Advice from Phase 1 Students

You did it!! You got into medical school! Maybe you’ve already celebrated, maybe you’re a little nervous because you’ve heard that the real work begins now. There’s some truth to that — medical school is really busy and can be overwhelming at times. But honestly, you’ve already done the hardest part. Now that you’re in you have access to a truly ridiculous number of resources. There is so much support available, in academics, for mental health, for getting into research, for building a community, and so much more. There are also safety nets in place to catch you if or when things are too much to handle on your own.

As you get settled into medical school, it can be easy to get caught up in how much everyone else is studying, what resources they’re using, if you should be doing research yet, if you’ve signed up for enough shadowing across every specialty that exists. But I would encourage you, as much as possible, to pull back from all that. You are about to be at one of the best medical schools in the nation, and you deserve to be here. WashU is going to get you to the finish line. This is not to say you don’t have to do any work, of course. But you don’t need to get a 95% on every exam — or any of them, for that matter. You don’t need to buy subscriptions to AMBOSS, spend hours in the library every day, or even know what Anki is in order to do well in medical school and end up where you want to go. You are building a foundation for everything from specific study habits to a work-life balance that could last you the rest of your medical career, so try your absolute best not to make anxiety-based decisions or decisions based solely on what your classmates are doing. You are where you need to be, doing what you need to do — and if you’re not, someone will tell you. Make time for yourself, listen to your body, eat a vegetable every once in a while. Make sure that whatever you do works best for you because you are the only person it needs to work for. Slow down, breathe deeply, and remember that it’s all going to be just fine.

Medical school means a lot of different things to different people. It’s challenging, fulfilling, draining, edifying, exciting, dramatic, frustrating and one of the coolest things you could ever do — all at once. When you come to WashU, you will be entering a community of remarkable people, all with different backgrounds, personalities, worldviews and ambitions. The one thing they will have in common is a sense of camaraderie and fellowship. When you get to campus, you might find yourself getting caught up in comparison — are you studying enough, studying in the best way, pursuing enough extracurriculars, shadowing enough, or socializing enough? It’s easy to get overwhelmed at first. But take a breath and remember that you’re here. You’ve earned your place here. And you don’t need to do everything everyone else is doing, all at once, all the time. You’re at a place where you can do anything you set your mind to — the people around you are invested in your success and your well-being, and you have what you need to flourish and excel. Rely on your peers, mentors and friends to course-correct you when you need it – and if you’re like most of us, you will need it at some point, and that’s okay.

The transition to medical school can be quite weird. You have to adjust to a new city, new weather (sometimes), new culture, and a different caliber of time management. As someone who often has trouble adapting to change, I’ve found it most useful to embrace the weirdness rather than question it. You’re going to have to work hard, possibly harder than you’ve ever worked. You will be good at some things and really quite bad at others. You will make mistakes, have bad days, embarrass yourself in front of a patient, and question why you’re even here. I’ve only been here a few months, and I’ve done most of those things already — the key is to step back, remember your purpose, and dedicate yourself to getting better each day. Remember that even the most accomplished, most empathetic, and most respected physicians out there were once wide-eyed students like us, and they stumbled and fell during their training too. The most important lesson you’ll learn here is how to get back up and forge ahead. I’m still learning, and I know you will too.