2020 EDITION

HOW TO PREPARE
FOR AND THRIVE AT
MEDICAL SCHOOL
BY TASH THE MEDIC
 ABOUT ME

Hi everyone , I am Tash (
aka Tash The Medic ) and I

am a med student at King s College London' .I am just

about to start my intercalated year in Primary

Care .
I set up my Instagram page at the end of April and I

use this platform to share tips to get into medical

School , how to thrive at medical school and

advocate about mental health .

I have made this guide to share some (hopefully ) useful info for anybody starting med

school in September or for any current med student looking for some guidance .
Please do share this booklet with your friends and let me know your feedback on it .

Please follow me on my socials :

Instagram :@ tash _themedic

YouTube : Tash The Medic

Website : .
www tashthemedic co uk . .

One final thing : this guide is 100% free and everything I do to help with

getting into medical school and the transition to medical school is and always

.
will be But if you are appreciative of this guide and want to buy me a coffee

I have included my link here to do so :

https :// . .
www buymeacoffee com tashthemedic /
Please do not feel pressurised to do so at all !
 CONTENTS

Congratulations ........................................................................................... Page 1

Things to do before starting ..................................................................... Page 2
Packing list ............................................................................................. Pages 3-4
Weekly Planner ...................................................................................... Pages 5-6
Study Resources ................................................................................... Pages 7-8
Study Techniques ................................................................................Pages 9-10
Mental Health Activities .......................................................................... Page 11
Myth Busting .............................................................................................. Page 12
Societies ..................................................................................................... Page 13
Student meal ideas ................................................................................... Page 14
Must have apps for student life ............................................................. Page 15
Top 10 tips to thrive at Med School .......................................................Page 16
Final words ................................................................................................. Page 17

@ tash _ themedic
 CONGRATULATIONS

First of all a MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to

everybody . Getting a place to study Medicine at

university is an amazing achievement and you

should never forget that .

You have worked so hard to earn that place and

you deserve to have the best time at Medical

school and every success .

Please enjoy the rest of your summer holidays and

enjoy spending time with your friends and family

before you start uni !

@ _
tash themedic

1
THINGS TO DO BEFORE STARTING

Finances

Have you applied for student finance ?

Have you made sure that your student finance

entitlement is correct ?
Have you set up a student bank account ?

Meeting people

Have you joined your cohort facebook group /

accommodation group ?
How about a group zoom session with some of your new

peers?!

Accommodation

Have you confirmed your halls of residence ?

University

Have you enrolled on the course ?

Read Some Medical Books

This is going to hurt by Adam Kay

Your life in my hands by Rachel Clarke

When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi

The prison doctor by Amanda Brown

War doctor by David Nott

Do no harm by Henry Marsh

Admissions by Henry Marsh

@tash _themedic

2
 PACKING LIST
Bedroom

* Pillow s ()
* Duvet

* Bedding (2 sets preferably )

Mattress topper

Decorations ( /
photos posters fairy lights lamp/ / )
Mirror

Doorstop

Clothes hangers

Laundry basket bag /

Fan

Extension lead

Command hooks

Clothing

* Casual clothes ( / / /
trousers tops skirts jumpers jackets coat / / )
Underwear

/
PJs loungewear

* Shoes ( /
trainers smart shoes slippers / )
Smart clothes (
for placement part / -
time job )
Sportswear

Fancy dress

Jewellery

Bathroom

* Towel

* /
Shampoo conditioner shower gel /
* Deodorant

* Toothbrush + toothpaste

/
Shower bath mat

* Toilet roll

Sanitary products

Hair brush comb /

/
Razor shaving foam

Makeup

/
Hair dryer straighteners curlers /
Medication

Dressing gown

Flip flops (for communal showers )@ tash _

themedic

Contact lenses glasses /

*= essential
3
 PACKING LIST

Kitchen

*Plate s ()
*Bowl s ()
*Cutlery

*Pot s () with lid

*Frying pan Wok /

*Baking tray

*Mug s ()
*Glass es( )
Wooden spoon

*Sharp knife
Miscellaneous

*Chopping board
*Wallet ( / /
bank cards id railcard )
Spatula
* /
Laptop tablet + charger

Tupperware containers
*Phone + charger

Oven glove
/
Earphones headphones

Recipe Book s () *Bag for uni

Speakers
Tea towel

Umbrella
Cheese grater

Weekend Bag
Colander

Water bottle
Bin bags

Washing up liquid
/
Reusable coffee not drink cup

Musical Instrument

Stationary
/
Playing cards other games

Pens + pencils

Ruler

Highlighters

Notebook

/
Diary planner

Calculator

Textbooks

Blue tack

Folders

@ _
tash themedic

*= essential
4
 WEEKY PLANNER EXAMPLE

' .
This is what a typical week in my first year at King s looked like

@ tash _ themedic
5
WEEKY PLANNER TEMPLATE
 STUDY RESOURCES

Websites

Khan Academy

Teach Me Series (
Anatomy , Surgery ,
Physiology , ObGyn & Paediatrics )
BMJ Best Practice

AMBOSS

Almost a Doctor

Geeky Medics

Pulse Notes

Bite Medicine

NICE Pathways

BNF

Online MedEd

Med Bullets

Simple Med

Osmosis
Online Question Banks

Brainscape (
Flash cards ) PassMedicine

Zero to finals
Quesmed

Learn surgery online

Med Bullets

Mind the bleep

BMJ On Examination

Khenhub
Pastest

Essential Anatomy 5
Apps ( )
to help you on placement

BMJ Best Practice

MDCalc

Geeky Medics

Foundation Doctor Handbook

Mersey Burns

Emergencies Handbook

@
tash _themedic

7
 STUDY RESOURCES

Books (100% /
optional can take out from

library )
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties

Essential of Kumar and Clark s Clinical ’

Medicine

Clinical Anatomy

The Anatomy Colouring Book

’
Gray s Anatomy Flash Cards

Textbook of Medical Physiology

Recorded Online Videos

Quesmed Tutorials

Osmosis

’
Acland s video atlas of human anatomy

Podmedics (YouTube )
Bite Medicine

Becoming a Doctor

Armando Hasudungan (
YouTube )
Arora Medical Education (YouTube ) Podcasts

The MedStudier (
YouTube ) Study Medicine Podcast by Medico

Sam Webster (
YouTube ) Lifestyle

Ninja Nerd Medicine (

YouTube ) Sharp Scratch by BMJ Group

Surgery 101
Second Opinion

NB Hot Topics

Zero to Finals

Mayo Clinic Talks

'
Harrison s podclass

ICU rounds

@ tash _
themedic

8
 STUDY TECHNIQUES

Here are some suggestions to help you study effectively . The most important thing is

finding a method that works for you and that is sustainable throughout your time at med

school. '
Don t be afraid to mix your methods up to keep yourself motivated .

Lectures

Go over the lecture slides before attending the lecture . Make any relevant notes and

research the topic to gain a basic understanding .

Download and convert the lecture slides to a powerpoint (

there are lots of websites

to do this , )
just google it so you can jot things down that the lecturer says in the notes

section .

Use Microsoft one note / google docs / word / notability / good notes to write your

own condensed notes of the lecture afterwards using the lecture recording and any

notes you made before and during the lecture .

'
Watch a YouTube video on the topic if you don t understand anything in the lecture .

Ask your friends if you still do not understand something .

Try and do some questions on the lecture topic .

@ tash _
themedic

9
 STUDY TECHNIQUES

Tutorials

Try and answer the questions first by yourself before attending the session .
/
Fill in the gaps using your notes the internet .
'
Discuss questions you re not sure on with your friends .
Attend the tutorial and ask questions .
Go over what you went wrong afterwards .

Anatomy

Look over the body system you will be covering in the dissection pro / -
section before

attending .
/
Review what you learnt afterwards using textbooks online resources /3 d anatomy

apps .

Clinical Skills

Before you attend your clinical skill session , watch a video on YouTube on the skill you

will be learning .
Attend the clinical skills session and practice as many times as possible ! '
Don t be

afraid to ask questions or for help .

Book a clinical skills lab (
which will have all the necessary equipment in it ) in your free

time with some of your friends to recap what you learnt .

@
tash _
themedic

10
 KEEP YOUR MIND HEALTHY ACTIVITIES

/
Mindfulness Meditation

Headspace App

CALM App

Practise Gratitude

Write down 5 things you are grateful for when you wake up & before you sleep

Podcasts

Happy Place by Fearne Cotton

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day

Mindful in Minutes

Flourish with Frances (

our very own med student on the gram )

Exercise

Join a gym - /
uni gym pure gym the gym / (
all are cheap for students )
Join a sports team at uni

Walk to uni instead of getting public transport

Try yoga

Socialize

Grab a coffee with a friend

Study with a friend

Eat lunch with a friend

Invite a friend over to cook dinner together

Random things

Sudoku

Read a fiction book

/
If you are feeling stressed anxious write down what you can

/ /
smell see touch taste hear / /
Take time off and watch TV

-
11
Listen to relaxing music I recommend Peaceful Piano playlist on Spotify

@ _
tash themedic
MYTHS ABOUT MED SCHOOL WHICH

'
JUST AREN T TRUE IN THE SLIGHTEST

'
It s really stressful .

All med student have properly got their lives organised .

You will have no life (& friends ) outside of medicine

Other med student are competitive with each other .

You will see loads of surgery .

Consultants are scary and ask you loads of hard questions .

'
Everyone s parents are doctors .

Only confident and extroverted people do well on placement .

Nobody ever fails an exam at med school .

Everyone knows what specialty they want to go into from the

.
start

All medical students come from rich families .

'
You re required to know content from 1 2 ,3
st nd rd and 4
th year for

your final exams in 5th year .

Only the cleverest students will make the best doctors .

@ tash _themedic

12
 SOCIETIES

I think one of the best things you can do at uni is to get involved with some societies .
From academic societies , to sports clubs and music groups , societies can be a great

way to meet people from other courses and other years .

'
Here are some of the societies available at King s College London . There are over

300 societies available at King s '! Of course your uni may or may not offer these but

this is just to give you an idea of the wide range you can get involved with !

Sports Groups

Basketball

Football

Netball

Climbing

Karate

Yoga & Pilates

Academic Socities

African Caribbean Medical Society

Cardiovascular Society

Emergency Medicine Society

Genetics Society

Nutritank Society

Global Health Society

Activity Societies

DJ Society

Fashion Society

Foodie Society

Music Society

Musical Theatre Society

@tash _ themedic

, !
13
And many MANY more
 STUDENT MEAL IDEAS

Here is a selection of some of my favourite , quick and easy meals !

Spag Bowl (a classic and so hearty + warming )

Risotto ( surprisingly not as hard as it might seem + can literally add whatever

'
you ve got in the fridge )

Stir fry (
so quick + again can add whatever you ve got ' )

Pesto pasta ( '

if you don t eat this at least once a week , are you really a student ?)

Curry (
you guessed it , you can add whatever you ve got ' )

Vegetable + bean chilli

Veggie Sausages , potato wedges , lots of vedge + gravy

Chicken , potato + '

any veg you ve got oven bake (
literally just chop it all up , put it

in an over dish , put some oil over the top and pop it in the oven and bobs your

uncle )

My go to websites to find recipes :

BBC Food

BBC Good Food

All Recipes

@ tash _ themedic

14
 STUDENT MUST HAVE APPS

Here is a selection of some of my most used apps on my phone as a medical student !

/
Anki Quizlet - there can sometimes be a lot of hanging around on placement , so

when you are not doing anything you can flick through some flash cards .

/
Deliveroo Uber Eats Just Eat / - Got to treat yourself to a takeaway every now

and again .

Monzo banking app - Great to track your spending .

Spotify + Headspace - The student deal on Spotify comes with headspace for

free.

Bubble babysitting - an amazing app that allows you to pick up individual

babysitting shifts .

Strava - /
to track runs cycles and motivate you to exercise .

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine - a little on the expensive side but great

'
for flicking through a topic when you don t have the textbook to hand i e .. on

placement

Transport app - CityMapper or a local bus timetable app .

@ tash_ themedic

15
 MY TOP 10 TIPS TO THRIVE AND NOT

JUST SURVIVE AT MED SCHOOL

1. Enjoy it ! Only do things that you properly enjoy and have fun at !
2. /
Socialise but take days nights off to chill and watch Netflix too

3. Join 2 societies : an academic one + -

a co . .
curricular one e g a

sports team or music group

4. Keep on top of lectures and do the work for the tutorial before

attending it

5. Chat and interact with patients on placement - '

don t be scared !
6. Study with friends

7. Make use of the libraries

8. Make sure to do something to keep your mind healthy each week

9. Make your living space a homely and nice environment to relax in

10. Keep in touch with your family and take some time off to go

home once in a while

@tash _themedic

16
 FINAL WORDS

I hope this has been of some use to you .

Please do share it on your social media pages and with your friends if you think it would

benefit them too !

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any suggestions to add to this

resource or if you have any questions about going to medical school .

Contact me :
Instagram :@ _
tash themedic

Email : tashthemedic @
gmail com .
Website : .
www tashthemedic co uk . .
YouTube : Tash The Medic

Buy me a coffee : .
www buymeacoffee com tashthemedic . /

@tash _
themedic

17