At the end of MS1, how dumb did you feel?

[GlowInTheDark]

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On a scale from stupid to incompetent, I think I'm about a Buster Bluth.

I can only imagine I will feel dumber and dumber until around PGY3 or 4. However, I think if you didn't feel dumb you'd end up as a complacent and crappy doctor

 

[Dharma]

I aced neuro and felt awesome. But then M2 started with cardio and the ego deflation ensued...

 

[SLC]

...However, I think if you didn't feel dumb you'd end up as a complacent and crappy doctor

I thought I was pretty smart after year 1, and looking back, I probably was. But facility with year one material doesn't translate evenly to success later on. I would absolutely agree, that anyone who thinks it does, probably will be complacent and end up being less skilled (as a physician) than they otherwise could be.

 

[Superman DO]

After first year, I was feeling pretty good since the whole year was pretty much a condensed version of my college major. I felt stupid moments during second year because of the sheer volume of new material; however, I stayed on top of most of it and was able to regurgitate/synthesize it pretty well on tests. Yet, I felt most dumb at the beginning of year 3 (and I'm not looking forward to that feeling returning come July! )

 

[MedicineMan99]

Just wait until you finish residency

 

[wjs010]

I aced neuro and felt awesome. But then M2 started with cardio and the ego deflation ensued...

cardio is harder than neuro?

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

....Not a good sign. I am almost done with MS-1 and I feel as though I know nothing

 

[Dharma]

cardio is harder than neuro?

I thought it was. But then again, my school's approach was very disorganized making it a lot harder then it had to be. During board prep I found cardio to be easier than before. I still like neuro more though.

 

[Poliscidoc]

I don't feel dumb but ill prepared for lies ahead

 

[SLC]

I don't feel dumb but ill prepared for lies ahead

That's a great way to put things.

I feel like I understand a lot, and I can generally get board type questions correct with relative ease. But putting knowledge into practice in the real world, where it's up to you to "write the stem" on the fly, then answer the question yourself; is definitely a whole different ballgame.

Not impossible, just a lot more involved than the first two years lets on.

 

[Dr. Zombie]

....Not a good sign. I am almost done with MS-1 and I feel as though I know nothing

Yep, Ygritte confirmed it for you.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

I feel like all I've done was binged and purged info this entire year.

 

[Doctor Bob]

Something of a tangent...

Something I've noticed among students who rotate through my department, is that there is a big difference in the applicable knowledge base between those students who studied the material in general, and those who focused on studying for the board exams. Students who spent 1st and 2nd years just learning from First Aid and other board review books looked great on paper but on average have less applicable clinical knowledge.

By the end of intern year of residency the difference mostly evens out but it's just an interesting observation. n=1, YMMV.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I knew enough to know that I didn't know a lot of things. But I didn't care about feeling dumb. Summer vacation was on and it was time to go wild.

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

I feel like all I've done was binged and purged info this entire year.

Yeah. I feel like this. Not because I was chronically cramming all the time, but some thing just felt extremely crammed with our ever changing, always revolving testing schedule. Plus anatomy was year long at our school (which initially I thought I would like), but it became a hassle because it was sprinkled in second semester in between micro, physiology, and pathology, and thereby neglected and often crammed before practicals by all the students. There would be weeks where we go into anatomy lab 2 times and then not step foot in there for 2 weeks, which was really poorly orchestrated by our school. I feel bad because when I talked to the kids interviewing at our school, I told them how great I thought it was (because it was first semester) and didn't really know what was in store for second semester.

Anybody else just feel like everything is just super crammed with the accelerated pace of everything?

 

[scummie]

All M2's should start second year with a carton of lube. The cycle of purging and binging is classic second year, especially if your school does systems. Don't worry, it comes back for Step 1 and then quickly leaves.

But you've gotten through first year, the hardest part. Life gets better!!

 

[CSqueed]

At my school there seemed to be a dichotomy after first year. Those who could barely stay on top of it vs those who have been used to harsh workloads before and took it a little easier than their peers.