The media loves to publish stories about how stressed new doctors are and how bad med school burnout is. You probably read them all the time, but at Picmonic, we like to look on the brighter side.
Burning out isn’t really our style and we don’t like this “I’m-more-stressed-than-you-are” trend. In fact, the whole reason we started mnemonics for medical students was to help students study without all the anxiety and frustration. You can try it for free if you’re stressing out, but also take a look below at our list of de-stressing techniques that’ll help you keep calm and, well, since you’re a med student… cram on.
Just Start.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed it can be difficult to even start studying or putting your goals together, but that’s when it’s the most important to just jump right in and go! Give yourself some time to work up to a heavier workload by starting simple, but studying often, and soon it will become habit and routine.
Location Location Location
Consider your environment. Sometimes work can seem harder because you don’t thrive in a noisy environment or a super quiet environment. Or an environment without coffee. Pay attention to the kinds of places where you work best.
Know Your Limits
Maybe your friend studies twelve hours a day and you think you should, too. Try it. If it works, great. If not, no big. Find something that does. If you make your goals too lofty, you won’t stick to them at all because you will burn out quickly.
Give Yourself a Break
Make sure you use your time wisely. That means taking breaks frequently while studying and setting aside at least one day a week to do what you want. A resting day is important for fighting med school burnout and can even help you do better when you get back to studying.
If You Need Help- Ask!
If the material is confusing you or you’re struggling with a concept, don’t be afraid to ask for help. We all learn at different speeds and there’s no shame in asking someone for assistance instead of worrying about how you’ll ever figure it out before the exam. (Plus, studies show people actually love being asked for help!)
Goodnight & Good luck
Lack of sleep makes everything difficult. If you’re tired you tend to be more forgetful -not to mention cranky- and the mistakes can pile up. Avoid this by setting up a schedule. Once you figure out how long you can study and where you do it best, make sure you block out enough time for sleep every night and stick to it!
Study Smart
Not to toot our own horn or anything (okay, maybe a little), but Picmonic for Medicine does a great job of making studying fun which means you’re more likely to keep a proper study schedule (and actually learn some stuff). We also have some great medicine lectures for medical students. Try Picmonic today. We think you’ll really like it.
