Does Medical Training Really Change You?

Just wanted to write a short entry on this and my experience with adapting to medical school.

The title is a question that sure gets asked a lot, but the real question is "how do you keep medical school from changing you?"

Of course, there are good changes: I've become way more organised and more disciplined in studying because med school is pretty much sink-or-swim, and while I've encountered much more stress in my life than before, I've been learning how to deal with it by changing my mindset.  I feel that a significant amount of med school is your own personal psychology, and it can be difficult if you're not overly confident in yourself.

A way to survive basic sciences is just to take a Spartan mentality, call me crazy, but it works.  You have to be resilient and tough to handle the 18-19 hour days you'll have, but also rest enough and eat well, because it's so easy to think "Alright, all I need is some Monsters and doughnuts and I'm good."  It's easy to wreck your health as early as basic sciences.  If you don't have discipline, find it, it'll be there, and it's there in everyone.  

I think some factors that predispose people to changes in their personality are: infrequent meaningful social contact/relationships, not taking time off (it's okay not to study on break!), and even just not studying right.

What's worked best for me is keeping up with my hobbies, and just budgeting my time well enough that I can take a night to see a good friend of mine or join a group of friends for a night out.  Something that bears repeating is that medical school only dominates your life as much as you let it; you can be one of those kids who goes 3 days without sleep during finals because he/she can't handle not studying, or you can be reasonably balanced.

I often feel that medical education is this large, formless being that doesn't care about how you feel, the status of your health, or social relationships, just your grades.  I just say that because to your med school, grades are what matter the most, and you can't just pause the lecturers or exams for a day or two because you're sick. 

However, if you do keep up with your relationships, even if it's just phone calls or emails, you're already evading the mistake a lot of medical students and doctors make; their constant workaholism just ends up making others distant from them, which then just affects your mental well-being which then affects your ability to work and study well, which then leads to terrible consequences.

It seems like a touchy-feely entry, and I definitely would've thought so before I started my medical training because we're all prone to that "Psh, I'm tough, I don't need no-one" mentality.  Hopefully you don't neglect it, and that 10-15 minutes you're spending chatting with friends or family and not studying germs won't matter in the end in regards to grades.

Don't forget that medical school is also a time to build up proper friendships and relationships, and strengthen the ones you currently have.  Don't miss out, it can be pretty awesome!  Thanks for reading guys.  I'll probably be going a bit under the radar when classes start getting intense again, but I'm always available for questions on anything!