Gunners say the darndest things!

[Fatalis]

Post some funny things you over hear a gunner say:
Ill start things off. We just had midterm exams last week, so naturally this week has been laid back in terms of material....but not for a gunner.
Gunner to other gunner "....so this weekend my goal is to do 400 practice problems....at least....I just dont know if thats enough!"
Gunner to other gunner "I dont know either...I was so unhappy with my marks so I studied last weekend [the weekend when we finished our midterms]"

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[mimelim]

Its funny because they like to work hard!

 

[D elegans]

"I got a 263 on Step 1" Hilarious!

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

"I got a 263 on Step 1" Hilarious!

I lol'd

 

[Evil_Abed]

Its funny because they like to work hard!

Cute. It's as if they're actually trying to learn something.

+1

When did the definition of gunner change from "someone who sabotages others to get ahead (ie. 'guns' others down)" to "someone who studies?" The word "gunner" is thrown around as often as "professionalism" these days.

Ironically, it's the people who make fun of the ones who study hard who truly come off as gunners since they're basically trying to dissuade the other person from studying...

 

[kpcrew]

Cute. It's as if they're actually trying to learn something.

 

[thecgrblue]

+1

When did the definition of gunner change from "someone who sabotages others to get ahead (ie. 'guns' others down)" to "someone who studies?" The word "gunner" is thrown around as often as "professionalism" these days.

Ironically, it's the people who make fun of the ones who study hard who truly come off as gunners since they're basically trying to dissuade the other person from studying...

My thoughts exactly.

 

[music2doc]

+1

When did the definition of gunner change from "someone who sabotages others to get ahead (ie. 'guns' others down)" to "someone who studies?" The word "gunner" is thrown around as often as "professionalism" these days.

Ironically, it's the people who make fun of the ones who study hard who truly come off as gunners since they're basically trying to dissuade the other person from studying...

This.

But I have heard gunners say some interesting things. One gunner here (who actually has been statements indicating he will sabotage/has sabotaged others to be at the top) told the couple of friends he had that he was going to "start wearing bright red every test because it makes people feel intimidated and they won't do as well." (Yes, he does wear red on exam days now and yes, there is at least some evidence this could work on a subconscious level, although I'm not buyin' it.)

 

[Gheorgia]

This.

But I have heard gunners say some interesting things. One gunner here (who actually has been statements indicating he will sabotage/has sabotaged others to be at the top) told the couple of friends he had that he was going to "start wearing bright red every test because it makes people feel intimidated and they won't do as well." (Yes, he does wear red on exam days now and yes, there is at least some evidence this could work on a subconscious level, although I'm not buyin' it.)

Nope. I have evidence that he it has less to do with intimidation than with getting laid after the test.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/28/red.sex.appeal/index.html

 

[Donald Juan]

Nope. I have evidence that he it has less to do with intimidation than with getting laid after the test.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/28/red.sex.appeal/index.html

Well, I guess I know what I'm wearing to my next test...or everyday for that matter

 

[Renaissance Man]

Overheard this in anatomy lab while working on the lower limb..."Never realized how good I was with muscles and bones, may have to consider ortho instead of neurosurgery"

 

[Internistt]

the class rap who changed due dates for internal medicine case studies by telling the IM department that we agreed to submit earlier. godda love med students.

 

[Etorphine]

"I never study".........studies at least 10 hours a day in private

 

[neusu]

Interestingly, in 1st year I got kicked out of my study group for goofing off and just looking at youtube videos the whole time. In retrospect, I'm not sure how I made it through medical school.

 

[urbanclassic]

"I never study".........studies at least 10 hours a day in private

So true. Guy in my class says he doesn't know anything, and never studies, yet when you ask him stuff he for the most part knows it and his books are highlighted and written in. I think he says that because he doesn't do as well as he'd like on tests (test anxiety maybe?), but still, don't deny it. I have to study a lot to make the grades I make. Nothing wrong with admitting it.
But on the other side of the spectrum,when I tell some people I'm in bed most days by 10/11pm, they look at me crazy. I study a lot, but I don't think I go overboard. If someone wants to study all day, let them do it, at the end of the day, it's their grade, not yours. Some people have to study harder to get As or the grade they want. Some peple don't have to study hard to get As... and some people don't study hard because they don't care about getting the highest grades.
Hard workers aren't a bad thing.

 

[FutureInternist]

+1

When did the definition of gunner change from "someone who sabotages others to get ahead (ie. 'guns' others down)" to "someone who studies?" The word "gunner" is thrown around as often as "professionalism" these days.

Ironically, it's the people who make fun of the ones who study hard who truly come off as gunners since they're basically trying to dissuade the other person from studying...

 

[PikminOC]

Cute. It's as if they're actually trying to learn something.

Cute. Is there anything you don't know?

http://forums.sdn.net/showthread.php?p=13233271#post13233271

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Cute. Is there anything you don't know?

http://forums.sdn.net/showthread.php?p=13233271#post13233271

Somebody has a stick up their a**

 

[evilbooyaa]

GroverPsych vs kpcrew

Get in the octagon, you two.

 

[SpecterGT260]

I am pretty sure following around a poster and dredging up crap from other threads is a violation of the TOS... no matter what strangely colorful form of herpes your avatar has.

Grover, buddy, you got trolled in that other thread, and to anyone who saw it under the age of "in my day phones didn't have to have all this fancy crap on them" is painfully aware of it.

 

[Fatalis]

"I never study".........studies at least 10 hours a day in private

Too true!
Also, I for one do not deter anyone from their studies, their education is their own. This was supposed to be a fun post.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

I am pretty sure following around a poster and dredging up crap from other threads is a violation of the TOS... no matter what strangely colorful form of herpes your avatar has.

Grover, buddy, you got trolled in that other thread, and to anyone who saw it under the age of "in my day phones didn't have to have all this fancy crap on them" is painfully aware of it.

Ah now I see where this came from.

This is appropriate:

 

[HughMyron]

How exactly DO you sabotage someone else in school?

Offer them Adderall that you laced with barbiturates so they sleep through an exam? Hire thugs to beat them up on their way back home?

Some medical student needs to give me more ideas. I can't think of too much stuff, since I'm only a premed.

 

[mjl1717]

"I never study".........studies at least 10 hours a day in private

 

[SpecterGT260]

How exactly DO you sabotage someone else in school?

Offer them Adderall that you laced with barbiturates so they sleep through an exam? Hire thugs to beat them up on their way back home?

Some medical student needs to give me more ideas. I can't think of too much stuff, since I'm only a premed.

or just give them adderall for a test when they don't normally take it
studying on it is 1 thing. I wouldnt want to take a test on it if I wasn't otherwise prescribed to stay on it.

 

[mjl1717]

Cute. Is there anything you don't know?

http://forums.sdn.net/showthread.php?p=13233271#post13233271

Yes, that's in a crevice of my brain.. You bought it out..

 

[Cozell]

This could've been a pretty good thread, but we just had to define "Gunner"

O well

 

[Dr McSexy]

How exactly DO you sabotage someone else in school?
.

Eh, the gunning in the basic years is more or less non-existent outside of perhaps hoarding good studying materials, maybe if the school does some type of group projects, or the like. Basic years is more of an individual effort.

The real gunning happens in the clinic years. I haven't really had any problems on my rotations thus far (close calls, however).But I have seen students throw other students under the bus or attempt to embarrass the student in front of staff or other residents (whether consciously or sub-consciously). Or can involve the stealing of procedures, deliveries, etc.

I do think some people get labeled as a gunner just because they like to work hard, whether that means studying a lot or showing up to the hospital earlier or leaving later than one really has to.

 

[ArcGurren]

Eh, the gunning in the basic years is more or less non-existent outside of perhaps hoarding good studying materials, maybe if the school does some type of group projects, or the like. Basic years is more of an individual effort.

The real gunning happens in the clinic years. I haven't really had any problems on my rotations thus far (close calls, however).But I have seen students throw other students under the bus or attempt to embarrass the student in front of staff or other residents (whether consciously or sub-consciously). Or can involve the stealing of procedures, deliveries, etc.

I do think some people get labeled as a gunner just because they like to work hard, whether that means studying a lot or showing up to the hospital earlier or leaving later than one really has to.

Yup, this.

The "gunning" I encountered in years 1-2 was more limited to people who tried to intimidate others and scare them before exams. Usually never even worked.

The gunning in 3rd/4th year (less so in 4th year though) is a whole different animal. I've seen some **** dude.

 

[KnuxNole]

The gunners in the clinic years are usually the unattractive and/or moody people. I mean, has anyone heard of a hot gunner

 

[SpecterGT260]

The gunners in the clinic years are usually the unattractive and/or moody people. I mean, has anyone heard of a hot gunner

our gunners aren't very attractive

 

[Kevin Baker]

How exactly DO you sabotage someone else in school?

Offer them Adderall that you laced with barbiturates so they sleep through an exam? Hire thugs to beat them up on their way back home?

Some medical student needs to give me more ideas. I can't think of too much stuff, since I'm only a premed.

Moving the pins in anatomy lab is a biggie.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

The gunners in the clinic years are usually the unattractive and/or moody people. I mean, has anyone heard of a hot gunner

A couple of the gunners in my class were hot girls.

It was stone cold...they'd throw you under the bus with a smile on their faces...and usually got the benefit of the doubt for their behavior specifically because they were cute girls...

 

[flodhi1]

Moving the pins in anatomy lab is a biggie.

A gunner would be too smart to do something dumb like that it's too big of a risk. I would imagine an honor code violation if seen by faculty or other students, at the very least a 0 on the exam?

 

[SpecterGT260]

A gunner would be too smart to do something dumb like that it's too big of a risk. I would imagine an honor code violation if seen by faculty or other students, at the very least a 0 on the exam?

see, here you are again equating gunner with the hardest working or most studious. It has nothing to do with being smart. It has everything to do with the willingness to screw your classmates to get ahead.

 

[VisionaryTics]

see, here you are again equating gunner with the hardest working or most studious. It has nothing to do with being smart. It has everything to do with the willingness to screw your classmates to get ahead.

The smartest, hardest working people in my class don't usually give a **** about what other people are doing.

The gunners aren't outstanding students.

 

[Lanolin]

I think it's funny how everyone cares what everyone else is doing. Stick to your own career goals and academic achievements and you'll be much happier in the end. There's always going to be someone above you academically, so we might as well get used to it and find comfort in what we are able to accomplish.

Maybe it's the 4th year in me, but I don't care what anyone in my class is doing on rounds, tests, etc.

 

[flodhi1]

I think it's funny how everyone cares what everyone else is doing. Stick to your own career goals and academic achievements and you'll be much happier in the end. There's always going to be someone above you academically, so we might as well get used to it and find comfort in what we are able to accomplish.

Maybe it's the 4th year in me, but I don't care what anyone in my class is doing on rounds, tests, etc.

 

[Perrotfish]

see, here you are again equating gunner with the hardest working or most studious. It has nothing to do with being smart. It has everything to do with the willingness to screw your classmates to get ahead.

I think that most people use the word gunner to describe someoen who has an unhealthy, overly emotional attachment to their grades and to 'beating' their classmates. It doesn't necessarily imply that they're willing to do anything dishonest (though some do), just that they seem to have developed a relationship with academics where doing well is an end in and of itself rather than a means to some kind of secondary goal.

This kind of behavior tends to be the easiest to see in early preclinical years. The material is completely inapplicable to clinical practice, the grades are useless for residency, and everything you learn is spectacularly boring. The guy who goes directly from his biochem test to start studying for his next biochem test, therefore, probably has an unhealthy relationship with his grades. It's somewhat harder to label people in clinical's because they can start to argue that their work eithic is a reasonable attempt to pursue reasonable goals ('I want Ortho'/ 'I don't want to kill anyone in residency/etc) but by then everyone probably has a good idea who is who anyway.

 

[QQm]

This kind of behavior tends to be the easiest to see in early preclinical years. The material is completely inapplicable to clinical practice, the grades are useless for residency, and everything you learn is spectacularly boring. The guy who goes directly from his biochem test to start studying for his next biochem test, therefore, probably has an unhealthy relationship with his grades. It's somewhat harder to label people in clinical's because they can start to argue that their work eithic is a reasonable attempt to pursue reasonable goals ('I want Ortho'/ 'I don't want to kill anyone in residency/etc) but by then everyone probably has a good idea who is who anyway.

I think there's an interesting juxtaposition between pro athletes and medical students here. We (fans, I mean) praise players like Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen for their work ethics, all of which are supernatural and involve being gym rats and putting in thousands upon thousands of hours perfecting their craft. There are players putting up several hundred practice shots or gym hours AFTER playing a game that night. They do what they think is necessary to be the absolute best. Why is it that when a medical student does the same, he gets labeled as a "gunner"?

 

[Perrotfish]

I think there's an interesting juxtaposition between pro athletes and medical students here. We (fans, I mean) praise players like Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen for their work ethics, all of which are supernatural and involve being gym rats and putting in thousands upon thousands of hours perfecting their craft. There are players putting up several hundred practice shots or gym hours AFTER playing a game that night. They do what they think is necessary to be the absolute best. Why is it that when a medical student does the same, he gets labeled as a "gunner"?

Like I said, I think the question is how you define 'best'. Does a higher score on a biochem test, or an undergraduate organic chemistry test, make you a 'better' physician? Does going to Harvard vs. UVA really change your career options, or the quality of physician you biecome? An important life skill is to be able to distinguish between what does matter and what doesn't. Do you really want a top residency (or whatever)? And if so when do, and don't, you need to excel? Even if you realize that your life's dream is ortho, are you able to look at Step 1 and say 'this needs to be perfect' and then to look at Biochem and say 'this is a good time to focus on other things'? Or are the grades an end to themselves. Because I firmly believe if you are either gloating or weeping over a biochem grade you have problems beyond biochem.

When people get too caught up in the competitive side of academics their peers make fun of them as a way of distancing themselves from that kind of behavior. Our brains are probably evolved for small tribes, and it seems like we're built to think of whoever is next to us as the competition. When you just try to ignore people caught up in the competition it's therefore easy to let yourself feel bad and get caught up as well. And academic medicine/surgery programs are full of miserable, alimony paying physicians who lost the ability to distinguish between what was good for them and what they need to do to 'beat' their peers. So people get proactive and make fun of gunners for losing perspective. Its healthy. I highly encourage it.

 

[Evil_Abed]

I think that most people use the word gunner to describe someoen who has an unhealthy, overly emotional attachment to their grades and to 'beating' their classmates. It doesn't necessarily imply that they're willing to do anything dishonest (though some do), just that they seem to have developed a relationship with academics where doing well is an end in and of itself rather than a means to some kind of secondary goal.

This kind of behavior tends to be the easiest to see in early preclinical years. The material is completely inapplicable to clinical practice, the grades are useless for residency, and everything you learn is spectacularly boring. The guy who goes directly from his biochem test to start studying for his next biochem test, therefore, probably has an unhealthy relationship with his grades. It's somewhat harder to label people in clinical's because they can start to argue that their work eithic is a reasonable attempt to pursue reasonable goals ('I want Ortho'/ 'I don't want to kill anyone in residency/etc) but by then everyone probably has a good idea who is who anyway.

Like I said, I think the question is how you define 'best'. Does a higher score on a biochem test, or an undergraduate organic chemistry test, make you a 'better' physician? Does going to Harvard vs. UVA really change your career options, or the quality of physician you biecome? An important life skill is to be able to distinguish between what does matter and what doesn't. Do you really want a top residency (or whatever)? And if so when do, and don't, you need to excel? Even if you realize that your life's dream is ortho, are you able to look at Step 1 and say 'this needs to be perfect' and then to look at Biochem and say 'this is a good time to focus on other things'? Or are the grades an end to themselves. Because I firmly believe if you are either gloating or weeping over a biochem grade you have problems beyond biochem.

When people get too caught up in the competitive side of academics their peers make fun of them as a way of distancing themselves from that kind of behavior. Our brains are probably evolved for small tribes, and it seems like we're built to think of whoever is next to us as the competition. When you just try to ignore people caught up in the competition it's therefore easy to let yourself feel bad and get caught up as well. And academic medicine/surgery programs are full of miserable, alimony paying physicians who lost the ability to distinguish between what was good for them and what they need to do to 'beat' their peers. So people get proactive and make fun of gunners for losing perspective. Its healthy. I highly encourage it.

This is ridiculous. Especially that last bolded sentence. You seriously "highly encourage" people to make fun of others?! And you really think that making fun of others is healthy? That's downright awful. You know, I generally agree with most of your posts (since they tend to be pretty reasonable), but this has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I've read on SDN, including the crap that goes on in the pre-allo forums.

While I'll admit that I think it's weird when people finish a set of exams and start studying the same day, I won't go to the extent of labeling them as gunners or making fun of them, as you seem to recommend. If someone prefers to go study instead of coming out binge drinking with the rest of us, let them be. Who gives a flying ****?! I'd be more concerned about the person who's so caught up on what everyone else is doing rather than doing whatever works for them.

Btw, the mantra of "preclinical grades don't matter" is getting a little old. There are some schools where preclinical grades matter a whole lot when figuring out AOA and whatnot. If someone's studying hard because they're aiming for AOA, is that such a bad thing? Again, just do what works for you and don't be so caught up in what others are doing. It's really not that hard.

 

[QQm]

Like I said, I think the question is how you define 'best'. Does a higher score on a biochem test, or an undergraduate organic chemistry test, make you a 'better' physician? Does going to Harvard vs. UVA really change your career options, or the quality of physician you biecome? An important life skill is to be able to distinguish between what does matter and what doesn't. Do you really want a top residency (or whatever)? And if so when do, and don't, you need to excel? Even if you realize that your life's dream is ortho, are you able to look at Step 1 and say 'this needs to be perfect' and then to look at Biochem and say 'this is a good time to focus on other things'? Or are the grades an end to themselves. Because I firmly believe if you are either gloating or weeping over a biochem grade you have problems beyond biochem.

When people get too caught up in the competitive side of academics their peers make fun of them as a way of distancing themselves from that kind of behavior. Our brains are probably evolved for small tribes, and it seems like we're built to think of whoever is next to us as the competition. When you just try to ignore people caught up in the competition it's therefore easy to let yourself feel bad and get caught up as well. And academic medicine/surgery programs are full of miserable, alimony paying physicians who lost the ability to distinguish between what was good for them and what they need to do to 'beat' their peers. So people get proactive and make fun of gunners for losing perspective. Its healthy. I highly encourage it.

I fully agree the ability to prioritize and triage is necessary for balance, and that there isn't really anything in pre-clinical years that makes us definitively better physicians. But I think that "gunners", much like Kobe, lack a switch that can turn on/off the competitiveness, and so they go 110% 24/7. Sure, pre-clinical years might be irrelevant, but I doubt the slackers from M1/2 become gunners in M3 (and vice versa), though I could be wrong.

I guess, ultimately, I don't really see the difference between a strong work ethic in one field vs another; in both cases, other aspects of life become secondary and suffer. Sure it's probably unhealthy to have such a myopic vision, but if you're on the surgical table, you care about proficiency (and by proxy, hours spent practicing) more than anything else in the world, and sometimes I thank the powers that be that somebody else is willing to put in the time so I don't have to.

 

[Slack3r]

I think that most people use the word gunner to describe someoen who has an unhealthy, overly emotional attachment to their grades and to 'beating' their classmates. It doesn't necessarily imply that they're willing to do anything dishonest (though some do), just that they seem to have developed a relationship with academics where doing well is an end in and of itself rather than a means to some kind of secondary goal.

This kind of behavior tends to be the easiest to see in early preclinical years. The material is completely inapplicable to clinical practice, the grades are useless for residency, and everything you learn is spectacularly boring. The guy who goes directly from his biochem test to start studying for his next biochem test, therefore, probably has an unhealthy relationship with his grades. It's somewhat harder to label people in clinical's because they can start to argue that their work eithic is a reasonable attempt to pursue reasonable goals ('I want Ortho'/ 'I don't want to kill anyone in residency/etc) but by then everyone probably has a good idea who is who anyway.

"Gunner" is meant as someone who is willing to step on others to get ahead, i.e. "gun down the competition". Just because it seems most people use it as someone who studies hard and/or puts in long hours doesn't make it correct. A lot of people say "irregardless" but that doesn't make it a word.

 

[Wordead]

The people that call others "gunners" for working hard are just those that are part of the culture of mediocrity that is America. Few people celebrate hard work or success. Which is why China will be ruling over us in < 20 years.

See guy above. Encouraging people to make fun of those who want to learn. Common, and pathetic.

 

[DeadCactus]

Just here to throw another vote into the "gunner is defined by a destructive behavior toward peers" hat. Studying hard, even if beyond the realm of what I find reasonable, is hardly worth derision. Who the hell am I to judge someone because they find contentment in the library while I find mine wasting away in front of an X-Box?

 

[SpecterGT260]

I think that most people use the word gunner to describe someoen who has an unhealthy, overly emotional attachment to their grades and to 'beating' their classmates. .

Currently yes. But this was not the original definition

 

[DoctwoB]

This kind of behavior tends to be the easiest to see in early preclinical years. The material is completely inapplicable to clinical practice, the grades are useless for residency, and everything you learn is spectacularly boring.

I disagree 100%. Sure memorizing the krebs cycle may be of little practical value, but learning and more importantly understanding cardiac/renal/pulm/neuro physiology and pathophys? I think thats the most important part of being a doc and what separates us from midlevels. 3rd year you learn a lot of important practical things (note writing, charting, getting better at H&P, presenting patients, management of more common conditions etc) but the actual "medicine" things you learn are largely treatment protocols that you memorize, forget, and then look up again. It's a lot easier to look up COPD steroid dosing protocols (which will probably change before you finish residency) then understand the pathophys behind it which enables you to think outside a given protocol, anticipate complications, etc.

 

[username456789]

Btw, the mantra of "preclinical grades don't matter" is getting a little old. There are some schools where preclinical grades matter a whole lot when figuring out AOA and whatnot. If someone's studying hard because they're aiming for AOA, is that such a bad thing? Again, just do what works for you and don't be so caught up in what others are doing. It's really not that hard.

I will flat out say that I would probably not have done as well on Step I and would not have been AOA and would not have matched into derm if I had the mentality that first/second year grades didn't matter.

And before someone says "well that's for derm, I'm not interested in that", keep in mind that if you set yourself up to be someone who - on paper - could reasonably apply for derm even though you're applying for something less competitive, you've likely pretty much set yourself up to pick your residency.

I didn't even decide on derm until late late 3rd year. But I did know that even if I ended up applying for something traditionally much less competitive, I wanted to know as much as I could to be a doctor and be able to feel competitive regardless of what specialty it was.

 

[username456789]

"Gunner" is meant as someone who is willing to step on others to get ahead, i.e. "gun down the competition". Just because it seems most people use it as someone who studies hard and/or puts in long hours doesn't make it correct. A lot of people say "irregardless" but that doesn't make it a word.

This x 2.