Not working hard enough at medical school

1.

Learning content in first year that you don't feel is interesting or relevant. That's unfortunately part and parcel of a lot of degree-level content. The first semester/year is often remedial and grass-roots/brass-tacks level. Some people feel they can just skip it. A portion of people will genuinely skip the lot and pay no attention and still pass first year. More on that later.

2.

You don't yet have a study routine or what I term 'work-flow'. It's a different course to A level and delivered very differently. Your old methods may not apply. The content may be completely unfamiliar (there is no medicine A level) and so it's easy to be overwhelmed by the nature or diversity of the content and the sheer pace it is delivered at. Everyone is in the same boat. Ask around and find out what other people do. Find a person from the years above and ask them how they do it.

3.

There is a lot of other real-world distraction in the first year of Uni. Being away from home, usual routines and life. It's a big step that people under-estimate a lot. Make time for the fun stuff but don't lose sight of why you are there in the first place.

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Setup a study environment that works for you and use it. No distractions. No phone. No posters. If the library doesn't work for you, go to a Cafe, find an empty seminar room. Sit with supportive people who know how to grind, it'll rub off on you (usually). Sit closer to the front in lectures and away from people you know you gel with. Enforced isolation can be an effective strategy sometimes.

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Optimise equipment to help with the above. Buy headphones, even better, use noise cancelling ones. Buy a decent mouse. The number of people I see struggling along in the health service with tired or low level naff equipment I found baffling.

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Get up to speed with Anki (see my thread: 'So, you're going to medical school' iterations 1 or 2 for a lot of explanation of this).

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Get a textbook from the library and keep it on your desk and occasionally read about content in an aspect of medicine that DOES interest you. It won't be of relevance now and it won't be going into Anki but you'll have more of an end goal in mind and you should be able to link the two points in your mind.