Orientation Anxiety

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With just a few weeks left till I start med school, I am beginning to dread the thought of orientation. I know my fear will probably dissolve within a few days of meeting my classmates, but I haven't had a "first day of school" experience in a long time (I went to a HUGE undergrad university) and am used to getting to know people outside the classroom and on my own terms. Any suggestions for those first few days of orientation? Any experiences, good or bad?

Originally Posted by thirdgen_doc

With just a few weeks left till I start med school, I am beginning to dread the thought of orientation. I know my fear will probably dissolve within a few days of meeting my classmates, but I haven't had a "first day of school" experience in a long time (I went to a HUGE undergrad university) and am used to getting to know people outside the classroom and on my own terms. Any suggestions for those first few days of orientation? Any experiences, good or bad?

Bring a good magazine to read during orientation. Oh, and introduce yourself to your classmates that are sitting around you. Everyone of your classmates will probably ask you what field of medicine do you want to go in or what undergrad school did you go to.

two words.. hot pants.

Originally Posted by thirdgen_doc

With just a few weeks left till I start med school, I am beginning to dread the thought of orientation. I know my fear will probably dissolve within a few days of meeting my classmates, but I haven't had a "first day of school" experience in a long time (I went to a HUGE undergrad university) and am used to getting to know people outside the classroom and on my own terms. Any suggestions for those first few days of orientation? Any experiences, good or bad?

The first few days are tough. The best thing to do is to talk with as many people as possible, and try to find things in common. For the first couple of weeks of med school for me, I hung out with people that didn't end up being friends in the long run. Be flexible, friends will come, and remember how fortunate you are to be in med school and what an amazing journey it will be.

Originally Posted by thirdgen_doc

With just a few weeks left till I start med school, I am beginning to dread the thought of orientation. I know my fear will probably dissolve within a few days of meeting my classmates, but I haven't had a "first day of school" experience in a long time (I went to a HUGE undergrad university) and am used to getting to know people outside the classroom and on my own terms. Any suggestions for those first few days of orientation? Any experiences, good or bad?

Hi there,
During orientation you have to: 1. Get all of the administrative stuff done as quickly and efficiently as possible 2. Figure out where to find the places and things that you are going to need on a daily basis 3. Rest up well because once classes start, you will be working hard.

The rest is just taking people (and things) as you find them. Put your anxiety elsewhere and on things like how are you going to get all of that infomation in your brain for the first set of exams. This is far more important (and useful) than worrying about bonding with your classmates.

njbmd

Thanks for the advice everyone ... I'll think about the hotpants zahque

I'm really anxious too! It's ridiculous, I feel like I'm going to school for the first time or something. Plus it's strange to be going to school in July. My first day is tomorrow.

Good luck boo

Originally Posted by thirdgen_doc

Good luck boo

Thanks, good luck to you too.

My advice: try not to trip infront of large groups of people, check your shoes/ pants for tp after leaving the bathroom, after eating check your teeth for food (no one will tell you), watch out for eye and nose boogies, and try not to hit anyone during orientation - no matter how annoying they are, wait at least a couple of weeks.

I'm getting a bit of the jitters, too...let's just hope our orientation weeks/weekends won't be the same ice-breakers, pep rallies, and social mixers we had in college!

Anybody else going through a bout of med-school remorse? I got into the school that was far and away my number one choice, yet for the past week I have had a stupid nagging feeling of regret over not picking one of the other ones...

Am I alone?

Originally Posted by MasterShake

try not to hit anyone during orientation - no matter how annoying they are, wait at least a couple of weeks.

No - it's just like prison. Best to set the tone on day one. Pick the biggest classmate you can see and totally wail on him, so no one else will dare mess with you.

Originally Posted by Law2Doc

No - it's just like prison. Best to set the tone on day one. Pick the biggest classmate you can see and totally wail on him, so no one else will dare mess with you.

Another option is to tell everyone that you can tell just by looking at them that you are smarter than them, and that you will definitely outperform them in school. That way everyone will be your friend so that you will help them out when they need tutoring.

Office Space logic for orientation:

"Conjugal visits? Mmmm. Not that I know of. Y'know, minimum-security prison is no picnic. I have a client in there right now. He says the trick is: kick someone's a** the first day, or become someone's b*$@h. Then everything will be all right. W-Why do you ask, anyway?"

Replace "mininimal-security prison" with medical school and "client" with student. I think everything else holds pretty well.