Lessons from Med School

1. Being shy or quiet is a weakness. It can be easily misconstrued as passivity or lack of interest.
2. Be enthusiastic about everything. If you show interest and are eager to learn, you get to do more. 
3. When working with a group of other students or a single partner, don't be a push over. Learn to speak up or you will get taken advantage of because everyone is looking out for themselves. 
4. Be a team player as best as you can. Don't be the gunner who wants to go back to the unit after lecture even though you are not on call. That means everyone has to go back so they don't look bad. 
5. Smile, be friendly, try to develop rapport with your intern, residents, fellow, nurses, or attendings if you can but don't be a brown noser or an ass kisser because they can all see through that.
6. Be visible. Let them see you around or let people know where you are or you can easily earn the reputation of "always disappearing" which means you don't want to do work. 
7. Look out for yourself without throwing anyone under the bus. 
8. Ask for help early if you are struggling with anything. It's always harder to dig yourself out of a hole. 
9. There's a possibility you could get stuck with a difficult partner or difficult team, use that as a opportunity to learn to deal with difficult people. 
10. Whenever you have issues, there's a chain of command. Follow it! 
11. Do not underestimate or look down on anyone. The clerkship administrative assistant might have more impact on determining your grade than even the clerkship director. They have more power than you think.    
12. Don't let med school steal your smile.
13. There is more to life than medicine. It's so easy to get caught up and not have a life. Trying to strike a balance is an ongoing struggle.

I'm sure i could think of more but i have to go study. Shit is getting real.