Being content with being Average or below Average in med school

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
DermViser said:
You work hard to master the information. Let the chips fall where they may.
Click to expand...
Yup. That's pretty much my strategy. I'm just realizing if I obsess over grades or trying to make it into a particular quartile I will drive myself insane. I just want to learn/understand the material.
 
EMDO2018 said:
Nah I wouldn't do FM, I shadowed FM and was bored to death. Outpatient psych was kinda boring too, but inpatient is cool.
Click to expand...

Ye but isn't Outpatient Psych where you get the cool peeps, while Inpatient Psych is where you get Schizo dudes, IRL trolls, and the like?
 
idk why people are freaking out about the whole concept of being in the top half being advantageous. I'm pretty sure it's never going to hurt you to be a good student.... No one is saying that you can't do well on step 1 from the bottom half, just it's less likely. You're not going to play d1 sports in college generally unless you dominated in HS. The most competitive residency programs and specialties will have enough students with good to great applications top to bottom to where something like being in bottom 50 % could be the one thing you have worse than the other candidates that have relatively similar test scores, clinical grades and research.

if you're cool with achieving to X level that's fine, but I mean it definitely is limiting your chances... If I want to do rads in some random town in BFE Tennessee, I still want to work crazy hard so I can knock it out of the park and end up there and make the decision more in my hands than someone else's. Unless someone would argue that doing the crap necessary to be a top tier applicant would make them go mentally insane, then I don't really see any drawbacks of doing well...
 
Arkangeloid said:
Ye but isn't Outpatient Psych where you get the cool peeps, while Inpatient Psych is where you get Schizo dudes, IRL trolls, and the like?
Click to expand...
I find the IRL trolls, schizo dudes, and the like fun. They are legitimately pathological and need intervention. In my neck of the woods, the outpatient docs see 35 rich, white, upper-class patients per day, mostly with med checks and refills. Some may not find that as "cool".
 
Last edited:
PL198 said:
idk why people are freaking out about the whole concept of being in the top half being advantageous. I'm pretty sure it's never going to hurt you to be a good student.... No one is saying that you can't do well on step 1 from the bottom half, just it's less likely. You're not going to play d1 sports in college generally unless you dominated in HS. The most competitive residency programs and specialties will have enough students with good to great applications top to bottom to where something like being in bottom 50 % could be the one thing you have worse than the other candidates that have relatively similar test scores, clinical grades and research.

if you're cool with achieving to X level that's fine, but I mean it definitely is limiting your chances... If I want to do rads in some random town in BFE Tennessee, I still want to work crazy hard so I can knock it out of the park and end up there and make the decision more in my hands than someone else's. Unless someone would argue that doing the crap necessary to be a top tier applicant would make them go mentally insane, then I don't really see any drawbacks of doing well...
Click to expand...
I think it's more a risk/benefit ratio. To maximize your application, there are certain puzzle pieces and certain parts that are more worth concentrating and doing well on than others, which varies for different specialties and varies based on the year.

For example, going for Rads in 2000 is very different than going for Rads in 2014, in terms of competitiveness.
 
I received a need improvement for PBL because I don't talk enough. I hate talking and I hate PBL. What do?
 
chillaxbro said:
I received a need improvement for PBL because I don't talk enough. I hate talking and I hate PBL. What do?
Click to expand...
Do what every other med student who wants a good grade in PBL does, talk out loud and bloviate no matter how little it contributes to the conversation.
 
DermViser said:
Ah, yes. You're quite famous on KevinMD.
Click to expand...
Eh...whatever. I don't think anyone really pays attention to all that. A couple did go semi-viral, I guess. All of them were just posts here on various SDN threads, actually, that a couple people liked, so DrWhiteCoat wanted them on his blog. Then Kevin Pho started re-posting the ones he likes without even really asking, and just puts a new title on them. It's not really my thing, but there were a couple SDN rants that went here, and a couple that went....there...

So, if they want to re-post my SDN posts, then whatever....it's no big thing. It's just throwaway stuff, and I'm really kind of bored with the whole thing, you know?
 
fancymylotus said:
Duh.

*waves at b.rex*
Click to expand...
Hey, I'm doing my best here, but they're giving me nothing to work with. Michelangelo couldn't paint the Sistine Chapel with water colors and a post-it note, you know?
 
Birdstrike said:
Eh...whatever. I don't think anyone really pays attention to all that. A couple did go semi-viral, I guess. All of them were just posts here on various SDN threads, actually, that a couple people liked, so DrWhiteCoat wanted them on his blog. Then Kevin Pho started re-posting the ones he likes without even really asking, and just puts a new title on them. It's not really my thing, but there were a couple SDN rants that went here, and a couple that went....there...

So, if they want to re-post my SDN posts, then whatever....it's no big thing. It's just throwaway stuff, and I'm really kind of bored with the whole thing, you know?
Click to expand...
Are you intoxicated right now?
 
DermViser said:
Ok. Wasn't sure. Seriously thought you were going to add namsayin' at the end.
Click to expand...
Lol

I might have liked to. Writing those heavy posts, gets a little old. I can't do it anymore. If you don't believe me, try it. Try to write a 1000 word SDN post right now, that ends up post-worthy on a blog like KevinMD.com. Then people just troll you in the comment threads. It's just not something that comes naturally to me. I dare you. Seriously...

Go!
 
Birdstrike said:
Lol

I might have liked to. Writing those heavy posts, gets a little old. I can't do it anymore. If you don't believe me, try it. Try to write a 1000 word SDN post right now, that ends up post-worthy on a blog like KevinMD.com. Then people just troll you in the comment threads. It's just not something that comes naturally to me. I dare you. Seriously...

Go!
Click to expand...
They quote you from SDN? I thought it was just your blog posts which I thought you submitted to Kevin.
 
DermViser said:
They quote you from SDN? I thought it was just your blog posts which I thought you submitted to Kevin.
Click to expand...
No.

Well....sort of. I had written this rant, here (sixth post down). It went sort of mini-viral in the EM community because some people liked it. Then, White Coat wanted it on his blog, and made it one of his posts, here. Then, I started giving him first dibs on re-posting threads I had started on SDN EM. Then, he liked them enough he gave me blogging rights on his two blogs. So, if I have a post that might be worthy, I can post it on either of his blogs. But honestly, it's work. It's not something that I get paid for, so it has to be something that I feel strongly about to be worth the time to write, and proof read and all that. I view it more of a hobby or art form, actually. So when a I get an idea for a post, it just gushes out like a waterfall, otherwise I don't force it. Then I post it. A post could end up being read by a few people on SDN EM, or tens of thousands on KevinMD.com. Either way, I don't really care. It is what it is.

So, why FancyMyLotus wanted me to post on these Allo threads, I have no clue, or even if she has any clue about my other posts, but here I am.
 
Birdstrike said:
No.

Well....sort of. I had written this rant, here (sixth post down). It went sort of mini-viral in the EM community because some people liked it. Then, White Coat wanted it on his blog, and made it one of his posts, here. Then, I started giving him first dibs on re-posting threads I had started on SDN EM. Then, he liked them enough he gave me blogging rights on his two blogs. So, if I have a post that might be worthy, I can post it on either of his blogs. But honestly, it's work. It's not something that I get paid for, so it has to be something that I feel strongly about to be worth the time to write, and proof read and all that. I view it more of a hobby or art form, actually. So when a I get an idea for a post, it just gushes out like a waterfall, otherwise I don't force it. Then I post it. A post could end up being read by a few people on SDN EM, or tens of thousands on KevinMD.com. Either way, I don't really care. It is what it is.

So, why FancyMyLotus wanted me to post on these Allo threads, I have no clue, or even if she has any clue about my other posts, but here I am.
Click to expand...
You should be happy, you're famous!
 
fancymylotus said:
Wait...:

@Birdstrike

I had no idea you were Internet famous.

No wonder you're such a bragosaurus rex
Click to expand...
I have zero desire for actual "fame." That's why I don't post under my real name. I'm just a guy, with a couch, and a laptop, who posts stuff on SDN, like you guys.
 
Is there anything stronger than caffeine for studying? Fighting the urge to take a nap,
 
r5frAur.gif
 
Being average is medical school is a 'good' average... Competing with people who are studying 10+ hours a day is no joke!
 
EMDO2018 said:
Is there anything stronger than caffeine for studying? Fighting the urge to take a nap,
Click to expand...
Monster Drinks (that have a higher concentration of caffeine), Adderall probably.
 
After starting med school, I'm quickly realizing that there are people in my class who are simply smarter in every way and can put in half as much effort and get twice as much of the result. It's a matter of whether or not I can make my peace with it. I'm not quite there yet, but I hope I can be soon and just accept that I'll be a mediocre med student (still nothing to sneeze at in the grand scheme of things I suppose).
 
compstomper said:
After starting med school, I'm quickly realizing that there are people in my class who are simply smarter in every way and can put in half as much effort and get twice as much of the result. It's a matter of whether or not I can make my peace with it. I'm not quite there yet, but I hope I can be soon and just accept that I'll be a mediocre med student (still nothing to sneeze at in the grand scheme of things I suppose).
Click to expand...
It took me like 1 week of MS1 to realize this, and I'm okay with it. I'm ahead of the curve at being behind the curve.
 
compstomper said:
After starting med school, I'm quickly realizing that there are people in my class who are simply smarter in every way and can put in half as much effort and get twice as much of the result. It's a matter of whether or not I can make my peace with it. I'm not quite there yet, but I hope I can be soon and just accept that I'll be a mediocre med student (still nothing to sneeze at in the grand scheme of things I suppose).
Click to expand...
The real question is whether you are being the most efficient you can be, keeping up (maybe even staying ahead) of the material, and doing practice questions (or Firecracker/Anki whatever). If you're doing all that - that's the most you can ask of yourself.

Looks can be deceiving with respect to the number of hours people put in during the week and on the weekend studying.
 
Man, I feel so bad for reason I just don't know why. Not even my evening run helps 🙁

Maybe I'm just scared about my future.
 
Arkangeloid said:
Man, I feel so bad for reason I just don't know why. Not even my evening run helps 🙁

Maybe I'm just scared about my future.
Click to expand...
You don't just run when you're anxious. You do it before you get anxious. That being said, maybe bc you're thinking about your "trial" whatever that is.
 
Whoever made that thread about med school girls being stuck up, most of them really are, but why?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Below Average Student to Honors?
Replies
8
Views
3K
Styrene
Styrene
R
Does being #1 in your class for preclinical mean anything to PDs?
Replies
9
Views
1K
RockClimberMed
R
F
“Biggest challenge” being coming out to my parents and being rejected?
Replies
2
Views
1K
folgersormh
F
L
Most unexpected classmates in med school?
Replies
21
Views
3K
ontiquicuo
O
V
Will being a doctor be boring with AI?
Replies
26
Views
5K
xavi22
X
Top Bottom