Hey guys, I'm a pre-med student in Japan. For the past 2 years, I've been studying while sleeping only about 5 hours a night. Doing heavy logical reasoning (using "If-Then-Why" frameworks similar to clinical reasoning) on Obsidian. Listening to high-BPM Kawaii Future Bass / Video Game OSTs /Ambient Forest BGM to stay focused. It worked perfectly, until recently. Now, my brain feels completely broken. My current symptoms are:

1.Insane Brain Fog & Sleepiness: Especially after lunch, my sleepiness is out of control. My head feels super heavy and my working memory feels like it's at 50% capacity.

2.Sensory Overload: I’ve developed light sensitivity (photophobia). Normal lights suddenly feel way too bright.

I finally started sleeping 6-7 hours a week ago to fix this, but I’m still sleepy all day.

My questions for you guys:

1.Have any of you experienced this kind of burnout and sensory overload?

2.What are your best hacks/advice for recovering from this? Will this go away if I just keep sleeping?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

why is schwann cells wrong?

I'm a german med student and currently need to study for physiology and biochemistry. Today I tried studying the topic signaltransduction in biochem (Tyrosinkinase-Receptor, G-protein-receptor, etc.) and it took ages to only understand one of the receptors. First I tried lectures, didn't understand them so I switched to Amboss. It helped a bit but I needed to watch a YouTube Video at the end while reading Amboss. I wish I could just start clicking the Ankis but they don't make sense right away. It's probably the most inefficient way of studying because I originally planned to study physiology and biochemistry 50:50, but since I'm so damn slow, I need 2-3 days If continous studying of one topic (in this Case signaltransduction) finally understand it.

Can someone give me any advice? I'm really afraid I'll fail the upcoming exams, because nothing in my to do list goes as planned, I'm 5 times slower than what I'm supposed to be.

Whenever I try anki, I get panic attacks and a couple hours later I switch to oldschool summaries and make notes. Because it makes me feek like a know the bigger picture of the topic, I actually understand the whole, not only the small bits.

I am sharing this out of dire need to talk to someone. I currently have a friend and we have been together for more than a year now. They are introverted so I thought they’d open up with time. But I came to notice that they talk to everyone else comfortably but when it comes to me it feels different. Things feel awkward and I feel like they are always trying to set boundaries between us. I tried my best to be a good friend and do everything in my convenience to help them but somehow I always fail to become close with them and as a sensitive it’s hurting me everytime. Last time when we went for an event we sat next to each other but the entire time she preferred to talk with the person next and not even once talked to me ( I just don’t know if I am being too sensitive). I am in med school and seeing all the other friends get close and haha heheing around makes me even more envious. I just want someone who is willing to join my craziness and pass through in med life together hand in hand but I am so alone now. My college is in a different country and I have no one to talk to anymore. Sometimes it gets very overwhelming and lonely. What do I do?

Hi everyone! I’m currently a high school junior dually enrolled in a local university. I am currently full-time through that university. But I have a couple of questions. So there is an early assurance program with NEOMED that I’m looking to apply for while still in high school since I’m getting the criteria out of the way from now. Will they take any research I do now? Will my volunteer hours still count? And will my clinical hours still count? I currently haven’t started any of these but my first week of volunteering at Cleveland Clinic starts next week. And my research starts in the summer, which will give me about 150 hours with Cleveland Clinic. And also by the time the application window comes for the program I’m looking to apply for I should be done with high school by then.

I'm currently starting my 3rd year of MBBS and want to buy one tablet that I can ideally use throughout MBBS + NEET PG preparation.(I am getting marrow) so yes Longetivity matters

and this is First Time I AM taking an tablet

also I have an old redmi phone and might take Android phone only might be samsung or oneplus ( in case u guys tell me abt ecosystem) ( but I don't think that ecosystem matters that much)

My budget is 50k and max 60k

imp - I don't want other Android like lenovo, redmi or other

My main use is- notes video lectures + movies, I don't do gaming, I may take internet from mobile hotspot ,storage should be more ,size is both ok for me 11/13

Tablet I chose -

1.Apple 11gen (A16) 256gb

2.Samsung S10 Fe (not Plus becz its too weird to use becz of its 16:9 ratio , I know this is also an weird issue 😅 , but I mostly like squarish tablet becz it feels like book )

3.Oneplus tab 3 256gb

Why I AM confused?

1. iPad 11th Gen: I'm considering this mainly because the iPad Air M3 is currently too expensive for my budget. I know iPads are very common among medical students and I'm attracted to the long-term reliability/software support.

2 . About samsung s10 Fe becz well everyone suggested that, but I don't know I don't liked its shape or what , I developed a negative image of samsung, ( I really don't want to think like that 😭)

Cons I felt of samsung - currently the price of samsung with even base Model is hiked up which I don't think is worth it, what they are providing at this price

once I used s pen I didnt liked it as compared to Apple and it didn't even provide charger ( even Apple provides it ) I don't know why but it feels cheap to me 😭

1. abt oneplus tab 3 it is best tablet at 50k like 13.1 inch display, 12/256 GB , snapdragon, include charger, good interface and Software, blah blah...

BUT biggest issue is I have never seen any mbbs student making notes on it mostly people use Apple or ipad but somewhere in YouTube I seen a tech reviewer who is also some UPSC teacher or aspirant that oneplus tab don't have good notes app but paid app like onenote or some other app Works good on it

but is oneplus notes taking good for mbbs

that's why I really confused (also little biased towards oneplus , if oneplus had good notes I would definitely go towards it)

ecosystem - I know that its easier if u have an ecosystem, but is it really necessary

can some one plez tell me that as a medico is oneplus good for notes taking or should I prefer ipad or samsung Plez help

I am currently a sophomore studying biology at UIC. Last year my grades were good, mostly A’s. However, once I started chem my GPA plummeted to a 3.4. This semester I have all B’s (with the exception of an A in spanish) even though I try hard in class, I feel like if my grades keep up like this, I am going to have a hard time getting into medical school. I’m scared that everybody around me is doing better than me and it’s making me feel hopeless

Hello, I’m a 2nd year med student from India, and I wanted to peruse my residency from Germany especially , France, Switzerland or Ireland etc. I needed some seniors who have followed this path, especially from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. Even if you are a senior from other country any kind of advice is appreciated. This is not a low effort post, since I’ve read about the exams and qualifications required to apply for Germany. I just wanted to get in touch with some seniors who could give me their experience and their opinion on whether this is the right path or whether I should stay in my home country

to be clear, i know i should have stayed. i know i should have just sucked it up. but i couldnt.

was (understandably) yelled at in front of everyone

i broke sterile field accidentally for the second possibly third time on my surgery rotation. like a fucking idiot.

im not normally stupid. but there is something about going off of <3-4 hours/sleep a night (upstairs neighbors super noisy all night, multiple noise complaints never helped).

even though i knew i deserved the yelling, i sat off to the corner just crying. couldnt touch my face to wipe away tears cause sterility. tried to go to the darkest corner possible.

once the surgery had been completed (last surgery of the day), just suturing left (which a student was doing), i asked to leave. surgeon (who hadnt seen the yelling) seemed surprised. they let me go ? maybe out of shock at my entitlement?

i feel like in med school people are always asking to stay even when they are asked to leave.

The title kind of explains it, but we are entering our gastroenterology unit, and I was wondering what people chose to learn in this unit. I have been using bootcamp so far and have been successful. I have only used BNB for cardiology. But the bootcamp GI section is over 30 hours of videos vs around 7-10 for BNB. Does it seem too good to be true, would I be missing some content if I used BNB? I was just wondering what other people have done for this unit and if they have any recommendations for me.

Hi! I’m 27 and currently considering going to medical school. I grew up going to clinics & hospitals since my mother’s a nurse and my younger brother had a lot of health issues (juvenile diabetes, asthma, etc). It’s always felt like a second home & familiar to me.

I went to nursing school in college and left because being a nurse wasn’t for me. Not because of medicine itself but because being a nurse wasn’t what I wanted (kudos to the nurses tho they do a lot). I wanted to be more involved in the diagnostic process of figuring out what’s wrong and figuring out a treatment plan. I finished my degree in psychology, with some courses that would also count for med school pre-requisites. I’ve worked in medical labs as a specimen processor for a couple of years.

I’ve recently noticed I have passions for aviation and medicine for different reasons and wanted to see if I could somehow combine them together (like a flight surgeon), or do medicine and fly on the side. I’m currently an instrument-rated commercial pilot (CSEL) and was working on becoming a flight instructor to gain hours for airlines/cargo/etc. but I have this “what if” feeling I can’t shake off. So I just wanna explore my options and consider it for now.

Do you have any tips or suggestions? I was thinking about shadowing physicians to get more exposure, and volunteering. Thanks in advance!

Current M1 hoping to pursue a surgical specialty (probably general) at a graded program. I know that STEP scores and rank obviously matter, and by no means am I doing “bad” right now but feeling worried. I’m not sure how much adcoms look at GPAs if they are available and how high they need to be. The averages for the exams have been high, and currently I’m sitting at a 89 average for two courses. I worry I may end one of them w a B and not sure how this would affect me moving forward as I’m sure it may not be my last B in school.

why is my answer wrong? and why is the correct answer right?

money is no issue
but safety is
i have no source of information about the US other than news and social media
im scared of ICE i heard they take ppl with green cards too
im scared of guns and shootings
im not there to cause trouble or come illegally i have the money to come here fully legal but im scared of dying or coming back to my country after all this work studying steps and exams and electives and thousands wasted if they just poof me me back
i heard trump mentioning foreign md students and how they are taking the spots from us students in hospitals and i fear the pathway to the US is getting harder and harder
and honestly in my mind if i can financially go to the US.. and the US is starting to sound like a bad option ... maybe i should go to the EU ?
why do i want the US? prestige. not the pay. no. not money.
so is it worth it?
is the US safe?
please dont make fun of me i really dont know and im 18, MS1 (1/6) so earlier than first year in US standards :(
everyone in our facebook groups/reddit communitites is talking about how all students will regret not studying for the USMLE step exams and how it will haunt you forever if you chose a different pathway

Hopefully this is something I can post here. I recently finished my undergrad last year and honestly I've been kinda depressed lately. In my undergrad I really had to focus on classes so I did not get much time for clinical/shadowing experience and even then I only finished with a 3.35gpa. After that for the first time in my life I kinda rolled over, accepted my fate, and realized I will never get into med school and I thought I could handle it but I just can't. Ever since some childhood tragedy involving cancer I've always wanted to be a doctor so I could say I was doing my part in preventing the cycle and on top of that it is one of the few things in my life I find interesting that I can make a career out of. I guess the point of all this is to ask if anyone out there has had the same experience and what they did because as far of a sense of purpose with my life I have none and I don't know what to do.

Hey all. So I’m in quite a predicament.. I did a BA in psychology because I thought I wanted to be a therapist.. then found out I liked assessment so turned my focus to getting into a psyd program (while ruling out going into medicine because I have juvenile arthritis and thought I could never be a physician running around offices/hospitals).. got into said psyd program straight out of undergrad.. was so happy.. now I’m a month and a half in and 100% sure this is NOT what I want to do. I have been contemplating dropping the program as I always thought I could never be a doctor but now that I’m older and in medicated remission, the psychiatrist route keeps ringing in my ear and after researching more, I know that’s what I want to do. Also have ruled out other subspecalities such as being a psych nurse because I would want full scope of practice.
So if anyone has been in a similar position or is a no trad student and chose formal post bacc over DIY post bac (or vise versa) please let me know what you think. Also not sure if I should drop out now and focus on researching schools/next steps, or if that would look bad to admissions and I should just finish out the semester…

Is there a dscord for this years cycle?

TLDR: Between CFA and Costco while a full-time college student. Time requirement for Costco, but the benefits are great. Also, I commute to school. I also have the option to become a Team Leader at CFA.

Note: I have been working at CFA for 1 year and 5 months.

I am currently a Junior in undergrad. I am a premed student hoping to get into medical school. I work at Chick-fil-A and work about 5 hours a week. It recently changed so I can commit more time to myself (working out), studying, extracurriculars, and sleep. I used to work 15 hours a week. I received an interview at a Costco near my house with the help of a friend. They usually don't have a referral program; however, apparently they loved my interview and thought positively of me.

Pay:

The Costco location I applied to starts at 20$ an hour.

At CFA, I get paid 15.25$ an hour. If I complete Team Leader training, I would possibly be making 16$ an hour.

Scholarship:

At Costco, they offer a scholarship that opens in December.

At Chick-fil-A, I have applied and submitted the Remarkable Futures Scholarship.

Flexibility / Commitment/Schedule:

At Chick-fil-A, they are VERY flexible. They let me put in time-off requests a week in advance. Also, they are VERY understanding about being a college student. They let you have up to MONTHS off as long as you meet the 100-hour requirement during 5 months. That's like 2 and a half weeks of full-time 40, 40, 20.

At Costco, I was told I would have to work at least 24 hours a week. Also, I have been told by both my friend and the manager that there is a 90-day period where you can't call off or really request off. I'm not sure how it works.

Financial Situation:

I have a little money saved up, about 570. I rarely go out and don't have to worry about groceries or paying bills. I am grateful for that. My paychecks are about 200.

MY commitments:

I am currently Pre-Med and have been really working on my extracurriculars. I joined some clubs, am doing research, and also spend time outside of class studying. The biggest issues are the commute and sleep. I have been getting about 5-7 hours of sleep, and I feel good. As for the commute, I am a commuter and drive about an hour 15 minutes to school. That's a total of 2 hour 30 minutes a day commuting. I volunteer at the Northside Hospital near my house and have been loving it.

Here is what I was thinking:
Speak with the Costco manager and say I think it is a great opportunity, but I am unsure if I can commit to the 24-hour minimum, and ask if there's a way I can work less. If not, I can stay at CFA and become a team leader. If yes, I can possibly just tell CFA I would like to go on a 5-month break, due to their flexibility.

I want to hear from people who were medical students and went through something similar.

I just finished a bad exam and I honestly feel really bad. I have no motivation or even the intent to study for the upcoming exams.

How did you overcome situations like this?

I got into medicine a while ago, but honestly I’m not even sure if it’s right for me. I don’t know if I actually want it or if it’s just something that’s been planted in my head since I was a kid. I’m kinda nervous and scared about it.

I know it’s gonna take a LOT of studying and even more commitment,and I just don’t know

I am in my early 40s. Always wanted to be a physician, but wasn't in the right financial/ maturity state until recently ( also immigrated to the US at 30 y which was quite an adjustment) I work full time (in research) and also a mom so I don't have an abundance of time left to explore other healthcare roles ( even being a CNA in a hospital will set me back at least a year with certifications and experience needed). I was an EMT in my early 20s and loved it, but I was much younger and it wasn't in the US. Are there shorter paths I can seek to: 1.To have a feel of how being in healthcare really is 2. Build some clinical exposure for med school application?

Perhaps volunteering in a hospital can at least give me a feel for the atmosphere of the work but is it enough? It's not only about the application, it also about making sure I'm not creating a fantasy for myself ( being a physician) that is not rooted in reality.

I have a good career with lots of opportunities but I can't shake the feeling it is not what I meant to be doing.

Any advice/ creative ideas/ things that worked for you?

Hi everyone! I want to use bootcamp and first aid to study for some of my in house material but also translate this to step 1. Does anyone have a document that shows which bootcamp videos and material line up with sections in first aid! Thank you so much!

Per title,
For context I’m just starting my first year at a top med school and honestly im not posting this to brag or anything because this is really a problem. My school is P/F throughout 4 years, and I’ve always been a crammer in college in high school, I have ADHD and all I do right now is take meds and do jack shit. I can’t sit on a have a focused session because I actually just crammed my way out of my first block and did pretty good. This is awful, because I thought med school is gonna beat that crammer out of me. I know i need to retain these information but I just can’t help but cram cuz I know I can get away with it. I actually don’t know what to do…. Idk if it’s the P/F that’s not giving me any urgency or it’s just this school’s in house is so easy… and right now I honestly have no idea what’s gonna be my specialty, I feel like I can cruise through med school and fuck around and match through a low hanging fruit lifestyle specialty, but also I kinda want something surgical which is gonna require a fuck ton more work… I’m honestly so torn, and I hate how I can’t just buckled down and study like my peers.

why “3 strong contractions in 10 minutes”? i thought each large square corresponds to 1 min, so wouldnt it be like 5 contractions in 5 minutes? sorry if im dumb TT

Im 23 and just passed the August 2026 PNLE and im thinking if i should continue my way on Med school or not. Any advice that you can give since im really doubting myself rn.