Prior to medical school, I find that I never really had a need to consistently ask for feedback to make sure I was progressing appropriately in my education. Pre-med education is sort of a free-for-all where all that matters is doing well enough of tests to maintain a high GPA. In medical school there is a very different dynamic when it comes to progressing in one’s education. Since so much of our career has to do with properly conveying information to both our colleagues as well as patients, I found it important to constantly get feedback on my weaknesses to turn them into strengths. Another aspect of medical school that differed from undergrad was maintaining a good school-life balance. The nature of undergrad studies always allowed me to have a school-life balance that was skewed towards the life side. I did find that maintaining a proper work-life balance was important to making sure I did well in med school as well.
An interesting aspect of medical education is that often ones weaknesses are not touched upon unless active feedback is sought. I noticed that in my first ring of 3rd year, many residents and attendings would not really bring up any faults with me, but I felt that some of my evaluations were not at the level I expected. No one ever pulled me aside and told me to work on things. When I noticed this, I brought it up during one of the mid ring feedback sessions, and was told to actively ask for feedback and incorporate it into my day to day work on rotations. When I started asking for feedback more often, I noticed that i was able to fix weaknesses, whether my differentials were not broad enough, or my presentations too verbose. I also noticed that my evaluations were much improved as well, and that asking for feedback was mentioned in several of my evaluations as well:
He was always well-prepared and actively engaged in all aspects of patient care. Farhan followed his patients closely, actively sought feedback, and quickly incorporated suggestions into his work. -Hospital Pediatrics Rotation
His notes were accurate and detailed enough without being verbose. He had a strong knowledge base. He actively sought feedback. He would stay late and always was enthusiastic and a hard worker. -Oncology Rotation
Farhan was a great medical student on a pretty tough and busy service. Although quiet, he has great medical knowledge, was very receptive to feedback, instruction and teaching. he was very interested in procedures which was great, he stayed late to see several of them. he even helped out for a code on one of our patients! – Oncology Senior Resident
While my work life balance during M1 and M2 were well balanced, allowing me sufficient time to enjoy my hobbies, play sports, while still getting through the daily lecture grind, I did have some moments throughout where this was much more difficult. A particular time that stands out was during step 1 studying. Due to the sheer volume of material we had to cover for the exam, I found myself more stressed than I usually allow myself to get. I got to the point where my only social contact was during breakfast and dinner with my family, spending the rest of the day alone studying. Of course, not taking as many breaks as I should eventually led me to getting burned out and not being able to study as efficiently as I normally would have. I feel as though my scores probably suffered due to this as well.
To avoid any future episodes of similar burnout, during my third and fourth year, I made sure I gave myself mandatory study breaks when studying for shelfs, I made sure to attend more sporting events, and to hang out with friends no matter how rough schedules became. I even jumped on a chance to go the Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland during my 2 weeks of dedicated Step 2 study time. I’m sure that schedules during intern year and residency are going to be tough throughout, but I hope that I’ll be able to apply skills I’ve learned in med school to avoid burnout and make sure I keep a healthy work life balance.
CEO 3.4 Identify one’s own strengths, weaknesses, and limits; a) seek performance feedback, b) maintain an appropriate balance of personal and professional commitments, and c) seek help and advice when needed.