Ranking Medical School Years

This will probably be my last post related to medical school 🥺. Inshallah, I start residency next week y’all, I cannot believe it, where has the time gone SubhanAllah 😭 😭 😭. Anyway, I wanted to take the time and reflect on these 4 years of medical school and the years leading up to it. There were many highs and lows along this journey and I am truly grateful it has come to an end.

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Pre-med years:

These years were really, really hard. I was doing a lot by taking challenging courses such as organic chemistry, biochemistry, calculus etc , and also by being in leadership organizations, research, shadowing, teaching, working etc etc etc. At the same time, it was also fun and I got to meet many incredible people along the way.

Rank: 5/10

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MCAT Summer:

Man, this was not enjoyable at all. I did not know how to study for this exam. I felt very discouraged. My practice exam scores were around the 500 range but my actual score came out to be a 498 😣. Looking at it now, I am grateful for it considering all of the obstacles I went through but at the time, I was completely devastated.

Rank: 0/10

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Summer before medical school:

This summer was chaotic! This was during the height of the pandemic and the BLM protests. There was so much negativity going around in America and around the world, so my medical school acceptance did not bear the same happiness that I thought it would have if it had occurred a year prior. Also, I decided to do my school’s pre-matriculation program (terrible idea) and I was studying super hard a month before school started.

Rank: -1/10

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1st year of medical school:

I think out of all of the years of medical school, I enjoyed this year the least. Medical school was during the pandemic therefore everything was pretty much virtual. The content was interesting but the VOLUME?! At some point, I felt like I could not keep up. In the beginning, it was fine because it was biochem-related subjects. Once anatomy one hit, it was over for me lol. I felt very behind compared to my classmates and felt like the dumbest person at my school. Also btw, I am not a fan of OSCEs and they seemed to have gotten worse as the year went by (and it gets worse throughout med school tbh). I thought my school made a mistake accepting me tbh and I thought about disenrolling myself multiple times. I was the only black hijabi in my class as well therefore my imposter syndrome was through the roof. At the very end of 1st year, I had failed 3/5 finals we needed to take. When I tell you it was Allah (swt) who got me through, all praises to the most High. 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Rank: -2/10

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Summer of 1st year of medical school:

Alhamdudillah, I was so grateful for the break even though it was 5 weeks. During this time, I was suffering mentally from how traumatic the first year was. I kept having intrusive thoughts telling me I was dumb, I only passed exams through other means, and that I would not succeed in medical school. This led to me studying non-stop. I honestly wish I could go back in time and tell myself to calm down but hindsight is 20/20. Anyway, even with that, I tried to meet up with people and hang out with old friends because the covid bans were slowly being lifted.

Rank: 4/10

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2nd year of medical school (not including step one):

In the beginning, this was really hard. They started us off on anatomy two, one of the hardest classes in medical school. Combining that with the imposter syndrome I felt that started during my first year, I felt like I was drowning. Oh yea, classes were also in-person so I had to make a two-hour daily commute 😞. However, after getting over that hump, I started enjoying 2nd year. I got used to the flow of the material and my schedule started to get better. Neurology was really hard ngl. Another hard challenge was that an old friend of mine passed away suddenly which was such a jarring experience.

Rank: 5/10

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Step one (dedicated and waiting for scores):

You can read about my step one experience here but man, man, man, man. I have no words left. It was the most challenging exam I have ever taken in my life. Step one takes so much from you wallah, like it was literally dipped in hell before being offered to us. I would say studying and taking step one was the WORST experience of medical school and many other students would agree. Not it, not it, not it! And then I had to wait 6 weeks for my results which was very hard on me subhanallah. Alhamdudillah, I passed it.

Rank: -1,000/10

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3rd year of medical school:

This truly had its ups and downs. I enjoyed finally getting to see patients and being out of the classroom setting. However, it was challenging doing well on rotations and studying for the end-of-rotation exams. I had some great attendings but then I also had attendings who were out to make me fail subhanallah. This year felt really, really long. Some shifts were pretty long while others I got to go home early. I was the most tired this year. However, it was definitely the year I grew the most and gained a lot of my confidence. I also got to perform Umrah for the first time alhamdudillah. I definitely enjoyed it more than pre-clinical years.

Rank: 6/10

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Step 2 dedicated:

This was waaay better than Step One for me alhamdudillah. There was a lot going on in my personal life which made it hard but even with that I enjoyed studying for it more. I felt more prepared and confident and my score reflected that alhamdudillah. I even wanted to take my exam a week earlier because I knew I had it the bag ayye. Super duper grateful for the growth alhamdudillah x1000!

Rank: 6.5/10

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4th year of medical school:

This is the best year of medical school. Hands down. Not going to lie, the beginning was kind of hard because I had to complete some required electives, submit my ERAs application, and do some my sub-internships but after that?! Smooth sailing. I barely had any contact with my school and did not feel like anyone from admin was breathing down my back. Alhamdudillah. I got to travel, meet up with friends (esp my bestie Naima we got food so many times lol), sleep in, do my interviews, perform Umrah again, and just live the life God intended for me. A life not feeling stressed, but blessed. Lol. The end of 4th year was anxiety-inducing though with the match process and doing my EM rotation. And of course the genocide happening in Palestine started in the beginning of 4th year so that has been heart-wrenching subhanallah. Please keep them in your duaas, inshallah a free Palestine in the upcoming months! 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 

Rank: 9/10

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Graduation Day:

This was the best day of medical school for me! I literally loved this day so much and I am so grateful to Allah (swt) that I got to experience it.

Rank: 1,000/10!!!!!!!

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And that is it everyone! Started off as an L but ended up as a W! I hope this journey and reflection helps someone know that medical school is not smooth sailing. The failures and obstacles I had to go through still gives me feelings of doubt and sometimes I do not feel worthy of the blessings I have received compared to someone who did not struggle as much. However, that way of thinking is not true. These life challenges shaped me into the amazing person and doctor I am today and I would not change a single thing about my journey, alhamdudillah. All of us are unique and our stories deserve to be told and respected. Thank you so much for reading and look out for residency content inshallah!