Helping Medical Students Deal with Real Life Situations

Being a medical student is pretty stressful since it requires a lot of dedication, renunciation and sleep deprivation. It involves working harder but on the other hand, it also involves gaining more knowledge and more fun. Most people who start medical schools know what they’re putting themselves through and have a general idea what’s expecting them. And most people start medical school because they want to help other people and make things better if possible, that’s why they find this school and calling interesting, enjoyable and rewarding because they know what they’re working towards. 

Some of the medical students have grown up on TV shows such as E.R., House or Grey’s Anatomy which paint their expectations and their future profession full of romance, drama and comedy. For all the future and current medical students, it's important to face reality and allow them to deal with real-life situations that will help them be the best at what they do.

Virtual Reality 

Thanks to today’s technology most of the medical students nowadays can learn and gain knowledge in fun and engaging ways. One of which is a virtual reality that helps students and some professionals to use its advantages and learn faster and easier. Virtual reality is a platform that’s most used in training for medical staff and students. This technology changes and influences a pedagogical way of teaching and approaching learning. Virtual reality in medicine is mostly used in the training of nurses, doctors of general practice and surgeons. But more and more medical students are getting the same chance to use this kind of technology that will help them gain more experience and knowledge before stepping into the real world of a future doctor. Simulations, which are provided by virtual reality, are important in gaining and influencing skills and knowledge to interns, students and junior doctors without putting real-life patients at unnecessary risk. In virtual reality, medical staff can resolve practical dilemmas. As for medical students – they have an opportunity to understand and learn the human body. As well as performing hands-on surgeries in virtual reality without risking the lives of real patients.

Role Plays 

Role-plays are widely used as a helpful teaching and educational tool in medical education and most of the students with this method are helpful. Role plays provide medical students with an opportunity to imagine themselves either as doctors or patients and to put themselves in that role. Then, they’re given a particular scenario, and they’re expected to act professional and show the best they can do to help a patient. This kind of teaching is a great way to improve communication between students and their professors, to see things clearly and to see situations or problems form a different point of view and perspective. This is also a good way for professors to show their medical students what kind of mistakes they're making and how they should fix them to become better in future. The best part of using role-plays is that students don't have to be talented or experienced actors for medical role play. They just need to act out their given roles to explore their knowledge and to widen it. 

Different Healthcare Settings

Medical students should know more about and think about the facilities where they may end up working in if they opt for a healthcare career. Some of these facilities may include birth centres, ambulatory surgical centres, hospitals, imaging and radiology centres, mental health and addiction treatment centres and many more. 

Healthcare is associated with a massive effort of many different professional organizations and experienced professionals. If medical students are interested in purchasing a healthcare career they can rest assured that there are plenty of options and a wide range of choices when seeking a job. There are various settings where they may work as a healthcare professional including public, private and federal facilities. Medical students should be able to experience all of healthcare facilities and settings during their studies to see which suits them best - where they can gain the most experience according to their needs and knowledge and where they can give back the most. In one study, it was shown that medical students' perception of the importance of their placements in primary health care mainly depends on the quality of their relationship with their supervisor. And it was shown that for their professional development it's important to have an active role in an authentic environment and context.

Summary 

Being a medical student is not an easy thing to do, it's challenging but it's certainly a rewarding path. Before starting medical school remember that real-life medicine is not as romantic as it's shown on TV shows and movies. Time spent in medical school is the time which prepares you to understand the human body and human brain so that you can become capable of taking take of people and giving them much needed help in the most humane way.

Medical students are exposed to a stressed situation on a daily basis. These stressed scenarios can have psychological and physical effects on their well-being. That's why it's important for all the medical students out there to remember to take care of themselves as much as they're planning on helping and taking care of other people.