"What to do, what to do?!" by MSIH first year blogger Samantha Krieger


While we figure out what to do in medical school……Taco Tuesday nights with the roommates...

     If you are anything like me, you are used to having your fingers in many, many pies. Growing up and throughout college, you volunteered at the local soup kitchen every Sunday morning, you worked in a research lab twice a week (for the sake of “experience”), you worked as many hours as the “part-time” label would allow you to, you participated in over ten clubs each year while chairing at least two, you exercised five times a week, dedicated the weekend to socializing with your friends, and squeezed in “me time” every evening. And of course, you were always studying for something. You were, for lack of a better word, busy. If you’re really like me, you also enjoyed every moment of it.
      Medical school has presented a different format than my high school and college careers prepared me for. The structure is much more open: classes are only tools if you want to use them, extracurricular activities are offered or inevitable if you so desire, and a social life is obtainable depending on what you are interested in. You are expected to pass your exams but how you study for them and what you do in your free time is completely up to you. This change in format has required me to reconsider, well, everything.
How will I study for each class? Do I need to spend the same amount of time studying for each class? Do I need to memorize the textbook assigned for each class or do I need to focus on the clinical applications of each topic? How will I monitor my mastery of each subject? How can I possible retain this information for the next two years let alone fifty? Should I work on research projects while I am here? What am I interested in researching? How much time can I commit to a research study each week? Should I shadow a physician? What type of a physician? Should I shadow multiple physicians? How many hours a week should I commit to shadowing each physician? Should I volunteer in the hospital? Can I volunteer in the hospital? Where should I volunteer and what can I do? Should I volunteer the community? What organizations can I volunteer at? What will I be able to do? How else can I get involved in the community? Should I join the rock climbing gym or a CrossFit studio? Should I join the school gym? Should I join the on-campus fitness studio? Should I work out every day? Do I have time to work out every day? Do I have time to participate/lead clubs? What clubs should I join? How many clubs should I join? When will I socialize with my classmates? When will I socialize with other students/residents of the community? When can I socialize with my roommates? When will I have relaxing/reflective me-time?
Just writing this down reminds me that I should to email the research coordinator and the volunteer coordinator to check the status of my requests! There is so much to do and just not enough time to do it all. So, what should I do? The guidance I have heard from the upperclassmen is to prioritize what is important to you and then work backwards, remembering that first and foremost, you are a human being with unique operating instructions; second, you are a medical student studying to become a doctor; and lastly, you are a multifaceted individual who enjoys many different activities. Once you know what you need to do to be a fully functioning member of society (i.e. I need to exercise multiple times a week), study as much as you need to and add in everything else one at a time. Academically, the upperclassmen all say that sooner or later, you will figure out how to study. Keep trying new tools and see what works for you. On the extracurricular front, I have been told to only join activities that I am interested in – do not sign up to volunteer with children every weekend if you do not want to. You don’t need to impress anyone anymore!
            Let’s not forget, I am only a two-month-old medical school student. I am still figuring it all out as I go along. But so far, I appreciate the opportunity that medical school presents to rediscover the activities that I value and enjoy. As Laurie Notaro, American writer, says:
“If you really believe in what you are doing, work hard, take nothing personally and if something blocks one route, find another. Never give up.”

Until next time,
Samantha

...and work out sessions with the boys.



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