I’ve had several new college graduates ask me what they should do this summer to prepare for medical school. It’s easy – don’t worry about it! There is no studying or preparation that will improve how you do. Seriously, you’ve been accepted and you will do fine. I know you are anxious, but I can absolutely guarantee you don’t need to study anything to get ready! That being said, I do have some advice about what to do this summer:
Take a vacation (or two or three…).
- Visit family and friends – take a road trip and connect with people you haven’t seen in a while
- Hang out on a beach, go for some great hikes, read some great novels
- Sleep late, eat well, and just rest
Develop (or strengthen) an exercise habit.
- Use this summer to develop a daily exercise routine that you can take into your busy medical school life. Overall, your goal for the summer should be to develop a balanced exercise program (cardio, strength training and flexibility). If you’ve never done any strength training, hire a trainer and learn about it. Your goal during medical school should be at least 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 times/week, 2-3 strength training sessions (that cover all the major muscle groups) and stretching everyday. If you develop a balanced exercise routine this summer, it will be much, much easier to continue this once you start medical school.
- Commit to doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a day this summer. Running is by far the best cardio exercise for medical students. Use this summer to become a runner. http://wellnessrounds.org/why-you-should-run-and-how-to-get-started/
If you don’t know how to cook, learn.
- Learn some basic skills to cook simple things. If you have good cooks in your family, have them teach you.
- If you don’t have family members who can teach you, find cooking classes on the internet. Here’s a site I found that links to cooking classes across the country. http://www.localcookingclass.com/
- Many high end grocery stores offer simple classes. For example: http://www.centralmarket.com/Cooking-School.aspx, http://www.williams-sonoma.com/customer-service/store-events.html, http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/cookingclasses.php