From Pre-Med to Med School: Advice I Wish I Had

Today, I gave a speech to incoming pre-med students at CUNY Brooklyn College and graduating seniors headed to medical school at SUNY Downstate about journeys, fears, taking care of your mind and heart, and the privilege of being a student.

Here are some takeaways and advice I wish I knew when I started college and medical school:

• Looking back, the journey will feel linear, but looking forward, future decisions feels like a maze. How do you know which step forward to take? Explore every choice that gives you an emotional spark. But decide on which step to take forward with logic.

• Give yourself the ability to fail so you learn what it takes for you to succeed by studying yourself and your habits. What works for you?

• College and medical school are both hard, and you use similar life skills for both. College is more about studying, exploring activities, developing social relationships, cleaning your space, organizing, laundry, feeding yourself, and staying on top of deadlines all by yourself for the first time. In med school, you have to do all of that too, but after being in class/library/hospital for 6+ hours.

• Talk about your fears and failures with your family and friends. A problem shared is a problem half solved.

• Use tried-and-true resources and see what works for you—Anki, UWorld, Pathoma, Boards and Beyond, First Aid, Sketchy, Amboss, BRS, Reddit, study groups.

• Taking care of your mind is crucial. Ensure you get enough sleep and stay connected with family and friends. Find activities that relax you, whether it's reading, exercising, or meditating. These seem obvious but are hard to prioritize when you feel like you’re fighting the clock and think you have to sacrifice them to get it all done. Don’t sacrifice them, plan for them in advance instead.

• Equally important is taking care of your heart. Engage in activities that bring you joy to help you release stress. Your first patient is yourself. Remember, you can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. Doing things that bring you joy outside of school will make you a better student in school.

• Being a doctor is more than just typing notes, prescribing medications, and performing procedures. It's also about holding your patients' fears, teaching them about their bodies, and easing their health anxiety—just as you would do for yourself. You’re your own doctor too.

• Kindergarten skills of saying please and thank you or knowing when to speak and when to listen are more important than you think.

• Remember that while the journey ahead is tough, sometimes your patients will have it tougher. You're here to help them, but they will also help you in unexpected ways. Embrace that with an open mind and heart.

• The doctor-patient relationship is challenging but an incredibly rewarding and rare experience. Being a student doctor is a profound privilege that not many humans get to experience. There is privilege in getting the freedom to read, learn, question, and think freely. There is privilege in being able to study life and death.

• You can’t know everything, but you can be honest about what you do know and direct your patients to where you think they will find their answers for the things you don’t.

Embrace this responsibility with compassion for yourself and others, and you'll not only be a better student and student doctor but also a better human being. Congratulations to all those moving onto the next step of their journey! For those in the middle of the journey or who need more time at this step, remember that every path is unique, your progress is valid, and no hard work is ever wasted.