Question:
Any tips on how to reduce anxiety during school terms, especially having to do with grades? I find during school terms I bury myself in studying and don't surface for four months, which leaves me depressed.
Response:
This is something I find that a lot of people in pharmacy have to deal with, just because of the nature of our program and how intense it gets. A part of it comes with understanding that we are part of a professional program and that some personal sacrifice is required – being a professional means that your work is intrinsic to who you are as a person. That being said, it shouldn’t detract from your quality of life or make you depressed. Some things I’ve learned to do over the few years I’ve been here have helped me walk the fine line between working hard and still having room to breathe.
a) First and foremost, I found that really being organized at the beginning of the semester allows you to plan time for yourself. Writing out the dates of when assignments are due and when exams are shows you when you can afford to take it easy. Even more, if you find yourself having a slow week, work ahead. This might sound counter-intuitive, but working ahead for me often means I can do it at my own pace and be relaxed while I’m doing it. It also means being less stressed while I work and not having as much to do as others when that point in the semester comes where everything collides at once.
b) Even when things are really busy, aim for at least an hour of “me-time” each day. Do something that brings you back to feeling like yourself again. For me, it’s walking my dog or just being a vegetable in front of the TV for a little bit. Working all day without giving myself a reward or letting my mind rest a little often makes me irritable and unhappy. But giving myself that extra time for me really makes a huge difference.
c) Realize that grades aren’t everything. For me, coming to this realization actually helped a lot because the pressure of doing well was really what stressed me out the most. Although grades are important, what’s more important is you learning the material you need to be a good pharmacist. If you can “re-frame” why you’re trying to do well in school in your mind and make it more of a personal goal (i.e. learning to make yourself a stronger clinician versus learning to get a certain grade-point average), you might find yourself feeling a little less pressured and stressed. Learning for pharmacists is also an ongoing process that’ll continue for the rest of your career. Sure you might do poorly on a midterm regarding diabetes this semester – but realize that you’re going to be working with patients who are diabetic and managing their medications for the rest of your professional life. You’ll always have the opportunity to grow and improve – a mark on an exam isn’t at all reflective of how you’ll perform in practice as a pharmacist.
d) Lastly, I think one of the biggest things you can do in terms of making pharmacy less stressful is figuring out the best way you learn. For me, I found that I had to experiment a lot to find what was most efficient for me in terms of studying. During undergrad, I used to write out my own study notes and try to learn that way but with the volume of content for things like IPFC, this was not practical. I tried listening to recordings of lectures, learning mostly from textbooks, but eventually for me, what really worked was making flowcharts and mind-maps and sample questions because of the way I learn. This allowed me to learn things much more quickly and I think a big part of school in general is “learning how you learn best.” This method might not work for you, but it’s important to try different things and find what works best. You might be surprised at how much of a difference it makes. Try group studying, making tests for each other, or testing yourself with cue-cards. If you study in the way that lets you absorb information most effectively and efficiently, you’ll find yourself with more time to relax and take things at a more reasonable pace.
I really hope that helps!