I sat for the MCAT yesterday.
About a month ago, I found myself reflecting on the the things in life that truly matter to me. Health was high up there. I've been worrying about making it through residency and still having my health at the end of it. No, I don't think residency causes cancer, but as I've gotten older I have felt the effects of prolonged sleep deprivation more profoundly. Having taught childbirth education classes for many years, I understand the principals of induced relaxation and I am quite good at entering a light meditative state very rapidly. Even with these stress-coping techniques at my disposal, I don't believe I've fared well as I've headed into the home stretch of pre-med studies. Despite working out regularly, I've managed to put on ten pounds since January.
At first glimpse it sounds vain to say I'd rather not be a physician than be a 200-pound physician. (I'm 5'8".) But weighing 200-pounds is more risky than most people think. Abdominal obesity (where I store my fat) is linked to increase cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Both of my parents passed away fairly young (they were in their 60s) and I believe that their lifestyle was the main factor. Neither of them smoked or drank excessively, but my father was overweight and my mother owned a high-stress business.
This year was my time to strike a balance. I've tried to be conscientious about the different plates I have spinning: a household of kids, a full-time job, a marriage, part-time classes, rental properties, MCAT studying--oh, yeah, and taking care of my own health. While I've done pretty good, I feel very out of kilter in taking care of my own health and nurturing my marriage. So about a month ago I decided to give myself permission to stop caring about the MCAT.
I took Thursday and Friday off of work. I thought I would do some studying, but alas, that wasn't what happened. Instead I worked out, ran some errands, and got a 90-minute massage. I firmly said to myself, "Whatever," and went to bed at a decent time. I truly do not recommend this strategy if your heart and soul ride onto whether or not you get into medical school, but when you are a little older than I am and you start to honestly assess what your adult life already has brought to you, the "whatever" approach just might be an approach you can live with.
I'll post my scores next month.
