Burnout in Medical Students, Residents on the Rise - Page 3 of 4

Cheryl Alkon is a freelance medical writer based in Massachusetts.

Putting It Into Practice: Advice From Medical Students

Georgetown University School of Medicine class of 2021

If you develop awareness of your mood, the tone of your environment is within your control. Just as a basketball player envisions free throws, a medical student can project positivity before meetings, exams, and patient encounters.
Georgetown’s Mind-Body Medicine elective taught me to truly take time off: Don’t study flashcards while in the gym and don’t watch lectures while cooking dinner.

Through the Georgetown Mind-Body Medicine program, I learned about meditation, including guided imagery and biofeedback. These tools aim to help foster a return to mindfulness and being in the moment as opposed to always planning for or worrying about what is next. This was especially helpful during the first year of medical school.

Georgetown University School of Medicine class of 2021

Take the time to create a study plan that is both sustainable and realistic. The comfort of adhering to a schedule can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed by the massive amount of material.
Studying all day doesn’t mean you have to be anti-social. Working next to your classmates, even if perfectly silent, can provide companionship and the support you need to get through the long hours in the library.
Find something you are passionate about that completely takes your mind off schoolwork. Spending one hour a day away from work goes a long way toward avoiding burnout.

First-year otolaryngology resident at the University of Cincinnati

Medicine attracts social people who want to work with patients. For the first two years of medical school, there’s intense, time-intensive didactics with almost no patient interaction. Seek out mentors and continue things that make you feel purposeful, such as staying socially connected.
Meditation helped me deal with the day-to-day cadences of life, including the pressures of weekly exams in the first two years of medical school. It was among the few things that made me really feel the transient nature of my stressors.

Clinical fellow in pediatric otolaryngology at Harvard University/Boston Children’s Hospital

In my second year of medical school, I felt anxiety. Ultimately, I talked to somebody and that helped.
My husband and I got a dog, a mutt named Kramer. Kramer makes me walk [and] have a regular schedule and, while my husband was traveling all last year, Kramer was my responsibility outside of work.