What's the best way of handling burnout? Also what is the best way to get involved in research at this time?

[Sea-sound]

I'm feeling the burn out lately and it feels impossible to study. Any good ways to deal with burn out? I feel like usually I am able to realize I'm not doing great and get myself out of the slump but its been rough lately.

I also feel like I am falling behind because I have no research lined up and COVID has made even more difficult on that front. Does anyone have any recommendations on becoming more competitive while on quarantine. I have emailed out about literary reviews and I have been volunteering at a homeless shelter with the homeless that may have been in contact or are showing mild symptoms COVID.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[peachrings]

Easy, find someone doing COVID-19 research. Any academic hospitals will have expedited IRB review process during this time for COVID-19 projects.

 

[Fatalis]

I'm feeling the burn out lately and it feels impossible to study. Any good ways to deal with burn out? I feel like usually I am able to realize I'm not doing great and get myself out of the slump but its been rough lately.

I also feel like I am falling behind because I have no research lined up and COVID has made even more difficult on that front. Does anyone have any recommendations on becoming more competitive while on quarantine. I have emailed out about literary reviews and I have been volunteering at a homeless shelter with the homeless that may have been in contact or are showing mild symptoms COVID.

what are you hobbies/ what did you do before med school? Set aside some time every day to do them.

 

[Sky138]

Yoga can do wonders if you really get into it.

 

[Sea-sound]

what are you hobbies/ what did you do before med school? Set aside some time every day to do them.

I used to work out and play basketball but now the gyms are closed and they took the hoops from the court ( which is ridiculous).

 

[Sea-sound]

Easy, find someone doing COVID-19 research. Any academic hospitals will have expedited IRB review process during this time for COVID-19 projects.

Do you just start cold calling?

 

[Small Cell Carcinoma]

I'm feeling the burn out lately and it feels impossible to study. Any good ways to deal with burn out? I feel like usually I am able to realize I'm not doing great and get myself out of the slump but its been rough lately.

I also feel like I am falling behind because I have no research lined up and COVID has made even more difficult on that front. Does anyone have any recommendations on becoming more competitive while on quarantine. I have emailed out about literary reviews and I have been volunteering at a homeless shelter with the homeless that may have been in contact or are showing mild symptoms COVID.

What exactly is making you feel burned out? You don't have to go to class or rotations, have endless amounts of free time to study for boards and literally cannot participate nor are you expected to participate in any extra curricular activities since the world is shut down. This is about as good a recipe as I can think of for preventing burnout. I am not sure how it is paradoxically causing it for you.

 

[Fatalis]

I used to work out and play basketball but now the gyms are closed and they took the hoops from the court ( which is ridiculous).

there are some good ipad apps for home workouts

 

[peachrings]

I had an idea based on a previous project I just finished (not COVID related) and I brought it to an ID attending, who said the hospital is expediting review of COVID research proposals. Did most of the leg work in writing up Specific Aims and Protocol. Most ICU and ID attendings will have ideas for projects. Also, most other specialties will have more free time on their hands and be keen to finish projects before resumption of clinical volume.

 

[ArdorAyurveda]

If you're not interested in doing COVID-19 research, ask for case reports in your field of interest.

But overall, I would just say chill out and enjoy the free time. There's more to life than building a CV.

Co-sign the idea of doing yoga. Find a way to exercise, and make sure you are getting quality sleep. Also make sure that you're eating a balanced diet.

If you can't engage in the hobbies that you had before, find new hobbies that you can do on your own. I have been reading books and exercising and listening to podcasts. One of these days, I'll actually start drawing. I have the sketch pad!

 

[aldol16]

What kind of research were you involved in before/what skills do you have? If you have a data analytic background, you can do database-based studies. If you have experience doing chart reviews or analyzing data that's already collected (smaller data sets), then you can do that. Very hard to do anything prospective now given the safety measures.

Watch movies, take days off just for yourself where you don't think about anything stress-inducing and don't respond to your emails until the next day. Trust me, the world won't end if you just check out for a day. Or two.

 

[efle]

Agree with the above sentiments that now is the time to chill. I signed up for the health corps but they haven't needed me. No rotations to do. Can't study for boards because Step 2 CK is booked out until August and wouldn't want to schedule an earlier date anyways because of all the cancellations. Research appropriate for med students has generally come to a halt.

Embrace the inability to build your CV for once. I bought a PS4 Pro, beat God of War and Last of Us in a couple weeks, and I highly recommend you do something similar. I forgot how amazing time off is, when it's really time off.

 

[Lanhaines Elsetion]

Contact your faculty that do research and ask about systematic reviews, or possibly contact physicians about case reports. They may have data that they finally have time to write up.

 

[NicMouse64]

Agree with the above sentiments that now is the time to chill. I signed up for the health corps but they haven't needed me. No rotations to do. Can't study for boards because Step 2 CK is booked out until August and wouldn't want to schedule an earlier date anyways because of all the cancellations. Research appropriate for med students has generally come to a halt.

Embrace the inability to build your CV for once. I bought a PS4 Pro, beat God of War and Last of Us in a couple weeks, and I highly recommend you do something similar. I forgot how amazing time off is, when it's really time off.

man I thought time off for you would be making more charts/research for MCAT data and correlations hahaha. Glad to know my recent COD addiction is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[efle]

man I thought time off for you would be making more charts/research for MCAT data and correlations hahaha. Glad to know my recent COD addiction is nothing to be ashamed of.

Got that out of my system during my application year. Now I'm trying to get into the Texas STAR database to make some interesting threads about the data hidden in there.

 

[Sea-sound]

I had an idea based on a previous project I just finished (not COVID related) and I brought it to an ID attending, who said the hospital is expediting review of COVID research proposals. Did most of the leg work in writing up Specific Aims and Protocol. Most ICU and ID attendings will have ideas for projects. Also, most other specialties will have more free time on their hands and be keen to finish projects before resumption of clinical volume.

Okay. That sounds interesting. I feel a little behind because I am one of the few in my class who does not have any background in research. So you can come up with a project and talk to a doc in the specialty and if they are interested they will help you get in contact with people who can help is what I am understanding?

 

[Sea-sound]

Contact your faculty that do research and ask about systematic reviews, or possibly contact physicians about case reports. They may have data that they finally have time to write up.

Thank you i will get on that. I reached out to a cards professor but she hasn't answered in 2 weeks. I'll definitely send more out.

 

[Sea-sound]

Agree with the above sentiments that now is the time to chill. I signed up for the health corps but they haven't needed me. No rotations to do. Can't study for boards because Step 2 CK is booked out until August and wouldn't want to schedule an earlier date anyways because of all the cancellations. Research appropriate for med students has generally come to a halt.

Embrace the inability to build your CV for once. I bought a PS4 Pro, beat God of War and Last of Us in a couple weeks, and I highly recommend you do something similar. I forgot how amazing time off is, when it's really time off.

I definitely began playing ff7 when I was feeling the burn out hard. I appreciate the advice!

 

[Sea-sound]

What kind of research were you involved in before/what skills do you have? If you have a data analytic background, you can do database-based studies. If you have experience doing chart reviews or analyzing data that's already collected (smaller data sets), then you can do that. Very hard to do anything prospective now given the safety measures.

Watch movies, take days off just for yourself where you don't think about anything stress-inducing and don't respond to your emails until the next day. Trust me, the world won't end if you just check out for a day. Or two.

I have no research background. I was just very fortunate to get accepted to the program. I am definitely under qualified next to my piers and what they have accomplished so I feel like I need to work harder

I will definitely start enjoying myself more. I think schedules would help me dedicate time for me to relax. I appreciate it

 

[Sea-sound]

What exactly is making you feel burned out? You don't have to go to class or rotations, have endless amounts of free time to study for boards and literally cannot participate nor are you expected to participate in any extra curricular activities since the world is shut down. This is about as good a recipe as I can think of for preventing burnout. I am not sure how it is paradoxically causing it for you.

I'm an M1 so I didn't have rotations. Before quarantine I was frustrated with my school because we were promised a study area on second look which fell through and they wouldn't allow us to have our own study spaces or at least study spaces dedicate to just health professions and not undergrads. And when quarantine hit they gave access to a few students in our class and when I asked they said I could drive up to a hot spot on campus. So the frustration affected how I felt about the school in general. I think not scheduling my time led me to study from waking up to going to bed which led to fatigue. Im gonna try. schedule so that I am still able to do the things I want to do.

 

[peachrings]

Without a research background, I think it would be better to reach out to physicians in fields you're interested and ask them if they have any project ideas that would benefit from a student. If they're a good mentor, they will guide you through the key steps.

 

[Cardinals1999]

Without a research background, I think it would be better to reach out to physicians in fields you're interested and ask them if they have any project ideas that would benefit from a student. If they're a good mentor, they will guide you through the key steps.

Do you think it would be a good idea to do this as an incoming M1 who hasn't moved to the med school's city yet (i.e. offer to do any work that can be done remotely)?

 

[peachrings]

As an incoming M1, you should relax and build some healthy life habits before entering school. After your first couple tests, if you are where you want to be, then consider doing research and extracurriculars.