{"id":1341,"date":"2019-02-12T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atashajordan.com\/?p=1341"},"modified":"2020-02-01T19:01:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T00:01:01","slug":"managing-pre-match-day-anxiety-letter-to-my-fellow-residency-applicants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/managing-pre-match-day-anxiety-letter-to-my-fellow-residency-applicants\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Managing Pre-Match Day Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dear MD Class of 2019,<\/p>\n

Match Day 2019 is now just a few days away. For some of us, this week will be full of intense excitement. For others, feelings of anxiety and worry will predominate.<\/p>\n

Before Match Day comes on Friday, March 15th<\/sup>, there\u2019s one more hurdle for us to get over \u2013 we find out on Monday, March 11th<\/sup> whether or not we\u2019ve matched into a residency program. If you\u2019ve matched, you\u2019ll probably let out a huge sigh of relief. If you are unmatched, worry, stress, anxiety, and panic may ensue as you process the results and meet with advisers to figure out next steps. Regardless of which group you fall into, pre-Match Day anxiety might arise.<\/p>\n

As someone applying into psychiatry, I'm particularly attuned to events or organizational structures that may negatively impact mental health. In many ways, the residency interview process fails us. It\u2019s the perfect breeding ground to foster anxiety: Letter writers might submit letters of recommendation late; residency interview invites seem random; costs associated with interviews continually increase; creating a rank list is daunting; waiting is excruciating.<\/p>\n

Throughout the entire residency interview process, I\u2019ve experienced my own fair share of stress and anxiety. However, in the past few weeks, I\u2019ve truly been able to manage my anxiety as it pertains to Match Day. In fact, I\u2019d say that I\u2019ve even overcome my anxiety. Thus, I wanted to take a moment to share some tips based on my own experience that might be helpful to you in managing your pre-Match Day anxiety.<\/p>\n

Antidotes to Pre-Match Day Anxiety<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Pray<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s known that \u201creligion provides comfort for believers during times of stress\u201d (NBC<\/a>). Moreover, researchers at Baylor<\/a> have shown that prayer reduces anxiety in adults. For me, prayer is a means of directly communicating with God. Communication with God gives me mental and spiritual comfort. Whether or not you\u2019re a person of faith, I\u2019d highly encourage prayer as a means of reducing pre-Match Day anxiety.<\/p>\n

Meditate<\/strong><\/p>\n

While prayer allows for mental and spiritual rest, meditation allows the mind and body to be on the same page. There are tons of apps<\/a> out there to help guide meditation if you\u2019re interested in trying it this week. In some of my most stressful times, meditation has allowed me to reduce the physical manifestation of anxiety through elements such as deep breathing and muscle relaxation.<\/p>\n

Reflect<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reflect on the journey that\u2019s gotten you to this point. We\u2019ve all worked incredibly hard to get to where we are. Think about the people who have supported you along the way \u2013 the people who will continue to support you through residency. Reflect on the patients you have seen and the patients you will treat in the years ahead. Let the hope of a dream fulfilled quell the pre-Match Day anxiety.<\/p>\n

Distract<\/strong><\/p>\n

Distracting yourself this week will really<\/em> come in handy to help manage stress and anxiety about Match Day. Distractions can come in the form of meeting up with friends, working out, reading your favorite books, or taking a quick getaway. Personally, I went to Amsterdam for a week, and it was the perfect way for me to distract myself. With all the fun of traveling, there was no room for pre-Match Day anxiety!<\/p>\n

Connect<\/strong><\/p>\n

Connecting with classmates who are going through or have gone through the Match can help to alleviate pre-Match Day anxiety. When speaking with others who have had similar experiences, there\u2019s often a degree of bonding and self-realization that occurs. This week, be sure to connect with those who know you best; they can help talk through your anxieties with you!<\/p>\n

This week might also be a great time to utilize your school's counseling and psychology services. Connecting with a trained therapist, even in the short-term, can help to alleviate some of your anxiety.<\/p>\n

Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trust that the process will play out the way it\u2019s supposed to. I know that it\u2019s easier said than done, but the outcomes of Match Day will lead us to where we are meant to be, even if the results on Monday or Friday are not what you'd hoped for.<\/p>\n

***********************<\/p>\n

I truly hope that this week we can all soak in the fact that we\u2019re almost at the finish line. Once Match Day passes, graduation will be around the corner. We\u2019ll soon be MDs, entering a field of work in which we\u2019re privileged to see patients from all walks of life. So, let\u2019s do our best to focus on the positive this week and leave our pre-Match Day anxiety behind!<\/p>\n

Your fellow MD Class of 2019 residency applicant,<\/p>\n

Atasha Jordan, MD (to be)<\/p>\n

How are you feeling about Match Day? Leave a note down below to let me know! I\u2019m happy to add you to my prayer list this week if you\u2019d like <\/em>\ud83d\ude0a <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The content of this post reflects my opinions and is not intended to diagnose or treat anxiety or anxiety-related disorders.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Dear MD Class of 2019, Match Day 2019 is now just a few days away. For some of us, this week will be full of intense excitement. For others, feelings of anxiety and worry will predominate. Before Match Day comes on Friday, March 15th, there\u2019s one more hurdle for us to get over \u2013 we find out on Monday, March 11th whether or not we\u2019ve matched into a residency program. If you\u2019ve matched, you\u2019ll probably let out a huge sigh of relief. If you are unmatched, worry, stress, anxiety, and panic may ensue as you process the results and meet…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Tips for Managing Pre-Match Day Anxiety - A Letter to My Fellow Residency Applicants","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,224,278],"tags":[241,240,243,193,244,242],"class_list":["post-1341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine","category-navigating-medical-school","category-trainee-advice","tag-anxiety","tag-match-day","tag-match-week","tag-residency","tag-residency-applications","tag-stress-management"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/tips-for-managing-pre-match-day-anxiety-letter-to-my-fellow-residency-applicants-3-e1552255350876.jpg?fit=450%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9VPX9-lD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1341"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2887,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions\/2887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}