ZEBRA HUNTER

One of the first pieces of advice I remember was that the difference between a new doctor and experienced one is the approach to a clinical question. The new doctor starts with a wide differential, gathering information to narrow it down, whereas the intuitive, experienced doctor immediately has a general sense of the answer and gathers information to justify the suspected diagnosis.

I have been keenly aware of my changing perspective over the years, noticing every so often that I've shifted a tiny bit more toward the latter (not only did I not truly understand the true meaning of the statement initially, I didn't understand the timeline- it's not an overnight change of perspective, unfortunately).  My ignorant, egocentric first thoughts were that I, of course, was exempt- I knew it all already....

DON'T BUY ALL THE BOOKS!

Now that I'm 7/8 of the way done with med school, I'm starting to compile some of my better advice, and hopefully one day can publish it.  Here's an excerpt; not that anyone ever comments, but if anyone has suggestions or requests, let me know!

Like college textbooks, medical texts can be outrageously pricey. Embarrassingly, I was “that person” who purchased every single book on the “required book” list.  I think it was probably around $2000. (Yes, I bought them new from Amazon.)  Sitting in orientation surrounded by people complaining about said booklist and realizing that I was literally the only one who had purchased any books at all, I vowed to pass on the word.