Medical studies

Semester break in medical studies

Lara Wagenecker

Lara Wagenecker

Author at futuredoctor

Reading time: 3 Minuten
Last updated: 26 March 2024
As probably everyone knows, the minimum period of study in medical school is six years, although there are also some universities where you can also get your doctorate in five years because they have shortened the holidays and thus finish a year faster. Since studying medicine is a very difficult degree programme and six years is a very long time, you often ask yourself whether you should take a semester off to recover from all the stress in your studies and simply switch off. In order to be more motivated in your studies again afterwards. The only question is whether it makes sense to take a semester off or not. As I mentioned earlier, studying medicine is quite stressful and it's tempting to sit on the couch for a semester and take a break. But the problem is that you don't graduate until later and it's extremely difficult to get back into studying afterwards. I find that you notice it after the summer holidays when you've been on holiday and haven't studied for a few weeks. It's harder to get back into studying and to sit down at your desk and study for a few hours. If you've had a whole semester break, I imagine it's almost impossible. So in my opinion, a semester break is not a good idea unless there is a compelling reason for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, if you have family problems, such as a seriously ill family member or even a death. Then it hits a person very hard and then it's only understandable and probably a smart decision to take a semester break. A friend of mine had exactly the same thing, he had a very unpleasant situation in the family and therefore couldn't concentrate on his studies because he had to think about it all the time and everywhere. That's why he decided to take a break for one semester. And now he is back in his studies and he is doing better than ever because he can now fully concentrate and engage in his studies again. Another reason to take a semester off would be, for example, that the pressure in medical school is simply too high and you can't take the stress any more. Before you fall into a burnout, you should listen to your body and take the time out to clear your head. In summary, I would like to say that taking a semester off in medical school depends on the situation of the individual person and in some cases it is certainly the best decision you can make, in others it is probably not a good idea. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.

📖 Table of contents

As probably everyone knows, the minimum period of study in medical school is six years, although there are also some universities where you can also get your doctorate in five years because they have shortened the holidays and thus finish a year faster.
Since studying medicine is a very difficult degree programme and six years is a very long time, you often ask yourself whether you should take a semester off to recover from all the stress in your studies and simply switch off. In order to be more motivated in your studies again afterwards. The question is whether it makes sense to take a semester off or not.

Re-entering medical school

As I mentioned earlier, studying medicine is quite stressful and it's tempting to sit on the couch for a semester and take a break. But the problem is that you don't graduate until later and it's extremely difficult to get back into studying afterwards. I find that you notice it after the summer holidays when you've been on holiday and haven't studied for a few weeks. It's harder to get back into studying and to sit down at your desk and study for a few hours. If you've had a whole semester break, I imagine it's almost impossible. So in my opinion, taking a semester break is not a good idea unless there is a decisive reason for it.

Take time when you need it

Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, if you have family problems, such as a seriously ill family member or even a death. Then that hits a person very hard and then it is only understandable and probably a smart decision to take a semester break. A friend of mine had exactly the same thing, he had a very unpleasant situation in the family and therefore couldn't concentrate on his studies because he had to think about it all the time and everywhere. That's why he decided to take a break for one semester. And now he is back in his studies and he is doing better than ever before, because he can now fully concentrate and engage in his studies again.

One size doesn't fit all

Another reason to take a semester off would be, for example, that the pressure in medical school is simply too high and you can't take the stress any more. Before you fall into a burnout, you should listen to your body and take the time out to clear your head.

In summary, I would like to say that taking a semester off in medical school depends on the situation of the individual person and in some cases it is certainly the best decision one can make, in others it is probably not a good idea. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.