At 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the alarm clock awakens Allison Ast, a second-year medical student at the KU School of Medicine.

She begins her day by getting dressed and heading to KU Medical Center’s Kirmayer Fitness Center, where she works as a student assistant from 4:40 a.m. until 9 a.m.

After working her shift at Kirmeyer, Ast heads to class in the morning, and exercises in the afternoon before heading home to study for five to six hours in the evening. Her head usually hits the pillow about 11 p.m., which gives her less than five hours of sleep a night.

There’s little doubt the life of a medical student can be exhausting. It can also be a severe detriment to a student’s health and well-being.

While medical, nursing and allied health students are bombarded with knowledge every day on how to better the health of others, they take on rigorous schedules that don’t necessarily allow the time and energy to take care of themselves.

According to a 2008 study by the Annals of Internal Medicine, almost 50 percent of medical students experienced physical and mental burn-out. Among the students surveyed, 40 percent reported high emotional exhaustion, and 30 percent had a low sense of personal accomplishment.

Many of these problems may be attributed to the fact that most medical students are facing a new situation where they are no longer at the top of their class, where people’s lives are suddenly in their hands, and where they no longer have as much time to socialize and relax with their friends.

In order to counter these stresses, Counseling and Educational Support Services (CESS) at KU Medical Center provides educational, psychological, and psychiatric counseling for students who are trying to keep up with the pace of medical school. Seeking this kind of help is not uncommon for students as they go through one of the most demanding times of their lives.

During the 2007-2008 school year, 402 KU School of Medicine students attended educational or psychological counseling sessions offered by CESS. Fifty percent of first-year medical students and 99 percent of second-year medical students sought some kind of help from CESS during that period.

“Medical school asks you to perform at a level that you are not used to, and to do it consistently,” said Larry Long, senior director at CESS. “If a student becomes totally overwhelmed, the curriculum and education still go on, so most students in that situation do need some kind of help.”

Ast said there are times when medical school has been extremely stressful for her simply because of the tremendous amount of material that students are expected to learn and the little time they have to master it.

“There is the constant fear of failure and the concern of not being able to go to the next level with your classmates,” said Ast.

Ast said despite the rigorous demands of medical school, she tries her best to lead a well-balanced life. One thing she attempts to fit in her schedule is exercise, which she does about two hours a day. She said physical activity helps her focus better and concentrate on studying.

But Ast said despite her dedication to working out, she knows she isn’t leading a particularly healthy lifestyle because she isn’t eating well or getting enough sleep.

“I’m definitely a snacker, and I’m not getting three healthy meals every day,” she said. “But I’ve been trying to eat out less and make more of my meals at home, which I think is better for me.”

Ryan Gove is director of the KU Medical Center Student Wellness program, which offers students a chance to learn more about time management, healthy eating, and the importance of socialization.

“I think our students struggle with all parts of maintaining a healthy life, because they have to study so much,” said Gove. “They have so much to learn in a short amount of time, so it’s natural that some other things, like getting enough sleep and eating healthily, can go by the wayside.”

The Student Wellness program works with mostly first- and second-year medical, nursing, and allied health students. Gove said that while some third- and fourth-year medical students do participate, they spend most of their time off-campus doing clinical rotations and are less involved.

“We are here to help all of our students lead a more well-balanced life,” said Gove. “It is critical that they understand that if they exercise, sleep, and eat right, they will perform better in school.”

Hugo Dahlstrom, a second-year occupational therapy student in the School of Allied Health, said for him, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is about finding the right activities to supplement the rigorous study schedule. He enjoys playing on several intramural teams throughout the year, which he said decreases his stress level.

Gove said that even though it’s a challenge, he tries to convince students that the best time to learn critical life skills on time management and leading a healthy life is while they’re in school.

“It’s not like as a professional, you’re suddenly going to be able to know how to eat healthily, exercise and manage your time,” he said. “Students need to develop those skills now.”

Ast said she has participated in some of the programs at the Student Wellness Center and she’s glad they are available to students. However, she knows that it is ultimately her responsibility to follow through on her personal health goals while she learns the skills she needs to become a physician.

“I am motivated by the patients I see,” she said. “If I don’t take care of myself now, I won’t be able to give my future patients the best care possible.” +