Ep 10: Managing GAMSAT Stress as the Exam Approaches

Mare Forfa (00:00) Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Nurses Doing GAMSAT. My name is Mare Forfa, and I’m one of your hosts. Today, I’m doing a solo episode on something that has been coming up quite a lot. It is stress, because Section Two is really just around the corner, and a lot of people are feeling stressed right now. So, I thought I would take some time to talk about exactly what to do if that is you and you’re feeling a little bit stressed.

I want to start by talking a little bit about stress. To me, there are two types of stress. You have good stress and you have bad stress. Good stress is when something is stressing you out, but it boosts your energy and motivation. It helps sharpen your focus and attention.

That’s things like when you’re prepping for the GAMSAT, but you have a great structured plan, and you know your plan is going to work. It’s still stressful, but it’s a good stress, right? Or when you start a new job—yeah, you’ve got a new job, but it’s still a little bit stressful. Maybe even when you’re competing in a sports competition. Tom is a powerlifter, and I can tell you before his last comp, the man was pretty stressed, but it was good stress. He was pumped up. He had energy.

Now, the other side is bad stress. This is when you’re starting to feel overwhelmed. Say you’re doing GAMSAT prep, and you haven’t had good time management, and things aren’t going your way. Or if you’ve just been working a bunch of night shifts without any breaks, with no recovery in sight. Maybe you’re dealing with toxic people. That’s all bad stress.

You’ll know it’s bad stress because you’ll feel anxious, irritable, maybe you’re not sleeping properly, getting headaches, or whatever it is. I like to think about good stress and bad stress in terms of understanding what’s within your control. Imagine you have a circle, and within that circle is everything you can control. Outside of that circle is everything you can’t control.

For most people, when they’ve got bad stress, it’s something outside of their control that is stressing them out. Because if it’s something within your control, just do something about it already. Don’t whinge about it. Don’t feel stressed about it. Just change something. That, to me, is good stress.

I want to give you some techniques. If you’re feeling good stress, how to harness it and use it to work for you. And then if you’re feeling bad stress, what to do. Different things will get different results.

The first thing we want to start with, in terms of good stress, is reframing your mindset. Not all stress is bad. If you’ve got good stress—the exam is coming up, you’ve prepped, you’re feeling a little nervous—some acceptance of that nervousness is good. But also understand that a challenge isn’t necessarily a threat. Just because it’s challenging doesn’t mean it’s going to go badly.

Like when I was giving birth. Was that stressful? Yes. But I knew I was going to have a baby at the end. I knew I just needed to get through the challenge of childbirth so I could finally hug my daughter. It’s the same thing. You know you’re going to be a doctor at the end of this. You just need to get through this god-awful exam. But it’s okay. The outcome is worth the challenge. Reframing your mindset like that is really important.

I like to affirm myself. People talk about affirmations, but I think of it more like positive self-talk. Things like “I can do this” or “I am capable.” What I love to do is think about something harder that I’ve done. Like, if I can do that, I can do this. If I can give birth—it took me 36 hours in labour; it was no joke—I can lift 70 kilos in a deadlift. I can do it. Everyone’s got their hard thing. It doesn’t have to be birth. But if you can do one hard thing, you can do another.

The other thing in terms of reframing and getting into a positive mindset with good stress is setting realistic goals. Sometimes when we look too far ahead, it freaks us out. But we can control what’s right in front of us. Focus on the steps to get to that goal, rather than just the goal itself.

If you’re just saying, “I’ve got to be a doctor, got to be a doctor,” that’s stressful. But if you say, “What can I do today to get one step closer?” it enables you to take responsibility and take a positive action in the right direction. For example, the essay section is coming up in a week. What can I do today to feel better walking into that exam? Okay, I’m going to write two essays. Maybe four essays. I can’t control what essay topics are given to me on exam day. But what I can do is practise today so I’m more prepared then.

The next thing is challenging yourself and stretching your comfort zone. If you’re not comfortable writing essays, how do you get better at it so that essays become something you can control? In a GAMSAT context, ask yourself: What skills do I need to feel good on exam day?

Do I know how to write a thesis statement? Do I know how to use examples? Do I have a strategy if a theme comes up that I’m totally unfamiliar with? These are all learnable skills.

Years ago, I had a student—let’s call her Mary. Not her real name. Mary called me after the exam. She was like, “Oh my god, I didn’t get that.” She told me for Section Two, one of the themes was ‘meritocracy,’ and she didn’t even know what the word meant. But she said, “I wrote a brilliant essay. I just used the strategy on how to write on any theme if I don’t understand it.” And that is harnessing good stress. She knew what might come up and she prepared for it. It was still in her control. And Mary did pretty well.

Just in case you’re wondering: Meritocracy is like democracy—everyone gets one vote. Meritocracy is where if you have more merit, you get more clout or influence.

That would be me, Googling it later. I am the person who, when I finish a show, I Google everything about it to see if it’s accurate. Please jump into the Facebook group if you’re like this too. I don’t want to be alone.

Back to stress. Positive stress—enjoy it, stay present, and get into that flow state. Have you ever been in that state where everything is aligning? You want to maintain that flow state. Being present helps.

Whether it’s good or bad stress, the basics always apply. You need good sleep. Think of your brain like a paper inbox. Throughout the day, papers pile up. When you sleep, everything is filed away. If you don’t sleep, the pile gets higher.

If you’re learning and challenging yourself, you need more rest, better hydration, good food, and a support system.

And community! That’s why we have the Nurses Doing GAMSAT Facebook group. Yesterday, I spoke to a bootcamp alum who is now doing physician training. She said she told no one when she sat the GAMSAT. She felt like people would think she was better than them. She valued a community where she could be honest.

Bad stress—identify it. Is it fear of failure? Time pressure? Exhaustion? Feel it. The healing is in the feeling. Imagine a bucket. Feelings drip into it. If you don’t empty it, it overflows. Let it go.

Reframe negative thoughts. Break things down. Control what you can. Breathing helps. Inhale for three, exhale for six—do that ten times.

Sometimes you need to move—walk, exercise, punch it out. And, of course, sleep, good food, water, and your support network.

Choose something from this menu. Implement one thing today. Jump into the Facebook group. You can absolutely do this. Let’s harness that stress and smash the GAMSAT. Bye for now. See you next week.