Mission magazine writer Marion Blackburn spent time with a group of M1s a few days before their second block of fall exams. Over coffee and doughnuts, they shared their experiences. Mission plans to keep tabs on these students each year of their medical school career.

The first-year workload means hours of studying, missed family events and overdue workouts, but these M1s say they wouldn't have it any other way.

By Marion Blackburn

In a few short weeks after starting medical school, first-year students experience enough peaks and lows to last a lifetime. With less (or no) free time, they are isolated by distance and by obligations from their friends and family, their days shorn of familiar routines. Their homes, too, show the strain with dishes unwashed, clothes unfolded and beds unmade.

Still, they'll tell you nothing compares to following a dream. That each night, falling asleep exhausted, they know they've lived to the fullest. That while the workload feels overwhelming, it pushes them to achievements they couldn't have imagined.

The M1s who arrived at the Brody School of Medicine in August are no different. They're facing the toughest times of their lives as they balance personal pursuits, family time and basic needs like eating and exercising with learning vast amounts of new material. They're exhilarated by the pace and driven by their own natural curiosity to absorb all the information they can.

Medical school at midlife

Michael Weeks is 43. A clinical social worker, addiction therapist and certified public accountant, he said he never felt right in any of his former professions.

For years, he envied his sister, Dr. Kathy Weeks '91, who completed medical school and went on to an internship in Charlotte.

Weeks

While managing a program for substance abusers, he realized his heart was in another place. "Med school always sounded exciting," he said. "(But) I didn't think I was med school material."

Turns out he was medical school material, after all. In a major life turn, he enrolled in several prerequisite classes, and in fall 2008 applied to medical school. He was accepted at Brody and hasn't looked back.

"This is nothing like I expected," he said. "Everyone told me, ‘You won't believe how hard it is.' You just don't have any time to do anything but study, get some sleep and do it again and again."

The personal rewards, however, have been stunning.

"It's exciting, even when you're doing the same thing every day," he said. "When you reflect, you realize you've learned so much in a short period of time."

Does he still have anxieties? Absolutely – but not the kind one would expect. "The concerns I had – that I wouldn't be able to keep up because I'm older – haven't really materialized," he said. "But you do have to work differently." He learns less by rote and more by mnemonics and by putting information in context.

And in the end, he said, it's lots of fun. That is, "if you think it's fun running for your life and being shot at. At the end of the day, you feel good about yourself," he said. "It's a good feeling."

Standout with a plan

For Diana Spell, 23, attending medical school came as a natural transition from her outstanding college years. A recipient of the Brody Scholarship, she is a graduate of Spelman College for women in Atlanta, one of the nation's top historically black universities that's also known for sending a high number of graduates into medicine. She was drawn to medicine not only for the challenges but also to help others.

Spell

Only a few weeks into her first year, she faced a heart-breaking decision before realizing she couldn't attend her brother's wedding. While remembering it still brings some tears, she accepts her choice to keep up with her courses by not attending.

"I see the bigger picture," she said.

While she was already an excellent student at Spelman, medical school requires complete devotion. Gone are hours working out or exercising, and even phone calls seem an interruption at times. "The moment you realize you can't take those hours for yourself is a low point," she said.

There are high points, too. The best?

"When I found out I was awarded a Brody Scholarship," she said. "I was bawling because I was so happy."

Her personal goal is to not only learn the material, but also drill herself to recall it. M3s and M4s often help during their "bomb sessions," their name for these intense study groups. Studying so much means she must streamline household chores. She uses paper plates and cups to avoid having dirty dishes pile up.

"In college, you had a personal life," she said. "Now, to make sure I'm prepared, I quiz myself. It takes time to feel confident going into a test. I have to study more."

'MD in seven'

He's already halfway through his M1 year, but Hunter Mehaffey, 21, doesn't even have a bachelor's degree yet.

Mehaffey

That's because this exceptional student, a former ECU swimmer and long-time volunteer, entered medical school as an "MD in seven" – students who shows such promise that they complete their undergraduate degree during medical school.

For years, he's wanted to become a doctor, applying for medical school after his sophomore year at ECU. Now that he's here, he's overwhelmed – in a good way, most of the time. "It's not how much you study but the quality," said Mehaffey, who's originally from Clyde, near Asheville.

"You can never get caught up," he said. "You get used to being behind, and you trust it will all come together before the exam. You can't allow yourself to panic."

As an undergraduate, he logged more than 900 hours volunteering with Project Heart as a math and science tutor.

As an ECU swimmer, he enjoyed early morning laps with the team, time he now uses to study before his first class at 8:30 a.m.

His rule of thumb for exam prep? "Just know everything," he said.

He chalks up at least four hours of studying every day but often calls his family back home. "It's important to make time for personal phone calls," he said. "You have to, or you can lose touch with people who are important to you."

Like his classmates, he experiences ups and downs. But his best day?

"Every day," he said. "You're living your dream. It's hard, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Healthy justice

Growing up in a suburb of Greenville, Kelley Haven had what she considers a comfortable childhood. Both her parents were in medicine; her father was a doctor and her mother, a pediatric nurse.

Haven

So when she volunteered at 14 with a local soup kitchen, she felt deeply moved by the needs around her. When she was asked to cut greens for cooking, "I had no idea what I was doing," she said.

"I was hooked the day I went," she remembers. By high school, she decided to work in a service profession. Today, she is still helping others, drawing inspiration from civil rights leaders who fought for justice together, living, eating and working side-by-side like a family.

Haven, 24, is an M1 again this year, completing classes she began before giving birth to her little girl, Minnie. She become pregnant before med school and attended most of the first semester before giving birth in November 2008.

Three days later, she took a biochemistry exam and sat out the spring before returning in fall 2009.

She laughs about it now, but she had a terrible scare the night before an anatomy exam when she experienced serious bronchospasms that nearly sent her to the E.D.

Instead of fearing for her health, she worried more about missing the exam. Breathing better with the aid of an inhaler, she took the exam and made a high B.

Her days start at 6 a.m., and before class, she helps a disabled friend. During the day, her daughter stays with her father, from whom Haven is separated. She bikes to class when possible – her "clearing my head time."

She maintains a light-hearted approach to the pressures. "Humor and respect are key to surviving," she said.