How Chess helped me as a medical student

I love playing chess and I've had this account since I was a teenager. I'm now studying medicine in english in europe and I enjoy the congnitive enhancement it provides, as well as the relaxing and mind stimulating effects it has on me. Since I started my career studying dental medicine in Europe I found it busy and stressful. I used chess to pass the time and to form relationships with colleagues and patients. I know students studying medicine in Romania who love to play chess and I also have had tournaments in Medical Schools in Bulgaria, Poland (Bialystok Medical University) and Ukraine. Chess seems to be very popular among those who study intense subjects like medicine or dentistry.

Some benefits of Stuyding medicine in Europe are the cheap fees, the flexible requirements and the lovely new cultures to explore. The people are nice and they like to interact and socialise with foreginers. I enjoy studying the academic as well as the social and economical effects chess has on people. So whenever I meet new people or encounter a new culture I always ask about their opinions on chess and how they play. I like to apply this knowledge to my patients or when I'm speaking to students who study medical subjects at medical universities in Eastern Europe such as Craiova Medical University.

The first research study to both show and then try to measure the effects of cognitive-enhancing drugs such as modafinil, amphetamines, and methylphenidate (or Ritalin), and combined with drinks with caffeine, on chess play is being studied. Research shows very significant and improved cognitive improvements for modafinil, amphetamines and methylphenidate, and may affects how these drugs are used off-label in a range of activities. This raises the dilemma of "performance enhancing drugs" in chess!