Almost a 4th Year

[Jwax]

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If you've clicked this thread looking for an original thought, you will probably be disappointed.

I'm just thrilled to be just 4 days away from being a senior medical student. Sure, applications and interviews are going to be brutal and internship looms in the horizon, but DANG it feels good to have waded through three years of medical school and come through mostly unscathed.

Just wanted to share my enthusiasm since I keep reading such negativism on SDN these days. Anyone want to share in my joy / rain on my parade? 🙂

 

[Depakote]

If you've clicked this thread looking for an original thought, you will probably be disappointed.

I'm just thrilled to be just 4 days away from being a senior medical student. Sure, applications and interviews are going to be brutal and internship looms in the horizon, but DANG it feels good to have waded through three years of medical school and come through mostly unscathed.

Just wanted to share my enthusiasm since I keep reading such negativism on SDN these days. Anyone want to share in my joy / rain on my parade? 🙂

 

[ShyRem]

Just wait until that lovely time known as "post match bliss" where you're just coasting along or even better have vacation until you graduate. This, however is preceded by the "pre-match nightmares of needed to scramble."

This period of bliss, however, is followed by the "pre-intern freak" punctuated by periods of extreme anxiety, self-doubt, and frank flop sweat in anticipation of someone saying "Doctor!" and they will actually be meaning YOU.

Seriously, enjoy fourth year. Work hard beginning of it to get your required/audition rotations out of the way and try scheduling your interviews in such a manner that you don't fail rotations, and then just relax and enjoy the ride. Specifically enjoy watching the new third years in the beginning of fourth year, and then REALLY enjoy watching second years and third years as they study for boards while you're relaxing. Offer them a beer and take pity on them and then walk away chortling evilly knowing you have already "been there, done that and now it just doesn't seem like it was that bad."

 

[Deferoxamine]

Almost there myself. It's a mix of scary, exciting, and a sigh of relief. Plus I've had all the brutal rotations back-to-back for 8 months now so it will definitely feel good to hit the next checkpoint.

Hoping I love 4th year as much (or even more than) 3rd year, because 3rd year has beaten the ever-living crap out of my first 2 years.

 

[rachmoninov3]

2 months into fourth year and it is awesome! Of course you are still being constantly evaluated, but often it's more for "are you a good fit for this program?" than "P/HP/H".

Only beware, without shelf exams looming, I'm seriously slacking and have dropped 10 points on my USMLEWorld average 😳

But one more week until VACATION!!!! and boards😱

 

[Deferoxamine]

Yeah 1st and 2nd year are God-forsaken hellholes compared the awesomeness that is 3rd year.

Better yet, I am ending my final 2 weeks of 3rd year with the most mad chill and happy team on the planet. They laughed at EVERYTHING this morning on rounds. Given the gauntlet I've been through, I totally deserve this.

 

[Aphasic]

Awesomeness that is third-year?! I HATED/HATE (still have 4d left myself) almost all of third-year, save for my 8w on surgery. Even though the first two years sucked, at least I had a lot more time to go out, fly home, etc... Third year not only prevented trips home, it stole my weekends!

I am SO looking forward to fourth-year where I don't have to spend months on rotations I don't give a damn about and reading/ studying for shelf exams when I'd rather read about my patients, if at all. I'm just excited to start learning the aspects of medicine I'm actually interested in, and being on rotations I actually enjoy!

 

[kemper6036]

4th year is cool so far, but i can feel the stress building with LORs, personal statements and SubIs looming 😱

 

[rachmoninov3]

hmmmm...I wonder if there is a correlation between competitiveness of a specialty in relation to how awesome or not 4th year is...

I may be sitting back and laughing now as all the ER, ortho, anesthesiologists, and radiologist sweat...but you'll laugh at me in 6 or so years down the road when you're making bank, and i'm still stuck under $200K
(gawd that seems like a lot of $$$ right now)...

 

[docbill]

6 weeks of IM left till the official end of 3rd year (we do some 4th year electives in third year), can't wait to walk around with my short coat, no caring about evaluations and tests. Check in and check out.

Overall, 3rd year was like my friend put it "It is like dating a new girl every few weeks and seeing if she is the one for life. You will find some that are doable, you will find some that are crazy (Surgery), and you will fall in love with one, while having an affair with another". Another way to describe it is your are just in the way.

I picked my hardest elective to be done last months (Medicine sub-i). That way the transition from med school to internship won't be so painful. Even with 2 months off in between.

 

[mTOR]

Overall, 3rd year was like my friend put it "It is like dating a new girl every few weeks and seeing if she is the one for life. You will find some that are doable, you will find some that are crazy (Surgery), and you will fall in love with one, while having an affair with another".

If the dating pool consists of random actresses from the cast of Precious.


You know there's a Paula Patton and a Mariah Carey somewhere in there, and you keep hoping you get them over and over... but you don't. 🙁

 

[GatorsWearJorts]

Yeah 1st and 2nd year are God-forsaken hellholes compared the awesomeness that is 3rd year.
Better yet, I am ending my final 2 weeks of 3rd year with the most mad chill and happy team on the planet. They laughed at EVERYTHING this morning on rounds. Given the gauntlet I've been through, I totally deserve this.

Are you kidding me? I dont see how anyone could ever say this unless they go to one of those schools where they let students out at 2pm everyday to study or you dont have to take shelf exams or something.
Id rather do 256 second years sans step one before another third year. Working 70-90 weeks while still having to study hard enough to get at least a 77 raw shelf score to even be eligible for an A has been exhausting.

 

[confuse]

high five