Medical school semester one can be described in one word for me. WHEW! As I’m sitting here typing this, I have my feet propped up and I’m enjoying some quality family time. It’s Christmas break, and I have a lot of work to do, but nowhere I have to be. For the first time in four and a half months, I feel completely in control of my schedule, work load, and energy.
This semester, I experienced a lot of L’s. Normally, “L” would stand for a Loss. But in this case, “L” stands for Learning. The amount of learning that happened this semester is absolutely insane. You already come to medical school with this expectation of learning a lot about medicine. But I learned so much more. Below are my top takeaways from my first semester!
Medical school semester one taught me to Focus
I’m scatterbrained. Well, I would actually describe myself as ambitious with many interests. My entire life, I have just had a little toe dipped in everything. In fact, that’s what actually got me into trouble while trying to apply to medical school the first time. Even then, I learned a little about focusing, but medical school actually forced me to put it first.
Medical school was my boyfriend, bestfriend, side piece, parents, food, sleep, etc. This might sound a bit like an exaggeration, but I really mean it. You know it’s bad when you start dreaming about medical school.
A lot of the aspirations and dreams I had for developing my blog, launching a businesses, etc., came to a screeching halt. I had these timelines that went up in smoke when I got my first 111-page reading assignment. This was really frustrating for me, but I realized something important. If my long term goal is to get into a really competitive residency, then in the short term, medical school needs my love and attention.
I also realized, that I was the only one putting pressure on me to complete all these projects. This blog, my business, any products I hope to create, that’s all just for me. So, if my timeline gets pushed, and I can’t get to them in my first few months, that’s okay. I have all the time in the world to complete the goals that I have.
Medical school semester one also taught me to focus on myself
You have to stay in your own lane if you want to succeed. Everyone is moving at different paces. Some topics your classmates will catch on faster than you, and vice versa. It’s so easy to get swept up in what the next person is doing and feel either really bad, or really good.
This does no good for anyone. You really have to just focus on your learning, achievements, strengths and weaknesses. You’re only in competition with yourself. Just pace yourself so you’re always trying to achieve better than you did before.
Having the right supports system is key
Medical school semester one completely changed my social life. I thought Covid-19 really took away my social life, but then med school said “Hold my drink”. When you’re in it, and you’re trying to catch your breath, it’s so easy to fall off with people. It’s also so unintentional. There’s this guilt that sometimes flirts with me about not reaching out to people and maintaining my social relationships.
But all of that melts away when you express these feelings, and your friends and family respond with, “Don’t sweat it. I totally understand!” It’s even better when they hit you with random “I was thinking about you” texts or phone calls. If you’re anything like me, and usually the one very mindful about keeping in touch, this will be a tough transition.
However, you also have to understand that your true social circle will understand, and even encourage you to do what you’ve got to do.
If you do have someone expressing negative feelings, or ill-will, there’s nothing wrong with a candid conversation. You’re stressed, swamped, and may need a reminder or poke every now and then. If the relationship doesn’t survive it, it’s sad, but it’s also life.
Those who do stick around, and provide you with comfort are key. If they don’t know how to be there for you, there are some resources to help them out (see below). But cherish them because without my social circle as a place to vent, laugh, practice, and share, I would have gone insane.
Relationships work if two people want them to
Relationships in medical school are no cake walk. I’m in a relationship, and so are a majority of my classmates. Some are even married with children. If you are in the same boat, or hope to be, just know it will work if both people want it to.
What do I mean by that? Medical school semester one is a monster. You’re adjusting to classes, workload, and crazy time demands. When I said medical school is your significant other and side piece, I wasn’t kidding. If you actually have a significant other, this may be something that’s difficult for them to understand too.
The key to making it work is communication.
Be open and honest about your needs, feelings, thoughts, and anything else going on. Pent up feelings sour into resentment. That resentment causes meltdowns and fights over literally nothing. Be forthright with your partner about life, so they know what’s going on. Hopefully, you are with someone who can support you in your plight. If you’re not, then you may have to make some tough choices that benefit you in the long run.
As much as you share though, you also have to listen and have balance. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in medical school and forget the rest of the world. Medical school will always be there, and you will always have something to study or work on.
Moments, however, are fleeting. Don’t miss the important things if you don’t have to. Your partner has a life and feelings as well. Be there for them just as much as they are there for you. Nobody likes to feel ignored and unheard. This is a partnership, and there has to be a lot of give and a little take.
Work together, choose each other over everything else, and flourish in a garden of love and support.
During medical school semester one, be a tabula rasa
Tabula rasa is a term coined by philosopher John Locke that means “blank slate”. This is exactly what you have to be in medical school semester one.
Before I started medical school, all the administration kept saying was “You aren’t going to be able to study like you did in undergrad”. My only thought was, “Well you must be used to talking to poor planners and studiers. I’ve got a routine that works. WATCH!”
And watch they did. They watched that first exam go very, VERY poorly for ya girl. I remember taking the exam and counting the questions I got wrong (we had immediate review for the first exam). Before I got out the school, I already had tears brimming. Having studied so hard, using my foolproof method of note cards, I was in shock when I got to that test.
The first thing I did was go talk to professors and learning specialists.
I thought I had a good enough handle on my studies that I didn’t need to talk to them. Plus, I heard what they told other students and thought that was good enough. But then I realized, who better to talk to about the test than the people making it?
I also talked to my classmates who did really well. Clearly, they knew something I didn’t. One told me she didn’t use flashcards or take notes. I just remember being in shock like, what do you mean? She told me her method, and I blew it off for a while. Then I slowly started to implement her strategy and integrate it with my own.
You have to be okay with admitting that you don’t know everything and you need help. It was a hard adjustment for me, but I did well on the next set of exams. Then I had to change my approach again for the next block of courses. Be flexible, open minded, and ASK. FOR. HELP.
Find your tribe and mentors during medical school semester one
Before I started medical school semester one, I already had this mentality of being kind of a lone wolf. I’m naturally a social butterfly. However, I knew in medical school, I would have to change my approach. I was unsure of the climate, if it was going to be friendly or competitive. Also, as one of the two out-of-state matriculants, I knew absolutely no one.
My school is broken up into learning communities, consisting of about 17 or 18 students. Quickly, I found the people in this group that I could interact with socially and professionally. As medical school semester one forged ahead, I met a couple of others in different learning communities who I really clicked with. It was so refreshing to begin building this small community. Medical school is hard, and even harder when you feel like you’re experiencing it by yourself.
I also am in a large GroupMe with other Black medical students graduating in 2024 that also serves as another great source of community. Facebook groups can also be another great source of online community if you’re struggling with in-person community.
Lastly, the amount of staff I’ve developed relationships with has really been integral to my learning. From professors to administration, I make it a point to speak to everyone, and engage in conversations. I know that the best people to help me get through medical school are those who have been through, or worked at, medical schools.
Get to know the people around you. Share a little bit about yourself, and, most importantly, listen and learn from them.
Balance is key in medical school semester one
Balance is something I really struggled with because balance doesn’t mean everything is weighed equally. It really just means being able to proportion well. If you place a rock on one side, and a pebble on the other, clearly the rock is going to impose a greater force and tilt the scale. It’s bigger. But as long as the scale is not constnatly tipping back and forth and moving, then you have a sort of balance.
This is my analogy for work-life balance in medical school.
The rock is medical school and the pebble is life. That’s a bit of a hyperbole, but you get what I’m trying to say. Balance is giving medical school energy it requires because of its force on your life, while also giving time to your pebbles.
Before medical school semester one, I was too literal with work-life balance. I really tried to treat medical school like a job, or undergrad. During the week, I grinded and gave myself the ENTIRE weekend off, starting Fridays at 12 o’clock. I spent that time writing, watching movies, brunching, etc. But that just wasn’t working. I needed to spend more time with medical school.
However, when I devoted almost all of my time to medical school then I stopped doing the things I like. My blog started to fall off, I stopped spending time on self-care, I no longer went to brunch, and stopped doing everything I really enjoyed.
I had to play with my schedule a bit to find something that worked. Cutting back on some freelance projects and learning to spend a little more of my weekends on school helped give me some flexibility during the week. I figured I would rather do a little everyday, than a lot a few days and nothing other days.
Everyone is different, but play with your balance. Just make sure you have some, and make time for the things you want to do in life.
Health and wellness is a priority
This is also something I heard countless times before and during medical school semester one. Health and wellness is not just sleeping, eating right, and exercising. Of course health and wellness includes those three, but it is so much more.
Health and wellness also involves just taking care of your personal needs. If you need to wash your hair, shave, do a face mask, etc., then do that. It’s so easy to skip a couple of showers because you’re just that busy. But hygiene is for sure a part of health and wellness. Take time in the morning for a morning hygiene routine. All you need is fifteen minutes for oral hygiene, cleansing and a little me time. Don’t underestimate the power of alone time in the bathroom.
Health and wellness also involves doing things you really enjoy. If you have a hobby or a craft, schedule time to do those activities. Let the guilt and worry go, and be mindful about the time you’re spending with yourself.
Treat yoself is my all time favorite mantra. I’m not even sure it’s a mantra, but I’m calling it one. Buy yourself something nice, on occasion, or have a nice dinner. Take the moments to invest in yourself like you invest in medical school, or even another person. You’re in a relationship with yourself. Be a good partner in that relationship too.
There’s an L in Failure for “Learning”
Failure is a part of the game, especially in medical school semester one. Considering the amount of perfection, or near perfection, it takes to get to medical school, med students develop this persona of just that. Perfection. Achievement. Success.
So to come into medical school with all of these expectations and aspirations, just for them to be shut down, REPEATEDLY, is hard. It’s a weird adjustment, and the imposter syndrome starts kicking in forreal. I can say that I’ve taken more L’s than W’s this semester. However, every time I took an L, I learned so much about what not to do.
This is why you have to really value to lessons you get from failure. Every time you fail at doing something, you really just learned what doesn’t work. Eventually, you will get around to what does work, and that’s what really matters. Remember, Thomas Edison didn’t fail at creating a lightbulb 10,000 times. He just learned 10,000 ways to not make a lightbulb.
Remember to look at the donut, and not the hole, and you will get through any failure.
In medical school semester one, have some grace
Accepting failure and learning how to bounce back from it comes when you learn to give yourself some grace. In medical school semester one, I had to come to the realization that I’ve never been to medical school before. To have expectations of mastering it from the jump is just delusional.
Getting into medical school is a huge accomplishment. That means I’m supposed to be here, and the people who accepted me saw my potential to succeed. Holding on to that thought has helped me get through mistakes, or when things don’t go so well.
Medical school isn’t about perfection, but about progression and learning. If I knew everything there was to know about medicine, then there’s no reason for me to go to medical school. I’m here to learn, figure things out, and work through adversity. This experience will do nothing but help me for the road ahead, which will undoubtedly be filled with numerous obstacles and challenges.
Establish a routine or schedule
This is one of the major keys of surviving medical school semester one. Without a schedule, I felt chaotic like I didn’t have any control over anything. There were goals I wanted to hit and study time I needed. Without a schedule, these things just didn’t get done, or weren’t as efficient as I needed.
If you want to go to the gym, eat meals at a specific time, and have a certain amount of time for studying, then it’s best to establish a routine or schedule. Without one, you may find yourself running out of time or missing important deadlines. Even hobbies and hangouts will be harder without establishing some sort of schedule or routine.
Everyone has their own way of planning. Some use planners and schedule every second of the day (like me). Some have very vague schedules, but overall, follow a similar sequence everyday. This helps you get into the groove of things and establish some really good habits.
When planning your schedule, also understand you’re going to have to be flexible. Things won’t pan out how you’ll want them to all the time. You’ll have major disruptions in your schedule and may have to rearrange some things. It’s annoying, but you’ll learn to adjust and still make things work. Just remember, any study time lost will have to be made up at some point. Be intentional and specific about your study time so you have ample time for learning and review.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and make your own opportunities
This is probably the place I took the most L’s, but also where I reaped the most rewards. When professors ask questions, it’s so easy to hide away and let someone else be publicly embarrassed for wrong answers. But what happens if that student is right? What happens if you knew the right answer, but were too afraid to speak up? You’re letting someone else outshine you, make impressions, and direct the conversation.
If you say something wrong, the worst that will happen is you will learn what’s right. You have no idea what you know until you speak it and receive some direction. Hopefully you have an accepting environment, but even if you don’t, you can’t let that hinder your personal development. Medical school is very much a personal and individual journey. You get out of it what you want to get out of it.
This is why you have to be outspoken about what you want. Organizations, research, initiatives, etc., that you want to be a part of is yours for the taking. But if you hang back in the shadows, you’ll never get those opportunities. I had ideas and interests that I expressed to the right people, and now I’m in the midst of developing them. But if I had let the potential of missing stop me from shooting my professional shot, then I wouldn’t be able to maximize my medical school outcomes.
It’s better to try and fail than to never try at all.
5 thoughts on “Medical School Semester One: Putting the “L” in Learning”