Wellness strategies for medical students

Being a medical student can be fun and hugely rewarding, but also challenging and stressful. You'll witness life, death and everything in between, constantly balancing clinical commitments with revision, teaching, exams and assessments.

Reflecting on your wellness and developing good self-care habits early will benefit you throughout your medical career.

What is a wellness plan?

A wellness plan helps you find strategies for a balanced, healthy life, including physical, mental, emotional, and social health. Everyone is different, so it's about discovering what works for you.

A wellness plan can help you recognise when you're overstressed and give you tools to improve the situation.

Benefits to medical students 

• Strengthen academic performance. Managing stress and mental health boosts focus, memory and motivation. 
• Prevent burnout. Healthy habits and coping strategies can keep stress from becoming overwhelming.
• Improve emotional resilience. Early emotional coping strategies can help you handle the challenges of medical training more effectively.
• Enhanced patient care. You're more likely to provide empathetic and compassionate care to patients in the future when you're healthy. 

Creating your own wellness plan

Reflect on what brings you peace and wellbeing. You may get an endorphin rush sweating it out in a spin class, or maybe knitting with your friends is your happy place.

Here are a few things you can incorporate in your wellness plan.

Adopt healthy lifestyle choices

Making informed and sustainable choices promotes overall wellbeing.

• Establish a routine, including time for self-care, relaxation, and activities you enjoy.
• Maintain a healthy diet to support brain function and overall wellbeing.
• Ensure you're getting adequate and quality sleep.
• Choose exercises and activities you enjoy to stay motivated, and make it a regular part of your routine.

Journaling

Journaling can help you identify stressors, reflect on experiences and process emotions.

Choose a format that works for you, whether it's a notebook or a journaling app. Regular journaling at a specific can build a consistent habit. 

Here are some prompt questions to get started:

• Reflect on your day: what was the best part of your day? What challenges did you face?
• Emotional check-in: how are you feeling right now and why?
• Gratitude list: what are three things you’re grateful for today?

Keep in mind that a personal journal does not replace your ongoing reflective medical practice as a student or doctor, so be sure not to include any identifiable information about patients.

Find your support team

Maintaining social connections and seeking help can provide a crucial support network.

• Connect with fellow students to share experiences and support each other. Consider joining peer support groups or mentorship programmes.
• Stay in touch with family and friends, even through phone calls or video chats, to stay connected and supported.

Recognise when all is not well

Under pressure, we can lose our sense of perspective and cannot always rely on subjective feelings. Here are seven key early warning signs of medical trainees in difficulty (Paice, Orton, 2014).

It can easily be applied to medical students and is worth being aware of during medical school and throughout your career.

• The 'disappearing act': not answering bleeps, frequent absences and sick leave, lateness.
• Low work rate: slow in performing tasks, unable to manage workload despite long hours.
• 'Ward rage': bursts of temper, conflicts with colleagues.
• Rigidity: poor tolerance of ambiguity; inability to compromise or prioritise.
• 'Bypass syndrome': colleagues finding ways to avoid seeking the doctor's help.
• Career problems: struggles with exams, career uncertainty, disillusionment with medicine.
• Insight failure: rejecting constructive criticism, defensiveness, counter-challenging.

Getting help

Help can be found in many places. When our own wellness strategies are not enough to overcome anxiety or stress, you may need a medic who understands the issues and challenges you face.

Other times, it may be the opposite: a non-medic can offer a fresh perspective and remind you of a world outside medicine. University tutors can help with study-related concerns, and most medical schools offer pastoral and counselling services. Independent counsellors or your GP can also provide support.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. If your first port of call isn’t helping, try another.

While many stressors can be managed through balanced living and talking, specialist help may sometimes be necessary. Students and doctors can sometimes be reluctant to seek help, just like anyone else, but it's important to make sure to protect your health.

Financial help for students

Money worries and mental health can be connected. If you're a medical student in your final two years facing financial hardship due to a change in circumstances caused by mental illness, you may be eligible for financial support from the RMBF. 

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^Reference

^{Paice E, Orton V. Early signs of the trainee in difficulty. Hosp Med. 2004 Apr;65(4):238-40. doi: 10.12968/hosp.2004.65.4.12739. PMID: 15127680}

This page was correct at publication on 06/08/2024. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.