Anyone pleasantly surprised with M-1 thus far?

[Music MD]

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Is it just me or is M-1 not as bad as it was made out to be in the pre-med years. Now wise and holy upperclassmen have passed on the proverb "Each year harder than the next, until 4th year electives," but thus far I really think SDN mindtwisted me into thinking that this was going to be overwhelming and continuously awful, but au contrair, twas untrue.

It turns out there is life outside of medical school. There's a new place to explore, people to meet, houseparties to stumble through, whatever one may want to do in a new city. And it's not so hard to find the time to do what you enjoy doing.. you just have to commit yourself to making time for it each week.

In fact, as I stand on my soapbox officially, we are on average 24 years old as first year students. TWENTY-FOUR. Young, capable, sexual, quasi-mature adults. We're lucky to be so intelligent and have such bright futures ahead of us. I hope everyone out there in SDN land has an appreciation for this. That our lives are happening right now and that they shouldn't be spent stressfully. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, and 8 hours of your god-blessed, anything-but-school life. It's glorious really. We have housing, money for the bills, three delicious squares a day, and at times we get to learn useful, cool stuff... What do we first years really have to complain about?

 

[MsKrispyKreme]

*throws a tomato*

 

[richse]

I am pretty happy so far. The classes are as hard as people said they would be but I feel like I'm moving forward in my life/career. I worked for 4 years after undergrad as a reseach tech and while I enjoyed the research I felt like I was at a dead end for most of that time. I think enjoying or not enjoying M1 comes down to what you were doing before starting and if you were happy.

 

[Deferoxamine]

In fact, as I stand on my soapbox officially

Quoted for truth.

When I was an MS1 and some of my classmates and I were going through some adjustments, I remember so many of my peers having this attitude, and almost scoffing at how on earth we could be having difficulties. Let's just say a lot of them ate some humble pie in MS2.

 

[Hoju]

......Young, capable, sexual, quasi-mature adults.......

True, but unfortunately I have missed out on the drunken houseparty orgies. On a serious note, on some days I am pleasantly surprised and on others I am pretty frustrated. All in all though I am very happy to be here. The good times seem to be outweighing the bad so far and the vast majority of my classmates have been pleasant and intelligent.

 

[searun]

Is it just me or is M-1 not as bad as it was made out to be in the pre-med years. Now wise and holy upperclassmen have passed on the proverb "Each year harder than the next, until 4th year electives," but thus far I really think SDN mindtwisted me into thinking that this was going to be overwhelming and continuously awful, but au contrair, twas untrue.

It turns out there is life outside of medical school. There's a new place to explore, people to meet, houseparties to stumble through, whatever one may want to do in a new city. And it's not so hard to find the time to do what you enjoy doing.. you just have to commit yourself to making time for it each week.

In fact, as I stand on my soapbox officially, we are on average 24 years old as first year students. TWENTY-FOUR. Young, capable, sexual, quasi-mature adults. We're lucky to be so intelligent and have such bright futures ahead of us. I hope everyone out there in SDN land has an appreciation for this. That our lives are happening right now and that they shouldn't be spent stressfully. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, and 8 hours of your god-blessed, anything-but-school life. It's glorious really. We have housing, money for the bills, three delicious squares a day, and at times we get to learn useful, cool stuff... What do we first years really have to complain about?

Get back to us about two weeks before you take Step One and also in the middle of your surgery rotation.

 

[indo]

yup, enjoy it now. You know exactly when your free time is going to be. This can't really be said about 3rd and 4th years.

 

[DeadCactus]

I'm enjoying it. It's more work than undergrad, but that's to be expected. Good people to make friends with, pretty open schedule, and mostly relevant and itneresting material. Test week can be a pain, but that's less than 25% of the time.

I think medical students just like the put themselves on a cross for the most part. I guess it makes them feel better about the whole delayed gratification thing...

 

[45408]

Well, I'm sure it also has to do with where you're landing on the bell curve. Your classmates who are struggling and failing probably aren't pleasantly surprised. I did get a lot of sleep as an M1/M2, but I'd want to kill myself if I had to repeat those two years.

 

[Nikki2002]

i felt expecially sexy in anatomy lab. and so quasi-mature and capable.

 

[tacrum43]

i felt expecially sexy in anatomy lab. and so quasi-mature and capable.

Eau de formalin is very sexy indeed. 😉

 

[Dr Lyss]

did you start with biochem or anatomy? I wouldn't count my eggs before they hatch. 1st year isn't over yet.


I'm enjoying everything so far, but I haven't started anatomy yet so I'm waiting for the proverbial **** to hit the fan 😉

 

[Music MD]

did you start with biochem or anatomy? I wouldn't count my eggs before they hatch. 1st year isn't over yet.


I'm enjoying everything so far, but I haven't started anatomy yet so I'm waiting for the proverbial **** to hit the fan 😉

We started with anatomy and now we're halfway through biochem. I'm actually looking forward to the rest of the year because we start doing physiology of all the different systems.

I attribute my happiness right now to our school's block system. One class to think about at a time and one test to prepare for = happier medical students.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I have to agree with the OP for the most part. I think so many people psych themselves out during med school because of the aura associated with med school. Everyone you meet says "oh my god med school that must be so hard you must study forever!!!" Yeah, you study a lot, but to get to the point we're at we've shown an ability to do well academically. I have friends who completely psyched themselves out M1 and M2, always saying "I'm sure I failed that test, I don't know anything" and getting in the top quarter of the class. It really comes down to having a routine that works for you and having a little confidence in yourself. There are some people who truly struggle, and I feel very bad for them, but if you're getting by fine there's nothing wrong with enjoying the massive amounts of free time you get during M1 and M2.

 

[XRanger]

THere 's more free time than I expected. People said how they study 4-6 hours a day, but I've only been studying 1-2 hours a day except on weekend before the test, and I'm doing just fine so far. I don't know about M2 but then again people said M1 is way harder than undergrad.
thank god my school is pass/fail or else I would've been a lot more stressed out

 

[Lokhtar]

I think a part of it probably also depends where you went to undergrad. I've been to several, and there is most certainly a big gap in in terms of the workload and the requirements to get an A. A 'C' is very easy to get, of course, and would be much harder in med school from what everyone tells me.

 

[Music MD]

I think so many people psych themselves out during med school because of the aura associated with med school.

I'm seeing some of this at my school as well. People beat themselves up studying endlessly, or worrying endlessly about their studying. They would be much better off if they limited themselves to 40-50 hours a week, fully enjoyed their free time, and accepted whatever grade came from that. Get in, get out, don't let med school take over your life. It's a sort of protective mentality, not sure where I picked it up from.. but its been very beneficial thus far.

 

[kappa09]

I'm seeing some of this at my school as well. People beat themselves up studying endlessly, or worrying endlessly about their studying. They would be much better off if they limited themselves to 40-50 hours a week, fully enjoyed their free time, and accepted whatever grade came from that. Get in, get out, don't let med school take over your life. It's a sort of protective mentality, not sure where I picked it up from.. but its been very beneficial thus far.

Ditto. There are people at my school who LIVE (by live I mean spend the night and stumble into the next days lecture wearing the same clothes from the day before) in the library and study rooms. They put in god knows how many hours of studying after classes and lab, which I think is insane and unnecessary. They literally eat, sleep, and breathe school. Crazy.

 

[Stratego]

It helps that I give myself permission not to be perfect and know every fact. There's no shame to scoring below the top tenth percentile when everyone else is smart too. As a result I'm having fun, socializing with my class, getting enough sleep, learning cool stuff. Having a P/F curriculum helps keep the stress down, too. As does a class party amost every weekend.

 

[sunset823]

I wouldn't go nearly as far as the OP, but yeah, things aren't as bad as I expected, especially coming in with little science background and a crappy science GPA. I don't go to parties or the gym (making me in the overwhelming minority of med students), but I sleep well, eat well, and make time for things I enjoy (movies, reading, exercising outside on gorgeous fall days, college football, comedy central, etc.)

And this is with 9 classes. To those who have a block system, I actually like our system of taking everything together more. I have a notoriously short attention span and it's nice to know that when I'm bored studying something I can move to something else. (The only thing I don't like is having to go into anatomy lab the whole year!) Most of the material is pretty interesting (exception: biochem), and since I'm not gunning for radonc or derm, I'm taking it pretty easy with grades (we have H/P/F, but I'm not gunning for honors in anything I don't already own, namely statistics).

 

[MSSM2013]

the more you learn, the less you think you know.

 

[RoyBasch]

did you start with biochem or anatomy? I wouldn't count my eggs before they hatch. 1st year isn't over yet.

I thought med school biochem was way easier than undergrad biochem actually.

-Roy

 

[tncekm]

I love it so far (although I know it's gonna get much tougher). I stay home a lot and can still procrastinate to some degree. I basically do about 2-4 total hours of work during the weekdays (pretty much just listen to lectures at 2x speed rather than go to class) and cram all weekend. Had some high scores, had some low scores.

My one advice is this: keep up on attending/listening to lectures so you know what you can put off and what you can't.

@Roy; med school biochem was easier than undergrad (I only took 1st semester in undergrad though). It's just much faster.

 

[NTF]

The tests haven't been as bad as I thought. But the volume of material has been daunting. Personally, I think being around my classmates stresses me out more than anything. I get freaked out because so many of them seem to be so far ahead or know more details than me. But it ends up being all good in the end. I score well above the mean on exams, but I spend most of my time at school feeling stupider than 90% of my classmates. I think as time goes by, I'll just learn to let go of comparing myself to others and just live with what works for me. I'm not there just yet.

 

[Jorski]

I really enjoy being in school most of the time, and am thankful Im here. The only problem I have is the disproportionate amount of time I put in for average grades.

But its all good.

 

[psipsina]

Quoted for truth.

When I was an MS1 and some of my classmates and I were going through some adjustments, I remember so many of my peers having this attitude, and almost scoffing at how on earth we could be having difficulties. Let's just say a lot of them ate some humble pie in MS2.

Agreed. Everyone has their own challenges in medschool, the challenges are necessary to help you grow as a physician, and for each of us they will come at separate times. Try to be there for your classmates when they are having a rough time of it and enjoy the times when you're not. I had a rough time adjusting to actually having to study the first few weeks of medschool but overall thought 1st and 2nd year weren't horrible, and I love 3rd year despite having WAY less free time. Some kids I know rocked out the first two years but are really struggling with the interpersonal stuff during 3rd year. Heck I've even seen interns who matched awesome specialties but struggle adjusting to intern year. Everyone's different as to when they'll hit a personal roadblock, just enjoy it whenever you aren't hitting one and don't waste time to question why.

 

[RoyBasch]

Nontradfogie, your avatar cracks me up 😀
-Roy

 

[coldweatherblue]

wait a little longer before deciding you're disappointed at not being miserable. lol.

I was really surprised at how much free time I had MS1, and how seamlessly exams seemed to go, and how much I didn't mind learning the material.. etc.

then one day around March of first-year while at question 30 of a 120 question exam I kind of had the thought, "I don't feel like studying and filling in bubbles anymore." Since then it's grown into a full-on abhorrence of multiple-choice exams.. seriously I don't mind studying as much as my whole life revolving around the process of going to the testing center, listening to their spiel about not using cell-phones and not cheating, then spending the next three hours taking an exam that is NOT representative of the 200 pages of notes I painstakingly memorized, having to read each question 3 times to figure out what they're asking because it's worded so confusingly and in the end.. I just don't care. lol.

don't get me wrong I'm still excited about medicine and it's gonna be awesome eventually, these are just typical MS2 thoughts.. and yes it's test week. 😎

 

[Pinner Doc]

In fact, as I stand on my soapbox officially, we are on average 24 years old as first year students. TWENTY-FOUR. Young, capable, sexual, quasi-mature adults. We're lucky to be so intelligent and have such bright futures ahead of us. I hope everyone out there in SDN land has an appreciation for this. That our lives are happening right now and that they shouldn't be spent stressfully. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, and 8 hours of your god-blessed, anything-but-school life. It's glorious really. We have housing, money for the bills, three delicious squares a day, and at times we get to learn useful, cool stuff... What do we first years really have to complain about?

I was 24 when I started med school. Now I'm 29 and a PGY-2, it's a Thursday night, 11pm in the pediatric ICU, and I wonder.... where did the last 5 years go?

 

[Black Surgeon]

They said the Bullies would get bigger in elementary school, they didn't. They said the homework assigments would be daunting in Middle school, they weren't. They said High school would be a lot more difficult to handle, it wasn't. They said Orgo would tear me a new A** hole, I killed it. They said Med school would be excruitiatingly painful, but I'm having a blast. 😉

 

[Doctor J]

They said the Bullies would get bigger in elementary school, they didn't. They said the homework assigments would be daunting in Middle school, they weren't. They said High school would be a lot more difficult to handle, it wasn't. They said Orgo would tear me a new A** hole, I killed it. They said Med school would be excruitiatingly painful, but I'm having a blast. 😉

Very true.

I think most medical students are pretty melodramatic. Somehow they calm down a bit by residency, as most residents I have met and worked with are very even-keeled.

 

[aggie08]

They said the Bullies would get bigger in elementary school, they didn't. They said the homework assigments would be daunting in Middle school, they weren't. They said High school would be a lot more difficult to handle, it wasn't. They said Orgo would tear me a new A** hole, I killed it. They said Med school would be excruitiatingly painful, but I'm having a blast. 😉

Agree 100%.

 

[Lokhtar]

I haven't taken med school biochem obviously but I agree with one of the posters here. My friend is taking biochem in medschool and it's definitely easier than the one I took in undergrad - I'm tutoring him on the similar parts. My undergrad biochem was an absolute monster.

On the other hand, I am not looking forward to medschool anatomy 😛.

 

[HouseCall]

Well our med school is a traditional format. We're in the same classroom from 8am until noon and then lab (Histo, anatomy, etc) from 1 - 3 or 1 - 5 (or 1 - 6 some days). Then from when I get home to when I go to bed (midnight) I study. Then on Friday, I study some more. Same on Saturday but hey, I get to take 4 hours Saturday night off. Then Sunday, study some more. So where the hell are you people going to medical school 'cause I want to be there?

 

[tncekm]

Haven't started anatomy yet. That may make a difference. I dunno though... my school tends to do very well on the boards, though, so it can't be that they take it too easy on us.

 

[tncekm]

I was 24 when I started med school. Now I'm 29 and a PGY-2, it's a Thursday night, 11pm in the pediatric ICU, and I wonder.... where did the last 5 years go?

Scary post 😱

 

[lildave2586]

First year was one of the most fun, stress free years of my life. I'd do it again if I could. Second year hasn't been that bad either (so far). It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. I think people tell others it's so awful just because they think that's what they are supposed to do.

 

[URHere]

They said the Bullies would get bigger in elementary school, they didn't. They said the homework assigments would be daunting in Middle school, they weren't. They said High school would be a lot more difficult to handle, it wasn't. They said Orgo would tear me a new A** hole, I killed it. They said Med school would be excruitiatingly painful, but I'm having a blast. 😉

QFT x 1000

I was beyond intimidated just before I got into medical school because of all the horror stories I'd been told. Lesson to self: don't always listen to disgruntled anonymous people on the internet.

 

[146233]

Relax. It's great several of you are finding the adjustment to medical school so smooth and painless. For many people it was (and remains) very difficult. Try and be mindful of that rather than boasting about how you "killed" orgo and how med school isn't "excruciatingly painful" or whatever. You're not even through the first semester yet; now is hardly the time to reflect on how easy it is (and again, a statistically significant number of your classmates are fighting for every barely passing grade they get).

Sure, you may find M1 and perhaps M2 easier than most people - hooray for you. The time to sit and think about how great that makes you is after you complete them. And remember, M3/M4 are a different beast altogether. In the end, enjoy med school or don't; just try to get through it without being too intolerable a douche.

 

[TMP-SMX]

I just finished surgery and OB/GYN so I'm done with medical school. 😛

On a serious note, each year is different than the previous year. M1 anatomy sucks as does biochemistry but otherwise it isn't too bad and you have some room to breathe. M2 is pretty much a never-ending study period besides Micro because I loved that class and we only had that and EBM at the same time. M3 is just sleep deprivation but otherwise the shelfs aren't too bad and if you can get over the pimping and realize how trivial the evaluations are then you'll do fine. You get good evaluations by seeming interested, doing research on literature, asking questions and being a nice/genuine person. Some of your residents are going to give you satisfactory to mediocre evals because they were mediocre residents with malignant to indifferent personalities but just hope that your other residents/attendings evaluated you.

 

[URHere]

Try and be mindful of that rather than boasting about how you "killed" orgo and how med school isn't "excruciatingly painful" or whatever.

The point of this thread isn't to boast or to make anyone feel bad about finding medical school difficult. The point is that, for many of us, we just can't talk about this with our classmates. Every day my I hear my classmates complain about how exams were too difficult or unfair and...I really can't voice my opinions without coming off as a douche. Similarly, we all get together on monday, people ask me if I had a fun weekend of studying, and I can't very well say that I didn't study at all...so I'm forced to either sit there in awkward silence, lie, or change the subject.

It's really frustrating because if you admit to finding medical school easy, you will be ostracized by your peers...but, you can't really pretend to have trouble with the material, and most medical students work class topics into their conversations annoyingly often...

I think this thread is a way for those of us who feel like we're stuck in this awkward place to make sure we're not alone. If reading this thread makes you feel like we are bragging or putting down other students, then just don't read it.

 

[Noirukiddingme]

The point of this thread isn't to boast or to make anyone feel bad about finding medical school difficult. The point is that, for many of us, we just can't talk about this with our classmates. Every day my I hear my classmates complain about how exams were too difficult or unfair and...I really can't voice my opinions without coming off as a douche. Similarly, we all get together on monday, people ask me if I had a fun weekend of studying, and I can't very well say that I didn't study at all...so I'm forced to either sit there in awkward silence, lie, or change the subject.

It's really frustrating because if you admit to finding medical school easy, you will be ostracized by your peers...but, you can't really pretend to have trouble with the material, and most medical students work class topics into their conversations annoyingly often...

I think this thread is a way for those of us who feel like we're stuck in this awkward place to make sure we're not alone. If reading this thread makes you feel like we are bragging or putting down other students, then just don't read it.

QFT

I'm having the same experience. I was scared $&$&%&$$ when i came into med school and I know it will get harder, but I am surprised (not at how "easy", but rather) at how not terribly difficult it is.

I think it might also have to do with goals. I'm not shooting to honor every class and I think some people think that because they did it in ug, they can do it here. They completely psych themselves out of doing well by setting unrealistically high standards. (This is not to say that setting high standards is wrong, but rather that for most of us this would do more harm than good. If that works for you go for it.) I hope to do well, honor a few courses, focus on boards 2nd year, but getting a few questions wrong here or there as an M1 doesn't bug me too much.

I think this is a great topic. Like URHere said, this is probably mostly people who don't speak up in school specifically to prevent others from feeling bad. Plus, it makes med school seem less daunting to those in ug reading these posts.

 

[unsung]

The point of this thread isn't to boast or to make anyone feel bad about finding medical school difficult. The point is that, for many of us, we just can't talk about this with our classmates. Every day my I hear my classmates complain about how exams were too difficult or unfair and...I really can't voice my opinions without coming off as a douche. Similarly, we all get together on monday, people ask me if I had a fun weekend of studying, and I can't very well say that I didn't study at all...so I'm forced to either sit there in awkward silence, lie, or change the subject.

It's really frustrating because if you admit to finding medical school easy, you will be ostracized by your peers...but, you can't really pretend to have trouble with the material, and most medical students work class topics into their conversations annoyingly often...

I think this thread is a way for those of us who feel like we're stuck in this awkward place to make sure we're not alone. If reading this thread makes you feel like we are bragging or putting down other students, then just don't read it.

This is funny to me. Do you people who are doing well (relative to your classmates) really need a "support group"? Does it just kill you not to admit to your peers how little you need to study?

C'mon. When I've done well at times, I really didn't feel a need to get together with other people who've done well and talk about how little I had to study. Nor was I put off when others struggled and talked about how much they studied.

Just enjoy the fact that you're doing well and use your copious free time for, I don't know, whatever it is that you do for fun.

 

[tncekm]

This is funny to me.

x2 People don't get ostracized from their peers for finding school easy, they get ostracized for bragging about it. People express difficulty b/c it's frustrating and they need help, so people are more understanding of that type of thing.

As an aside, I feel I'm both (a) having an easier time than I imagined, and (b) having a harder time than I imagined.

(a) I don't put in much time during the week compared to what I was expecting, but I cram on the weekends. I get the impression many of my classmates study many hours all week and are up studying late most nights (I get that impression b/c they'll be fluently discussing topics I haven't even opened a book for or watched an online lecture for--I skip class all the time). I don't "kill it", but I do okay. I'd say I'm doing a little better than average overall.

(b) I'm actually a little bit scared b/c I keep letting myself fall far behind--I'm actually having a hard time adjusting to needing to keep up with my work and not relying on hardcore cramming--and I'm afraid I'll fall "too far" behind at some point and be destroyed to an almost irrecoverable degree. I can't get organized or motivated.

 

[Noirukiddingme]

This is funny to me. Do you people who are doing well (relative to your classmates) really need a "support group"? Does it just kill you not to admit to your peers how little you need to study?

C'mon. When I've done well at times, I really didn't feel a need to get together with other people who've done well and talk about how little I had to study. Nor was I put off when others struggled and talked about how much they studied.

Just enjoy the fact that you're doing well and use your copious free time for, I don't know, whatever it is that you do for fun.

I understand what you're saying, and obviously, no, it doesn't kill me, and no, I don't need a support group, I don't even need this thread, but someone was wondering if they were alone, and I had the same experience, so they shouldn't feel alone. I know this is a long stretch, but it's along the same lines as telling a patient who has cancer and planned on dying for months or years that they are going to be fine. (I think this happened on house once😀) Even though it's a good thing, it doesn't mean it's not frustrating or upsetting or, at the very least, confusing.

On a side note, I have yet to meet more than a handful of people that don't get a little upset at the notion that their colleague is working less and doing better. I don't get upset at this either, but I don't think that this is the norm. I may be wrong tho.

 

[URHere]

This is funny to me. Do you people who are doing well (relative to your classmates) really need a "support group"? Does it just kill you not to admit to your peers how little you need to study?

I don't have some innate need to brag about doing well. But how many times have you heard a classmate ask, "so, what did you think of that test?" or "man, doesn't it suck to be studying all the time?". In those situations, what exactly are we supposed to say?

Every single time I have said, "I thought that test was fine" or "it was OK", I've met nothing but confused faces and ended conversations. Comments like that aren't even close to bragging, they're just the only honest answer you could give. Regardless, they tend to alienate you.

It's not so much about needing a support group as wanting to be a part of the group of people you see everyday. Many of my classmates are close because they study together, but I just can't study with them because it really isn't helpful. I also don't enjoy hanging out with most of them because I know the conversation is inevitably going to turn to how awful med school is, and I'll be stuck in a really uncomfortable spot. As a result, most of what I do with my time has nothing to do with medical school. It's fine, I just wish I could form the same kind of bonds I see my classmates forming...but I can't, because if you don't admit to having a hard time in medical school, most people either resent you or call you a liar.

It would just be nice if more of my classmates were people I could go out with a day or two before an exam and have fun with. No talking about class, or grades, or medicine. Just a good time. It's a little weird to be the only person who wants to go and have fun the day before an exam.

 

[tncekm]

I don't have some innate need to brag about doing well. But how many times have you heard a classmate ask, "so, what did you think of that test?" or "man, doesn't it suck to be studying all the time?". In those situations, what exactly are we supposed to say?

Every single time I have said, "I thought that test was fine" or "it was OK", I've met nothing but confused faces and ended conversations. Comments like that aren't even close to bragging, they're just the only honest answer you could give. Regardless, they tend to alienate you.

Solution: Just say, "Oh, it was challenging, but manageable." lol

 

[45408]

I really can't voice my opinions without coming off as a douche.

It's really frustrating because if you admit to finding medical school easy, you will be ostracized by your peers...

Why is it frustrating? Just don't say it's easy.

I don't have some innate need to brag about doing well. But how many times have you heard a classmate ask, "so, what did you think of that test?" or "man, doesn't it suck to be studying all the time?". In those situations, what exactly are we supposed to say?

"Yeah, I studied a lot. Here's hoping that I did well."

or point out some aspect of the test that you didn't know. I know lots of guys in my class who killed exams on a regular basis, and they usually managed to keep it on the down low.

 

[Dral]

First year isn't bad at all. I went to almost every class and still had time to study and goof off.

Studying for step1 is when it gets real. Then during surgery rotation 3rd year when you're consistently up at 4 am...that's when the shtf. lol

 

[NotSur]

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