First semester of med school is like eating a never-ending stack of pancakes—it’s fast, overwhelming, and it doesn’t care if you’re full. Listener G asked us for some tips, and in this episode, M1s Zach Grissom, Megan Perry, Jay Miller, and Srishti Mathur take us through the rough transition from undergrad to medical school and what they wish they knew before starting. From study methods that failed (Anki obsession, passive learning) to strategies that actually worked (active recall, selective focus, study groups), they share what helped them survive.

Burnout hits hard, and everyone here felt it–the mental exhaustion, learning to take breaks, and the power of peer support. Plus, the surprising truth about exams—sometimes failing is the best teacher. they also tackle balancing med school with real life: keeping hobbies, staying social, and even reading trashy novels.

Finally, an improv game throws the med students into hilarious situations. Listen for our unfiltered med school survival tips, study hacks, and some much-needed laughs!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast!  Thanks for listening!

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You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA