Medical School Year 2 – How to Get Back in the Groove

As I’m typing this sentence, I’m a little under 12 hours away from the beginning of medical school year 2. I’ve been living my best life this summer with a trip to Hawaii, among various other trips. It’s honestly just been nice to have nothing due. There was nowhere I had to be. Having no obligations is such a luxury, that you don’t realize it until it’s on the verge of being taken away. I promise I’m not trying to be dramatic. My summer days were so leisurely. However, now it’s back to the grind. Here are my tips on how to get back in the groove.

Set goals

The best way to start your year off with a bang is to set goals. Goals give you a target in mind so you know what you’re working towards. Without them, we drift aimlessly. Not only do we have to set goals, but we have to set different types of goals. There are three different types of goals: long-term, intermediate, and short-term. These varying goals are necessary because they all work together like Russian Matryoshka dolls.

For instance, a short-term goal is like a step on a staircase. An intermediate goal is like a flight of stairs, and a long-term goal is the top of the whole staircase.

You can’t just jump to the very top, so you have to go one step at a time. Eventually, you have taken enough steps to cover a flight of stairs, and so on. However, when you’re at the very bottom, the top can be intimidating, and you may even quit before you start. This is why just starting with one stair is great because it’s something you’re very capable of doing.

Goal setting is the same way. If my goal was to graduate medical school, that’s great, but that’s a long ways away. I need other goals in between to keep me hungry and to boost my confidence. Same for you. As you start a new school year, think about the little steps you can take, and turn them into goals you set. These goals all work towards your long-term goal, but they give you little encouraging boosts every time you accomplish one.

My goals for medical school year 2

When you set goals, they cannot be vague. An effective goal setting strategy are S.M.A.R.T. goals. This stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. This turns your goal from something that probably won’t happen (like “I want to lose some weight”) into a plan with an end goal (“I want to lose 10 pounds by Christmas Break”).

As I enter medical school year 2, I have quite a few new goals.

My goals for the first year were to simply survive. However, this year I want to thrive and I want to hone in my focus. Right now, I a constant flow of ideas that are a bit overwhelming.

That being said, I want to focus on one product, the Fancy Packs, of Octate Wellness, and see it through. They are cute and a good idea, and I want to really put them out there and give them a chance.

I also want to be consistent with my writing. Writing one blog a week is very sustainable for me, and it also gives me a break from school work. I enjoy writing and maintaining this blog, and hope to do so without interruption.

Another goal of mine is to finish the research projects I have started. I have a paper, survey, and intervention all hanging in limbo, waiting to be completed. Although there are other ideas sitting on the backburner, a bunch of half-done projects never did anyone any good.

In the organizations I’m a part of, I want to offer feasible and effective ideas that positively impact my student body. If I’m going to spend time in these organizations, I want to make a difference in some manner.

And finally, I am going to study more. I have reduced my time commitment in other aspects of my life so I can use more time to study. I also have scheduled appointments with Learning Specialists who have helped me devise a plan to do well. Although my classmates are all smart, I don’t believe I’m not capable of succeeding just like them. But refining my focus is essential if I hope to be on the same or higher level.

Get ahead of schedule

I did an interview with one of my professors, and in that interview, she said if you’re early, you’re on time, if you’re on time you’re late, and if you’re late, that’s unacceptable. I’m trying to adopt that into my planning for medical school year 2, and I encourage you to do so as well.

As you come off a summer schedule that probably did not have a whole lot of structure, it may be a hard adjustment being back on a strict schedule. However, getting on a schedule very early will be of benefit. By having a long-term outlook of exams, papers, lectures, and important events, you can avoid the stress of being late.

Last year, I always felt like I was about a step behind, and that added unnecessary stress to my life. Instead, I would like to feel ahead of schedule. My calendar is created for the month of August, and I have a general idea of how my week-to-week is going to look for the next few months.

This may not be the best method for everyone. Some of you are day-by-day, or even hour-by-hour people. If that works for you and you don’t feel like you live in a state of chaos, then kudos.

However, if you constantly find yourself late, unprepared and feeling behind, it may be time to make a change and force yourself to look ahead just to have an idea of what’s coming.

How I’m getting ahead medical school year 2

This year, I’m determined to be more organized to stay ahead of schedule. I have several calendars, which all contain different parts of my life. My paper calendar has my social media schedule and day-to-day. My wall calendar and phone calendar have the big items like exams or appointments. Finally, in my kitchen, I have a calendar that has my meals planned out.

This sounds OCD as hell, but by taking time on the front end to plan and organize a few weeks out, I don’t have to take time down the road to do so. I have a date near the end of each month where I sit down and plan out the next month. By doing this, I can never be surprised, and I can prepare ahead of time for upcoming events.

I hope this works, and I can start medical school year 2 off way better than the end of my first week of last year. As I take on this new strategy to be successful, I will keep you all updated, and my goal way down the line is to come up with something that helps you all get more organized as well.

Be okay with being uncomfortable

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. By this definition, most of use are quite insane because once we get comfortable doing something, we’ll do it again and again. Then when we want a different outcome, we shrink away from change, and hope that our old ways will do the trick.

That’s just not possible, and it honestly makes no sense. If you want to have a better school year this year than last, you are going to have to do something different. Even if your change doesn’t amount to improvement, it will at least give you change that you can measure. If you like the change, then keep doing it. If you don’t like the change, then change to something else.

Either way, changing involves being uncomfortable. However, being uncomfortable is required for growth and improvement. So I hope to be uncomfortable all year because that means I’m doing something different that will, hopefully, get me different results.

How I’m going to be uncomfortable during medical school year 2

The first thing that makes me uncomfortable is deferring my goals of Octate Wellness turning into a multi-million dollar health and wellness business in the next year. As I type it, I know that sounds crazy, but I truly believed I could get it off the ground, turn a profit, and run it, all while attending medical school.

Through conversations with individuals like my mom and academic counselors, I have had to come to grips that blowing Octate Wellness up was going to have to wait. If I failed to become the doctor I want to be, then I wouldn’t be able to help the people or make the impact that I could as a physician.

Therefore, I have changed my mindset to that of Octate Wellness is a hobby that allows me to broadcast health and wellness tips based on my everyday life, and make money from selling Fancy Packs. I’m uncomfortable because part of me feels like I’m copping out, but then the other part reminds me that the dream isn’t dead, it’s just on pause, because my first dream needs the most attention.

I also have had to come to grips with I’m going to have less leisure time because I have to study more. I have to look at the material earlier and more times if I want to be as successful as I know I can be. I’m going to have to take Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons to get after it, when previously, I was done Friday at Noon until Sunday evening. That won’t cut it this year, and although studying more is going to be hard, its necessary for me to see the improvements I’m trying to see.

Find your motivation

The best way to start off your school year with a bang is to find some motivation. Over the summer, you may have lost sight of why you are doing what you are doing. Maybe the dream is a little fuzzy or you’re just not feeling it anymore. Honestly, life is so exhausting between Covid, whatever is happening on the news, and the injustice of life, especially for Black and Brown people, and women, that it can be really hard to be motivated to succeed, let alone, try.

That’s why you have to dig deep and find your motivation. There is so much uncertainty about if school will continue or if jobs will close again, that we’re just teetering on the edge of the unknown all the time. But Covid will end, and when it does, what will you have accomplished in that time?

Find something, whether it’s the person you want to be after Covid, or somewhere you want to go or something you want to do as your motivation. Without this motivation, you may find yourself feeling stagnant and without purpose. However, motivation gives us purpose and a sense of direction. Tie together your goals with motivation as one normally impacts the other. Do whatever you’ve got to do to answer this question, “Why?” As soon as you know your answer to that question, write it down, stick it somewhere you look everyday, and focus on that why as your motivation to finish whatever you started or go after something you want.

My motivation for medical school year 2

My motivation for this upcoming year is the fact that I got live a day in the life of a plastic surgeon. In fact, I got to live 3.5 days in the life and I loved it. I was so enthralled the entire time, and the physician who I shadowed was absolutely amazing. She was loveable, fabulous, and her patients raved about her.

Seeing how much she impacted her patients’ lives with one or a few procedures truly lit a fire in me. That’s how I want to make a difference and that’s the imprint I want to make on people’s lives. Having the ability to truly alter one’s quality of life to such a degree is enviable, and I want it.

Considering this is such a tough field, I know I’ve got my work cut out for me. But that’s okay because I’m used to working hard for the things I want. And that grit is going to help push me through the easy days and the hard days.

Get an accountability partner

Nothing helps you get back into the groove of things like having an accountability partner. Whether they be friends, academic advisors, family, etc., having someone there to push you when you don’t feel like being pushed is a necessity. This person may get on your nerves so bad, however, they want you to succeed. The beauty of an accountability partner is you get to return the favor. You both push each other to do what you have to to make it.

If you can get an accountability partner in the same boat as you, you’re in good shape. You both know the expectations, the workload, and when it’s time to get after it. If you can’t find someone in your circle, go outside of your circle. In schools, there are so many people there rooting for your success, that you can find one staff or faculty or volunteer, or mentor that you can report to. Your accountability partner may mean so much to you, that they are your motivation for succeeding.

It’s important when you’re establishing your accountability partner that this person knows how to hold you accountable without adding unhelpful stress. This person needs to know the difference between can’t and won’t and how to motivate you to get where you want to be constructively.

How I’m using an accountability partner for medical school year 2

I have two forms of accountability partners for medical school year 2, although I don’t think either of them know this. I have one friend who is in the same boat as me. We both want to succeed, and we both have to work just as hard to really get down the information. Having each other, we can push the other to keep going, or encourage each other when we’re feeling down. The most important aspect of our friendship is that we both respect each other’s work ethic and know that the other can truly succeed.

My second accountability partner is one of the learning specialist. I don’t think she knows that she’s my accountability partner, but I’ve decided that she is, so that’s that. I am having biweekly meetings with her, and she’s given me an action item for our first meeting. Being someone that just talks without any outcomes is not my speed. So if I walk in her office, I want to have something to show for the work I’ve done. Having this extra accountability helps give me some extrinsic expectations, which I hold in such high regard, it will truly help me meet my own personal goals.

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