Life in medical school – week 2 update

I made some adjustments going into week 2 of medical school. I tried to continue the things that worked well in week 1, and modify the things that didn’t. My goal is to create a balanced life in medical school. Here are the takeaways from week 2.

What didn’t work well

My routine

My lectures end in the late afternoon and I’m finding that I don’t have enough time afterwards for post-lecture review. Or at least enough time to get through both lectures. I want to get through the material on the same day so I can start the next day anew.

I’m considering moving my workouts from the evening to earlier in the day. This way I can start my review as soon as the lectures end. And hopefully, this helps me end my studying by 7 pm-ish so that I have time each night to relax and de-stress. I’m really trying to find a routine that is sustainable in the long-term so that I don’t burn out. Afterall, it’s a long marathon ahead.

Not having a schedule

I’ve never been much of a scheduler. Mostly because I view it as very restraining. If something unexpected comes up, that completely throws you off schedule. So then you’re dealing with the stress of not getting through all the things you were supposed to do. Plus, it sounds very time consuming to plan out several days in advance. Instead, I could just use that time to get things done.

HOWEVER…

I now see the value of scheduling. There were several moments during the week where I had some time but I couldn’t figure out what to study because there was so much going on. So I spent time sifting through catch-up material figuring out where to start. That in itself became over-whelming at times. If I had a schedule, I would have known exactly what to focus on at what time. Moving forward, I’m going to schedule 1 day at a time, either the night before or the morning of. Let’s see how that goes.

What worked well

Multitasking

In week 1, I struggled to make time to call my parents. And then I realized, I can double up on my time during certain activities. For example, I called my mom every day just as I was starting my workout. I was able to exercise, hear my mom’s voice, and she knew when to expect my calls. That was definitely the highlight of week 2.

The other time saving “hack” has been cooking during my lectures. While I prefer self-studying, we have to attend lectures for participation. The school verifies our Zoom attendance. Also, each lecture has polling questions and we need to participate in those as well. This is where headphones really save the day. I’m able to listen to the lecture while I cook so I know which topics my professor is emphasizing. I also know when a clicker question has come up. And I keep my phone nearby so I can submit my answers to the polling questions. This helps me save time on something I would have to do later anyway.

Quiz marks

I’m currently in my third week as I’m working on this post, so I have my marks now for quizzes 1 and 2. My marks are 20% and 30% higher than the class averages, respectively. This has been really comforting, especially since the quizzes are supposedly designed to be harder than the exam. It’s reassuring to know that I’m “getting it” and that my hard work is directed in the right away. We’re almost at the end of our first module/block so my first exam is coming up in a few days.

That’s it for my 2nd week of life in medical school. I’m excited to see how I can improve for the upcoming week and to see how I do on my first exam of medical school.

How is your semester/year going?

-M

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