Exercise. As physicians, we encourage our patients to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. Unfortunately, we don't always follow our own advice. The stress and demands of a career in medicine may affect physical activity and fitness, and this can occur as early as the preclinical years of medical school.
In a study of freshman medical students at 17 U.S. medical schools, 36% were not in compliance with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exercise recommendatons. Researchers at the Uniformed Services University recently reported a decline in individual levels of physical fitness over 4 years with the most notable effect seen during the preclinical years.
As I reflect back on my own medical school experiences, I do recall exercising less frequently during the preclinical years. Halfway through my third year of medical school, everything changed and exercise became part of my daily routine. Surprisingly, this change occurred during my surgery core clerkship, arguably the most demanding rotation for students, and persisted throughout the rest of my medical school education.
What led to the change in my exercise habits? A simple but very effective strategy - I scheduled a time slot for "exercise" in my daily planner. I was reminded of the effectiveness of this approach while reading the The Power of Habit. In the book, the author describes an interesting study. Researchers had patients recovering from hip or knee replacement surgery write down specifics regarding what they were going to do during the rehab process. At the end of three months, this group was walking twice as fast as the control group.
In a study of freshman medical students at 17 U.S. medical schools, 36% were not in compliance with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exercise recommendatons. Researchers at the Uniformed Services University recently reported a decline in individual levels of physical fitness over 4 years with the most notable effect seen during the preclinical years.
As I reflect back on my own medical school experiences, I do recall exercising less frequently during the preclinical years. Halfway through my third year of medical school, everything changed and exercise became part of my daily routine. Surprisingly, this change occurred during my surgery core clerkship, arguably the most demanding rotation for students, and persisted throughout the rest of my medical school education.
What led to the change in my exercise habits? A simple but very effective strategy - I scheduled a time slot for "exercise" in my daily planner. I was reminded of the effectiveness of this approach while reading the The Power of Habit. In the book, the author describes an interesting study. Researchers had patients recovering from hip or knee replacement surgery write down specifics regarding what they were going to do during the rehab process. At the end of three months, this group was walking twice as fast as the control group.
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