I feel like I'm just "going through the motions" because of the online format of medical school and wonder if anyone has advice?

[CuriousMDStudent]

Title sums it up. I am almost done with my first semester of medical school with winter break coming up and I did fine academically as I passed all my classes.

But sometimes I feel like it was so... draining. It felt like every day I was literally going through the motions. Wake up. Go to Zoom if required or not. Watch lecture recordings or watching videos from outside resources. Then study via anki for the rest of the day. It wasn't horrible but I felt no passion.

I think what's getting to me is the online format of medical school. I was looking forward to making new friends, meeting patients, shadowing doctors, and just being in school again. But I feel kind of miserable just being in my room or apartment like everyday just studying.

I still work out daily and that helps me to destress. However, I just don't feel so passionate about studying as much when everything is just on zoom. I kind of miss being in a lecture room with peers or doing small group activities with classmates.

So, I'm wondering if any other first years or medical students are struggling too? Or if anyone has advice on what to do? I'm just struggling to be really into what I'm doing when it's just the same routine of sitting at my desk watching videos or studying.

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[slowthai]

Work harder. That'll get the fire burning.


I'm just kidding. Sorry I've got no real advice lol

 

[Ludwig2000]

I don’t have advice but I really feel for you. I’m an intern now but looking back, the social aspect of medical school is what made M1-M2 fun. I would be miserable in your situation. And I’m not even particularly extroverted but stuff like parties or going out after exams was great. I had been out of college for 3 years and it definitely felt like a back-to-school kind of camaraderie.

The only hope I can give you is that these first vaccine trials went better/faster than I expected. I was thinking things wouldn’t go back to normal maybe ever, but now I can see a lot of things opening back up in mid(?) 2021. I think others in your class will also be starved for social gatherings. Sucks that you still gotta wait.

 

[deleted1079620]

I don't know if your school normally does lots of patient contact first year and due to COVID this is all suspended for now, but mine offers zero patient contact in the first semester of first year. We're not allowed to shadow any of the school doctors until we've finished gross anatomy, and by then we're in cardio and there's really no time for it, even in a normal year.

Honestly, right now this is your job. If that means you sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day, well that's just what it means. I won't be like this forever...if nothing else in 1.5 years you'll be in 3rd year rotations. You can make life more pleasant for yourself by having zoom study sessions with a classmate where you do kind of a "study with me" type of thing. The two of you don't have to be interacting, but there's another person present. My study partner and I only meet for real studying once or twice a week, but we text each other more than we text our spouses, and this is what I suspect you miss the most...an inside class joke or just socializing between lectures. Are there places on campus open for students to study, and watch your lectures there, so you don't feel so isolated? Either way, the bottom like is that the pre-clinical years are often just grinding in front of a computer, so you have to treat it like a job that you won't get paid for until later.

As for the small group interaction, how tightly locked down are you? Could you meet up with a couple of classmates and zoom lectures together, or get together in small study groups? You're definitely not the only one feeling this way, but break is coming up soon, and hopefully the Spring will bring changes with it.

 

[Goro]

Title sums it up. I am almost done with my first semester of medical school with winter break coming up and I did fine academically as I passed all my classes.

But sometimes I feel like it was so... draining. It felt like every day I was literally going through the motions. Wake up. Go to Zoom if required or not. Watch lecture recordings or watching videos from outside resources. Then study via anki for the rest of the day. It wasn't horrible but I felt no passion.

I think what's getting to me is the online format of medical school. I was looking forward to making new friends, meeting patients, shadowing doctors, and just being in school again. But I feel kind of miserable just being in my room or apartment like everyday just studying.

I still work out daily and that helps me to destress. However, I just don't feel so passionate about studying as much when everything is just on zoom. I kind of miss being in a lecture room with peers or doing small group activities with classmates.

So, I'm wondering if any other first years or medical students are struggling too? Or if anyone has advice on what to do? I'm just struggling to be really into what I'm doing when it's just the same routine of sitting at my desk watching videos or studying.

Talk to your fellow students. Work through practice questions with each other. Have Zoom meals with each other. It's a new reality, but this too, shall pass.

Get out of your house and exercise.

Talk to your school's counseling center (this is NOT giving medical advice).

Talk to your Faculty.

 

[harvard_of_the_west]

I know a lot of people in my class, including myself, feel the same way. You nailed it when you described your day. We wake up, go to zoomland, then go study Anki or watch BNB for the rest of the day. It isn't fulfilling or enriching at all. The only exception is when I go to our practice of medicine course and get to interact with some of my classmates, 4th years, attendings, and standardized patients. It's kinda funny, but I live for that session once a week.

I really feel like our class has missed out on what's supposed to be the "fun" part of medical school. All our 2nd year mentors have told us that they would go out after exams and have parties and go to all these events before the pandemic. Keep your head up--This isn't going to last forever. Force yourself to get outside in the sun every day and step away from the computer for a bit here and there to break up the monotony. I've also found that scheduling really fun things to look forward to after exams has helped my mood a lot. For instance, back in block 1 before COVID spiked like crazy in my area, my girlfriend and some friends and I planned a mountain biking trip after my first block exam. It was so refreshing to get to spend time with some of my best friends and go do one of my favorite hobbies. Maybe you could plan out something for your tests as a way to keep yourself excited? Even if it's "I get to go buy that new video game" or "I get to binge an entire series of my favorite netflix show," I'm sure that'd help keep you going.

Do you have a group of friends? I'm lucky to have found a small group of friends and to have some shared common interests. We used to meet up and study once a week or so, and get some drinks on the occasional Friday night, but we're really trying to keep our distance now. However, we still do some zoom and have a ridiculous group chat that allows us to keep our sanity and remember that we're all in this together.

Does your school have a free clinic or any other way to see patients? I get into our student-run free clinic 1-2 times a months and it's made a big difference in my motivation. It helps me remember why I'm doing all this and is another place to interact with classmates and professors. And for the time being, it's really fun to actually see patients and come up with their treatment plan.

I hope this helps at least a little. Remember that nobody goes to medical school to study basic sciences and learn how to be great with Anki. This isn't the fun part at all. But in less than 2 years we're going to be in the hospital, working with real patients, and it's entirely possible that COVID will play a very small role in our lives at that time.

 

[Dral]

I feel awful for all you guys and gals in your first year of med school this year. You guys got the short end of the stick and it's ok to be upset about it. I made several good friends in med school and a lot of that was bonding through first year, anatomy, group study, football and wings at Bdubs, after exam block parties/bars, etc. We had a happy hour group (I even still have the fb group from it I made back in the day, heh). It really is the last time you'll likely get that kinda experience in life (maybe to a lesser extent during residency).

Try to do the best you can with that over zoom. Find a zoom group to do Friday night decompression/happy hour. If you want to get away from medicine, make it with non med friends. If you want to blow off steam about school, make it with med school friends. It doesn't have to be every week. Do things like challenge everyone to make a new interesting drink...or everyone picks an interesting beer. Those are things that get the conversation flowing and once everyone had a bit of alcohol, the conversation will flow.

If you live in a warmer climate, see if you can get some outdoor exercise buddies.

Again, sorry you have to do it this way. It sucks but hopefully it will be over soon and you can at least make up for it during 2nd year.

 

[bioboy23]

I feel exactly the same. But, such is life. It’ll pass eventually!

 

[rkz326]

Reported - I am in this post and I don't like it.

You are far, far from alone. I am a very introverted person, but the clearest and highest-quality instructional moments from this semester have all been when we were able to actually be around other people. The small-group session I just finished was so low-energy and utterly apathetic (on both student and facilitator sides) that we really would have all been better served just watching the prework videos again. Plus, of course, we have the uncertainty to deal with - we have, on several occasions, come up with ways to get together in person while complying with good safety practices, only to have cases spike and new restrictions placed before we got to actually do so. It sucks, and we're getting conditioned against hoping it will get better. Then every third lecturer has no idea how to use the software, so we sit 10 minutes while IT fixes it for them. Some real second, third, and fourth-hit actionon our morale.

I'm afraid I don't have any advice or mitigation strategies for you, but you're definitely not the only one. This wasn't the bill of goods we were sold, but we will make it through eventually. Someday we might get to spend more time talking in person than in GroupMe, and I think that's nice.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

I'm sorry to hear this OP, but one of the solutions for me has been hobbies. You've gotta do stuff you enjoy and feel you can be connected with.

Whether it be art, music, a community project, something that makes you feel connected to yourself.

I have DPDR (depersonalization/derealization disorder) so I definitely understand the feelings it can bring when you start feeling like you're just going through the motions.

 

[MedLife20]

Yeah it really sucks. I talked to a doctor friend the other day and he said he doesn’t know how he would have made it through first 2 years without the support group he had doing extracurriculars, going to labs, or hanging out with classmates. Really takes away so much of the experience of medical school. Doesn’t even feel like medical school to be honest. Sorry got no advice but just to say as a fellow first year I feel the pain.

 

[mistafab]

I recommend getting something you really like and make it part of your routine. The 1st/2nd year of med school is already not the most stimulating... Something like climbing, lifting, biking, etc can really help to give you a sense of purpose and make m1/m2 more fun.
Especially now during covid when you cant distract yourself with the usual fun stuff like chilling in the cut.

 

[calivianya]

I felt like that during the first two years and I did have classes in person. It’s just the routine of constantly studying that’s completely draining, although I do imagine it’s worse with no in-person classes. I stopped going to class altogether except for my mandatory attendance classes by the start of second year (except I also ignored my lectures and pretty much just used board materials to study), so it really wasn’t all that different from what you’re doing now because I was nearly 100% studying at home anyway.

It was really horrible by the end of second year. I was so burned out that I wanted to drop out something fierce. I’m having a good time in third year now, so I’m glad I didn’t.

 

[Redpancreas]

Title sums it up. I am almost done with my first semester of medical school with winter break coming up and I did fine academically as I passed all my classes.

But sometimes I feel like it was so... draining. It felt like every day I was literally going through the motions. Wake up. Go to Zoom if required or not. Watch lecture recordings or watching videos from outside resources. Then study via anki for the rest of the day. It wasn't horrible but I felt no passion.

I think what's getting to me is the online format of medical school. I was looking forward to making new friends, meeting patients, shadowing doctors, and just being in school again. But I feel kind of miserable just being in my room or apartment like everyday just studying.

I still work out daily and that helps me to destress. However, I just don't feel so passionate about studying as much when everything is just on zoom. I kind of miss being in a lecture room with peers or doing small group activities with classmates.

So, I'm wondering if any other first years or medical students are struggling too? Or if anyone has advice on what to do? I'm just struggling to be really into what I'm doing when it's just the same routine of sitting at my desk watching videos or studying.

OP if your school has strictly basic science in M1/M2 this will likely not affect you so that's a positive. As for making connections you can shoot your shot by email but I acknowledge that in-person is just so much more effective.

Have you considered starting Zoom for group study? A medical student colleague of mine has been doing neuroanatomy and they currently have a zoom chat where literally people take turns reading the course notes directly after lecture and there's like 20 people in the zoom chat and people like "raise their hand" if they have questions when the text is confusing. They also do group assignments in these groups. COVID is going to slowly resolve, but this distance learning lifestyle has made some permanent inroads into how we function. It may be worth adapting to them.

Exercise helps with stress relief so it's good you're doing that.

 

[Mayesy]

MD3 based in Aus. Same experience. One trick I found that worked a little was looking at Larry Mellicks videos or Medtube surgical procedures. The procedural side is one thing that can't be replicated on zoom and I found this to be the best way to replace it. Seeing the way the doctors navigate the problems and seeing the surgeon operate helped re-ignite that flame/inspiration. You can then base your study off what you saw in the video as opposed to the other way around. A good way to just change it up when you are in a rut.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I just finished preclinical, and honestly med school is just kind of like that during the preclinical years. Even before covid, it was mostly just the same routine every day making sure I get done what I need to get done. My school has a pretty big clinical focus even in preclinicals, so those clinical reasoning sessions were really the only mandatory things I actually looked forward to (and they were just as good on zoom). Otherwise it was mostly just me on my own anyway (or maybe in the same room as a friend).

It helps to get a routine and find some stuff outside of classes. Interest groups, socially distanced stuff with friends or classmates, hobbies.

 

[PTPuser]

I get what you're feeling. I can't do it 4-5 days straight locked into my apartment.

What helps for me was to talk to some friends, hang out, have dinner etc...not big gathering and just something where I had human contact safely.

 

[Osteosaur]

Before COVID-19 everyone was doing online medical school too.

I know anki does not work for everyone but I think its a good way to stay on track when at home. You know you need to do X cards per day, and when they're done, you're done. It sets clear boundaries and helps you maintain information into second year.

After that just pick up a hobby- reach out to some old friends or classmates, maybe some videogames or board games to break the ice?

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

For what it's worth, a lot of what you'd be doing in your physical school is exactly the same as you'd be doing at home. The difference is, yes, you'd be able to take a break and chat w/ people, visit other rooms, etc. But really, for the first two years at least, it's very similar. So much so that the joke is while we regularly used to say, 2 years could be pure virtual = now we're living our joke that we thought could never happen b/c money, "you have to justify why we built this giant school", etc.

You'll be okay. Maybe reach out to others and zoom study, or at least chat once in a while for a break? And deep chats, why you all are here, how y'all holding up, genuinely. Not just hey how are you? It helps b/c you'll learn there are so many people in your boat that would love to share and grow w/ you.

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

The question, becomes.

Why am I on this old thread lmao.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Title sums it up. I am almost done with my first semester of medical school with winter break coming up and I did fine academically as I passed all my classes.

But sometimes I feel like it was so... draining. It felt like every day I was literally going through the motions. Wake up. Go to Zoom if required or not. Watch lecture recordings or watching videos from outside resources. Then study via anki for the rest of the day. It wasn't horrible but I felt no passion.

I think what's getting to me is the online format of medical school. I was looking forward to making new friends, meeting patients, shadowing doctors, and just being in school again. But I feel kind of miserable just being in my room or apartment like everyday just studying.

I still work out daily and that helps me to destress. However, I just don't feel so passionate about studying as much when everything is just on zoom. I kind of miss being in a lecture room with peers or doing small group activities with classmates.

So, I'm wondering if any other first years or medical students are struggling too? Or if anyone has advice on what to do? I'm just struggling to be really into what I'm doing when it's just the same routine of sitting at my desk watching videos or studying.

Has it gotten better since December ?

 

[RJ McReady]

First semester was much tougher but now all of the students at our school have been vaccinated and this semester we have at least 2-3 in person activities per week including labs. Next semester they are (supposedly) going back to normal. I was never a fan of in person lectures but I’m thinking of attending them next semester just for the social interactions.