- Joined
- Jan 21, 2008
- Messages
- 1,897
- Reaction score
- 409
Are you even old enough to remember that movie? Weren't you only 5 years old when it came out (in 1991)?
Hahaha. Yeah, but I was almost 6...!
VHS.
Are you even old enough to remember that movie? Weren't you only 5 years old when it came out (in 1991)?
Hahaha. Yeah, but I was almost 6...!
VHS.
I think that could still have racist overtones. That doesn't mean the person meant it that way, though. The same words with the same intent applied to two separate situations can have vastly different implications. Sad but true.
Med school wasn't hard???
Aren't you an integrated plastics resident!?
Are you just some kind of T-1000 of studying?
But what I think that pre-meds need to realize (and very few of them do) is that there is a wide spectrum of experiences in med school and residency, that ranges from fantastic/best years of my life all the way down to horrible/I was practically suicidal for most of it.
And the thing is - no one knows where on that spectrum you'll fall until you actually go through it. Most likely, you'll be in the middle. But not everyone is.
I think that is everyone. It isn't limited to premeds. Everybody wants to think the next step is going to be super ultra fantastic and nothing but fun.
If you aren't at least a little bit naive when you're 25 or younger (probably older than that too) then it will be a sad life to live. Surprises, whether good or bad, are just the spice of life. There are people that deal with them and people that don't. You never know until you encounter them, like you said.
Every phase of life is a big step. I rather deal with someone that is optimistic going in than pessimistic. (This is coming from a cynical and pessimistic bastard like myself)
Yeah, I just read another post by the same guy where he's looking for medical specialties that: (1) Make "alot" of money, (2) work very few hours, (3) are slow-paced, and (4) are easy to get into. So I'm not taking him seriously.
Why are you already so worried about the downsides of ortho?
You're a pre-med, for the love of Jeebus! Your primary concern at this point should be about the downsides of the med school application process, the downsides of MS1 and MS2, the crap that you'll have to put up with as a third year, and the downsides about the practice of medicine in general.
I'm sorry if I sound frustrated, but I am. Medical school has taken more out of me than I would have ever imagined, and I'm not even done yet!
I don't like talking about it, particularly not on SDN (where the cheerful patrol always seems to be lurking around the corner, ready to pounce on any moment of pessimistic weakness), but the first two years of medical school S-U-C-K-E-D. If I considered quitting only once that week, that was a pretty damn good week. I usually thought about quitting once a day.
I have never had moments of such terrible sadness and depression as I've had in med school. There have been times when I've felt really alone, and there's no one to talk to. The friends who would understand are too busy (and you don't want to burden them) and the rest just don't quite get it.
The stress has been out of this world sometimes. The sleep deprivation has been awful. The frustration of dealing with administration has made me not just want to punch walls, but has actually made me punch them. (I'm sorry, but I am NOT going to be able to get that paperwork in today, seeing as I'm on a rotation in ANOTHER F'ING STATE. Jesus Christ.)
People that are close to you move on, too fast it seems. Or else you get close to someone, and then you have to leave while they stay. Or else you find someone that you'd like to get close to, but your schedules just never synch up. It's hard, sometimes.
And the work plays a toll on your relationships. Ask any third year medical student, and I guarantee you that they all know someone who got divorced/broke up because of medicine.
No, it might not be that hard for you. In fact, I hope that it ISN'T that hard for you, if you ever make it past the pre-med stage. But I also hope that you don't become one of those relentlessly happy, cheerful people, and then get angry at your classmates for not being relentlessly happy and cheerful too.
And there are many good moments too. But they don't totally erase the bad ones.
So, no, you're correct that it's not all smiles and rainbows. But I wonder if you have any idea just how hard it can be. And it's something that you need to think about, before even starting to wonder about the downsides of surgery or ortho.
I'm sorry if I sound angry. And I know that this is probably not what you want to hear. (And I know that I'm spilling pessimism over an otherwise light-hearted thread. Sorry.) But...this is stuff that pre-meds need to hear. I know a lot of people who really should have heard it before applying to med school, and learned a lot of the stuff that I talked about above too late.
please stop complaining. us pre-meds would do ANYTHING to get to be in your position. you should feel very lucky, you lucky one. we would eat 10 pounds of dirt to get into medical school. please take your negativity elsewhere!
...
For the record, third year has been vastly better than 1st and 2nd year (although this is for a variety of reasons). But damn...1st year was just a blur of misery, bitterness, and depression. I'm not even sure, looking back, at how I survived without an SSRI or two.
Don't worry, those of us who you'd want to have picked up on that hint, did...
You know, I've been specifically choosing avatars for their clearly feminine nature. This is because I was tired of people on SDN calling me "dude" and thinking that I was a guy. So, rather than change my SN, I just kept hoping that people would look at my avatar and automatically assume that I'm a girl.
Well, I guess that plan didn't work out so well.
He also got defensive on that same thread because I defended you, and asked him not to call random people on the internet "son" or "boy." He retorted by calling me "son."
You know, I've been specifically choosing avatars for their clearly feminine nature. This is because I was tired of people on SDN calling me "dude" and thinking that I was a guy. So, rather than change my SN, I just kept hoping that people would look at my avatar and automatically assume that I'm a girl.
Well, I guess that plan didn't work out so well.
Don't get smq wrong; she knows she is in a position many would envy.
But let's be fair here - this a forum designed for residents, fellows and practitioners of surgery as well as those interested in the field. Therefore, we have to have a place where we can *honestly* discuss the field, its practice and what we love and what we hate about it.
Toward that end, there is bound to be some negativity. Its natural and doesn't mean that we're not grateful and respectful of what we've been given. But to expect that we keep things all rainbows and unicorns because it might dissuade a pre-med is ridiculous.
If it makes you feel any better smq, even when I was using my real name as my screen name, I would get PMs addressed "Dear Sir". I think some of it is the assumption that most surgeons or budding surgeons are male.
Dont worry. I just got a PM calling me "jenny". I have no idea why.
Jenny,
It's because you've got that website with all those pictures of you dressed up like Madonna with the cone boobs and dominatrix outfit and whatnot. You may want to, uh, do something about that before you go on the interview trail.
holy moly. every individual has their respective learning, and pressure threshold. I know a marine who served in iraq and is now an M2 at a top 5. When asked if he thought getting into medschool and competing with some of the brightest in the nation was hard, he responded: no, serving in the military was harder; these kids couldn't last a day over there.
with all due respect to the military, I think he underestimates the tenacity of some med students.
seriously though, theres some crazy mofo's in med school.
Everything in medicine, so far, has been about preparation. Do you know what the next step may bring? Because if you do, even if it's coming from the most pessimistic person you know, then you can prepare for it. And that's the key - preparing for what bad things might happen.
please stop complaining. us pre-meds would do ANYTHING to get to be in your position. you should feel very lucky, you lucky one. we would eat 10 pounds of dirt to get into medical school. please take your negativity elsewhere!
Yeah, I just read another post by the same guy where he's looking for medical specialties that: (1) Make "alot" of money, (2) work very few hours, (3) are slow-paced, and (4) are easy to get into. So I'm not taking him seriously.
I don't mean to say med school was a joke or anything, because it wasn't. I worked very hard. It's just that I wasn't miserable, and although it was challenging I never considered it amazingly difficult. Making my college track team was much harder for me than medical school.
Nah, I'm not really a T-1000 of studying or anything. I just have a really good memory, I solve problems quickly, and I don't need much sleep.
And I am an integrated plastics resident. Allow me to show you a photograph:
<-- the other med students in Dre's class
"Have you seen this boy?"
<--Dre
Wow. I just thought that matching integrated plastics was so hard that no one could find it anything but a hellish experience. Good to know that isn't the case.
Hahaha. I added a caption for you.
If it makes you feel any better smq, even when I was using my real name as my screen name, I would get PMs addressed "Dear Sir". I think some of it is the assumption that most surgeons or budding surgeons are male.
HeeHee. I love this at work, where I am wearing dress clothes, a coat AND a badge that say Dr. Roja, I introduce myself as Dr. Roja-I'll-be-your-doctor-today. .... Your nurse will be with you shortly... and then invariably the patient will either call me nurse, or tell the nurse a doctor hasn't seen them yet.
I won't argue with you and I'm sorry that you've had some bad experiences in med school, but allow me to present an alternate viewpoint.
I didn't think medical school was that hard. Sure, I worked a lot and studied a lot, and there were times when I wished I could go out drinking or see a movie or something but couldn't; but I really didn't think it was all that tough. Probably the worst part of medical school for me was wondering whether or not I was going to match, and dealing with my school's annoying bureaucracy (plus our massive over-abundance of required medicine rotations).
But I never considered quitting--not once did it cross my mind that I can recall. I don't sleep much and I don't really mind being at the hospital (unless I'm bored) and it just wasn't as tough for me as it evidently is for some people.
I definitely had a lot more moments of satisfaction/excitement than "Oh God, shoot me now" moments (and most of those came on OB).
I like this girl BeachBlondie. She's hilarious.
I prefer to think of it as fantasy-destroying that I'm not the hot nurse coming in to give them their sponge bath.
Amusing when its some old codger who remembers a time when women only left the house to get their hair done.
I prefer to think of it as fantasy-destroying that I'm not the hot nurse coming in to give them their sponge bath.
Taking care of a lot of old codgers in your current practice, are you?
And the there is always the spouse of the patient who expresses suprise that I'm a real surgeon.
Not too many these days, but a few here and there. Pretty much anything in the chest gets referred to me...seems people can't decide between what is chest and what is breast in men. Possible liposarcoma in the subcut tissues? Sure refer them to me.
And the there is always the spouse of the patient who expresses suprise that I'm a real surgeon.
hey, from your mouth to his ears. I can't really comment on the tenacity of med-students or marines, but I can say that some of the "hardest" things i've done in life have not been academic. I've competed academically at one of the top universities in the nation, and as far as im concerned, it is not even close to as hard as something that is very physically demanding. Again, this is relative to the individual.
Are you kidding?! Hahahaha Wait...I'm gripped by dense fear. It IS 2008, right?
The stress has been out of this world sometimes. The sleep deprivation has been awful. The frustration of dealing with administration has made me not just want to punch walls, but has actually made me punch them. (I'm sorry, but I am NOT going to be able to get that paperwork in today, seeing as I'm on a rotation in ANOTHER F'ING STATE. Jesus Christ.)
Wow. Wait till intern year. Sleep deprivation in medical school? I slept 9 hours a night every year except 3rd year surgery and IM rotations and the beginning of fourth for AIs. Frustration w/ administration WOOOhooo! this post just keeps getting better. You better be going into FP cause you're not going to make it in another specialty.
MUAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA! I have a following!
...Of...errr...one..person...
*runs away*
You better be going into FP cause you're not going to make it in another specialty.
You better be going into FP cause you're not going to make it in another specialty.
And the there is always the spouse of the patient who expresses suprise that I'm a real surgeon.
Wow...a variation of Lee Burnett's Rule.
BB- did you naturally acquire this creative writing style? i feel like I am THERE when you are typing. Very realistic, expressive, with innovative use of punctuation and spacing. I give you the first SDN creative writing prize (short story). Congratulations.
*shuffles off stage*
You sure Ortho is right for you? Not speechwriting or standup comedy or publishing a blog or something of that nature?
I'm sure. I can integrate the two, right? A little one-liner here and there in the OR...make the team giggle.
"Scalpel, please. I need some suction...gonna need a lot of suction... Ok so *slice slice* a doctor says to his patient, 'I've got some bad news and some really bad news...' More suction. ...the patient insists on hearing the moderately bad news first so the doctor tells him that he only has 24 hours to live... *slice slice* What is that? Anyway, the patient is mortified and asks, 'Then what's the REALLY bad news?' I need someone to look at this...Is this a liver? Oh! So the doctor tells him, 'I've been trying to reach you since yesterday.' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA *slice slice* Whoops. Gonna need a hemostat on that one."
Holy christ my dad uses that joke on me. Are you actually my dad BeachBlondie?
There are a lot of variants on that joke:
Doctor: I've got some good news and some bad news.
Patient: What's the good news?
Doctor: I'm going to be buying a new Ferrari.
Patient: And the bad news?
Doctor: You'll be paying for it.