Balance in MS2 (School, Research, USMLE)

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

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Hello. Rising M2 here.

Looking for advice on whether or not I might be overextending myself. Obviously, I will not know until I try to apply my gameplan, but I wanted to get some other student's opinions.

Based on MS1 I was able to do very well putting in between 45 and 55 hours, mostly about 50 hours per week during our blocks. Of course, during exam weeks, more time was dedicated than usual.

This year, I am planning on adding an additional 8 hours of USMLE per week (Zanki reviews daily and a question set on Saturday) and 7 to 9 hours of mixed clinical/bench research.

That puts my total academic commitment at about 67 hours per week, which sounds insane to my young brain. I figure I'll be doing that many hours or more per week from 3rd year on out, so I figured why not get used to it and invest in attaining my goal.

During exam weeks, I usually abstain from all extracurricular obligations and, after winter break I plan to do nothing but classes and USMLE prep. However, If I were to cut something completely at the start, it would be the bench research, which may free up 5 to 7 hours per week. It has not been very productive (as the chart review has been), but I feel almost obligated to continue because I have been at it for so long and they have invested a lot of time training me.

Thoughts? I can provide additional details if needed.

 

[NickNaylor]

In my opinion, bench research is a potential black hole of time that may not net any benefit. There are plenty of opportunities to do more clinical work or a number of other research projects that are far more likely to yield tangible results in the form of articles, posters, etc. compared to bench research. Clinical research that involves things like chart reviews often are more flexible with respect to time; it's something you can do at home when you have the time rather than being stuck in a lab.

I'd suggest going that route if you want to get involved in scholarly work. For a medical student, that kind of work is generally more feasible than dedicated time in a lab.

 

[7331poas]

never do bench research unless MAYBE you are doing neurosurgery stuff

 

[mrbreakfast]

You should do bench research now if you want to do bench research in residency and do bench research as an attending. For example, if your career plan is "curing ALS," then this might be a good plan for you. If your plan is less specific, your commitments should probably be more diverse.

Studying comes first. Step 1 opens doors.

Get used to working hard. 67 hours/week total would be considered very light for M3. You will very likely be spending more time than that in the hospital alone - not including studying - on many rotations.

 

[libertyyne]

First goal should always be to do well on boards and class.
2nd goal should be to do what ever you need to do to stay sane to accomplish the first goal.