Time has never gone so rapidly and so slowly simultaneously. Each weekend before a high-stakes exam felt like the day could drag on for an eternity and the small break from new material post-exam sped by too quickly.
Indeed, I can exercise six days a week in medical school. I was nervous that starting medical school would uproot my exercise regime but it has been nearly the opposite. Although it’s more of a challenge to spontaneously go hike up a mountain for 8 hours of my day, I can comfortably run thirty miles per week with a couple of days of weight training in-between. Due to the flexibility of my study schedule, I am running more than I ever did when I was working full time.
I see my family less. Partly due to the pandemic, but mostly due to my exam schedules. I used to have Sunday brunch with my family every week. We do this biweekly or monthly these days. My high stakes exams are usually on a Monday, which makes Sunday’s before a test harder to make plans.
I have never been offered as many opportunities for leadership, community service and research as I have in medical school. The first semester is not just overwhelming in terms of the volume of knowledge you’re bathing in but the extracurriculars available to us. I dove head first into many options and before I knew it, I was part of leadership for six different groups. The position I am most proud of is being the Lead Clinic Coordinator for the College of Medicine’s Shubitz Family Medicine CUP Clinic. It’s a student-run primary care clinic for people who are uninsured. It is building my confidence in leading a motivated, smart and hard-working team. I only get to do medical school once, better make the most of it!
I don’t know medical school outside of a pandemic context. I’ve only interacted with my professors through my laptop screen and I know my classmates through their smiling eyes above their cloth masks. The pros about this is that you can let droning meetings run via zoom while you flip through Anki cards. You also gain all the commuting time you would’ve lost if lectures were on campus. For instance, there were many occasions where I would have 45 minutes before the start of lecture and I would get outside and run for 30 minutes, take a quick shower and still have a minute to grab my coffee.
My nursing background did not serve me during didactics. I was surprised at how much I did not need to know to function as a registered nurse. My prior clinical experience allowed me to be more comfortable touching patients and performing a physical exam but when it came to the medical knowledge, I had so little to draw upon.
I thought the best strategy was to study as long as possible. Everyone knows the amount of material in medical school is tremendous. Of the 5000 powerpoint slides you study, there will be an exam question on exactly 1 of those slides. To conquer all of the material, I woke up at 5am. Spent the first hour of my day, reading for leisure with my coffee and headed out for a run by 6am. By 7-7:30am each morning, I was ready to start working. With a 30 minute lunch and dinner break, I would usually go until 8 or 9pm at night. That was almost 12 hours of work each day! This schedule lasted through the Foundations block and once Musculoskeletal started, I became burnt out. With the winter sun coming up later, I started rolling out of bed around 6am and doing my runs sporadically throughout the day. I still work from 7:30am until 8 or 9pm but there are many more breaks in-between. What I have learned is that studying for 8 hours versus 12 hours per day has an insignificant effect on my grade, yet a significant effect on my mental health.
I hiked the Grand Canyon in the middle of Neuro block. Actually, I went on five road trips in the first semester. Most were camping trips. This is not to boast about how much I did but to challenge the misconception that “there’s no life outside of medical school.” It’s all about how you prioritize your time and what helps reset you. Spending time outside with my dude and my dog works best for me. In 10 years, I won’t look back during this time and wished I had studied more.
Strong friendships can be built during a pandemic. I regularly ran with a group of women in my class and spent the time outside getting to know each other. Not only is it more fun to run with other people, it helps you stay accountable.
Support from my partner and my family allows me to accomplish my goals. With my partner’s help, I did not have to go to the grocery store during the first semester. He meal-prepped for us each week. My mom often dropped off Vietnamese meals for us on Sundays. My sister would pick up bulk items for us from Costco when she was there. They supported the maintenance of my sanity and ability to pursue activities outside of academics.
Going to medical school is the best decision I’ve made in my career. Yes, I still feel this way.
lilyblooming 
I definitely relate to the organizations’ piece the most. There are so many and even more that are being created. It can be overwhelming at times but I try to join the ones that I feel would be most meaningful. One thing about my mindset about medical school that differs from undergrad is that I am going to join things that I feel passionate about and not to try to check off boxes if that makes sense. Really enjoyed your blog and keep it coming!