Anyone else a bit nervous about being able to keep in in med school?

[WashMe]

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The title should say "keep up," not "keep in."

I'm concerned... I never really did much work in UG (time-wise; I worked with incredible intensity when I did work though). I don't know if I can keep up with all of the reading. I tend to get headaches and my eyes get really bloodshot/fatigued when I have been reading with hardcore focus for more than a couple hours. This has caused me to be somewhat averted to reading. Also, I am an extremely concept-oriented person but I sometimes struggle with details...

Anyone else worried?

 

[witness23]

yea i have no attention span, motivation, dedication, whatsoever. In UG, I used to keep myself to opening the book the night before an exam and just going for the one shot/one kill/whats the deal. I'm definitely a little nervous that I have to study everyday for more than an hour or so.

However, I worked in the real world for a year, and that straighted up my sleep schedules and it has definitely made me less spontaneous. If I can work for 9-10 hours a day and commute for 2, I hope I can just attend to my studies in the library without crazy difficulty. I don't know, but I am looking forward to the challenge, acknowledging that I will have to change myself a bit, maybe sacrifice a hobby or two, or skipping a conversation with a friend here and there but I can't wait to be back in the academic setting (and not have to worry about paying bills).

I hope that I can atleast build off the motivation of my classmates and whatnot. You are going to be in (apparently) a very competitive environment at WashU. I think we will get adjusted to med school quickly. Hopefully.

 

[witness23]

I am, however, really nervous that I might lose tough with things going on in the real world. My friends in med school have no clue about news events or the state of our country and whatnot. Spending rest of my life around health professionals is kinda scary too.

 

[WashMe]

I am, however, really nervous that I might lose tough with things going on in the real world. My friends in med school have no clue about news events or the state of our country and whatnot. Spending rest of my life around health professionals is kinda scary too.

man I don't know anything about that stuff anyway. I kid you not, I never read the newspaper, watch the news, vote (except one time), or watch sports on television... I don't ever have a clue what's going on. I am perfectly happy with that though, because I am happy with what I AM interested in (science, medicine, philosophy, skateboarding, good movies, cars, etc.). I'm sure I'll lose touch with some of that stuff in med school...

 

[olemissbabydoc]

who ISNT?

I'm a pretty good time-manager, but there's so much unknown that its impossible to be completely prepared. I'm just praying a lot and sleeping as much as possible, resting my brain

 

[nick_carraway]

I think all of you will rise to the occasion. You've been admitted, which means that you're no slouch and you'll be surrounded by peers who will keep you motivated.

Every year in your life has been harder than the last and look at where y'all are now.

As for becoming sheltered, I think you can find time if you're interested. Some people simply aren't, but if you are, skimming an RSS feed or watching the Nightly News podcast doesn't take all the time in the world. Just put it on before bed or something.

 

[Steeler7588]

I never really did much work in UG (time-wise; I worked with incredible intensity when I did work though).

In UG, I used to keep myself to opening the book the night before an exam and just going for the one shot/one kill/whats the deal. I'm definitely a little nervous that I have to study everyday for more than an hour or so.

This is exactly how I feel.

I think the change in environment will help a lot, though. A few friends go to school five minutes away from the beach, in a beautiful city with a lot to do. They said there's not that much temptation to chill, just because everyone else is always studying and it rubs off on you. Probably makes the post-exam celebrations much more epic.

 

[URHere]

I was absolutely freaked out about this before starting medical school. All anyone told me was how difficult and life-consuming medical school was...but when I actually got started I realized that things were nowhere near as awful as everyone (especially the SDN community) had made them out to be.

I still think that one of the biggest mistakes med students make is being freaked out about things like this before even starting classes. I have several classmates who spend all of their free time studying, just because they are terrified not to. These are smart people, and I'm convinced that they could do just as well while studying half the time if they would only allow themselves to try it...but alas, the fear wins, they lose time that they could have used for friends and hobbies, and some of them end up miserable.

I'm not saying that this is the case for everyone. Maybe some people study a good deal and still love their lives. I'm sure some actually need to study so heavily...but I think the biggest favor you could do for yourself in medical school is to ignore the hype, start school, and then decide what the medical school experience is like for you. There is no reason to scare yourself into misery if you don't have to.

[/rant & tangental advice]