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Contributions and credits (2025): Alyssa Chong (II), Andersen Lau (II), Anush Goel (III), Ara Downey (III), Cona Xu (II), Priya Bahra (V), Sabrine Wang (III), Zhonghao Zheng (II)
- Look after yourself
Med can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to hold yourself to impossible standards. The hard truth is that if you don’t take the time to look after yourself, burnout becomes inevitable. Make sure you’re prioritising your needs — health, rest, socialisation, exercise, hobbies. All your seniors will tell you self-care is crucial: trust them, because they’ve learned the hard way.
- Work with others
You’re surrounded by capable, like-minded people, so make the most of it! Study groups are a great way to learn, and you might find you learn best from teaching others. Older students are always happy to help — you can always reach out to your mentors, and the seniors at your hospital will often be up for a chat. The more people you talk to, the more ways of thinking and learning you’ll be exposed to, which will help you figure out what works for you.
- Have a system
Deadlines can and will sneak up on you very quickly. Notion, Goodnotes, paper planners, spreadsheets, and Google Calendar are very popular options for organisation. It’s worth making sure you’re on top of all your key dates, as well as your pre- and post-work which has to be checked on Moodle. If you don’t watch your lectures live, make sure you have a method of keeping track of which ones you’ve seen.
- Use active recall
You’ve heard this a million times, and that’s because it matters. Active recall is a much more efficient method of study, which is a game-changer when you have to memorise such a large volume of content. It consists of more than just Anki (although Anki is a great structured form of active recall) — mind maps, brain dumps, peer teaching and other methods are all great ways to learn.
- Use the resources available to you
Self-explanatory, and particularly relevant for clinical skills. PASS+, MedSoc Academics events, and shared resources are the obvious ones; you’ll also learn a lot by participating in SIG events, volunteering as SPs for mock OSCEs and mock ICEs, and pursuing any and all of the opportunities available to you, even if they’re out of your comfort zone or area of interest.
- Start early – but how?
Here’s another one you’ll hear a lot. While some people are (somehow) able to cram everything into a couple weeks at the end of term, the vast majority will do better (with less stress) by starting assessments at the beginning of term and studying early. If that’s you — and be honest with yourself, it probably is — there are a handful of ways to accomplish it. For assignments and projects, create subtasks and self-imposed deadlines (for example, I’ll finish researching my topic by the end of Week 2). For exams, the most effective strategy is usually to begin your active recall as soon as you learn a topic, which distributes your workload and increases the likelihood that you’ll get stuff into your long-term memory properly.
- Don’t forget to look at the big picture
Remember that what matters most isn’t your WAM or the number of portfolio certificates you have — it’s your patients. You’re here to become the best doctor you can be, so don’t lose sight of that amongst all the work you’re doing. It may sound like a small thing, but the perspective you have on your work, and in particular, on your clinical skills, can make a huge difference not only in how you approach the work but also in how you feel about it.
- Progress, not perfection
The continuous pursuit of perfection that got you here to begin with may now become your worst enemy — the goals you’re used to setting for yourself will probably no longer be attainable, and that’s okay. Don’t feel like you have to chase a nonexistent end point. We’re all on a continuous journey of growth, and imperfection is at the heart of improvement. You’ve got this.
By ![An Interview With [NAME REDACTED], 2024 Medlympic Champion](https://jugular.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Get-ready-for-300x300.png)
