How to choose friends in first year: A guide to friendships in medical colleges

Hello medicos! The path to medicine is challenging in every aspect—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Finding the right friends can make this journey much smoother and better. 

Here is a no-nonsense guide to help you choose the best ones in the tricky waters of medical college people. You need to be smart about it because you will find every type of person in medical school, some might suit you, but most will not.

Find Common Interests

Let’s face it, you’re going to need friends who get you. And by “get you,” I mean people who share similar interests and mainly priorities. You have limited time, what do you dedicate that time to? Do you study all day? Do you prefer going out? Do you like participating in extracurriculars like sports and college clubs?

If you are someone who keeps themselves busy and your friend likes to stay back at their room or maybe likes to explore the city, it is going to create a lot of differences. There will be fights about not showing up.

These differences can still be resolved, but one unsolvable mess will be an academic difference. Just keep your priorities clear. Whether you prefer cramming last minute or studying throughout, having someone on the same wavelength as you can be a lifesaver. You need someone with a somewhat similar study pattern. You cannot have extremely different priorities when it comes to academics.

Try to look everywhere

You will find people from different cultures, different states, and different religions in medical colleges. Don’t try to stick to people within such boundaries. Talk to everybody in the beginning. You’d be surprised at how much you have in common with someone who seems completely different from you. 

This is actually the most common mistake people make when they enter college. They try to stick with people from their regions and cultures even if they are not a good fit for them.  

Join Clubs and Attend Social Events

It is possible that you won’t be able to understand people in the classroom setting. You cannot gauge a person until you see them working for something they are passionate about. A good way to do so will be to join College clubs and other organizations. You will find people with similar passions and you can also understand their dedication and work ethic before being friends.

Also try to attend all the cultural events in college so that you can see how your potential friends are at socialization. Do they have the same idea about mixers as you? Do your ways of having fun align? It is good to have answers to these questions before you decide on who you are going to spend the medical life with.

Be Yourself

This might sound cliché, but it’s true. Being yourself is the key to finding good friendships in the long term. Don’t pretend to be cooler or more outgoing or more careless and reckless. Just be yourself, be honest. 

You can get friends by pretending to be someone you are not, but these friendships won’t make you inner peace. You will constantly find yourself in a race to fit in. Instead just look for people who like you as you are.

If you like studying and exploring all the internationally authored books, you’ll find people who do the same. If you like setting up a cute kitchen in the hostel room and cooking for yourself, you will find people who like it too. If you like sneaking out and clubbing late at night, you will find people who like the same. Just be yourself and you’ll attract people who appreciate you for who you are.

Put a Lot of Thought into Choosing Your Roommate

Ah, the roommate dilemma. This is a big big decision. Your roommate can either be your best friend or your worst nightmare, so choose wisely. 

Some people keep their roommates at arm’s length to avoid unnecessary drama. While others are best friends. You know how this works out? If you have just one good friend, then you can be roommates with them. But, if you guys are part of a group then being roommates with one of the friends in the group does not usually end well.

Remember, being friends with someone and living with them are two completely different things. You might lose out on friendship because of differences in the room.

The best case scenario: have someone that you’re not really friends with. You guys talk, can communicate important things, especially the usual ‘Keep this in place’ ‘Please keep the fan on 5’. But other than that, you stay out of each others’ business.

Communicate!

Lastly, whether it is your roommate or your friend, communicate honestly and politely. Everyone has their own baggage and ways of dealing with confrontation. Approach people with empathy instead of judgment, you will build a much stronger friendship.

Conclusion

Choosing the right friends in your first year of medical college can make a world of difference in your overall experience. Honestly, most of the friendships fall apart by the end of second year and you find new people. But, the memories of the first years out of home stay with you forever. 

Just be selective, be smart and put a lot of thought into choosing friends. It might seem like a small decision right now, but it will make a lot of difference in your college life.

All the best, dear friend!