3rd and 4th years of med school

[nug]

just curious, but what are these years like? Do you take any classes? Do you have any exams to study for? How long does each rotation last? Do you see any of your classmates? Do you have to work crazy hours?
thanks

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[NateatUC]

just curious, but what are these years like? Do you take any classes? Do you have any exams to study for? How long does each rotation last? Do you see any of your classmates? Do you have to work crazy hours?
thanks

Short answer: these years are a blast!

Long answer: These years are two very different animals.

Third year is made up of required rotations in all the core fields. Each of these rotations comes with its own set of lectures to attend and at the very least, the NBME shelf exam at the end, but often the individual department may choose to give their own exam too. Rotations vary in length school to school, but here they're from 2 weeks (electives) to 4 weeks (Family Med) to 6 weeks (Psych) to 8 weeks (Peds, IM, OB/GYN, Surgery). Hours depend on the rotation and the activity - for example, the 8 weeks of IM here are 4 inpatient, 4 outpatient. On inpatient we take call every 4th night, all night, so we're in-house for 30 hours straight. Outpatient is an 8-5 job. Surgery hours tend to be the worst - surgeons like to start EARLY.

Fourth year is much more laid-back. There are a few required rotations, which tend to vary by school, but LOTS more time for electives, and most everything is 1 month long. And there are very few tests.

 

[monique]

Great answer, Nate.

I'd just like to add that in my 4 months of 3rd year I have found it incredibly difficult to study. You work all day, come home exhausted and the though of staring at a book for a couple of hours almost makes you nauseous. But you still have tests so you need to study. So my advice to 1st and 2nd years is to try and develop good study habits early in 3rd year...I'm afraid it's too late for me