Coping with studying as a medical student

I wonder how many of you had ever considered giving up the student medical career. I did seriously consider giving up my medical student career in the 1^st term. If you want to hear more, please read on.

As a direct medical entrant (1^st MB), I found the medical student set up and the surroundings completely alien and unfamiliar to me. The anatomy dissections and the daily lectures were exhausting and very demanding. I spent hours and hours studying till late in the nights with very little mental satisfaction and hardly any measurable out put. The bi weekly anatomy signatures were reasonable but trying to make some sense of the vast amount of material presented to us during the daily lectures in physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, histopathology etc was much beyond me. The more I studied, less I understood and even less I remembered.

By the end of the 1^st term, I was overwhelmed with the ever accumulating work load. When we heard of the end of term tests and vivas, I just froze with fear. At the time, I was with the “De Silva “group as my body partners. Most were keen, studious and serious but some were taking life relatively easy. 

When I expressed my difficulties and the morbid fears in having to face the 1^st term exams, none of the batch mates in the group took me seriously. As days passed by, I became more and more agitated and unsettled mentally.

Just one week prior to the scheduled exams, I was totally exhausted and had reached the end of my tether. I packed my belongings and left my boarding house and took the Ruhunu Kumari train home.

I had told my parents of the scheduled tests and the last date of the term previously. But when I returned home earlier than planned, they were surprised and confused. When I told them why I came home, my mother was very angry and disappointed. She thought I was being stupid for giving up such a competitive and elite career and wanted me to return to Colombo the next day.

My father (he was a school head master) took a very different approach. He asked me to express my feelings in great detail and asked me if I knew of previous statistics as to how many  had given up the medical career in the 1^st term, how many would normally fail and what happens to them if they fail. I had no knowledge of these details but gave some bogus figures to show that quite a few tend to drop out.

He appeared very sympathetic and understanding and accepted my action of returning home in the circumstances. He told me to just relax and enjoy the return home. He did not want me to do any more studies or make any special preparations for the exams but just take it easy.  He did suggest that I could sit the exams once but that I could go to Colombo the previous evening prior to the exam date. He appeared so calm and supportive and showed no anger or disappointment with my sudden and hasty decision.

I was happy with his advice and was determined to prove that I would fail the exams as I had already preconceived. As suggested, I enjoyed my stay at home with no tension or worries of studying. I returned to Colombo just the evening prior to the exam date and attended all the exams and the vivas the next day. Eve though the results were to be shown in the notice board within a few days, I did not bother to stay in Colombo to see the results but returned home very happily soon after the exams were over. I felt quite relaxed and happy.

Few days later, one of my friends rang me to congratulate me on my exam success.

Strangely enough I was somewhat disappointed with this news as I was determined to prove that I would fail. When I told my father of the news, not surprisingly, my father asked me if I still wanted to pursue with my studies. He did have a long chat with me afterwards to explain that path to success can be very difficult and challenging and that we have to be strong and determined to face those challenges rationally.

On reflection, it is likely that I was feeling home sick and “depressed” and we did not have the necessary back up facilities for proper counselling and guidance.  I am so appreciative of my father’s tactical approach and superb understanding during such a crisis. It is possible I would have given up my student medical career forever, if he also tried to force me to go back to studies.

I just would like to hear if any one of you had similar experiences during the medical student days. (I can hear some whispers that I should have given up my medical career in the best interest of humanity and they may well be correct!).

 Nana

 C.S.Nanayakkara

Dear phil, I never had success much here and generally most things went wrong for me. I remember my last memory was my fatherarriving to see the finals results and i told him that i had passed  but he insisted on going to the results board and his face dropped when he saw the class list. He said 'Umbalata viyadang karala wadak neha. Boru karala ne. Varen yanna gedara'. He took me home like a criminal. My first day as a doctor and that was how i was welcomed, However i arrived in Melbourne and under Southern cross my life changed. I got my exam easily, got 3 fellowships got consultant and teaching appointmentsmade some money and developed a consultant practice which i am doing for 35 yrs.  Had i stayed in Ceylon I would be still MOPU Kandakaduva my last place in Sl. My relatives say I do well because of Southern Cross.
Bye 

Daya J.

Daya Jeyasinghe

Hello Philip,

Our Med student days were not all frivolous and exhilarating. There were some serious sides as well.
You may recall that under the SCM umbrella we took charge of Sunday Services at the City Mission - how the inmates will be waiting for us during the whole week because they enjoyed our company. Nalini Rodrigo, yourself included, Buddy Reid, Jeyandran Guanaratnam, Singaratnam were the leaders at the services. The old folk would often sing out of tune, but looked forward to these every Sunday.

Then there was our involvement with CNAPT visiting the slum dwellers around Kelani river to check on their drug compliance. These poor folk would specially prepare short eats to entertain us. One week end there was flooding in Colombo, and a few of us from Brodie decided to check on these folk. All their homes were flooded out, furniture washed away because the river overflowed, dirty water was thigh deep, yet they thanked us so much that we remembered them and visited them to find out how they were doing. Those were the days never to be forgotten!

Regards,

Victor.

Phillip,

Your email forum seems very active and loaded with enthusiasm.

Karals has mentioned a few names.

There are many more that come to my mind, also many more anecdotes

starting with the very first - Abdurahman (aka Tunku) spent almost his entire post intern life in Canterbury, consultant Psychiatrist, now retired.

Vernie Abeynaike- popular GP at Templars Rd Mt Lavinia, Lambert Abeynaike, USA, Paediatric Surgeon, there was a write up about him in the Daily Noise a couple of years ago. 

LR Amarasekera(Suruttuwa),

D.Amarasinghe was Director Castle street for many years.

the list goes on,

Also there is another true story about David Jansz and his lectures.

There was a particular young lady who was dropped off at MC by  a gentleman who owned a car,

One rainy day, the couple arrived and parked opposite the Phys block.

Parting being such sweet sorrow, the couple  decided to engage in a quick last minute cuddle.

This was observed by Jansz,

When the young lady arrived at the lecture theatre, late as always, and a bit dishevelled,

Jansz let off one of his finest gems in perfect rhyme,

He said

"------------"(name of the lady) 

Cold weather,

come hither  

we'll leather.!!

Cheers

D


Golden Oldies of Medical Student days:-

The brothers Four - Yellow Bird , Sloop John B, Marianne & Jamaica farewell.

https://youtu.be/zuyb7zhcxIg?t=5