Ayoub Hajji

Going from Highschool to Medical school can/was an incredibly drastic shift compared to what many expect

For most, outside of the occasional crunch times keeping up with school material and performing well wasn’t too much of an issue even for a chronic procrastinator like me 

But taking the same approach I had in high school was a huge mistake on my part that was quickly followed by a rude awakening. Compared to highschool, where you can easily perform well by allotting a small amount of your time to each class; doing that in medical school is putting yourself in a never ending death sentence that you must face every moment you waste time or delay studying.

In both high school and even university, the teachers/professors hope that as students we retain what we learn but unfortunately, as time goes on, we forget. In medical school we MUST keep track of everything we learn, inside and out, not only to do well but also to earn our license as a doctor and to excel in the role.

Given the nature of the career, we must learn and memorise arguably the most complex subject to ever exist: medical treatment of the multi-faceted, infinitely complex organism that is human being, which comes with a never ending wealth of information that we must learn about.

This all goes to show the workload of medical school will be a shock to most for those unprepared

This isn’t to say that the transition is a nightmare or something to be feared but rather something to prepare for starting from the end of high school and by the latest, at somewhere in the beginning of the summer.

This isn’t to say that medical school is only about studying all day long, 24 hours 7days a week but it is to say that it's a stage of your career where you must start to master balance in how you spend your time, more so than any other point of your life up till now.

Despite how stressful that all might sound, the transition to medical school doesn’t just serve as a simple next stage but instead for many it will be a major milestone of independence. But also a stage to where your responsibilities become your own, with only yourself being able to hold you accountable.

Look back at how far you have come, prepare as much as you can for what’s next, be disciplined and willing to push yourself harder than you ever have before.

Stand proud, this truly marks your first step to becoming a Doctor.