Surviving Medical School

Trying Times

Elena E Solomou, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor Internal Medicine-Hematology

Commitment Stresfull

To be a doctor…..

Responsibility

Lifetime

reading Rewarding Help people

and save

lives

• First of all, YOU chose to became a doctor.

• Stick to your decision and go for it!

• If for any reason you realized that someone else

and not you took the decision to became a

doctor…..

• Go for your dreams

• Life is short, live it!

MEDICINE

Tips to survive Med School

• Follow the lectures —> you can get the points that are

important to build the rest of your reading

• The class time is never enough to teach you everything! It is

a “trigger” for you to read and “digest” all new information

• Go home every day after the class and re-read what you’ve

learned in the class, READ THE BOOK, and explore some

more options!

• Web based learning….

• You can not became a doctor by reading only notes!!!

Read Efficiently!

• The time you spend for reading is very important to be

used efficiently- Avoid distractions

• Concentrate! It’s reading time! Avoid noise,music, twitter,

Facebook, etc…..

• Avoid reading in a “coffee shop”……

• Never leave everything to be read just before the exams

• Put exercise in your daily routine. Go for running or

jogging to “clear up” your head

Enjoy your Med School Years

• Med school is 6 years- no other school is so long

• During these years you will make life-long friendships

• You can not go out every night, enjoy the days you can.

• Don’t regret because you decided to spend a weekend

with friends….find sometime to read and make the most

of the next days….don’t go out next weekend

• Volunteer, summer rotations

• Support from your family and your professors

• There will be failures but it is not the end of the

world!

• Make your self-criticism and find out what is the

problem —> don’t do it again!

• The happy times are the most

• Commitment

• Hard work

• Treat the patients the same way you want to be

treated if you were a patient

• The greatest reward is the “THANK YOU” you get

from your patients

• This two magic words give you the strength to never

give up!

Enjoy your journey to med school, it is a long one

but it is magical!