How to prevent running out of steam? (PostBaccs/NonTrads)

[wolfnscale]

Howdy SDN!

Here's a question for my fellow non-traditional pre-meds: how do we NOT run out of steam?

I'm a non-trad. I have a BS, an MS, and I'm currently in a Post-Bacc program. Each of these programs I've done back to back, without summers or breaks (my longest break was my first winter break on the semester system and wow, side note: coming from a quarter system/year round school, I've gotta say, the long breaks of the semester system are so refreshing). Here's the thing: I love to learn and I'm passionate about undertaking what I need to do to get into med school. I've accepted my convoluted path and embraced it. I realize it's going to take time to get where I need to be. Reminding myself that success is in the future is usually enough to pump me up. But, I have to confess that at times, the monotony of class grates on me. Recently, I've been feeling a bit like I'm running out of steam. Of course, being surrounded by traditional pre-meds who seem to have the cat in the bag doesn't help.

So, what do you do to remind yourself to keep your head in the game? Self pep talk? Netflix? How do you reaffirm your motivations? Do you change up your schedule or shop and drop?

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[JohnJacobJungler]

OP, I would say do things activities that you love doing. Though you have been hard at work on your grades, I'm going to assume you're improving your application in other ways besides just going to class. If you have, take pleasure in the people that you meet. For me this was my clinical volunteering at Community Clinic and the ER. I truly loved working with my patients and providers. I made a few lifelong friends and even met a doc or two who was willing to let me shadow. That + playing a cheesy online flash game that I really enjoyed.

Elsewhere, best bet is to take care of yourself. Personally, I recommend yoga/meditation. It really helped me focus on myself for an hour, allowing me to attack my classes/activities with renewed vigor each week.

Everyone is different though!

 

[Insert Member Name Here]

@wolfnscale You want to know what makes me get the grades? The fact no one else cares about your process, your non-trad past, your hard work, your passion, your interest in the material, your self-stated love for learning. If you can't fill in the right bubbles on a scantron then none of it matters. That bro to your left who spends most of his time making real relationships instead of making out with his text book just got the answers from last semester's cohort and the professor was too lazy to write new questions for the exam. That girl to your right isn't even submitting a scantron because she's been shagging the professor well beyond office hours. There are 50 different ways to get what you want. If you are getting burned out by your current method, then you are only making yourself a fool. If you want to prove that your process is right, then you have to earn it with your results. Do you think a person who earns an A really cares about your process if you end up with an inferior grade? Schools don't evaluate for the process of learning or else they would query how we posit answers, not what the right conclusions should be on an exam.

For clarification, the reason why scantron tests are so heavily relied on is because it's a human resource issue. Actually administering an entirely open test which requires a professor or a group of students to develop a standardized rubric and go through every student's exam isn't practical. As a student, you are a number to be processed and are assigned grades for processing. I don't understand why people associated these systems with a love for learning or a love for knowledge. Limiting students to take tests all at once, all at the same time, all the same questions, all the same format isn't like you're going to break out of the mold and start a Walden-esque inquiry into your frame of reference for Chemistry. You are there because you gave an institution income and now they must furnish some arbitrary metrics and a paper transcript to make you feel like you made a valid transaction.

 

[Drez06]

Hey! I’m a fellow non-trad, 30 years old. For me, I think I just got used to it. I think my last summer break was when I was 14? I worked a full-time and a part-time job since sophomore year of high school. I’ve also done post-grad work while working full-time. You gotta realize, there are no summer or winter breaks in the real world; I think that comes as a real shock to a lot of people when they enter the workforce. If going to school is your full-time job, you should still have plenty of time for self-care.

Specifically, I second the yoga/meditation recommendation. Also, regular exercise. If you can, get yourself a pet - my two crazy dogs keep me sane, give me an excuse to get away from the books briefly and clear my head and go for regular walks, and slobbery kisses do wonders for my school-related anxiety. Frequent short breaks. Hang up a motivational quote or two in your study space. I LOVE the Forest app - you set a timer on your phone and grow a tree while you study, and if you get distracted and use your phone, the tree dies. If you’re in a relationship, make sure you’re making that a priority and setting aside time for them, even if you have to physically mark it down on the calendar (Wednesday’s are date nights in our house, no excuses - we plan accordingly); staying connected to my husband helps me avoid burnout between work and school.

Most importantly, if you’re feeling burned out, please don’t beat yourself up for taking a break or getting extra sleep or playing a video game or whatever. Better to come back to it with a refreshed mind later than force it and risk not retaining anything.

Don’t give up! Good luck!

 

[Robin-jay]

Howdy SDN!

Here's a question for my fellow non-traditional pre-meds: how do we NOT run out of steam?

I'm a non-trad. I have a BS, an MS, and I'm currently in a Post-Bacc program. Each of these programs I've done back to back, without summers or breaks (my longest break was my first winter break on the semester system and wow, side note: coming from a quarter system/year round school, I've gotta say, the long breaks of the semester system are so refreshing). Here's the thing: I love to learn and I'm passionate about undertaking what I need to do to get into med school. I've accepted my convoluted path and embraced it. I realize it's going to take time to get where I need to be. Reminding myself that success is in the future is usually enough to pump me up. But, I have to confess that at times, the monotony of class grates on me. Recently, I've been feeling a bit like I'm running out of steam. Of course, being surrounded by traditional pre-meds who seem to have the cat in the bag doesn't help.

So, what do you do to remind yourself to keep your head in the game? Self pep talk? Netflix? How do you reaffirm your motivations? Do you change up your schedule or shop and drop?

Sometime I feel this way too. Traditional pre-meds get accepted before their 4th year of college, so they haven't had the steam struggle yet. I can relate to having a BS, rigorous MS, and so on.

The way I see it, is that if you are able to not run out of steam after MS, PhD, etc., then you will prove to be the most motivated of the medical school students.

I would certainly fear competition from a PhD student in chemistry or neuroscience more so than students coming out of undergrad.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I’ve had a long road. I’ll be 35 when I start med school. The military has helped me a lot with turning long term goals into a series of short term goals so that you don’t burn out. People need to feel like they’re accomplishing something, so having the goal just be med school can burn people out because even though you’re making strides, the finish line seems so far away (and ironically, all this is really just the walk to the starting line).

As for the grades, I have a wife and two little girls. I need to make the grades, because they need me to put food on the table, and that officer pay would be sweet.

 

[beachesandbackroads]

Have things to look forward to--"rewards" for your hard work. For example, every day after class, I look forward to hitting the gym, seeing my dogs, and cooking a good dinner. Your rewards might be different than mine. In the long term, I have a trip planned in May for after I finish this semester. When I get frustrated, I research things I want to see on my trip.

I have earned two Bachelor's degrees and right now I work full time as a RN while taking pre-med classes. I haven't had more than one or two weeks off at a time from full time work and/or school in the past 5 years. The above works for me when the going gets tough. Running out of steam isn't an option for us.

 

[Jdp00921]

This ^^^ @calivianya.... The breaks honestly do make it harder. I have had 2 separated gap years due to having to apply twice and not wishing to rush my second application. Those gap years, while enjoyable in some aspects as you are getting a break, can also seem pretty long when all you want to do is begin your medical studies! While I do enjoy my free time and have been doing things I won't have as much time for once school begins, I am simultaneously counting down the months until August!

 

[willow84]

Have things to look forward to--"rewards" for your hard work. For example, every day after class, I look forward to hitting the gym, seeing my dogs, and cooking a good dinner. Your rewards might be different than mine. In the long term, I have a trip planned in May for after I finish this semester. When I get frustrated, I research things I want to see on my trip.

I second the rewards as well. Fellow non-trad in my 30s as well. During my post bacc I set aside every Friday afternoon and evening for me time. I went to my favorite fancy grocery store and bought something super delicious to make for dinner (as well as a bottle of wine and some kind of cheese). Then I vegged on the couch with my DVR. I absolutely needed that time to reset and recharge. "Longer" term I'd say, "After my second biochem exam I can go to this restaurant downtown and eat my favorite meal/have my favorite cocktail."

I definitely understand the struggle to chug through classes that seem so monotonous and draining. I just always told myself this situation was temporary, and what was my fallback? Going back to my old career? No way!

 

[beachesandbackroads]

I second the rewards as well. Fellow non-trad in my 30s as well. During my post bacc I set aside every Friday afternoon and evening for me time. I went to my favorite fancy grocery store and bought something super delicious to make for dinner (as well as a bottle of wine and some kind of cheese). Then I vegged on the couch with my DVR. I absolutely needed that time to reset and recharge. "Longer" term I'd say, "After my second biochem exam I can go to this restaurant downtown and eat my favorite meal/have my favorite cocktail."

I definitely understand the struggle to chug through classes that seem so monotonous and draining. I just always told myself this situation was temporary, and what was my fallback? Going back to my old career? No way!

I am changing my reward to cheese!

 

[Valyria]

For me, I did take some time off - graduated with my BSN in May 2013 and didn't start taking med school prereq courses until Spring 2016. I, like the poster above me, worked full time as a RN while taking classes.

Honestly, I feel like it's harder to have taken a break. You get used to just working and having the rest of your time to yourself. Starting back to school and then having full time school on top of full time work is pretty awful.

The way I motivated myself when I felt like I was running out of steam and just wanted to take a break was I thought about my worst days in nursing, with all of the stuff I hated the most happening, and said, "Hey calivianya - do you want to do this forever? That's always an option if you want to goof off now." The answer was always a resounding hell to the no, and it got me back to studying.

This 100%. Sometimes I still remember when I was working and had the time and money to do whatever I wanted. Then I remind myself of how much I would hate still working in my crappy job, and I tell myself how things will be so much better in a couple of years. I also say that medical school itself is just a series of hoops you have to get through. Exams, written assignments, classes, osce, step 1, etc are all just the hoops I need to get through to finish this journey. My rewards are normally just a little more time with my kids, doing something special, or getting some extra sleep. I don't need much, and I am a fairly easygoing type of person. I think just being honest with yourself about your goals, your reasons, and keeping balance in your life helps keep you on the right track.

 

[altblue]

I'm finishing up my 5th year of undergrad, mainly due to transfer credit and a switch of major, and I'm definitely feeling like everything's blurring together academically. Can't focus in lecture to save my life, though my study habits are pretty decent. I can't say I love to learn in school anymore, and my major is boring. There's a certain level of entitlement at my UG that does get to me, as well as the maturity issues from underclassmen (though I'm not much older), but it's been valuable to find people who are a right fit for me.

What helps me get through it is knowing I have some chance of getting into med school, where I'll learn about information that will help me help others, and this chance is increased if I do well in school. It also helps that I also love my EC's and any hands-on assignments

 

[DBC03]

I’m going to take a different perspective and say that taking over 10 years off from school only helped me get through classes the second time. I missed being in school so much and found it so much easier to focus and stay on task. I agree with the others that having mini rewards and short term goals was absolutely necessary. So I would look forward to little things, like not studying super late on Fridays, or watching part of a TV show when I completed a major exam week. I had a mental calendar of what I needed to get through in the next week (“I just need to get through the next two exams”) and the semester (“I’m half way through all of my exams, only 8 more to go before Christmas”). Having meaningful volunteering activities also reminded me why I am on this track.


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[Medic741]

Frequent visits to the BMW Motorrad website.