How to Prepare for the First Year of Medical School
Congratulations on getting the grades that you need for medical school. Your journey to become a doctor has now started and you are ready for at least five years of tough academic study. Here is our guide on how to get ready for your first year at medical school
Do I need to buy any books for medical school? 📚
Your medical school will usually provide a recommended reading list, so I would hold off buying any textbooks until you have details of this ⚠️ For the first year, these will be books that usually cover anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. As you go through the years you will need to access books relating to clinical medicine, surgery, paediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, histology as well as obstetrics and gynaecology.
The medical school may also recommend core texts which are critical, and everyone should read, as well as supplementary texts for students that want to read more into a subject. It was our experience that the students that got the honours and distinctions were the ones that read the supplementary texts.
Medical textbooks can be expensive, as well as heavy and you should find that the university library also stocks the core texts, but nowhere near enough for everyone to access at once. You may also be able to borrow textbooks from the library, but these obviously have to be returned in a limited period.
The pocket oxford handbooks of clinical medicine and clinical specialities are often used during the clinical years whilst on the ward.
Second hand textbooks may be available but be mindful of purchasing old editions 🔎 The learning materials and cases provided by your medical school may reference only the latest edition.
However, we now have the digital age and there should be digital copies of textbooks available that you can purchase and install on your computer or tablet. The medical school may even licence some of these for you. Be aware of downloading pirated or purchasing unauthorised copies of textbooks 💾
You may come across ‘international’ editions of textbooks. These often have a very plain paperback cover but are otherwise often identical to the standard edition. They may be intended for medical students in poorer countries and are often cheaper in price. You may find international students bring these from overseas.
What equipment do I need and what about a stethoscope? 🩺
Every medical student will need a stethoscope. Whilst most wards will have spares, you will embarrass yourself if you turn up without your own stethoscope 🫣
Most doctors will have stethoscopes from a company called Littmann. Whilst I donated my first Littmann during my overseas elective placement in my fifth year at medical school, my second Littmann is still with me and has lasted over 20 years and apart from cosmetic signs of wear and tear, works perfectly.
However, even the cheapest models are expensive at around £84. I would go for the simple Littmann Classic. There is no need at your stage to go for more expensive cardiology, paediatric or master models. I would also choose a basic colour.
Deviating from this guidance means that you would stand out in front of the consultant and during any teaching sessions and are more likely to be picked on ⚠️ I was also told it is not wise having a stethoscope ‘better’ than the consultant.
However, there are now other manufacturers of stethoscopes that are coming close to the Littmann experience, for example some models from MDF, and often at much lower prices.
Make sure you label your stethoscope with your name 👁 I used to use a patient identity band when I was a student but now options are available to permanently engrave your name onto the head of the stethoscope. If you leave a stethoscope lying around, chances are it will be ‘borrowed’ by someone, perhaps never to be found again.
Do I need to get a lap coat for medical school? 🥼
You will often need a lab coat. This is not for when you are in the hospital or on a ward. These have been banned in clinical areas for some time now, as they pass contagions between patients, including bacteria such as MRSA. Doctors also continued to wear them when in the library and in the canteen. To make matters worse, doctors may only have one lab coat which they also took home and may not wash frequently.
Your lab coat will be for when you are in the medical school undertaking practical sessions in the laboratory such as histology and anatomy, as opposed to clinical work with patients.
The lab coat was a distinctive dress for doctors but is now being replaced by surgical scrubs (which the hospital may well provide and wash for you) or a simple short sleeve shirt. Ties are also no longer worn due to infection risk, and it was also said could be used by violent patients to strangle you.
What clothes should I wear to medical school? 👔
When I went to medical school, you would not see a real patient until perhaps year 3 of medical school (known as the first clinical year). However, medical school curriculums are often clinical from day 1 and you may be sent to hospital and general practice placements in the first year of medical school.
When you are on clinical placement, you should dress smart with a half sleeve shirt ‘bare below the elbows’ and trousers for men. Women should wear a blouse or smart top with smart-casual trousers or skirt, or a smart dress. There is no need to wear a suit or a tie, and often these are not permitted. Your ‘uniform’ will likely be dictated by infection control policies rather than any fashion trend. In addition, the way you dress can affect the confidence that a patient has in you as a clinician. Inappropriate dress can also be deemed offensive to patients.
If you must spend any time in an operating theatre or a surgical environment, there should be surgical scrubs available with changing rooms in the hospital, so you should not have to purchase these.
If you are simply going to a lecture in the medical school building, then it should be possible to wear something not as formal. However, remember that your tutors may instinctively mark you down based on your appearance if it does not conform to accepted norms.
Your medical school, as well as individual hospitals and GP practices may well have a formal dress code that you need to be compliant to when you start. .
Do I need a car at medical school? 🚙
Your accommodation may only be provided on campus by the university for the first year of medical school. You will also need to attend placements in hospitals and GP practices. This means you will need to travel.
There should be public transport available to all these places, except perhaps for the most remote GP practice. The medical school may well even reimburse you the cost of any travel expenses, such as train and bus fares to get to placements.
Having a car may well help but will need careful consideration of the costs involved. There is often no parking for students on campus or in halls of residence, except perhaps for those that have a disabled blue badge. If there is public parking, it can be horrendously expensive, for example the Manchester University public car park charges £10 for up to 10 hours of parking. You may also have to pay parking charges at hospitals, but quite often you can obtain these at a reduced cost via a permit. There may be free parking near hospitals and the medical school, but these may be in crime ridden areas with local residents hostile to outsiders parking in front of their homes.
I managed to find a house share with fellow students from my second year at medical school that had a parking space at the back as well as a garage that no other student wanted, which helped with some of these problems. If you do have access to a vehicle at medical school, perhaps consider sharing the cost with fellow medical students who leave near you.
Applying to medical school? Dr Abdul Mannan, medical school tutor, teaches in person on our UCAT Course, Work Experience Placements and Medical School Interview Course. We can help get you into medical school.
Learn face to face in a top venue, network with other students. We want our students not only to work hard but to also enjoy learning.
Do I need a laptop or a PC at medical school? 💻
All university assignments in this day and age are likely to be completed as a word document and submitted electronically, so therefore you will need access to a computer. The university may well have a computer suite, perhaps in the library, which students can use for work. This will be complete with all the software that you need, as well as a printing allowance and some storage space on the university server.
However, there may not always be a PC free in the library, which also may have its own opening hours. You may not feel safe wandering around campus in the evening and what if you have an assignment that you need to work on late?
Because of this I would highly recommend a laptop. It does not have to be a high specification machine or a fancy mac book. The university will usually provide you with a free subscription to Office 365 while you are studying with them. Other academic versions of software may also be available at a discount.
You will need to keep your laptop secure and back up your work regularly. The university will not normally accept a failure of IT equipment as a valid reason to not hand in an assignment on time.
Should I make notes on my iPad or should I write them manually on paper? 📝
This is a personal preference and beyond the scope of this article. If you decide to use an electronic device to make notes, make sure you keep secure backups. It can be useful to record lectures, either using video or just the audio, but you should check the university policy on this. Some speakers in my experience get offended if you try to take photos of their slides or attempt any recording.
We are aware of some medical schools providing students with a university tablet complete with software.
One of our former medical students has recorded a video about how to start learning at medical school. Have a look below.
Do I need membership of a medical defence organisation? ⚖️
You may find during freshers week stalls from medical defence organisations. The main ones in the UK are the Medical Defence Union (The MDU), the Medical Protection Society (MPS) and the Medical and Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS). The MDDUS, despite its name, is open to students from all over the UK and not just Scotland. They offer free membership during your medical school years and often throw in access to online learning resources, free textbooks or even gift vouchers.
We would advise every student to sign up with one medical defence organisation. Patient complaints and litigation are unfortunately part of life of working as a doctor. In our experience it is rare for a medical student to get caught up in such matters, but it does happen. You will need the team of lawyers there to support you if such an incident occurs. They may also provide you with free legal cover for negligence whilst you are abroad during your elective. Usually your supervisors, together with the medical school and hospital would be liable if a mistake occurred and a patient suffered harm, but you may well be named in any legal proceedings.
The NHS does provide indemnity for all staff who look after NHS patients. However, it will not cover representing you with patient complaints or if you have any other grievance with the medical school.
They may also help if you are having problems with placements and need to report your concerns, perhaps if you feel patients are being put at risk.
It is unsure whether they will help you if you have a grievance against the medical school – this may be the role of the BMA – see below. Students are not registered with the General Medical Council but can be subject to fitness to practice proceedings from the medical school. In addition, a third party can inform the General Medical Council if they have a concern about a medical student. Doctors who are subject to fitness to practice proceedings get help from the medical defence organisation, so I would assume this would be the same for a medical students. Please note fitness to practice proceedings are not necessary the same as performance reviews if you fail exams at medical school.
So, in conclusion, you must register with a medical defence organisation, and it is usually free. You should not have the need to change your medical defence organisation whilst at medical school, but when you qualify you should shop around again and see what they each offer and at what cost. That will be the subject for another blog.
Do I need to get membership with the British Medical Association? 👩🏼⚕️
The British Medical Association, or simply known as the BMA, is the trade body for doctors in the UK. Student membership of the BMA may attract a nominal fee but may be free for the first year.
On balance, I would advise students to join the BMA and pay the fee. Whilst there are some educational benefits, and perhaps a freebie such as a stethoscope, the main benefit of the BMA as a doctor’s trade organisation is when things go wrong between you and the medical school.
Examples cited by the BMA include helping a student who had problems with his supervisor and as a result managed to gain extra attempts at exams and a student who felt that an exam was not administered properly and as a result secured a higher mark. In my experience if you fail an exam at medical school or dispute a result you are often on your own. The student union will unlikely help you in any meaningful way and although the medical school itself may have assigned a tutor to help you, this is a conflict of interest and may only offer moral support.
In summary, the BMA is there to help you when you have to appeal exams and ensure any rotas or employment contracts (such as that you will need to agree to before you start your foundation year) are accurate and legally compliant. They can help you secure extra attempts for exams, appeal marking decisions and perhaps even claim compensation.
They also have a helpline and counselling services for help with students' mental health.
