There’s no denying the fact that the third year is one of the most challenging, exhilarating, and frustrating years of medical school. Being a third-year student, you will get an opportunity to gain clinical experience, rotate between different hospitals, meet with patients, and work with different teams. Your USMLE Step 1 score and academic performance during the third-year matters most and prepares you for the most competitive residency program.
To succeed in your third year and score impressive USMLE Step 1 marks, you have to develop some essential skills. Here are some useful tips that help medical students to excel during the 3rd year of medical school.
Let’s explore.
Prepare Early for Clinical Rotations
Start thinking about your third-year rotations in your second year. Ask your seniors about the significant responsibilities of rotations. You can find some books that are tailored for 3rd-year medical students that guide them on how to survive in a clinical environment. It is highly advised to read review books as at the end of each rotation; a shelf exam will be held to test your clinical knowledge.
Reviewing books such as Case Files, First Aid, Blueprints, and Underground can help you improve your knowledge about every disease, its symptoms, prevention and treatment options. Reading journals is another excellent idea to prepare you for your upcoming rotation. Many medical school libraries offer online access to hundreds of journals that make it easier for students to improve their knowledge.
Create a Relationship with Your Patients
During your clinical clerkships, you will get the chance to interact with patients inwards. You should not only examine their medical history and fulfill their medical needs but also build a positive relationship with them. Ask them about their daily routine, what they do, what motivates them, what they feel about their medical condition, and so on. When you develop a strong relationship with your patients, it will impress attendings and residents.
Always Ready to Learn
You are learning at every point of your life and being a medical student, you should always ready to learn more. But sadly, many students during their clinical years don’t pay attention to their attendings and residents when they are trying to introduce a new topic. If you don’t understand the disease process clearly and want to know the subject in detail, ask them politely to repeat the process so that you can easily understand the concept.
Speak About Your Performance
Meet your clerkship supervisor to know about your progress. Ask open-ended questions and accept the criticism positively. Ask him to highlight your weak points and try to make improvements and avoid making the same mistake again. Remember, your performance matters a lot and may hurt your final grade. So, make sure you perform well and learn more things to impress the clerkship director.
Get Ready for the Shelf Exams
Many third-year students find it hard to manage the clinical rigors and study well for the shelf exams. If you want to succeed academically during your clinical rotations, it is advised to apply the clinical knowledge you gained during clinical training to practice questions after your ward duty or whenever you find free time. Using question banks and practice tests is the best way to apply your clinical knowledge and prepare for the actual exam. This way, you can easily avoid cramming sessions before your shelf exam. No matter how busy you are, if you find time to review your notes every day, you will perform better in your shelf exams.
Find Your Favorite Medical Specialty
Third-year of medical school is the best time when you get the opportunity to go through clinical rotations that provide diverse experience in different fields of medicine. The clinical clerkship year helps students to choose their favorite specialty before applying to the residency program. Since medicine is a vast field, and you will find a myriad of career choices, doing clinical rotations in your 3rd of medical school helps you understand your personal interests and professional goals.
Get Letters of Recommendation
During clinical clerkships, build strong relationships with attendings, doctors, and staff as it will help you end up getting an impressive letter of recommendation. If you have decided on the specialty you will go into, ask the attending to write a letter of recommendation. Getting letters of recommendation from every rotation helps you qualify for your preferred residency program.
Conclusion
Clinical years of medical school weather it is Outside USA or any Caribbean Medical School is a challenging time for almost every medical student. In fact, it’s the time to know your specialty choice, prepare for the shelf exam, improve your clinical, medical, and communication skills. Hopefully, these tips will help ace your 3rd year of medical school and perform well and score impressive marks in your shelf exams. Good luck!
