Hello everyone,
Derek Sampson here. Ya know, in my daily travels, not only am I fortunate enough to be still in communication with some of my old classmates, but I have also been fortunate to swap stories with others who took the foreign med school route, albeit to other schools. One topic that we ALL have been able to find common ground on (as well as share a good laugh), is the common types of people one encounters/interacts with during their 4 years in medical school.
Recent conversations have compelled me to compile a list of the common caricatures found in an offshore school. Here is my list with commentary. PLEASE chime in and let me know if you encountered these same caricatures while in med school.
1) The rich doctors kid ? EVERY class has them. Somehow, they felt as if they have an automatic ?in? and connection to residency afterward, and thus don?t feel the need to bust their tail as hard. They never hesitate to brag about their connections, and tend to flaunt their money around
2) The problem magnet ? This individual just seems to NEVER have their life in order. There is ALWAYS some problem/drama going on in their life, and they seem to always want to drag others in.
3) The Rumor-mill ? This individual is ALWAYS the flashpoint of every rumor that gets spread throughout the student population, true or not, verified or not. In fact, this type of person has no respect for the truth, and seems to thrive on the social and emotional chaos generated by such rumors (?tuition is going up; we are only accepted in 5 states; no more loans after next semester; congress is passing a new law blah blah blah etc, etc, etc.)
4) The Money Mooch ? This person NEVER seems to have money in their pocket, and is ALWAYS borrowing/mooching off others. Their money is always ?on its way?, and people NEVER get paid back. Many of these folks tend to disappear mid-semester, never to be seen again.
5) The Older (but NOT necessarily wiser) Student ? This is about a CERTAIN type of older student (usually mid/late 40?s/early 50?s), they type that is always lecturing to other people on how they should do things. They are always bragging about their prior accomplishments before medschool, and are always acting as if they have the solution to everything. The quirk is that when it comes to school performance as well as USMLE performance, it never matches all the trash they talk, and they DON?T seem to do as well.
6) The Supermom ? These folks were always cool. Usually a mother in her early/mid 40?s who has raised some kids and are going after a second career. The ones I have seen have been pretty level headed and hard working. There ARE, however, exceptions.
7) The Wannabe Businessman ? this person always has some financial scheme brewing. Every month, he is trying out some business venture to make money while in medschool. Some of these ventures have I have PERSONALLY SEEN include: trying to start up their own medical lab, starting their own nightclub, importing medical supplies and trying to sell it to the local docs, one even has his own hotdog/hamburger stand).
8) The Nervous Tweak - This person is the XANAX poster child. Always on edge, always nervous with paranoid features. They tend to have some problem magnet characteristics as well. They are never happy, and NOTHING satisfies them.
9) The School Hopper ? This person seems to be always transferring from school to school, and is NEVER happy in 1 place. He/she ALWAYS finds 1000 faults with where he/she is at and is always looking to transfer to a school that he/she perceives as better, and when they do transfer, they are STILL not happy.
10) The Bookstore ? I?m sure we can ALL think of that of one individual who had EVERY textbook on the planet to the point that he/she could open up his/her own bookstore. Those folks are not necessarily better students, but they get some psychological comfort from having a ?Noa?s Ark? of textbooks ? 2 of each kind.
11) The Religious fundamentalist ? this applies to both Christians and Muslims. I?ve seen extremists at on both sides. All they know is how to do is get all up in EVERYBODY ELSE?s business, especially if you are from the same religious/cultural group. I have had folks call up a certain female classmate?s PARENTS to tell them that she is dating someone (she is a muslim)
12) The Academically Achieving Pothead ? I could NEVER figure this type out. I personally knew of folks in medschool who smoked weed by the ACRE, and for some STRANGE reason, did WELL on exams, and some even ROCKED the boards with scores of 85+ (THAT blew my mind). I am anti-drug and never touched that stuff my whole life, but it always puzzled me how these folks managed to get by. Not all did, though.
13) The Surfer Boy ? Duuuuuude, these folks share some characteristics with the pothead in category # 12, but they are usually average students, VERY easy-going, great to get along with, with surfboard in tow.
14) The Medical Missionary - Forget about books and studying, I wanna play doctor NOW!! These folks from the moment they land, try to play doctor to the local population. From an academic point of view, they don?t tend to do very well, because all their attention is focused on playing doctor to the locals.
15) The Inferiority complex ? These folks ALWAYS feel that their education, and the country that there are in is inferior to the US, and carry around this complex in their head. They are NEVER happy, and no matter what school they may transfer to if they do, they are not happy there either. These folks just need to BUY A TICKET and go the hell back to the US and apply to a US school so they can finally shut up.
16) The Loverboy ? this person has a PhD in ?pimpology?, a TOTAL ladies man, the MACK-DADDY, the Ayatollah-Ho-Controllah, you catch my drift. Ladies are ALWAYS after him. As long as his focus is on straight, he will do well, otherwise, all thjs attention usually winds up distracts him and hurts his studies.
17) The ?OLD EXAM? Insider ? this person is always scheming to get the old tests. These types don?t study much, and rely on old tests to get by. The quirk is that many DO get by, however, when the day of JUDGEMENT (USMLE) arrives, he/she CAN?T wiggle hi/her way out of that one.
18) The walking DSM-IV ? This person needs to be under psych care and/or meds. Usually untreated borderline personality disorder or schizophrenia or some other psychotic illness. These folks are walking Psychiatric TIMEBOMBS. They will lie THRU THEIR TEETH at the blink of an eye and have NO REMORSE about it. BEWARE of these folks.
19) The GUNNER ? these folks are hard core academic gunners, and are hot happy unless they are at the TOP percentile at every exam. These folks always want to know what other people got, and even though they got the top grade on the test, they are not completely satisfied ?DAMN, 3 more questions, and I could have had 100%?
That?s all I can think of now. I?m sure that there are more caricatures that people can think up form their experiences. Please add to this thread with your input.
How many of y?all on this board feel that you knew/encountered someone in medschool that fit into one of the above categories. Share your experiences.
PEACE!!!
-Derek Sampson, MD
Derek Sampson here. Ya know, in my daily travels, not only am I fortunate enough to be still in communication with some of my old classmates, but I have also been fortunate to swap stories with others who took the foreign med school route, albeit to other schools. One topic that we ALL have been able to find common ground on (as well as share a good laugh), is the common types of people one encounters/interacts with during their 4 years in medical school.
Recent conversations have compelled me to compile a list of the common caricatures found in an offshore school. Here is my list with commentary. PLEASE chime in and let me know if you encountered these same caricatures while in med school.
1) The rich doctors kid ? EVERY class has them. Somehow, they felt as if they have an automatic ?in? and connection to residency afterward, and thus don?t feel the need to bust their tail as hard. They never hesitate to brag about their connections, and tend to flaunt their money around
2) The problem magnet ? This individual just seems to NEVER have their life in order. There is ALWAYS some problem/drama going on in their life, and they seem to always want to drag others in.
3) The Rumor-mill ? This individual is ALWAYS the flashpoint of every rumor that gets spread throughout the student population, true or not, verified or not. In fact, this type of person has no respect for the truth, and seems to thrive on the social and emotional chaos generated by such rumors (?tuition is going up; we are only accepted in 5 states; no more loans after next semester; congress is passing a new law blah blah blah etc, etc, etc.)
4) The Money Mooch ? This person NEVER seems to have money in their pocket, and is ALWAYS borrowing/mooching off others. Their money is always ?on its way?, and people NEVER get paid back. Many of these folks tend to disappear mid-semester, never to be seen again.
5) The Older (but NOT necessarily wiser) Student ? This is about a CERTAIN type of older student (usually mid/late 40?s/early 50?s), they type that is always lecturing to other people on how they should do things. They are always bragging about their prior accomplishments before medschool, and are always acting as if they have the solution to everything. The quirk is that when it comes to school performance as well as USMLE performance, it never matches all the trash they talk, and they DON?T seem to do as well.
6) The Supermom ? These folks were always cool. Usually a mother in her early/mid 40?s who has raised some kids and are going after a second career. The ones I have seen have been pretty level headed and hard working. There ARE, however, exceptions.
7) The Wannabe Businessman ? this person always has some financial scheme brewing. Every month, he is trying out some business venture to make money while in medschool. Some of these ventures have I have PERSONALLY SEEN include: trying to start up their own medical lab, starting their own nightclub, importing medical supplies and trying to sell it to the local docs, one even has his own hotdog/hamburger stand).
8) The Nervous Tweak - This person is the XANAX poster child. Always on edge, always nervous with paranoid features. They tend to have some problem magnet characteristics as well. They are never happy, and NOTHING satisfies them.
9) The School Hopper ? This person seems to be always transferring from school to school, and is NEVER happy in 1 place. He/she ALWAYS finds 1000 faults with where he/she is at and is always looking to transfer to a school that he/she perceives as better, and when they do transfer, they are STILL not happy.
10) The Bookstore ? I?m sure we can ALL think of that of one individual who had EVERY textbook on the planet to the point that he/she could open up his/her own bookstore. Those folks are not necessarily better students, but they get some psychological comfort from having a ?Noa?s Ark? of textbooks ? 2 of each kind.
11) The Religious fundamentalist ? this applies to both Christians and Muslims. I?ve seen extremists at on both sides. All they know is how to do is get all up in EVERYBODY ELSE?s business, especially if you are from the same religious/cultural group. I have had folks call up a certain female classmate?s PARENTS to tell them that she is dating someone (she is a muslim)
12) The Academically Achieving Pothead ? I could NEVER figure this type out. I personally knew of folks in medschool who smoked weed by the ACRE, and for some STRANGE reason, did WELL on exams, and some even ROCKED the boards with scores of 85+ (THAT blew my mind). I am anti-drug and never touched that stuff my whole life, but it always puzzled me how these folks managed to get by. Not all did, though.
13) The Surfer Boy ? Duuuuuude, these folks share some characteristics with the pothead in category # 12, but they are usually average students, VERY easy-going, great to get along with, with surfboard in tow.
14) The Medical Missionary - Forget about books and studying, I wanna play doctor NOW!! These folks from the moment they land, try to play doctor to the local population. From an academic point of view, they don?t tend to do very well, because all their attention is focused on playing doctor to the locals.
15) The Inferiority complex ? These folks ALWAYS feel that their education, and the country that there are in is inferior to the US, and carry around this complex in their head. They are NEVER happy, and no matter what school they may transfer to if they do, they are not happy there either. These folks just need to BUY A TICKET and go the hell back to the US and apply to a US school so they can finally shut up.
16) The Loverboy ? this person has a PhD in ?pimpology?, a TOTAL ladies man, the MACK-DADDY, the Ayatollah-Ho-Controllah, you catch my drift. Ladies are ALWAYS after him. As long as his focus is on straight, he will do well, otherwise, all thjs attention usually winds up distracts him and hurts his studies.
17) The ?OLD EXAM? Insider ? this person is always scheming to get the old tests. These types don?t study much, and rely on old tests to get by. The quirk is that many DO get by, however, when the day of JUDGEMENT (USMLE) arrives, he/she CAN?T wiggle hi/her way out of that one.
18) The walking DSM-IV ? This person needs to be under psych care and/or meds. Usually untreated borderline personality disorder or schizophrenia or some other psychotic illness. These folks are walking Psychiatric TIMEBOMBS. They will lie THRU THEIR TEETH at the blink of an eye and have NO REMORSE about it. BEWARE of these folks.
19) The GUNNER ? these folks are hard core academic gunners, and are hot happy unless they are at the TOP percentile at every exam. These folks always want to know what other people got, and even though they got the top grade on the test, they are not completely satisfied ?DAMN, 3 more questions, and I could have had 100%?
That?s all I can think of now. I?m sure that there are more caricatures that people can think up form their experiences. Please add to this thread with your input.
How many of y?all on this board feel that you knew/encountered someone in medschool that fit into one of the above categories. Share your experiences.
PEACE!!!
-Derek Sampson, MD
Any others want to make admissions? 
