Exam Day Routine ~ Med Student Exam #DayInTheLife

Hey Friends!

I'm back with another #DayInTheLife of a med student, but focusing on my exam day routine this time! Med school exams are incredibly stressful, emotional, and physically exhausting, so it's very important to take care of yourself before & after your test. I'm going to share a routine I've developed that has been really healthy for me, but like always, this is just my experience so please, take it, leave it, or chop it up and use parts of it! We all have our own needs, this is just what I do to fulfill mine! (But really quick - )

Talent is luck, the important thing in life is courage. - Woody Allen

I include this quote because so often high achievers can look at themselves in comparison to others and think they were not born talented enough. Imposters syndrome is real among these people, including medical students, and including me. Times of stress bring out these feelings, and since we are discussing one of those big times of stress in this post, I wanted to share a friendly reminder that you are courageous for showing up and doing your best. Your courage is what makes you qualified in your craft; your courage is what matters.

Now for the good stuff ..

My Exam Day Routine

Aka - last Friday lol.

6:45am

I finally bring myself to get out of bed. For night before your exam, it is SO IMPORTANT to get enough sleep. I cannot stress this enough. Staying up all night & cramming is only going to further your test anxiety, mentally fatigue you, and make your energy crash. You need enough sleep for mental clarity during your exam. The one time I stayed up late for an exam in med school I actually did worse and was far more anxious during the test, so since then, I've thrown that out the window and am in bed by 11pm the night before.

7:15

I left the house, in my comfy clothes & hair thrown up in a bun, ready to take my exam! On my way to the test, I stopped at Einstein's Brothers Bagels for a quick bite to eat and a coffee. It's usually a good idea to not change your food routine test morning. So if you're used eating in the morning, you should still eat. If you're used to a coffee when you get up, then have a coffee!

7:45

I arrived at campus, grabbed my test taking things, & headed over to our assigned testing room. We are allowed to enter early, but obviously can not have our laptops open or any notes/materials with us. We always sign a piece of paper saying we will maintain the honor code our school has in place before every exam, and then we are allowed to use the rest of the paper to "brain dump" info out onto if we wish. This paper gets submitted to the testing proctors at the end of the exam.

8:30

Our exam starts! This particular exam was over lower body anatomy, and various muscular syndromes like Muscular Dystrophy, Myasthenia Gravis, etc.

9:30

I finished the exam. We always have an hour and a half for a 50 question test, but I happened to feel really comfortable with this information & finished half an hour early!

Here starts the beginning of my post-exam routine: getting food. I left campus, grabbed myself a delicious açaí bowl & some strawberry protein pancakes on my way home. I chowed down & took a breather! Nourishing yourself is important all the time, but especially after finishing a stressful thing. For me, something about using all that brain power makes me hungry, lol.

10:45

I laid down for a nap. I got enough sleep the night before, but test taking is pretty exhausting. During this time we are also waiting to receive our scores & find out if we passed, so snuggling in for a nap is a pretty good way to forget about that looming information you're waiting on.

11:30

I got up from my nap, found out I passed my exam (phew!) and had a little mini dance party lol.

Noon to 1pm

The next major important part of my post-exam routine: yoga. Yoga is something I used to do in high school, but fell out of in college. I've recently reintroduced it into my routine & have been reminded about how vital it is in my life. Doing yoga is like hitting a mental, physical, & emotional reset button for me. I feel renewed & revitalized every time I do it. Especially with how much anxiety I can get around medical school & exams, doing yoga post-testing has been a really good way for me to come down from all the stress & adrenaline running through my body.

1:30

Lunch time! Nothing special here, just delicious, wonderful food.

2pm

Another thing I've recently begun doing in my post-exam routine is doing a little house clean. In the past, I've done all my house cleaning & week prep on Sunday, but truthfully that can be A LOT to do in a single day. I recently started doing a nice house refresh after my exams, and it's been really wonderful. It takes one thing off my Sunday to-do list for that weekend, meaning I get more relaxing time on my post-test weekend. Plus it resets my house after my test. Let's face it, preparing for a test often means your space will show it. Blankets everywhere, dishes in the sink, random mugs all around the house, etc. Doing a little refresh helps me mentally transition out of stress mode and into down-time mode.

On this particular day, I cleaned out my fridge, ran the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, picked up & started all my laundry, vacuumed the floors (the cat hair can go wild sometimes!), cleaned the bathroom, changes the sheets on my bed, and took out the trash. Nothing major, but a definite face lift. Pro tip: if you throw a little essential oil in your laundry detergent it makes your clothes & house smell lovely while the washing machine runs!

4:30pm - the rest of the evening

My house is now clean, but let's face it, I'm not. I have the post-exam, yoga, & cleaning sweat build-up, so it's time for me to refresh myself & take a serious shower. I like to do fun, self-care showers after tests, which essentially means doing shower things you wouldn't normally do. Like exfoliating your skin with a fun peppermint sugar scrub, doing a face mask, etc. The end of my routine involves ordering take-out from one of my favorite places, curling up on the couch & watching Netflix with my husband (& potentially playing video games until bed time).

So in general, my post-exam routine revolves around a few main things. 1) Nourishing myself, 2) replenishing my energy levels, 3) reseting my body & space, and 4) relaxing. So far this routine has really fulfilled me post-exams, and I hope it can inspire you to take care of yourself how ever you need to after a stressful event in your life. As always, may your laundry smell extra good, may your take-out delivery be extra fast, may your home be extra cozy, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Sincerely,

Natasha LaGrega