how to cope with the stress

[Eagleye2]

hey guys i’m currently studying for the mcat but recently I have been looking online as well as talking to doctors and I have yet to see someone say something positive about the profession. Don’t get me wrong I have talked to and seen some physicians who really do love their job but I am surprised to see the amount of physicians who are literally telling students (me) NOT to go to medical school. Anyway long story short, I came across this article written by a doctor that is questioning why more people are applying to medical school even when applicants know how grueling and stressful it is. Unfortunately he doesn’t give any coping strategies (which makes his article just sound like a venting session) so I figured I would ask you guys what are some tips that help you keep the stress level manageable. I mean I am only studying for the MCAT and am stressed so I can’t imagine what’ it’s like in medical school or residency.

Link to article: If you go to medical school, you will be stressed: bigly

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[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Maybe you’re reading them wrong. Here’s three things I can think of:

1) they’re joking

2) they’re referring to the debt/effort to go into medicine now versus then and believe that it’s not worth it to put the effort to go into medicine in this climate. However, this doesn’t say anything about what being a physician is like because it refers to the route to becoming one, not being one.

3) they’re probably gearing it towards YOU rather than pre meds in general. Perhaps they don’t see you being passionate enough? Not saying that you aren’t passionate. I don’t know anything about you but it could be possible that this was the intention.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@Eagleye2 Honestly? What else am I going to do with my life that would be of value to other people? Yes, I may be stressed and tired. But at the end of the day, those are just temporary states that no one cares about. I don't care about how stressed I was at the end of a working month, I evaluate myself through objective modifiers like my paycheck or how my grades turned out at the end of the semester. Even a bad week is going to end. I know it will pass and what matters moving forward is how I performed during crunch time on performance oriented evaluations rather than wallowing every time I felt bad throughout the day. Because I feel tired and stressed, a lot, to the point where it's not something that I can indulge in every time I feel it.

 

[ekmf27050]

Two things.

1) The "internet review phenomenon"- No matter what people are reviewing online- restaurants, doctors, jobs- keep in mind that people are motivated to make accounts and write reviews not for average experiences, but for great experiences and horrible experiences (usually the latter). This is great to keep in mind for SDN- the average med student who had a decent med school experience, and the average physician who has a decent job, are not statistically the most likely to write on here- instead, you get the "horror posts"- remember that these are a very small sample.

2) The "hindsight is 20/20 phenomenon"- (DISCLAIMER: I'm going to relate this to my basketball career. I know that medicine is not like basketball. I know that you can't save people's lives with basketballs. I get it. This is a metaphor.) It's easy to look back on decisions in life and laser-focus in on regrets. However, some of these doctors may be unhappy regardless of career- they have a rocky marriage, they spend beyond their means, their coworkers aren't as sexy as they'd hoped, etc. But I like to relate this to my college basketball career as well, because those four years were a f****** grind. The early workouts, crazy coaches, working to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. I don't tell people not to do it, but I tell them to make sure they really want it. Because despite challenges beyond what I thought I could handle, I absolutely LOVED playing. I loved the challenge, the camaraderie, meeting high goals. I still cry when I watch buzzer beaters on TV because I remember the feeling. Would I have avoided some horrible, hard times had I not played? Probably. Would it have been a better life choice for me? Probably not.

TL;DR- The internet is a cesspool where people come to complain, with some true valuable gems of info floating in it. Don't disregard the negative info, but contextualize it and realize you likely have a skewed sample

Edit: Also, for the MCAT, SCHEDULE BREAKS. The benefit of reviewing the amino acids one more time never outweighs the benefit of a much-needed mental break. I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights for myself and my housework, and my score did not suffer for it.

 

[Eagleye2]

Two things.

1) The "internet review phenomenon"- No matter what people are reviewing online- restaurants, doctors, jobs- keep in mind that people are motivated to make accounts and write reviews not for average experiences, but for great experiences and horrible experiences (usually the latter). This is great to keep in mind for SDN- the average med student who had a decent med school experience, and the average physician who has a decent job, are not statistically the most likely to write on here- instead, you get the "horror posts"- remember that these are a very small sample.

2) The "hindsight is 20/20 phenomenon"- (DISCLAIMER: I'm going to relate this to my basketball career. I know that medicine is not like basketball. I know that you can't save people's lives with basketballs. I get it. This is a metaphor.) It's easy to look back on decisions in life and laser-focus in on regrets. However, some of these doctors may be unhappy regardless of career- they have a rocky marriage, they spend beyond their means, their coworkers aren't as sexy as they'd hoped, etc. But I like to relate this to my college basketball career as well, because those four years were a f****** grind. The early workouts, crazy coaches, working to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. I don't tell people not to do it, but I tell them to make sure they really want it. Because despite challenges beyond what I thought I could handle, I absolutely LOVED playing. I loved the challenge, the camaraderie, meeting high goals. I still cry when I watch buzzer beaters on TV because I remember the feeling. Would I have avoided some horrible, hard times had I not played? Probably. Would it have been a better life choice for me? Probably not.

TL;DR- The internet is a cesspool where people come to complain, with some true valuable gems of info floating in it. Don't disregard the negative info, but contextualize it and realize you likely have a skewed sample

Edit: Also, for the MCAT, SCHEDULE BREAKS. The benefit of reviewing the amino acids one more time never outweighs the benefit of a much-needed mental break. I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights for myself and my housework, and my score did not suffer for it.

thank you this was very helpful. As a football athlete myself, i can relate to the hard but awesome times of 2-a-days and late night practices. I really do love the field and cant see myself doing something else, but i have to admit its hard to really committ yourself to something when most of the stuff you read is not positive. Looking back, the doctor that i talked to that hated medicine had a partner who was literally the happiest person ive ever met. She would always dress up for spirit days and make every patients day better. I guess the negatives stuck out to me more than the positives. Thanks for your post. I will also be implementing more breaks into my study routine.

 

[Goro]

hey guys i’m currently studying for the mcat but recently I have been looking online as well as talking to doctors and I have yet to see someone say something positive about the profession. Don’t get me wrong I have talked to and seen some physicians who really do love their job but I am surprised to see the amount of physicians who are literally telling students (me) NOT to go to medical school. Anyway long story short, I came across this article written by a doctor that is questioning why more people are applying to medical school even when applicants know how grueling and stressful it is. Unfortunately he doesn’t give any coping strategies (which makes his article just sound like a venting session) so I figured I would ask you guys what are some tips that help you keep the stress level manageable. I mean I am only studying for the MCAT and am stressed so I can’t imagine what’ it’s like in medical school or residency.

Link to article: If you go to medical school, you will be stressed: bigly

Practice mindfulness techniques.
Exercise
Get counseling

 

[ekmf27050]

thank you this was very helpful. As a football athlete myself, i can relate to the hard but awesome times of 2-a-days and late night practices. I really do love the field and cant see myself doing something else, but i have to admit its hard to really committ yourself to something when most of the stuff you read is not positive. Looking back, the doctor that i talked to that hated medicine had a partner who was literally the happiest person ive ever met. She would always dress up for spirit days and make every patients day better. I guess the negatives stuck out to me more than the positives. Thanks for your post. I will also be implementing more breaks into my study routine.

Honestly, once I used SDN to help me with an MCAT study plan I stayed off of here until it was time to make a school list.

When you're already stressed, your brain will focus on the negatives. Instead of looking at forums and articles, take that time to do the things that make you happy. View your studying progress on a micro scale. Did you get one more practice question right today? Great. Count up the little things and stay away from "big picture" stuff that stresses you out, at least right now.

 

[calivianya]

I think all this stuff about stress is a joke, honestly.

I understand that med school is stressful, but you've also got to take into account that a lot of people in med school are traditional students that have never had a day of real stress in their lives prior to matriculating into a med school. How does someone who's lived off of Mommy and Daddy's money know what stress is? How about someone who has actually had a job before, but his or her only job has been a few hours in a research lab here and there, or maybe a part-time work study in a nice, safe campus library? Of course those people are going to go, "OMG, this is horrible!!!" because they've never actually done anything difficult and/or stressful in their lives before.

Burnout is not unique to physicians and/or medical students. Not even close. There are other careers that are emotionally draining, demanding time sucks. Most people in medical school have never experienced these careers, so they have no baseline for comparing med school to real stress.

I'd be satisfied with an article about stress in med school if the author made it clear they only interviewed career changers in med school. Otherwise, I'm taking these kinds of things with a major grain of salt.