Student of KSMU

Being a medical student is mostly a privilege. As a medical student, you see patients at their most vulnerable. They are exposed, literally and figuratively, and reveal intimate details of their lives to you. You might know more about your patients than their closest friends do. You know their name, their address, their medications, and their bodies. This is a privileged role, and you must treat it with respect. Therefore, you should be kind. Smile. Make the person in front of you feel safe. Speak highly of your team. The patient in front of you is not a room number. They are not a pathological process. They are humans. And though you may be soon a doctor, remember: your body is just as fragile as your patient’s.

Patients will teach you more than any textbook can.

A textbook will teach you what disease is. They will tell you symptoms and signs and treatments. But a patient can explain what it means.

I only understood cancer until a patient, a few months post diagnosis, explained the fear that ruled her life. It was no longer an overgrowth of cells – it was the sense that her body had betrayed her. That this cancer was growing inside her and that she’d never know.

Cancer is simply mutations and anorexia and metastasis until you see it in front of you.

Your consultant will only see you briefly. They may not remember your name or offer you a chance to scrub in or present a case. But it never hurts to ask.

Start small. Ask if you can observe a procedure (with the patient’s consent, of course). Ask if you can scrub and hold a retractor (you’ll get a better view). Show your seniors that you want to be there, and soon enough, they’ll want you to be there too.

It’ll be hard being in a hospital. But it will be amazing. Take a deep breath, step forward, learns lots, and have fun.

Let me tell you about my first-year self. I failed my first exam. Not ‘failed’ as in ‘I only got eighty percent’, I ‘failed’ as in ‘bottom of my class, warning letter from the faculty’ failed. First year med is tough. The content is new, you constantly feel like you’re not good enough and you have no idea what you’re doing, and everyone seems smarter than you.

But I got my act together, and got some really good grades by the end of the semester. Mind you, I made a lot of mistakes in the process. Here’s my dos and don’ts of first year med.

DO get adequate sleep.

DON’T trade sleep for studying. Early in my med school career, I had an anatomy tutor who petrified me. In order to learn everything, I would sleep at 10pm, wake at midnight, study until 4am, and sleep until 6am. I was able to answer some questions in the tutes, but I recall none of that anatomy now.

DO find out how you learn. Mind maps, flash cards, bright colours, lists. Do what works for you and don’t listen to anyone else.

DON’T skip class. Yes, the lecturer may be boring and you may be tired. But you’ll have a head start on your learning by going, and the lecturers write the exams.

DO ask questions.

DON’T assume everyone else knows the answers. They don’t.

DO spend time every day revising. Even ten minutes pays off in the long run.

DON’T cram. In fact, you can’t cram medicine. I tried cramming for my six years in med school – I can guarantee that it doesn’t work.

DO have breaks. Run, walk, see your friends, get some Vitamin D. Being stuck in your study or library all day will inevitably drive you crazy.

DO make a study group. You’ll learn more and make friends. It’s win win.

DON’T be competitive. Don’t tear other meddies down or humiliate them. Be nice to other students, help them, but don’t put them down. Not only is it mean, but medicine’s a small world. The kid you were mean to in med school will not refer you patients when they’re a consultant.

Even if you do everything on this list, you will still be tired most days. You will still have moments where you feel like you can’t make it. But this will hopefully stave off burnout and keep you loving what you do for longer.

III. Answer the questions:

1. Why shouldn’t you be mean with other meddies?

2. What is the best way of study?

3. Is it good to stay at the library all day long?

4. Is it necessary to be competitive? Why?

5. What Vitamin is the best for meddies according to the text?

IV. Say true or false:

1. A medical student shouldn’t skip classes

2. All medical students mustn’t humiliate one another

3. Helping your group mates will help you in future

4. First year med is tough

5.Being stuck in your study or library all day will inevitably drive you crazy.

V. Complete the sentences:

1. Being a medical student is mostly …

2. The patient in front of you is not a …

3. You might know more about your patients than …

4. Show your seniors that you want to be there, and soon enough, they’ll want …

5. Even if you do everything on this list, you will still be …