Can you slack off in Medical school?

[jurmanium]

I heard that in most top Medical schools that they have a pass fail system to avoid competetiveness between students and focus more on learning.In my school we're allowed to take one class pass fail so I usually slack off and only do what it takes to pass.So is Med school the same way,cause how are the residency's you apply to even know how you did if it's a pass fail system

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[Law2Doc]

I heard that in most top Medical schools that they have a pass fail system to avoid competetiveness between students and focus more on learning.In my school we're allowed to take one class pass fail so I usually slack off and only do what it takes to pass.So is Med school the same way,cause how are the residency's you apply to even know how you did if it's a pass fail system

It's bad enough you are trolling. Do you really need to post the same threads on multiple boards???

 

[CANES2006]

Yeah, you can slack during medical school. It's called 4th year and I'm doing it right now. 😀

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Even the pass/fail systems have class rankings.

 

[deuist]

You are certainly welcome to slack off during epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. But that's about it. Even at P/F schools you'll still have to work very hard.

 

[MErc44]

I discovered very early in med school that you have to study different than you do in college. My first set of exams covered subjects that I had "learned" extensively in undergrad so i took it easy and got my ass handed to me. While I was pissed at first it also helped me to realize that med school is essentially no different than undergrad and by that I mean the tests seemed to purposefully avoid the big picture. I decided then to learn what I thought was relevant and important. It created a lot less stress, if it's not on the boards I don't care about it. First year was in my mind pretty much irrelevant save for physio, gross and some biochem. I thought second year would be better but I have again been dissapointed and after getting rocked by my last pharm test I would say it is maybe a little worse. Much more info and less time and you have to know every minute detail. I might have just come off as a complete slacker but I still study a lot but with much less efficiency and am not nearly as stressed out as most. One so called core class I would not spend hardly any time on is histology, utterly worthless just don't fail.

 

[tupac_don]

I heard that in most top Medical schools that they have a pass fail system to avoid competetiveness between students and focus more on learning.In my school we're allowed to take one class pass fail so I usually slack off and only do what it takes to pass.So is Med school the same way,cause how are the residency's you apply to even know how you did if it's a pass fail system

Yep slack all your way to an FP residency.

 

[Acherona]

Does anyone think this is a good idea, boards-based studying through the first two years? The kind of trivial bull**** that shows up on our exams is astounding and I can't imagine that it is either important in the long term or something I'm likely to remember anyway (I believe it is there for the sole purpose of creating a curve to differentiate the top 10% of the class). I'm sick of the minutia and I think I can pass by just studying the important material that I will be tested on in the future. Has anyone who has taken the boards found this a successful strategy? Or are the minutia actually useful to know?

I discovered very early in med school that you have to study different than you do in college. My first set of exams covered subjects that I had "learned" extensively in undergrad so i took it easy and got my ass handed to me. While I was pissed at first it also helped me to realize that med school is essentially no different than undergrad and by that I mean the tests seemed to purposefully avoid the big picture. I decided then to learn what I thought was relevant and important. It created a lot less stress, if it's not on the boards I don't care about it. First year was in my mind pretty much irrelevant save for physio, gross and some biochem. I thought second year would be better but I have again been dissapointed and after getting rocked by my last pharm test I would say it is maybe a little worse. Much more info and less time and you have to know every minute detail. I might have just come off as a complete slacker but I still study a lot but with much less efficiency and am not nearly as stressed out as most. One so called core class I would not spend hardly any time on is histology, utterly worthless just don't fail.

 

[bigfrank]

Yeah, you can slack during medical school. It's called 4th year and I'm doing it right now. 😀

Hear you. To answer the OP's question, YES, many people do slack off in medical school. Some do so and actually graduate, too.

 

[liveandlearn]

I think many times what you think is minutia is clinically aplicable. I think you'll be able to recognize it once you are in clinical practice, that some of the stuff was very pertinent. It all depends on what specialty you go into.

As far as can you slack. Yes, and you can even do well and slack but it takes a very smart person who already understands how medicine works.

 

[Catalyst]

Even the pass/fail systems have class rankings.

My school (Mt. Sinai) has pass/fail 1st 2 years with no rankings.... thank god

 

[getunconcsious]

You can totally slack off.....I do it and I still do fine. Don't listen to the more paranoid peeps around here.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

Yep slack all your way to an FP residency.

Thats complete BS. Besides, it depends what you exactly mean by slacking. Slacking is different for different people. For those gunners out there, slacking is having an exam and then not studying the next 2 days when the next exam is 2.5 weeks away. For others slacking is not doing anything until 2 days before the test. For many its somewhere in between.

So basically, it all depends what kind of person you are. Some people can do the amount of work others would consider slacking and still finish in the top quarter. So its an individual thing.

Also, even if you slack your first 2 years and finish in the middle of the class, then rock the boards and do very well in Clinicals, you shouldn't have any problem landing a solid residency. When it comes down to it, the first two years of course work are a very small part of what residency directors look at. Some people have been quoted as saying its like the 5 or 6th most important thing.

 

[locitamd]

yale = pass/fail = no ranking = possibility to slack, big time.

 

[tupac_don]

Thats complete BS. Besides, it depends what you exactly mean by slacking. Slacking is different for different people. For those gunners out there, slacking is having an exam and then not studying the next 2 days when the next exam is 2.5 weeks away. For others slacking is not doing anything until 2 days before the test. For many its somewhere in between.

So basically, it all depends what kind of person you are. Some people can do the amount of work others would consider slacking and still finish in the top quarter. So its an individual thing.

Also, even if you slack your first 2 years and finish in the middle of the class, then rock the boards and do very well in Clinicals, you shouldn't have any problem landing a solid residency. When it comes down to it, the first two years of course work are a very small part of what residency directors look at. Some people have been quoted as saying its like the 5 or 6th most important thing.

When I say slacking I pretty much mean it in universal sense, not individual interpretations. For me slacking is doing bare minimum you need to pass a class and not giving your 100%, just kinda giving just enough effort to make sure you don't fail (ie. studying only when absolutely required). Which is doable even in med school, but it just sets you up for having very limited options that you might regret doing that later on down the road. Finishing in the middle of the class is not slacking, that's decent. Again slacking would lead you to the bottom of the class in my interpretation.

Although you could have a very valid point in one sense, that you could be the best student in first 2 years and score avg on USMLE I which will shut many doors to you. On the other hand you could pull a rabbit out of the hat and score 240+ and be at the middle of the class and get into ortho or uro or whatever you are shooting for. However, someone who is a true slacker, is someone not who is finding a balance, but someone who is avoiding work as much as possible. And dont' give me slacker definitions of gunners who don't study 2 days before exam, that is not slacking. Also if you are finishing top quarter of class with "minimal" work, I wouldn't call that slacking either. I call that superior studying methods, superior memory, being a good test taker and a slew of other things. That is not a slacker that is an intelligent individual. Slacker is someone who is barely passing and putting in bear minimum to get him there. Then again keep in mind that students often exaggarate how much they study.

But I find it very hard that someone who was putting bare minimum over 2 years of basic science years, to magically kill boards. To do decent possible kill them highly unlikely. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Law2Doc]

For me slacking is doing bare minimum you need to pass a class and not giving your 100%, just kinda giving just enough effort to make sure you don't fail (ie. studying only when absolutely required). Which is doable even in med school,

Just bear in mind that this statement is very dependant on the person and the school. There are those who give it 100% and still somehow end up in the basement of the class rank. And there are schools where slacking, by your definition is more doable than others.

 

[tupac_don]

Just bear in mind that this statement is very dependant on the person and the school. There are those who give it 100% and still somehow end up in the basement of the class rank. And there are schools where slacking, by your definition is more doable than others.

Maybe, but someone who is giving 100% and not succeeding is not slacking, he/she is putting in the effort but results are lacking. I think my whole point was missed. I am just saying that person who is slacking, (can usually do better than they are, but they are just taking it easy, b/c they find it boring, want to do other things, or whatever the case may be). Someone who is putting in 100% and not doing well, that's unfortunate, but that's not laziness or slacking. I am just saying that if you adopt that attitude C=MD and do bare minimum to get through is that you are limiting your options, that's all. That's the jist of what I was trying to say.

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe, but someone who is giving 100% and not succeeding is not slacking, he/she is putting in the effort but results are lacking. I think my whole point was missed. I am just saying that person who is slacking, (can usually do better than they are, but they are just taking it easy, b/c they find it boring, want to do other things, or whatever the case may be). Someone who is putting in 100% and not doing well, that's unfortunate, but that's not laziness or slacking. I am just saying that if you adopt that attitude C=MD and do bare minimum to get through is that you are limiting your options, that's all. That's the jist of what I was trying to say.

I get that, but there are places where if you actually shoot for the minimum C, you have an awfully good chance of getting an F. Sort of like trying to land a helicopter on a moving truck. It can sometimes be done, but you are more likely to crash and burn. Better idea is to aim higher.

 

[bigfrank]

Law, Where are some of these schools that try and fail people?

 

[Law2Doc]

Law, Where are some of these schools that try and fail people?

I didn't say any schools try and fail people. They try to make you study hard -- if you don't, you risk failing.

 

[Arsenic]

Yeah, you can slack during medical school. It's called 4th year and I'm doing it right now. 😀

i cant wait until i'm an MS4 😀 😉