Doctors are one of the most respected professionals in the globe. They are referred to as “God on earth” and play a crucial role in the life of an individual from birth to death. Every year, countless students enter medical schools to pursue this noble profession.
A student is identified as a “Medical Student” once they get enrolled in a medical school and start their studies for being a doctor. The moment they are entitled this identity they become excited and have vivid imaginations of their journey ahead and cherish the dream of becoming a good medical student and a great doctor one day.
Throughout this journey of learning, a student experiences mesmerized moments of their lives. There is also a dilemma in the minds of the people that medical students are having the best of their time.
Apart from these experiences and dilemmas lies a battle fought silently by the students. One of the major battles a student fights is constantly striving to live up to societal expectations of a medical student. These includes always studying, being discipline, avoiding burnouts etc.
Peer pressure adds to another stress. While medical degree is of a greater duration as compared to most other degrees. So, students look at their peers pursuing other degrees getting graduated and landing into a job or higher studies. This creates a sense of falling behind. Also, the longer duration of the degree leads to lack of financial independence as compared to their peers who pursued other degrees.
A lesser addressed issue is that some students realize midway of their medical degree that they are no more interested in it but the fear of judgement silences them to switch to what they are actually interested in. Besides all these, there is a constant pressure in their minds to be a good medical student and also due to their rigorous curriculum. Overtime this leads to mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
All the above issues faced them cannot be avoided as it is a part of their journey but there are ways in which they can be managed which includes managing academic and personal life, learning to ignore the societal expectations, earning money and taking regular breaks. In the end, the experiences from these silent battles strengthens their personality to enter the noble profession of doctors.
MBH/PS