After 8 years of university (3 year undergrad, 5 year medical school) I received my final exam results and passed.

I guess that officially makes me Dr Daanish 👀

I spent some time reflecting on my time studying and brought you some life lessons.

Document your life, otherwise you will forget.

Whether you post online or not, make sure you document your life, especially university life.

These years are precious.

The memories are for life and they are much better revisited with videos, pictures and journal entries. I'm so grateful that I documented my life over the years. You may not know this, but I actually do this for family events too (Eid, Birthdays, Weddings) because they're so fun to watch back - I just don't publicise those.

It doesn't need to be a major event to make it worth documenting. I actually find the regular, routine days are the best to look back on. Last week I sat with some friends studying in the library and jokingly took a selfie (below). This isn't a special day but it's a meaningful one to look back on.

Plan your life 5 years in advance.

Most students have no life plan.

Everyone has an idea of 'I want X job' and 'I want a family' but if you start to ask specifics, about how they will get there and what the vision is. What they're doing now to benefit themselves in 5 years, how they're financially planning for the future, very few have any idea.

I don't blame them because it's not taught, but these are things you need to learn yourself or usually from parents.

Let me give you an example. 5 years ago I started this newsletter (May 2020) and I literally wrote about my intentions, to see what I can build in 5 years time. Now that I'm graduating I (Alhamdulillah) have built a social media empire that will last for life, but I am already thinking 5 years ahead about where I can take this.

During medical school in Year 1, I researched every country I could train in and planned ahead. In 10 years time, wherever I end up will not be an accident, it will be from a decade of calculating and planning ahead.

Every successful person has a vision of their future, even if loosely held. You should too.

It's much easier to hit the target when you can define it, describe it and see it.

Be nice to others, it always pays off.

No matter how bad your day is going, don't take it out on anyone.

Learn to respond with a smile, with politeness, and if you are angry, be silent.

This basic Islamic principle of being good to others (even if they don't deserve it) has paid dividends. If you're good to everyone, no one can say a bad word about you (in honesty, haters will always make up things), and you have a clean conscience. I truly believe that if you are good to others purely for the sake of being nice, goodness will come back to you.

If you're good to others and expect something in return, you're doing it wrong.

Now that I'm leaving, I've been overwhelmed by the support offered by my superiors, peers and friends. I never expected or asked for it, but from simply being nice, I gained so much goodness, Alhamdulillah.

Learn to find joy in everything, it's possible.

Truthfully, you will never enjoy every aspect of any job or career, but you can learn to enjoy the process instead.

I don't like to complain. I think that sucks the life out of everything.

You can go to work and complain, hating every second. Or you can learn to enjoy it and live with a smile on your face.

We study a lot in medicine, so I found a way to enjoy it.

I made my desk inviting, like a control centre. I turned my flashcards into a game, trying to beat my 30-minute record every study cycle. I treated my OSCEs like an audition for a TV show, seeing how good my acting skills were. These mini-mindset shifts made the degree feel light and easy. I never felt more than a healthy level of stress.

That is all a result of being able to crack a smile on a grey day.

So, wherever you are in life, I say you do the following:

Document the important parts of life.

Plan 5 years ahead.

Be good to others.

Learn to find joy in everything.

Medical School Update 🩺

The final exam was an OSCE - basically, you go into a room, there is a pretend patient and an examiner. You follow instructions to take a history (talk to them and find out the issue), examine them and give a diagnosis/management in 8 minutes. This happens 12 times and you need to pass 8/12 of the rooms to achieve an overall pass. They can ask you anything from the entire medical curriculum so it's a fun challenge.

As someone who loves speaking, this is my favourite exam - especially once I'm half way through I get into the flow of things. Alhamdulillah it went really well, I passed and enjoyed doing the exam too. I'm actually excited for the detailed results because I wnat to see how I performed. I had some good performances this time and I love the dopamine boost when you see a top grade.

My final rotation was surgery - I actually started loving it so much I considered pivoting my career to surgery but changed my mind (Psychiatry is better for me). But I had an incredible time and got to assist in some insane surgeries (hip replacements, bicep tendon repairs, spinal surgery). I'm so glad I took my opportunities in medical school well. I made sure to make the most of this time, because you will never have open access to a full hospital for rotations again.

Now that medical school is over, I'm looking to start some form of teaching, but I'll see how that goes with my schedule. I'm also going to kickstart the Anki Masterclass again - make sure you keep an eye out for these emails because this is where I announce it!

Cool Stuff 👇🏽