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An M2 recently asked me for advice about starting clerkship year. I said, “Don’t give up your hobbies.” He was so surprised, saying the clerkship director told them, “Once you start rotations, medicine will be your life. You will not have time for hobbies, so enjoy them now.” 
First, yikes. He was terrified b/c someone in a position of power told him and his classmates to give up everything they love in pursuit of...what? Honors? AOA? Of course rotations are hard and require time, but is this really still the advice we are giving our learners??
The fastest way to burn yourself out as an unpaid, overevaluated student is to forego all that makes you human. I told this M2 he‘ll be a BETTER doctor if he has hobbies, bc he’ll have the energy to actually care when he’s at work. We need outlets that are NOT medicine
It’s dangerous to create the narrative for students that their value is = to their test scores/grades. Med students are already their own worst critics. If you’re beating yourself up because you fell short of honors AND you’ve abandoned your hobbies/friends, where do you turn?
Normalize hobbies. You can both love medicine & spend your evenings reading for ~fun~. You can be a great surgeon who spends every weekend playing baseball and your nights perfecting homemade baked goods. Video games, TV, hiking, family - THIS is what patients are interested in!
I have never connected w/ a patient over a shared passion for UWorld. Nope, my best conversations have been about sports rivalries, national parks, Minecraft, and where to find good tacos. It’s not possible to grind 24/7, so don’t try. Your patients & future you will thank you
