Now that I am getting close to ending my third-year and starting my fourth-year, I have been doing some reflecting and thinking about what parts of this journey has truly caused me the most “stress” if I were to categorize it year by year. Now I put “stress” in quotations because yes at the time it might have seemed stressful but that did not mean that it wasn’t manageable and the degrees of stress could have differed had it been a different student in a different circumstance. With that said let’s get started:
Year 1: This year the most stressful part would have to be getting used to the fast-paced environment of medical school and learning large amounts of information in a short amount of time. Our school had us take exams basically every 2 weeks and at the time it seemed like a task that I didn’t know if I could accomplish. But looking back now it was a very efficient way to make sure we are up-to-date on our material and constantly reviewing what we were taught.
Year 2: The year of my board exams. Enough said, right? Boards were for sure one of the most challenging aspects of medical school but once I got my score back I felt so accomplished knowing that my hard work had paid off. If I were to give advice to my younger self, I would say “know that everything will work out.”
Year 3: This year is my favorite thus far and I would say the least stressful because I am able to see patients and use what I have learned in the clinic. I will say that towards the end the anxiety has crept up because it will soon be time to take our second set of boards and apply for residency.
Year 4: Although I have yet to embark this path, I know that the anticipation of where I will match along with interview season can cause some stress. But I think that I will be more excited rather than anxious given that I am SO CLOSE to achieving my dreams!
What’s been the most stressful part of your journey thus far if at all?
