You are there to make friends Being at medical school is wonderful. In a lot of ways it really does feel like you’ve joined a profession and become part of something. Most people coming into medicine will have spent between one and three years competing for the best possible grades, and it’s a huge breath of fresh air to finally stop competing and be on the same team. People share their notes, give each other study tips and advice, and generally support each other really well in my experience. People from higher year groups are incredibly generous with mentoring and advice. Do your best to get into that spirit early. The people you meet in medical school will become a support system, probably your major source of social contact, and eventually your co-workers and best friends. Be nice to everyone. A little while into the semester, OUMSA will organise peer mentoring. Join it and use it to your advantage. It was so valuable for me having someone to talk to who had a bit more perspective on med, and could talk me out of being so overwhelmed. Get into that med school life… My biggest regret this year was not getting more involved in medical school life at the start of the year. I’m pretty shy and anxious about meeting new people and didn’t push myself to sign up for things. It wasn’t really until partway through second semester that I actually got involved, and it made my med experience so much better once I did. There’s so much cool stuff going on in the med school. Join a med club. Apply for conferences. Write for Enema (I hear the editor’s a babe). Run for education rep. Come to ECCO conference. Try out for med revue. Do Teddy Bear Hospital. Go to the awesome OUMSA steins and events. Whatever floats your boat, find some way to be involved. It’s a good way to get to know your class better and generally makes the year a lot more fun. … but have a life outside of med school! You’ve worked so hard to be on this path and it’s finally time to pursue things outside of study that build you up. Actively cultivate a non-medical hobby and some friends who aren’t med students (or nurses or doctors). Make time for self care. If you don’t know what self care means to you just yet, make it a priority to learn. Have a look at the wonderful wellbeing resources put out by NZMSA. Do something to move your body and get your heartrate up at least a few times a week. Eat some vegetables when you’re able to. Make sure your alcohol intake is at a level that’s okay for you. This is important not only because you deserve to be happy, but also because happy, balanced doctors are safe doctors. Part of your professional development is learning how to live a reasonably balanced life, even in times of overwhelming pressure. Aim for “good enough” instead of “perfect” The best thing I have done for my study and mental health this year was to finally take on board the idea that “good enough is good enough”. Before I started medical school, the concept of embracing average or (in my mind) mediocre work would have appalled me. My drive for perfection is what got me into medicine, and I started the year off believing I could be the perfect medical student. Of course, the spoiler is that I couldn’t - I fell into the same traps of anxiety, guilt, procrastination and avoidance that I did in every other thing I’ve ever studied. I don’t think this is something you can be told and suddenly ‘get’ - I think it’s a bit of a process for all of us - but perhaps try to challenge thoughts you have that are at odds with accepting ‘good enough’. The NZMSA wellbeing page links to fantastic resources on managing your perfectionist tendencies so they serve you rather than destroy you! For me, the thing that helped the most was viewing our final exams as ‘formative’ too - what we learn in ELM is really to inform our clinical practice later on, and the exams are just to check that we’re safe to pass to the next stage. Framed that way, they’re not so scary! You might not be the smartest person in the room (and that’s okay) One of the hardest things about adjusting to medical school for me was having to adjust to the fact that I wasn’t going to be the best at everything. I coasted through the short time I spent in high school getting decent enough grades without ever studying. I was first in my graduating class for my first degree. Academic pursuits always came pretty easily to me (anxiety aside). I’m not alone in this. In medicine, almost every other person is there because they have been one of the brightest students in every class they have been in their entire life. Sure, you could keep trying to be the best and the smartest, and maybe if you worked incredibly hard you’d succeed. I think being comfortable with being an average student in a class of incredibly bright, driven people around you is a more relaxing feeling. Enjoy it! Former OUMSA president Hilla likes to say “medical school should be enjoyed, not just endured”. Med doesn’t always feel enjoyable - sometimes it’s amazing but a lot of the time it’s a long, hard slog (and I’ve only done a year of it). Try to savour and make the most of the bits that make it worth it for you. After all, it’s six years of your life - you want to spend it living. Source
