Discover First-Year Medical Student Priorities

Many prospective medical school applicants want to know what their first year of medical school will be like. How will their time be structured? How will they decide what to study, as well as when and how?

Below, a current first-year medical school student details how she prioritizes her time during her first year of medical school.

[Learn how to avoid common mistakes as a first-year medical student.]

I have been challenged to learn massive amounts of information in a short period of time, all while maintaining the core of who I am as both an aspiring physician and a human being. As such, prioritizing responsibilities and activities has been an essential strategy for navigating my first year of medical school.

Though my most important responsibilities may differ from other students', this list of tasks can shed some light on what it's like to be a first-year medical student and help prospective medical school students prioritize their activities when the time comes.

-- Attend class: Many medical schools record their lectures and post them online. As a result of this practice, some medical students opt against attending class and instead watch the lectures on their own time.

Though this approach may work for some individuals, lectures have been an important component of my learning so far. I typically review the material prior to class and then use class time as an opportunity to reinforce my understanding of the lecture content. This is also a chance to ask any questions I may have, as well as an opportunity to discuss concepts with my classmates.

[Learn how to find medical schools that match your learning style.]

-- Reinforce class concepts through active studying: As a premedical student, much of my studying was accomplished while lying on my couch and memorizing the minute details of my class material. This passive and detail-oriented approach to studying has turned out to be less useful in medical school.

The sheer amount of information you need to learn exceeds any memorizing you could do, and passively reading and rereading your notes or textbook will not teach you how to apply this information the way you will need to as a physician.

I now opt to actively study. For example, for anatomy, I draw pictures and label structures. For biochemistry, I solve the problems I am assigned and then develop my own problems.

For my physiology and cells, tissues and organs classes, I dive into boards-style multiple-choice questions -- that is, the type of questions I could encounter on the United States Medical Licensing Examination. These active forms of studying, along with a less detailed review of my class material, have proven more useful than my previous study methods.

[Check out five ways medical school is different from college.]

-- Pursue a few meaningful extracurricular activities: The predominant premedical culture has students at the helm of several campus organizations, on a varsity athletics team and holding down an on-campus job on top of their demanding coursework. With the academic time commitment required of medical students, though, making similar broad commitments in medical school is nearly impossible.

I have joined two student organizations -- one with a meeting every other week and another with a monthly time commitment -- and I am taking one not-for-credit class on literature and medicine. Overwhelming myself with meetings every day would easily lead to spreading myself too thin and burning out, so I have chosen my extracurriculars based on the interests that mean the most to me in medicine.

-- Make time to be yourself: Life does not end when you begin medical school, and I have found that, while I delve deeper into my classes, it is important to hold on to the pursuits that define me. I run every morning before class to clear my head, and I make time every week for an activity that is completely unrelated to medicine.

I have been hiking, kayaking and swimming when the weather was warmer; once winter arrives, I plan to ski. Momentarily escaping from my work helps me return to it refreshed and excited to keep learning.

-- Reflect on priorities and goals: Each week, I take time to ask myself if I have met both my academic and personal goals. Have I studied adequately and enough? Have I made time for friends, family and fun?

Have I achieved a balance -- not too much downtime and not so much time spent studying that I feel as though I need a monthlong vacation? The answers to these questions help drive any adjustments I make in the way I spend my time over the coming week.

Ultimately, flexibility and the willingness to adjust my patterns as I move through my day, week and first year have been instrumental in helping me redefine my daily tasks during medical school. Doing so allows me to keep moving forward toward my ultimate goal of becoming a physician in a way that works.

Cassie Kosarek is a professional tutor with Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College and is a member of the Class of 2020 at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.