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1) IMO you have to acknowledge that there are times when you're feeling down and fatigued and for me, I don't end up getting much out of studying during those moments. So when those waves come and hit me, which they always do from time to time, I try to prioritize my mental health and take the night off, maybe try and go to bed early, with the intention that tomorrow will be a new and better day. it's hard af, but you have to continue to remind yourself that you're not the only one who feels this way from time to time. Every medical student goes through those moments of feeling burnt out and having no motivation
2) I think this goes back to the first point above. Forcing yourself to sit and study for hours is doable yes, but there comes a point when I think you don't get much out of it and you end up moving into that, "study forever but not efficiently" zone. But you want to be in the "study efficient" zone. You know? Look, it sounds like you had a rough day. Your damn car got towed. That sucks for anyone and everyone. That's okay. It happens. Feel a little guilty and realize that this happens from time to time and you'll start a new day tomorrow and feel motivated to not feel like you wasted a whole morning.
You got this! Med school sucks most of the time. But you're more than capable. Tomorrow's a new day, use it to your advantage
2) I think this goes back to the first point above. Forcing yourself to sit and study for hours is doable yes, but there comes a point when I think you don't get much out of it and you end up moving into that, "study forever but not efficiently" zone. But you want to be in the "study efficient" zone. You know? Look, it sounds like you had a rough day. Your damn car got towed. That sucks for anyone and everyone. That's okay. It happens. Feel a little guilty and realize that this happens from time to time and you'll start a new day tomorrow and feel motivated to not feel like you wasted a whole morning.
You got this! Med school sucks most of the time. But you're more than capable. Tomorrow's a new day, use it to your advantage
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Strongly recommend exercise!!!
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Luckily, the clothes can be returned, especially after the exam. Sorry about the car, but that is done as well. From now on, put breaks into your schedule. I go to the gym, watch a comedy special on Netflix, cook, anything that can have a specific time frame and doesn't make me feel guilty later.
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Been there, done that. I'm sure pretty much every medical student feels that way, even if they try to put on a fake happy face and make it seem like they are breezing through medical school. Don't feel guilty by taking a day off and doing stuff you enjoy. Convince yourself that taking this time will help refresh your mind and body, and then you will perform even better the next day. When I had to take a day or evening off, I would always call my mom and feel the need to convince her. But she knew it was for the best.
Don't let the car get you down. Life happens, and the $140 is pocket change. Don't let $140 cause more expensive problems in regard to future earnings by taking your focus away from studying.
Also, you should seek counseling if you feel the need. There is absolutely no shame in it.
Don't let the car get you down. Life happens, and the $140 is pocket change. Don't let $140 cause more expensive problems in regard to future earnings by taking your focus away from studying.
Also, you should seek counseling if you feel the need. There is absolutely no shame in it.
I think the key thing here is you need to reward yourself after studying, whats even worse for me is; we're forced to study (must present information twice a week in front of a tutor) and even the clinical skills examinations are starting to weigh on us. The only thing that gets me and my friends through is the fact we ALWAYS make sure to have drinks once or twice a week whether it be just casual and catch up for a laugh or we have a huge night clubbing etc.
Drinking/partying may not be your thing but it can be anything, sign up for sports on the weekend or even give yourself a morning of gaming every Saturday if so inclined. Just give yourself something to look forward to each week.
Drinking/partying may not be your thing but it can be anything, sign up for sports on the weekend or even give yourself a morning of gaming every Saturday if so inclined. Just give yourself something to look forward to each week.
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The constant study guilt was my least favorite thing about medical school. It always seemed to diminish my enjoyment of any other non-academic activities. The good news it that I didn’t feel any of that guilt in residency or beyond. It’s sucks but you can get through it.
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While I am not advocating for needlessly spending money, I am not a huge proponent of denying yourself the occasional reward while you are in medical school. These 4 years can be miserable at times, and we always need something to look forward to. If I have been having a crap week and want a steak, I buy myself a steak.
Everything in moderation, of course. There is nothing wrong with being conservative, but the stress you seem to be experiencing over a $140 unavoidable charge seems to be a bit extreme to me. If you are worried about debt repayment or the interest you'll be paying on your medical school purchases, I would recommend playing with the AAMC's debt repayment tool. Calculate what you spend based on your current budget, and then see how your monthly repayments change if you added say, $50-100 to your monthly expenses. This might give you some peace of mind, even if you choose not to change your spending habits.
Above all else, don't deny yourself simple pleasures or you will keep experiencing these same emotions. If you can achieve that through free activities (exercise, etc.) then even better! I would just caution you at being so obsessive over money that you don't enjoy yourself at all.
Everything in moderation, of course. There is nothing wrong with being conservative, but the stress you seem to be experiencing over a $140 unavoidable charge seems to be a bit extreme to me. If you are worried about debt repayment or the interest you'll be paying on your medical school purchases, I would recommend playing with the AAMC's debt repayment tool. Calculate what you spend based on your current budget, and then see how your monthly repayments change if you added say, $50-100 to your monthly expenses. This might give you some peace of mind, even if you choose not to change your spending habits.
Above all else, don't deny yourself simple pleasures or you will keep experiencing these same emotions. If you can achieve that through free activities (exercise, etc.) then even better! I would just caution you at being so obsessive over money that you don't enjoy yourself at all.
RecumbentChair
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Sometimes right before an exam, the best you can do is rest and lay off the books. Make brief annotations about something and that's it.
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I highly recommend cutting yourself some slack. It is a lot easier if you set a schedule for yourself with some boundaries. (1) Set times when you will study, and (2) know what time you will stop studying.
Number (2) is important for stopping the guilt. Be firm with yourself. Consistent work over time will get you there, not pushing yourself until you run out of gas again and again... That is too exhausting and not productive.
An example of a sustainable schedule:
Study 8:30am-12
Lunch 12-1
Study 1-5
Enjoy from 5 until the next morning.
Number (2) is important for stopping the guilt. Be firm with yourself. Consistent work over time will get you there, not pushing yourself until you run out of gas again and again... That is too exhausting and not productive.
An example of a sustainable schedule:
Study 8:30am-12
Lunch 12-1
Study 1-5
Enjoy from 5 until the next morning.
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Something that may help is to think about how you're approaching studying during non-exam times. My preclinical curriculum was in chunks of about 3 weeks. The first 2 weeks, I would study to learn. Keep up with all the material (watch and review lectures), watch sketchy, and do practice questions. The last week would then be spent really studying for the exam, polishing weak spots, doing the boring memorization, and quickly getting through any new material.
The point is, I was so much happier and productive when I didn't strive for perfection at the beginning of a module. I let myself be a little more uncomfortable, and I learned things SO MUCH better. Instead of trying to memorize something before I didn't fully understand it (because it was only week 1), I just did the best I could. I feel like 9 out of 10 times, something that seemed tricky at the beginning seemed intuitive by the end of the unit, because the information had been built upon or clarified or just repeated soooo many times in a subsequent lecture.
Sure, you can memorize where all the diuretics work the day after your lecture. Or you can just try to get a basic handle on the underlying principles, and then let the information be repeated to you so many times during follow-up lectures, and watching sketchy, and doing practice questions that, come exam time, certain facts almost become second-nature.
So how does this help with burnout? Take the pressure off yourself for most of the time. Don't work at 110% all the time so that you have the mental bandwidth to buckle down when you need to, whether that's exam week or just a day with more challenging content.
The point is, I was so much happier and productive when I didn't strive for perfection at the beginning of a module. I let myself be a little more uncomfortable, and I learned things SO MUCH better. Instead of trying to memorize something before I didn't fully understand it (because it was only week 1), I just did the best I could. I feel like 9 out of 10 times, something that seemed tricky at the beginning seemed intuitive by the end of the unit, because the information had been built upon or clarified or just repeated soooo many times in a subsequent lecture.
Sure, you can memorize where all the diuretics work the day after your lecture. Or you can just try to get a basic handle on the underlying principles, and then let the information be repeated to you so many times during follow-up lectures, and watching sketchy, and doing practice questions that, come exam time, certain facts almost become second-nature.
So how does this help with burnout? Take the pressure off yourself for most of the time. Don't work at 110% all the time so that you have the mental bandwidth to buckle down when you need to, whether that's exam week or just a day with more challenging content.
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If you feel like you've studied all you can, then stop. One of my big "ah ha" moments was when I realized I've never regretted not studying for a few hours. Go to the gym, play a round of disc golf, watch the Giants lose, etc. You might be surprised what not studying for a few hours a week does for your grades.
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Much better than my own schedule. Due to some holes in the day, mostly due to mandatory stuff, I've been having to do some 8 to 10 studying and don't like it. I find I study best at home and nonsense like random 3pm professionalism seminars are really killing me.
The trouble for me is retention of what I learn the first week when the second week doesn't build on it so much. I was thinking of trying to do practice questions for the first week once the second week rolls around to keep myself engaged. Or if there's not enough time in the day maybe do a fourth pass on the weekend of the third week for the first week?
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Try to do random practice questions for your unit, not just the material you've just learned. That way you preview new material so that it sticks when you see it again and you review the old stuff.
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When I hit those ruts, I'd promise myself watch some TV, chill, and get up at 0400 and study for 3 good hours before class. 3 good hours beats 4 or 5 uninspired hours. Only way I could rid the guilt was knowing I would wake up fresh and motivated
EternalPossibilities
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Our university teaches us this concept of 'self-care', and that it's important to learn how to care for yourself physically and emotionally so that you can take care of patients in the future without burning out. Everyone has to find their own way to 'rejuvenate themselves', and it is a skill and discipline to monitor your mental health and take strategic breaks to rejuvenate yourself. This is how the high performers are able to sustain high levels of performance in any field and enjoy life at the same time.
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In my first semester of med school, I was the same way... I think a lot of it depends on if you are in a P/F system or a more tiered system. If you are in P/F, it pretty much does not matter what you get as long as you pass, so do not stress too much. If your classes are graded or have honors, and you are driving yourself to insanity to try to earn honors, it's probably not worth it. Go look at the PD surveys, very rarely are clinical grades ranked of high importance... things like step score, clinical grades, research are a lot more important and you shouldn't spread yourself too thin with your studies. This is all assuming you are earning passing grades at this point... if you are studying like crazy and are having difficulty passing, I think trying some new study methods would be indicated... if this is the case, PM me and we can talk about different ways to study