MD Had a lackluster first year and summer so far in terms of productivity. Was wondering if anyone else felt similarly. Tips on turning it around.

[CuriousMDStudent]

I think my first year and first half of my summer has been pretty lackluster so far. I think just the combination of COVID, adapting to medical school, figuring out my rhythm and a new city, and trying to find my people in medical school took a lot of time and energy during my first year. I felt everyone told me to figure myself out and take the time to enjoy first year and use it to adapt to medical school and make friends.

And I did that. But now that I'm half way through my summer, I look back and realize I didn't get a ton of research done. I wasn't the best student relative to the average/ standard deviation and etc.

I feel I'm happy now in that I found my friends, hobbies and have figured out this new city I live in. Overall, I found my rhythm.

I was just wondering if I should stress out that I didn't have the most productive first year and if anyone had any advice moving forward. My goals moving forward now is to get back on the step 1 grind and research. STEP 1 is P/F for me but I definitely want to know the material well.

Also any advice on how I can be better would be appreciated. I sometimes struggle balancing studying with research. I like to focus on one task at a time but other people recommend I do a 3 hour blocks for research then a 3 hour block on research and I feel I can't do that so curious on any thoughts.

Also trying to stick to a STEP 1 study schedule this summer and wondering if there was a way I can keep myself accountable to it. People recommend a calendar but do people do excel or something else?

tl;dr: spent my first year getting adjusted to medical school in terms of friends, hobbies, work-life etc and I think I figured it out *knock on wood*. However, I look back and I realize I wasn't the most productive first year I could've been. Looking to hear if anyone had any thoughts on this. Should I be stressed about this? Advice/tips on how I can be more productive and turn it around. Let me know!

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[5yewy5r]

Hey, I think your concerns are pretty reasonable, I had the same thoughts throughout pre-clinical. I would say - don’t worry about it. You’re doing fine. It’s great to get involved in research, it will pay off in due time. From my experience, attendings and residents take you less seriously so early on. If you are lucky you will find one that churns through projects with you, but most of the time it will be a one off thing. Later on in school and through clerkships, once some of the residents and attendings in the department start to recognize you - projects (and more importantly, support) will definitely be easier to come by.

As far as balancing research and studying goes, I would try to make small goals for yourself. E.g. goal to get thru 25 pt charts this afternoon. If you are writing, that’s harder. Maybe you could block off a weekend day and leave it to your future self to deal with the aftermath, as far as studying goes.

Lastly, I see from your post history that you go to a T20 school. I don’t want to dismiss your concerns, but you are at a very good place right now. Don’t fail classes, don’t commit any crimes or burn bridges… but whether or not we like it or want to admit it, school name plays a pretty big role as far as residency is concerned.

 

[Nugester]

As someone who did/is doing research during m1/summer and didn't really get to make any friends during m1, I think you are fine and should enjoy your free time while you can. You can start to do more during m2. Reach out to some professors now so you can hit the ground running when school starts. As for step 1, it doesn't hurt to start reviewing lightly. For me, I keep up with my AnKing anki step 1 deck and recently started to skim the AMBOSS summer refresher for m1.

 

[Medstudent00]

I think my first year and first half of my summer has been pretty lackluster so far. I think just the combination of COVID, adapting to medical school, figuring out my rhythm and a new city, and trying to find my people in medical school took a lot of time and energy during my first year. I felt everyone told me to figure myself out and take the time to enjoy first year and use it to adapt to medical school and make friends.

And I did that. But now that I'm half way through my summer, I look back and realize I didn't get a ton of research done. I wasn't the best student relative to the average/ standard deviation and etc.

I feel I'm happy now in that I found my friends, hobbies and have figured out this new city I live in. Overall, I found my rhythm.

I was just wondering if I should stress out that I didn't have the most productive first year and if anyone had any advice moving forward. My goals moving forward now is to get back on the step 1 grind and research. STEP 1 is P/F for me but I definitely want to know the material well.

Also any advice on how I can be better would be appreciated. I sometimes struggle balancing studying with research. I like to focus on one task at a time but other people recommend I do a 3 hour blocks for research then a 3 hour block on research and I feel I can't do that so curious on any thoughts.

Also trying to stick to a STEP 1 study schedule this summer and wondering if there was a way I can keep myself accountable to it. People recommend a calendar but do people do excel or something else?

tl;dr: spent my first year getting adjusted to medical school in terms of friends, hobbies, work-life etc and I think I figured it out *knock on wood*. However, I look back and I realize I wasn't the most productive first year I could've been. Looking to hear if anyone had any thoughts on this. Should I be stressed about this? Advice/tips on how I can be more productive and turn it around. Let me know!

I am basically in the exact same boat. COVID made moving, meeting people, getting out of my apartment, etc. very difficult and I think my grades reflected how unhappy I was with my situation. I don't have much advice but I use CramFighter for my study schedule. I think it is worth the price tag

 

[VincentAdultman]

I don’t think it can be stressed enough that this is essentially going to be your last summer vacation.

Do with that what you will.