Resiliencia en Medicina

My name is Liz. I'm a first generation college grad and nontraditional premedical student in the U.S.

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River Garry

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Happy fall! It’s week 4 of classes. My first organic chemistry midterm went not so great; I’m trying not to beat myself up too much about it since I took the exam while sick. Plus, there are two other exams and an equivalent midterm score from my lab section that should help out my grades. Physiology is going well, so there’s a silver lining. Work is slow, but busy at the same time. I’m just trying to make it all work. I just have to keep working steadily toward my goals; chip away slowly every day. 

Good things: 

My niece was born this month. 

I went to a pumpkin/fall festival with friends.

My boyfriend is coming to visit this week. 

I’m seeing my niece and nephews next week. 

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It’s been exactly a month since I took my last final exam. Summer feels like it’s flying by. Work has been s t r e s s f u l. I’ve had a lot of projects and admin things to work on and our change in staff has made my list of responsibilities grow, but in a week I’ll be hiking in the Smokies, free from my work email.

I signed up for my organic chemistry and physiology courses for the fall and I am scared. I don’t know how I’m going to make my job and classes work with my new promotion. I have to believe that I can make it work. 

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I passed my last general chemistry class! I did better than I thought I would do, but still not an A. I’m trying really hard to separate my grades from my identity because it’ll ruin me. 

Here’s to summer vacation (lol but not really bc full-time job)!

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My last general chemistry final exam was two days ago. I studied for more than  a week, but I let anxiety get the best of me during the exam. I felt so much pressure to ace the exam in order to earn an A- in the class that I froze. I read and re-read the problems and it was like looking at a different language. I’m learning how detrimental stress and anxiety have been to my academic performance. I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect; I end up doing worse because of it. 

Here is what I’ve learned from this quarter: 

1. Perfection is not achievable. I can only be better than what I was yesterday. 

2. Studying for a long time =/ studying well. I’ve stepped up my studying by focusing on mostly practice problems, but I could have avoided anxiety if I had simulated test conditions by doing timed exams. 

3. I need to learn how to let things go. After taking an exam there is no going back to change things. I have to accept how I did, learn from it, and move on. My path to medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be okay with not meeting my mark, adjusting my plans, and executing my goals using different methods. 

Now that spring classes are over, I’m putting all my focus on my job again. I work-full time, but my boss is really understanding when it comes to my academics. This summer is going to be busy. I’m starting a new study focused on preventing preterm birth in women with a history of preterm labor and I’m writing my research paper on hs-CRP levels as a biomarker of depression in pregnant and non-pregnant women (hoping to get published by the fall!) 

I want to take this summer to reset my mindset,  spend time with friends and family, work hard at my job, volunteer as much as possible, get my driver’s license (I’m from NYC that’s my excuse haha), and get myself into shape by eating better and exercising more. I neglected my health for the last month trying hard to keep up with school/work and it’s nice to have time to focus on myself. That way when fall quarter comes around, I can start organic chemistry and genetics off on the right foot.