Medical students find themselves in unique situations that their significant others who aren’t in the profession often may not understand. If this sounds familiar, use these tips from the AMA Alliance magazine, Physician Family, for how to connect with medical students.
Here’s what medical students’ significant others can do to facilitate better communication:
- Ask about what they’re studying. This is a great way to connect with one another, and it can help your student retain what they’re spending time learning.
- Choose your moments wisely. Wait until your student takes a break from studying, or set aside a certain time every day to talk about family, friends and future plans. Forcing conversations when your med student counterpart is deep into studying can lead to frustration.
- Keep a shared calendar. Whether the calendar is on your fridge or shared online, both of you should add events, important test dates and other specific dates so you can spot conflicts early and plan accordingly.
- Talk about money. A medical student’s life can be expensive with textbooks, supplies, study materials and exam fees. It’s important that you both know how much money you have, how you’re going to budget and what you need to be saving for.
See more tips for communicating with a medical student in the spring 2015 issue of Physician Family, published online four times a year and delivered in hard copy to members of the AMA Alliance.
