A learner pursuing an MD

Learning is fun. Learning is intriguing. Learning is a test of faith. A test of knowledge, one I’m always up for.

Only when it is on a topic I am already interested in, though.

I can stay up all night and research how the digestive system works. What lack of sleep for 30 days can do to your body. How to increase your social skills. How a fetus develops in the womb and so much more on prenatal health. How a baby’s cognitive skills work with other children in comparison to adults. I can stay on hours-on-end conversations with people about why humans think, say, and act the way they do. I can voluntarily help out in a hospital or participate in a community clean-up because the subject is what I consider a “good use of my energy and time.”

But then what happens when I’m forced to learn about something I take no interest in? What if I am forced to read pages and pages of a subject I feel will not help me in any way, has too many big words I cannot fathom to understand, or requires me to do extensive work, yet still leaves me confused? This is a field of learning I have had to work into as I entered college, specifically as a student in the Sophie Davis School of Medicine. I have been assigned lengthy readings due by the next class session. The majority of the time, readings would conflict with each other, leaving me with massive headaches by the end of the week from having to read so many articles. I felt the weight of it last semester when taking both FIQWS classes, both of which required heavy readings (at times) to be completed by the end of the week. I didn’t balance it as well as I would have liked, and I realized I have to take a different approach to learning when it seems too much or uninteresting. Especially since the field I am entering as an MD will require me to read extensively, including papers that I might consider mundane or heavy.

To begin with, I recognize that I need to understand myself and apply that knowledge to my learning strategy. For example, I know I am a kineshetic and, at times, a visual learner. With this, I might instead watch a video on a concept I’m struggling with rather than reading the entire textbook segment. I might complete different variations of a problem rather than the few that the professor makes available. Learning what works for me, rather than what I expect everyone else to be doing, not only makes the learning experience more tailored to me and thus more rewarding when I grasp the concept, but it also makes it more enjoyable.

As a learner, I also want to be open to new methods and understand that change is a natural part of the learning process. What worked before might not work again, and that is okay! As an MD, I will be dealing with patients from diverse backgrounds, with varied experiences, cultures, and problems. Learning how to work around what I am not used to is vital for approaching a person in need in a way that still allows them to be comfortable with me.

As a learner, I want to be more observant and not take things personally. I am already on this path and feel I am improving, but at times, I can get carried away with how someone treats me negatively, especially if I have been nothing but sweet to them. I am continuing to understand and remember that people face silent battles and might inadvertently project those onto the next person. I cannot control how a person’s mood is that day, but I can control how I respond to it. All a person might need is a smile. A hug. Someone to confide in. Someone to cry to. Allowing myself to be that person for someone else goes a long way. Being more empathetic opens up opportunities for me that many might not get to reach because I made that person feel seen. I saw through them when many only glanced.

With every small step I take, there is a massive step from who I used to be to who I am becoming. A learner is willing to adapt. New information is essential for expanding my knowledge of the world and the people around me, and I am grateful for the ability to acquire new wisdom. Shifting my perspective from viewing the accumulating workload as “too much” to a new level of understanding will help me navigate this new era of my life. I know it will all be worth it in the end, and, most definitely, fuel my passion to become the best physician I can be.