From D1 to DR: "You Will Have No Time"

The one thing that I wish I had not done before medical school was read an enormous amount of blog posts detailing the trials and tribulations of current medical students. Somewhat similar, but vastly different at the same time, medical students do not hold back how they are feeling at times in their respective blogs (I will probably be one of those students soon enough). The more I read, the more that I am fearful of the rigorous curriculum, but then I have to remember that I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree while simultaneously playing collegiate basketball; I know I can do the volume of work. The main theme that I have gathered from these blogs is the lack of time to do pretty much anything other than studying. STUDY STUDY STUDY they write, and to which I completely agree with this statement, I feel that a balance in medical school is essential to success.

Before even heading down to the island of Dominica, I already understand that my time will be limited, as I will be in lecture halls, anatomy labs, clinical labs, and community events for the majority of each day. I know that I will deliberately have to make time to do the things that will keep me sane. One of these scheduled hours will be working out and staying active. For the people that know me quite well (or even slightly), know that working out (for me) allows clarity of the mind, burning off steam, and getting up out of my study chair to gain a sense of different scenery. I feel as though if you do not have that one thing a day that you can mindlessly do for one hour out of the day, your brain will literally overload itself with all of the medical information. Some posts I have read: "You HAVE to make time for yourself, whether it is 20 min or 10 min each day...", but I do not think that is enough time to have for yourself to get away from the hustle and bustle of the island or wherever you are in medical school. Having that 60 minute window to fully let everything go, from worries, frustrations, fears, and stress, is key to staying on track in becoming a physician.

My program for MERP does not begin until December 9th, and I am trying not to let blog posts damper my eagerness. I have all the required textbooks and will be slowly going over material (high yield material like glycolysis and TCA), which can only help me when the information increases in complexity. I remember vividly at my time in Binghamton where I literally studied for twelve hours on a Saturday and twelve hours on a Sunday. We had a tournament that week and I had missed a majority of my classes. I had a lab final I had to make up, a population ecology paper I needed to hand in, and on top of that I had an exam in Microbiology and Genetics. In addition, we also had "optional" workouts that weekend, and for every student-athlete reading this, we know that "optional" really means "mandatory". In my interview for Ross University I said proudly that I have done the twelve hour days of studying, and I am aware of the sacrifices it takes to become successful in academia. It is hard to portray how hard I have worked in undergrad, as there were a few tearful phone calls home throughout the four years detailing that I do not know if I can get up and do it all over again the next day. Subsequently, here I am. I survived and that is the same attitude that I am bringing with me. Nothing can stand in my way and I cannot wait to learn the material that MERP is going to throw at me!

I am off to look over my Histology and Essential Clinical Anatomy textbooks, is it sad that I am actually excited? haha

Bye for now,

--E xo

Some more NZ pictures for you guys :)