Anybody not hate medical school?

[Cerberus]

I am hearing alot from people about how bad and how miserable medical school is. Anybody out there not hating it?

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[sacrament]

I don't hate it and I don't love it. It's something to do.

 

[DrMom]

I agree with sacrament's assessment.

I do, however, truly enjoy some of my classmates.

 

[Buck Strong]

Originally posted by sacrament
I don't hate it and I don't love it. It's something to do.

So true....At the same time, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing, or can picture myself doing. A friend of mine likened it to an abusive relationship. We bitch and moan about it constantly, maybe even consider leaving once or twice, but in the end, we keep coming back for more. Just my 2 cents...

 

[Cerberus]

good, that is more of what would like to hear.

 

[ckent]

Fourth year is soo much fun. Once you get here, you will see, you finally get to do what you enjoy without real world pressure. You have virtually no responsibilty unless you are doing a sub-i (ie everyone is very appreciative when you do do something), you learn what you want to learn and read what you want to read (usually no tests), and you really don't care what attendings think about you anymore because your transcripts and letters of recc are already in. You don't have to worry about screwing up like you would if you were a resident or intern either because somone is always looking over your shoulder, but you know enough so that you aren't just wandering aimlessly in the hospital following around residents like you did as a third year. I wish that I could be a professional fourth year medical student. In terms of order of enjoyment, I would say that 4th yr>>>2ndyr > 1st yr>3rd yr. I really just saw the first two years as extensions of college, which was nice in that you had a lot of free time to do whatever you want to do.

 

[8744]

Call me a kiss-ass but I have never hated medical school, not even for a moment. I studied a lot during first and second year but, with the exception of the first couple of months of first year, I never worked myself into a frenzy or felt like I was wasting a lot of effort.

I go to a medical school that has a curriculum with reduced lecture hours. During first year it was rare to be in class past 2 o'clock. I always felt like I had plenty of time to study after class without having to "burn the midnight oil" or pull an all-nighter.

On top of that, we got up to seven weeks off to study for Step 1.

My grades pretty much reflect the amount of studying I put in and, if I am not at the top of the class, at least I never failed a test or a class.

I worked pretty hard to get into medical school and took a lot of grief from people who said I was too old and that it would be impossible with a family.

 

[Pickle Salt]

i've found med school to be a lovely extension of undergrad. with a couple hundred more hours clocked in the library per semester. and a couple hundred more beers.

 

[gwyn779]

Each year is better than the last. However, I would still have to say that the 1st two were worse than middle school.

 

[Neuronix]

I like med school, though I slack like hell and barely pass everything. My roommate is like "wait a second, you NEVER study, how do you pass?!?" Well, I do study some, but never at home Still, this is how I keep my sanity.

I was over the mean once. I studied for the class (Epidemiology) a total of one hour the entire semester. From this I conclude that the more I study the less I know. Oh, and I finished anatomy before break! WHOOP!

 

[HouseHead]

I LOVE medical school!!

I never go to lectures- I found that with my commute and anatomy lab and all that, I never had time to study if I went to lectures. I'm not a lecture learner anyway. I still don't study enough, by far, but I do get to sleep, and if I get my act together, maybe I can honor more next semester. While I don't dig the cramfests that I inevitably did before every test, I ADORE my classmates, have enjoyed the subjects matters (well, anatomy at least- public health was kinda lame, and I didn't learn much new in biochem or genetics), and can deal with what jerkoffs some of the profs can be (rarities- most are way cool, funny, and good at their jobs).

I'm really happy with my choice of schools, even though I didn't even rank it when I was making up my lists of places to go way-back-when. I do get easily distracted though, which can be a problem. Must... get... disciplined... if I'm seriously considering derm...

Oh yes... It *has* been hard on my relationship. No matter how much he said he was going to support me, my fiance has been having a hard time with the amount of studying I do (and like I said, *I* think I'm slacking, across the board). But then, he's spending 4 hours a day commuting, and I chalk up a lot more of the stress in our relationship to that than to my being in medical school. It was easy for him to say how supportive he'd be when he was out of work and had nothing better to do than make dinner, do the laundry, and walk the dog...

Is anyone else absolutely giddy with this break?? I've been working out like mad, going dancing, cleaning (there's a lot of that to catch up on!), and there's even time left over for practical applications of what I learned in anatomy...

 

[Jalby]

I personally really like it, but I can see how other people don't like it. I'm out by noon almost every day, I get to go to the gym tons. My only complaint is that I can't convince people to go out on the weekdays.

 

[LovelyRita]

Only thing I hate is the debt.

 

[GoodMonkey]

i like medical school

like sac said, i don't love it, but i definitely don't hate it. i have free time (albeit kinda limited, as i also work) and studying isn't that horrendous for me. i'm at a school where the first year is entirely pass/fail (with no hidden grades/ranks that they are keeping a record of) and that definitely helps ease the stress... it might be different when i have to start thinking about grades and rank, but right now i don't really have any complaints. i guess, for me, this is no different or worse than a fairly demanding full time job ... before i came to med school, i worked full time at one job and usually had a 2nd part-time job on top of that, so i averaged about 50, sometimes 60 hours a week working, and i was out of undergrad for almost 4 years before coming to med school. ask me again in a year or two and maybe i'll have a different answer. right now, though, i'm happy with my decision.

 

[ktat72]

to tell you the truth, i do like medicine a lot, and medical school is not that bad - the only rough part were my preclinical years when our lectures and exams were not the same so we were never prepared for our exams. now i am on my clinical rotations i enjoy medical school.

 

[cocoabutter]

I definitely don't hate medical school. I actually manage to have a pretty good time. My classmates are cool and cooperative. I have made some good friends. I do get semi-stressed around test time and I am glad to have two weeks off (even though i have catching up to do!), but overall, med school is pretty enjoyable.

 

[sophiejane]

Seriously. Every day I am so grateful that I get to do this, that I get to study this absolutely MIRACULOUS machine that the human body is...evey day I am awed by how incredible it is.

I even love the studying--most of the time. I guess that is because I have been out in the workforce, I have been accountable to timeclocks and clients and bosses for years, and now--being accountable only to myself and my own standards is really great.

Maybe if I was in my 20s like many of you, I would feel somehow cheated, as if the rest of the world was out there making money and having fun and here's poor me, stuck in the library studying histology...but I doubt it. Even in my 20s (which was only 10 years ago, I'm not that old...) I wasn't a whiner. I was raised to be accountable for my decisions and to be grateful for the opportunities I have been given to better myself and to learn and to serve people. I know this sounds righteous, but it is true.

So I say to all you whiners: GET OVER IT! Do you have any idea how many people would love to have your seat? If you hate hard work, you better get out now. Go into business or marketing or real estate and quit your griping.

 

[jbish]

Come on..just cuz people whine doesn't mean they don't appreciate where they are or what they are doing. Many people whine as a means of stress relief and keeping sane. Sure, lots of people would love to be in our situation...but I'm betting a bunch of them when they saw the workload and how crappily people are treated would scream and run away in horror. Like a lot of posters say: you're going to med school to be a doctor, not a med student. You can hate the school part of med school and still have amazing will and passion and end up being a fantastic doctor.

Do I hate med school? no. Do I love it? hell no. There are a lot of things that could be done to fix the bureaucracy and the crap and the red tape and some of the close-mindedness of professors and administrators. But that's true of a lot of schools and professions, certainly not just medicine. But I try to keep an open mind that I'm in this for the end result which is dependent on some of the crappy stuff in the middle.

 

[::Seabass::]

maybe its because I've worked, but I feel like a lot of med students keep trying to relive their freshman year in college. I partied my ass off at times after graduating, but I managed to move away from the high school drinking games and I wish others could do so too.

and it really is a love-hate relationship. some days you'll be'll amazed at the stuff you learn and they *let* you do, others you'll be bawling your eyes out and completely in a rut.

 

[shikantaza]

i'm only a first-year and i expect it to get harder, but so far it's not that bad at all... don't buy the hype... i have plenty of friends in other fields that work just as hard, if not harder than me...

 

[GoodMonkey]

Originally posted by seaworthc
maybe its because I've worked, but I feel like a lot of med students keep trying to relive their freshman year in college. I partied my ass off at times after graduating, but I managed to move away from the high school drinking games and I wish others could do so too.

seriously.

 

[kaos]

I'm starting to hate it. I work my @$$ off nonstop, and still don't do as well as I should. It's really frustrating. Can't wait for 3rd yr to come around.

 

[8744]

Originally posted by kaos
I'm starting to hate it. I work my @$$ off nonstop, and still don't do as well as I should. It's really frustrating. Can't wait for 3rd yr to come around.

Har Har. Yeah, then you'll get some respect!

 

[awdc]

I love medical school... even if it is in Dominica (but only for little longer). I thank God everyday that I get to learn what I'm learning and that I'm on my way to my dream job.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I didn't hate medical school until 2nd year. I really enjoyed 1st year. It's not that I hate the material, I enjoy reading about some of this stuff, but it's everything else that I hate--the people in my class who are still the ones who whine about test questions, the ones who are practically failing and still go out to every party and bar like its undergrad, and the lecturers who just suck, etc. But I'm going to stick with it because I figure, if I enjoyed 1st yr so much and I'm still passing all my classes even though I'm miserable then it must be meant to be!

 

[Weil-Felix]

Originally posted by ckent
I wish that I could be a professional fourth year medical student. In terms of order of enjoyment, I would say that 4th yr>>>2ndyr > 1st yr>3rd yr.

Yes, yes yes! I agree with this assessment wholeheartedly. Fourth year has definitely been the most enjoyable year yet. Someone once said that "it's the most expensive vacation you'll ever buy". I also loved second year (if I can block that whole boards thing from my mind). Third year (or more specifically my surgery and peds rotations) were the lowest points of my life to date. Thank god I'm going into path.

 

[8744]

Hold on, there is no such thing as "practically failing" or "almost failing."

You either pass or you don't. In my book, there is no difference between a 70% and a 79.999%, both go in the books as a "C." (and both are passing grades.)

I once let on to this forum that my grades were never that good and I usually scored in the low to mid seventies on my tests. I was accused of "struggling" in medical school. I just want to reiterate that I was not "struggling" at all. I was having a low stress first and second year and doing pretty much the bare minimum when it came to studying. (I have a familly, dogs, a house, and other things competing for my time you understand) I never failed a test and never felt like I was walking on the knife edge of failure. In fact, after the first few months of medical school I got a good handle on how little studying is actually required to pass (Relatively speaking. I studied a lot more then when I was an undergrad.) and adjusted my schedule accordingly.

I did better on Step 1 then the national average so I obviously learned what was required.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Panda Bear
Hold on, there is no such thing as "practically failing" or "almost failing."

You either pass or you don't. In my book, there is no difference between a 70% and a 79.999%, both go in the books as a "C." (and both are passing grades.)

Very true, but there are some people who are always barely hanging on to that 70.0.

 

[praying4MD]

med school-- yes, hate it. the first year and a half has been wholly unsatisfying and a very big disappointment. i only hope it gets better. [bad stuff includes: fragile med student egos, bitching over test questions, immature peers who think they are entitled to test points for no reason, studying your a$$ off to JUST pass... over and over again, sleep deprivation, havoc on your social calendar, etc.]

MEDICINE-- love it. don't get me wrong-- i love medicine itself, i love what i am studying about and find it interesting, but it was no picnic, at least for me-- someone who has always had to work a little harder just to make the passing grade [i have no shame in that either.] good stuff includes:celebrating after exams, passing, but more than that-- LEARNING something really really useful and COOL for your future patients. that is truly the best part.

anyway, yes, i will be honest-- i have found it to be utterly unsatisfying up to now, except for a few moments of joy. some the best friends i will ever have i have met in med school, but honestly-- it is all a matter of circumstance-- if you spend that much time together and go through hell and back together, you are bound to be close and have intense relationships with these people.

sorry to be the lone pessimist, but this is how i feel at this moment. wrote this in a hurry--sorry if it is incoherent.

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by DrMom
Very true, but there are some people who are always barely hanging on to that 70.0.

and working their butt off for it. you can usually tell the difference between those that get a 71 because they choose that grade and those who that is the best they can do.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by seaworthc
and working their butt off for it. you can usually tell the difference between those that get a 71 because they choose that grade and those who that is the best they can do.

certainly. I'm happy to help out those that are working and just hanging in there. The ones that drive me nuts are those that blow everything off & then expect classmates to help them catch up 1-2 nights before the test.

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by praying4MD
sorry to be the lone pessimist, but this is how i feel at this moment. wrote this in a hurry--sorry if it is incoherent.

I'm interested to see what you think of your clinical experience, I've heard some interesting stuff about what it is like at your school (first hand.)

 

[praying4MD]

Originally posted by seaworthc
and working their butt off for it. you can usually tell the difference between those that get a 71 because they choose that grade and those who that is the best they can do.

Originally posted by seaworthc
and working their butt off for it. you can usually tell the difference between those that get a 71 because they choose that grade and those who that is the best they can do.

Exactly. I mostly fall into the latter category. And one of the reasons I am a little disgusted with some of my peers is their disdain [as evidenced by other messages on this thread as well,] for those who 'merely pass.' Not all of us can 'honor' and not all that 'merely pass' are slackers. Some of the people I have the most respect for are those that did NOT breeze through medical school, but that found it a real struggle and found it as grueling as I do. But this is too complicated an issue to broach on this thread right now-- fragile egos rear their ugly heads again [as referenced earlier.]

Regarding the clinics seaworthc-- we'll see. I have heard that life gets better when you hit the clinics from most med students. I hope to take some time off right now even before clinics; I feel like if I don't do that right now, I will leave medicine altogether. Forgive me for not remembering your true identity-- I feel like I'm almost sure we've met though.

I am curious to know about the satisfaction level both post and pre clinical rotations at your school too.

Take care and have a Merry Christmas.

 

[daria]

Beats the hell outta working...

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Originally posted by Panda Bear
Hold on, there is no such thing as "practically failing" or "almost failing."

By "practically failing", I meant the person who has notoriously barely passed EVERY class and only gets his/her ass in gear at the final. The person who makes 50s-70's and then when it comes time for the final has to have someone sit down and teach the entire course to him/her. This is also the same person who goes out ALL THE TIME. I don't mean someone who makes 70's willingly. Chill.

 

[mongoose]

Originally posted by KyGrlDr2B
By "practically failing", I meant the person who has notoriously barely passed EVERY class and only gets his/her ass in gear at the final. The person who makes 50s-70's and then when it comes time for the final has to have someone sit down and teach the entire course to him/her. This is also the same person who goes out ALL THE TIME. I don't mean someone who makes 70's willingly. Chill.

for a minute there i thought you may have been talking about me. but whenever i make a mess for myself i take the responsibility to clean up the mess myself. i never ask others to "teach me an entire course." hey, i love my 70's and am willing to admit it. heck, i never even shoot for A's from the get-go anymore. i shoot for B's and sometimes end up with C's. but i am perfectly happy with that.

incidentally, i am really curious as to who you may be referring to now. there are only a handful of people i can think of that fit the mold you have set out here. if you feel that you may divulge this info, i would like to discuss further.

and i'm happy to see you are starting to return to your "normal" self again after having bouts of hating med school.

oh yeah...i overheard a fellow student here saying how they had a 3.4 gpa and were still in the bottom quartile as far as class rank. is that for real? i find that very difficult to believe, although i don't care enough to confirm this through the proper channels. just wondered what other students here would have to say in response.

 

[Street Philosopher]

i share sentiments similar to praying4md. the first half of first year has been nothing but uninteresting bs. i was unprepared for how completely boring and intellectually dulling the medical school curriculum would be.

as for clinical stuff, due to the incredible foresight of my administration, i was scheduled to shadow a family practice physician. i nearly fell asleep standing up because of how ridiculously boring it was. and doing physical exams was equally boring, it was like playing "pretend to be a doc for a day". i might as well have drank imaginary tea in a pink plastic doll house.

 

[Buck Strong]

First 1/2 of year 1 really sucked until i got adjusted to the workload, second part of year 1 was fun, with better time management, got to reclaim some of my life. Year two has been alot more work. No need for time management, because there is no free time to manage, especially with boards hanging over our heads. I'm sure I'll hate med school less once step 1 is over, we get a nice 1 week break . I hear year 3 is pretty busy, with a steep learning curve, getting pimped, no love from hospital staff, etc, but i'll be glad b/c it's something different. I hear a couple of the shelf exams are hard too. So i guess what i'm really looking forward to is year 4, only 1.5 years away, horray!!! Good news is that time flies. By the way, I do well in exams, but by no means do i get High pass or honors everytime, i do slack a little from time to time to keep my sanity. But I've tried and I've never been able to find the perfect level of slacking which would allow me to pass by a few points every exam...i mean, what if you have a bad day, bad luck and fail by a point? I try to know things well enough so i have a decent cushion for passing, in case i have a bad test taking day, or the profs decide the make the exam extra hard.

 

[Street Philosopher]

Originally posted by Buck Strong
what if you have a bad day, bad luck and fail by a point?

 

[jwin]

Originally posted by mongoose


oh yeah...i overheard a fellow student here saying how they had a 3.4 gpa and were still in the bottom quartile as far as class rank. is that for real? i find that very difficult to believe, although i don't care enough to confirm this through the proper channels. just wondered what other students here would have to say in response.

do med schools use gpa's? do you mean????

honor=A=4

hp=B=3

p=C=2

3.4 gpa would be mathmatically impossible in the bottom quartile unless your school does not give out honors, hp, etc by percentile in a class (ie. top 10% get honors)

in a traditional med school curve, getting roughly half honors and half high pass, i would think would be in the top quartile of the class.

 

[Buck Strong]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher

Seriously though, you guys are talented if you can pinpoint exactly how much you need to study and how much to slack to get that passing score by 1-2 points. I know there have been a couple of exams that i was prepared for and expecting to honor, and ended up passing by a slim margin, and few exams i felt decently prepared for and ended up aceing. Plus, here, you fail an exam, you fail the block, so I definitely don't want to risk failing by a point.

 

[mongoose]

Originally posted by jwin
do med schools use gpa's? do you mean????

honor=A=4

hp=B=3

p=C=2

3.4 gpa would be mathmatically impossible in the bottom quartile unless your school does not give out honors, hp, etc by percentile in a class (ie. top 10% get honors)

in a traditional med school curve, getting roughly half honors and half high pass, i would think would be in the top quartile of the class.

we don't do honors/pass/fail bull****......we are strictly letter grades.

 

[japhy]

Having just completed my first semester of law school, I look back and realize just how much fun the first two years of medical school were. It seemed like every day was a ski day and many, many nights were spent at the bars.

I have to echo what others have said- I really enjoyed the information we were learning so all the studying didn't seem so bad. Plus, I had great friends and we played as hard as we worked. On the other hand, law school is nothing but a grind. Most of these students have no sense of humor, but I guess I wouldn't either if I was spending the rest of my life slaving away for a firm. With the right attitude (P=MD), med school is a great time.

 

[shikantaza]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
i was unprepared for how completely boring and intellectually dulling the medical school curriculum would be.


sadly, i don't think this could be more true... i think i will ultimately like medicine but i found the curriculum first semester to be absurdly boring... unless you really, really like the basic sciences, make sure you find some friends that like to talk about things other than medicine... i like a lot of my classmates, but a lot of them also seem awfully uninteresting and/or completely neurotic (i.e., you won't hear a word from them not related to classes, medicine, lack of sleep, supposed procrastination, "i can't wait until after exams", blah blah blah)... i'm sure that statement is being a little unfair to them, but that's how it feels when you have to listen to that **** all the time...

 

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

med school is not about learning...it's about enduring. =)

 

[Buck Strong]

Originally posted by Joe Joe on da Radio
med school is not about learning...it's about enduring. =)

Good for you, you're learning quick, especially for a first year...It's all about surviving until 4th year.

 

[kaos]

Originally posted by jwin
do med schools use gpa's? do you mean????

Um, my school is one of those that suck and use an actual grade (i.e. A, B, C, D, E) as opposed to high pass, pass, etc.

 

[gwyn779]

Originally posted by KyGrlDr2B
This is also the same person who goes out ALL THE TIME. I don't mean someone who makes 70's willingly. Chill.

But isn't this someone who chooses to makes 70's?

 

[DW]

After initially stressing about it for the first two months, I've settled in and towards the end started to love med school:

my view on med school, some points have been said already but whatever.....

-I try to be judicious with my lecture attendance, as at least I have never been much for learning in lecture. If i can learn the material at home with the notes, why waste me time? I'll either study or get chores done during the day.

-the material first year has been suprisingly uninteresting, downright boring, but none of it is complex or more intellectually challenging than my hardest chemistry courses in college. Just lots of material. I budget a few hours of my day towards school right after class to keep it fresh in my mind, and the rest of my day is free to do whatever.

-going to a P/F or H/P/F school rocks. basically, when the grades are posted, i'm looking to see if my grade has two digits and the first digit is greater than or equal to 7.

-while some of my classmates are fun people, I make sure to have friends and interests outside of med school. Seeing the same ~100 people everyday can get a tad repetitive at times. I run in central park, do volunteer woirk, take in the arts, see the sights, as much as I can handle on a med student budget.

-Making a location where I would be happy with the non med school outlets available to me a priority in picking a school was a great decision in hindsight. Med school has been relatively unexciting insofar, but NYC has been a blast! Of course, where one will be "happy" is completely in the eye of the beholder, but I'm glad I didn't let location play a small part in my decision....had I gone to school in the midwest, I'm sure I would be hating life now (not trying to cut on the midwest, its just not my thing personally).

basically, med school would rock if it weren't for those pesky tests

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Originally posted by mongoose


oh yeah...i overheard a fellow student here saying how they had a 3.4 gpa and were still in the bottom quartile as far as class rank. is that for real? i find that very difficult to believe, although i don't care enough to confirm this through the proper channels. just wondered what other students here would have to say in response.

That doesn't surprise me. You can easily go ask what your class rank is, but I was told by several people to not go do it WHATSOEVER. They were apparently pretty surprised by how low they were.