An Introvert’s Guide Through Medical School

WRITTEN BY KHADHEEJA HAISHA SHAREEF CLASS OF 2025

This blog is about the problems introverts may face during their time in medical school and how it affects their performance as wel as some tips on how to overcome or deal with the problems better.

INTRODUCTION

When most think of how medical school will go, they think their time will be spent mainly on studying, going from class, to lectures, to prepping for the next class, followed by never ending exams. Although this is true, there is more to medical school than just studying from books. Whether it is Q&A sessions with teachers in class, sharing information and ideas with your peers or the patient interviews you must do during rounds, most of your time is filled with social interactions. If you are someone like me, who struggles daily in social settings, this situation can be quite daunting.

THE STRUGGLES OF AN INTROVERT

As an introvert, we tend to like to fade into the background, more a listener than an active participant. This would be fine in any other social settings but as a medical student this can be a huge setback to working yourself up to be a better medical professional. . During rotations, you have to actively try to be “social”, ask more questions, engage in informative debates with your peers, build rapport with those you work with and the most important of all, be able to interact with your patients both professionally and confidently, ask questions, make them comfortable in your presence and build their trust in you. These all can be equally frightening and draining for introverts.

Another point to take into consideration is exams. As our university mainly follows the oral questioning format, this can come as one of the biggest struggles to maintain our grades throughout medical school. I know I spent majority of my first 3 years struggling through exams, as I would freeze up when I am asked a question, and struggle to form proper coherent answers. I was more stressed about the idea of the oral questioning than I was of studying for the exams itself. This led to fluctuating results and a sense of self-doubt of whether I belonged in medical school or not

These constant struggles might make you doubt if this profession has a place for you as an introvert and whether you have any potential to be a good doctor when you are already struggling as a student.

YOU CAN SUCCEED EVEN AS AN INTROVERT

As I finish my journey as a medical student, I realized there many ways to build yourself up and overcome the problems I faced with social interactions, and best of all it didn't require forcing yourself to be an extrovert.

1) Preparation and practice. Always be one step ahead. If you have a clinical round with patient interactions, prepare yourself in advance. Have a short note of the structure of the questions to ask. Practice your questions in front of the mirror or asking a friend you are comfortable with to practice your questions. The more practice the more it will feel like a routine and this helps to reduce the anxiety and panic when you are in front of the patient.

2) Set a goal. As introverts, we tend to follow the thought of, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubts”, but one of the best qualities to have as a medical student is always to question and doubt, so it is very important to actively engage during classes. If you struggle with active engagement during class and rotations, take time every morning to set a goal for yourself. For example, answering a certain number of questions that day. Having a goal will help you focus and will act as a way to mentally prepare yourself for the day.

3) Observe and integrate. One of the best qualities as an introvert is the ability to be a good listener, and this can be used to your advantage during clinical rotations. Patient interviews doesn’t only need to be active questioning. Ask questions to your patient and let them speak. Listen to them and their problems, and show that you are actively listening. This helps the patient to feel more comfortable and best of all you don’t need to actively speak too much. If the patient is steering off from the main point you can just steer them back with another question. This can work with peers too. As medical professionals, it is very important to build rapport with your peers. You don’t need to actively participate in conversations and activities with your peers, just be present, listen well and just add in your input once in a while.

4) Smile. Alot of times due to an introvert’s quiet disposition, you may come off as cold and reticent. Peers and patients alike may find you less approachable. A smile goes a mile to make your peers as well as your patients feel comfortable around you.

5) Recharge. The most important advice to give is always take time for yourself. Take a weekend to recharge your social battery. Do what makes you more comfortable, away from people and social gatherings. make a nice dinner, snuggle into bed with a good movie or book. Let yourself relax from a whole week of constant social interactions and allow yourself time to prep yourself up for another week to come.

CONCLUSION

The medical profession may be a profession build for extroverts, but always remember that you can make a place for yourself even as an introvert. It may require a bit more work but, in the end, always remember the reason for choosing medicine in the first place. Focus on your end goal and work hard to be the best doctor you can. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, there is no substitute for hard work, and all the efforts you put in will eventually pay off.