Nearly a month from now, I will be having my final professional examinations of second year. Here I am, writing a blog 😛 Why am I writing this? There are two reasons. The minor reason is that I wished somebody told me all this before when I joined MBBS. The major reason is simply that I needed content 😛 Let’s go! I will be dividing the whole post into 3 sections- Academics, Social Life and Self-Care
- Academics
When I first entered MBBS, I had zero clue on what was in front of me. Don’t be in denial, the syllabus is huge here. Studies will remain a part of you for long. So instead of complaining and remaining in denial, accept it. You can chose to deny it but it will bite you back when you will realize you aren’t prepared for PG exams or you don’t know the absolute basics or you can’t fill 3 pages to a seemingly easy question.
Coming to resources, please don’t enroll in platforms before third year. There’s no need of Marrow or Prepladder in first or second year. If you want to waste money, sure. You will enroll out of FOMO, use the platform the first few weeks and then forget about its existence the whole year. This brings me to the next point, notes. Don’t use the coaching’s notes as the primary resource. Before exams, sure. Books will give you the visual picture and conceptual understanding which notes can never ever give. It doesn’t have to be standard books only, any book will suffice. Honestly for some subjects, I would rather do the non standard version- like Vishram Singh over Grey, Shanbag over KDT- your opinion may be different.
Also realize that you have chosen a career where you will have to stand long hours in the OT, doing 36 hours duty, see death everyday, deal with patients and what not. In the grand scheme of things, those unfinished syllabus and scary exams are trivial things. Don’t fret over them. Get used to it, like its a part of your life like brushing. Why take so much tension over things which will come like every 2 months? Stay cool.
And at last, I would say just be consistent. Don’t get into the toxic vortex of starting studying only before exams. Don’t give in to the peer pressure. Study little daily, have some fun along the way and you will be happy the whole year. Be consistent with your studies, nothing will pay you back more in MBBS.
- Social-Life
MBBS will teach you about social life more than your previous 20 years combined. There are three pillars of social-life in MBBS- Friends, Partner and Seniors. Let’s talk about each in detail.
Friends? Quality over Quantity. As simple as that. Dear, your batch strength isn’t 100. It is 200 or 300 because every person out here is double and triple faced. Groups won’t last here. You may find 2-3 people you can vibe with, keep them close. 2? Fine. 1? Fine. 0? Fine. Your batchmate’s personalities will unravel slowly over time and all the strawberry will start to seem like karela. It’s okay. Everyone has a giant ego here. Don’t indulge in fights, there’s no point. Be with your homies, care less about everyone else. Don’t confuse ‘caring’ with ‘respect’.
Partner. See I am single so my message is for single people only. In MBBS, you will be surrounded by couples doing the cheesiest of things. You will have immense jealously and FOMO. Please, don’t rush getting into relationships just because of the FOMO. Being with the right person is far more important than getting mingle early. Nobody is giving you medals or relieving tax on you because you got mingle early. What’s meant to happen, will happen.
Also, please be aware of peer pressure. Don’t try to people please here. Don’t try to follow your peers. Hell your batchmates are drinking 24*7, smoking, doing drugs, not studying the whole year and what not- don’t follow them. Have a brain of your own. Have your own boundaries in life. Know the principles and values you imbibe.
Coming to seniors. Don’t try to bootlick or be over friendly with seniors in college. Know the seniors who are genuine here, who you can trust or ask for help from. I was lucky enough to find 3-4 seniors who have been gems for me, I couldn’t be more grateful. Good seniors can be a blessing but remember, not everyone will be good here. If you are being targeted or you are getting uncomfortable in personality development sessions, speak out, share with your family and friends and not keep it inside. In short, there’s both a good and bad side to seniors in college- beware of both.
As much as I talk about friends, partner or senior in college- always remember, be self-reliant. Don’t even try to depend on your partner I would say. No one will come to fix you or complete you– you should be complete on your own and any other person should be like the cherry on the cake. Not being self-reliant means you are giving the power to someone else. The power over your mind, why? Be it for academics, emotional needs, travel- be self reliant.
- Self-Care
Remember, you are here to treat patients, not become a patient yourself. Don’t be the person who will go miles for their friends and will be lousy when it comes to themselves. Those who can’t help themselves can’t help anyone else.
Don’t get into the toxic vortex of skipping meals, relying on instant maggi or energy drinks or coffee, ordering foods, not bathing regularly etc… Little discipline in life can do wonders. I am not the perfect person to talk about this but sometimes knowing what not to do is better than knowing what to do. Imagine your friend getting into the vortex and you will realize how it detrimental it can be over the long term.
Plus, get into self-care. I mean proper routine of using cleanser+toner+serum+moisturizer+sun screen daily. It applies to both boys and girls. It can be life changing, you will see the difference in no time. Remember how you present yourself does matters. Looks do matter. Stay in reality. Work on your fashion sense. There’s so many resources and videos out there, there is no dearth of information. You should have the will.
Everyone has their dark side. Be it anxiety, anger, lack of communication skills, fear of public and what not. Don’t remain in denial. Accept your dark side and work actively on it. You won’t get this time again. Afterwards you will be burdened with jobs, responiblities and partner.
Also don’t be like finance isn’t a part of your life. Track your finances unless you are Ambani or Adani. Plus in my honest opinion, having a passive source of income is a must in today’s world. Get into stocks/trading. Become a youtuber. Solve doubts. Teach something. It will all be worth it. Don’t treat your parents like an ATM machine.
Plus, go out. Explore. There’s nothing wrong in being the nerd who remains in his room studying forever, maybe you do love studies that much. I am talking for the rest, MBBS will eat you up no matter what so have a life outside MBBS. Travel whenever you get the chance to. This include medical camps. These experiences are invaluable. If your friends aren’t interested, initiate plans yourself or go alone.
Don’t take everything seriously here. Don’t take everything personally. Have an open mind. As much as anybody tells you NOT to do some things, you will still do it. You will still commit mistakes. It’s okay. Last time I checked, you are human. Don’t be hard on yourself. Learn from it.
Phew, I am done now. If this post helped anybody, I would be more than glad.
Thank You!
