Creating My Virtual Med School Space In Quarantine
When I was accepted into St George’s University School of Medicine, two feelings crossed my mind. First, of course, I was happy to have been accepted to medical school! Second, I was ecstatic to finally be able to escape the winter for the next two years of my life. I am from New York and grew up there until I went to the mountains of Northern Georgia for boarding school and yes – winters were cold there. I then lived in Massachusetts for approximately 7 years (and Maryland for one year in between), so I say all of this to emphasize how many brutal winters I’ve experienced in my lifetime. Once institutions started canceling gatherings, work, and events in the wake of COVID-19, I knew that my dream of being on the beautiful, tropical island of Grenada may be delayed.
So the news came: “As much as we would like to offer on-campus classes in Grenada, we will not be able to accommodate safe travel to Grenada, due to a surge in new cases of COVID-19 infection in the US and various countries around the world.” So where did I go from there? I spent all of two days complaining and then quickly returned to my solution-based attitude. At the end of the day, the most important aspect of my experience as a student doctor will be how well I do in school, so let me share with you how I am making virtual learning work for me!
I start off my day with a tall glass of iced tea. I know I know; this may seem like it has nothing to do with my studies but if you’re like me, that groggy feeling from studying all night can carry over into the entirety of the next day. I love using my loose-leaf tea steeper to make my iced tea – this helps me feel rejuvenated, recharged, and ready to start the day.
I move on to my calendar and daily agenda, which I plan and update the night before. Having my hours mapped out for the day helps me stay on task and prevents me from wasting valuable hours throughout the day. When studying remotely, it is so easy to get sidetracked. For me, I am back home in New York with my family and I am often so tempted to go hang out with them, so planning out my day helps me stick to my schedule, ensuring productivity.
When I sit down to study, the first thing I need is space! That is why I purchased my L-shaped desk from Amazon. Yes, it’s marble and cute but most importantly, it provides me with adequate space I need to hold all of my daily essentials: monitor, iPad, laptop, and textbooks.
I usually start my school days by either revising notes or completing the directed learning activities assigned by my school. These directed learning activities usually come with a short video lecture to guide you through the slides that are given. I watch these videos on my makeshift monitor – a Westinghouse RMT-17 TV that has an HDMI port. I can easily connect it to my laptop to view the video on the big screen while I annotate my slides on my iPad. The monitor stands a little less than a foot over my laptop and gives my neck a break from the tension I experience from looking down at my laptop and iPad for most of the day.
When annotating slides on my iPad, I use an adjustable Lamicoll iPad stand to help me write seamless notes. Notability is the app that I use to create one-page lecture notes, annotate my slides, complete practice questions, and literally anything else that needs to be done. Notability allows me to keep my work organized by week and subject and it is honestly a GODSEND. If you want to reduce the amount of paper you use while creating beautiful notes and revising lectures, then I strongly suggest investing in the Notability App. If you do not have an iPad and Apple pencil, you can use One Note for Windows which I hear works just as well.
My Bluetooth Omoton keyboard and mouse are great assistive touch add-ons to my iPad and laptop. They were much cheaper than the apple magic keyboard but they do the job just as well! Just pop in some batteries, connect to your device, and you’re all good to go! I mostly use my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse when I am facetiming my study group on my iPad and need to either share my screen or switch screens to my notability app to review questions and adjust my notes.
My clamp desk lamp hovers directly over my book stand and is perfect for late-night studying when I’m reading case studies or preparing for the lab. It has three different lighting options (white, blue, and yellow), and you can adjust the intensity of the light as you see fit.
Last but not least, my COWIN noise-canceling headphones are essential. I live in a very lively neighborhood in Southside Jamaica Queens, NY and at any moment you can hear people enjoying their lives. I mean dancehall, soca, and even praise music at the highest volume at any point in the day! Though music is good for the soul, I can not try to learn and understand new material over Vybz Kartel’s “Fever.” I try not to wear the noise-canceling headphone unless I absolutely need to; headphones are prohibited during remote exams so I like to study in my normal environment as much as possible.
These are just a few material things that help me stay on top of my virtual learning experience. Above all of these things, some of the more important things are intangible. My faith in God keeps me positive and yearning for success; because of him, I am able to wake up every day and work towards my dreams. The love and support from my family keep me motivated to put my best foot forward every day, and exercise keeps my body and mind in alignment. Without these three things, all of the material things would have little to no value.
I hope that all of you grad students are having a positive virtual learning experience! My biggest pieces of advice are as follows:
Start your day off with a good breakfast and your favorite energy drink of choice (coffee, tea, lemon water) – and stay hydrated!
Study with friends to talk through concepts and break up the monotony of your learning day
Stay organized and productive by sticking to your schedule - use your planner, calendar, or daily agenda
Keep your notes electronic and organized with a note-taking app if you want to ditch paper
Create the optimal learning environment for YOU – only you know your specific needs and learning style
Remind yourself daily of what makes this journey all worth it!
By: Charnice Charmant (IG: char.is.locd)