Hello, I’m Heen, a Year 3 medical student. I’d like to share with you a few tips and suggestions on looking after your mental health and wellbeing at medical school and crucially – avoiding burnout.
Medical school can be hard at times, and as a student I know firsthand that the workload and impending deadlines can lead to stress. There also seems to be a culture where medical students think it is acceptable to feel burned out. This needs to change!
Feeling burnt out is not just about feeling stressed ahead of an exam. It is a constant feeling of being exhausted and overwhelmed. It’s getting to the point where you have no motivation to address your physical and mental wellbeing, let alone balance your university-related commitments.
I hope through my little blog today, I can help my fellow medical students avoid getting into this horrible situation.
Organisation
The number one thing you can do to prevent getting overwhelmed, is to organise everything! At the risk of sounding a little pedantic – writing a ‘to do’ list or marking important dates on a calendar is exquisitely satisfying. The human body (as I’m sure you’ll know) loves having a routine, so try to plan out your days.
Now, of course, this is life and things are bound to change. Unfortunately, no timetable will forever be robust, so make sure you feel prepared to adapt to changes. An easy way to do this is to structure your timetable in a realistic way, making things flexible where possible so if the unexpected pops up you are ready to take it on.
Eating
Although ‘eating’ sounds obvious, the number of times I’ve heard of fellow medical students not having breakfast suggests it’s become a norm for us to have a turbulent eating routine.
Surely, we should practice what we preach. We tell patients all the time about the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet, but have you ever thought that missing meals could be a factor in feeling burnt out?
Staying hungry for long hours, isolated in your room revising for an exam, is the last thing you want or need. So my advice is always start your day with breakfast (however small it may be), try to squeeze in lunch (preferably healthy if you can), and always keep snacks with you (fruit and nuts are easy to eat- no prep needed!).
Sleep
This might seem basic but so many of us don’t have a good sleep routine. We can’t just run about fuelled by caffeine. Prioritising getting to bed at a decent time has major benefits and sleeping eight hours can do wonders for your wellbeing. Being recharged is a great feeling and one which helps to meet the goals of your day.
Staying active
Just like many of us, exercise is not my forte!
However, I’m not suggesting that the only answer is to join the gym or start competitive rugby (well you can if you want to!). My advice would just be to stay active in a way that is comfortable for you. Just taking a 20 minute walk in fresh air everyday can help you to de-stress and a change of environment always helps to calm the mind.
Taking breaks
In my opinion, this is an especially important tip and should take priority over the others. Always try to take breaks throughout your day, even if they’re super short. Taking a few minutes to yourself to zone out is not only quite satisfying, but also helps refresh your mind ahead of going back to a task. Some may call this mindfulness but really, it’s just whatever relaxes you and calms your nerves.
Alright, well, that’s all the main tips I have for you but please keep in mind that different things will work for different people. Also remember that talking to peers will give you a sense of relief- all of us are in the same boat! If you ever feel you need additional support, don’t be afraid to ask for help: the University’s wellbeing service has lovely staff available to offer advice.
