MEDICINE IS FUN !!!

MEDICINE IS FUN


INTRODUCTION
John Backus said, “They don’t like thinking in Medical school. They memorize – that is all they want you to do. You must not think”. Is this really true? Or is it just a mere fallacy?
As a Pre-Med or Pre-Clinical student, one of the things you must know is that Medicine is FUN. By FUN I mean,
F – Full of Challenges
U – Unequivocally Pleasurable
N – Not Unassailable.

MEDICINE IS FULL OF CHALLENGES
This is not a deniable fact. These challenges include but are not limited to the high volume of information that is given to Medical students at a short time frame, so many new vocabulary and terminologies to learn especially in Anatomy, minimal time given during exams and scariness of textbook size.
These should not be setbacks, they should rather be stepping stones for you. Success is not a matter of luck; it requires conscious effort to the attainment of your goals. In order to face these challenges you need to do certain things like:
• Interact with your predecessors.
• Form reading groups (be careful not to be more than 5 in your reading group. If not, the aim will be defeated).
• Study your books daily.
• Have fun time.
• Exercise well
• Eat well
As we all know, necessity is the mother of invention. If the above does not work for you even though I am sure it will, invent yours. Just make sure you follow it religiously and don’t forget to share it with others if it works.

MEDICINE IS UNEQUIVOCALLY PLEASURABLE
Besides the numerous challenges we face in Medical school, we cannot deny the fact that there is pleasure in it. Sometimes, in bitterness lies sweetness. Saying that medicine is not pleasurable/fun is just like saying that honey is not sweet.
Some of these pleasures include:
• The fun in knowing a lot about human beings. It is just like human life from another perspective – a clearer one.
• Having the privilege to see “inside the human body”. One of the fascinating things I like about dissection classes is that I get to see human internal organs exactly as they are and not as seen in atlases. Trust me, dissection classes are fun.
• This may sound like pride, but actually, being in medical school makes you feel a special kind of gladness that you know or are learning what others don’t know. It is true that every course/profession is unique and has its own value, but being in medicine makes you feel kind of superior.
Other pleasures of medical school are: wonderful friends, course mates, mentors, mentees and so many other things you will get to know and enjoy as time goes on.

MEDICINE IS NOT UNASSAILABLE
If something is unassailable, it means that thing is difficult to be attacked, questioned or defeated. It is thought by so many that medicine is unassailable; this is not true. Never forget that “you don’t have to be great to start, you have to start to be great” – Zig Ziglar
To defeat the supposed unassailable medicine, these 3 steps can be of immense help:
• Visualize a Goal
• Give a concrete deadline to your goal(s)
• Track your progress.

Visualize a Goal
Surely, your general vision of being in Medical School is to become a medical doctor. To achieve this vision, you need goals that will help you attain your vision. Make sure you visualize your goals in detail. Take a realistic route and alter your goal so that it is in line with your capability. You can make monthly goals and break them down step by step to daily mini – goals. This will help you track your progress too. Just remember, if you can believe it, you can achieve it.

Give a Concrete Deadline to your Goals
Decide on start and end date. You must have in mind that to achieve your goal it will require hard work. After all, nothing in life comes easy.
It is possible that in past times, you have tried to visualize goals and given deadlines but it .did not work for one reason or the other. Don’t give up. Just make sure you do things differently this time because you can’t be doing the same thing and expect a different result. Also, Jack Dixon said, “if you focus on results, you will never change but if you focus on change, you will get results”.

Track your Progress
This is the most important aspect of carrying out your goals. There are so many ways to track your progress one of which is by using a spreadsheet. As we all know, “A well-arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind”. And a well arranged mind is what every medical student needs. This method to me is one of the most effective ways to track your use of time and progress as a medical student.
To explain the spreadsheet idea better
For instance, if you want to track your study progress daily for a semester,
In the extreme left column of your spreadsheet should be a list of your courses for the semester. For medical students, we usually offer 3 broad courses - Anatomy, Physiology and Medical Biochemistry. For a better result, it is preferable you make your list Gross Anatomy (be precise), Histology, Embryology, Genetics (if necessary), Physiology (be precise), Biochemistry (you can split this).
The top row should contain date.
At the end of each day, write the number of hours you spent reading each course. This will to a great extent help you keep track of what you have read, what you haven’t read, how much time you’ve wasted foolishly or invested wisely that day. If you can’t keep up or be faithful with the spreadsheet, it is advisable you ask someone for help.

CONCLUSION
Don’t gamble with your future by thinking that what will be will be. Take charge and control your future by knowing what you want and acting in the present.

                                                                                         Offor Godgift