I recently answered this question on Quora.com: I'm a freshman medical student. What are some of the essentials I'll be needing as a medical student?
I felt that the OP wasn't really asking about books or equipment so I shared the following:
Your material essentials list will depend on the school that you’re going to. What you need to “carry” along wherever you go, IMHO, are as follows:
A clear idea of your WHY. Why study medicine in the first place? There are so many other ways to heal people, serve others, make money, indulge your scientific curiosity, and/or make an impact in the world. Why Medicine? If nothing else, this will be the one that sustains you the longest.
A clear vision of what and where you want to be and want to do. No, it doesn’t mean seeing yourself in a particular hospital or choosing your specialty. Related to your Why, you have to be able to see yourself accomplishing or achieving a set goal. You have to be able to clearly see yourself finishing school, what kind of person you will have become, and what you will be ready for ahead.
A growth mindset. If you’re not familiar with this, read up on Carol Dweck. Med school will be a challenge unlike what most college students will have faced. You may or may not be ready for it. Your study habits may be bad or non-existent. Your priority management (which I think is more important than time management) is probably not fully trained. Maybe you still need work with your people skills. You will make mistakes. Lots of them. You need to be able to see these challenges for what they are: an opportunity to learn and become better.
Focus. Too many distractions exist. Train your mind to focus on tasks at hand and you will be able to cope with the load. There are many ways to train and increase focus (Pomodoro method, meditation, digital fasts, etc.). Start using these methods and train your brain to focus. It’s practically a superpower these days.
Proper sleep habits. The old school thinking was that if you weren’t burning the midnight oil, you probably weren’t studying enough. That’s just not valid anymore. There are so many ways to enhance learning through technology and new techniques. And neuroscience has only affirmed the need to get adequate sleep not just to repair the body after the rigors of a busy day, but to help consolidate memories and learning. Find your optimal sleep duration and plan your study (and leisure time!) accordingly.
Lots of other things I would consider essential, but this is a good starting point for any higher-level student to start with. God speed!
