Define gunner

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SDNers are always talking about gunners...Now, I know what a gunner is, but I'm just curious as to how exactly you all would define a gunner and if you would like to share experiences you've had with them as well as advice on how to deal with them in med school as well as life in general. 😉

 

[Brainsucker]

The consensus definition of gunner is one who is doing better in school than the speaker.

 

[Med_Leviathan]

"A gunner, especially in medical schools and law schools, is a person who is competitive, overly-ambitious and substantially exceeds minimum requirements. A gunner will compromise his or her peer relationships in order to obtain recognition and praise from his or her instructors and superiors."

Thx wikipedia.

 

[Law2Doc]

"A gunner, especially in medical schools and law schools, is a person who is competitive, overly-ambitious and substantially exceeds minimum requirements. A gunner will compromise his or her peer relationships in order to obtain recognition and praise from his or her instructors and superiors."

Thx wikipedia.

Yes. The key is that a gunner is not merely someone who works hard and does well. A gunner takes it a step further and tries to better his position by undermining others.

 

[OSUdoc08]

SDNers are always talking about gunners...Now, I know what a gunner is, but I'm just curious as to how exactly you all would define a gunner and if you would like to share experiences you've had with them as well as advice on how to deal with them in med school as well as life in general. 😉

Gunner = Someone who steps on others' toes to climb their way to the top.

 

[mendel121]

Gunner = Someone who steps on others' toes to climb their way to the top.

Change toes to face, and we have a winner

 

[EmjayBeeDoc]

SDNers are always talking about gunners...Now, I know what a gunner is, but I'm just curious as to how exactly you all would define a gunner and if you would like to share experiences you've had with them as well as advice on how to deal with them in med school as well as life in general. 😉

A possible other definition: one who seeks to make him or herself feel better by making his or her peers feel bad.

 

[bigfrank]

The consensus definition of gunner is one who is doing better in school than the speaker.

This is the most common use of "gunner" in medical school.

 

[OSUdoc08]

This is the most common use of "gunner" in medical school.

I disagree. There are 2 types of people who are in the top of the class. There are those that help others by emailing out study guides and hints, and there are those that intentionally keep information from the rest of the class. The latter are gunners, and the former are not.

 

[Doc Oc]

How does the gunner "intentionally keep information from the rest of the class"? What information would they have that the others have no opportunity to obtain also?

Gunner = not too lazy to gather useful information but too lazy to distribute it?

People sitting around waiting for distribution of info from said gunner = what?

 

[OSUdoc08]

How does the gunner "intentionally keep information from the rest of the class"? What information would they have that the others have no opportunity to obtain also?

Gunner = not too lazy to gather useful information but too lazy to distribute it?

People sitting around waiting for distribution of info from said gunner = what?

At my school, people make up high-yield review sheets, and/or obtain test questions or good information from lecture or other sources. Non-gunners distribute this to the entire class.

 

[Doc Oc]

At my school, people make up high-yield review sheets, and/or obtain test questions or good information from lecture or other sources. Non-gunners distribute this to the entire class.

Information in lecture is not secret. Neither is the source that the gunner uses to make their review sheet.

Gunner = Someone who doesn't accomodate the lack of class attendance and/or review-sheet preparation of others?

Perhaps the gunner doesn't make review sheets. Maybe they write on the board or highlight in their books. Maybe they do make review sheets, but they are of the chicken scratch note variety that only the author can decipher. It's also possible that said gunner does not want to be inundated with post-test emails from classmates if the "high-yield material" never shows up on the exam, is incorrect, was missing important information, etc.

I understand the perception of a gunner as the "face-stepper" as referred to in other posts, but the gunner as the "non-sharer-of-personal-notes" is just plain silly.

 

[Doc Oc]

At my school, people make up high-yield review sheets, and/or obtain test questions or good information from lecture or other sources. Non-gunners distribute this to the entire class.

Information in lecture is not secret. Neither is the source that the gunner uses to make their review sheet.

Gunner = Someone who doesn't accomodate the lack of class attendance and/or review-sheet preparation of others?

Perhaps the gunner doesn't make review sheets. Maybe they write on the board or highlight in their books. Maybe they do make review sheets, but they are of the chicken scratch note variety that only the author can decipher. It's also possible that said gunner does not want to be inundated with post-test emails from classmates if the "high-yield material" never shows up on the exam, is incorrect, was missing important information, etc.

I understand the perception of a gunner as the "face-stepper" as referred to in other posts, but the gunner as the "non-sharer-of-personal-notes" is just plain silly.

 

[bigfrank]

I disagree. There are 2 types of people who are in the top of the class. There are those that help others by emailing out study guides and hints, and there are those that intentionally keep information from the rest of the class. The latter are gunners, and the former are not.

Of course you would disagree.

My point was made, correctly, that -- in medical school -- if a person succeeds they will, at some point, be labeled a "gunner."

I understand the denotation of the word.

I am saying, however, that the most common use of the word is thrown around by jealous, whiney classmates that aspire to make the top grade but rarely do.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Information in lecture is not secret. Neither is the source that the gunner uses to make their review sheet.

Gunner = Someone who doesn't accomodate the lack of class attendance and/or review-sheet preparation of others?

Perhaps the gunner doesn't make review sheets. Maybe they write on the board or highlight in their books. Maybe they do make review sheets, but they are of the chicken scratch note variety that only the author can decipher. It's also possible that said gunner does not want to be inundated with post-test emails from classmates if the "high-yield material" never shows up on the exam, is incorrect, was missing important information, etc.

I understand the perception of a gunner as the "face-stepper" as referred to in other posts, but the gunner as the "non-sharer-of-personal-notes" is just plain silly.

I don't recall being emailed typed notes in "chicken scratch."

I'm not sure why you are being so confrontational with me, unless you are in fact a gunner, yourself.

The high-yield material is what got me A's in my classes, by the way.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Of course you would disagree.

My point was made, correctly, that -- in medical school -- if a person succeeds they will, at some point, be labeled a "gunner."

I understand the denotation of the word.

I am saying, however, that the most common use of the word is thrown around by jealous, whiney classmates that aspire to make the top grade but rarely do.

Spoken like a true gunner.

👎

 

[Shades McCool]

Spoken like a true gunner.

👎

Whoa...am I a gunner because I make detailed online notecards from my scripts and don't email the link to them out? If so call me a gunner because I worked hard to make those notecards and I don't think I should cater to those who are lazy/poor planners. Man people now-a-days are so used to being spoon-fed that when someone works their ass off on their own and does better then they are suddenly a villain. Do you know how silly you sound?

 

[Doc Oc]

I don't recall being emailed typed notes in "chicken scratch."

I'm not sure why you are being so confrontational with me, unless you are in fact a gunner, yourself.

The high-yield material is what got me A's in my classes, by the way.

Relax, OSUdoc08. I just disagree with your notion of a gunner.

Of course you haven't been emailed typed notes in "chicken scratch", which is precisely my point. If the gunner hand-writes their study material, they can't email it to the whole class.

Emailed material can be useful if it actually contains the information that needs to be studied, is transposed accurately, and is arranged in a manner conducive to the receiver's learning style. Like I said, in my class, there were at least 20 "senders of information". Why does everyone have to add to the already abundant pool of information?

As bigfrank points out, the term "gunner" is applied frivolously in our environment. Your post seemed to say that a person who does well but doesn't email study materials to the whole class is a gunner. I disagree and decided to say so. I'm not sure how my difference of opinion led to your labeling me a confrontational gunner, but that's ok.

 

[mendel121]

Information in lecture is not secret. Neither is the source that the gunner uses to make their review sheet.

Gunner = Someone who doesn't accomodate the lack of class attendance and/or review-sheet preparation of others?

Perhaps the gunner doesn't make review sheets. Maybe they write on the board or highlight in their books. Maybe they do make review sheets, but they are of the chicken scratch note variety that only the author can decipher. It's also possible that said gunner does not want to be inundated with post-test emails from classmates if the "high-yield material" never shows up on the exam, is incorrect, was missing important information, etc.

I understand the perception of a gunner as the "face-stepper" as referred to in other posts, but the gunner as the "non-sharer-of-personal-notes" is just plain silly.

Wow, the gunners are feeling a little sensitive today.

I agree, there's no obligation to send out personally developed notes - however in the case where a study guide has been passed out by someone from a previous year, the gunner will keep that secret and not share it with anyone, purely to hurt others chances of doing well, and then just before the exam will start spreading the word, when it's already too late. Gunners are dirty, manipulative, and just plain scum, how's that for a definition?

 

[tupac_don]

Information in lecture is not secret. Neither is the source that the gunner uses to make their review sheet.

Gunner = Someone who doesn't accomodate the lack of class attendance and/or review-sheet preparation of others?

Perhaps the gunner doesn't make review sheets. Maybe they write on the board or highlight in their books. Maybe they do make review sheets, but they are of the chicken scratch note variety that only the author can decipher. It's also possible that said gunner does not want to be inundated with post-test emails from classmates if the "high-yield material" never shows up on the exam, is incorrect, was missing important information, etc.

I understand the perception of a gunner as the "face-stepper" as referred to in other posts, but the gunner as the "non-sharer-of-personal-notes" is just plain silly.

I think he wasnt' saying that gunner wouldn't share his personal stuff, but rather if they got a hold of a study sheet or some old tests they wouldn't share it with anyone. This is apparently in hope that this info will give them an edge over their classmates as they gun to be the youngest Chair of Surgery dept. at John hopkins.

 

[tupac_don]

Wow, the gunners are feeling a little sensitive today.

I agree, there's no obligation to send out personally developed notes - however in the case where a study guide has been passed out by someone from a previous year, the gunner will keep that secret and not share it with anyone, purely to hurt others chances of doing well, and then just before the exam will start spreading the word, when it's already too late. Gunners are dirty, manipulative, and just plain scum, how's that for a definition?

So what are you saying that gunners, don't bathe, maybe even roll around in the mud

 

[OSUdoc08]

I think he wasnt' saying that gunner wouldn't share his personal stuff, but rather if they got a hold of a study sheet or some old tests they wouldn't share it with anyone. This is apparently in hope that this info will give them an edge over their classmates as they gun to be the youngest Chair of Surgery dept. at John hopkins.

Thanks, that's exactly what I meant! 👍

 

[MirrorTodd]

Gunner: A soldier who mans a crew served weapon, e.g. .50 caliber machine gun, M240B machine gun, MK19 automatic grenade launcher, that is mounted on top of a military tactical vehicle, e.g. LMTV, 5-ton, HumVee. The job of said gunner is to provide 360 degree security for said vehicle and to provide suppressive fire towards an attacking enemy, e.g. cutting them in half with well-aimed automatic fire.
We have different names for the med. school type gunner in the military, eg. Blue falcon, Buddy F*ucker, etc. Sorry just trying to provide some sarcastic humor.

 

[Shades McCool]

This whole gunner thing is stupid. If someone does better than you because they work hard and study a lot and make guides that give them a competitive advantage, why should they give that up? Isn't competition something that makes us all better? Oh and don't give me some crap that really competitive people won't make good doctors because they don't have interpersonal skills. That is just another generalization put out there to make people feel better about being out-performed their first two years.

There are plenty of people who will whip you in class, workout or have hobbies that they are really involved, have significant others and be good with people. Basically they will be better than you at everything. Everyone has them in their classes. Get used to it and move past it and worry about doing what you need to do to be happy with yourself.

 

[Rafa]

We need to start a thread about snipers - the aces med students aspire to be.

 

[mendel121]

So what are you saying that gunners, don't bathe, maybe even roll around in the mud

If it would help them climb one spot up the class rankings, absolutely!

I've often thought of starting a gunner disinformation campaign to see what ridiculous things I can get the gunners to do in order to make the grade.

 

[OSUdoc08]

This whole gunner thing is stupid. If someone does better than you because they work hard and study a lot and make guides that give them a competitive advantage, why should they give that up? Isn't competition something that makes us all better? Oh and don't give me some crap that really competitive people won't make good doctors because they don't have interpersonal skills. That is just another generalization put out there to make people feel better about being out-performed their first two years.

There are plenty of people who will whip you in class, workout or have hobbies that they are really involved, have significant others and be good with people. Basically they will be better than you at everything. Everyone has them in their classes. Get used to it and move past it and worry about doing what you need to do to be happy with yourself.

Gunner,

The key for your class should be that EVERYONE does well in classes, EVERYONE does well on boards, and EVERYONE gets the competitive residency of their choice.

It should not be that YOU do better than EVERYONE ELSE and that they ALL do as poorly as possible.

👎

P.S. The reason I love my school is that just about everyone helps each other out. I turned down another school because these people were ALL gunners.

 

[Shades McCool]

Gunner,

The key for your class should be that EVERYONE does well in classes, EVERYONE does well on boards, and EVERYONE gets the competitive residency of their choice.

It should not be that YOU do better than EVERYONE ELSE and that they ALL do as poorly as possible.

👎

P.S. The reason I love my school is that just about everyone helps each other out. I turned down another school because these people were ALL gunners.

If we are all working to be as good or better than the next guy, won't we all be better?

 

[Shades McCool]

Should Dirk give out his off-season workout plan so the rest of the NBA will be better? Maybe the rest of the NBA will be better when they all start training to be as good as players like Dirk.

 

[OSUdoc08]

If we are all working to be as good or better than the next guy, won't we all be better?

Not if you knock the guy down to the ground unconscious on your way to the front of the line.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Should Dirk give out his off-season workout plan so the rest of the NBA will be better? Maybe the rest of the NBA will be better when they all start training to be as good as players like Dirk.

It's not all about Dirk. He has a supporting cast, a deep bench, and the NBA's coach of the year.

Dirk is not a gunner. He is a team player.

On the other hand, the most famous gunner in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, is sitting at home watching the playoffs this year.

 

[Shades McCool]

Not if you knock the guy down to the ground unconscious on your way to the front of the line.

Where was that implied? Just because I made a guide and didn't give it out doesn't mean I have done anyone harm.

 

[Shades McCool]

It's not all about Dirk. He has a supporting cast, a deep bench, and the NBA's coach of the year.

Dirk is not a gunner. He is a team player.

On the other hand, the most famous gunner in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, is sitting at home watching the playoffs this year.

Dude you are missing the forest through the trees. Read the post again. I asked if he should gove his training routine out to the rest of the NBA. The point is that when people try to improve themselves by trying to be as good as the next guy, they improve. No foul play is implied.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Where was that implied? Just because I made a guide and didn't give it out doesn't mean I have done anyone harm.

You obviously didn't understand my post.

It's not about "not giving out a study guide."

It's about intentionally preventing the rest of the class access to beneficial information in hopes that they will have a poor performance on exams, leading to you looking better and everyone else looking worse.

This is what a gunner is.

Don't argue with me if you don't even understand what I am talking about.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Dude you are missing the forest through the trees. Read the post again. I asked if he should gove his training routine out to the rest of the NBA. The point is that when people try to improve themselves by trying to be as good as the next guy, they improve. No foul play is implied.

Yes, but a gunner would have given out the wrong training routine with the hopes that everyone else would have become worse.

 

[Chronic Student]

Wow, I think we hit a nerve.

I will venture a guess and say that someone has been called a 'gunner' before.

That sort of sensitivity usually denotes a degree of guilt and guilt is usually the product of knowingly doing something wrong.

This is just my opinion, yours may differ.

It is also my opinion that in order to qualify as a true 'gunner' you don't abide by the golden rule. These people get very angry when other gunners withold information but, would do the same thing themselves, if given 1/2 a chance.

-Mike

 

[Doc Oc]

So, in answer to the OP, "gunner" is a broad term whose definition is largely based on opinion. There are many different types of gunners:

1) The Stinky Gunner: One who clears the row when raising their hand to "ask a question", translation, to waste everyone else's time in class by saying something irrelevant in hopes of sounding profound.

2) The Little Sibling Gunner: One who has access to information/old tests, etc. via an association with an upperclassman and keeps denies access to others.

3) The Price-Waterhouse Gunner: One who likes to mention their test scores and grades, and inquire about yours, whether relevant to the subject at hand or not.

4) The "What did you put for #7" Gunner: One who seeks to create post-test self-esteem deflation among their classmates

5) The Pseudo-Gunner: One who talks loudly about how well they are doing and belittles others when really they are not even in the top of the class.

6) The "I'm not a gunner" Gunner: One who talks loudly about how little they are studying, how they didn't buy any books, go to any classes, etc. and they still got honors...

7) The Mother Theresa Gunner: One who is in every club, volunteers for every activity, is a mentor for children in the area, etc. and disparages their classmates for "claiming to not have the time" to engage in these activities as well.

8) The Country Club Gunner: This is one of a group of gunners who hang out and only share their information amongst eachother. Members of this group also tend to hog a particular study room, area in the library, etc. and claim it as "theirs", and will not only ask you to leave if you are there first, but seem to expect you to do so.

9) The OMM Gunner: One who pretends to feel what they are supposed to be feeling when the instructor is around, when a discussion about how neither one can feel anything just took place between said gunner and gunner's partner two seconds ago.

10) The Anatomy gunner: One who steals probes and the good forceps. You know who you are.

 

[bigfrank]

Spoken like a true gunner.

👎

Spoken like a true inferiority complex.

🙂

 

[OSUdoc08]

Spoken like a true inferiority complex.

🙂

Don't worry. I know who is inferior on this board. 😉

 

[bigfrank]

Don't worry. I know who is inferior on this board. 😉

I D.O. too.

🙂

 

[OSUdoc08]

So, in answer to the OP, "gunner" is a broad term whose definition is largely based on opinion. There are many different types of gunners:

1) The Stinky Gunner: One who clears the row when raising their hand to "ask a question", translation, to waste everyone else's time in class by saying something irrelevant in hopes of sounding profound.

2) The Little Sibling Gunner: One who has access to information/old tests, etc. via an association with an upperclassman and keeps denies access to others.

3) The Price-Waterhouse Gunner: One who likes to mention their test scores and grades, and inquire about yours, whether relevant to the subject at hand or not.

4) The "What did you put for #7" Gunner: One who seeks to create post-test self-esteem deflation among their classmates

5) The Pseudo-Gunner: One who talks loudly about how well they are doing and belittles others when really they are not even in the top of the class.

6) The "I'm not a gunner" Gunner: One who talks loudly about how little they are studying, how they didn't buy any books, go to any classes, etc. and they still got honors...

7) The Mother Theresa Gunner: One who is in every club, volunteers for every activity, is a mentor for children in the area, etc. and disparages their classmates for "claiming to not have the time" to engage in these activities as well.

8) The Country Club Gunner: This is one of a group of gunners who hang out and only share their information amongst eachother. Members of this group also tend to hog a particular study room, area in the library, etc. and claim it as "theirs", and will not only ask you to leave if you are there first, but seem to expect you to do so.

9) The OMM Gunner: One who pretends to feel what they are supposed to be feeling when the instructor is around, when a discussion about how neither one can feel anything just took place between said gunner and gunner's partner two seconds ago.

10) The Anatomy gunner: One who steals probes and the good forceps. You know who you are.

This is probably the best post I've seen in a while. You should have this published and disributed to all medical students.

I'm #6, if you haven't figured it out already.

 

[sga814]

gunner = future dermatologist

 

[OSUdoc08]

gunner = future dermatologist

dermatologist = pimple popper MD

Would you pop pimples all day for lots of money?

I prefer to choose my specialty based on what I would find enjoyable.

 

[NonTradMed]

As the above poster mentioned, there are several types of gunners. Typically, they try to bring themselves up by putting everyone else down.

They may be obnoxious people who waste everyone's time to asking questions in class so as to suck up to the professor, or they may people who hog scarce resources such as books on loan in the library, or even be malicious cheat/lie/steal to get ahead.

I consider a gunner who gets ahead at the expense of others. I think if someone don't share their notes or be active in helping others get notes or old exams, that doesn't mean they are gunners. Gunners are not merely indifferent to their classmates, they actively try to sabotage others, either through psychological warfare ("I didn't study AT ALL and go the top score") or outright theft (such as stealing notes).

 

[L8DYV]

So, in answer to the OP, "gunner" is a broad term whose definition is largely based on opinion. There are many different types of gunners:

1) The Stinky Gunner: One who clears the row when raising their hand to "ask a question", translation, to waste everyone else's time in class by saying something irrelevant in hopes of sounding profound.

2) The Little Sibling Gunner: One who has access to information/old tests, etc. via an association with an upperclassman and keeps denies access to others.

3) The Price-Waterhouse Gunner: One who likes to mention their test scores and grades, and inquire about yours, whether relevant to the subject at hand or not.

4) The "What did you put for #7" Gunner: One who seeks to create post-test self-esteem deflation among their classmates

5) The Pseudo-Gunner: One who talks loudly about how well they are doing and belittles others when really they are not even in the top of the class.

6) The "I'm not a gunner" Gunner: One who talks loudly about how little they are studying, how they didn't buy any books, go to any classes, etc. and they still got honors...

7) The Mother Theresa Gunner: One who is in every club, volunteers for every activity, is a mentor for children in the area, etc. and disparages their classmates for "claiming to not have the time" to engage in these activities as well.

8) The Country Club Gunner: This is one of a group of gunners who hang out and only share their information amongst eachother. Members of this group also tend to hog a particular study room, area in the library, etc. and claim it as "theirs", and will not only ask you to leave if you are there first, but seem to expect you to do so.

9) The OMM Gunner: One who pretends to feel what they are supposed to be feeling when the instructor is around, when a discussion about how neither one can feel anything just took place between said gunner and gunner's partner two seconds ago.

10) The Anatomy gunner: One who steals probes and the good forceps. You know who you are.

Ha!

 

[tupac_don]

I D.O. too.

🙂

\

 

[qr321]

It's not all about Dirk. He has a supporting cast, a deep bench, and the NBA's coach of the year.

Dirk is not a gunner. He is a team player.

On the other hand, the most famous gunner in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, is sitting at home watching the playoffs this year.

That "famous gunner" also has 3 titles and is the best player in the league.

 

[wtwei02]

dermatologist = pimple popper MD

Would you pop pimples all day for lots of money?

wow, that's pretty naive. Maybe you should actually do a derm rotation before you start bashing other fields. Anyone can make generalizations about specialties based on stereotypes which are inaccurate and offensive...try not to be that guy.

I prefer to choose my specialty based on what I would find enjoyable.

Want a cookie?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

So, in answer to the OP, "gunner" is a broad term whose definition is largely based on opinion. There are many different types of gunners:

1) The Stinky Gunner: One who clears the row when raising their hand to "ask a question", translation, to waste everyone else's time in class by saying something irrelevant in hopes of sounding profound.

2) The Little Sibling Gunner: One who has access to information/old tests, etc. via an association with an upperclassman and keeps denies access to others.

3) The Price-Waterhouse Gunner: One who likes to mention their test scores and grades, and inquire about yours, whether relevant to the subject at hand or not.

4) The "What did you put for #7" Gunner: One who seeks to create post-test self-esteem deflation among their classmates

5) The Pseudo-Gunner: One who talks loudly about how well they are doing and belittles others when really they are not even in the top of the class.

6) The "I'm not a gunner" Gunner: One who talks loudly about how little they are studying, how they didn't buy any books, go to any classes, etc. and they still got honors...

7) The Mother Theresa Gunner: One who is in every club, volunteers for every activity, is a mentor for children in the area, etc. and disparages their classmates for "claiming to not have the time" to engage in these activities as well.

8) The Country Club Gunner: This is one of a group of gunners who hang out and only share their information amongst eachother. Members of this group also tend to hog a particular study room, area in the library, etc. and claim it as "theirs", and will not only ask you to leave if you are there first, but seem to expect you to do so.

9) The OMM Gunner: One who pretends to feel what they are supposed to be feeling when the instructor is around, when a discussion about how neither one can feel anything just took place between said gunner and gunner's partner two seconds ago.

10) The Anatomy gunner: One who steals probes and the good forceps. You know who you are.

None of those really fit me......

But I am considering derm.....

 

[Law2Doc]

They may be obnoxious people who waste everyone's time to asking questions in class so as to suck up to the professor, or they may people who hog scarce resources such as books on loan in the library, or even be malicious cheat/lie/steal to get ahead.

I consider a gunner who gets ahead at the expense of others. I think if someone don't share their notes or be active in helping others get notes or old exams, that doesn't mean they are gunners. Gunners are not merely indifferent to their classmates, they actively try to sabotage others, either through psychological warfare ("I didn't study AT ALL and go the top score") or outright theft (such as stealing notes).

Agree with this. A gunner is not merely someone who doesn't share their own resources. In law, the classic example of a gunner was someone who would run to the library immediately after a research assignment was given, find and read the applicable cases, and then hide the books (or worse rip the pages out of the books) so no one else could do the assignment adequately. Similarly in med school if someone shared resources for distribution via a computer, a true gunner would find a way to delete the files after their own use, or better yet alter those files to provide false info. A gunner might remove some nerves or vasculature on a prosected cadaver, after learning the structures, so that no one else could. Or a gunner might happilly create and distribute resources that focused on non-essential things, or incorrect information in hopes to mislead others. Gunners will also find a way to heckle and embarrass students doing presentations, either by asking extremely complex questions, or chiming in with anything the presenter failed to mention as a "huge oversight".
As others have noted, the term gunner is used frequently and inappropriately. But if you want the true definition it is someone who takes an unethical step beyond just studying hard. It is a cancer of every professional school.