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coldfeet?
- Thread starter nmbutah
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It's natural to get scared at new big things in life...
That being said, you are going to get extremely burnt out in the first couple years, and frequently question why you're doing this. If you aren't very very sure going in, these times may end up being pretty tough to get through.
That being said, you are going to get extremely burnt out in the first couple years, and frequently question why you're doing this. If you aren't very very sure going in, these times may end up being pretty tough to get through.
One thing to keep in mind is that we all exaggerate. I'm in med school now and I do not study all day every day. Certainly more than in undergrad, but I still have time for my hobbies. If you keep yourself on a good schedule and don't waste your time doing things you don't need to be doing, then you'll be able to find time for the things you love to do.
I think it's natural to get cold feet for anything THIS huge, but that doesn't mean you should ignore your feelings, either. I see you've already been accepted to a bunch of schools...if you don't go now, you probably won't get in again, so this is really it for you. Maybe you could try to come up with a good reason and defer admission for a year? See how you enjoy a gap year and if you still feel the same way by the end?
I did take a gap year, and it has been one of the best of my life. But I also spent my life savings, I'm not sure how fun it would have been working full time and not globe trotting. If I'm going to do this I'm pretty sure now is as good a time as any, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it.
ThaliaNox I'm not so worried about the first two years since you can control your schedule, the clinical years seem rough though, but I'm sure its survivable.
alvarez, I'm not sure what kind of residency you want to do, but it seems like many are borderline reasonable. psych, fam, rural, public health, peds looks strenuous but doable.
is it possible to coast through med school at all? I'm looking to do more general medicine, I definitely want to work hard and not be bottom of my class, its no fun to do a job poorly. but if you aren't aiming for a competitive residency can you kick your feet up a bit?
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👍 I agree. Highly important to have things outside of medical school, and to make them a decently high priority. My fear (or "cold feet" as you say), led me to make school my life my first semester. Please don't follow in my footsteps! 😛
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Its completely normal to have these feelings embarking on such a rigorous training program. For the majority of medschool you will be able to make time for things that are important. You will definitely miss events and have to stay in and study or be on call when there's something you otherwise would be doing. But thats a reality of adult life in general I think.
I'm in my third year but on an easier rotation, I'm one week out from the final exam and I went out to see a musical and have dinner with friends last night. On tuesday my husband and I will have a dinner date for our anniversary. In return I'll work really hard the next two days to make up for two nights off so close to at test, and I worked more steadily early in the block to make sure I could do these things when they came up. I made it to a wedding during my surgery rotation which was the most intense rotation all year. I even stayed out late when the saints won the superbowl, my trauma call the next day hurt but it was doable. Alot of this is learning time management which will be a major challenge during your first year.
Its also important to remember that there are options coming out of medical school that don't require a lifetime of 80 hour workweeks. You aren't committing to a surgeons lifestyle for life at all by coming to medschool. There will be some challenging time to get to the MD but this isn't a life sentence to a certain lifstyle. I have classmates choosing pathology, radiology, anesthesiology, emergency and psychiatry for this very reason.
I'm in my third year but on an easier rotation, I'm one week out from the final exam and I went out to see a musical and have dinner with friends last night. On tuesday my husband and I will have a dinner date for our anniversary. In return I'll work really hard the next two days to make up for two nights off so close to at test, and I worked more steadily early in the block to make sure I could do these things when they came up. I made it to a wedding during my surgery rotation which was the most intense rotation all year. I even stayed out late when the saints won the superbowl, my trauma call the next day hurt but it was doable. Alot of this is learning time management which will be a major challenge during your first year.
Its also important to remember that there are options coming out of medical school that don't require a lifetime of 80 hour workweeks. You aren't committing to a surgeons lifestyle for life at all by coming to medschool. There will be some challenging time to get to the MD but this isn't a life sentence to a certain lifstyle. I have classmates choosing pathology, radiology, anesthesiology, emergency and psychiatry for this very reason.