Master Your Schedule: A Med Student’s 168-Hour Strategy

Medical school is an absolute pressure cooker, and trying to survive it on pure adrenaline is a quick path to burnout. With nationwide physician shortages looming over the next decade, learning how to handle a massive academic load while keeping your mental health intact has never been more critical. In this episode, we talk with second-year medical student Helen Shi about her strategies for navigating the intense demands of medical training without sacrificing her well-being.

We sit down to break down the actual mechanics of balancing research, board preparation, and self-care. Helen shares how she applies her background in neuroscience and psychology to master a strict 168-hour weekly calendar, run high-yield study groups that use comprehensive answer keys to build test-taking skills, and utilize the therapeutic benefits of osteopathic manipulative medicine. Her secret sauce lies in proactively organizing her distractions, intentionally scheduling a designated "yap session" at the start of study meetings so the group can completely lock in when it matters most.

The reality of medical education means facing situations entirely out of your control, like navigating a flooded apartment and falling ill right before a major exam week. Thriving in this environment requires a strong internal locus of control and a willingness to bring in outside accountability, whether through therapy or trusted peers. Viewers will walk away with a practical framework for calculating their weekly time metrics and a clear strategy for building an academic anchor group that focuses on growth over complaints.

If you care about time management, medical education, and mental well-being, you’ll get a lot from this. Make sure to subscribe and share this episode with anyone looking to optimize their schedule. What is the biggest unexpected stressor you’ve had to handle recently, and how did you adjust your plan to get through it?

@arkansasstatemedisnetwork.com.

0:12 Introduction & Guest Intro
2:06 Finding a Passion for Medicine & Research
6:04 Demystifying Osteopathic Medicine & OMM
13:17 Breakthrough Alzheimer's & Relationship Research
16:58 Time Management and the 168-Hour Rule
30:03 Finding Your Anchor Study Group

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

All right, everyone. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Student Doc 101, a guide to thriving in medical school. I'm Michael Stonett. I'm a medical education learning specialist with NYITCOM at Arkansas State University. And I'm here today with Arkansas State Media Network on this podcast. So thankful for you for tuning in. I have with me today a very special guest, Student Dr. Helen Shee. Hi, Helen Shee. Tell us a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

I uh I'm a second-year medical student. I am from Dallas, Texas. And I grew up in Mississippi.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Um All right, go Mississippi. Go flatland, right? Go Delta.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah. So um let's see. I am taking my boards tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Board exam tomorrow, and here we are today on a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Yeah. So just try to find things to do today to not freak out or think too much about tomorrow. Yeah. Excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Think about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

No, I totally get that. Um, so Helen, the mission of this show, the reason this show exists, is to take kind of like an inside look at med school because everybody thinks medical school is hard. And it is. So they're right. Um, but it doesn't have to be uh exhausting or frustrating. Like you can be in hard medical school and flourish. So the mission of this show is to bring students on and learn from students like you who have been able to endure the hardship, the difficulty of medical school, but still find a path to flourishing. And then we want you to be able to share your experiences with other people who might be interested in medical professions so they can learn about it too. Okay. So that's why we exist. It's what we're going to talk about today. Uh, with that, for you, um, so what brought you to medicine? What was it that just kind of like said, hey, I want to do this really hard thing?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

I think I just always growing up, I always wanted to do something in the healthcare field. Uh, because I I think it's just the classic idea of wanting to help people. And then so I, you know, went to different health conferences, I learned how to take vitals, and then it wasn't until my grandpa actually had a stroke back when I was in high school. And that was when um I was able to actually see uh doctors and nurses work. Uh, because before then, since I grew up in Mississippi, I didn't really see a doctor that often. Uh, whenever we want to see a doctor, it we would probably need to go maybe like an hour or so and to get our vaccines or whatever the school required us to get. Um so I think with the that time since I was able to see how doctors really interacted with us and um seeing how that actually that was one as the um one of the aspects was actually language. Um, because my grandparents like my grandpa didn't know English. So I saw that communication uh gap between the providers and also uh, you know, my grandpa. And but I think still the gestures still gave a lot um of communication. So I really like that aspect as well. And one of the really curious things was that my grandpa he lost motor skills on his right side of his body, but then the doctor said, Oh, he had the stroke on the left side of the brain. And I was like, wait, what? Did he right, left?

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Let's not add it up.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah, did he did he misspeak? Like, what's going on? Yeah, and then I looked more into it and I was like, oh whoa, it like it affects the other side. Yeah, like something possible.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

These decusation points or something, right? So yeah, I know a fancy words.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Yeah, so I I think that really uh grew my curiosity for neuroscience. So that's what I studied in in college. And as I learned more about neuroscience and how it's an evolving research field, uh, I became really interested in research. And uh I actually I did study psychology as well. So I started with psychology research and then I shifted over to neuroscience. And then I've been doing neuroscience research ever since.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

Yeah. So like psychology, like behaviors and people doing the things that they do, why do they do them and stuff? And like neuroscience is more of like the foundational nuts and bolts things on the inside. Yes, like psychology is maybe here's I'm gonna dumb this down. Yeah, psychology is like the external factors, and neuroscience is like the internal factors, right? Like the neuroscience is the causing of all the things, and psychology is the visibility of the things. Would that be a good dumbed down way to talk about that? Yeah, and I think so I just came up with it.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah, that's great. I love that. Uh the I was just fascinated with the brain, and I just wanted to know both aspects of it. So the psychology aspect and those.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Yeah, super cool. So you learned how to do vital signs when you were in high school, and then your grandpa had a stroke, and you were able to help care for your grandpa and take his vitals and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

And then the curiosity came whenever you learned, like, whoa, this isn't as simple as right side body issues, right side of the brain.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

What's there's more to it? Stroke some curiosity, and you had I have to know more.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

And you just have continued to say, I have to know more.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

That's really neat, Helen. That's really neat. Um, well, let's let's keep diving a little deeper into you. Um, so NYITCOM, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine. What a mouthful, right? It's a lot of stuff, a lot of letters in that name.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

Arkansas State University.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

Arkansas State University, right? Don't forget that too. It's a lot to put on a shirt. Um so, what is it about osteopathic medicine in particular that maybe draws your curiosity?

SPEAKER_00 6:31

So I I intentionally looked for a DO school, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine school. Um, I think uh both are great, but I love the aspect of what the additional aspect of what we learn, OMM, osteopathic manipulation medicine. Um, and I just think it's so useful to be able to um provide another option for patients, especially when they're in pain. Um, so I think one of our neuroscience uh professors or faculty person back in college, he taught about the neuroscience of pain. And he he does research in that area as well. But um he was actually previously in med school, but then he realized that he uh most of the people come because of pain. You know, like whenever anyone, a patient comes to a clinic, it's because they're in pain. And um he just saw the all the different options we had at that point, and they were all just like opioids or some type of medicine, some sort sort of medicine. And he was like, there's just gotta be another way. Um, so then he decided to do research in that area, which I respect a lot. Um, and then I truly believe that OMM is a great way to be able to treat someone's pain right then and there. Um, so it's not just like uh I come in with some knee pain. Okay, let me give you a medicine, let me give you an injection and you know, follow up in however many weeks. It's let me see the mechanics of what's going on in the body and let me help the body regulate itself and peel itself.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

So why are you having that pain? Right. And then try to treat more than the symptoms of the pain. Let's treat treat the cause and then no longer have pain.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

You you said some words really fast in there at one point, okay? So we're gonna slow down a little bit here and we're gonna talk about this. You said OMM is osteopathic manipulative medicine.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Can you tell us what that means? Because some people listening have never heard of osteopathic medicine. They think you're using weird words. And so, yeah, what is it?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Uh, so it's a form of manual treatment, so just hands on the body um that doctors do. Uh, it's kind of similar to what you could see a chiropractor do, uh, or what you would see a physical therapist do. Um, and but I think we we look at uh how the bones interact, the ligaments, the muscles, and we basically help the um body try to heal itself. Because our our philosophy is that the body is always wanting, or the body will always try to maintain balance. And whenever something's wrong, something is off balance. And then you want to just try to encourage the natural process of sure.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Just help help the body get back to like homeostasis, right? Yeah, like the body wants to be in this particular space, and the body has the ability to uh most of us.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

There are situations where maybe you don't, right? But we can solve for that.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

So the osteopathic manipulative medicine part is being able to use the body to heal the body. So somebody comes in with a headache, instead of giving them Tylenol, it might be that there's an osteopathic manipulation that can be done to alleviate the headache. Is that true?

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yes. Okay. So the actually, this is a emerging uh field, I guess, in terms in the research field or emerging emerging topic. It's like lymphatic system. So uh lymphatic is basically a a mix. It's basically the lymphatic system, but in the brain. And it's uh so lymphatic system typically uh exists to help try to reduce inflammation or bring uh the the cells that fight for like that fight off infections and stuff to the site uh of injury and then try to heal that aspect. So um one of the aspects of OMM is that we can do cranial uh techniques, which is when we put hands on the skull and help uh encourage the lymphatic system to to keep going so that it can help, you know, go to the site and then leave and bring the inflammation down and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

So neat. And you're so much smarter than me. Oh, so that's really cool. And if we go any further, you will have just been saying words.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

So I I won't know, but I love uh that you're so excited about that, and I love that you were very intentional with choosing osteopathic medicine uh because you see the value in the body healing the body. Oh, for sure, right? And getting to that cause. And my primary care physician is an osteopathic doctor now. Oh, and I love that I can go to my osteopathic primary care physician and have like what feels like a genuine conversation where like he's asking me questions that I'm not used to the doctor asking, and he's like hearing my response. And I know as doctors, and I'm not knocking anybody, but it's it's fast, patience in and out. I got to get patients in and out. And I understand the system and the billing and the insurance, and you're trying to just see people as fast as possible because you've got people in the waiting room and all this, but there's just something about your doctor asking you a couple of extra questions and then remembering something that you've said. So I'm really, really appreciative of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

So and I think part of it has to do with the fish physician shortage in across the nation, and which is really it's just really cool that NYT exists here. Yeah. Because uh I think before before NYT here, there was maybe one or two other med schools in Arkansas.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

There was just one. We were the second.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Yeah, so it's just great to be able to, you know, have another outlet to be able to Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

I love it. And med schools are popping up all over. So that's true. You know, we're turning out more doctors now, more than ever before. That's true. And that's exciting. Yeah. Because we're gonna need a lot. Uh, there are some pretty serious projections on shortages in the next 10 years. And so no uh, no lack of job opportunities for you, student Dr. Helen She. That's coming. Uh, so you mentioned research, neuroscience, psychology, and all those things. I would love to just before we get into the med school side, right? We've talked about some of that. Tell us like what is maybe a couple of the things that you've researched that you found that were just like super encouraging or exciting or interesting to you that you're like, hey, you guys should know this.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Oh. Um, so there's this one treatment uh that we looked into um for Alzheimer's disease. And so Alzheimer's disease is a degeneration, degenerative disease of the brain. Um so people start losing their memory. Um and I think one of the theories out there is that is because of oxidative stress in the cells. So one of the treatments we were looking into is hyperbaric oxygen treatment. And that's basically just full-blown oxygen. Um, so we actually did a few studies with mice um and rats where we put them in a little hyperbaric oxygen treatment container or a contraption, and then we measured the tissues uh of the different parts of the brain and also in like the liver, the heart, the the uh the kidneys, and uh we did find that it does help with the oxidative stress. So I like um HBOT is is that for short. Um, there are different of those human-sized ones uh just scattered throughout the country, but that could potentially become a new mainstay of treatment.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Yeah. So something interesting to look at is like, okay, now how does that affect humans?

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

With Alzheimer's specifically, and then what other issues could that potentially solve?

SPEAKER_00 15:13

Oh, yeah. Um, because I think a lot of diseases are tied to reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

So yeah, neat. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Um, let's see. You had mentioned something about perceived forgiveness and actual forgiveness in some of your research earlier. That was really interesting to me. So share that tidbit psychology with people.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

So uh the first research project I really was a part of, it was back in uh undergrad. And we basically looked into um couples who have lived together for more than six months, and we looked into different aspects of conflict resolution. And um, like so there were different measures like empathy, sympathy, um, how like who had more power is what we call it in a conversation. Um, like who directed the conversation more. And uh specifically, one of the things that we found is that when you are trying to resolve conflict, it's perceived forgiveness that matters more than the actual forgiveness from the partner. And um, like in terms of the the whole process of, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Yeah, and so it means like the person who was offended or felt wronged in some way, if they perceive that the other person or the person who did the offense, yeah, they perceive that they've been forgiven, then they find healing in that. There's resolution in that for them.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Yeah, and that helps the couple resolve better.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

Yeah, that's super cool. Yeah, super cool. So you're really into research, you've always been into research since you were in high school, apparently, right? So it's just part of you and really into the neuroscience psychology side. So now when you got into the medical school space, how did you find time to continue doing research? And that was my segue because time management is one of your key issues for helping other students, right? So let's talk about that. How did you manage your schedule in such a way to be able to do all these things?

SPEAKER_00 17:16

So I do want to preface by saying that I have worked on time management for the last 10 years now, actually. So I think it's definitely a step-by-step process. It's the uh just making little tweaks at a time rather than thinking, okay, today I'm going to do this and this and this and this, and then like uh like you kind of have to build up to a point where uh or it just make small tweaks. It's kind of like when you're exercising, or you know, it's just going to the gym and doing 10 minutes is better than like, you know, and being consistent is better than just, you know, starting January 1st, you go for like two hours.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Yeah, and then intensity fails, consistency wins.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

And so I love that. And so what you're saying, I think, is that start with small pieces that you can make time management changes. Instead of I'm gonna start getting eight hours of sleep a night and I'm gonna go to bed at nine and I'm gonna wake up at five. But if you've been going to bed at midnight and waking up at nine, then probably a massive shift is gonna make you fail.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Yep. Right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

So so that that's a preface. But um for me, I uh I start by thinking about my priorities. So when I first started med school, uh we had the orientation where we were told, like, okay, you know, self-care is really important, school's very important. And then I was like, okay, so those should be my excuse me, uh, top priorities in terms of med school. So everyone has 168 hours in a week. Um, that's just do that math real quick.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

And I just out.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

That is that is just the just a fact. Um, you no one has more time than another person or less time. Um, so 168 hours. So then I kind of put in um or think about how much time does it take for me to like how much time do I need to sleep? Eight or nine hours? Uh how much time do I, you know, take to eat? You know, it could be like 30 for breakfast, 30 for lunch, and then an hour for dinner. Like that's including the prep time and everything. And then how many time how much time do I have? Or do I need to travel? So do walk to school, walk from school, or you know, do the commute or anything like that. Um, so I do all the their necessities first and I multiply that by seven and then I subtract that.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Um so after I So you have like a very like practical step in this, like, let's look at the math.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah. So um then after that, I'm like, okay, how much time do I need to put into studying? Because that's my job. And typically it's 40 hours, uh, more or less, depending. Um, so I subtract that. And then the with the rest of the time, I look and see, okay, how much time do I want to spend every day just scrolling on my phone or talking to friends or just leisure time? And uh let's just say if I was willing to give two hours a day, then I look at the amount of time I have left. And usually it can be like 30 hours a week or something like that. And then with those 30 hours, I'm like, okay, well, this is the amount of time that I have to do extra stuff.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

So I'm like, okay, I can do maybe 10 hours of research a week. I could do five hours of uh volunteering a week, um, just however you want to break down the time. Um, but I also don't uh try to max out and plan all the 168 hours. I try to have a little buffer time too.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

So sure, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

So with a little bit of time left over, um, maybe like four or five hours a week, sort of thing. I hope that makes sense. I think so.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

So you start at 168. Yeah. Which, by the way, student Dr. Helen Shee has told us, everyone has the same 168.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Yes. Right?

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Everybody's gonna get midnight to midnight.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Those are the hours you have available. And so what you're saying is that you you document here's how I'm going to use those hours. Um, I taught a lesson on this one time, and the way that I said it is uh, and I think it was Craig Groschelle who maybe said it first. He's much smarter than me. Uh, he said, like, you control your calendar, or your calendar controls you. And so you get to decide where those 168 hours go if you will decide ahead of time.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Because if you wait to decide in the moment, yes, you will not be in control.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

For sure. Um, and that was I I think when I first started med school. You're kind of just thrown into a new environment. There's so many things going on, so many things to keep track of. And I remember feeling really overwhelmed with just the amount of labs that we had and the things I needed to keep up with. So at the beginning of every week, I would write down, okay, this day I have this and this going on. This day I have this and this going on. And then just so I can get a wakely view of what I have going on. Um, and then the the deadlines for different things because you also have a lot of paperwork in the beginning, that's all.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

So yeah, there's a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

There's a lot of stuff. Yeah. So I think um after it and you can also do it on the calendar. I do have a calendar, but I think writing it down kind of helped me think through it more rather than looking at the calendar and being like, okay, I'm doing this. Uh so it's more of an intentional uh run through your entire week so you know what's going on. So I I like to I I like that quote. Like you can also like kind of modify it to like either you run the week or the week runs you.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

Hey, that's right. I wrote that down somewhere because you said that in my office a couple of weeks ago.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

You run the week or the week runs you. Yeah, I think that's so good. So in life and in med school, things happen that you don't plan for.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Things happen that are outside of your control.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

So how do you process that? Like, how do you learn to control what you can and then just let other like how do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 23:31

So um things will definitely pop up. Uh and sometimes when the things pop up and you know, they can be really frustrating. And I think the way I try to tease out that situation, or um I guess process through the situation is think about the aspects that I can control and then just or like basically categorize them into aspects I can control versus aspects I cannot control. Um and then just focus on the aspects that I can. So an example would be my apartment actually got flooded. Umgrats. Thanks. Yeah, it was a wonderful time. Um but that happened earlier this year, actually, and it happened the week before exam week. And I was like flustered. I was like, oh my gosh, this is eaten like a day and a half, because actually I got sick too afterwards. At that point, I was thinking, okay, what can I control? And the things I could control is okay, I well, things I needed to do first is move everything and unpack and everything. But then um, what can I control after I got over my illness? Like, okay, well, I think I can still go through and do some studying. This was really annoying, but I couldn't have controlled that. So I'm not gonna dwell on it. I'm just gonna think about what I can do now. And something that also helped me whenever things do happen is the preparation before something like that happens. Um, so beforehand, I had already had a buffer uh in terms of studying. I have like I've already gone through all the material. So then even if that last week was gone, I was like, well, I've seen everything twice already. So I just need to review. Um and I think that I still ended up okay. Um then I I I think um you can't always predict what will happen in life. Life will just throw things at you, but you can definitely be pr as prepared as you can be. Um, and I think if you had that mindset, like, okay, did I live today to its fullest? I do everything I can for first of all, like my own health. Um, but then also, you know, like the things I want to do in life. Like, did I make progress through that? Um, did I stay disciplined in those aspects? Then I think that's all you can do in a day.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

Sure, because stressors come. Yeah. They come for all of us. Yeah. Right. But stressors don't have to lead to chaos, they don't have to lead to uh destruction. One of the things that I've been saying for years is you you can choose not to let a temporary stressor lead to permanent destruction or permanent dissatisfaction. It's a temporary stressor if you let it be temporary. That's true. And you did. You let it be temporary. Yeah. But it sounds like uh, Helen, you have a pretty clear internal locus of control. Uh where you seem to manage yourself really well. Can you tell us a little bit about that? This was I didn't prep you for this, so locus of control.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Um Can you explain that a little bit?

SPEAKER_02 27:01

Yeah, so like you take responsibility for things instead of finding blame. Like you're not looking for external locus of control means that like all of the things that happen to me are somebody else's fault. But you have a very much like it seems like, okay, what can I do about this? Which is an internal locus.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Right. Um, it's definitely something that I've had to work on um throughout the years. Uh I think when something happens, uh, I actually do have a friend or like, you know, I have friends who can um hold me accountable to things and they'll they're able to point out to me, like, hey, you know, this was actually kind of on you. Or hey, like this was really annoying, like this was definitely not in your control. So I think sometimes having someone who's outside of whatever situation you're in who can point out and that you've invited to point things out. Um, so like because I've asked for for help. I'm like, hey, if you you ever see me doing this, like just feel free, like please, please point it out because I need to know. Yeah. Because I need to know that in order to grow and to, you know, be able to deal with hard things in a better way. Um, so I think it's inviting people in. Um, but I don't think it's definitely I don't I definitely don't think it's something you can do on your own. Um, like having the internal locus of control. Uh I think it it does take reflection though. So you do need you do need yourself to reflect over things and really think about uh you know what was in control, in your control, what wasn't. But uh definitely like a therapist helps, you know, not into afraid.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Everybody get therapy.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Everybody sign up, please pause now, schedule an appointment.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Yes. Um, so that that and you know, your therapist can be your accountability as well. Um, they can also point out to you things.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

So and uh it there's so much value, right, in having another set of eyes because we have bias that we don't even know that we have. Yeah, and so letting someone on the outside tell us what they see. Um, because again, blind spots are called blind spots for a reason. Uh you don't see them.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

And uh we need somebody else who can see our blind spots.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:31

And so that's really good. So great discussion on time management, great discussion on personal responsibility to control what you can and to let go of what you can't control, right? Because we actually control less than we think.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

Uh there's actually, yeah, there's a lot that we can we don't have power over.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

Yeah, most of life is something I can't control. I can control my response to it.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Or as you said, you controlled your preparation before the event. Now you just hit on another topic, though, student Dr. Helen Shee. Um, you mentioned something about people and having people in your life. So tell us a little bit about the value of finding your people in medical school, not just as a study partner, but as a person, like a life person, somebody that just help you.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Right. Um, that's actually something. So when I first started med school, I uh did find like first thing I did was find a therapist. And I talked to her, and she really encouraged me to find a study group. She's like, this will be your anchor throughout med school. And I think that really was true. Um, I was actually kind of hesitant. I was like, oh, I can just study on my own and whatnot. Like, I think I can keep myself accountable to things. Um, but I, you know, decided to listen, which by the way, whatever the administration tells you, like try your, like I would really encourage you to really uh take it through the lens of what their intentions are for you. So if their intention for you is to uh survive, like do well in terms of academics, then like think, okay, so the reason why this person told me this is to help me with my academics. Whereas I think, you know, someone else might give you advice, like think of it through the lens of, okay, maybe their intention for me is to uh for my well-being, for my mental well-being. So like just always think of the the lens that they're trying to tell you through, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 31:35

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

That was a side thing.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

No, that makes sense. But um and I can appreciate that. So thanks for sharing that.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

I think you hit on something too, like whatever med school a person chooses to go to, like that med school is invested in your success. Oh, yeah. Because it's a reflection of the med school.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

And so whatever they're telling you, they're telling you because that's what they believe will help you be successful.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

It's not because they want to hold you back or restrict you or any of that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

They're just trying to help you. Yes. Because they've seen this is what helped other students. And so for you, the therapist was like, yo, get a study group.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

You're gonna be glad. It'll anchor you. Yep. And so tell us like, so what did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 32:19

So I uh before I reached out, I just kind of thought about what I wanted a study group to look like. Um, like how big, how many people I wanted to ask. And it was more so that. And I ended up just asking two other people. So it was just like uh three of us. And um I think when you ask or try to form it early, uh, people will more than likely say yes because no one's really Yeah, everybody's looking for somebody, right? Yes, exactly. So um we did spend a few weeks trying to figure out exactly what we wanted to do, but I think something that really helped us was we at the uh end of everything, or at the beginning, uh we kind of established expectations. So, you know, let's uh we're we want to try and help each other, we want to challenge each other. The way that we form formed it was uh, or the way that we did things was we would come up or find practice questions, and then we would do them together when we meet up. And that was an idea that I got from upperclassmen. Um, and then also AES, uh in terms of how to utilize the time most efficiently. So I think also seeking advice from you know people who have gone through it before is also very valuable. What went well, what didn't go well, what to what what can we do better, what we can do differently. Anyone have any other ideas that they want to try? Like we just kind of try to make it an open place for so that it doesn't uh everyone's under the expectation that, like, okay, the point of debriefing is to uh figure out how to improve and it's not complaining. We're not complaining, we're just trying to figure out how we can improve, you know?

SPEAKER_02 34:08

Yeah, that's good. So it's it's not just a vent session where we ran and complained, but it's like let's get better.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:13

In order to get better, we have to identify what's not as good as it could be.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

I'm here for that.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

And then so one of the things that we didn't do in the beginning was uh have an answer key. Uh, but then I think I I said uh suggested that maybe the third or fourth week. And then I'm like, what if we what if we really write out all the answers? And like why this answer is right or why this answer is wrong, and then just write. So it got to the point where the answer key was longer than the actual questions that we make. Because and then we spent a lot of time going through the answer keys. And I think that also helped us develop the the test taking skills as well. Um, so yeah, there was so there was a study group, and then I think you were asking about um like not just study group-wise, but friends, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:00

Yeah, like you found friends, you found your people that could help you, and then those people were also your study group people.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

And sometimes people say like you can't study with your friends or whatever because maybe they'll distract you or something like that. Do you have anything you would say about that?

SPEAKER_00 35:18

I think it's just setting the intention for for us. So when we met, we uh I mean we barely knew each other in the beginning, but then we became friends uh throughout our meetings together. We would go and get lunch afterwards and stuff like that. But uh we would have a little yap session first thing, you know, when we first see each other, we're like, okay, let's like, you know, let's catch up on this last week. How was it? What happened, you know, what's going on in your in your life. Um, because I think uh we're not um we're also helping each other in that aspect too, in like mental health, sure, having someone to relate to because no one else will really understand. Like I've talked to friends back at home, they don't really understand exactly what we're going through, except for the people they're going through it with. So we would share, and then uh we were also very honest with each other in terms of when we were struggling, when we weren't, and then we would encourage each other. Um, that took me about an hour. Uh so usually like we would meet on Saturdays at nine, and then from nine to ten, we would just talk like yeah, for an hour. And then at around 10, we're like, okay, guys, let's lock in. Like we're gonna get through study time. Study time. And then once that started, we would just focus solely on the information. So I think it's just having the intention, having the expectation so that everyone's on the same page. Um, because if two people are like, okay, we we're just gonna go in, we're gonna study, and then one person's like, well, like I kind of want to talk about blah, blah, blah. Yeah, you know, it's it'll create a little bit of confusion or discourse.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

It will. So one of the things you mentioned, I really want people to hear this, whether you're a work, a team at work or a study group, whatever it is. Uh, there I said one of the things, a couple of things. When you said you have clear expectations or objectives for your time together. But this thing that you just mentioned about having a set time for us to just talk, just to discuss it, you called it a yap session. Yeah. Um, so what you did there was you organized or managed your distractions. And too many times people try to eliminate distractions, and eliminating distractions is impossible.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:31

But if you will organize them, so what you all did is you were proactive and said from nine o'clock to ten o'clock, we're just gonna talk random talk. And then we're gonna study when we study. What a lot of groups do is they try to jump right into study or work or do the thing. And then because people need space to talk, yeah. Then somebody will just start talking about something and get thrown off topic, and the rest of the group is like, what's going on? And here's I hear people say this all the time: like, groups don't work because we get distracted, we just talk about other things. And I'm like, or they could implement your model and say, no, like be intentional, have conversation, and then study. Yeah, but you've already had the conversation now, so you can study. Yeah, you can do the thing because getting distracted that's inevitable. Staying distracted is a choice.

SPEAKER_01 38:25

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

And oh yeah, whether you're at work or you're at study or wherever you are, you're gonna get distracted.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:35

But you don't have to stay distracted. I would I would want people to hear that because it sounds like that's exactly something that you said.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

And that also ties back into like things you can control or things cannot control. So, you know, you can't control when you get distracted, but you can't control, okay, am I gonna stay distracted or am I gonna refocus?

SPEAKER_02 38:54

So that's right. Yeah, and uh, you know, maybe let it go for a little bit, but you don't yeah, you just don't chase that rabbit.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:00

Don't chase all the rabbits. Yeah, you know, that's that's good. That's really, really important. So healthy group, finding your people, controlling your time, controlling your schedule, all things that you say would probably lead to more flourishing in med school.

SPEAKER_00 39:16

I think it really did help me. Yeah. Um, actually during the the dedicated board study time um that I've currently in, um, I started missing my study group. And it wasn't necessarily for the the questions and the things that we did, but it was more so just for the the talk the talking aspect.

SPEAKER_02 39:32

The yep sessions.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

The yap sessions, yeah. So we we still uh catch up every once in a while. We're like, hey, how are you doing? You know, how's life? And I think uh definitely um I mean, another thing I love about osteopathic medicine is very holistic. So, you know, not just thinking about the uh the health aspect, um, but then also we're like not not just physical health, but also mental health, social health, emotional health. Um, and like you definitely want to maintain that the social health and the emotional health.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Yeah. Yeah, because you're a whole being.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

Right. And that's where the holistic care comes in. Because one of the things that uh I don't know if you remember me saying this or not at the beginning of year two. But I told your class, I said, I want you to remember that you are a non-negotiable. You are.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

You have to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

Because we need you. We need you to be successful because we need physicians.

SPEAKER_01 40:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

And so don't let anything get in the way of your flourishing, your health. And so control your time when you can and find your people. And if they're not the right people, find a different people. Yeah. But just find your people. So good. Now I finish every episode with two questions. So it's time to ask you these two questions. So the first of these two questions, and thanks to everyone who's still listening or watching with us, Student Doc 101, uh, with Student Doctor Helen Shee, what is one takeaway, one piece of advice you would give to those listening to our show today?

SPEAKER_00 41:06

I would say keep an open mind. Um, there's a lot of opportunities that will come your way. And I think if you sometimes you might think, oh, I I will never be able to do this, or I can't do that. Like I could never. Um, but I think just keep an open mind and like don't be afraid to try, don't be afraid to fail. Um and yeah, if you really want it, you will get it. You just have to, you might just it might not be a the conventional way, but you will find a way to do what you really want to do.

SPEAKER_02 41:44

So keep an open mind. If you believe you can, you'll try.

SPEAKER_01 41:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

And if you believe you can't, you won't try.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

I was talking with my son last night and he said he just realized that he has a fear of failure and that that's led to procrastination, which has led to some failure.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

It's a vicious cycle that we get into. And so thank you for sharing. Keep an open mind and believe that you can do it.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

If you work hard enough to do it and do the right things, you get the right outcomes.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

So that was good. Um, didn't know what you were gonna say there. So this is wide open. Who knows what this piece of advice will be?

SPEAKER_00 42:18

I don't know what else can say either.

SPEAKER_02 42:19

Um, all right. So last question, and this is kind of a one-off, like we just throw it away, but it's so important because it tells us about you. Uh, what is your current binge or your current obsession?

SPEAKER_00 42:31

I'm gonna have to say crocheting. So I started crocheting um or started trying to learn during like at night, and um, it's been really it's been the magic circle is really hard, but I finally got it, and um, it's really fun to see it like just you know get bigger and bigger.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Yeah, so the magic circle is a crocheting term.

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Oh yeah. Right?

SPEAKER_02 42:52

Yeah, okay. Yeah, it's and uh and then you said I think earlier it's a type of loop or a type of knot or thread or something.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

Yes. Uh it was really hard to learn. Like, um, I also because I'm left-handed and a lot of videos are right-handed or for right-handed people, so I kind of had to flip things in my head.

SPEAKER_02 43:09

Discrimination.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

I know, right?

unknown 43:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:11

But but uh yeah, I'm trying to make a little cactus. Uh like a friend bought me a crochet kit for my birthday. So been trying to work on that. And I actually am really excited to go back do I probably do that for hours this afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 43:29

Yeah. Now I just need to get with the editing team and see if they can put pictures of your crocheting in the show notes so people can see this is Helen's cactus, and maybe we can update it one day. Um, well, that's the show. Uh, that's Student Doc 101, A Guide to Thriving in Medical School with Michael Stanett and Student Dr. Helen She. We talked about time management. We talked about finding your people, and we talked about uh keeping an open mind. And really, we kind of finished with try new things.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:56

Uh learn how to crochet. And uh, but do something. So, Helen, thanks for your time. We're really excited for you to take that test tomorrow. Thank you. And uh best of luck in the future and for your future patience. Thank you. We appreciate you. Thanks.