Making the Most of the Last Year in Med School!

Pierre Elias, MS5

Hi all! My name is Pierre and I’m a MS5 at Duke. I took two third years, the majority of which I spent in San Francisco. So let me start with this picture:

This is a watch I wear a lot of the time. The first two lines are how much of my life is left. At least that is the average calculated by putting in all my personal data in an actuarial calculator. So why the morbid gloom and doom?

Life is surprisingly short. And it’s always ticking away. I’m just one of those people who needs that reminder more often than others.

I took a second third year because I wanted to explore meaningful problems to work on, as well as doing some personal exploration. The biggest lesson was that you regret the opportunities you don’t take much more than those you do. Even when time is short and stress is high, I try the odd thing. So here are some of the things I’ve done during my last year in medical school!

Read a book by a waterfall

North Carolina is stunningly gorgeous. There’s ocean and mountains three hours from one another. I’ve taken at least one trip West towards Asheville every year. This time we stopped by some waterfalls on our hike to lounge and read. There’s even one you can slide down!

Spend two weeks in Japan

The fourth year schedule is incredibly flexible, which mean I had a few weeks with no obligations in Durham. We spent it travelling the country and enjoying incredible sights, food, and people.

Have great relationships with my mentors

The mentoring I’ve received at Duke has been the highlight of my time here. Brilliant people who take time to teach, motivate, and guide you. I’ve worked with my mentors for the past year and a half. I offered up the idea of us going to San Francisco for a string of meetings with interesting collaborators. They were happy to oblige! It was great getting to talk about important research as well as spend quality time with them.

Just be with friends

Maybe the most wonderful thing is just being in the presence of wonderful people. It’s amazing how much you grow, learn, and change during medical school. Reflecting on that with the people who were there with you is memorable. I think the best moments I’ve had over these past few years all happened at a bar or someone’s house, just laughing at ourselves.

So that’s been my experience in the last year of med school. Wouldn’t change a thing.