How I would approach medical school if I had to do it again

I’m close to completing my training and CCT. Looking back, I think medical school teaching is… not great. It’s very didactic, heavy on theory, and there’s a big gap between “knowing facts” and actually being able to practise medicine.

If I were starting again, this is exactly how I’d do it.

Years 1–2 (pre-clinical)
Your primary job is to pass exams.
I wouldn’t overcomplicate this.

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Review lectures properly

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Learn what you’re examined on

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Don’t stress too much about clinical application yet

You don’t have enough context early on for most clinical learning to stick, and that’s fine.

Years 1–2 with early clinical exposure
Most courses now have some form of placement early on.
If I could go back, the only book I’d buy at this stage is the Oxford Handbook of Foundation Year (OHFY).

I used it as an FY1 and only then realised how useful it would have been as a medical student. It’s excellent for:

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How wards actually work

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Common presentations

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Practical decision-making

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What juniors are expected to do

It gives you a mental framework for clinical medicine without overwhelming you.

Use Geekymedics & practice with colleagues the history taking and examination structures

Years 3+ (full clinical years)
This is where I’d change things the most.
I’d own three core books:

Oxford Handbook of Foundation Year (OHFY) – for presentations, differentials, investigations, and management

Underwood’s Clinical Pathology

Robbins Basic Pathology

I’d use them like this:

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OHFY = what to do clinically

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Pathology books = why it’s happening

Understanding the “why” makes things stick and massively improves clinical reasoning. You stop memorising lists and start recognising patterns.

Lectures and exams (Years 3+)

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Focus on official lectures and slides first

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For exams, use Passmedicine (Year 5 question bank) alongside each rotation

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Use OHFY to plug gaps in management

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Use pathology texts when you want deeper understanding rather than surface learning

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Use Geekymedics & practice with colleagues the history taking and examination structures

This combination balances:

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Exam success

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Real-world clinical usefulness

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Long-term retention

Medical school doesn’t naturally teach you how to think clinically. You have to build that structure yourself. If I’d done this from early on, FY1 and specialty training would have been far less painful.

Please share this - my goal is for this to help as many students as possible!