Priorities in med school

[broken down muffler]

People keep telling me you need to set unconditional priorities in med school, activities that never get brushed off. i.e. going to church on sunday, weekly dinner with parents/family/SO, daily yoga/exercise, etc...

I'm curious to hear what are yall's daily or weekly priorities, and how difficulty is it to maintain them.

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[IntheClouds4ever]

SO and exercise. Not difficult at all. Gym or bike for an hour in the afternoon or evening and spend weekend afternoons with SO. No reason you can't enjoy med school and life at the same time

 

[zanzizic]

1. Sleep. Try to maintain some semblance of a normal sleep schedule. Sleep is when your brain stored away and categorizes the information that you’ve added during the day.

I remember in college occasionally pulling an all-nighter to cram for an test for that one class that I hadn’t kept up with like I had the others. I think that’s somewhat doable in college but in med school there’s just so much material that you have to do a little bit in each class every day or every other day to keep up. Before a test you need to sleep. In med school an all-nighter is almost always a bad decision.

2. Exercise. Nothing like a workout to clear the brain fog and get you back in the mood for studying again.

3. Social time. Whether with SO or group of friends, you have to experience enjoyable human interaction. Try to do some social stuff with your med school class as well. If you make some friends you might discover things you’d otherwise had never known about (research opportunities, old tests, etc.) Don’t skip a chance to have a few beers and blow off steam with your classmates when you can. That can give you insight into how other people are doing things.

 

[cripplepundit]

A couple hours each night using advanced technology and superior martial arts to stop evildoers from taking over Gotham City. Sometimes gets in the way of Pathoma.

 

[Frogger27]

SO and drinking. sometimes the gym... 2-3 things other than your studies is about all you can dedicate yourself to.

 

[Aerus]

For me, it's always the gym. It provides consistency in my life. Even the day before a final, there's always gym.

 

[mistafab]

Gym + gf

 

[themoonman2]

I don't think you should be so strict as to say "unconditional priorities" that you HAVE to do. Most of the time it's easy to find a way to do what's important to you, and you certainly should do those things and have some life outside of medical school. However, there are plenty times you won't be able to do much of anything other than study, and you'll just have to accept that.

Just go with the flow and work hard when you need to, and when you have some time to breath, do what you enjoy, and if something really is a priority for you, make time for it.

 

[Girlygirl2020]

Working out and making my own food.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Sleep takes the highest priority - I need at least 7 hours and was able to maintain that over the first two years of medschool. I've never really been a crammer - I'd rather go to sleep early and wake up early to review rather than try to pull an all-nighter.

Next would definitely be weight-lifting which I average about 2-4 times depending on the what I have going on that week. Everything else follows behind those.

 

[zanzizic]

Sleep takes the highest priority - I need at least 7 hours and was able to maintain that over the first two years of medschool. I've never really been a crammer - I'd rather go to sleep early and wake up early to review rather than try to pull an all-nighter.

Next would definitely be weight-lifting which I average about 2-4 times depending on the what I have going on that week. Everything else follows behind those.

I actually like to pull an all-nighter and lift weights the entire time

 

[FutureOncologist]

1. Gym
2. Then-girlfriend (now fiance)

And for people that may give me crap for having Gym > GF, her priorities were yoga, then sleep, then me.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

1.) Sleep - pulling an all nighter in college wasn't so bad. In medical school it wasn't fun at all. As soon as I pushed the submit button for the exam I would go home and crash for 1/2 a day. It's better to work on preparation than cram everything last minute.

2.) Social life - this is major for mental health. Have different people to talk to when you need some interaction. I would talk to my fiance for an hour almost every night or a childhood friend just to catch up. After exams we had a rule that we would go out and not talk about medicine at all. You need something to reorient you and pull you out of the monotony of studying. Medicine is like a black hole, it can suck you in and give you tunnel vision.

3.) Exercise - I worked out with my roommate who was also a medical student. We didn't necessarily do the same workouts and such but being able to talk about exercises, diets, news was a big factor.

Remember when you finished college? You get the diploma and everything that stressed you in the previous 4 years doesn't matter anymore. It's the friends and fun experiences that will stick with you. Medical school is kinda the same way. Keep that in mind.

 

[Chelsea FC]

Get fit, get laid and get good grades. Everything else doesn' matter.

 

[DrMcCoyDO]

I don't think you should be so strict as to say "unconditional priorities" that you HAVE to do.

I disagree; everyone should have something in their life that they don’t compromise on in med school, whether that’s quality time with your significant other, exercising, or what have you. The amount of time you can dedicate to that thing may fluctuate, but it should never be zero, lest you risk the stress getting too high.

 

[DiscusKeeper]

SO and exercise. Not difficult at all. Gym or bike for an hour in the afternoon or evening and spend weekend afternoons with SO. No reason you can't enjoy med school and life at the same time

Had the same experience. Was able to easily fit in 5 workouts a week and see my SO on weekends. I'd sleep at his place, study there for a few hours on saturday/sunday, and then able to spend afternoons and evenings hanging out. And sometimes I was able to stay over and do work there for up to a week since most classes weren't mandatory during my first year.

Med school is certainly a ton of work, but you still have time to be a human. Though you definitely can't do everything. For example, I gave up on trying to regularly cook & meal prep because I have a fairly vigorous workout routine that I prioritize instead. You create your own balance based on what's important to you.

 

[themoonman2]

I disagree; everyone should have something in their life that they don’t compromise on in med school, whether that’s quality time with your significant other, exercising, or what have you. The amount of time you can dedicate to that thing may fluctuate, but it should never be zero, lest you risk the stress getting too high.

I agree with you. I think the point I was trying to make was more that it's important to do what you need to do rather than what you expect yourself to do. I.e. going to the gym once during the week instead of 3 times as you thought you originally thought. I agree that there are things that people have to make time for no matter what, but medical school often times limits how much time you can give to those things.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Family and the gym. I lift 6 days a week, see my kids almost every night, date night with wife every week, and my rank is pretty good. It's all about balance and time management.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

People keep telling me you need to set unconditional priorities in med school, activities that never get brushed off. i.e. going to church on sunday, weekly dinner with parents/family/SO, daily yoga/exercise, etc...

I'm curious to hear what are yall's daily or weekly priorities, and how difficulty is it to maintain them.

Something I have seen a few times now and that can be solved early on....make having some friends outside of medicine a priority. This can solve a multitude of problems. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, place a high priority on the social circles, cliques, what-have-you, that form during the preclinical years. Sure they can be fun and you should enjoy yourself, but DO NOT treat it and act like you're in high school, trying to climb the high school like social ladder. Being and making genuine friends should be your priority after grades and learning. This is a way to keep balance.

These outside of medicine friends will keep you sane, and more importantly GROUNDED. So when it comes time agonize over a few meaningless points on an exam, or stew over how some fellow med student, resident or attending "did you wrong" you can keep your perspective. Finally when you are a 4th year and it's time to go home, you have a reason to leave when you are dismissed, rather than hang around and annoy others trying to work.

View medicine as a job from the beginning and not some type of social club. If you still manage to view it as a calling after four years, all the better.