Professional School – The First Year: What You Need to Know

By Sean Parrish

With over 80,000 professional degrees bestowed in 2006 alone, it can be tempting for new students to focus solely on their goal of achieving a health career.

After all, months of testing, applications, and interviewing require such determined effort that keeping an eye on the prize becomes in itself a kind of occupation. There is a danger that such a limited focus can cause students to overlook the important preparation which makes a career possible.

Transitioning from undergraduate work to full-scale professional training can undoubtedly be jarring. The pitfalls of poor decisions and wasted effort lurk around countless corners. By relying upon the experience of those who have gone before and the advice they offer, a student can make the first year less stressful and more productive.

Before You Arrive

There are plenty of important things that need to be considered before arriving for the first day of class. Setting up a household, getting finances in order, arranging transportation—these are all important details that if taken care of before school begins, eliminate many possible stresses later.

Value can be found in simply knowing the campus and city, especially if traveling a long way for school. Current medical student MadameLULU recommends that newcomers arrive as soon as possible to get things in order and “scope out the local scene: coffee shops, restaurants, bars, grocery stores, etc. Use the time to set up and decorate your apartment to make it as comfortable as possible.”

A little investment of time early on will pay dividends later by preventing the dreaded scramble of parking passes, bus schedules, or keeping the cupboards stocked with something more than Ramen noodles and that blue box of “mac and cheese.”

For students wondering about how to prepare academically during the summer prior to entering, the most common refrain is a simple one: don’t bother. Owing to the nature of first year, most students will find that studying during the summer tends to be a waste of time.

Unless assigned summer reading is a required part of a program, getting away from the coming frenzy is a popular option. As medical student scpod discovered, there are better ways to spend your last summer of freedom than studying: “You’ll be expected to learn more in one week of Gross Anatomy in med school than you could ever learn in a month on your own. The best thing to do: take a break and enjoy yourself—it may be a long while before you get time for yourself again.”

There are exceptions to the notion that students should ignore academic preparation altogether. If a school offers a pre-matriculation program, attending may be beneficial. As current medical student EvoDevo offers: “An already overwhelming situation is made less so because you can now concentrate on learning just the material. You won’t have to find your best study spot, where the labs are, or even what Gross Lab is like.”

In addition to providing familiarity with the campus and expectations of the school, students can help cushion themselves from the dreaded “shock of battle” that comes with the beginning of professional education.

Once You Begin

A common theme among current and formers students, keeping up with coursework usually ranks at the top of proven advice. But what kind of strategies are the most effective?

Most veteran students agree that having a detailed plan provides newcomers with a successful approach. Current optometry student prettygreeneyes advises first-year students “to treat school like you would a job. Set up a schedule with blocks of study time and try to be consistent.”

A willingness to make changes in study habits can bring important payoffs as well. Not only might a new student need to re-examine study habits used as an undergraduate, they may also want to look at their current methods. If something does not work or if falling behind becomes a recurring theme, students should make changes and seek out assistance immediately.

Sarah, a second-year pharmacy student, recommends consulting course syllabi to plan entire semesters in advance when possible. At the same time, she advises that students get friendly with their classmates: “They will become a huge source of support, missed notes, as well as helpful hints and advice through your professional school years.”

Experienced students often recommend the use of supplemental study materials to give newcomers an advantage. Mandy, a current medical student, suggests computer programs or PDAs which allow you to organize vast amounts of information and have it more quickly accessible than a normal notebook would allow.

Medical students EvoDevo and Amy B, recommend using board preparation books that help bullet out information to supplement normal course textbooks. Consulting such guides when first learning the material has the added bonus of helping students plan ahead for testing in the years to come.

Too overwhelming? For some first-year students, maybe the best idea is to keep it simple. Familiar with the pressures of absorbing so much information in so short a time, EvoDevo himself offers a helpful reassurance: “If learning the material means that you have to make up silly stories, talk out loud to an imaginary colleague, or that you have to teach your dog the Krebs Cycle—go for it! Just because your friends have a different method doesn’t mean that their way is best for you.”

The (Few) Don’ts of the First-Year Experience

While looking to make all the right moves, new students should also consider some of the clear wrongs that can easily be avoided.

When asked about the most common mistake made during their own first year, veteran students return with invariably the same answer: textbooks. Familiar with the expense as undergraduates, many first years are so eager to be fully prepared they purchase textbooks that are ultimately used little, if at all.

Second-year veterinary student Deanna mentions that “a lot of textbooks are unnecessary and not terribly useful. Wait until school starts to find out what you really need.”

But once a person knows what the requirements are, should their decision end there? As it happens, publishers will often try to take advantage of professional school students’ compulsiveness by reissuing textbook editions every few years, even when there are few significant changes.

On a budget? Take the helpful advice of EvoDevo and “go to Half Price Books, online, or find upperclassmen and get those suckers cheap. Since most texts change minimally from edition to edition, you can copy any changes from your friends.”

Besides saving you money, the hindsight of more experienced students can save newcomers a lot of stress headaches as well. While perfectionism and excellence can get a person into professional school, first-year students need to accept that having realistic standards is important if they want to survive.

Current medical student Amanda sums up the new reality that first-year students ought to come to terms with: “You were used to being the top of your class: you probably won’t be anymore. You were used to getting A’s: you’ll probably be extremely happy just to pass some of your classes. It’s okay. You’ll see people fail exams (and you may be one of them). Pick yourself up, learn the material, and take the exam again.”

If nothing else, new students need to find a balance between the urgency of learning and the importance of finding a way to relax so as not to burn out. Choosing a stress-reliever can be important: walking, yoga, kick-boxing, making sarcastic comments at the movies—it is essential to have an outlet for the frustration and angst of being a professional student.

Equally important, first-year students need to allow themselves a chance to discover their own path. Because one experience can vary so differently from another, new students should know that no one has all the answers. Instead, they ought to rely upon their own individual methods or practice to help navigate through those tough early days.

As jonwill, a resident in Podiatric Surgery, states plainly: “Be willing to do what it takes. A fact of life is that some people will have to work harder than others to get the same results. Be willing to do what it takes to succeed, and don’t worry about what those around you are doing.”

When all the other advice is set aside, a professional student has only their own determination to drive them through to the end of the day. Trust those instincts, and success will come.

First-Year Essentials Checklist

Do’s:

• Do enjoy your last summer of freedom (for a while)
• Do complete financial, transportation, and household decisions before school begins
• Do manage your time (consult syllabi, schedule study time outside of regular coursework every week, organize study groups)
• Do talk to your professors (use office hours, ask for additional recommended texts)
• Do talk to your advisor (important to a successful academic career—change them if the first one does not work for you)
• Do talk to your fellow classmates (the quiet one in the corner just may have the answer)
• Do use supplementary study aids (board guides, computer programs, unassigned textbooks)
• Do go to professional conferences when possible (network, network, network!)
• Do try to relax! (Hit the gym, go for a drink, host a barbeque, etc.)

Don’ts:

• Don’t panic! (feeling overwhelmed at first is normal)
• Don’t spend the summer prior studying (school will take care of that)
• Don’t waste money (budget early on while learning how to live on financial aid)
• Don’t immediately purchase textbooks (if older, cheaper editions work—great!)
• Don’t expect straight A’s (realistic expectations will make life easier)
• Don’t be afraid to be wrong or feel stupid (learning is a process)
• Don’t spend all your time studying (rest and relaxation helps the body process new experience more effectively)
• Don’t obsess about details beyond your first year (acclimating to the information and pace is what beginning is all about)
• Don’t forget to use resources like SDN (mentoring, advice, camaraderie)

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov

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