Medical school is a challenging educational course to apply to, and committing to it for several years of studying and training is very tedious and stressful. Students are required to digest hundreds of pages for an hour of an exam with tons of terms to memorize. All this pressure from a stressful environment can be overwhelming.
Maintaining a healthy habit will surely help you while studying for your dream course. Moreover, the rewarding part of this journey will make you proud of what you have become. Hence, here are tips and tricks on overcoming these stresses and preparing yourself for med school.
Choose Your Major
Choose a major that fits your personality and make sure that you want to do it for the rest of your life. Observe your specialties and evaluate where you excel the most so that you’ll be passionate about what you’re studying. It is essential to consider the efforts that you will exert, and the time you’ll spend while pursuing a course that you genuinely enjoy.
Failing to choose what excites you the most can significantly affect your performance in academics and life in general. As a result, it will become a burden to study medicine, and your goals will become less valuable.
Determine your preferred field of study and rely on what interests you the most by asking a professional or a person with experience in the area.
Set Your Goals
Preparing for college itself is challenging, but studying in the medical field is a different story. Your goals must be practical and achievable so you can easily see the path you want to take and accomplish your goals. These goals will set your perspective, allowing you to focus on areas where you want to be productive. Your end goals should lead you to become successful in your medical career.
Goals can be about your career choice, financial status, and most importantly, about your education. Break down your goals into a set of smaller goals to gradually achieve your end goal: finishing medical school or getting a professional license.
Your goal should motivate you to work hard. Your goal must prioritize establishing necessary measures to make it a reality.
Plan Ahead
Everyone needs to prepare and plan for a long-term commitment. In medical school, there are a lot of things you need to prepare for in both physical and mental aspects. In addition, the harsh setting of medical schools and the pressure it brings can be overwhelming for students. However, one effective way to cope with this setup is to set your priorities and plan ahead of time.
Set your priorities in terms of subjects. Moreover, try to avoid engaging in unnecessary distractions and temptations. Incorporating study techniques can be one of the most effective ways to learn and use time wisely.
Additionally, always remind yourself to be consistent. Plan or organize methods that work best for you to keep yourself focused. But doing this can require a lot of concentrating to the point that it becomes overwhelming. Take it slow and reflect. Ask yourself where you want to see yourself in the future.
You can lessen your heavy works loads’ burden or anxieties by making timelines, notes, checklists, or other structures to organize your tasks and keep you on track for an upcoming deadline.
Reward Yourself
Thriving in med school can be draining, but it is also fulfilling when you get to graduate in the field of medicine. Being a med student can take a toll on you mentally and physically. Therefore, resting and enjoying things that are not related to academics can be satisfying.
Find time to reward yourself and enjoy life as it is. Reward yourself from time to time or when you meet your goals. Acknowledge your own achievements and congratulate yourself for doing your best. It doesn’t have to be limited to successful achievements. You can also celebrate for barely passing a test or simply doing your best.
Be proud of how far you have come and the hardships you went through. You may fall short at some point, but these are lessons along the way. There’s always room for improvement and opportunities.
Being a med student is exhausting, but it’s all going to be worth it in the end, knowing that you’re doing what you love the most.
Choose Your Peers
Med school is more than just lectures and rounds of fieldwork. You will learn to connect with the people around you who have similar interests as you do. While some students can be a bit competitive, resist the urge to compare your achievements to others whether they’re better or worse than you. Either way, you’re going to meet and connect with them and learn from them.
It can also be advantageous to have study groups, but this kind of study technique depends on what type of learner you are. Study groups are beneficial to those who can study with other people. It’ll also allow you to seek help for additional information regarding school work.
Hanging out with the people who encourage you to do your best are the kind of people you’ll need in med school. It’s best to have them around to keep your environment positive and productive without feeling uncomfortable or pressured. Remember to surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you and peers who make good choices.
Burnouts
Burnout is the sense of being emotionally drained and overwhelmed because of a lot of factors, such as stress from balancing your work, academic, and personal life. Anyone who is studying medicine is undoubtedly low on free time and high on stress level. Find time to unwind and take a break from those stressors to mentally recharge. Preparing for medical school should not be harsh enough to aggravate the students’ mental health and overall wellness.
Some people study medicine to help and relieve others from their pain. But in reality, in medicine, there are things that you cannot change or situations that are already out of your control. When you meet patients and face problems you’re not prepared for, it can take a toll on your mindset.
Studying medicine is more than just helping people around. It is also about empathizing with patients and taking the necessary steps to separate yourself emotionally from them. The most challenging part is realizing that sometimes you cannot change anything about that.
Burnout starts when you begin to question the purpose of your hard work. The next thing you’ll know, you begin to lose interest in everything, become less productive, have no motivation, and lose sight of your purpose and why you’re studying medicine.
Mindfulness
When studying becomes stressful, take a break from everything and practice mindfulness to clear your mind. It will protect you from your stressors and anxieties. Remove those distractions, and don’t give them a part of your headspace.
When you feel like everything is too much and you think that your mental health is deteriorating, it is time to seek professional help. This is also an important reminder that it is not necessary to push yourself too hard. Keep yourself healthy, both mentally and physically, at all times.
Most students tend to pass out from pulling an all-nighter and from the lack of nutrients in their bodies. Physical signs of burnout and symptoms of stress include frequent headaches, fever, body pain, changed sleeping habits, and insomnia. Moreover, burnout can also lead to depressive or anxiety disorders. You’ll feel less motivated, which can lead to poor coping mechanisms.
Stay healthy by eating properly and drinking vitamins to help you be more productive. These medicines and supplements can be very beneficial to students who are struggling maintaining a healthy habit.
However, they can be very expensive. Fortunately, coupons and discount cards can help you save money. When you feel sick or need to boost your health with vitamins, you could easily buy one at a discounted price. There are a lot of medicines and supplements you can choose from when you avail BuzzRx’s free discount prescription card.
To Wrap It All Up
Studying medicine can be challenging. But you can overcome these challenges by staying on top of them. Acknowledge the support you get from your family and friends and nurture what you have learned. Med school is hard but whenever you feel unappreciated, take time to look around and remember what pushed you to pursue this profession. Keep learning from the experiences you’ll go through and use your knowledge to help those in need.
