Challenges in medical school: 3 unexpected ones

I’m feeling pretty tired right now. I wrote my 2nd exam a few days ago which officially marks the end of the first module in medical school. It’s pretty amazing to have made it to this point. Here’s a recap of some of the challenges from the last few weeks in medical school.

Some of the challenges in medical school

These last few weeks of medical school have been tiring and hectic for a couple of different reasons. The main challenge before the first exam was figuring out how to study and manage all the material. The main challenges leading up to the 2nd exam of medical school were mostly non-academic.

Falling behind

Actually, the first challenge was academic. After the first exam, I was pretty tired so I took it easy in the days that followed. Meaning I fell behind. We only had 3 days of lectures after the exam. I briefly previewed the lecture slides and didn’t think the content was too difficult. So I didn’t pay attention during the lectures or keep up with post-lecture reviews. I thought I could easily catch up on the weekend. You know, because we students have so much more energy and motivation on Saturdays and Sundays.

Needless to say, I didn’t get through all of the content on the weekend. Which meant it carried over into the following week. And of course, the following week was very content heavy. There was lots of histology, the nervous system, pharm. Trying to keep up with the new material while catching up on old material was exhausting. I eventually managed to do it, but a lot of the struggle could have been minimized.

Many, many meetings

A big challenge in these last few weeks of medical school was making time for meetings. When I applied to be a term 1 representative with the student association, I had no idea there would be so many meetings. And there were a lot over the last 3 weeks, which took away quite a bit of study time. I’m really questioning my decision to take on this role. Especially because, overall, the work doesn’t seem very impactful.

We have bi-weekly general body meetings which are about 1-1.5 hours long. Fortunately, there are a lot of people so most have their cameras off. Which I’m so grateful for. As a good time-pressed student would, I turned down the volume on the last few meetings and studied. Or, like in the most recent meeting, I watched Space Force on Netflix. Not proud of it but I also don’t regret this decision. I needed a break.

Before I knew about the endless meetings, I applied to be on one of the subcommittees. Typically, this subcommittee doesn’t have regular meetings. However, as the April intake is coming up, there were 3 meetings over 2 weeks to discuss the new schedule. Unfortunately, because it’s a smaller group, we all have our cameras on and have to be engaged. Luckily, as a term 1, I don’t have to say much.

Finally, there are term 1 rep meetings with the course directors. I actually look forward to these meetings. The course directors are also faculty members. And as good faculty often do, they care about the students. They listen to our feedback and seem to make a genuine attempt to improve the student experience. Seeing that our opinions have an impact makes it worth the time commitment. It also helps that these meetings are usually done in under an hour.

I think for now, I’ll hold onto my role as a term 1 rep.

Apartment hunting

Another time-consuming challenge of the last few weeks was finding an apartment. Right before our 1st exam, a friend told me to start apartment hunting because all the places close to campus were filling up fast. Our school is ending remote learning so we all have to be on campus for next term. Although term 1 and 2 students are guaranteed housing on campus, I don’t want to dorm with anyone. At the end of a long day, I just want to have a quiet space where I can retreat and be on my own.

Because I didn’t want to spend time looking, I waited too long and all the places right next to campus filled up. So I stopped looking for a while. In the last week before this exam, I panicked and forced myself to start looking. I didn’t want to miss out on the few places that might be left.

I finally found a reasonable place that’s within walking distance. But as I suspected, it took up a lot of time. A lot of time away from studying. And that too, right before the exam. But it had to be done.

Lessons learned from these challenges

The one positive aspect of facing challenges is that there’s usually some lesson to be learned. Here are my takeaways.

I don’t completely regret my lax attitude after the first exam because I needed the rest. However, I wish I had done a little bit more work in the first days after the exam and that I had been more intentional about taking time off. Like planning to take the day off and enjoying it guilt-free rather than losing my day to mindless scrolling as I half-attempted to study. That’s what I’m doing after this recent exam.

I’ve also learned to not put off things that may have a high demand, like apartment hunting. And to listen when someone says “hurry, the places near campus are filling up.”

For next time…

When I get my exam results, I’ll discuss how I prepared differently for this exam and what worked well. I have a long weekend this weekend so I’m going to rest and catch up on this week’s material. Our new module is underway and I want to start it on a strong note.

How do you relax and de-stress after exams?

-M

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