Medical schools should normalise and facilitate students taking a year out

Medical school can feel like a race to the end, during which you will hopefully pick up publications, scholarships, and awards along the way. The emphasis seems to be on how much you can achieve in the least amount of time. Students who take a year out see their peers move closer to getting those coveted letters “Dr.” in front of their name, while they fall behind. For this reason, the prospect of a gap year can be daunting. Many medical students do not know that taking a year out—or a gap year—is even possible. But the benefits of a year out can far outweigh the perceived drawbacks. It can offer students an opportunity for personal and professional growth, a space to recover from burnout or prevent it altogether, or a chance to alleviate the financial pressures of a long and demanding degree.1Some of the benefits are easier to quantify…