Ask a 4th year some questions...

[legendaryjon2413]

Hey all,

I've seen these type of threads before and wanted to do the same. I'm a 4th year in NJ. I'd be happy to answer some questions. I'll do my best to answer them timely.

A little about me: I did the traditional 4 years of college. Did a bunch of volunteering and work (hospital, YMCA, tutoring). Did not do research as an undergrad.

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[BuffPremed]

1. How are your electives for 4th year? I heard this is what everyone "waits for" when in medical school.
2. How are you planning your rotations around interviews for residency programs?
3. What specialty are you leaning towards?

 

[legendaryjon2413]

1. How are your electives for 4th year? I heard this is what everyone "waits for" when in medical school.
2. How are you planning your rotations around interviews for residency programs?
3. What specialty are you leaning towards?

1. We get to choose our electives on a lottery basis for 4th year. Required tracks are EM, Public health, PM&R. And yes, this is worth "waiting for" for the first 3 years of med school...so much free time.

2. We could use some vacation time around the interview heavy months or we can choose easier electives and ask for a few days off to interview.

3. I'm applying for Internal Medicine

 

[frosted_flake]

Do you plan to further specialize or just do internal medicine?

What influenced you to go into internal med? Was it a 3rd year rotation or something else?

Would you go to medical school all over again if given the chance?

Thank you for sharing your time with us!

 

[legendaryjon2413]

Do you plan to further specialize or just do internal medicine?

What influenced you to go into internal med? Was it a 3rd year rotation or something else?

Would you go to medical school all over again if given the chance?

Thank you for sharing your time with us!

1. I plan to go into Cardiology or Pulm/Critical Care

2. I knew I wanted to do Cardiology and go the internal med route coming into med school. It was confirmed after finishing 3rd year where I felt that my personality and interests were more geared towards that.

3. I would do med school all over again if given the chance. There's so much to learn and so much work to do but it's all very enjoyable.

 

[johnnytest]

top 3 things you wish you had known from day 1 of med school that would have helped you in applying for residency. Thank You!

 

[legendaryjon2413]

top 3 things you wish you had known from day 1 of med school that would have helped you in applying for residency. Thank You!

1. Join research/clubs/volunteering throughout med school if you like it
2. Form good relationships with advisors throughout med school, not just 4th year
3. Don't spend too much time studying. A bit less studying probably won't make a difference

 

[miszfifi820]

everyone keeps saying to consider schools that give you alot of elective time during 3rd year - how much time exactly is 'alot'

 

[Hospitalized]

Thanks for doing this.

1. Are there any aspects of your personality that make medical school easier or more difficult for you?
2. What was the most valuable experience you had as an undergrad that made the transition into medical school more manageable?
3. How do you track your schedule?/How have you changed your time management skills since 1st year?

 

[DoctorJD]

I just have one...how many hours are you in class (total) each week?

 

[EasternMer]

Do fellow students discuss the instability of an Anesthesia career in the years to come?

 

[legendaryjon2413]

everyone keeps saying to consider schools that give you alot of elective time during 3rd year - how much time exactly is 'alot'

For us, we had 4 weeks of electives during 3rd year. The rest of 3rd year were core rotations (Medicine, Peds, Ob/Gyn, etc.). I would've liked maybe 6-8 weeks of electives.

 

[legendaryjon2413]

Thanks for doing this.

1. Are there any aspects of your personality that make medical school easier or more difficult for you?
2. What was the most valuable experience you had as an undergrad that made the transition into medical school more manageable?
3. How do you track your schedule?/How have you changed your time management skills since 1st year?

1. I'd say being organized, calm, with good study habits will make it easier. Personally, I'd say my study habits sometimes made it difficult because I spent more time studying certain things than I liked.

2. Most valuable experience in undergrad is going to clubs and having a good friend base so I could still hang out with people outside of med school and not talk about medicine.

3. I'm not sure what you mean by "track your schedule." I use my phone for important dates. For time management, I haven't changed too much since first year but probably less sleep because I got used to that.

 

[legendaryjon2413]

I just have one...how many hours are you in class (total) each week?

For 1st and 2nd yr, we were in class average maybe 4 hours/day. Long days were 7 hours/day but they were rare.

 

[legendaryjon2413]

Do fellow students discuss the instability of an Anesthesia career in the years to come?

My friends who are going into Anesthesia talk about it but I'm not sure of the specifics.

 

[amandaeleven]

Do fellow students discuss the instability of an Anesthesia career in the years to come?

Also a 4th year here - yes, most individuals going into Anesthesia that I ran into on the interview trail were very aware of the challenges we face upon graduating from residency. In fact, many interviews directly touched upon how they were testing new models of peri-operative care.