What is the best way to start eliminating my debt?

I am a student and I have been out of work for about 6 months due to a car accident and failure to find a good job. I recently got a job working for regions bank (yay me!). Because I was out of work and had no money, I defaulted on my bill which I had been paying before I got into the car accident. I have about 6,000 dollars worth of debt because of hospital bills and other bills that I failed to pay on time. I don't know whether to consolidate or just try to pay them out of pocket little by little. I am very lost. PLEASE HELP!