As a premedical or preclinical student, you are probably wondering what a week in the life of a 3rd-year medical student looks like. It is so different from college, and even preclinical courses. In college, you have classes sporadically, with a few labs. You have a lot of free time for homework, extracurricular activities and work.
When you are a preclinical medical student, most of your day is spent studying. Personally, as a preclinical student, I went to class 8-12p, probably had an afternoon lab, and then spent the rest of the day studying. Then I would work out, eat dinner, and spend my evening doing things I enjoyed. When it was test time, I would study pretty much all day, cutting out most other activities.
However, as a 3rd-year medical student, my life looks very different. Believe it or not, I have a little more flexibility with my time, which is GREAT, because I’m working on a lot of research right now. So, continue reading to find out more about a week in the life of a 3rd-year medical student.
Weekday Mornings
Most of my weekdays look the same. Getting into a routine is an important part of being a 3rd-year medical student. There are so many things to coordinate. Without a schedule, something will fall off and be forgotten.
If you are like me, then you have a lot of goals. That means you have to dedicate time to actually accomplishing them. This requires a schedule. So, the first thing I do in the morning is create my schedule for the day. I actually try and do this the night before so when I wake up, I already know what I have laid out for my morning. Without this, I would lie around all morning on TikTok.
5:00 AM – Wake up
Every morning, my first alarm goes off at 5:00 AM. If I went to bed at 10:00 PM the night before, then there’s a good chance that I will get up at this first alarm. I normally lie in bed and catch up on my notifications until my second alarm goes off at 5:15 AM. For the most part, I can get out of bed within 5 minutes of this alarm. But on mornings I’m really struggling, I won’t get up until my 5:30 AM alarm.
I follow a pretty consistent morning bathroom routine before getting dressed and heading to my desk. The amount of reading I’ve had so far has been fairly intense. So I spend most of the morning getting ahead on those readings. It’s pretty rare that I am able to finish them before it’s time to head out the door. If I can, then I move on to practice questions.
Around 15 minutes before I have to leave, I pack up all of my belongings. Normally, I make my lunch the weekend prior, so getting out the door is pretty easy. I grab my lunch, make a tea, fill up my water bottle, and head out the door.
Weekday Daytime
7:00-8:00 AM
My commute to work is anywhere between 10-45 minutes, depending on where my clinical site is. If I have a longer commute, then I will pass time by listening to lectures. OnlineMedEd is my go to for 3rd-year material.
When you have a long commute, you have to use the time in the best way possible. It’s easy to just listen to music or talk on the phone. But if you can get any sort of studying done, then I highly recommend it. The more hits you get of the same information, the better you will do on your shelf exams and STEP 2.
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
As a 3-year medical student, my workdays are pretty busy, and they vary. My last rotation was 3 12-hour shifts. So, I only worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I couldn’t do anything those days, as far as working out, studying, etc. But I had all of Thursday and Friday to make up that time.
In my next rotation, I will be working Monday – Friday 8-5 PM. The day is full of seeing patients, talking with preceptors, and studying whenever you can. By far, the best tool to have is your iPad or some other tablet. They have the screen for easier viewing than looking on your phone. But they also are portable, small, and easy to put away and take out quickly.
Throughout the day, you literally have to take your study time whenever you can get it. It’s a fine balance between not look like you’re running to your laptop every chance you get and getting in enough studying. As important as studying is, your preceptors are valuable learning tools as well. Interact with them as much as possible. However, when they engage in tasks in which there is nothing for you, then that is the perfect time to squeeze in more studying. As soon as they begin talking to you again, then be sure to return your attention to them promptly.
In the middle of the day, I normally eat lunch and try to catch up on reading or questions. The more of this I can get done during the day, the less I have to do when I get home. The rest of the day is full of seeing patients, reporting to my attending, and charting or taking notes on them. When the preceptor says I can leave, or when we are done with our last patient, I get ready to head home. On my commute home, I’m normally too tired to listen to any more lectures, so I use that time to catch up with my friends.
Weekday Evening
5:00 PM
On the days I work the 12-hour shifts, I don’t get home until after 7:00 PM. On those days, I literally come home, eat dinner, take a shower and go to bed. Those are long and exhausting days.
Other days, I will come home and try and get a workout in. When you’re a tired 3rd-year medical student, it feels like the last thing you want to do, but if you don’t make time for working out, then you never will. My workouts aren’t particularly that long; 40 minutes is about my maximum. When my workout is over, I take a shower and eat dinner.
7:00 PM
On the days I work the 12-hour shifts, my dinners are simple. They are normally something I made the weekend before and just have to pop into the microwave. Pastas, soups, and salads are my go tos. If I don’t work, then I make more of an effort to cook. I watch my favorite shows while I cook and eat before transitioning to my nighttime activities.
Most of the time I write, trying to get ahead on my blog or freelance writing. However, now that I am in research mode, I will be incorporating more academic writing into my schedule. I also am trying to get better at reading, so I will spend the last 30 minutes, or so, reading.
9:45 PM
About this time, I shut down all of my activities and electronics. In order for my morning to go smoothly, I spend part of my evening getting ready for the next day. This is the time I make, or think about, my schedule for the following day. It’s also the time to pick out my outfit for the morning, and do any necessary prep for my hair.
By 10:00 PM, I really try to be in the bed on my way to sleep. The days that I get a lot of sleep, I am more productive, focused, and engaged. Whenever I don’t get a lot of sleep, I find myself less focused, more irritable, and craving my bed all day.
Friday Night
Most of my workweeks end on Friday. Fridays look a little different than the other workdays. I love Fridays, but find it very hard to function after 12 PM. Currently, us 3rd-year medical students have class from 1-4 PM every single Friday which is killing me. These are mandatory, virtual didactics classes discussing what we learned over the week.
5:00 PM
When that is finally over, I try to finish any reading or questions I have. I do not like doing readings on the weekends, so I make it a goal to complete them by Friday evening. I really try to cherish my Friday nights. Being a 3rd-year medical student may have turned me into a bit of a homebody. A perfect Friday night, for me, is working on my passion projects with a glass of wine and a nice dinner.
Occasionally, I will be a social butterfly, and attend a happy hour or gathering. Now that I live in rural Texas, I have less opportunities to find something to do. So it’s easier to stay in my house and enjoy some time of little to no obligations.
Saturday
6:00 AM
My Saturdays start just as early as my Mondays. The reason for this, is it’s easier to maintain your sleep schedule than to reset it. Therefore, I try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday – even on the weekends.
Also, the earlier I start my day, the sooner I can get the draining tasks out the way. On a Saturday, this mostly includes my freelance writing. I have blog posts due every week, and I prefer to knock them out Saturday morning. Occasionally, I will have writing and questions due, so I also use this time to do them.
I also try to get a workout in early on Saturday morning. At my old apartment, I would go for a walk. However, my new home doesn’t have a neighborhood conducive for walking. Therefore, I do a quick workout in the house like Barre or HIIT. This gets all of my hard tasks out of the way before noon.
12:00 PM
On the weekends, I eat a pretty nice breakfast or brunch. During the week, I normally intermittent fast, so I skip breakfast. But on the weekends, I like to make a nice omelette and mimosa. On occasion, I will even go out for brunch.
Saturdays are also self-care days. Many of my hair appointments are on Saturday. When I lived in the city, I also used this day to see family, hang out with friends, and catch up on social life. If I still lived in the city, I would probably be doing the same thing. However, now that I live in a smaller town, I find local things to do, or I will stay in my house and work on some things.
6:00 PM
On the weekends, I like to make a nicer dinner. My entire weekend is much slower than the weekdays. This is also usually the time that I catch up on shows, watch movies, or just hang out. When I am done with my dinner, then I just stay up watching something, or working on one of my projects. Then, I am in the bed around 10:00 PM again.
During certain times of the year, there are usually games that I will watch around this time. During the fall, a football game is definitely on, especially if my alma mater is playing. When winter comes, I will normally transition to basketball, as there is always a Saturday night game. If nothing interesting is on, then I will try a new Netflix, Hulu, or HBO movie that I haven’t seen yet.
Sunday
6:00 AM
Again, my Sundays start really early. This is mostly because I use Sundays to wash my hair, if I am the one who has to wash it. Right now, my hairdresser is about 2 hours away. So I religiously go through my hair routine every Sunday morning. It’s easier when I can braid my hair because then I don’t have to do it during the week. But, obviously my hair can’t be braided all the time, so sometimes that’s unavoidable.
9:00 AM
When I am done with my hair, and cleaning my bathroom, then I move on to writing Melanated and Meducated. It’s important to me to maintain my blog, so I set aside Sunday mornings to write. Sort of like Carrie on Sex in the City…
In addition to writing, I use this time for many of my social media requirements. This includes filming TikToks or Reels, creating content, and filming YouTube where I document all that I’ve learned as a 3rd-year medical student. My week gets crazy, so it is easy to let these things go by the wayside. But by scheduling them, I ensure that I keep up with these activities.
12:00 PM
Again, I make a bomb breakfast or brunch. This is usually my laundry day as well, so I will begin washing clothes around this time. It’s a miracle if I’m able to fold them all on this day. Most of the time, they end up staying in my basket until I have enough dirty clothes for another load.
This is also about the time that I will go to the grocery store. I’ve found that I don’t waste groceries as often if I plan my meals for 2 weeks, and buy everything I need to make those meals. You can even further maximize your groceries by making meals that have similar ingredients. Then you are not trying to buy food for 40 unique meals.
Grocery pick up is my go-to for a couple of reasons. One, it’s faster. I just go, and they already have my items ready. No battling the lines or squeezing through the aisles. It’s a huge timesaver, especially for the limited time I have as a 3rd-year medical student. The second reason I like grocery pickup is because I don’t buy things just because I see them. Grocery shopping on an empty stomach is the worst idea ever because you just pick up things you want.
One drawback to grocery pick up is you don’t get to pick out your own produce. The shoppers are not as picky, and sometimes I’ve gotten bad fruits and vegetables that I would have never picked out. The second drawback is sometimes you forgot to add things to the list, and you would remember to grab it if you walked past that time in the store.
3:00 PM
After I get my groceries, I immediately put them away, and start preparing my meals for the week. I keep my lunches very simple. A salad goes a long way, and is so easy to prep. I add spinach, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, shredded turkey, and cheese. Sometimes there’s variety, but that is pretty standard.
Another easy go to is anything that I can throw in the crockpot. Crockpot meals – such as soups, fajitas, and pastas – are great. Just throw everything in there and let it do its thing for the rest of the night. Tortilla wraps area great option as well. Planning my meals prevents me from making poor fast food decisions throughout the week.
6:00 PM
When my lunch is prepared, I begin working on my dinner. Usually, whatever I cook for Sunday can last me a few days. This takes care of dinner for a few days, taking something off my plate for the beginning of the week.
I usually spend the rest of the evening getting ready for my next day. This could include creating a schedule for the week, reviewing online materials, and putting away my laundry. The more I prepare on the weekends, the better my week goes.
By 10:00 PM, I am in the bed, ready for a new week!
Key Takeaways
My week as a 3rd-year medical student is insane. It is very busy, mostly because i have many other side projects and activities. Many students are not like this, so do not read this and feel obligated to be just as busy. That is a me problem. The main takeaway from this post is to understand that you can be flexible as a 3rd year medical student. The other main takeaway is that organization is key. Future outlook and planning will help you avoid late night, breakdowns, and stress sessions.
When you are planning, start at the end date, and work backwards. Come up with a plan to achieve your goal with a little work each day, rather than a lot of work over a few days. This is true when it comes to exams, research projects, and any other deadlines.
Sometimes you won’t hit your schedule perfectly. In fact, most times you won’t. But it’s better to have an adjustable outline than no plan at all.