Looking for space to balance your physical, mental and ambitions when you go abroad

Before the sun rose, my cellphone alarm was calling me to immediately open my eyes. Since starting my kos period last April, my daily life is now filled with demands to wake up between 3:30 and 5 am, follow up patients, chasing assignment deadlines, and sometimes overtime until late at night.

People judge those who work inside scrubs are people with noble goals and meaning in life. That’s true, I also studied upper medicine objective deep. But there is one side that people often don’t see: extreme fatigue, high job demands and responsibilities, and hard work to be able to remain present in optimal physical and mental condition.

For those of you who are or will be pursuing medical education, I would like to share a number of realistic expectations about cos life and my journey in realizing that in order to care for others,

We also have to be able to take good care of ourselves.

The difference between studying in a classroom and a patient’s room

When I was still studying on campus, I felt that medical students were probably the most tired students in the world. However, when compared with koas, it turns out I underestimated my university life. The studying part is still tiring, but I can still do my hobbies much more freely, enjoy the weekend to the fullest, and worry about the quizzes and exams that I will face.

Koas has become a different world. I now had to be present in hospitals, applying what I had learned over several years to real patients. Not only that, the schedule is no longer there grip like on campus. Sometimes my day is finished before lunch, sometimes it can last until 10pm. Apart from the duty schedule, there are still assignments and reading materials that I have to do.

Apart from the physical demands, what is the biggest challenge during this koas period is feel lonely This is quite strange for me to admit, because at the time I was always surrounded by patients, doctors and colleagues. Although I have support system, complaining doesn’t feel right when my friends are also going through the same thing. So, I often keep these feelings to myself.

But, it’s all worth it. While in college, my learning process was more focused on books, papers and journals. Now I can see the application of this knowledge in the real world, and see how what I learned can really help a patient. I also realize that medical science is not always exactly the same textbook that I read. There are several cases where we have to be able to think more creatively and adaptively, according to the patient’s various conditions. Turns out, there are still lots of things I can learn.

3 Main focus on life sustainability koas: Body, Emotions, and Social

Like 5W1H, I have found 5W in my koas journey: What what should I do (What), Who that I have to deal with (WHO), Where I have to pay (Where), And Why I have to pay (Why). Now I just need to find the last H: How I can survive during the free period (How).

first step is to make sure my body can survive this busy schedule. The easiest thing for me to do is to move temporarily. It’s impossible to survive if you have to be a commuter. I finally decided to move to Hillcrest Bay which is located close to where I board. It turns out, this decision not only provides access to much less energy, but also becomes a space for me to rest mentally.

Now on to second stepmaking sure I stay mentally fit. Living alone gives me more time and control with myself, which is vital in the midst of a routine filled with stress and pressure that is beyond our control. I feel that cleaning my room gives me a good sense of control over myself, like I can ‘clean up’ one part of my life when everything else is enough. chaotic. Apart from that, I also decorated the bedroom table with my favorite K-pop knick-knacks, making it a corner that is truly all about myself and has nothing to do with medicine.

Ladder thirdmy social needs. My social life has certainly become incredibly limited. The way I deal with this is by moving my study location to where I live. Incidentally, Cove Hillcrest is student-focused accommodation, so there are lots of communal spaces that can be used study room. By moving from place to place to study, I don’t feel isolated in my room and can still feel the presence of other people passing by in this residence.

But I still need connection with other people. So, I made a co-living concept residence like Cove a ‘base’ for my friends. The many communal spaces available make Cove Hillcrest a comfortable place to study together, or joke around while spooning the fried noodles we cook to unwind after a long day. They also often stay late when the day ends, considering the proximity of this residence to our boarding house location.

Not only friends, I also try as much as possible to stay connected with my family. At least once a week I will definitely meet my family. If possible, I would go home, and when I was busy they would visit Cove Hillcrest.

That way, 5W1H is complete in facing my version of koas.

A small message to your fellow students (and yourself)

If you are going through a period of education that is quite challenging, for example like the koas I am currently on, there is one thing I can say: sometimes everything is terrible. We cannot avoid feeling tired, making mistakes, and feeling doubtful about the career path we are on.

I myself have faced experiences that could be categorized as ‘mistakes’. At that time there was quite a long gap between the two patient visits I had to make, and I decided to go back to the room to rest for a while. Turns out I was too…belittle I was tired, especially because the night before I had been on duty until late at night, and that happened fall asleep. I just woke up when a friend called me with the same schedule, and at that moment it felt like everything was falling apart. I arrived late, missed a number of visits.

That happened, but my life was not stuck at that moment. I took the lesson, and can still continue my study like any other day until now.

So in my opinion, keep going and don’t stop. No matter how bad our day is, we can definitely get through it. Sometimes our minds see life very pessimistically, even though in reality when we live it, yes, it can be possible.

Then, not finding the answer to our educational journey is not a failure. I am often asked, “Which doctor do you want to become?” Until this moment, I don’t have the answer. My goal now is to be able to graduate from my koas on time and be braver to try new things, such as research or internships. As students, we are still in the learning process. As long as we learn wholeheartedly, in the end we will find the answer.

Believe that all hard work will produce the best results.

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Written by Kanaya Bianca
Young Doctor
Bay Tenants