This is a post of a more personal, less technical nature. I have really missed writing and regularly interacting with my readers for the past few weeks, so I figured that I would get back into the game by writing about what has been on my mind: the medical boards. (And no worries, I’ll keep it more entertaining than talk of microbial bugs and pharmaceutical drugs or what ails, fails, or impales)!
I am currently in the midst of preparing for the USMLE Step I examination, a.k.a. part one of the infamous “medical boards”. It’s a pretty stressful process – medical students are generally recommended to study 8-10 hours per day in the 6-8 weeks preceding the exam, not including the time spent in classes (or, in my case, commuting).
I’ve found that I study with the clearest mind in the early morning hours (from 6 am till noon) and then hit another peak in the evening hours (usually starting around 5 to 7 pm, lasting for about 3-4 additional hours). During the hours in-between, I like to see my mom or my friends, talk to my boyfriend (or see him if he’s around), go for a run, read some magazines or a book, take a nap, walk my dogs, get something to eat, i.e., have a life.
Which all sounds pretty normal to most people, but when I mention my “two study peak” system to my medical school colleagues, let’s just say it doesn’t sit well with them. The resounding effects, then, tend to be stress and guilt.
But isn’t 6-10 hours a day everyday, even split into two 3-5 hour sessions, enough?! When is enough “enough”? The life expert T. Harv Ecker claims that work should never be measured in terms of time, only progress, because time is a very limited resource, but your productivity theoretically has no limit. That may be true, but when you are surrounded by 140 other medical students who seem to have no problem sitting in a library for 10-12 hours straight, testing those limits can be a bit intimidating. Sometimes I feel like we’re on a challenge on Survivor: Geek - who can sit on the wooden chair the longest? Every person that gets up concedes victory to another. He’s zipping his backpack? I’m still in the game. She went to get a soda? Weak. I haven’t gotten up for 3 hours…and I have to pee. Of course, petty comparisons such as these are exactly the reason I study elsewhere, and truth be told, most academic triathletes (reading-highlighting-reviewing) are too focused to even notice their listless competitors.
Which brings me to my point: Today’s lesson for success is not to compare myself to anyone else. It may sound like something straight out of an old Barney episode, but it’s a childhood adage that’s true, whether with our grades or our bodies, our men or our shoes: No matter what it is that it seems like someone else has or is doing, there is a limit to how amazing it truly is. As Joel Osteen says, there’s an 80 percent rule: no matter what we have, if we are critical enough, we can find that 20 percent we are somehow missing. It’s best to focus on our great 80 percent and not to look for the other 20 percent, especially not in other people’s “plus” column. I may not be comfortable studying 8 hours straight in a library everyday, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t one day become a great physician. Who knows? Maybe someone else wishes she could focus 8 hours a day and still have lunch with her mom or see her friends regularly. It’s not up to me to judge. All I can do is be myself, do my best within my own limits, and be happy.
********
Like this post? Or would you rather have me stick with skincare-haircare analyses? Let me know your thoughts in Comments below! :-)
Photo source:
Doctor Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by jdesmeules (Blue Cupcake)
Vote is for being a person who has lunch with mom. It is all about balance. You are wise to try to maintain it! Interesting post.
Love your skincare-haircare analyses, but also love this post! It takes off some of my guilt, when I was in my university, I could hardly study for more than 30 minutes each time. So, not to compare myself to anyone else
I like it as well, gave me interesting things to think about like how it always seems that the grass is greener on the other side, yet that’s not necessarily true…I think it’s important to be confident like 70 -80% because if you say that you are 100% than you’re probably just deluding yourself. Also people learn in different ways so while for some 8 hours straight works, but for another person they might not get that much out of it. I think that’s normal, whatever works for you is right.
When I was in school for engineering, I commuted to the library at 8 a.m., broke out to go to classes, took 1 dinner break, then went home at 11 p.m. when they flashed the lights on/off. That wasn’t just during finals – that was my life for 5 years. I liked the library because I was never alone – and somehow that company made the whole experience more tolerable. Not so much ‘misery loves company’ but I just felt like I wasn’t the only one wasting away with my ‘life’ on hold.
I was competitive only because I put the time in. Other students could run circles around me with 1/10 the effort. Sounds like you are in that category – its called being gifted. You clearly can juggle WAY more than the average med student (this site is evidence of that!). Why feel guilty about that??
Interesting post.
I enjoyed the post…very interesting. I think it’s best to do what’s best for you. It’s wonderful that you can juggle all that you do and be in medical school!!! I love your blog, I’ve been a follower for a long time now because i love skincare and everything to do with skincare and cosmetics. I’m an aspiring dermatologist myself. God bless you.
I’m a big fan. Also agree being confident is important but don’t be over confident where it can get you in trouble.
As a retired Social Worker your meaningful disclosure tweaked my interest and made me smile. As a woman who struggled with balance and “good enough” for decades you provided a reminder that choosing balance and serenity is best at all ages.
How many other future physicians entertain and inform as generously as you!!
Good luck all the way
I liked this post, I hope to see more posts like it in the future.
I think it’s great that you can balance your priorities. School is important.. but so are other things, right? You also gave me an idea with the peak-hours thing. Efficiency is key! 
Good luck on your MLE! 
I’m premed, and I could never study for that many hours straight. I need my little breaks to stay sane (like reading your site).
I like these types of posts. Keep it up!
Sitting in the library for 10-12 hours does not mean they are doing more- they may be less efficient or wasting time.
When studing you need to know how to spend your time productively and when to cut your losses and take a break so that you CAN MAINTAIN the productivity.
Sometimes 30 min of one type of study can be more beneficial than 10 hours of another kind. It’s about knowing yourself only.
Good luck with the boards. It’s a difficult journey to the dermatology residency…the most competitive specialty besides plastics, as you know. By reading your blog, it’s not difficult to see why so many girls (and guys) want to become dermatologists…
i LOVED this post! i’m a nursing student, and although our course is less rigorous, it is still very stressful and i find myself feeling like school is taking over my life! i don’t mind seeing more posts like this in the future, in addition to skincare related posts of course!
My husband will be graduating from medical school this May. I remember when he studied for his Step 1 boards. What he found helpful was USMLE World Q bank and using First Aid guides for review. It’s definitely a stressful time! You can do it
If you’re getting good scores on practice tests then that’s a good indication you’re headed on the right path with your study schedule. Good luck!
My husband, who also attends PIT med school, wanted to also let you know that only one out of three med students from PIT this year matched into derm. The student who matched was the only one who took a year off to do research. Keep that mind for the future!
I really like your post. Reminds me of William Zinsser’s College Pressure. Here’s an excerpt:
“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I couldn’t tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda”
Funny story.
Very interesting article.I’ve learned a good lesson here. You must always do your level best in whatever you do. Thks
I like your positive attitude. You do your best to whatever you do. This is a mindset of a winner.Thanks for sharing.