The Guide
Whatever your passion may be, there is a way to follow it. The only real thing holding you back is yourself and an unhealthy mindset, which forces you to prioritise medicine to the exclusion of everything else. I’m going to suggest 5 simple steps to enable you to get back control and follow your passions, dreams and vision.
1.Change your mindset
Every medical student is hardworking; it wouldn’t be possible to pass the exams if you weren’t. However, it is very easy to get sucked into the mindset of having to work the hardest and do the best in exams. At the end of the day you will all be doctors and it’s the time spent on wards and experience that comes from the job that will make you good doctors. Exams are best viewed as a means to an end. For some the end of medical school may be scoring high enough in the USMLE to study medicine in USA or to do an AFP in London. For those it is understandable why a large proportion of time is spent studying. However, it is important to stop and think what your goal is. Often people see others working hard and feel pressured to do the same, or they may see someone apply to a particular job because it is supposed to be the best and so fixate on the same job. The first step is to think about what would make you most content. For most the aim is simply to become a doctor; if that is the case you can make medical school a much more enjoyable experience. Work because you enjoy working and do so to a sufficient enough level to comfortably pass your exams. Beyond a certain number of hours of work there will be diminishing returns in terms of exam performance so instead of working those extra hours, spend that time doing what you enjoy. This is a much more sustainable approach and helps tackle burnout.
2.Explore and experience
The great thing about medicine is that you have 5-6 years at University. That’s double the time of most degrees. University offers a huge variety of societies and it’s easy to get stuck in. I would recommend using at least the first year to try out as many sports and societies as you want. You may discover talents you never knew you had!
Once you find a sport that you enjoy and can see yourself doing throughout University, commit to it. The more time you spend the better you will get and with a 5-6 year course you’ll have plenty of time to get up to a University level.
3.Routine
To stay on top of work and sport you have to be routined. That means having a plan. Just as you would have a training plan for your sport that will allow you to progress with time, make a plan for studying Medicine. Decide how you want to allocate your time between subjects, when you want to read, when you want to do questions, etc. Once you make a plan stick to it (of course occasionally minor changes may have to be made). This will save you loads of time in the long run as you won’t have to faff about thinking what to do; you’ll have your plan.
4.Time allocation
Medicine is a demanding subject so its best to limit to one other activity that you dedicate a significant amount of time to. Beyond that you can join other societies and take part in other social events but these will be a lower priority to Medicine and your chosen main sport/society so you don’t have to worry about committing to them. Once you have chosen how you are going to allocate your time, trust your decision. Don’t doubt yourself i.e. when you’ve decided you’re dedicating one of your evenings to sport, don’t then feel guilty about not studying during that time. All that does is stress you out when in fact sport should be providing you with stress relief!
5.See the results
Sport will help provide structure to your day. It’s impossible to work all day and even if you do, it won’t be efficient. You can break up work with sport. Some of the key benefits of this include both physical and mental health. You will also have another group of friends who aren’t medics. This can be helpful as medic talk can get boring! By doing a University sport you also open yourself up to a lot more opportunities. For example, becoming a committee member has transferable skills (e.g. leadership & teamwork) and also builds your CV.
