Sources of Support for Medical Students?

[pianola]

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I get the sinking feeling that this post will be moved to pre-allo, but I'd really like to post here, seeing as I've just been accepted and seeing as you allopathic people can probably best answer the question:

What sources of emotional, psychological, spiritual support do you (med students) rely on as you continue another 4 years of education and head to residency? Do your schools have support structures in place?

I'm not expecting medical school to be all light and sunshine, so I'd like to have a plan to help keep me motivated, prepared, etc. Also, since a ton of threads in the allopathic forum seem to be "med school wasn't what I bargained for", maybe you guys would be willing to share what *has* worked...

 

[Tired]

What sources of emotional, psychological, spiritual support do you (med students) rely on as you continue another 4 years of education and head to residency? Do your schools have support structures in place?

I once had a Navy Senior Chief ask me once, "Who's responsible for motivating enlisted sailors?" I answered Officers, of course. Then he asked me, "Who's responsible for motivating Officers?"

I didn't know.

"You motivate yourselves. You're in charge. It's on you to make sure everything runs smoothly."

 

[WellWornLad]

I'm not sure how others do it, but at my school we have a department dedicated to student well-being. If we have a problem that may interfere with school (family crisis, medical emergency) we contact them and they pretty much take care of the details (arranging make-up tests or LOAs, contacting Deans, etc.), or just resources for dealing with stress, adjusting study habits, tutoring. We have free access to mental health support whenever we need it.

As for spiritual support, we have a chaplain who runs our spiritual support resources. We can talk to him directly, or he can recommend someone of your religion/beliefs and set up services for you. I'm an atheist, so I don't know much about that side of things, however.

Personally, I built up med school in my mind so much that when I got here it turned out to not be nearly as hard as I imagined. It's just more education, you've been doing it all your life.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Every medical school that I know of has a counseling service - and, if you need it, use it. There are plenty of first year med students who have melt-downs while adjusting to the new life. I certainly did. I did my pre-clinical work on a huge health sciences campus with multiple schools so my counselor was not as familiar with medical school as I would have liked, but it still helped me to get through a very rough patch.

The best source of support, however, is other students. One of our deans once told us that only medical students and doctors know what med school is really like - and it's true. If you turn to friends and family for support, you will probably be disappointed. Lots of well-meaning comments like, "It can't be as bad as you describe." "You need to take more time for recreational activities."

My experience was that there seemed to be an unwritten rule that you had to have a smile on your face while you were on-campus, even if you were dying inside. Once I truly opened-up to a few trusted fellow students about how bad I felt and what a hard time I was having - I found out that I was, if anything, in the majority. I was astonished at what other students shared with me once they trusted me.

IMHO, support from people who are going through exactly what you're going through at exactly the same time is the best support available.

 

[Tiger26]

I once had a Navy Senior Chief ask me once, "Who's responsible for motivating enlisted sailors?" I answered Officers, of course. Then he asked me, "Who's responsible for motivating Officers?"

I didn't know.

"You motivate yourselves. You're in charge. It's on you to make sure everything runs smoothly."

Great quote. I know that I always only got a "satisfactory" on my ROTC evals for motivating the other cadets. I'm an internal "hooah" guy, not an external one, and kinda feel that that's our individual responsibility

 

[pianola]

Yeah, obviously I'm going to try to motivate myself, but I definitely appreciate having people who will care about my concerns and will be able to advise me.

 

[Doodledog]

Yeah, obviously I'm going to try to motivate myself, but I definitely appreciate having people who will care about my concerns and will be able to advise me.

Pianola: I'm not a med student, but I'd like to make a comment.

Consider evaluating how med schools you are considering will have faculty mentoring established. This includes both formal mentoring programs and less formal ones. I realize many will say that no such thing really exists, but I am aware of such programs at some schools and even those that don't may be places where other students identify faculty as supportive.

Regardless of where you end up, other students will be your greatest support as has already been commented. However, don't ignore the possibility of faculty mentoring even at the entering med student level. I spend a good bit of time talking to med students and mentoring/supporting them as well and so do many of my colleagues. This can require the student taking the initiative to find a faculty mentor and recognizing that not all fits may be good ones. But, if this is important to you, it is definitely possible.

Good luck

Tildy

 

[pianola]

Thanks for your advice, Tildy. I've definitely been asking about schools with faculty-mentor programs -- I've asked about support structures at every single interview. It's hugely important to me to know that I won't flounder in a pool of 2 billion specialties and end up totally directionless. I am going to do everything in my power to avoid that "floundering".

 

[montessori2md]

I use my classmates as sort of a barometer -we all tend to freak out about the same things, so if I feel freaked out, I check with them -if they're all worried too, then I know I'm justified. If they're not freaked out, they usually tell me why I shouldn't worry, and I stop worrying.

My family is helping me with childcare, homemade meals, and my DH has been great at letting me vent and accepting of my becoming high-maintenance and whiny about stupid things like the quality of light above our kitchen table.

My school has small groups with advisors designed to help us with our feelings. I personally do not find that helpful, though I like my advisor. The basic problem with going to the school about your feelings of inadequacy is that they're still your school. I've found it much easier to talk to upperclassmen or residents or MDs outside school, versus faculty. There is no way my advisor or anyone else in the school would use anything I said against me. But most of my stress is directly related to exams. Classmates or people who have recently taken those same exams do a much better job of talking me out of my stress than some faculty member who took anatomy and biochem 30 years ago : )

Our faculty are generally super-concerned that we are learning and are comfortable. Our clinical faculty, in my experience, are very concerned that our clinical experiences are positive and that we are learning (not shadowing or scutmonkeys), and that we feel that patients and staff are treated with empathy. I can't say that I got that impression at every school I've visited, but I think most schools aim for that.

 

[MilkmanAl]

The best source of support, however, is other students. One of our deans once told us that only medical students and doctors know what med school is really like - and it's true.

I agree. You'll be in league with a hundred other people who all know exactly what you're going through. You should also make an effort to stay in touch with your close friends and parents even though they can't relate to your med school experiences. Unconditional support is always nice.

 

[pianola]

Unconditional support is always nice.

Couldn't agree more. It's nice to be able to call home. Or my sister.