How Do You Handle Setbacks in Medicine Without Losing Momentum?

“Wind extinguishes a candle but energizes a fire. We should aim to be like fire and wish for the wind.”

Medicine, at every stage, comes with wind. Sometimes it’s the sting of a rejection email, sometimes it’s a low test score, and sometimes it’s the quiet voice in your head asking if you really belong here. I remember the first time that voice nearly won.

It was my first MCAT practice test. I scored so poorly that I shut my laptop, sat in silence, and then cried for hours. I was convinced I had been foolish to think I could become a doctor. In that moment, I was the candle. I was ready to let the gust blow me out. For a while, the doubt lingered. Instead of giving up, I opened my books again. I studied harder, leaned on friends who believed in me, and learned to take each setback as feedback rather than failure. Slowly, I began to see that the wind wasn’t there to knock me down. The wind was there to fuel me.

That lesson followed me into every stage of training. Rejections, difficult exams, long days on the wards; all of it tested my flame. However, with each challenge, I realized I had a choice: let the wind extinguish me or let it push me to grow. Choosing the latter didn’t mean it was easy, but it meant I kept moving forward.

Here’s the full circle: the student who once thought a bad practice test meant the end of her dream ended up starting medical school in her dream city of New York. The same student who almost let doubt extinguish her fire matched into one of the most competitive specialties when many people told her that feat would be impossible. What once felt like the gusts that would blow me away turned out to be the very winds that carried me here.

I think about that often, especially when I talk to people just beginning their journeys in medicine. It’s easy to want a calm path, free of setbacks, but the truth is you don’t get to choose the wind. You only get to choose whether you will be the candle or the fire.

So, when you’re staring down your own gusts—whether it’s a disappointing score, a rejection, or the voice that whispers “you aren’t enough”—remember that they don’t have to put you out. They can be the very thing that makes your flame burn brighter.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: don’t just endure the wind. Wish for it. Because every time you rise against it, you’re becoming the fire you were meant to be.