The Interview Invite Waiting Game (dealing with anxiety)

[medschoolorbust101]

Hello!

I have submitted 13 applications to medical schools, filled out and submitted 13 secondaries, and I now get to sit around and wait. I'm struggling with this part! As a pre-med, type A person, waiting is hard because there's nothing I can be doing. I'm constantly by my phone waiting for the call or on my computer checking my email. I just want to hear SOMETHING! What are your pieces of advice for a person like me (and likely many others) who experience waiting anxiety?

So far, I've attempted to keep busy (seeing friends, playing sports, working out), and I have pushed myself to stop checking school threads to see other people getting interviews. How do I enjoy the time in between all the hard work I've been doing?

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[Rachapkis]

One thing that I find relaxing is questioning everything I've done up to this point. Hitting the refresh button obsessively and hanging out in chat rooms with other frightened premeds are other enjoyable pastimes.

 

[Aloe paleo]

I'm in the same boat as you...constantly checking emails and spam folders and sdn and it is driving me crazy! When I am at work though I am unable to be constantly refreshing my e-mails so that is what helps me (a BIT).

 

[candbgirl]

Well you could continue your volunteering or doing other application related activities in case you have to reapply! ADCOMS will want to see significant improvement on a reapplication. It will also give you something to update schools about ( if a school accepts updates) or to talk about during interviews.

 

[calipremed5768]

I mean it should kind of be expected though because 13 isn’t really a lot of schools.

 

[Cornfed101]

You could get a job, a wife, and some kids. That's what I have and it keeps me busy

 

[Orangekiwi]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you have a life outside of being pre-med. what kinds of things did you do for fun before you started applying? If you’re struggling to feel useful, there’s plenty you can do to prepare for interviews if you’d like. Read practice questions and prepare answers, or read notable books by physicians to gain an understanding of current issues and what it’s like to be a doctor, in their own words. Any of Atul Gawande’s books would be good, I can also highly recommend fresh fruit broken bodies by Seth Holmes and Do no Harm by Henry Marsh. If you’re really struggling with the anxiety sometimes it helps me to read books that deal with handling difficult emotions- I’m particular to stoic philosophy (Marcus Aurelius and Seneca are good starting points). Really what I think is important is that you find a way to keep your mind off of the process.

 

[CoitusInterruptus]

If you have a blog or if your nonprofit website tracks traffic, you could neurotically check visitor statistics and views. assuming you supplied URLs for your blog or website in your secondary apps, it's not entirely unreasonable to assume that the traffic spikes you see in your statistics are due to admissions officers vetting your ****. It's the same same but different as refreshing your inbox, but now you can loop in additional compulsions into your repertoire.

🙄 but for real, while I've been playing the waiting game, I've continued to volunteer, shadow, and research (as I mentioned in my Work / Activities that have a 2020 termination date) but I noticed that all of the patients love asking about my application journey. It's really encouraging to hear them root for you and patients tend to have a lot of time to just think so anything is interesting to them, even my anxieties about this application cycle.

 

[OrthopedicNeurosurgeon99]

You could get a job, a wife, and some kids.

Yeah while you're anxiously waiting for any feedback you should hit the bars and knock up the first girl you see. 9 months will FLY by TRUST me 😉

 

[CoitusInterruptus]

you can smoke weed and get a VR headset but WUSTL drug tests so make sure that you have either synthetic urine (I believe Wal-Mart sells it as "fetish urine"..no judgment against those peeps, just not my thing) or you stay clean at least 30-60 days before your piss test

 

[deleted804295]

I've been keeping busy. Hanging out with friends has been helpful. Like going out to a ball game this week with some friends. I've also spent time with family friends and baby sitting but that's partially because I love babies.

Taking more volunteering shifts has also helped. And necessary stuff like a research has been keeping me busy. In a week we start school so there's more time to waste there.

Just do little things here and there and you'll forget about it 🙂