3rd year shelf nbme exams and study time with a commute

[joshtb86]

i plan on moving away from my meed school btwn 2nd and 3rd year bc i have been miserable living hear and either taking the train (1.5 hrs) or driving (1hr) for rotations. i was wondering what anoyne though about this idea. i know it significantly cuts into both my free time and my study time but if im determined to do something my way, i manage to make it work. i was wondering what 3rd/4th years who are in rotations now could tell me aobut how much time theyve spent studying/free time and if they thought this would be a really bad idea. i know each rotation is different also. any advice?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MrBurns10]

I personally think it's a baaaaad idea. I live 10 mins from campus and had to get up at 4:15am almost everyday for surgery. While I was on long-call for medicine and peds, I'd get home between 11pm and midnight a lot of times. And when I was on overnights for surgery and OB, that 10 min drive at 8 am felt like it took FOREVER.

I guess first ask yourself why you're miserable and see if you can help your situation but still remain close to campus. If not, then I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. best of luck.

 

[futuredo32]

If you took the train, you could read on your commute. Or, if you drive, I really like the Mcmumbi podcasts(more for Step 2 than shelf exams).

 

[joshtb86]

how much studying did you normally do for the end of clerkship exams? is it constant studying like the 1st two years are?

 

[DwyaneWade]

It's tough but doable.

On surgery, I woke up at 4:15am, caught a 5am train to get to school in 30 mins to preround. When I was there late at night, it would take about an hour to get home. It's tiring and I would not expect to study much on the train. I would read and skim things but for the most part I was very very tired.

 

[bjackrian]

Make sure that the train runs early/late enough for it to work for you if that's what you choose. In my experience, trains/other public transit work better than cars--you can get work done or sleep on them and you don't have to worry about falling asleep and driving off the road. Unfortunately, many public transit options haven't started running in time to get me to the hospital for inpatient rotations.

 

[vtucci]

An hour commute each way- not a good plan esp if you have to drive- you will be exhausted. I agree with previous posters. Why are you miserable? Preclinical years are not the same as clinical years. I liked the latter much better.

There is not a lot of free time during clinical rotations particularly surgery, OB and internal medicine. This will depend on your school's curriculum. I would suggest talking to the clinical students at your school and they can better advise for the schedule specific to your rotations. Personally, I could not imagine adding 3 hours to my day in terms of commute for third year unless I was living in Bombay or some post-apocalyptic war zone and was afraid for my safety.