Healthy Perspectives from a Medical Student

I never thought that I would lead a healthier lifestyle once in medical school. I assumed that the long days and late nights of copious, tedious work would drive me towards unhealthiness. I envisioned my head in the books while eating some fast food with no thought of physical activity. Why would I want to spend time in the gym or running outside when there is so much schoolwork to do? Despite my love for sleep, I could increase my study time with the help of caffeine. I thought that free time would be obsolete until I finished my medical training one day in the future. I honestly believed that my body would have to endure the brutality of the medical school spectrum: insomnia, stress, fatigue, poor diet, isolation, hypertension, emotional distress, and the inability to ever breathe fresh air.

It is comical to believe that as a healthcare provider (one who promotes lifestyle health management and disease prevention and treatment) that I would be living a life full of the unhealthy things that I will tell my patients not to do. How would my patients view me if I had to tell them, “You need to eat healthy, get enough sleep, and take some steps towards a life filled with more physical activity” and then I am asked, “Well doctor, how have you done those things?” Given my previous view of my future lifestyle as a medical student, I didn’t think that I would be able to truthfully respond to such a question.

Medical school has actually made me a healthier person. Though I do admit that there have been some late nights, stressful days, and the occasional pizza, I have gotten into better shape. After spending time in the anatomy lab working with our donors, I have come to appreciate the beauty of the body. It was difficult to see how poor lifestyle habits contributed to multiple deaths. I saw the detrimental effects that a sedentary lifestyle has on a person’s heart, lungs, arteries, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and joints. I was able to hold these precious organs in my hands that had battled cancer and other ailments within a body other than my own. It was amazing to consider how long these tissues had withstood stressors like inhalation of smoke, poor nutritional intake, and even a sedentary lifestyle for so long. After seeing a dissected kidney, it is hard to fathom a carbonated sugary beverage being filtered through its tissue. I then thought to myself, “How could I do this to my body? I want to feel comfortable and confident in my own skin.”

Despite the long hours of school, I have been able to find time for some physical activity or personal space to relax. I have begun participating in a circuit workout twice a week at our hospital’s affiliated gym, playing pickup basketball with fellow classmates, running outside around my neighborhood, and I even joined a team in a local kickball league. I have chosen to make small steps towards healthier eating each day with a long-term goal of a healthy weight. My participation in physical activity has proven both fun and beneficial to my learning. Many studies have shown a direct relationship between the benefits of exercise and critical thinking and memory. I can attest to the amount of stress alleviated when I have taken time away to be “good” to my body.

I go out of my way to park a bit further away from my destination in order to walk a bit more. I try to take the stairs (when time allows, of course). Though it has been difficult as an ex-athlete, I try to eat to be full, instead of gorging down multiple sandwiches until I am stuffed. Changes in physical lifestyle do not have to be a dramatic reversal of previous ways of living. For many, myself included, it begins with a realization and a determination to be healthy. Even with small steps towards a better lifestyle, it has proven difficult in a society built around comfort. I think that being comfortable is a good thing; however, after studying what little I know of the human body already, I know that the body is eager for activity and critical cognitive thinking.

I believe that through an individual healthy lifestyle, friends, family, and other community members might be encouraged to change their previous habits as well. A healthy community would decrease medical care costs, alleviate many chronic diseases, and increase the overall well being of a population. I believe that we can all work together, day by day, in order to find ways to change not only our lifestyles, but also the life of the entire city.

Tee Griscom

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee before heading to Furman University for my undergraduate studies. Football brought me to South Carolina, and I participated on the varsity team for a little over a year before deciding to focus more of my time on my studies and community involvement. I graduated Furman in May 2014 with a degree in Religion, and I believe that my background allows for a unique perspective into the lives of patients. I have been wanting to practice medicine since my youth, and I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by the USC School of Medicine Greenville to pursue that dream.