In this post, I will be sharing the best tips on how to prepare for housemanship based on my own personal experience.
The time between when you finish medical school and when you start medical housemanship is very special in the life of every medical graduate.
Expectations from friends, family, and even yourself begin to rise,
Most persons have recorded having this feeling of emptiness and being confused about what next to do with life.
But of everything you do, while waiting to get a place for housemanship, there is something I strongly recommend you not to do and that is;
"Being so worried about finding a hospital to start working immediately".
Come on, you just finished medical school; a place of no rest. I assure you that once you start housemanship, you may never find such a time again as you would before house job to do all the things I will be listing in this post.
So instead of allowing yourself to be anxious about practicing medicine, I advise you to relax as there are more important things to do that will shape the rest of your life as a doctor.
How to prepare for housemanship
How long you spend waiting for housemanship may vary and that will strongly affect how much of the things you may be able to do within this time.
However, there are some very delicate things you should never joke with and you will thank me forever if you follow this advice.
7 Best things to do while waiting for housemanship
List of what to do while waiting for housemanship include:
- Take out time to rest sufficiently
- Spend time with very close family and friends
- Make a detailed plan of your life for the next 10 years
- Select Good Books to Read
- Create a Personal Profit and Loss Account
- Learn a New Income Skill outside of Medicine
- Save lots of Money in preparation for your first month
Take out time to rest sufficiently
Once you are done with medical school, don’t jump to start working immediately. Almost every fresh medical graduate is tempted to do so. However, don’t!
Instead, spend at least one week doing nothing but eating your favorite meals, having a good restful sleep, and enjoying all those fantasies you have been ignoring due to a lack of time in medical school.
This time is very important for you to rejuvenate your body and mind. You can go on a short vacation if you want to. But just make it as stress-free as possible.
Spend time with very close family and friends
Some of us did not have time to spend with our family and loved ones while in medical school.
These are the persons that prayed for you to pass your medical exams; some of them sent you money and wished you well. So make out time to go and see them and appreciate them for the role they played in your life.
Also, chances are that you may never have time to spend with them anymore, so this may be the only time you have for them.
Make a detailed plan of your life for the next 10 years
Here comes the more serious part. And this is why shouldn’t be in a hurry to start working immediately after you finish medical school because you need to have direction.
So what are your plans for your career as a doctor?
Do you want to even practice medicine or do you just need the certificate? Maybe you found an alternate career while in med school.
Would you like to practice medicine in the current country you are in? If not, what other country(ies) do you have as options?
Do you have any idea of the specialty you would like to go into? I won’t advise you to hastily choose this one before you finish your house job because housemanship can change how you view a lot of specialties which med school has made you stereotype.
Apart from medicine, what other things do you want to be known for? Politics, business, innovation, tech?
How much money do you want to be earning as a doctor if you choose medical practice?
Are you considering marriage and relationships? When would you like to be married and how many kids do want to have?
What cars do you want to drive?
How many houses do you want to have?
How much do you want to be worth by the end of 10 years?
In summary: “Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?”
Get your personal journal and fill up the answers to these questions and even more personal questions you have concerning your career as a doctor. But remember to make the time-frame to be at least 10 years from today.
This exercise will give you a clear direction on the things to channel your energy toward so that you won’t waste time on things that will not benefit you as a person.
Get a Personalized Journal By Medarchive Magazine
Select Good Books to Read
By good books, I actually mean books that would influence 3 areas of your life;
Your personal finance
Your career
Your relationship with other
Try and read at least a single book in each of these categories.
I have reviewed some of the top books I consider a must-read in all three categories in a single post titled; Good books to read for a happy life.
Create a Personal Profit and Loss Account
This is something you must also take seriously if you want to be wealth conscious as a doctor.
You should know by now that doctors are paid just well enough to provide for their feeding and accommodation and that of their loved ones.
So if you want some extra luxury, you may want to start monitoring your cash flow.
This exercise will help you to know how much cash flow into your account and how much leaves at the beginning and end of every month.
You should also consider opening a separate bank account for your career savings and decide how much you want to save from the money you earn. Mine is way above 50%.
This is because once you start getting paid for your services as a doctor or as a house officer; you will find out that there is actually a lot to do with this money. And if you do not keep out some cash at the end of every month, you will end up with virtually nothing at the end of the month.
Learn a New Income Skill outside of Medicine
It is good to always have backup plans for everything. One of the things to do while waiting for housemanship is to find a high-income skill you can learn within this time.
You do not need to worry so much about where you can learn these skills from. In fact, when I say high-income skills, I am speaking of things you can do online from the comfort of your room with just your phone or laptop and an internet connection.
There are lots of things you can learn online that will pay very well. Things in this category include;
Digital Marketing
Copywriting
Social media influencing
Create a community of loyal audience
Content creation, etc.
Also, Read; Business Ideas for Health Workers
Save lots of Money in preparation for your first month
Here is my final advice! Try to gather lots of money within this period in preparation for your first few months of house job or else you are from a very wealthy home or you already have alternate sources of income.
This is because your very first few months of housemanship will be difficult to cope with because;
You will most likely be relocating to another place
You will not be paid your salary in advance
You may not have an accommodation upfront
You have to worry about finding good food in your new location
You may be staying away from family and friends
So for most house officers, this is usually a general challenge within the first few months of housemanship. But once you get past this period, you will be fairly stable financially during the rest of your housemanship program.
Also, Read; Ultimate Guide for housemanship in Nigeria for newly graduated doctors
I hope you learned a lot of great tips on how to prepare for your housemanship. These tips will be of great help and you will hardly struggle for the rest of your housemanship program if you follow this advice.
If you feel this post might be of help to an intending house officer, why not share it?
