Student Doc 101: Your Guide to Thriving in Med School
Hosted by Michael Stinnett, Student Doc 101 provides a high-level briefing on the academic architecture and strategic vision behind the NYITCOM Arkansas State partnership. Featuring deans and lead faculty, the series offers an "under-the-hood" look at how a world-class medical curriculum is designed to solve the physician shortage in the Mid-South. This is the definitive source for institutional credibility, proving how the convergence of academic rigor and regional impact creates an elite pipeline for the future of healthcare.
Student Doc 101: Your Guide to Thriving in Med School
Stop Wasting Time: Having Efficient Study Routines
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Medical school breaks your focus long before it breaks your intellect. Host Michael Stinnett joins students Amaya, Dakota, and Braxton to map out survival mechanics for the academic grind.
First-year students often trap themselves in passive note-taking. This conversation strips away the posturing to expose how these future doctors abandoned time-wasting habits for high-yield practice questions and automated flashcards. The panel explores the friction of medical training, detailing how working to your level of resistance rapidly exposes hidden knowledge gaps. They outline exact indicators of impending burnout, from dropping daily workouts to isolating from peers.
For medical students stuck in inefficient study loops, this discussion provides a blueprint to reset routines and reclaim free time. Subscribe and share this specific episode with a classmate struggling to balance their load. What non-negotiable habit keeps you grounded during exam week?
0:00 - Introductions and Paths to Medicine
7:24 - Navigating the Medical School Transition
11:05 - Evolving Study Habits and Efficiency
20:18 - Practice Questions and Finding Gaps
26:51 - Accountability and Non-Negotiable Routines
32:44 - Identifying and Managing Burnout
Hi everyone, thanks for tuning in to Student Doc 101, your guide to thriving in med school. I'm Michael Sennett. I'm a medical education learning specialist with NYITCOM at Arkansas State University, and I'm the host. So today I'm really excited about a conversation with these three med school students, and we're going to talk about thriving in med school and what you can do to make that happen. So let's go ahead and get some introductions out of the way. On the end.
SPEAKER_01Hi, I'm Maya. I'm a second year. Hi, I'm Dakota. I'm also a second year.
SPEAKER_02Hi, I'm Braxton. I'm a first year.
SPEAKER_03Alright, so we got Maya, Dakota, and Braxton with us today. They're going to talk to us about their experiences in med school and how they're surviving and thriving, hopefully. And uh we'll talk about the ins and outs and all of that kind of stuff. But before we do that, let's learn a little bit more about our panel and we'll go from there. So this time we're going to start on this end. Braxton, tell us a little bit about you and maybe why you got into medicine.
SPEAKER_02Uh okay. I am from around here, from Jonesboro area. I graduated from Brooklyn High School, which is like 15 minutes down the road from here. I found out I was a teacher then. Right, right, right, I know. Uh I got into medicine because I had like this love for chemistry and biology. That's kind of how it started, I would say. Um, and then when I got into college, like undergrad, I actually took genetics and kind of fell in love with like the way things happen in the body and how you can manipulate certain things and for the betterment of people. And I shadowed like in a cardiology clinic. I worked there for a little bit and I kind of fell in love with it and that's kind of where it all started.
SPEAKER_03Neat. So just a really a love for the science. Oh yeah. Get into it. Love it. Super nerd. Super nerd. Alright. Hey, nerds are cool. I I like to think so. Nerds are cool. Dakota?
SPEAKER_01Um, so I first started liking medicine uh when I was in high school. I uh got certified as a lifeguard, really liked having the skills to help people, and started like, you know, going through career options on how I could further that. Um I landed on doctor, so I went to college, did like the pre-med route. Um, took some gap years, so I did two years in the emergency room as a medical scribe and that really like flourished my love for emergency medicine. Um did the military, did military medicine, and now I'm here. So it's been a long journey, but I've been able to see very different aspects of medicine and I still love it.
SPEAKER_03So it's awesome. Neat.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So for me, I um when I was younger, I was actually hospitalized. I had like an abscess in my throat that was like expanding and cutting off my airway. And I was actually in ban when I first noticed it. I used to play the trombone. So I couldn't blow into the instrument, and I just was feeling bad. Went to the nurse, and then the nurse called my grandmother, and then my grandmother took me to the urgent care, and urgent care gave me some medicine, but then they sent me immediately to the emergency room. So I was in the emergency room for a week. They had to like drain the abscess and like make sure everything was clear. It was terrible. And I remember sitting there like as a kid, like, am I gonna die, you know? And the doctors were very very compassionate about like me being young. Like, I think my family had to go to work, so sometimes I would be in the ER by myself, or like um, I think at that point I went upstairs to like ICU, but I would be by myself, and they were very compassionate. The nurses were very nice to me, and they kind of like let me know what was going on. So eventually I was you know, um released and made a full recovery. Obviously, I'm here. Yeah, and um so that's kind of where my love for medicine blossomed. I like to uh be that person that I had for like the doctors that were taking care of me. I want to be that too, you know, future patients. So um went on, did like environmental medicine or something like that in high school, and then was pre-med in college, and at first it was pre-PA until I went to a conference, and then I decided to go all the way because my concern was finances, and I was like, How are you supposed to pay for medical school? I didn't have much knowledge on that. So after speaking to um those current medical students at that time, which was like 2019, they said, you know, you just live off your loans and like you know, you'll be able to pay it back eventually. So that was comforting, and I knew I wanted to be, you know, a doctor, but I was kind of settling for PA just because I knew it wasn't going to be as expensive. But after that conference, I decided to, you know, fully develop myself and go the you know full pre-med route. And like Dakota, I worked in the emergency room as a scribe, love ER. And yeah, now I'm here.
SPEAKER_03Awesome. Do you play trombone still? No, no, it's in my closet back home in South Carolina. Did you get to play some more though after the surgeries?
SPEAKER_00I went to yeah, I went to play in high school and then I didn't do it in college because biology was a lot, and I didn't want to do van in bio.
SPEAKER_03So I hear you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Cool. That's that's pretty neat. So ER work for both of you and then other things and stuff, military stuff. So tell us a little bit about that. Like, what was military medicine like? I know nothing.
SPEAKER_01Um, military medicine, I do like it. It's I was in the Coast Guard, so for me it was mainly primary care. I did get deployed on a boat um at one point to be the like doc on board. Um so I really liked the aspect of like knowing my patients and you know, you would see kind of like the same population come through because it our clinic had its own like we call it like AOR area of responsibility. So there are like units attached to our clinic, so we saw the same people. Um so I really liked that. But just like in the civilian war uh realm, there are just very strict procedures that you have to do when it comes to TRICARE, which was annoying. Um but there's also a huge independency when it comes to military medicine. So I'm EMT certified. Um, that was a requirement for I was a health services technician. So to in order to rank up in my rate, I had to be EMT, and in order to deploy, I had to be EMT. But also like separate from like your EMT credentials as a health services technician, I was able to see patients independently. I did IVs, I like worked in all the different departments of the clinic, lab, pharmacy. Um, so I got a lot of like hands-on and independent experience before coming, which was very helpful.
SPEAKER_03That's pretty neat. So you did the lifeguard thing and then the Coast Guard thing. So you just in the water.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So yeah, I do love water. Yeah. Um I have a fear of drowning, which is really interesting, but I'm a strong swimmer. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Maybe because of the fear. Um, and you were at water this weekend, right? So look at that. We could have a conversation about water, but we won't. That'd be awesome. Um, no, I don't my wife really digs it. Uh so let's talk about med school. Let's talk about your experiences. So here's my first question, and let's kind of just see what happens from here. Is there like what surprised you about medical school? Like when you got here, this is not what you expected. Anybody?
SPEAKER_01Um, I'll start. Uh I it surprised me how durable it was. I think because one, the emphasis that all med schools put on MCAT and how like this score is basically your entire identity, which I know is changing and it's really great. Um, but I think between the MCAT and also for me just taking several years um from undergrad, I was a little nervous, like I hadn't seen genetics in a while, I hadn't seen biochem in a while. Um, I thought I was gonna really struggle. I thought like it was just gonna be a constant uphill battle, I guess. Um, but it is hard, and I'm not gonna negate that, but it's very doable as well.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Anyone else? Something surprised you?
SPEAKER_02I I think what I would say is there's like this stigma in medical school, like you have to be the best amongst your peers and like amongst everybody. And it's at least here, like at NYITCOM, I I've never felt that. Like I feel like every single person I see wants me to like succeed. And like succeed at a high level. I mean, like my lab group is always, hey, what'd y'all do today outside of medicine? Like, did you take a break? You know, did you go out and do this? Did you hang out and do that? Did you eat dinner with your girlfriend or your boyfriend or whatever? And like it's kind of comforting to know that medical school is not like all for one and one for all, you know, like it's it's like not like we're in it together. Like everyone. First year I mean, I don't even know Maya in Dakota, except like twenty minutes ago, but I want them to do well. I think they want me to do well. So that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03Maybe they probably wouldn't say they didn't on air.
SPEAKER_02Right, they probably wouldn't. So uh I'm just gonna assume that they want me to do well.
SPEAKER_03I like that. So I did a show uh a few weeks ago and uh with uh Nihar, David, and Mostafa, they're third year students now, and that was one of their things, is like like we're all in this together, and so we've never worried about being competitive and we don't feel a lot of that, which it's there for some people. Uh probably it's there more because people think it's there than maybe it actually is. I don't know. I'm not a student. But I thought that was really neat because I've heard other people say something similar, and I do appreciate the the community aspect of trying to build something uh that isn't competitive necessarily. How about you? Anything surprising you or that did surprise you?
SPEAKER_00Well, I guess like how different people come from like different backgrounds and a sense of I guess age. Because for me, I always had the mindset of right after undergrad, I'm gonna do the traditional route and go straight into medical school, which did not happen. Um, so I was kind of hard on myself about it. And even working in the ER as a scribe, one of the doctors I worked with, being a doctor was like a second career for him because he was like an engineer or something for 10 years and then he went to medical school. So it was just nice to see that not everyone did the traditional route. Like I thought that I would be graduating, you know, med school at like 28.
SPEAKER_03That was very yeah. You thought you'd be younger when you graduated. Yeah. Then you're gonna do that. So we're just gonna move on. I don't want to talk about it again. That's perfect. I like it. I like it. Uh so talking about uh some of the surprises, like you talked about how doable it is. Um so what did you find like is in is there a particular routine that has made it doable for you? Because honestly, like for some folks, it's probably not as doable as it is for you. So let's talk about that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so the way that I've studied has definitely evolved over the semesters. I think um, so when I started my first semester, I studied way longer. It was probably closer to like a 12-hour situation, like give or take the days, you know, because of class and stuff. Um, but I would like sit, I'd watch the lectures, and I would do the PowerPoints and take notes on them, then I made my own flashcards. And I mean, you can just tell how time consuming that is.
SPEAKER_03It sounds exhausting.
SPEAKER_01So I started changing that, I would say probably within the first block, definitely going into the second block of FOM. I didn't do that anymore, and then it's just been constant fine-tuning from there. So now I just kind of go through the PowerPoints. I still make my flashcards, I don't make them hand personally anymore. Um AI makes them for me. So that has saved a lot of time. You just have to put a really good prompt in. Um, and then I go straight from my flashcards into practice problems, and that has saved me, like I'm so much more efficient getting through the material now that I feel like I have more time, not only to myself, but to review the material. Whereas I don't feel like I'm seeing a practice problem for the first time during like either pre-comp or comp week is really what it is, and that's how it was for me FOM.
SPEAKER_03Right. So it's not a test the first time you're seeing something, right? Because you've seen it. So lectures, notes, flashcards, questions, and then just repeat the cycle probably in some way or something like that. Um you guys have like a similar routine or something that you do that's way different that makes it doable for you?
SPEAKER_00Um, I do it's kind of similar. I'll watch lectures and make my notes on the same day. And then my next pass is utilizing scholar or ex bricks if they have any, a part of their um CPG. And I also do like first order questions on lectures just to get like some exposure to it. I don't sometimes when I do well, I'm like, I know this, but I know I don't really know it, but as well as I can. But um, it's just nice to go through it, do those practice questions, and then shift to um third-party resources that the professors provide. So I like to use Scholar Rx um for specific lectures. I like Boards and Beyond, Sketchy. I have boot camp. That subscription is gone, but uh I like to utilize those videos to help solidify the foundation of the material that I didn't get from the lectures because I'm gonna be honest, I don't get anything from the lectures most of the time because it's just like I'm seeing something new for the first time. So that first pass is just the first pass, it's just to like get exposure to it, but I have no idea what I'm talking about, and that's where those supplemental resources come in, and then after that, I'll make my flashcards. AI helps me as well because I used to waste so much time going through each PowerPoint slide and typing and it was just so time consuming. Although I did have like you know, I would have like um a show on while I was doing it because it's not like it didn't really require a lot of mental capacity, but I was just like, I'm wasting so much time, and then the thing that would happen would be that I wouldn't even look at the flashcards, so I would waste like four hours making flashcards that I never touched. I would come to Comp Week and it's like yeah, I didn't even look at those. I would start to utilize like the practice questions more, so but that's changed. So I have the AI make the flashcards, and then after that, um I'll review the flashcards, and I'll also go back to supplemental material. Like if I'm just like I need to see this again, I'll do that, and I'll review my notes. So I utilize notes and flashcards together because I don't want to just keep going through the PowerPoint. I like to have my notes, and sometimes the pages are long, especially for farm, but most of the time it's it's pretty, you know, doable to get through the notes. Yeah. And then practice questions.
SPEAKER_03I'll always get some questions in there, I think. One of the things that I'm hearing from both of you is that you you figured out a way to make it more efficient, but also be effective, right? And that's part of thriving, is like you can you said you do these flashcards, it would take you four hours to do this, and then you never look at them again. That's like a flag for me whenever I'm in a meeting with someone. I'm like, so you take notes, how long does it take you to take notes? And they're like, well, it takes me two hours to take notes. I'm like, okay, cool. And then what do you do with those? They're like, nothing. And I'm like, then stop making those, right? So it's like find that efficiency path. But you said something, and I want to I want to dive in on these things, right? And so you said that you watch the lecture and really don't get anything from it. But I and I think that's it's so important because you don't get anything from it on that first pass that you recognize, um, but you keep building. And I think some students struggle and they stay in that first pass until they feel like they know it, until they feel like they're ready to take a test on it. And so they'll spend six hours, seven hours, eight hours and watch the lecture, make the notes, do all the stuff, and then not move on. And I see them get stuck in that. And when you said this, Maya, what happened is in my mind, I immediately went to like building a house. And it's like that first pass, you're like laying the slab, but you don't live in a slab. Like you've just laid foundation. It's really nothing, but you're building on, and so by the end of the week, end of the month, now you have a livable structure. I guess I just wanted to ask, like, what are y'all's thoughts? Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01I see a lot of my classmates do that. Um they uh and like not saying textbooks are bad, but like I've seen some of my class book uh classmates like whip out a textbook and then they're just sitting there with that textbook, and I'm like, I'm my second year and I've never whipped out a textbook. Um they just take too long for me. Like they're just if I'm gonna sit there and read like a chapter of a textbook, I could have just read the PowerPoint that's straight from the professor on what they want us to know. Um, so I just see a lot of my classmates like kind of get stuck in this cycle. Like they get caught up on one little thing and they live there. And actually, one of my friends during our first semester of school, when we were going through biochem, which you know, we're learning all those beautiful cycles that I will have to relearn every time. And she was like, Sometimes you just have to like take it for what it is and move on, and that's exactly right. Like, I might not be able to put all the pieces together right then and there, but I just have to take the facts as they are and move on, and then they will come back because there are things that we learned first semester in lectures that we're going over now again, but since we've learned gotten all of these other different pieces to the puzzle, like it just makes more sense.
SPEAKER_03It does. Like the uh what you you call earlier you were talking about the Krebs cycle and you got the TCA cycle, you got these other things, right? And you're like, that doesn't mean anything to me right now.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But it's it doesn't right now. But it's it's just part of the foundation, right? Anything to add there?
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, I was gonna say, like, I kind of took a detour at one point, and I was a I was a high school science teacher, and we were talking about this earlier, but it's funny to me, like, as a teacher when I was a teacher, and students would come to me and they're freaking out because they don't know what like you know chemiosmosis is, but they're like 15 years old. And I'm like, yeah, when I was fifteen years old, I didn't know what it was either. And I say it to say, like, these professors, like the lectures they give, we were talking about this earlier, like, this is what they do, this is their livelihood. Like, they study this all the time, every single day. Like, we could probably go back and ask these professors, and they probably weren't the best anatomists on day one of anatomy lab. But for us, and and I don't mean us like me, but us as and like especially these two, probably, and others, like everyone here is like s such high achieving of individuals, like in their life, they're not used to making a B. And they're like, Oh my gosh, I made an 85. Or like, I didn't get on the first try. And it's like, and that's okay. And that's hard to that's hard to accept because everyone here is so used to achieving at such a high level that when they don't, it's like, whoa, I have to like work a little harder. And so, but it is interesting, and that that's hard for me. I mean, I'm about to go start this week's lectures, and I will go through that same cycle probably. I'll be like, whoa, how does Dr. Luce know all this stuff? He's only been practicing as a physician for decades. Yeah. I'm like, I don't know it on my first day.
SPEAKER_03So I think there is like a level of expectation there, right? Like you watch a lecture, why don't I know this?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, hold on.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_03But then also, like, uh again, you all you've all three mentioned, I think, at some point, like taking practice problems or practice questions or looking at cases, and ultimately exposing exposing what you don't know. And I think that's one of the lost things for students. And I see the students who are thriving are the students who are most eager to identify their gaps. Like they're willing to, like, okay, I'm gonna do this lecture, I'm gonna take these notes or look at these flashcards or whatever, but then I'm gonna take some questions, and I'm gonna get a 30% on those practice questions. And I'm not gonna quit and be like, nope, that didn't work. Instead, I'm gonna be like, oh, I found some holes. They fill in those holes and then they take more questions. Um how do you find the resilience to not do so well on some practice and keep going? Because I see that has forced a lot of students to stop. So how do you all not stop?
SPEAKER_02I think for me, I I'm one of the people who like does the easier things first and like checks off the easier boxes, probably, I would say. Um I always study I always study like the easier stuff, the things that I know, and it's kind of like a confidence booster for me. At least that works for me. Like when I'm doing practice questions, I am that guy that a week before the exam I'm making like fifties on my practice. And that is like mind boggling to make a 50 on a practice test. But like, hey, I made a fifty today, and then tomorrow, like, I'll make a 62, and then I'll tomorrow I'll make a 67, and then I'll make a seven. And like you just kind of keep, like you're saying, filling in those holes. And I like to start with the easier stuff and work to the hard stuff. And kind of laying that foundation, like you said, that works for me. I think I think there are some students that take the other approach and do all the hard stuff. Kind of do the easy before. I've seen that work for some of my friends. I I know some of my friends that do that, and that's great for them. But for me, I like that vote of confidence. Like I I know something. I might know that, but I know something. I know a thing.
SPEAKER_03Yes, there's something around here. I learned something from Braxton one time we were meeting and we were talking about your process and I remember this, and you talked about working to resistance. And so you would work to your level of resistance. So you would do the easy thing, and then you would do the next thing, and then you would do the next thing until it got to a thing that you couldn't do. And so then you would go back and you'd fill in your gaps. And I thought, man, what a great strategy. Like work to your level of resistance and then fill in your gaps. Do y'all find like there's a spot where you still really don't know a lot, but you keep going?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um so sometimes I mix it in. Like if I'm getting straight 50s, sometimes it's forties. These lectures are hard. Um I'm getting like really low scores, like one after another after another. Um I like to mix it in with little, you know, let's let's throw in some review lectures. Because we get eight now. So I will do some practice questions on review lectures and score higher, thank goodness, because I learned the material. And it just is like, okay, so I do know something. Um and then I'll dive back into the quizzes that I'm taking. And another thing that I do is I separate my quizzes by week, and then I keep a score of you know, what I got on each lecture for that week. So then when I retest over those lectures, I can see if I've improved, if I have perfect. If I haven't, then I need to hit that lecture more. Um and that just I can see the trend of like what I'm scoring on my specific weeks and lectures.
SPEAKER_03And I love so you're tracking progress and you're not looking for perfection, you're just looking for progress.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I have kind of like a cut off, you know, where I feel comfy going into a comp. Um, and then where I don't feel as comfy on a lecture going for a comp. Like if I don't score this, I'm like, wish I could have done better. Or if I score like this on, you know, a quiz and I like okay, I feel better about getting tested on this.
SPEAKER_03How about you?
SPEAKER_00Um, I think for me personally, I don't I don't do heavy practice questions on the front end. So the only time I do practice questions is that like second pass just to get some more exposure to the lecture. But I like to have a little bit more knowledge on the material before I start hammering practice questions. So my practice questions can kind of be supplemented with the Anki cards that I make. And then I'll do practice questions. So for example, if I did a fourth pass, which is Anki cards on one lecture or like three lectures, and then the next day there's a fourth pass on the three lectures from previously. Those four lectures that I did the Anki on the day before, I'll do practice questions. So just to, you know, kind of mix it up so I'm not just doing Anki only, I'll do practice questions. So it's incorporated in there, but I don't always do practice questions. Um, but when I do the practice questions, I don't take it to heart if I get something incorrect because that just means the next time I see it, I won't get it wrong because I know that this is something that was, you know, yeah, I lack the knowledge on it. Um, but I do think practice questions can be helpful, but I'm also the type of person that if I'm just getting like pinned to the ground with the practice questions, I'm not gonna keep doing practice questions. We need to go back and reevaluate because no, because now I'm gonna start feeling like a like an idiot. So yeah, we're just gonna stop and then go back to the drawing board, relearn some stuff, and then we can go back into practice practice questions. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and there's the phrase though, right? Is that and then we can go back. Again, I think that whole guide to thriving doesn't it means like, hey, recognize when something's not working, figure out why it's not working, do some work, and then go back. And uh there is a there is a clear kind of path there, right? Like this is get the input, get the knowledge, get the content, work with it, see what you know, see what you don't know, and then do it again. And it sounds like you're all doing something like that. Is there a particular so maybe this sounds like a hard shift, but is there a particular routine that you would say this is a routine that has led to my performance or my thriving? Maybe it's not a content, maybe it's not an academic thing. Uh I think students that get into med school I think are smart enough. Like I don't I don't necessarily think that there's a capability issue for students who are not thriving. I think there's usually something not academic. So do y'all have like a routine or something you would say is this is why it's working for me?
SPEAKER_00Ah, my fiance.
SPEAKER_03Um Explain. Yeah. I'm assuming that doesn't mean your fiance's doing the work.
SPEAKER_00No, no, he's he's a tech guy. But I like I feel like things work for me because he holds me accountable. Like I'm like from South Carolina, so my family's in South Carolina, and obviously I have my friends like you know, Dakota and Jess, but having you know, someone who's like more intimate with you can, you know, help like hold you accountable. So example, like, you know, I went over to his house and you know we were watching TV, but I had told him, I was like, Yeah, I didn't do a good job studying today. And this was an FOM. He kicked me out, he was like, Yeah, and this at this time we were just dating. He was like, Yeah, so you're gonna go home and you're gonna study. So he made me leave.
SPEAKER_03Get it. That was awesome.
SPEAKER_00And I was like, okay. So from there, like, you know, that whole time we were dating, that was kind of like, you know, my motivation, because you know, I like to spend time with him. So I'm going to like make sure that I'm on top of my schoolwork. And if I'm not, like, I don't get to see him. And that's, you know, both on me and you know, him telling me, like, you know, it's probably not the best if you really need to study. And he always says, like, I don't want to get between you know, you and your academic. So, you know, obviously that's gonna come first because medical school is hard. So it's just nice. Like, that's that's a good balance that I have, and then you know, hanging out with friends, and you know, sometimes we we can't because we app a lot, but you know, I I do think that's you know, something like outside of school that just is like it works for me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so your fiance and your social connections, that community time, and you had a feeling that you needed to earn that now, right? So if you did the work, then you could have the time off. Right?
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I love that. And I love some accountability. Kudos to the fiance, you know, nice shout-out right there. And it's like and kudos to you too for not taking that so personally and being like, What? Oh yeah. But putting in the work, putting in the work. How about you guys?
SPEAKER_02Any routine that you're like, yeah, this is definitely Yeah, I would say I'm gonna still a little bit of my stunner here. I also have a fiance who needs to get mentioned. Now I need to like play catch up here. She'll be listening to this, be upset with me. But um, I I feel the same way. I was actually thinking about this, I think it was yesterday, I hung out with her, and I thought it's so fun to hang out with Alicia because like I've earned this time off. Like I've done the work, and that's okay to feel like you've done the work. And having that extrinsic motivation, like Alicia, she's fantastic, she's amazing. She doesn't care about medicine, like she cares that I'm in it, but that's about that's the extent of it. But having someone outside of medicine, and and not just her, but other people too, that are like, I get to do this because I put in the work, and 'cause we all have intrinsic motivators, like I just talked about how everyone's so great on campus. Like we all want to see each other do well. But having that little extra intrinsic mo extrinsic motivation is is pretty nice too. Having something outside of medicine that you're working for.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I love that too. It again it feels like you can something to earn the time. So it helps you feel that way.
SPEAKER_02Also, if I can add I I used to say this all the time, like teaching and coaching, like if you're doing it like for someone else, it probably means more. And I think like when I think about like the life that I want like me and Alicia to live, I'm like, that makes me want to do better. You know, just just that alone makes me want to get up today and like and get it done, you know. Whatever that is.
SPEAKER_03So Yeah, whatever the thing is. How about your routine?
SPEAKER_01I do have a routine. Um so one of I have some like non-negotiables when it comes to med school, and one of those things is like I'm gonna work out. Um, so it just happens to fit better in my schedule that waking up at 5 a.m. sometimes four to go um either to the gym here at A State or I do Pilates um in the community. And that's my morning routine. Thursdays I do walk with the dean because I, you know, get a gab with my friends and get coffee. Um, so working out, and if I don't do Pilates, then I go for like a walk or a run in the afternoon. And then um just knowing my boundaries with myself um and like setting those with friends because like Maya said, sometimes we want to hang out, but sometimes it's like we're gonna talk. And if we don't have talking time, we're not hanging out. Um but I realized last year that um one of the things, because like we all know like burnout, and like one of the things is what do you do with that burnout? Like, how do you replenish yourself? And usually it's not scrolling on your phone for like an hour on TikTok. Um for me, I really love reading. So I a couple times last year, probably like once a block, um I'll just take a weekend off and read. I'm a fast reader, so I could usually read like a book or two. There's one weekend I read three books because it was like a trilogy. Um so you just take a weekend off, you're like, I can afford it. I'll hit the ground running come Monday, but like reading is gonna really just like fill my cup again. Um and because like I just know when I'm burning out and I need to kind of reset myself.
SPEAKER_03I love that. How do you know? What's your what's your s sign? Because I think we need to talk about that.
SPEAKER_01Like Um, for me, it's when I have literally no desire to study. And like no one just wakes up happy to study. I mean, maybe someone does, but um, I don't. So, but there's like waking up studying and like, okay, like, you know, this is my job, like this is what I'm gonna do, and then there's waking up and looking at flashcards or practice exams and literally seeing nothing. Like you could read the words, nothing is being like um absorbed, like you're just not learning anything. So that's when you really have to take a step back and be like, okay, I need to like do something that's going to set me, you know, again, and then we'll come back to this with a fresh sleep.
SPEAKER_03I love that. So I think it's worth talking about, like, okay, so you just said like when you recognize that like just nothing is enjoyable right now. I'm not learning anything from this right now, right? That's what you were saying. And I feel like some students, uh, that's when they're like, no, I've got a force hammer, like they drill, drill, drill, and not realize that that doesn't help. Whatever you just did, you just wasted a whole day and put a lot of effort in for zero return. And the reason we talk about things like this in this podcast, because this is about thriving, is you just said that sometimes you'll take a whole weekend off. I've talked to students who have never taken a weekend off in four years of med school. And and they are often not doing as well. And so I think I would encourage anyone listening, like, please, like, pay attention to that. Like, know what your flags are whenever you're approaching a state that is like, and maybe you've never noticed that it's burnout, right? But maybe you've watched a lecture and been like, what? I don't want to do this. Or you go to practice questions and you're like, ah, and you go to flashcards and you're like, nothing's working. Now you can't just do that when it's hard, right? Because it's hard. Right. But it's like you're putting in the work, you've done the things, and now you've just reached a spot where it's like concentration. Normally, if you can concentrate, but today you can't. Focus is off. Everything is off. You could be approaching burnout. Take a day off, take some time off. And I love that you're reading. There's some research behind having a book and doing some reading and how that helps reset the brain. So I love that. Do you guys have like a burnout meter? Do you know, like, now that we're talking about it?
SPEAKER_00A few things. Um I'll start getting in my head about like not passing. Um, I'll sleep a lot more. I'll cry because I miss my family. So that's that's some things. Um, but definitely I'll I'll just have like this kind of like sad like spirit where I'm just like, I don't want to do anything. I remember last last semester in P Pom One, it was just one day I woke up and I was just like, I don't want to do anything. And it was just like nothing had happened. It's just like I was just like, I just it's just a lot going on, I guess, with school. So I went to cold zone, got some ice cream, it was raining that day, it was beautiful, and I did nothing. And I the next day I hit the ground running and it was better. And it's just like sometimes you have those days where it's just like it's not a vibe, and you just don't want to study, you don't want to do anything, you just want to be in your piece, you know, in the bed with the lights off, with CSI plan.
SPEAKER_03Like, that's exactly what I might choose a different show, but I like I think we should normalize that conversation is like you know, sometimes it's okay to just have an off day. Yeah. Like, you know what? You wake up and you're like, not today. You can't do that lots of days. Like, don't make a habit out of that. But man, to not have that sometimes is an okay thing. And I know you watch these influencers and these people about med school, and they'll tell you all that you gotta grind, grind, grind. It's always a grind. And it's like, it is a grind. And then it's not.
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_03And so get that thriving.
SPEAKER_02How about any burnout flags for you or anything? I would say much of what they're saying. I I also like to work out. Um, I like watching TV. I try like right before I go to bed to maybe watch some TV just to put my brown autopilot, you know, but I also really like to hang out with my friends. That's probably the big one, and like, you know, like the whole love language thing. Like mine's quality time, it's like not even a second one. I just like to hang out with people. And so if I'm being distant and I'm like secluded, that's when the red flags are up. Because anyone who knows me knows I like to be around people. So if I'm like not inviting people over, I try to have people over once a week, once a week. Again, once a week, not three times a week. So, um, if I'm not doing those kinds of things or going to the gym, like my routine is getting off, I guess, my non-negotiables, like Dakota said, then that's when it's like, yeah, this is this is probably burnout. Because I I think like a lot of med students, I think I could say this, like I could make myself study. Like I could make myself flip through some cards or go through some lectures, like this is what you do every day, five, six, maybe seven days a week. But when you start canceling out other things in your life, like going to the gym or going to Cold Stone or hanging out with your friends, like I think that for me is the burnout. My red flags.
SPEAKER_03No, that's good. And so I think you you've you've hit on some things here. So let's say let's just like if you're watching the episode, you've made it this far, right? Like, uh write your non-negotiables down. Or write them down, because if you don't write them down, they're probably not non-negotiable for you, right? Like, write them down, hang them up somewhere, share them with somebody else, somebody that you care about, fiance or somebody that can also like hold you accountable, right? Um, and then I would say this a sign of burnout, in my opinion, is when you begin to negotiate your non-negotiables. Once you begin to negotiate your non-negotiables, you need that's red flag. Like what's going on here. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I actually thought about that. Um, when I know I'm reaching my burnout, is when I start eating out more. Like every day is like, oh, I'm gonna go to Chick-fil-A, I'm gonna go to Chipotle. That's when I know, oh yeah, I've hit that wall. So, because I like to meal prep and cook at home. So once I'm like driving home from campus and I bypass my apartment to go eat, I'm like, yeah, we're we're we need to get it together. So that's that's kind of how I know too.
SPEAKER_03No, I love that. So I think that would be would you guys agree? Like that's a that's one way to start the tell, is like you know, you're giving up some routine, you're giving up some negoti non-negotiables, you're you're giving up some areas. Alright, so we're almost done with our time, and here are two things that I end every episode with. And the first is what are key takeaway? What are what is a key takeaway you would give to anyone listening to this episode? Uh so we'll pause for a second and then we'll start with whoever wants to go first. One or two sentences, just here's what I would say to med school students.
SPEAKER_01Allow yourself freedom. It's okay to take breaks.
SPEAKER_03It's required to take breaks if you ask me, but I love that. Allow yourself some freedom. It's okay to take breaks. Yeah, that's great. We're not competitive here, but can anyone beat that? No, I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_02I I have this like quote that I say a lot. It's that greatness is mundane, and what that means is greatness is not great on like Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and then off Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. But greatness is great all the time. But I know one or two sentences, I'm gonna go like six. But uh you can be great on your day off. Like if you're taking a day off and you you're flipping through flashcards, you're not being great on your day off. So I would say greatness is mundane. Whatever you're doing, you gotta be great at what you're doing.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's good. So you guys both talk about take some time off and greatness. You can also take time off and be great. Yeah. I used to be a pastor. You have to. You have to, or you won't be great. Yeah. I used to be a pastor, and in one of my messages we talked about don't miss the miracle in the mundane. Yes. And it's like uh because sometimes we're always looking for these massive moments of magnanity, right? And it's like, no, there's there's miracle in the mundane. Be okay with the mundane. Anything there? What do you got a key takeaway?
SPEAKER_00I was still thinking.
SPEAKER_03No, right, you can keep thinking. Yeah, okay. You can keep thinking. Um, I think that's a challenge. Like, in our society today, we're not very good at taking breaks. Because everybody's we're like you how about the optimizer influencer right now, right? You know, you guys ever y'all get those on your algorithm? Everybody trying to optimize everything. Like, take this supplement for this, take this supplement for this, take this vitamin for this, go to the gym, do this. You're doing that workout wrong. You're never gonna run. Breathe this way when you're running. Your ears are supposed to do this when you're listening. Like it's it's optimize everything, and we're just no longer okay with like just be normal. Yeah, just be okay. And like we can thrive if we're just just be normal. Like, you don't have to be the special, you know, you don't have to always be the extra. Did you get it yet?
SPEAKER_00It'll probably be a little corny, but I love corny.
SPEAKER_03Bring it.
SPEAKER_00This is like a throwback to orientation, but um, diamonds are made in the rough. Medical school is hard. But at the end of the day, we are going to blossom and we are going to be a beautiful diamond.
SPEAKER_03I love it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Diamonds are made in the rough. Reminds me of Aladdin. Uh, they're looking for the diamond in the rough and there. Alright, so my last thought is this like, what is your current uh obsession or your current binge? Whether it's a TV show or it's a food or it's something. I've had somebody who's crocheting, right? So, like, what's your thing right now that like this is the thing? If I've got free time, this is what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_00Well, my show is uh postponed until January. The Pit is coming back. So that's my guilt my guilty pr pleasure. Um, I will say I'm gonna be re-watching season one and two because my fiance hasn't seen it, so that'll fill up our time.
SPEAKER_03Perfect. It's a good one.
SPEAKER_01Um, I currently don't have one right now, but over the summer um and last semester, it was knitting because I just had a new nephew, so I knitted him a beanie to come home from the hospital in and watching Naruto.
unknownNice.
SPEAKER_03Awesome. So I'm not a knitter. Not a knitter.
SPEAKER_02But I could watch Naruto, so I'm a big like food person, and at one point, uh before me, my fiance used to live in Honduras for like two years. So we are currently traveling around Jonesboro and ranking the Mexican restaurants around Jonesboro. Oh, yeah, it's like a legit thing. We have like a rubric and everything. So I love to go and be like, she's like, we're gonna go eat, it's not even a question. Like, we're gonna go eat Mexican food.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So we're gonna tag your uh Instagram or whatever where people can find this. Probably hers. Probably hers. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because yeah, she'll she'll want hers. Yeah. Like a scrub.
SPEAKER_03Shout out to a future sponsor. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Yeah. Well, hey, that's uh this episode of Student Doc 101 Thriving in Med School. Hope that you learned something about creating non-negotiables, not being afraid of hard practice, and just being okay with normalizing life while you're here and find that accountability person. Uh, so good, so much insight from you all. So thank you so much. And I want to just say, real quickly to you three, thank you for the investment of time, energy, frustration, exhaustion, and all those things because we need you. We need physicians, we need physicians who are going to care about their patients, who are going to improve outcomes in our country and around the world. And I'm grateful for you all. I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks. Thank you. I appreciate that.