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Medical Foundation year

hello everyone, I'm doing my foundation year at uni, I feel pressured and stressed.
I have observed that I'm not understanding something's that I'm studying, how, can you help me with how to be stress and pressure free and how I can improve my study's

Reply 1

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Hi @Chimbala don't worry, you're only in your foundation year, so you have time to figure out how to study best for you, and learn ways of coping with pressure and stress, that you can apply to future years.

First, in terms of improving studying, because I don't know how you are currently studying, I will give you some generic helpful advice :smile:

A good way to study is to study frequently. In medicine, there's a lot to learn and a lot to remember, so it is important to keep on top of it. You can do this by buying ready made medical notes to revise from, such as Quesmed ( https://quesmed.com/ ) and Passmed ( https://passmedicine.com/ ). From this, you can create your own notes, in order for you to cement it further in your mind, and create a study aid for you, which you can go through alone or have someone test you. You can do past papers, to show you your stronger and weaker areas, then read how you would have got the top marks. It's helpful to do this in a similar setting as you would have for an exam, for example make it timed, sit at a test etc; this will help stop exam conditions becoming a hindrance.

If there is something you don't understand, it's important to address it, and you could do this through forming a study group or joining an already formed group, and you can go over this with people who do understand it, and in turn, you can impart your knowledge onto them if they are having any difficulties. You could do this in person or even via Zoom. Really, just being with others who are working and feeling the same pressure as you can really help, whether it's in person or online.

As for dealing with stress and pressure, talk to fellow students, either one on one, in a group, or even on your course group chat. Support each other and vent to one another. You could meet up with some of them in the library too and do your work together if you wanted - this is a good way to relieve some of the pressure while helping focus on work. I'm sure fellow students are feeling the same way, so do rely on one another for support. Also make sure to plan in time with family and friends. Have days out them, relieve the stress through fun and their support.

Make sure you are also eating and sleeping well - these can impact on your stress levels if you don't eat well and have a good nights rest. It can be hard to sleep when you are stressed, so if you have this problem you could use calming sleep mists, lavender oil/lavender bags, you can try audiobooks or podcasts (Personally, 'Sleep with me' is my favourite podcast to help me fall asleep), and you can also try something like 'Nytol Herbal simply sleep and calm Elixer' if nothing else works.

Do things you enjoy, start a new book or re-read an old favourite, play games, play music you like, watch a movie or a series, go for walks (if I'm stressed, I find a walk in a park by a river a great way to de-stress, listen to the birds singing and the river flowing; you can even bring an Ipad or your computer and find a bench and do your work in nature) and try breathing exercises or mindfulness techniques (you can get apps for this or find some online).

Here are some sites with good advice for coping with uni stress:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/help-for-teenagers-young-adults-and-students/student-stress-self-help-tips/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/student-life/tools-tips-and-videos/
https://www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk/managing-stress-at-university/#:~:text=Joining%20a%20gym%20or%20sports%20club%20could%20also,cope%20with%20stress%20and%20come%20back%20feeling%20refreshed

I hope you find this helpful :smile:

- Rosie

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