotted to me.

I was shaking in my boots when I recieved the scores. Here's the good news, guys - I ended up getting the first rank in my college that year in finals. I also got the opportunity to get transferred to an academically better medical school.

To all the first year students out there - I know you're scared. It's okay to be.

Don't quit before giving your best shot - You can never know what the future holds for you if you quit now. You're going to save lives. You're going to share your story, someday. Maybe you're going to write a blog and help other students out.  But most importantly, you'll miss out on your dream. So don't quit.

Medicine is tough. But you're tougher. Recycle the negative emotions you feel into positive ones - Hard work, enthusiasm and curiosity.

If you don't get it, read more about it. If you can't remember it, make a mnemonic. If you need to score better, ask your professors how. Scared of exams? Make practice tests for yourself. Can't figure out how to study? Ask seniors.

Google what you need to know. It's all there for you! Many students have made it before you. You can do this too.

Stay awesome.

-IkaN