How to fight burn out?!?

[Medicine<3]

I am a recent college graduate with a 3.47 cGPA and have taken the MCAT twice (23 the first time and 24 the second time). I am currently taking an MCAT prep course to hopefully improve my scores drastically and prep for the new Psychology/Sociology section.

I have noticed I have become increasingly disinterested in studying and very easily distracted. I am worried I am burning out... How can I fight through this?

Also I worry that I am not motivated to apply, but I cannot imagine my life not becoming a physician. What should I do?

I appreciate the feedback/support.

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[Montisumo]

go out, do stuff, exercise. this test shouldnt become your life. when you go to interviews you dont want to sound like all the other robots who have dedicated their lives to the mcat. you will score much higher if you maintain some semblance of reality. Keep reminding yourself that you are doing well in your studies and that you are making excellent progress. 90% of this battle is mental.

With that said, the sooner you accept the fact that you cannot live "normally" for the next few months, the easier time you will have focusing on what you are doing. It will become your hobby, your obsession for the next few months.

 

[Snoopy2006]

There are a number of motivational techniques you can Google, if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for some perspective from people with a few years on you:

-You need to realistically consider fields other than medicine, or alternate healthcare fields. It's one thing to have one academic mishap. A mediocre GPA combined with multiple low MCAT scores is a difficult hole to dig out of.
-Burnout is a serious issue physicians of all ages face. We face it as medical students, residents, and attendings. The sheer volume and time commitment in even preclinical medical school is usually far greater than undergrad. If you're burning out this early studying for the MCAT, how will you handle the increased rigor and monotony of medical school?
-Try focusing on the end goal. When I was a premed, I read a couple books/blogs with stories from medical students and residents. The stories of patient interaction, about the ups and even the downs of medical school, reminded me of the end goal and helped keep me focused. May not work for everyone - for high-stress people it may worsen things - but it was something that worked for me personally.

Take a break, workout daily, meditate, all the usual stuff. Take a few solid days off to indulge in some passion/hobby before returning to the books.

It's fine to try an MCAT retake if you're realistic about the situation you're in. If you score well, you will have to apply to medical schools that look at the most recent MCAT (and don't just average multiple MCAT scores), and you may need some post-bacc work to increase the GPA.

 

[newbeginnings]

go out, do stuff, exercise. this test shouldnt become your life. when you go to interviews you dont want to sound like all the other robots who have dedicated their lives to the mcat. you will score much higher if you maintain some semblance of reality. Keep reminding yourself that you are doing well in your studies and that you are making excellent progress. 90% of this battle is mental.

With that said, the sooner you accept the fact that you cannot live "normally" for the next few months, the easier time you will have focusing on what you are doing. It will become your hobby, your obsession for the next few months.

Best advice. Take it from me, who has spent more than a year prepping for it, voiding, and falling into horrible depression because I felt sick just looking at my prep books. My best advice is to avoid the internet and ask yourself - is this what I really want? If the answer is yes, go to a cafe or library, use your laptop as little as possible, and really get down to work. It's easy to give up when you're getting problems wrong, but keep telling yourself that this is a tiny stepping stone and that you can do it. Keep a positive outlook and have confidence in yourself.

 

[gene_pool]

I felt like I was burning out a lot during my prep, too.

I think a lot of it has to do with just feeling guilty about your day's work instead of feeling proud of it. The "standard" SN2 schedule puts an overwhelmingly large amount of work into one day, and if you're always comparing yourself to that standard of other's, you will never feel good. So do the best you can with your days: study, keep yourself healthy (eat well, sleep well, exercise), and still do the things you enjoy. Make a schedule that works for you, and find ways to reward yourself for your long day's work (maybe go hang out for a little at the end of the day, exercise, take a walk, watch some TV). Whatever you do, just keep on trying to find mechanisms that allow you to take guilt-free breaks in between your study, because, unless you're superhuman (there are some on here), almost everyone needs to recharge their brain every now and then.

Some other ideas:
- Set goals and keep track of your improvements
- Take 1 or 2 days off of the week (guilt-free). Go hard on your other days.
- Keep your spirits high by consistently (not just sometimes) looking at the big picture and why you're doing this
- Watch interviews/ motivational videos on youtube
- Try and set up habits, routines, or systems that streamline your study. This way, you're not constantly fighting yourself to study.
- Try your best not to completely neglect other people in your life.
- Keep a thankful attitude
- Give yourself enough time to study. If you're not ready, you don't have to score it.
- Find out how to work smarter not harder. For example, a large volume of practice is key for most people to identify their holes and needs... once you can identify them, you can work on minimizing them.
- Use the methods that work for you. You don't always have to do what everyone else is doing... There will always be subtle ways that you prefer to do things that are unique to you.

I'm a re-taker, and I'm thinking if I had just a little bit more time, I could have crushed it. But I learned a lot along the way. Maybe I'll have the courage to take it a third time like you...

 

[skinofteeth]

If you want to be a physician and you are really persistent, then it will happen eventually! Everyone I know who stuck with medicine got in somewhere - be it MD/DO/Caribbean. And guess what, they all have the same fate = Doctor.

That being said, you need to believe you'll reach your goal.

It helps me to hear stories of people who got in after being told no several times (7!), or taking the mcat several times (5!), or were told they would never get in and they need to stop applying there (ignored them, still applied & got in) or that they were not right for medicine or the health profession in any capacity (LOL - now in their 1st yr) . Some might say these people are the exception, but they are just stubborn enough to keep trying. Not giving up on your desire for medicine looks good! At the very least, you'll wear down the admissions committee and they'll let you in just so you'll stop bothering them. Of course, you should save yourself the time and pain and get to studying hard now!!

Also, just ask some MS1 student to hear the range of MCAT scores for their class. It can be very broad. The key is to apply early!

As for studying, it's helps me to
- stay away from tv
- unplug from laptop
- unplug from social media and your smartphone.
- ignore the ppl who tell your not good enough (why don't you try podiatry, etc.)
- and surround yourself with encouraging, positive people!
- grab a study partner or group. Keep each other accountable.

Good luck!!

 

[newbeginnings]

- stay away from tv
- unplug from laptop
- unplug from social media and your smartphone.
- ignore the ppl who tell your not good enough (why don't you try podiatry, etc.)
- and surround yourself with encouraging, positive people!
- grab a study partner or group. Keep each other accountable.

Good luck!!

Also very good advice. My entire family thinks I'm incapable of being a doctor after my sib did good on his mcat and meanwhile, I delayed, voided, had 1 bad score (when I didn't even take an FL), and fell into depression. It's so important to surround yourself with positive people who encourage you. I'm pretty much avoiding fam and told them I simply wouldn't discuss my future with them, and am doing so much better in my studies. Make sure to stay confident/positive, that's the key.

 

[John Buster]

Get off SDN.

 

[petyr_baelish]

Getting serious about meditation really helped me. If you don't have a religious tradition to help guide you (as I don't), then Sam Harris' audiobook Waking Up is great. Your thoughts are your reality. Change your thoughts, change your life, etc.