MATCH 2018: I MATCHED!

I matched to my #1 Choice, Clinica Sierra Vista (CSV)/Rio Bravo Family Medicine , in my hometown of Bakersfield, California.  Yeeee!

It is a great feeling and relief to know I have a residency spot.  Throughout medical school as a Caribbean medical student, and despite maintaining a positive attitude, there was a feeling of uncertainty that I never fully managed to conceal.  The real possibility of being an M.D. without the opportunity to get a decent job after school if I didn't get into a residency position. I just maintained the faith through the doubt and it paid off.

This is a journey imagined since seeing that Ross was signing a contract with Kern Medical and that I may have an opportunity to rotate at home and establish some relationships.  I always envisioned returning for residency.  I was dismayed when I found out the Family Medicine residency at Kern was ending during my 3rd year of medical school, and elated when finding out that Clinica Sierra Vista was stepping up and creating their own Family Medicine rotation to fill the void.  I was able to begin my first rotation of Family Medicine with CSV and from that point on I knew that this is where I wanted to be.  However, I wasn't bold enough to tell the program director that yet, but I have a co-intern who indeed did tell her. I loved the family atmosphere, care shown when dealing with the patients, and the relationships the residents built with their patients during the clinics. When I finished the rest of my core rotations, I knew that family medicine was my residency of choice and CSV would be my #1 choice.

I didn't think I would be applying for the 2018 match.  I took a two month withdrawal to study for Step 2 CK and didn't take it until August 23, which meant I probably wouldn't have the scores by the time applications opened. I spoke with my advisor, who said that I should delay the match until 2019 to be ensured that I have a complete application including USMLE STEP 1, STEP 2 CK, and STEP 2 CS results.  I had yet to take or schedule Step 2 CS.  Therefore, I decided to push back the match until 2019, and I spread out my rotations to give breaks in between.  As I entered my Family medicine Sub-I rotation in October the program director said she was surprised to not see my application, and she thought I had applied to internal medicine.  I assured her that I had not, but explained my situation.  She, along with the program coordinator, then encouraged me to apply,  so I rushed to get a token for residency application, write my personal statement, get a final letter of recommendation, schedule STEP 2 CS, study for and take STEP 2 CS, and complete my ERAS application all while doing a sub-internship.  Throughout this process, my advisor was upset, and continued to strongly advise me not to apply.  I just continued to pray that everything would work out. I managed to condense my schedule again in order to push up my graduation date. 

It wasn't until early November that I finally completed my application, which is extremely late considering many people already had interviews and the application opened in mid Septmber.  This definitely caused some anxiety for me. Ultimately, I applied to 39 programs, significantly less than the 250-350 that I was initially advised to apply for. I still believe Ross is correct in recommending such a high number of applicants; it is better to be safe than sorry when considering the repercussions  of not matching.  Because I was applying so late, I thought that I was mostly gambling on the CSV program so I would focus my efforts there and the programs surrounding my hometown.  Outside of that, I just applied to the family medicine programs that take the most Ross students over the last 3 years.  All five of my interviews ended up coming in cities in Central California. It was nice to be able to drive to my interviews and not worry about back-to-back flights. Actually, applying late saved me alot of money with interviews and also with flights.  I probably saved at least $6,000 compared to what other students spent on application fees, traveling, and hotel stays.

During the interviews, I did develop a "gut feeling" about which program I thought would be a good fit or not.  You can tell from the interactions with the faculty, residents, and overall feel of the hospital. After the CSV interview, I felt like that was home, and I knew that that was my #1 choice. Additionally, it would allow me to be at home with my fianc, who signed a 3 year contract as a nurse with a hospital in Bakersfield. But of course I would have been happy to match anywhere and she would've been supportive.

Keeping with the theme,  I am now scrambling to get the paperwork in order for the California PTAL, which is the main thing I need to complete before residency.

Ross threw an excellent match party in Los Angeles at Madera Kitchen in Hollywood.  We had an open bar and appetizers.  I got to connect with my old interviewer from Ross, along with other staff.  I was also excited to see how well my classmates had done, and saw some really impressive match sites.   I'm really proud of our group and how well we react to adversity.

This process has further taught me to lean of God and let Him direct my steps.  On to the next part of the journey!

Pathology rotation

Wedding

I got engaged over Christmas, so now I'm in the middle of planning the wedding. Wheww. I will say it's easier to plan a wedding during 4th year than any other time in residency, so I have that going for me.  Not that I'm doing that much of the planning. Thanks to the God (as a patient says) for wedding planners.  It's up in the air where I'll be for residency, so there's that too. The wifey is a nurse, but is signed to a 3 year contract, so she'll have to stay in Bakersfield no matter where I end up. Good thing is all of my interviews in California.  So if I'm fortunate to get a residency spot I won't be too far away no matter where I end up.  It also helps that I have a supportive fiance who understands the residency process, and she wants me to choose whichever program I feel is the best fit for me.

Also,  I'll be done with rotations in April and the wedding is in June, so that will give me time to finalize thing and I'll be able to go away for a honeymoon before residency starts.

Oncology rotation

Cancer, cancer, cancer. During this short 2 weeks, I've had to hold back tears in front of patients as they are forced to confront the gravity of their disease. I've also been there as patients received the "bad news" we all dread. I've been forced to reflect on the brevity of life, and how little time I may have to make an impact on those around me. It was inspiring how some of the cancer stage IV patients managed to stay positive while still accepting the severity of their disease. This rotation increased my respect for Oncologists even more.  As they are constantly trying to teeter the line between palliative treatment to keep the patient comfortable vs. more aggressive treatment to leave a battle ground of cells in hopes of obliterating the cancer, while trying to manage side effects of the treatment.  It sucks that poisoning the body is the best resort we have come up with so far, but there are many out there doing great work to make the treatment more tolerable.

I believe there's more progress to be done in regards to combining different modalities of treatment.  Nutrition is an aspect that is not addressed nearly as much as it should be. We've excepted that preserved meats with nitrites and red meats can increase the risk of certain cancers, but it still isn't standard of practice to encourage a diet heavy in leafy green vegetables. Through a limited search, I've come across an article promoting decreased rate of breast cancer growth in mice given a diet consisting of 10% flax seed. Another article indicated greater erythropoesis when using a homogenized mixture of herbs along with doxorubcin led to higher neutrophil, erythrocyte, and leukocyte counts. These studies were done outside of the United States, as unfortunately I couldn't find any significant studies of alternative medicine in the U.S. Just an article comparing those who chose to do only alternative therapy vs. only chemotherapy, with chemotherapy leading to better outcomes.  Hopefully more funding goes toward using alternative medicines in adjunct with chemotherapy.

Ranking Programs

I've only done 2 interviews so far, and I am already continuously thinking about pros/cons of each particular program.  It is difficult because outside of the actual environment and teaching of the hospital there are other things to consider such as family, significant other, and lifestyle.

Residency Interview

First off all, it's just exciting to be in the position to have one interview, especially with the uncertainty of whether there were even any interview spots available by the time I applied.   I was fortunate enough to get 5 interviews, all in California, after I ended up applying to 36 family medicine programs.

This past week, I had two interviews, two days apart.  Both places seemed like programs that prepared their residents well. They both seemed great and similar on paper, but they both had a different "feel." Throughout my short interview trail, I've been hearing "gut feeling" as a term used to describe where a resident choose to work at. I've been starting to understand what they mean by gut feeling, as one program just seemed like a better fit for me despite both programs appealing in similar ways.

During my first interview, I made the mistake of leaving to the destination to arrive 10 minutes early.  The night before, I was sure to iron and lay out my clothes, but I still left a little later than planned.  I ended up making a wrong turn, despite directions from my GPS, and had issues finding the main lobby.  This accumulated in me arriving just in time for interview.  I was further delayed by these sweet elderly women volunteers who took a while to print my nametag.  My poker face was not up to par, as one of them stated, I know you guys think we're inefficient old women.  (She must have saw a look of concern on my face, because of my late arrival.)  I assured her that was not the case and was preoccupied about being late to the interview.  In retrospect I should have left at least 30 minutes before.

The actual interview went well. I had a great time discussing the program with the residents and program directors. The interviews were much more laid back than I was expecting.  Not many difficult questions, just a question about a time I had overcome a failure.  Mainly, it was just us two having a discussion and getting to know each other better.  After interviews, we had lunch with the resident, this is usually a way to get more informatoin about lifestyle, the city, and how well you would fit in with the group. We were then taken on a tour of the city and to the local clinic.  The interview was really fun, but also tiring, probably from the anxiety and anticipation of what the interview is going to be like and how well they will like you.

Activities

If all went according to "my plan" I would have already have applied for the match, but as has been the general case for my medical journey, thsi train is running behind schedule. It's nice now having a few gaps in between rotations. I've been really doubling down on my Spanish having weekly lessons and chatting with amigos on WeSpeke. I still have  along way to go but I'm progressing slowly. I'm making good progress and learning.

Now it finally feels like I have a little more Time to pursue interests outside of medicine. More time to work on my Spanish and also more time to practice piano, which I've been putting off for a while. I've also been wanting to get into boxing or MMA to stay in shape and get more involved in church.

Step 2 CK

Well, I’m making my way up the ladder, slowly. Finally finished Step 2CK after a couple of postponements. Overall, it was a more enjoyable test than Step 1, because everything was more clinically relevant with not as much route memorization.

I began studying for the test in May during a radiology rotation but was only scoring in 40-60 percentile on the exam.  I then went home in June and was studying about 5 hours a day, thinking that I would be ready to take the test by the end of the month. However, I was quickly reminded of my knowledge gaps after failing COMP in late June, so I postponed the exam.  I took the exam again in July and passed with a score correlating to approximately 200. In July, I was doing a busy family medicine rotation, so I did not devote as much time to studying as I had planned.  I finalized a date of August 23^rd.

Due to my subpar performance on Step 1, I was paired up with a mentor provided by Ross who had performed well on Step 2 CK. I met with him weekly leading up to the exam on August 23, and he helped my stick to and create a study plan for myself.  Having someone hold me accountable was a tremendous help.  It is not a good feeling to meet in consecutive weeks after not accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself, so it pushed me to study more. I bumped up the studying to 8-12 hours/day in August, when I did not have any rotations.  I set goals for the week such as going through internal medicine questions that week on going through a certain number of online med ed videos by splitting up the videos each day.

Overall I met my goals of going through UWorld questions 2x and subsequently going through incorrect questions until there were none left.  I must have done some of the same questions at least 4 times before I finally got them right. I’m so stuck in my ways.  I watched all the online med ed videos, which were immensely helpful for general understanding despite how well or poorly I may have done on the exam, I am glad I watched these videos.  I also looked through the notes, which were well worth the $90, without watching the videos.  I read through Master the Boards, some seconds twice, but this did not stick with me nearly as well as the Online Med Ed notes. I took 3 NBME exams and did the free 150 question exam.  This helped to get my timing down and build stamina for the actual exam.  My scores on NBME were 183, 200, and 230.  I also took Uworld self assessments 1 and 2 with scores of 183 and 215 respectively. 2 days before the test I rushed through USMLE secrets, which got me a few points on the actual exam, and I also rummaged through forums for high yield images, including ophthalmology, which also got me a few points. I did a much better job this time around of limiting my resources as opposed to step 1 when I used multiple question banks and multiple review books.

The actual test didn’t feel as long as even the 4-6 hour practice tests I did.  Probably because I took a quick break after each section, I didn’t feel as fatigued after the test was over. My snacks were 2 pb &j sandwiches, a trader joe kale, broccoli, chicken prepackaged salad, and trail mix. This gave me good energy throughout the test.

I recognized a good amount of questions from uworld, and I didn’t run out of time on any of the sections. And just did my best to not second guess myself and trust that I know the material.

I was so happy for the test to be over, and return to a somewhat normal life. Then I took a trip to Vegas with some friends and put the test in the back of my mind until my score comes back in a few weeks.

Postpone

Looks like I may have to postpone my residency match date a year.  I didn't do nearly as well on a Uworld self-assessment practice test as I had hoped for so there's no way I'm going to take a chance of scoring poorly on Step 2.  My original date was in three weeks but i only got a measly 198 on my practice exam. My new tentative date is August 3rd.

Third Year Review

Third year definitely seemed like the longest year of my life. I felt like it was as hard as everyone says it is.  It never feels like there's enough time to study, and the study conditions at the hospital are not ideal with constant interruptions whether that's scut work, attending surgeries, walking or calming patients, making phone calls, or just going home to crash.  I remember multiple times, mainly during Ob-gyn, flopping on the bed with the lights on dreading waiting to wake up at 4 am the next morning.

My schedule of rotations were: Family medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Ob-Gyn, Surgery, and finally Internal medicine.  My favorite rotations in order were: Family medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and much lower on the list... Surgery, Ob-Gyn.  Luckily we had a week off in the middle of Pediatrics that previous groups of students didn't have, but the year still seemed like a marathon.  The first half of rotations were mostly low intensity, I still felt like I had time to do things outside of school. But that second half was a real struggle to maintain a balance (Ob-gyn, Surgery, IM), but I still made time to at least exercise in the mornings, even if it meant getting up at 3 am, because it helped me get up in the morning and relieve stress. In general the quality of the rotation was directly tied to the attitude and inclusiveness of the residents and the group of students you are paired with. You don't want to be the lazy student who makes the other students do more work, the residents will notice.  You will be working closest with the residents and they will usually make or break your experience. I've had some rotations with great attending physicians but rude and moody residents who make the experience miserable.  I'm not sure what changes in that span of one year between med school and residency that causes some people's ego's to spiral out of control and completely forget that they were just in our shoes.

Some of the things I would recommend doing in third-year rotations include:

-Jump in and embarrass yourself: This is the time to ask stupid questions, make mistakes because this is the time when we're supervised the most.  I wasn't as active in third year as I should've been and will make changes going into fourth.

-Pick one review book and master it: It matters more how you utilize whatever book you choose to study for clerkships more so than which book you use. 

-Spend time before rotations begin or early on during surgery rotation is spending a good amount of time learning to suture.  It will allows you to repair more lacerations in the ER and take less time helping to close after operations: You can find some kits on Amazon or use pig feet, banana skin, or whatever just get used to handling the instruments and tying knots. Like one resident said: If you're a doctor and your neighbor's kid scrapes their knee you will look like an ass if you don't know how to repair it.

-Read about at least one of your patient's pathophysiology in detail every night before going to bed: This will be the way you remember them the most.  I heard people say this before starting rotations however I didn't do it most nights because I felt like i had to do more U-world questions or we had too many patients.  In internal medicine, the nights I would look up Tuberculosis, Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis, etc,  I would remember the criteria better and be able to place a face with the disease. It will be difficult but it you at spend even 5-minutes per night doing this it will pay off exponentially.

-Ask questions: Looking back i didn't ask as many questions as i should have because we always seemed busy or i was afraid of sound stupid to my own detriment

-Respect yourself: You're also an important part of the medical team.  One of y classmates who was in the marines said the hierarchy is similar to the military and some people abuse their power. A little hazing will always be part of the culture but don't accept blatant disrespect from a resident. I've had to address a situation with a resident personally that led to a much smoother rotation down the road.  In the same manner treat your patients with respect. We have the benefit of not being jaded from being in medicine so long that we become insensitive. 

-Self-care:  It's important to take time for yourself, especially in harder rotations when there are longer hours. I've seen multiple students have public breakdowns after their emotions pile up.  Seek-help when you need it and make time to exercise and do activities that don't involve medicine.

-Have fun: We're lucky to be in this position of making a direct impart on patient's lives and learning a lot in the process. You will build relationships with classmates and residents and spending a lot of time with them so do your best to make it an enjoyable environment for everyone.

Best of luck. On the Fourth-year. Hopefully it's as chill as they say it is.

On to the next one

Third was a tough, tough semester, but thank God I passed.  It is considered by many students to be the toughest on the island.  Microbio was really a struggle.   But hey struggles help you reaffirm your motivation for embarking on the journey in the first place.  I excelled in micro in undergrad, but this was a whole different beast entirely.  We are expected to know which media to grow the microbes on, classifications (oxidase, catalase positive or negative, etc.),  which toxins they produce, and signs and symptoms, whether a virus is single or double stranded, enveloped or non- enveloped, segmented or non-segmented, etc.  For microbiology I would recommend relying heavily on sketchy micro, picmonic, or making up your own mnemonics.  With microbiology, you can not simply understand the concepts like with physiology, you are forced to come up with some creative way to distinguish the features of a specific bacteria, fungi, or virus.   The first block, fundamentals, was also heavy on the conceptual fundamentals of pharmacology, such as drug distribution and absorption.  Our other blocks were renal physiology, GI pathology, and reproductive physiology (why do women have to be so complicated?).

3rd Semester

Others students have said that 3^rd semester would be the semester that it starts to feel more medically related and how one would expect medical school to be.  This was not the case initially, but in these past few weeks I have found that sentiment to be somewhat true. For me it has been because of the greater emphasis on our patient interviews and a focus on identifying the underlying signs, symptoms, and treatments used to address a certain disease.  As opposed to the first couple of semesters, when we were more focused on the normal physiological functions of the body, not pathology.  I find myself becoming more excited about beginning rotations later in the (not-so) distant future.

Salybia Mission Project

I got an opportunity to participate in the most popular club on campus, Salybia Mission Project.   I participated on behalf on the special men’s clinic that emphasized prostate health, sexual health education, and occupational injury prevention.  It was by far my favorite club experience thus far.

It is the only club that caters to the Kalinago people, the natives of Dominica.  I was surprised by how large the clinic was.  There was a lunge room, waiting room, and about 10 or more other rooms including a currently unoccupied dentist room.  Our team from Ross included a couple of doctors, a chiropractor, and about 16 students.  At the clinic were a nurse and doctor and other staff that work at the clinic during the week. 

We began by presenting a rectal model to the patients which allowed them to visualize how the digital rectal exam was done.  The model had multiple types of prostates that can be replaced, some with lumps some normal so the patients could feel for themselves.  This was done in hopes of easing the anxiousness of the patients and improve understanding.  And yes, some of us got an opportunity to preform a digital rectal exam.  The patients were very gracious in allowing us to learn how to feel for the prostate on them.  When I first placed my finger into the patient’s rectum, I tried to keep my face straight to no avail, good thing the patient couldn’t see my face.  My finger slid further until I felt lumps as I slide my finger to the left and right.  The first patient’s prostate was more enlarged on the right side. Therefore, the doctor ordered a PSA test to help determine the possibility of cancer.  His case was of specific concern because the prostate was more enlarged on one side than the other.

One of the things that the vast majority of men will deal with, especially men above 55, will be an enlarged prostate.  This can disrupt the flow of urine, which can lead to common symptoms including: frequently waking up to pee at night (nocturia), polyuria, a feeling like the bladder isn’t fully emptied after urination, dribbling of the urine, or a thin stream of urine.  Sometimes these cases are related to an infection of the prostate, which led us to explaining brochures of different sexually transmitted diseases.

Overall, the clinic was a huge success and seemed to run very smoothly. 

First Semester Advice: Time Management

Time management will prove to be very important in med school, as you simply don't have as much time to catch up on material as you did in undergrad.  Any time you fall behind, the amount of work you have to catch up seems to multiply exponentially.  Therefore, you must be careful with how you spend your time.  In the past I sometimes found myself overstating how much time I actually spent studying, so I kept a desktop timer that I paused whenever I browsed something else on facebook (it's easy to waste 15 min. on mindless videos or memes), went to the bathroom, took breaks, etc.  This might be a good thing to implement especially for the first week, just so you have an idea of how long it takes to to create your study products for one lecture, allowing you to schedule more accurately.   I get the best results when I follow a routine of how much time I want to spend making study products for each lecture.  Generally, this is an hour for study notes per lecture.  Sometimes that hour is not enough, but by the end of the day I at least know that I have went through the main concepts for each lecture.  If you don't specify how much time you want to spend on notes for each lecture, then you can easily spend too much time focusing on minuscule details at the expense of learning major concepts from other lectures.  (For our mini exams, there are 2 exam questions from each lecture hour, so study accordingly)  There are usually four classes per day, so four hours devoted for study products.  Then I make a checklist (or in this case use one made by a generous classmate) of what I want to accomplish for that lecture, which may look something like this:

First semester advice: Housing

Most students have likely already picked housing for the upcoming semester, but for those who haven't I'd recommend somewhere close to campus.  I've lived closer to the Annex and right across the street from campus, and living by campus is much more convenient.  Those who live further from campus generally do so because of cheaper housing, especially if you need a bigger apartment for a family, but in my situation the apartment by campus was the same price as my first apartment.  Or they like the idea of not being able to quickly go to campus, forcing them to stay on campus and study.  If you're dissatisfied, you can easily moved next semester, as the leases are just for one semester.  Moving can be a slight hassle, but most taxi services provide services for moving as well, such as Alexis taxi.  I got help from the homie Ryan (I don't have his number on me currently), who's a reliable taxi driver and helped me move late at night.

I currently live at Mac and Judy's.  The landlady is amazing and responds quickly, apartment is big, and it is right across the street from campus.  I pay $650 US monthly.  I would recommend it to anyone.

Before this semester, students weren't having classes in the Annex.  However, this incoming class will have classes in the Annex for this and possibly more semesters.  Therefore, living close to the Annex might prove to be more convenient.  However, you will still have to go to main campus at least a couple times a week or more for anatomy lab, fitness center, subway, clinical activities, etc.

First Semester Advice: Studying for different classes

In my opinion, what's harder than learning the presented material in the first semester is determining the best study strategies to master the material.  A good baseline is to continue to do what worked for you in undergraduate and make adjustments from there.  I like to condense the lecture slides into 1-3 pages on blank sheets of paper.  Sometimes this takes up too much time, and takes away from review, which hurts my score sometimes.  However, after I review the notes I created 3 or 4 times, I feel that I have a thorough understanding of the material.   This ensures that I am connecting the information and it makes it much easier for later review and quickly finding out information when doing practice problems.  Any major diagram I draw out.  It took me a while, but towards the end of first semester, I realized that I'm a much more visual learner than I ever would of imagined.  I had taken the assessment test for learning styles and visual was never top of the list, but through experimentation I realized that diagrams stick in my head the longest.

Whatever you study strategy is, just make sure you are actively studying.  Don't simply read through the slides over and over.  Add notes in the margins, create questions, create diagrams, flowcharts, make connections between other lecture materials, etc.  A good measurement is that when you're studying and your mind is elsewhere, thinking about music, dinner, classmates, etc.  than you're probably not actively studying. 

Also make sure you are group studying at least one time a week.  The group I like to study actually has sections every night from 7-9 where we recap what was presented during lecture.  I don't go every night, but it's nice to have that option.  Many times you will feel like you're "not ready" to go to group study.  Don't worry, you never will be, it is an opportunity to feel in gaps in your learning, not for you to prove how smart you are.  Actually the times I've felt the dumbest in group are the times I've learned the most.

I've been asked to write on the best study methods for each class, so I'll try to describe which methods gave me the best results for first semester.

Anatomy:

Anatomy will undoubtedly be the subject that takes up most of your time during first semester.  Initially, I made the mistake of seeing the 3-5 hours of anatomy lab as time taking away of studying for lecture material.  It took me a while to realize that the best learning from integrating lecture material while actually finding and touching the structures in lab.  Anatomy lab practical are only worth 5% of the grade, while the mini exams are about 12-20% of the semester grade.  Therefore, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that more time should be spent in the books rather than at lab, but the students who do the best on the mini exams, which include many anatomy questions, are those who are also do well on the Anatomy lab practicals.

The most effective learning will come in the anatomy lab.  Be prepared for dissection by watching the prosection videos a couple of times.  Making a quick and simple drawing of whatever body part we were dissecting helped me to visualize and remember where the nerves, vasculature, muscles, etc. should be.  Consistently go into the anatomy lab.  I got the best results when me and a friend went in Saturday mornings and reviewed the dissections we did for the week.  Be able to identify the same structures on different bodies, as you never know which body will be used for the practical exam.  

Biochemistry:

I had success drawing out pathways or making flowcharts.  Know the rate-limiting steps and where a disruption in the pathway would likely cause pathology.  Also, go to Smolanoff's office.  He has many slides, many which aren't important, but pay attention to what he emphasizes or repeats during lecture. Know your amino acids, which ones are basic, acidic, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, etc.  There are mnemonics you can find from a google search.  Don't worry, organic chemistry, will not play much of a role.

Microanatomy/ Histology:

Repetition, repetition, repetition.  Microanatomy can be very detailed, so be sure to pay attention to any bolded or color text in the lecture powerpoints.  You simply have to keep going through the material, start with understanding the overall picture and gradually add more and more detail.

Physiology:

I like Physio, because it is very conceptual.  There is not much memorization involved, as opposed to Anatomy.  I liked supplemental sources such as BRS or Khan Academy for Physio as they presented the same concepts in different ways.  Not as much repetition is necessary, once you understand the concepts.

Behavioral Science:

This is the easiest subject, the "marshmallowy" topics of medicine such as be kind to your patients, treat them with respect, listen, etc.  Also some of the social work, sociological, and cultural aspects of medicine. This subject can be a gift or a curse.  I do best when I tackle these lectures first, and make sure they are reviewed early on when studying for a mini and also right before the mini.  The questions are generally easy, but it is easy to just put off studying for behavior science and lose easy points. 

First Semester Advice: Study Materials

Here are a list of books I would recommend from first semester, you can likely buy these off someone currently on the island, there is a "RUSM Craigslist" on facebook that you should search for and join.  If your prefer electronic books, you can easily find someone with these books on a hard drive.  These books are also available in the library for check out for two weeks at a time.  I haven't used many books, as all the information you need for the exam will be on the professor's powerpoint slides during lectures, however if you can fit in the time, reading the supplemental books will help to cement the concepts presented and improve your understanding.

Review Books:
First Aid for USMLE step 1: Considered a necessity for STEP 1 exam by most students.  It is very broad with limited detail, however it is a good guide to determine what is the most high yield information.  As you progress through semesters you should annotate the book with your own notes.

BRS:  I would recommend this series for any subject.  It is a series with small books for various subjects (Physiology, Behavior Science, Biochem, Anatomy, etc.) with detailed questions and great explanations.  These questions are more difficult than the ones you will have on exams, but it is good for reviews and testing your knowledge.

Anatomy:
Clinically Oriented Anatomy: Buy it. This is where many of the lecture slides will be from, as this book includes the clinical correlates that the professors like to ask questions about.

Grant's Dissector: Buy it.  This will be your guide for anatomy dissections.  There will be copies in the Anatomy lab to look at.  However, it is good to have your own copy so you can read ahead before dissection begins.

Netter's Clinical Anatomy: Buy it.  This is the Gray's Anatomy for our generation.  This book contains great drawings that professors used during exams and during lectures.

Netter's Clinical Anatomy Flashcards:  These are great for quick review and repetition.

Biochem:
Principles of Medical Biochemistry (Meisenberg):  Dr. Meisnberg is a Biochemistry professor, so many questions come from this book.  It is also concise and well written, and will be utilized throughout your time at Ross.

Microscopic Anatomy:
Langman's Medical Embryology: Small and excellent review book for embryology.  It will definitely clear up the lecture material.  I rented it from the library for the embryology lectures, however I would recommend buying it.

Youtube Channels:
I find that youtube videos can serve as a quick broad introduction to different lecture materials
Khan Academy:
Has videos on many medical subjects in collaboration with Stanford University.

Anatomy Zone:
3D videos on various neurovasculature, muscles, bones, etc.

Armando Hasundugan and Handwritten Tutorials:
Easy to replicate, handwritten, short videos covering most subjects.  Good for previewing organ systems and understanding the overall picture.

Ipad Apps:
Essential Anatomy or Human Anatomy Atlas 3D:
I've never used these apps, however I've heard great things about them.  Essential Anatomy has slightly better reviews.  Good for 3d visualization of the structures you will be dissecting

iAnnotate:
Must have for those planning on taking notes with their apps.  I also use it when doing the professors' practice questions, as it saves the annotated files, so you can easily go back during exam or finals time and review the questions you got wrong.

Other than these, I haven't looked at any other books, so I can't speak on them.  I hope this helps some.  Subscribe to receive a notification whenever new blogs are published.

First Semester Advice: Orientation Week

I am writing this post based on the suggestion of a reader, once again feel free to email me at theblackjacksparrow@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions.  I'll attempt to create a series of post geared towards the incoming first semester students.

I will start off with saying that entering medical school is undoubtedly one of the biggest decisions one may make in their life, and it comes with a great deal of pressure, expectation, or anxiety for the future, especially when entering an international medical school.  It is important not to look at medical school as a means to an end of becoming a licensed physician, but look forward to enjoying the journey, as most can look back and realize that the four (more or less) years of undergraduate work was not as long as it sounded when first going into college.

Your first experience on campus will be a week long orientation of things such as tours around campus, introduction to the printing system, school administration, etc.  This week and the week before it (if you choose to come to the island the week before orientation starts) will be accompanied most days by an island excursion that is organized by the school.  I would definitely recommend attending these tours, as it will be the best opportunity to meet your future classmates.  This will be the time where people are most open to meeting new people and are unoccupied with major studying obligations.