The Healing Power of Farmers Markets

Posted on May 6, 2023 by marylbrandt

Rituals have great power, but some more than others. For me, going to the Farmers Market has become a ritual that is almost as important as the food I buy there. So I spent some time this morning pondering why…

It’s outside. Sun, clouds, breeze. Sometimes a little cool, sometimes too hot… but always the season that matches the fruits and vegetables being sold that day.

There is music. And dancing… people dancing with children, children dancing alone, folks dancing in their wheelchairs.

Everyone is happy. Seriously. Not a dour face anywhere!

There is delight in the colors, odors, and tastes.. It’s beautiful… and that sensual beauty evokes all kinds of good emotions – delight, joy, and even awe.

It anchors you to the season. We don’t have peaches in January at the farmer’s market. So when they show up in May it’s a day of celebration! Eating what is being grown in the season keeps you somehow anchored to life around you and, according to some traditions, is better for your body. It’s certainly better for the planet, since this is food grown within miles of where it’s sold… not half way across the world.

You develop relationships with the people that grow your food. Lisa’s new tortoise gets a spectacular salad every day, so we chat about his salads and her goats. I get to practice my French with the Congolese farmers who grow their produce on an inner city farm developed to provide new refugees a place to farm. Some of the vendors know my name, most of them know and recognize me with a smile (even if they don’t know my name), and all of them are happy to share how to prepare their food and what’s happening on the farm.

And then there is the food. There is no question it’s often (but not universally!) more expensive to buy your food at the farmer’s market, but for the reasons above it’s worth it. But there is one other reason … which is probably the most important reason of all.

How to Harvest and Store Potatoes -- Harvest to Table

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One of the very first times I went to a farmer’s market, I bought potatoes. I remember distinctly thinking that it would not be worth the extra money because “it’s just a potato”… but I did it anyway. Every potato I had ever bought in a store tasted the same as every other potato … so I didn’t expect these to be any different. Wow… I was SO wrong. A potato that has been pulled out of the ground the day before you cook it is absolutely amazing. A light went on. Fresh food raised in smaller quantities by people who are devoted to doing it tastes better. It just does.

Plant It Forward CSA shares ready to be picked up

There is most likely a farmer’s market near you if you live in a city, but if there isn’t you have a other options (The USDA Local Foods Directory is a wonderful way to find farmers markets, gardens, and local farms near you if you need help. )

CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). Google “CSA’s near me” to find farms that make up boxes with small portions of anything they are harvesting that week to distribute to people who have signed up with them.

Community Gardens. If you love to garden (and you can spare a few hours every once in a while) you might want to actively participate – it’s also pretty soul soothing to dig in the dirt and grow your own tomatoes. But it’s also worth asking if you can buy any produce that isn’t otherwise promised.

A local farmer or neighbor who has a big garden. You don’t know unless you ask. Offering to buy some of their produce might end up being a win-win. They may have too much produce, need a little extra income, or both. And you end up with fresh produce and a relationship with the person who grows it!

Making Sourdough Bread as a Resident (or anyone with a crazy work schedule)

Posted on June 4, 2020 by marylbrandt

I just waved goodbye to a dear friend as she started the drive to her new residency – with a jar of “Tamar”, my sourdough starter* in her cooler. I was going to print some instructions to send with the starter, but decided it might be better to put those instructions here for her – and for all of you who have thought about making sourdough bread (but think you are too busy).

Why bother?

This is a legitimate question. What I’ve learned from making my own bread during the pandemic is that it’s more than just having delicious, warm bread to sustain you. I won’t wax too poetic, but there are three reasons I think you should ponder baking your own bread:

A sourdough starter is a living thing who is there to help feed you
Making the bread is an act of self-care, a gift to yourself
This is a profoundly slow and deliberate act. Mindfulness doesn’t get any better than this.

So, if you are intrigued, I’ve thought about this for a while and here is how I think this could work for residents – even during a crazy 80 hour week.

Step 1: Get or make a starter

There’s a decent chance that someone where you work bakes sourdough bread. If they do, they will be delighted to give you some starter. It’s not a bad way to make some new friends and/or expand your circle of friends.

If you don’t find someone with starter, make your own. Sourdough starter comes from the bacteria and yeast that are in our environment so it’s a matter of mixing flour, water and time. If you want to help out some scientists while you make your starter, check out the NC State Sourdough Project.

Step 2: Understand the big picture

Sourdough starter is a living thing. You need to feed it once a week by adding some water and flour. Period. If you want to stop here and just have the starter around “in case” you decide to bake, this is all you have to do.
You are going to love the science of this. I’ll even predict you’ll end up using a scale to make sure your grams of ingredients are exact… but remember, as much as this will feel like science, its also how our ancestors made bread thousands of years ago. Don’t lose that perspective.. or that connection… when you bake.
It’s a four-step process with variations depending on the recipe:
- Mix the 4 ingredients (starter, flour, salt and water) to make dough
- Rise – long and slow. Overnight in the fridge, 2-6 hours on the counter. It varies by the recipe.
- 2^nd rise – usually. for 1-3 hours and in a container to shape the dough
- Bake

Step 3: Find an easy recipe to start with so you don’t get overwhelmed…

Here’s a really easy first recipe:

Mix the dough (1 cup starter, 1.75 cups lukewarm water, 5 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of salt)
Let it rise for about an hour then stretch it out and fold it onto itself several times. The recipe says repeat this once an hour for a total of three times, but you can skip the 2nd and/or 3rd times if you need to.
Put it in the refrigerator overnight.
Flip it over, seam side up into a bowl or loaf pan (to shape it) and let it sit for 2.5-3 hours.
Flip it back over (seam side down) into your pan, slash the top to provide a controlled way to expand and bake.

Step 4: Map out a schedule

Let’s say it’s Thursday evening and you are off on Friday. Here’s how this recipe might work for you…

Thursday when you get home, mix the dough. If you don’t have time to let it rise on the counter for an hour and stretch it, just put it in the refrigerator. (Trust me, it will work). Take the starter that didn’t go into the recipe, feed it, and put it back in the refrigerator.
Friday when you wake up put the dough in a bowl or loaf pan and let it sit for 2-3 hours on the counter. This will mold it into whatever shape you want.
Heat up your cooking container (dutch oven, oven proof pot, tray) as you preheat the oven.
Put parchment paper on top of the bowel and flip the dough out of the bowl onto the parchment paper.
Use the parchment paper to lower the dough into your hot cooking container.
Score the top and bake!
(Don’t forget to let it sit for an “hour” before you slice it… no matter how good it smells)

It’s an art. Everyone has bread that bombs.

Don’t worry! Just keep the starter alive, regroup and try again!

If you find you are having issues with getting a good rise, it’s ok to put some dry yeast in as “insurance”. Poilâne’s famous sourdough includes it as part of the recipe, so it can’t be a “failure” in the sourdough world!

What to study next

If you are reading this, there’s a good chance you are Type A. You’ll probably get a notebook and treat this like a science experiment … like I did. Go for it! It turns out that even though sourdough bread has only 4 ingredients (starter, flour, water, salt) there are lots of variables that can affect the loaf e.g. temperature of the water, humidity in the room, etc. There is real joy in paying this much attention while creating something that is so sustaining. On the other hand, if this doesn’t make you happy, just make the bread!

Did I mention?… it’s not just bread…foccacia, pizza dough, pancakes… just wait until you find all the cool things you can do with sourdough starter and discard!

Blogs and websites that have helped me a lot

King Arthur Flour – Sourdough Baking: The Complete Guide (Check out their blog, too)

The Perfect Loaf

Here are some of my favorite books so far (all links are to independent bookstores)

Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, by Emilie Raffe

Do/Sourdough/Slow bread for busy lives by Andrew Whitley

The Tassajara Bread Book

Poilâne by Appolonia Pouilâne

Starter Sourdough: The Step-By-Step Guide to Sourdough Starters, Baking Loaves, Baguettes, Pancakes, and More

I wish you mindful baking and joy from your sustaining and delicious bread!

*There is a tradition of naming sourdough starters.

You’ll never buy stock again

Posted on January 28, 2018 by marylbrandt

This may be one of the easiest kitchen tricks I’ve learned in the last few years. I haven’t bought any stock since I figured this out. It saves money, but more importantly, this stock tastes MUCH better than anything you can buy.

Step 1: As you peel, chop, and otherwise use any vegetables for recipes or salads, save all the pieces you would normally throw away.

The vegetables that help the most with umami (and make your stock great) are the classic mirepox (carrots, celery and onion), garlic bits, and mushrooms. There are a few vegetables you should avoid using for stock. Some vegetables will make the stock bitter or impart a strong, very specific taste that may not work in some recipes (e.g eggplant, turnips, cilantro, ginger). If you happen to be someone who buys Parmesan cheese with a rind, those rinds are wonderful in stocks. If you use fresh herbs when you cook, make sure you throw the stems in the stock.

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Step 2: Keep a big ziplock bag in the freezer and toss the washed bits you saved into the bag. When you drain beans, tomatoes or other vegetables from cans, put the juice in the bag, too.

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Step 3: When the bag is full, put the frozen vegetable bits in a big pot with water to cover them, bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour.

If you have an Instant Pot, you can make stock in less time. I don’t add salt while making the stock because it lets me season the dishes I make to taste.

Step 4: Freeze the stock you don’t use in a day or two.

I usually freeze my stock in 1-2 cup plastic containers. Alternatively, use freezer bags if you want to take up less space in your freezer (Push the air out of the bags and lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze). Another trick is to freeze the stock in ice cube trays or muffin tins and then put the frozen stock in freezer bags.

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In addition to recipes, use this stock instead of water when you make rice or grains. Thaw your stock in the refrigerator (if you remember) or in the microwave (if you don’t).

We eat a mainly plant based diet, so I only make vegetable stock. If you eat meat, you can save the bits from the meat or fish you cook – or ask your butcher for stock worthy bones and add them to the vegetables to make great chicken, beef or seafood stock. If you want perfect chicken or beef stock, you may have a bit more work to do… 🙂

Enjoy!

Hate cooking but want to eat better? (By the end of this post I bet you buy this app!)

Posted on January 21, 2018 by marylbrandt

It is hard to eat well when you are a medstudent, resident or busy doc (also true for busy people not in medicine The key to eating well if you are busy is planning.. but it takes time. As I’ve written before, here are the basic steps that you need to follow to eat well if you are “too busy to cook”.

Use a calendar to organize which days you need to have dinner ready
Find the recipes you want to cook
Fill in the calendar with what you will take to work for lunch and your planned dinners.
Make a shopping list.
Shop once, then follow your plan

To follow these steps, I’ve used the internet to find recipes, Evernote to map out the week, and Grocery IQ for the shopping list. I’ve gotten pretty efficient, but it’s still takes a non-trivial amount of time… and who has that kind of time, right?

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And then I read Jane Friedman’s post “My Must-Have Digital Media Tools: 2018 Edition” and I saw this…

I was skeptical, but I downloaded it.

Here’s the bottom line… this app is “expensive” ($25). But I promise, even if you are medical student without much money, it will be the best $25 you’ll spend this year.

Here’s why – this app takes the five steps listed above and puts them all into one place. It not only makes it easy to choose recipes, plan your week and shop, it almost makes it fun. Here’s how:

Use a calendar to organize which days you need to have dinner ready.

Start on the “meals” tab and put notes in for your week. If you share cooking with a significant other or roommates, you can share the account with them so everyone is (literally) on the same page.

Find the recipes you want to cook and put them in the calendar for the week

Click on the browser tab to find new recipes. As you gather recipes in the app, it becomes your own personal “cookbook” which is searchable by category, name, or ingredients.

Fill in your calendar with what you will take to work for lunch and your planned dinners.

This was the first moment I knew I was really hooked. All you do is drag and drop the recipes you want into the appropriate day. Wow.

Make a shopping list and go shopping.

This is when I was completely sold. When you pull up the recipes you’ve chosen, there is a little “hat” icon at the top:

When you click this icon EVERYTHING IN THE RECIPE appears in a shopping list. Unclick what you don’t need and repeat for all the recipes.

Because this app is on your computer and your phone, just take your phone with you to the grocery store. As you pick up the item, click the box next to it and move on to the next item. If you are sharing the app with your significant other or roommates, anyone can add to the grocery list or unclick things they have bought.

Here’s the official website for Paprika: https://www.paprikaapp.com/. Enjoy your healthy eating!!!! Try this plan (instead of the bagels, pizza, peanut butter and other “free” foods in the hospital) for a week or two. I promise you’ll feel better, learn better and have more energy to take good care of your patients.

Top 10 Holiday Gifts for Busy People (including medical students and residents)

Posted on December 14, 2017 by marylbrandt

What’s the best gift for a medical student or resident (or any really busy person)?

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Seriously, anything that frees up time for them is the best present you can give them. If it supports their health or decreases stress, it’s even better!

Here are my top ten choices for best presents for medical students and residents – or any really busy person:

A service or person to help clean their home. Once a month? Once a week? Any time they don’t have to vacuum or clean the bathrooms is a true gift.

Portrait of man with cleaning equipment

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An Instapot. I’ve long been a fan of pressure cookers, but the Instapot takes it to the next level. This is my new favorite kitchen tool and it’s high on my list because it both saves time and increases healthy food consumption!

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A subscription to Headspace. This might seem counter-intuitive since it adds a 10 minute task to their day… but there are data (and lots of testimony) that a daily mediation practice “expands time” by decreasing stress.

Link to Andy Puddicombe’s TED talk (the founder of Headspace)

If they live close enough to walk or bike to school/work, think about something that might help them combine that commute with getting some exercise. How old is their bicycle? How about panniers to store gear on a bike? Would a great backpack help if they are likely to walk? How about a gift certificate to a bicycle shop?

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A gift certificate for Whole Foods or any place near them that has good, healthy prepared food.

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Cookbooks with quick but healthy recipes like Thug Kitchen or Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Fast.

A Roomba vacuum cleaner. Plus, they may go viral with a cat on a Roomba video if they have a feline roommate.

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A gift certificate to have their car washed and vacuumed every few months.

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If they are a coffee drinker who spends time stopping at Starbucks, think about a really good coffee maker. I prefer Nespresso because the pods are recyclable (and the coffee is delicious).

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Your time. Can you cook some meals once a month and put them in their freezer?. Do laundry? Bake cookies and mail them? Get their car washed? Make an elaborate certificate with something you could do for them and wrap it as a present.

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“I don’t have time to cook”… Oh, yes, you do!!!

Posted on September 24, 2017 by marylbrandt

I just got back from vacation and had the pleasure of attending a session where Shawn Brisby, the demo chef for Canyon Ranch in Tucson, gave us a great piece of advice …

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“Have you ever gotten raspberries home and within a day they are mush with white stuff on them?”

He had my attention.

“The problem is that home chefs don’t keep their refrigerator cold enough. They should be set at 40 degrees.”

Hmmm…

So I’ve been experimenting and … it works! (not that I doubted you, Shawn :-).

Step 1. Decide what you are going to eat for the week.

This planning is essential. It takes me 20-30 (very enjoyable) minutes to find recipes in a magazine (Clean Eating and Cooking Light are my favorites), one of my cookbooks or on line. Here’s what we’re cooking this week:

Pasta with sardines and fennel

Kale salad with apple and cheddar

Moroccan butternut squash chickpea stew

Pumpkin soup with almonds and sage

Fall salad with apples, walnuts and stilton

And, for breakfast for the week…

Sweet potato casserole with crunchy oat topping

Step 2. Make a shopping list and go shopping.

Step 3:. Prep all the food for the week

This is what makes it work in terms of efficiency. For the rest of the week, when you get home, everything will be washed, cut up and ready to throw in the pan. I timed myself and it took 1 hr 22 minutes to turn the pile of veggies you see above into this:

An hour and a half is nothing compared to the time it takes when you get home late and really don’t want to do it. Turn on some music, chop while you are watching some football.. it is a great return on investment to insure you eat well!

Other helpful hints

Get some fun containers. These are the ones I bought, but any food quality containers will work.
Wash the other produce, cut everything up for all the recipes, spin dry them and put them in your 40 degree refrigerator. (If you don’t own one, get a lettuce spinner.)
Wash the fruit and dry it before you put it in the refrigerator.

One other tip…. Make stock! I throw all the vegetable bits (peels, seeds, etc) into a pot with water and make vegetable stock while I’m working. In addition to using this stock for any soup we decide to make, we use it instead of water for rice or pasta to increase the flavor.

I Forgot To Tell You About My New Favorite Breakfast!

Posted on August 19, 2016 by marylbrandt

This morning I was lecturing to the first year medical, PA and DNP students. At the end of my embryology lecture I included some advice on how to eat well as a busy student. I talked to them about how to set a good example for their future patients, how to increase vegetables in their diet by making Mirepoix every weekend, shopping at the farmer’s market, and how to plan for the week. I also talked about why it’s important to eat breakfast. I told them about one of my favorite fast breakfasts, but forgot the second one!

MLB BREAKFAST TACOS

Here are the ingredients:

This batch had beans, cheese, a red bell pepper, a jalapeño and some cilantro, but you can add anything! Spread out the tortillas and divide up the ingredients between the tortillas.

Roll them up, put them in the freezer. Two minutes in the microwave and they are ready to eat!

OVERNIGHT OATS

This is SO easy and really delicious. Put ~1/3 cup rolled oats in a bowl and add twice as much (~2/3 cup) liquid. (You may need more of both depending on your caloric needs)

My favorite liquid is kefir (liquid yogurt), but it can be milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Eat it in the morning. That’s it!

You can add any variety of fruit, nut or nut butter the evening before or in the morning. My current favorite is blueberries and slivered almonds added in the morning.

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My New Favorite Recipe – Quiche With a Healthy Crust!

Posted on May 22, 2016 by marylbrandt

It’s not often I share a single recipe, but this one is so delicious, so healthy and so easy that it warrants a separate post.

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Although the recipe as written has spinach filling, you can use other fillings. Just to give you a few ideas…

Sausage (regular or vegetarian), bottled red peppers, cheddar cheese
Canned artichoke hearts with parmesan cheese
Ham with Swiss cheese
Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil
Any leftover veggies and/or meat in your refrigerator

This “quiche” makes a great dinner, but can also be put in your bag for breakfast or lunch for a busy day or call night. Quiche freezes well, so you can make several, freeze them and have breakfast/lunch/dinner for days!

Eating Well at Work

Posted on December 26, 2015 by marylbrandt

It’s hard for those that haven’t been there to understand how medical school, residency and/or long hours in the hospital changes what and how we eat. There isn’t time to sit down to eat, there aren’t good choices and often, the only thing to eat is the “free” food at conferences. But…. Free food isn’t free. There’s a reason it’s cheap (poor ingredients) and that it “tastes good” (lots of fat, sugar and salt)… but it makes us feel terrible after we eat it. (Beware the middle of the night french fries!) More importantly, we aren’t providing the nutrients we need to take care of other people and ourselves. So, what’s the answer?

Spend the money and the time to invest in your health! Grabbing donuts or bagels in the surgeons’ lounge in the morning, pizza at noon-day conference and a hamburger at MacDonald’s in the middle of the night is terrible. (You know it’s true).

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So what’s the alternative? Here’s a five-step, easy plan that will let you eat better, feel better and avoid gaining weight in medical school and residency. This is predicated on cooking your own food but you can use this plan if you don’t cook by buying prepackaged foods. But really…. If you can learn how to take out a gallbladder or care for ill patients in the ICU don’t you think you can learn how to sauté a few vegetables???

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Make a plan
Make a shopping list
Shop once for the week and (when you can) prep ahead
Use your day(s) off to cook things that might take a bit more time and freeze some for other days
Keep a few “instant” healthy meals in your pantry

Make a plan

Map out your week’s meals and snacks using the “pizza rule” (nothing you cook should take longer to cook than it takes to order a pizza). Pay special attention to call days. It’s important to have really delicious food which can be grabbed in a minute when you are on call. I use Evernote to make my list for the week so I can share it with my family:

If you like to cook, you probably already know where to find recipes you’ll like. If you don’t cook regularly, I post recipes on @drmlb with #CallFood that meet the “pizza rule” and would be delicious on call. Here are few other sites I use regularly: Eating Well, Cooking LIght, My Recipes, Food Network, Kayln’s Kitchen, Skinny Taste. If you use Evernote to organize your list, it gives you one other advantage – you can download their add-on and clip recipes from the internet directly to Evernote. Each “note” (i.e. recipe) in Evernote can then be shared with whoever you cook with (i.e. whoever gets home first can start dinner!). It also lets you search all your notes so you can easily find your recipes in the future.

Make a shopping list

I use Grocery IQ for my shopping list. This app lets you organize your grocery list by the aisles in your favorite stores to make shopping faster. It also allows you to share the list with your significant other which means that whoever is able to get to the store first has the updated shopping list! I don’t really use the “coupon” feature or the barcode scanner, but if you choose to use these functions, please use the FoodEducate app with it to make sure your choices are healthy!

There are other apps for shopping which come recommended by others which, to be fair, I thought I should share: Any List, Pantry Manager, Paprika

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Shop once and (when you can) prep ahead

Planning lets you spend less time in the grocery store and absolutely means less food wasted. When you get home from the store think about the meals you are going to cook later in the week. If your carrot soup on Tuesday calls for sliced carrots, diced fennel and chopped onions, chop them when you get back from the store on Sunday and put your “mise en place” in baggies or containers in the refrigerator. Cooking is not that time consuming…. but prepping is!

One other good trick is to make “mirepoix” on the weekend for the week. Diced onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc can be prepped and put in a bag. It can be an instant stir-fry on nights when you need something fast. You can also put a handful in soups, omelettes, or wraps to get extra vegetables in your day. Mix it with leftover rice or other grains to make an instant salad (you can add tuna, if you want, too).

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Use your day(s) off to cook things that might take a bit more time and freeze some for other days.

You need good “comfort food” when you are working hard, but it can be both comforting and healthy. For example, this recipe for spaghetti squash lasagna. The preparation for this recipe isn’t that hard (you can steam the spaghetti squash in the microwave instead of roasting it in the oven, for example) but it’s a little too long for nights when you get home late and are really tired.

Learning to use a pressure cooker (my favorite) or a slow cooker like a crock pot is a great way to cook up a batch of something when you are home and doing other things without spending a large amount of time in the kitchen

No matter what you make or how you make it, make enough to freeze individual portions and then store them so they will stay fresh. Don’t forget to mark the containers with a Sharpie and eat them within 3-4 months!

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Keep a few “instant” healthy meals in your pantry

Despite my best efforts to plan, there are weeks when I’ve miscalculated amounts, don’t have enough time or just don’t want to eat what I had planned. When that happens, it’s great to have a go-to “instant” meal, which usually comes out of the freezer and pantry. Here are some to get your list started!

Moroccan Lentil Stew – (particulary good with harissa and served over couscous)

Quick meals from frozen ravioli

Shrimp fried rice

It’s the First Day of Medical School – What Should I Do?

Posted on August 1, 2015 by marylbrandt

I’ve written before about what to do before medical school starts, how to study in medical school and strategies for succeeding in the basic sciences. But how do you put this information about organizing your studying and your day into a system that works? Everyone will have variations on how they do this, but there are some fundamental principles that apply to all.

Don’t get behind

From day one, the material matters and, from day one, it is voluminous. If you get behind, it’s really hard to catch up.

Study, don’t just read and reread.

You have to actively engage this material and review it (multiple times) to really learn it. You are no longer studying for a test, you are studying to take care of other people. The SQ3R method is used by many students, but there are other systems as well. What is important is to develop a system that works for you. One tool used by many students is Anki, software that allows you to create electronic flashcards to review key points.

Tips on active studying from UCSD

Tips on active studying from the University of Utah

Use going to class as time to “study”

One of the important components to active learning is to review the lecture material before it is presented. This is the opposite of what most of you experienced in college, but it’s key. Survey the handouts or slides and make a list of the important points to be covered. Stay actively engaged.

p.s. You can’t learn medicine if you are on Facebook in class.

Create a summary page for each lecture

Include the big concepts, and key points. Include specifics that are stressed by the professor, but avoid listing all the details. You may choose to hand write this, but most of you will come up with an electronic format and will organize the class notes, and your summaries using One Note, Growly or an equivalent software. Although your personal notes are fine on the cloud, don’t put copyrighted material or your professor’s slides where other people can see them (it’s illegal).

Begin with the end in mind

In the long term, what you are learning (yes, all of it) will be applied to taking care of patients. In the slightly less long term, you will be tested on this information on the USMLE Step 1, a high stake exam and the first part of your medical license. Although some dedicated time to study for Step 1 is important, having a system to really learn the material in your basic science courses is by far the best way to do well on this exam.

Don’t sacrifice sleep.

If you don’t sleep you don’t learn as well. Organize your schedule so you get at least 7, but preferably 8 hours of sleep every night.

Eat well, play hard and stay connected.

Clay Goodman,MD the Associate Dean of UME at Baylor, tells our first year class that the first year of medical school is a 60 hr/week job. They need to get up in the morning and “go to work”, using the afternoon and evening to study. He then points out that if they work 60 hours and sleep 56 hours (8 hours a night) they still have 52 hours to work out, spend time with family and friends and do whatever else they want.

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So, what should you do the first day of medical school?

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Here’s what your schedule might look like…

The night before – pack your breakfast for the morning break and lunch for the next day. Review any posted slides – survey them to understand the “big picture” and use them to start your summary of the lecture. Write down what you don’t understand from the slides (yes, at this stage it may be every line… but that will get better!).

7am – wake up (If you prefer morning workouts, you can get up earlier and workout before class)

7:30 Grab a piece of fruit or a smoothie if you don’t like to eat an early breakfast. (If you are ok with it, eat the full breakfast now, but whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast)

8-12 Attend class – Stay engaged. Take notes, make sure the questions you asked yourself in the review are answered, raise your hand and ask questions if they weren’t. Eat your breakfast or a snack at the 10 am break.

12-1 – Lunch with your classmates. Play foosball, talk, or just eat, but take a real break.

1-5 Study. One hour of studying for each hour of class is about right for most people. This may need to go until 6 or 7 if you have afternoon labs.

7 – Workout and then make and eat dinner. Working out is an important part of self-care. Exercise is essential to decrease stress and also will help you avoid the “freshmen 10”. Your dinner should be healthy, not processed, and definitively not Ramen noodles. Make sure you have fruits and/or vegetables at every meal.

9-10 Look over tomorrow’s lectures and start your summary pages for those lectures. Once you are a week or two into this, you’ll be adding in reviews of material from previous weeks on a schedule.

10-11 Read a novel, watch TV, decompress.

11 Go to sleep!

You are starting on one of the most amazing journeys any human being can have… enjoy it! Don’t forget to keep a journal and take photos (but not of patients). The first time you actually interview a patient, put on your white coat, hear a heart murmur or take a test in medical school are just that … the first time. Write about the experience.

Let me know in the comments what other advice you have for the students starting medical school this summer!