Are most medical students happy/positive people?

[nychila]

Are most medical students very happy and positive people compared to the general university student population?

Medical students seem very positive, ie. they joke and laugh a ton, and very happy, ie. they really seem to enjoy this time of their life, despite the obvious stress. But of course the medical students whom I have encountered and those who are placed in advertisements or give tours on interview days might be a biased sample. I realize that every school has a different environment, but I'm just talking about the general student atmosphere at US medical schools. Or is there in reality a solid portion of every medical class who are competitive, heavily concerned about exams and residency placements and almost only that, and not being very fun people?

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[911 Turbo]

Are most medical students very happy and positive people compared to the general university student population?

Medical students seem very positive, ie. they joke and laugh a ton, and very happy, ie. they really seem to enjoy this time of their life, despite the obvious stress. But of course the medical students whom I have encountered and those who are placed in advertisements or give tours on interview days might be a biased sample. I realize that every school has a different environment, but I'm just talking about the general student atmosphere at US medical schools. Or is there in reality a solid portion of every medical class who are competitive, heavily concerned about exams and residency placements and almost only that, and not being very fun people?

Why would you ask a question like this? Why would premeds know? Why would medical students be happier than the vast majority of undergraduate students, who major in liberal arts? Wouldn't happiness vary enormously school to school, person to person? Of course there will be people in every class who are super competitive (gunners).

 

[Spinach Dip]

Depends on if their tests are tomorrow, or yesterday.

 

[kgpremed11]

Are most medical students very happy and positive people compared to the general university student population?

Medical students seem very positive, ie. they joke and laugh a ton, and very happy, ie. they really seem to enjoy this time of their life, despite the obvious stress. But of course the medical students whom I have encountered and those who are placed in advertisements or give tours on interview days might be a biased sample. I realize that every school has a different environment, but I'm just talking about the general student atmosphere at US medical schools. Or is there in reality a solid portion of every medical class who are competitive, heavily concerned about exams and residency placements and almost only that, and not being very fun people?

No most are miserable. This process is so grueling how could they not be? The performance monkeys that lead tours on interview day plaster a fake smile on their fsce because administration is watching. The general public is dumb, really dumb, maybe ignorance is bliss.

 

[lobo.solo]

I guess not very much. I bet there is ups and down like with everything

 

[KnuxNole]

This is very personality dependent. Miserable people before medical school don't all become sunshine and rainbows when they walk into med school. Likewise, happy and cheerful people don't all become depressed when they walk into med school.

Med school can be tough, but that doesn't mean people are bound to become miserable. How you handle adversity, roadblocks, and balancing things go a long way. I will say that a good chunk of my class is very positive and friendly. Having a positive environment eases the sporadic bursts of pain throughout the 4 years. Also, knowing what makes you happy, and never letting go of those things(sounds sappy but true 😳).

 

[nychila]

I was really looking forward to replies from medical students, but I don't think that I'm allowed to post in the allopathic forum as technically still a premed.

I realize that people's personalities tend to same the same, so what I was asking was whether many students who only seem to care about exams and residency, rather than fun, get into medicine? Or are the vast majority of medical students just happy and positive people in general?

Also, I'm not referring to being depressed and miserable - I'm referring to students who only care about exams and residency, rather than fun and small-talk.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I was really looking forward to replies from medical students, but I don't think that I'm allowed to post in the allopathic forum as technically still a premed.

I realize that people's personalities tend to same the same, so what I was asking was whether many students who only seem to care about exams and residency, rather than fun, get into medicine? Or are the vast majority of medical students just happy and positive people in general?

Also, I'm not referring to being depressed and miserable - I'm referring to students who only care about exams and residency, rather than fun and small-talk.

I think it depends. Most people I know study pretty much all the time. They rarely go out. I'm not sure what they were like in undergrad, but medical school does change people quite a bit. So whether they were all about fun or all work, it's impossible to tell at this point.

On SDN, if you go into the allopathic forum, people seem to be having fun. In fact, there was once a thread about medical school being more fun than undergrad! When I read it, I was like: 😱 :cry:

Remember, SDN is an exception from the norm. 🙄

 

[KnuxNole]

I was really looking forward to replies from medical students, but I don't think that I'm allowed to post in the allopathic forum as technically still a premed.

I realize that people's personalities tend to same the same, so what I was asking was whether many students who only seem to care about exams and residency, rather than fun, get into medicine? Or are the vast majority of medical students just happy and positive people in general?

Also, I'm not referring to being depressed and miserable - I'm referring to students who only care about exams and residency, rather than fun and small-talk.

To be honest...most people if not the vast majority have a mix of both. Although I don't know every single of my classmates very well, I doubt there are that many people that only care about exams and residency and ignore having fun and making small talk.

I know you aren't implying that someone can either care about exams or be happy. I would say wherever you go to school, you will find a good chunk who are happy and positive 🙂

 

[NickNaylor]

It all comes down to how people deal with stress and rigor. Are you the kind of person that panics and gets stressed out? Or are you the kind of person that is confident and takes more of a "I've already learned what I'm going to learn" kind of stance? How seriously do you take class? I know of a couple of people that see learning absolutely everything that's presented as their task; you might guess that they tend to be a little more high strung.

On the whole, though, most med students aren't miserable in my experience - even as exams approach. Eventually it just becomes one of those things you do. It's still stressful, but it just doesn't bother you as much over time.

 

[Neuronette]

At the hospital I volunteer at , the med school students seem generally happy. Maybe bc the med school is just awesome or something lol

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

It is going to vary as much as the responses to this thread! Prepare well and if your passionate enough about medicine, learning and serving, it won't matter.

 

[mcloaf]

No most are miserable. This process is so grueling how could they not be? The performance monkeys that lead tours on interview day plaster a fake smile on their fsce because administration is watching. The general public is dumb, really dumb, maybe ignorance is bliss.

Always good to have the insight of a premed who hasn't even taken the MCAT on a topic like this...

 

[FrkyBgStok]

some are miserable, some are happy. no different than anywhere else. some truckers are miserable, some happy. some janitors sad, some happy. teachers, doctors, etc. We are no different.

That being said, one thing med school shoes you is tons of people who are visually happy, but mentally freaking the eff out. and med school can take a completely positive person in the top 25% of their class and hand them 3 Fs in a row and depression kicks in. Yes it does happen. It varies from person to person, day to day. But most are pulled together enough to not be visually distraught.

 

[Law2Doc]

At the hospital I volunteer at , the med school students seem generally happy. Maybe bc the med school is just awesome or something lol

It's not happy, it's manic, from lack of sleep. Makes you giddy.

 

[wlt217]

I'm guessing there's a higher proportion of people who can balance a heavy workload with sufficient happiness to keep them afloat in med school compared to undergrad, but the variations in personality will remain the same.

Then again, personally, I get anxious when I'm not being productive (to some extent, I rest and socialize for the purpose of getting back to work, rather than the other way around), and I would expect a higher proportion of this in medical school.

 

[ven2083]

lol there mostly negative...but truthfully this forum can be biased for negativity.

For example, I see some one posted "who would ask this question?" lol Chill out everybody, this is what the forum is for. Anybody can ask ANY question. I believe that we all get burned out after a while from work, study, etc so you must take that in to consideration

 

[girlonfire]

Depends on if their tests are tomorrow, or yesterday.

Exactly.

 

[Textbookversion]

I'm pretty cheerful and upbeat even when I'm in the depths of misery and stress. I think most of my classmates are similar.

There are a couple grumpsters during block exams but most people are pretty chill.

 

[Geebeejay]

Most medical students I know seem happy..."wide-eyed" and enthusiastic. I only know medical students from one school though, and I don't know them too well or personally.

 

[MedPR]

Most medical students I know seem happy..."wide-eyed" and enthusiastic. I only know medical students from one school though, and I don't know them too well or personally.

Sounds like you only know M1s.. and you only knew them during the month of August.

 

[Geebeejay]

Sounds like you only know M1s.. and you only knew them during the month of August.

negative I only know M4s actually.

 

[Eiot]

In the Marine Corps we would have some really awful days. Grueling physical strain coupled with little sleep can make anyone go bat**** crazy. Yet on those days you would see the most smiles, because people needed to be able to smile and joke to be able to make it through the day. I'd like to think this would have some symmetry with the grueling hours and work med. students put in.

 

[MedPR]

negative I only know M4s actually.

M4s aren't really med students. They're doctors on vacation.

 

[487806]

Why would you ask a question like this? Why would premeds know? Why would medical students be happier than the vast majority of undergraduate students, who major in liberal arts? Wouldn't happiness vary enormously school to school, person to person? Of course there will be people in every class who are super competitive (gunners).

👍👍👍👍

 

[SLC]

Just depends on how they handle stress.

I am honestly a lot happier in med-school than I was in undergrad. I attribute that to actually doing something I enjoy; as opposed to simply going for a degree so I could get into med-school in the first place.

There is some stress, but if you have healthy ways of managing it, you'll learn to adjust quickly. I imagine that's tougher if you are struggling academically/constantly feel the threat of failing. I've been a fairly consistent upper B/lower A student and that helps a lot.