The DM Module: Challenges and New Lessons

Just as a warning, this post is basically a two-in-one post. The beginning of the post is strictly academics and talks about DM itself (+ tips), while the second portion is really focused on my emotional struggles and relationship stuff (feel free to skip, it's kind of long- get the popcorn out!)

DM (Digestion and Metabolism) was the most emotionally challenging module for me. Not just academically but personally; a lot happened during this module which made it difficult to balance both my personal life and academics.

ACADEMICS:

Academically, this module was insane in terms of content! Leading up to the exam, the week right up to it was full of new lectures, small groups, and quizzes! The content itself wasn’t hard but the pace was difficult to keep up with and I felt like I didn’t have enough time. I enjoyed the content and what we learned during this module, but I did feel like I could have been more productive and used a better approach on handling all the content. In terms of my study habits, due to personal issues, I did slack a bit which was my own downfall for this module, and it is my aim for the next module to not slack off and stay consistent with my study habits. I personally found that the exam was challenging. I had studied a lot and especially emphasized the biochemistry but with the amount of content, it really felt like my mind was all over the place trying to not mix up all the pathways. I also felt that the physio component of the module was very confusing and one of my biggest weaknesses in the module (despite having completed all the practice questions for physiology ).

My main goal for NB, is to truly be more effective with studying and NOT GET BEHIND which was my biggest weakness in this module!

Tips for DM:

Biochemistry:

• Draw out all the pathways and know their regulators! I would honestly recommend doing this every day or every few days so it stays ingrained in you and you aren’t mixing up enzymes!

• Practice questions! I personally struggled with this (for reasons mentioned below) but do not forget these! There are a lot of “tiny” things that are assessed, and PQs really help you solidify what you learned and not mix up the pathways.

• Emphasize the disorders! Really focus a lot of your time differentiating between the disorders since it can be easy to get them mixed up and notice their buzzwords! (again, PQs would help with this!)

• Anki- I found this super helpful just to quickly review the pathways and enzymes!

Physiology:

• DON’T SLEEP ON IT! A lot of the PQs for physio were on major concepts which I did see on the exam and the physio was recurring throughout all three exam blocks! (I had underestimated it!)

Anatomy:

• Looks more intimidating than it actually was! The main thing to focus on is the blood supply and nerves, as well as the spaces! I had studied these things so anatomy was my strongest topic!

Histology:

• Very simple if you studied! I had reviewed the histo a lot, just going through the lecture slides was enough for the exam (PQs are always better, I also have a strong histo background) but since I was lacking the time, I studied off the slides and I was able to feel very confident and do very well on the histology questions! The questions were also very simple and straight forward so don’t lose simple and easy marks on these questions!

EMOTIONAL STUFF:

Dealing with Emotional Challenges and Medical School:

Okay so now the emotional part (skip this part- nothing but emotional stuff past this).

This was the true struggle I faced with this module: my emotional state. I faced many hurdles and challenges during this term, but it truly showed me how strong I was to be able to get through it all while also balancing medical school and not falling too far behind! This module taught me a lot through everything that happened throughout the module, but a lot of good things happened to me as well!

To start off the module, I felt like the world was literally crashing down around me. The first week of the module was one of my toughest weeks of all time. I went through a major breakup which was completely unexpected, and I was very hurt from it. It had been a full-on 11-month-long relationship (my longest relationship yet!), so it was painful for me especially since I did have such high hopes of it lasting forever. But being in medical school, I literally didn’t have the time to go cry around about it. I did spend the first week of the module behind because my mind was distracted and unable to focus which did push me behind by a week! I did have multiple breakdowns, but I had no choice but to keep pushing myself through and using active coping mechanisms to get through my emotions ASAP! I kept reminding myself that I was in medical school and couldn’t afford being behind and performing poorly and I had to get myself back together which did help me persevere through it.

The breakup was only one challenge, another challenge was the news of it being mandatory to go to Grenada in June for Term 3. This was completely unexpected as I had planned to go in August, but I never expected it to be so soon, and I felt like it was such short notice! I spent half of the DM module literally looking for housing, which was super stressful, plus flights and ensuring I had everything ready for when I leave in June! A big stressor in this was also dealing with the fact that I would be leaving my family and “moving out” again for who knows how long which was also something difficult to wrap my head around since I had been home for the past two years and I was not ready to leave again! This combined with the stress from my breakup and the stress of staying caught up in school felt like hell! But I was able to persist through and I gained new strength from this experience while also learning important lessons. These stressful events throughout DM are exactly what made this module difficult for me as emotionally I was struggling to keep it all together which was not easy, but I got through it!

Some mechanisms I used to really get back up was to stay distracted, journal out all my emotions, podcasts, staying physically active and getting support. I literally forced myself into studying and staying busy so I wouldn’t have time to think about anything else (which works in the short term). Journaling was the biggest mechanism that helped me because I was able to truly get my emotions out. When I was dating, I used to speak to my ex about everything so having a journal still felt like I was able to let everything out to myself instead of someone else! I was also able to truly reflect, and it did help with my healing process. Podcasts- I listened to a bunch of breakup podcasts (XD), and this may be a hit or miss for you, but I truly did find them helpful to gain a new perspective and get my motivation back! Physical activity was huge, I threw myself into working out every single day (minus weekends) and it truly helped me maintain a good schedule and stay fit while also helping me feel better mentally! Reaching out to my friends and family played a vital role! I needed someone to talk to, so having someone to reach out to as I was struggling was vital and they truly did help me push through!

This module taught me an important lesson in my personal life and that was to always prioritize myself! The heartbreak hurt and took me a while to accept, but at the end of it, I felt like it did push me onto the right pathway, and I did need it. I also believe that everything happens for a reason. For the rest of the DM module, I was furious/sad/hurt but I chose to use that energy in a healthy way by bettering myself through continuing to work on the best version of me! It pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and get super involved in my university, getting this blog more active and staying more focused on studying! And in a way I feel like it rewarded me as I was able to obtain two club positions (I didn’t even expect to get one position!). I also grew my engagement on social media, and it made me so happy to hear back from some of you who actually read my blog and I felt like I was able to truly help others out which is the whole purpose of my page!

I also made it my new personal goal to dedicate the next 4 years to literally stay away from all romantic relationships (unless if it happens naturally) and put all of my energy/time towards trying to get residency back in Canada (I had given up on this goal previously because of how difficult it is, but I thought to myself, “why not just push myself and set that as my new goal”). I did go through a very difficult time, but it did help me stay dedicated and focused on my goals. Previously, I wasn’t putting my full 100% effort into studying/my future because I was someone to prioritize relationships and give it all my energy and effort. But I guess after getting your heartbroken by the wrong man and him leaving you at the worst time ever, it truly teaches you how silly that is and at the end of the day, your ex is gone, and you are left with yourself so you should be your only priority! Now I feel like I can truly only prioritize myself and I have more time to dedicate to my future, continuing to build myself and keep up my ambitions!

I also believe that the whole “going to Grenada” news was also meant to be and was the perfect way for me to move on. In a way, as cheesy as this sounds, I low key feel like Julia Roberts from “Eat, Pray, Love” who literally gets her heart broken and escapes to a new country (I know, I’m so dramatic: p). So, in a way, I kind of feel like that’s my story; I went through a major heart break and the universe kind of forced upon me this opportunity to escape and in a way “start a fresh new life” in another country and that’s exactly how I’m going to approach it! I haven’t fully healed but I do feel so much better, optimistic and my mindset on relationships and my career have shifted to force me to be a better person and aim to be more successful and fully dedicated to myself. In a way, this experience allowed me to grow more and drop those childish expectations I had about love and relationships. Like most girls (especially those brainwashed by Bollywood), I used to think that I’d find my “prince” to come make everything better and what I went through truly proved it wrong. No one needs anyone to save them except for themselves and I truly proved it by literally getting back up on my own and being even more successful, stronger, and better than the previous version of me! So, this in a way was another lesson I learned: not to prioritize others so much and not have such high hopes about being in a relationship because at the end of the day, you got your own back! Plus, everything happens for a reason, and at the end of this, I feel like it was a very good thing for me.

Overall, DM was tough, what happened to me emotionally during DM was difficult, but I also felt like it was a huge lesson and it helped me heal and realign with my goals to be successful in the future! DM was a blessing in disguise, and I now know my weaknesses, I know what my goals are, and this experience allowed me to grow mentally and academically! I am proud of myself at the end of DM because I truly learned to be there for myself and love myself even more which has pushed me to work harder, gain new strength and be the best version of me.

I hope you enjoyed this little rant about DM and all my personal struggles. My goal of this blog is to be transparent and 100% honest. Always feel free to reach out to me regarding whatever, I’m always here for you as support and let me know what you thought about this post!

Tania Bhalla