Enjoy your down time. 

My classes ended on Monday, and my classes start again on Monday. Throughout this pandemic, academics plans have been altered and delayed countless times by countless institutions. My story and that of my colleagues is not unique. Certainly it is something that thousands of students across the United States are experiencing. But what do we do with our short time off? Do we work to get ahead for the next semester? Maybe do 1,000 Anki cards instead of my usual 250? Maybe I can knock out a few blocks of UWorld or Rx before classes start again. Here’s my suggestion: 

Do nothing. 

Yes. Nothing. And do exactly that. What are the things you enjoyed before your life was consumned by studying enzyme deficiencies and rare illnesses that you’ll never see in practice? Do you enjoy films? I do. You’d better believe that my Netflix queue is full. Maybe you liked to cook? Meal prepping these days is all the rage. I suggest putting your food in a glass container. They hold heat and microwave so much better than plastic. Maybe you used to run, or go for walks, or play Dungeons and Dragons each night of the week. I’m not here to say what you should do. But what you do with your time off should be as effortless as possible and your “nothing” my be different from mine. But the general point is, it’s important to take time away from medicine from time to time. 

Almost 300 physicians die every year by their own hand[1]. While that number may see high, consider that it is almost one physician per day. We know that number to be unacceptable. What gets us to that point? Medical student suicides are generally lower than the overall population[2] but what good is that information if we go on to be physician’s that kill themselves later on? The rate of depression among medical students is fairly high[3], and we’re not very good with dealing with our thoughts and emotions. All the high stakes testing, the gunner culture that we helped create amongst ourselves, all of it can lead to a very distressing atmosphere in which to learn, and certainly in which to live. 

So I say do nothing. At least for the day. Take some time for yourself and check in to make sure that you’re actually doing okay. In medical school, we tend to always tell our colleagues and friends that we’re doing just fine when, typically, that’s not the case. Whatever activity is going to make you the most at peace, you should pursue that, of course provided it’s legal and doesn’t hurt anyone. Maladjustment is an environment we are all very comfortable in, and it’s a cycle we must break. 

So join me in doing nothing, at least for one day we can all have some peace of mind before we get back to the sweet, sweet sound of Boards and Beyond and Pathoma. 

[1] https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PDFs/ten%20facts%20about%20physician%20suicide.pdf

[2] https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2019/02000/medical_student_suicide_rates__a_systematic_review.35.aspx

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5944463/