Things About Medical School that Every New Medical Student Needs to Know to Avoid Depression

I’m sure the new BDS and nursing students will find this helpful as well

Turns out the white coat harbors some pretty dark secrets.

A while back, I came across a sentence which went something like:

Doing medicine is like buying a luxury car, everyone congratulates you and is in awe of you but only you know how much the maintenance costs.

Getting accepted into a med school seems like a dream. It's the only profession that gives an immense amount of joy and pride to not only the students but also their whole families while still in school.

I don't know, there's just something irresistible about letting your social circle know that you've joined medical school.

But there are some struggles that almost every medical student faces but aren't talked about enough.

So, If you're too shy or proud to ask for help then give this article a read and if you still have questions then let me know in the comments below.

Medical studying is entirely different from what you're used to

Brachial plexus is a lot tougher to memorize and understand than the generalized chapter on joints that you aced in biology back in high school.

Know that, medicine is one of the most academically challenging fields and it's okay if you're struggling.

It doesn't matter if you were a valedictorian, you'll struggle sometimes because we're not used to micro-analysing every single limb to the smallest possible detail.

The information is vast and our brains need more time to get hang of the staggering amount of information that is thrust upon us.

If it's taking you longer to cover a topic than what it took you back in high school, know that it's okay. Medicine is tough.

Give yourself a chance

I wish someone told me this when I started med school.

I was so used to scoring high that the first test that I failed in med school threw me into the deepest pits of depression. I had all types of thoughts of being dumb and unworthy of this profession.

I continued to study like I used to back in high school but my performance kept getting worse.

I had always been academically smart( not bragging, just letting you know the type of student I was), but I refused to give myself a chance when things didn't come as naturally to me in med school.

So, I'm telling you to not make the same mistake and give yourself some time to get adjusted.

You'll struggle a bit in the beginning because of how different the medical study is from what you're used to, but you'll get the hang of it with time.

You made the right choice you just need to take things one at a time

Medicine can rattle even the most confident people. When we first start med school everything seems so tough and complicated that it becomes natural to cave under the pressure and spiral into self-hatred.

At times, a person's forced to question their choice when the things don't seem to make sense no matter what.

Life is choices, and they are relentless. No sooner have you made one choice than another is upon you.__Atul Gawande

Also, the whole "suck it up" environment doesn't make things any easier. I think in medicine, there's a constant competition about who can act the most unfazed the longest, this is the reason why we have so many nonchalant doctors because they've been trained to recognize any sign of vulnerability as weakness.

Being vulnerable doesn't make you a bad doctor, seeing a cadaver for the first time and freaking out doesn't make you a weak doctor.

Face your vulnerabilities and try to overcome them one at a time, ignoring your feelings is only going to gain you one large, unaddressed emotional baggage.

Address your emotions so you may have a stronger relationship with your mind and body. Remember, we didn't sign up to become robots.

I think that a doctor's mental health is somewhat a taboo which is ironic considering the amount of stress that they're exposed to daily.

Teachers will be rude but know that it's not personal

It's hard to find friendly and understanding teachers in med school. Most professors are rude and oftentimes will treat us as doctors and not students.

The biggest problem with the most senior professors is that they treat us like colleagues. They refuse to dumb down their explanation for us poor students to understand.

This is an everyday occurrence at med school, so, if a teacher asks you about the difference between the grey and white matter of the spinal cord without explaining it first then don't be afraid. They probably assume that you know it because they think it's "common sense" to know such things.

Just don't take their insults to heart, study hard and their questions will start to make sense in time.

Have you ever known something forever and assumed that everyone knows it as well just because you've known it for so long and then when you ask someone about it and they don't know, you get surprised?

Well, it's the same with these professors, the information that's entirely new to us is so common to them that they think you must know it as well.

Not everyone possesses the talent of changing up their vocab according to the group of people they address and our med professors certainly do not.

Give yourself a year before you decide to quit or stay

Medicine is a challenging field. Many students quit because they can't handle the stress that accompanies it.

If you're having second thoughts about medicine, my advice to you is to give yourself a year before you decide to quit or stay.

It's hectic and challenging but begins to make a lot more sense once you learn the protocol.

On average, it takes about a year to truly know whether you're cut out for such a lifestyle or not.

By the end of the year, you know how to study, and you somewhat get used to the vivas and cadavers so, you're better equipped to make the right decision regarding your future because you're able to view your position rationally.

Anytime earlier than a year is far too early and your uncertainty may entice you into quitting.

Once the year is over and you still can't picture life in medicine then you may entertain the idea of quitting because it doesn't get better with time.

I'm emphasizing so much on this because a year is ample time to learn about all the pros and cons of the medical field. If the cons seem greater than the pros then I think it's better to view other options.

There's no such thing as studying the night before

In medicine, you shouldn't entertain any shortcuts. Every chapter contains some useful knowledge.

Besides, studying the night before is a recipe for disaster( I picked up Guyton the night before and failed the next day).

The books are concentrated with information and it's impossible to retain that much information without studying it at least a dozen times before.

So, start preparing for the test at least a week before otherwise, you'll mix up the chords, trunks, and divisions of the Brachial plexus(tip: Brachial plexus is one the most important structures of the upper limb so memorize it as well as you can).

Tip: Study from one book throughout the year, don’t keep circulating between the short and long books.

If the information is scattered then make your notes and study from them.

Experiment and decide what method works the best for you

Medicine is all about self-study.

If you ask different seniors about the best method to study, you’ll get different answers.

Everyone goes about it in a different way, some take notes during the lecture while others prefer to listen and make notes afterward.

Both methods yield high results so, you’ll have to pick up the method that works the best for you because frankly, there is no one guide to success in medicine, what works for others may not work for you.

So, experiment with different study techniques to find the one that works best for you.

Tip:

Always use the Atlas in anatomy to get a better concept of where things are supposed to be.

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Please share this with people who are in the healthcare field because they need to read this.

Everyone needs to know that they’re not alone in their struggles.