Question for Judeo-Christian med students

[Pembleton]

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Hey guys,

I was wondering does anyone not study on the Sabbath?

It's the day of rest, where we should focus on family and worship of God. It's a day set apart for holiness and not working. I was wondering if anyone spent their Sabbath away from the books.

Usually, I wind up studying on Sundays because my exams have been on Mondays this year. And I've been neglecting church on those Sundays too. I just wanted to know for those who've been obeying the Sabbath, how has it impacted your studies.

 

[JohnnyOU]

I'm not planning on studying at all on Sundays, but devoting it to spending time with my family, etc.

The other six days I'll be grinding away so it should not be a problem.

Good luck
Johnny

 

[Pembleton]

I'm not planning on studying at all on Sundays, but devoting it to spending time with my family, etc.

The other six days I'll be grinding away so it should not be a problem.

Good luck
Johnny

That was my intention too during first year, but I never felt like I did enough the week before to warrant taking Sunday off. I constantly felt overwhelmed because I wasn't studying effectively enough.

This coming M2 year, I want to be much more disciplined so that I can really have a day of rest on Sunday.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm not planning on studying at all on Sundays, but devoting it to spending time with my family, etc.

The other six days I'll be grinding away so it should not be a problem.

Good luck
Johnny

Somehow I doubt this will work out on the numerous Sundays before the Mondays you will have exams. A smarter plan would be to get up really early on the Sunday so you can put in several hours before the household gets up, and then plan to do a bit more in the later evening.
Some people do fine on just 6 days a week of studying, others don't. You will find out what kind of student you are shortly after the first exam. Good luck.

 

[jennyboo]

It is definitely doable (I've known people who did it) but you need to be firmly disciplined about it. When you're panicking about the upcoming exam during your M1 year, discipline about your day off tends to go out the window.

I think it's a good idea. It's an issue of time management. You might have to take a couple of passes at it before you succeed in establishing the schedule. For some people, if they can't set aside a whole day they start with half a day. Or they get used to the med school studying for a few months first, then re-shuffle their schedules to fit the day off. It also helps to find yourself a community of like-minded people in medicine for support. It's definitely doable, but you have to be firm in your commitment to it -- otherwise you'll just give up and continue studying on your day off.

For the record, I believe that for most people, studying 7 days/week does not make your grades better than studying 6 days/week. A day of devoted rest from studying can go a long way in getting you refreshed and giving you the right mentality for the rest of the week. If you are studying all the time, you also have some periods of inefficiency -- may as well be more efficient during your study time so you can have some decent rest too.

 

[Law2Doc]

For the record, I believe that for most people, studying 7 days/week does not make your grades better than studying 6 days/week. A day of devoted rest from studying can go a long way in getting you refreshed and giving you the right mentality for the rest of the week. If you are studying all the time, you also have some periods of inefficiency -- may as well be more efficient during your study time so you can have some decent rest too.

Most people who are inefficient don't get more efficient by studying one day a week less -- they just cover less material. Perhaps some do. It is unrealistic to try and give a blanket rule of thumb because everyone is going to be different. Some people are going to learn enough to do well in 6 days a week. Others would struggle even if they had 8. It's best to assume you need to study at least part of all 7 days per week until your exams prove otherwise.

 

[jennyboo]

It's best to assume you need to study at least part of all 7 days per week until your exams prove otherwise.

Taking a day off isn't meant to improve your studying. If you want to take a day off for personal, religious or family reasons, you're accepting that other people are studying on that day and you are indeed making a compromise which may affect your class rank. If you want to be the best in your class and that's your number one priority, then by all means study 10 hours a day 7 days a week, and you shouldn't prioritize a Sabbath.

This isn't a question about who will do better in class -- it's a question of whether it's possible to set and adhere to a personal and religious time commitment in medical school. It is possible. The question is, What is really more important to you -- your faith or relationships, or your grades? Do you believe your life is more dependent upon your control over how long you study and how well you do on your exams, or do you have other priorities? If you have other priorities, do you believe that you will be okay not studying on Sunday with all the other crazies who are cramming?

I took almost all my Sunday mornings off during my first two years (4-5 hours is really not that much time) but studied in the evenings; I also managed not to skip church for the most part because I enjoy it and I appreciated the time to de-stress, even if there was an exam Monday morning. But that may be because I'm the type of person who would do that anyway -- I went out the night before Step 2 to catch up with my freshman year roommate from college, and she thought that was a little shocking. 🙄 Still did fine though -- once again, 2-3 hours (a morning, an afternoon or an evening) is very little time.

I didn't know that many people who expanded into a full day off during M1-2 but I believe you can do it with good time management. I knew a woman who took Saturdays completely off during M3-4 rotations (when she didn't need to be in the hospital), then did church on Sunday with studying before and after. I wasn't at the top of my class but I did well on boards and matched competitively into a great residency. It's definitely doable, but there are a lot of people who believe it isn't doable -- you just have to set your priorities and then work somewhat hard to make it happen.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

wow i'm amazed at how many of you actually don't study on the Sabbath. Sadly I admit I did b/c I had to, but i never did miss church and every single day i spend time with God doing Bible readings and praying before i start my day.

 

[Qtip96]

fine effort. bravo.

 

[sunny66]

This is definitely doable. You just have to be be disciplined and organized with your time the rest of the wekk. Of course you can study 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (and a few people at every school do), but you'll be much happier and well balanced if you take time off (for whatever reason). You will know about your tests months in advance and can pla your studying accordingly.

 

[Thundrstorm]

We'll see how things work out in medical school, but during college, I almost always studied on Sunday evenings. I simply needed the time. I also worked on Sunday afternoons. However, I did attend church services on Sundays (usually not getting home until 3pm), so I felt pretty comfortable with the arrangement (once I got my time management in check and was able to stop skipping church on Sundays). With the exception of my late Sunday afternoon tutoring schedule during college, I have always taken Sundays off from work, mostly to avoid conflict with church services. I don't know how I will handle this issue during the clinical years, but I do know that I am not comfortable with missing church for weeks on end; it's an important component of my life.

 

[liverotcod]

This is a good question for Orthodox Jews as well. Any takers?

 

[Sammich81]

I agree w/jennyboo's post about making a choice- I studied myself cross-eyed second year, but I usually took one evening off to hang out with friends/my boyfriend, and I saw my boyfriend for about half an hour every night. (Man, when I say that now it seems like an absurdly small amount...but at the time it was a sacrifice...God 2nd year sucks!) And had I done less than that I'd probably be single now.

I just wanted to add that if you do wind up studying a lot on Sundays, don't feel too bad about it. I know that grades and rank are major motivators, but you're also learning stuff that will help you take care of people, which is a noble pursuit. I was apologizing to my priest once about missing 3 masses in a row because I kept having to be in the hospital, and he said, "you know what? If you're taking care of the sick I'm pretty sure God understands. Relax."

 

[drtt2bear]

I don't study on Saturdays. In fact, according to my religious beliefs, from sunset Friday to sunset on Saturday I do not engage in secular activities including study. I spend the time in worship, time with family and friends, and in study of the Bible. Having one whole day off from work and school has been a tremendous blessing to me. Thank God, I completed my first year of med school successfully, studying just 6 days per week. I believe that when one puts God first in his/her live, he blesses you abundantly.