How to Lower Stress in Med School: a

Let me preface this by saying I am not the ideal med student to emulate. This is just some advice about what helps me. Med school is a huge endeavor. MS1 to licensed physician is a huge transformation. 1/9
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Like climbing a mountain. There are so many steps (pun intended). Looking towards the far away summit can be discouraging. You know your goal, now you need to plan out your path.
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Trying to remember every step is too stressful. You don’t have time to be stressing about STEP 1 when your biochem quiz is next week, but you need to be preparing for your STEP 1. What helps me is a plan. Every couple months I pull out my notebook and write “My Life Plan”. 3/9

I start by making word-webs with of my goals, I begin with the end in mind. In the center of the page I circle the word, “Psychiatrist”. To get there I need to pass certain milestones, An example: Pass Step 1. I then break down these milestones into smaller steps. 4/9

To pass Step 1 I need to pass each semester. To pass this semester I need to pass Path and Pharm. To pass Pharm I need to pass the midterm and final. These drugs will be on the midterm, I will watch the sketchy videos and do practice questions. Ect. I break it down to steps. 5/9

Once I have these down I can make a timeline. In this month I will be in this class, In this month I will take this test. At this date I will submit this. On this date I will match. Ect. Make your overall plan…and then set it aside. Don't look at it anymore. 6/9

Focus on the little goals you wrote that lead to the big milestones, which leads to your end goal. Don’t focus on matching in three years, focus on your next exam, the next step in front of you. Reaching the peak looks daunting, taking another step forward looks achievable. 7/9

Every couple months, revisit your “Life Plan”. It needs to be flexible. Maybe you failed a class, or a worldwide pandemic messed up the schedule, or you got sick. You will have to adjust, just like climbing a mountain you need to look up at the peak and correct your course. 8/9

Med school will always be stressful, but knowing you HAVE a long-term plan, and then focusing on the step in front of you, will help to mitigate that stress.

I hope this helps, I know other students have other great ways to plan and prepare as well. Any advice is welcome! 9/9