How much time do med students have, really?

Everyone has heard it – med students are so busy and study all day and all night. But how accurate is this?

Here is a break down of my average week day. Please keep in mind, this is specific to me and to my school’s curriculum.

6-7: Wake up, pack lunch, walk to school.

7-8: Eat breakfast at school, get coffee, get organized for the day

8-3: Classes including lectures, labs, and workshops, generally last from 8-3 on the average day with a one-hour break for lunch.

3-4: Head home. I usually try to give myself one hour off so that my mind can get a break. I’d like to say I’m productive but I usually use this time to text friends, play games on my phone, and watch YouTube videos. Sometimes, the brain just needs to be mindless after a full day.

4-6: Homework. This can include pre-reading and materials for tomorrow’s lectures, taking online quizzes, or prepping for dissections.

6-7: Cooking and eating dinner. I can save time by eating leftovers which I often do by cooking two large meals early in the week. If I’m particularly stressed, I do reading while eating but I try to avoid this.

How it feels sometimes

7-10: Either continue doing homework or, if I’m finished, start studying old material. I do this in a variety of ways in the week including creating study guides, flashcards, or rereading various power points and materials that were confusing.

10-11: This is my ‘wind down’ time. I shower, get ready for the next day, maybe clean my room and maybe write. I try to be in my bed by 10:30 but this often doesn’t happen. The true goal is to be asleep by midnight so I can get at least six hours before the next day.

 

Overall, it’s a fairly tight schedule. There’s usually twenty minutes or so in between classes where you get some free time to socialize or jot ideas down in a notebook. I often write blog ideas in between classes. But as you can see, there’s not a lot of large free time to do things like get groceries, watch a movie with friends, do laundry, or clean. Thus, most of these things are allotted to the weekends. If I get out of class early or have a light load of work, I try to take advantage of that by either going for a run, getting ahead of my work, and doing some chores.