Anyone Take a Year Off?

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Just thought I would put this one out there. Even though I really want to get med school over with and taking a year off would just prolong things, I have started thinking that I want to take a year off btwn 2nd and 3rd year to possibly do a Mastes of Public Health, MPH. I also think taking a year off would allow me to assess where I am in medicine, since I feel I slacked somewhat from how I wanted to do things in school. Anyone have any experiences with this or have any friends who took a year off? Why did you do it and was it really a rewarding experience in the end? Any imput would be great. Thanks.

If you're going to take a year off, I heartily recommend getting a job instead of staying in school. It will clear your mind and give you some perspective on what you want to do with your life. I've been out of school for three years, and I'm chomping at the bit to get back to studying when I start Med School in the fall.

Wrigley

Originally posted by Wrigleyville
If you're going to take a year off, I heartily recommend getting a job instead of staying in school. It will clear your mind and give you some perspective on what you want to do with your life. I've been out of school for three years, and I'm chomping at the bit to get back to studying when I start Med School in the fall.

Wrigley

i agree with wrigleyville

Maybe it wasn't clear, but I am finishing up my first year of med school this year, so it really isn't a question of taking extra time before starting med school. thanks for the imput though.

Originally posted by merlin
Maybe it wasn't clear, but I am finishing up my first year of med school this year, so it really isn't a question of taking extra time before starting med school. thanks for the imput though.

I understood you. I say go for it. It sure wouldn't hurt you.

Just so you know, my year off was really hard on me. So it can go either way, and I wish I wouldn't have done it. But many people say its great. I wanted to live another "yeah of youth" before jumping into the professional world. While applying and waiting for acceptances, I realized I was already there and didn't have anything to do for the moment, which led to boredom and depression.

The good thing is that you get to travel. See the world!

Yeah,
I took a year off and part of me wishes I didn't. At the same time, I finally got some relaxation and got some time to figure out my goals. In between med school though, i'm sure it would be a nice break and it furthers ur goals, where as my year off didn't necessarily do that...

merlin,

I did exactly what you're considering: took a year off between 2nd/3rd years to do an MPH, and I would really recommend it if you're into public health.

The negatives:
- I am now struggling to recall 2 years of pre-clinical minutiae for the USMLE step 1 and am terrified of being the biggest loser on the clinical rotation because I haven't done 'medicine' in 12 months. Mind you, I was a huge slacker in my first 2 years of med school. I did enough work to get by, but I was bored to death, so this may not apply to you, but definitely definitely get Step 1 out of the way before you start the MPH

- the cost: if you do your MPH during a preventive medicine residency instead, you dont have to pay for it. I, however, knew I wanted to do it between Y2/Y3 so I'm adding to my debt for it.

- socially, you'll be joining a new class of students (although in my case, this was a major plus point)


The positives:
- if you are into public health, you will love it. There were a lot of medical students in my MPH program and not one regretted doing it.

- you will meet awesome people who you'll never meet in medical school (diverse by age, geographically, culturally, and career-background) as people who are attracted to public health come from many different fields, have differing interests, and many seek to work internationally

- you will get a broader perspective of health care and disease in the US than in medical school. The only thing assuaging my immense fear of the clinical rotations is the chance to put the peices into perspective. I've got medicine to diagnose, but now I see the financial, political, ethical aspects of delivering care and how my patient's age, family, geography, occupation, behavior could be affecting his/her health. I can finally put it together in the wards.

- you will get a break from medical school. I don't know about you, but I was suffocating in med school and I was not having fun. Taking the year off allowed me to focus on my interests outside of medicine, have a life outside of scrubs, and really figure out what I want to get out of medicine when I return. I felt much less stressed without the crushing competitiveness of my medical school peers, and felt happy for the first time in two years. In the end, I am returning to med school, fears still in mind, but with a much clearer outlook on what I want to do and I just feel healthier about the whole situation.

If you're considering it, do some research on schools and what you might focus your interest in (epidemiology, health policy, etc). Some public health schools don't accept students until after 3rd year, also, so be sure to check that. I know a student from my med school who actually did his MPH between 3rd and 4th years, so it is possible to be flexible when you want to do it.

And if you do go for the MPH, dont be dumb like me: seriously, get your Step 1 out of the way! I am drowning in lysosomal storage disorders and I can't for the life of me figure out how I supposedly knew these (even short-term) at some point in my life!

good luck with your decision!

merlin,

I will be taking 3 years off to get a J.D. between my 2nd and 3rd years. there are lots of people at my school taking time off to get MPH's, MBA's and the like. There certainly are drawbacks that others have already mentioned but in the end I think that it is a great decision.

Medicine will always be here. You can get a broader perspective and do something that it sounds like you really want to do.

Some things to consider:
-how supportive is your school of your decision? they can certainly make jumping through all these hoops easier
-when to take the boards? no question, right after 2nd year
-money
-leaving your classmates

I am nervous to leave for three years, but if the MPhud's can do it, why not?

If you decide to travel in your year off, go to Australia. Gorgeous country/women, great people, and tons to do. Save up as much $ as you can here, and blow it all over there (good exchange rate). I lived there for 6 months after my junior year of undergrad. Came back the following year and my grades now hover around the 4.0-3.6 area. Pm me for details.

As in almost everything, it depends.....

If you're taking a year off to bum around and relax, that is more likely to have some of the negative outcomes written about above (bored, etc.). If, however, you've a plan and are going after something that will further your goals (whatever they may be - public health, law, management, aviation ), then I suspect you'll find the year well spent. Personally (so you can tune out now), I wouldn't do it unless you have a definite plan/reason to take the time.

As far as coming back to clinics after time away, don't worry too much. I recetnly spent my first day back in clinic after 4 years at the bench. While it took a little while to remember which way the stethescope went in my ears, once I got that down it all came back. Seriously, you'll feel uncomfortable for only a very short time. A big plus is that your perspective may have changed somewhat. I know I have a much decreased tolerance for brown-nosing gunners (which has stood me in good stead with attendings thus far) and doing scut to butter up the staff. I do what I can to help and make a much greater effort to learn (rather than wasting time and energy butt-smooching as some of my classmates do) - it's made the whole process a great deal more fun and educational. Plus, really trying to learn is what, at least here, the house officers want to see. Good all around.

But I digress...... as usual.

Long and short, it can be a great thing to do if you're going after something specific and your institution supports it.

Best of luck,
P

PS - the exchange rate right now sucks and is going to get much worse in the near term. We've abandoned our "strong dollar" policy. Just a caveat to international travel.

Just curious....
If you wanted to defer med school for a year before entering, how exactly does that work...would you note that on your application? or during the interview? or after acceptance?

thanks!

Originally posted by spumoni620
Just curious....
If you wanted to defer med school for a year before entering, how exactly does that work...would you note that on your application? or during the interview? or after acceptance?

thanks!

Definitely AFTER acceptance! They won't accept you if you mention it in the interview or on your application.

Originally posted by CANES2006
Definitely AFTER acceptance! They won't accept you if you mention it in the interview or on your application.

Totally. Don't mention it until after you're accepted. Also, if you are sure you're going to take time off, you might want to check the deferment policies of the schools you apply to. Some are real laid back about it (CWRU apparently lets you defer and even REAPPLY to more schools if you want to), but I imagine some are more strict than this...

thanks canes and md!

Thanks everyone for such great thoughful insights. I have spoken with the dean at my school and I cannot begin to say how supportive Einstein is with taking time off to pursue public health/social medicine related issues. Now all I have to do is think. Cheers.