Three things that will increase your chances of succeeding at SMU:
1) KEEP A LOW PROFILE
- avoid the complainers
-avoid the gunners (those who make you feel bad about how little you study and/or make you look bad in front of Attendings)
-avoid the haters
-avoid valuemd for now....yup I said it (this forum is so negative I hope other MDs will post positive things below)
2) STUDY
-purchase USMLE WORLD and Kaplan q banks FOR STEP 1 during first semester and use throughout basic sciences (spend the money = better Step score)
-purchase picmonics during first semester and use throughout basic sciences (google it spend the $$ if you are a visual learner)
-purchase firecracker.me during first semester and use for both basic sciences and clinicals (google it and spend the $$)
-purchase USMLE WORLD and Kaplan Q banks FOR STEP 2 and use throughout all of clinicals (spend the money)
-study a little bit everyday
-when you study aim to understand why rather than memorize
-don't rely on professor's power points only
-study for the shelf exams and try to do well (your performance on these exams can help predict how well you will do on Step exams)
-take PD seriously (when you get to clinicals preceptors expect you to be able to examine patients on your own and write notes...they don't have time to teach you)
3) TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
-eat well (if you don't want to cook there is Captain's, Gateway to India, precooked food at IGA)
-sleep enough (what you learn today will be consolidated into your long term memory which is what you want for Step 1/ 2)
-keep in touch with your friends and family
-maintain a hobby
-exercise (you can walk to and from school while listening to Medical Podcasts)
-be nice to yourself...if you do poorly on one exam is not the end of the world...pick yourself up and keep going...the truth is that when you apply for residency program directors care more about your Step scores
1) KEEP A LOW PROFILE
- avoid the complainers
-avoid the gunners (those who make you feel bad about how little you study and/or make you look bad in front of Attendings)
-avoid the haters
-avoid valuemd for now....yup I said it (this forum is so negative I hope other MDs will post positive things below)
2) STUDY
-purchase USMLE WORLD and Kaplan q banks FOR STEP 1 during first semester and use throughout basic sciences (spend the money = better Step score)
-purchase picmonics during first semester and use throughout basic sciences (google it spend the $$ if you are a visual learner)
-purchase firecracker.me during first semester and use for both basic sciences and clinicals (google it and spend the $$)
-purchase USMLE WORLD and Kaplan Q banks FOR STEP 2 and use throughout all of clinicals (spend the money)
-study a little bit everyday
-when you study aim to understand why rather than memorize
-don't rely on professor's power points only
-study for the shelf exams and try to do well (your performance on these exams can help predict how well you will do on Step exams)
-take PD seriously (when you get to clinicals preceptors expect you to be able to examine patients on your own and write notes...they don't have time to teach you)
3) TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
-eat well (if you don't want to cook there is Captain's, Gateway to India, precooked food at IGA)
-sleep enough (what you learn today will be consolidated into your long term memory which is what you want for Step 1/ 2)
-keep in touch with your friends and family
-maintain a hobby
-exercise (you can walk to and from school while listening to Medical Podcasts)
-be nice to yourself...if you do poorly on one exam is not the end of the world...pick yourself up and keep going...the truth is that when you apply for residency program directors care more about your Step scores