Difficulty of med school??

[golfmontpoker]

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Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

 

[Dr. Weebs]

Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

I recommend reading through the medical student blogs on this site. You will see that your friend is either:

a.) Way smarter than the average med student
or
b.) Exaggerating so that he can look way smarter than the average med student.

I have heard many med students say that their fellow classmates seem to downplay their studying. It is like they dont want to have to admit that theyre working their tail off just to stay afloat. Probably, because most of them were "stars" in undergrad, and now they're just average in medical school (Something I'm actually looking forward to!).

From all of the med students I've talked to, and all of the blogs I've read, I would say that your friend's statement generally is untrue. It may be true for him, but most med students seem to need to put in huge amounts of hours to pass, or give up their entire life to get honors.

 

[skypilot]

The material is far easier to understand than say your undergrad Physics class.

But try to memorize every muscle and nerve in the body and you'll understand the the kind of brain pain that Med school causes. 🙂

 

[OSUdoc08]

Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

Your friend is both accurate and precise.

 

[JohnnyOU]

Everyone I have spoken with says the complexity of the subject matter is comparable to normal upper-division science classes. The difference is in quantity of material to learn & memorize. They say it is roughly the same as taking 26 credit hours of upper-div science all at the same time. <---That's a lot imo.

Anyone who says it is easy is either a genius or an insecure person who wants people to think he's a genius IMO. 😀

 

[angel80]

It's not hard material to grasp. It's nothing compared to physics, calculus, analytical chemistry, ect. What makes it difficult is the sheer volume of the material, and how quickly it needs to be memorized. In med school, we finished the entire Immunology course in two weeks. My cousin, who was an undergrad at the time, was using the same book for her Immunology course, except she had an entire semester to learn it. On top of that, when I was talking to her, it turned out that we had to know it in much more detail than she did. For my first test in med school, I remember thinking that the exam covered more material than most of my cumulative finals in undergrad.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

I guess that's not hugely untrue, but it's certainly risky to have that attitude, you never know when it's going to backfire.

I think also many med students sort of reset to where they think putting in several hours/day is "normal." I just finished M2 and I can tell you if I had done a year like that during undergrad I would've opened my veins. Despite all the talk, your social life suffers, and your interpersonal relationships suffer because you are just putting in the "normal" amount of time.

Has your friend taken Step1? It does not reward the "I'm just going to slide through" type of med student...

 

[Law2Doc]

Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

Several people try to squeak by each year in every class doing the minimum and fail. As such, a lot of med schools offer make-up courses and tests each summer. You don't see that occurring at a lot of other graduate level programs.

 

[chintu]

You will not understand the reality of medschool until you get to it and ppl could tell you all kind of stories. First semester of medschool was the toughest time of my life by far, a HUGE adjustment in learning habits and despite putting in all my energy I forgot almost everything by the end of the year. I think its true to some degree that you can get by w/ relatively less effort (that still means 4-5 hours/day or more of studying on your own) if you just want to pass. You will quickly realize as you enter medschool that hardly anyone is content w/ a passing grade. everyone wants a better grade all the time. And whoever said about med students downplaying their study time is absolutely correct... Many of my classmates just flat out lie or at least pretend to not study and claim to be having a lot of fun, yet I know they are studying their tail off in their own time.

 

[Pewl]

Heh, I bet their downplaying of their studying time is to throw off other students. It's a trick! Trying to make others think you aren't working hard so that others will relax and you will do better than them.

Deceptive. =P

Heh.

 

[SoCuteMD]

Heh, I bet their downplaying of their studying time is to throw off other students. It's a trick! Trying to make others think you aren't working hard so that others will relax and you will do better than them.

Deceptive. =P

Heh.

There are really people in my class who do that!!

 

[Brickhouse]

To me, working the mindless 9-5 gig I had before starting med school was far worse than investing time into something that I am passionate about, even if it is a hell of a lot of work. Is it not generally accepted that anything worth doing is going to take some effort, and your returns are directly proportional to what you invest?

My class doesn't downplay their study time. Why play bs games like that?

 

[LJDHC05]

To me, working the mindless 9-5 gig I had before starting med school was far worse than investing time into something that I am passionate about, even if it is a hell of a lot of work. Is it not generally accepted that anything worth doing is going to take some effort, and your returns are directly proportional to what you invest?

My class doesn't downplay their study time. Why play bs games like that?

No kidding...this 9-5 stuff sucks. I kind of feel like my soul is slowly being sucked out by mundane bench work that I don't really care very much about anymore. I'm stuck somewhere between Office Space and Groundhog day: I don't care any more and I feel more like I'm living the same week over and over and over. It'll be nice to exercize the brain again with the fire hydrant of knowledge in 7 merciful weeks...

 

[Brickhouse]

No kidding...this 9-5 stuff sucks. I kind of feel like my soul is slowly being sucked out by mundane bench work that I don't really care very much about anymore. I'm stuck somewhere between Office Space and Groundhog day: I don't care any more and I feel more like I'm living the same week over and over and over. It'll be nice to exercize the brain again with the fire hydrant of knowledge in 7 merciful weeks...

You're starting first year? Where at.

Groundhog Day - nice. 👍

 

[LJDHC05]

You're starting first year? Where at.

Groundhog Day - nice. 👍

Yep, NYMC...I'm somewhere between terrified that I dont remember how to learn and excited about going 250k in debt. I cant wait to break out my my matching thundercats lunchbox and thermos...I hope I dont get picked last for kickball in gym

 

[newdude]

hey

i'm starting school in i guess about 2 months

can you tell me how many hours a day you put in.

also, i realize the answer to this question is "it depends on how you retain stuff" but How many hours of day do you study to get A or honors. what about weekends.


if nothing else, can you at least tell me what your daily and weekly schedule is like in terms of going to classes and studying.

 

[Brickhouse]

Yep, NYMC...I'm somewhere between terrified that I dont remember how to learn and excited about going 250k in debt. I cant wait to break out my my matching thundercats lunchbox and thermos...I hope I dont get picked last for kickball in gym

You're awesome, you're gonna have a ball. It takes a little getting used to but you'll soon hit your stride!

 

[Brickhouse]

hey

i'm starting school in i guess about 2 months

can you tell me how many hours a day you put in.

also, i realize the answer to this question is "it depends on how you retain stuff" but How many hours of day do you study to get A or honors. what about weekends.


if nothing else, can you at least tell me what your daily and weekly schedule is like in terms of going to classes and studying.

I have no idea, I never honored or got a single A. I think I put in at least 2 hours a day average, if tests are coming up I'd put in more. But sometimes I'd study not at all on the weekdays and then do mad 8 hour days on weekends. Sometimes it's hard to study after an 8 hour day in lectures. You'll be great, don't kill yourself if you don't get straight A's.

 

[LJDHC05]

You're awesome, you're gonna have a ball. It takes a little getting used to but you'll soon hit your stride!

Thanks, you're pretty awesome yourself...::completely heterosexual pat on the back::

I don't think it's going to be all that bad, but then again NYMC is supposedly "academically rigorous" etc etc ad nauseum...

I'm sure I'll run into a few douches like myself who can work hard and have some fun and not take the whole world of medicine too seriously. If not, I'll transfer somewhere where there are normal folks

 

[Brickhouse]

Thanks, you're pretty awesome yourself...::completely heterosexual pat on the back::

I don't think it's going to be all that bad, but then again NYMC is supposedly "academically rigorous" etc etc ad nauseum...

I'm sure I'll run into a few douches like myself who can work hard and have some fun and not take the whole world of medicine too seriously. If not, I'll transfer somewhere where there are normal folks

I'm a lady, so pat my back to your hearts content. You're funny, you'll have fun. where is NYMC anyway, albany?

 

[LJDHC05]

I'm a lady, so pat my back to your hearts content. You're funny, you'll have fun. where is NYMC anyway, albany?

pat...pat.....pat pat...ok I'm good for now

I have to be careful, NYMC kicked a gay group off campus about a year ago.

It's in Valhalla, the Hall of Fallen Warriors in Norse mythology. It's like 30 minutes north of NYC in Westchester county. Where have you sold your soul to?

 

[RaaMD]

I have heard many med students say that their fellow classmates seem to downplay their studying. It is like they dont want to have to admit that theyre working their tail off just to stay afloat. Probably, because most of them were "stars" in undergrad, and now they're just average in medical school (Something I'm actually looking forward to!).

Such an accurate statement. You nailed it on the head.

 

[Brickhouse]

pat...pat.....pat pat...ok I'm good for now

I have to be careful, NYMC kicked a gay group off campus about a year ago.

It's in Valhalla, the Hall of Fallen Warriors in Norse mythology. It's like 30 minutes north of NYC in Westchester county. Where have you sold your soul to?

GW. I can't believe they're not more gay friendly up there in that blue state....
So you worked like at a bench job for a couple years and youre a non-trad? do you have IM cuz I think we've officially hijacked this thread....

 

[bigfrank]

Im not planning on going to med school, im a dental hopefull, but anyways i have a friend thats in med school right now and he told me its really not that bad... He said if u wanna be at the top of the class, then yes its very difficult. But he said that if u just wanna get through it, its really not that bad... Is this true? Just curious

I think this is a very fair statement, generally-speaking.

P.S. Med students that take the time to blog about how miserable they are should probably be studying.

 

[ddmo]

The degree to which you have to work depends on your intelligence and ability to memorize. I know some people who do average and work about 90% less than their peers getting the same grades.

At the top of the game are the smart people who work like fiends. Below that are a mix of people who are smart and do less, or who aren't as smart and work very hard.

That being said, I don't think its the difficulty of the material that makes it hard, but the mind tricks that get played on you. There is so much to know that no matter how hard you study, or how much time you devote, you will always feel like a complete *******. You can score at the top of your class on an exam, and still feel like you don't truly master the material. As someone mentioned above, several hours of studying a day becomes normal, and you kick yourself for not doing more.

I have studied every single day for 4.5wks, with Step I on Monday, and feel like a complete *****, that never happened in undergrad.

 

[ddmo]

P.S. Med students that take the time to blog about how miserable they are should probably be studying.

BRAVO!!!!!! 👍 👍 👍 👍

 

[NonTradMed]

When I was an undergrad, I studied a lot, and I can't imagine putting more time into my studying than I did for undergrad. I studied every day of the week, putting in about a solid half day or more on Sunday and on Saturday plus whatever I can cram in on the weekdays. I only took off Friday or Saturday night off (rarely ever both), and I was planning on keeping that schedule for med school. Maybe I should re-evaluate my plans. I was certainly not the academic star at my school, but did well enough to pass my courses and get into med school. By the sound of what everyone says, med school sounds ten times worse. Starting to get freaked out.

 

[Brickhouse]

When I was an undergrad, I studied a lot, and I can't imagine putting more time into my studying than I did for undergrad. I studied every day of the week, putting in about a solid half day or more on Sunday and on Saturday plus whatever I can cram in on the weekdays. I only took off Friday or Saturday night off (rarely ever both), and I was planning on keeping that schedule for med school. Maybe I should re-evaluate my plans. I was certainly not the academic star at my school, but did well enough to pass my courses and get into med school. By the sound of what everyone says, med school sounds ten times worse. Starting to get freaked out.

SDN = worst place to go when you're looking for reassurance.

That being said, listen to me: You're going to be fine. Better than that. You're going to prosper. Keep doing what you're doing, it's worked so far. If it were ten times worse, nobody would do it. The anticipation of the thing is worse than the thing, always.

 

[happydoc]

You definetly have to study a fair amount to pass but people find they have to study a certain amount and they plateau. As you progress through your first couple of semesters you find when you hit the plateau and don't have to keep studying because your score will likely stay the same. That said everybody studies to ensure they reach that plateau and with the number of type A's many try to maximize their score when they might get little actual improvement. But I had more free time in med school then I ever had in undergrad.

That said the first two years of dental school are A LOT harder than medical school. It isn't really close, with the number of lab hours you have and most dental schools are graded it is a real killer! But you look like rock stars after 4 years while we have to do residency. Good luck!

 

[Law2Doc]

I think I put in at least 2 hours a day average, if tests are coming up I'd put in more.

You are probably quite gifted -- lest any med school newbies are reading this, this is far below the average.

 

[SoCuteMD]

That said the first two years of dental school are A LOT harder than medical school. It isn't really close, with the number of lab hours you have and most dental schools are graded it is a real killer! But you look like rock stars after 4 years while we have to do residency. Good luck!

Just wanted to point out that many of my friends who are in dental school are in class with the med students. So this isn't necessarily true everywhere.

 

[Brickhouse]

You are probably quite gifted -- lest any med school newbies are reading this, this is far below the average.

Taken out of context it would sound that way but you didn't include the part about 16 hours on weekends or the fact that you could set the class mean off my grades - no A's, no honors. DEAD AVERAGE.
So quit bustin' my chops!! 😀

But I'm quite gifted in other ways.... 😉

 

[happydoc]

Just wanted to point out that many of my friends who are in dental school are in class with the med students. So this isn't necessarily true everywhere.

That is exactly my point! Add 20 hours of dental lab a week to the med student schedule and that equals the first two years of dental school.

 

[Law2Doc]

Taken out of context it would sound that way but you didn't include the part about 16 hours on weekends or the fact that you could set the class mean off my grades - no A's, no honors. DEAD AVERAGE.
So quit bustin' my chops!! 😀

But I'm quite gifted in other ways.... 😉

I reread your post and still think you say, on average, you either do 2 hours a day (i.e. 14 hours per week) or not at all during the week and 16 hours on the weekends. Thus a mere 14-16 hours on a typical non-test week. [And this was in response to an inquiry of how much time (including class time) you spend.] You perhaps meant differently than you wrote. I don't mean to bust your chops, but I don't know what other context there is. 😕
Lest someone med school bound is reading this, you shouldn't plan to only work 14-16 hours per week, even to just be average. Most people, even average ones, spend far more than 16 hours per week on coursework in med school. 🙂

 

[Brickhouse]

I reread your post and still think you say, on average, you either do 2 hours a day (i.e. 14 hours per week) or not at all during the week and 16 hours on the weekends. Thus a mere 14-16 hours on a typical non-test week. [And this was in response to an inquiry of how much time (including class time) you spend.] You perhaps meant differently than you wrote. I don't mean to bust your chops, but I don't know what other context there is. 😕
Lest someone med school bound is reading this, you shouldn't plan to only work 14-16 hours per week, even to just be average. Most people, even average ones, spend far more than 16 hours per week on coursework in med school. 🙂

I have no idea, I never honored or got a single A. I think I put in at least 2 hours a day average, if tests are coming up I'd put in more. But sometimes I'd study not at all on the weekdays and then do mad 8 hour days on weekends. Sometimes it's hard to study after an 8 hour day in lectures.

My point is that I did not study 5 hours every night - With lecture til 5, that would leave me no time to even eat or take a shower, unless I wanted to never leave school. Or starve to death.

Maybe remove the "average" after that first sentence and it will relax your sphincter a little? Some days I did study more, some semesters were rougher than others.

And besides, what if I am that spectacular that I can be dead average with only about 20 hours during some weeks? Why are you threatened by that possibility? Why does my experience have to be the rule for everyone? I'm sure there are some other kids out there who will follow a similar pattern.

Well I take the boards tomorrow, so if I fail I'll be sure to tell you so we'll know my strategy doesn't work, is that a deal?

OMG I probably just totally jinxed myself....

 

[LJDHC05]

My point is that I did not study 5 hours every night - With lecture til 5, that would leave me no time to even eat or take a shower, unless I wanted to never leave school. Or starve to death.

Maybe remove the "average" after that first sentence and it will relax your sphincter a little? Some days I did study more, some semesters were rougher than others.

And besides, what if I am that spectacular that I can be dead average with only about 20 hours during some weeks? Why are you threatened by that possibility? Why does my experience have to be the rule for everyone? I'm sure there are some other kids out there who will follow a similar pattern.

Well I take the boards tomorrow, so if I fail I'll be sure to tell you so we'll know my strategy doesn't work, is that a deal?

OMG I probably just totally jinxed myself....

good luck!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

That being said, I don't think its the difficulty of the material that makes it hard, but the mind tricks that get played on you. There is so much to know that no matter how hard you study, or how much time you devote, you will always feel like a complete *******. You can score at the top of your class on an exam, and still feel like you don't truly master the material. As someone mentioned above, several hours of studying a day becomes normal, and you kick yourself for not doing more.

That sounds like law school -- I'm hoping I won't fall for the mind tricks this time. Do you only get negative feedback? That happened in law school and was very demoralizing. I picked up an exam my first year and discovered that I had indeed made the highest score in the class, but I still felt like crap because I had "no" and "?" written all over the exam. It didn't help that the professor attached a sheet to the exam stating that our performance was "disappointing." In undergrad, professors did fluffy stuff like tell you the good parts about your work before getting to the problems.

Good luck on Step 1!

So a question to all you students -- how do you determine what to focus on learning? I've heard that it's impossible to learn everything because the sheer volume is too huge. How do you keep yourself sane and learn what you need to know to do okay?

 

[Brickhouse]

good luck!

aww, thanks man.

 

[Law2Doc]

How do you keep yourself sane and learn what you need to know to do okay?

Who says you keep yourself sane?

 

[Brickhouse]

Good luck on Step 1!

So a question to all you students -- how do you determine what to focus on learning? I've heard that it's impossible to learn everything because the sheer volume is too huge. How do you keep yourself sane and learn what you need to know to do okay?

Wow law school sounds like it sucks! You know, this might sound dumb but I kinda wish I'd used board studying material all along instead of just for the boards. They tend to focus on stuff that's considered "more important" - even though a lot of stuff gets left out, I think if you got a BRS book for each subject and used it as a guide, it would at least give you some direction. BRS type books won't explain mechanisms and stuff so you need the notes or a general textbook to supplement them when you're first learning.
It's doable. I think part of it is letting go of needing to know everything and learning how to get by with learning what you can. But I've been criticized for downplaying things, so listen to me at your own risk.

 

[basupran]

I study my ass off and I will not lie about it. I have seen many fellow med students who claim not to have even touched a topic, yet when they pull out their notes, it is full of different colored hi-lites, notes and references, etc. Don't listen to everything you hear.

With that said, I feel that there is a considerable amount more to know for med school exams. The level of the material isn't much higher, but in undergrad, it was possible to do well by cramming. This is because most of the questions had one correct answer that stuck out. This is where the difference comes in: In med school, a lot of the exam questions boil down to 2 good choices, with one being *slightly better. This is to teach us to pay attention to detail which comes in handy when examining patients.


Best of luck.

 

[Law2Doc]

But I've been criticized for downplaying things, so listen to me at your own risk.

I didn't mean to shut you down. I just know too many people who showed up at med school planning to continue to do what worked in college in terms of hours and crashed and burned. 🙂

 

[crunchyhamster]

just finished first year. once i stopped going to classes i studied for 5-6 hours a day. the week before exams i'd up that to 6-7 hours a day. the weekend before (and exam week) about 12 hours a day.

really, i am unable to concentrate after about 5 or 6 hours, so i'd stop by about 8 or 9 pm and go home and relax.

when i was going to classes i would study for about 3-4 hours a day. i was struggling to be average or below average. once i stopped going to classes and increased my high-yeild study time my grades went to the 90s (honors or high pass). unfortunately i didn't learn this little lession until i had already bombed several tests in each class. so my final grades were average or a little above average.

the moral of the story: DON'T GO TO CLASS.

 

[kingcer0x]

i threw my highlighters away when i started playing halo 2. i also got a shirt that said P = MD.

 

[Uvault05]

My point is that I did not study 5 hours every night - With lecture til 5, that would leave me no time to even eat or take a shower, unless I wanted to never leave school. Or starve to death.

Maybe remove the "average" after that first sentence and it will relax your sphincter a little? Some days I did study more, some semesters were rougher than others.

Sorry to jump into this a bit late. Looks like a simple case of misunderstanding between you and Law2. If you consider the 8 hrs/day of class on top of the 2 hrs of study (on average, of course 🙂 ), that comes out to 50 hrs during the week, which doesn't even include weekend studying or cramming before exams. This is quite a difference from the 16 hrs/week that Law2Doc had quoted. It seems that a lot of schools don't include 8 hrs of daily mandatory class (mine won't), and I know that plenty of M1's and M2's skip class, so Law may have been underestimating the amount of time that you actually spend in the classroom. You may not be honoring all of your classes, but I know that I never spent 50+ hrs/week studying in undergrad!! I would imagine that your "modest" weekly study load is, as Law2Doc put it, a significant increase from what most were used to as pre-meds, so I don't think you were downplaying anything at all.

Good luck on the boards!

 

[njbmd]

Hey there,
The most difficult part of medical school for me was getting used to the volume of material that must be mastered. There is no class in graduate or undergraduate school that even comes close. It wasn't that any of the material was "hard" but there was so much.

Most people find a system that works and then get the job done. This involves study time on a daily basis. If I had one word of advice, it is keep up with you classes. If you find that you are falling behind, catch up on the weekend but do not get further behind by trying to play catch up by ignoring the present day's work.

People who brag about not studying are immature and attempting to relieve stress at your expense. Do not buy into their head game. Do whatever you have to do to get your work done. It doesn't make any difference how much time you put in or do not put in as long as you are getting your work done.

My boot camp analogy: To graduate, everyone has to go over that wall. Some people clear the wall by several feet and some scrape their rear ends as the pass over but everyone has to get over the wall" It really does not matter how you get the job done, just get it done.

Most people fail out of medical school because somethng (immaturity, illness, stress) prevents them from putting in the study time required to master the material presented. Have a healthy respect for the volume of material that you have to master. In the end, 100% of people who are accepted have the intellect to get the job done but fall short in terms of putting in the time.

Whatever study strategies got you through undergrad (or grad) will be more than enough to get you through medical school. Just be willing to adjust up or down as the need arises. Many folks realize that studying becomes an everyday thing and just get the job done without trauma or drama.

I did very well in medical school and I am nothing special. I just studied everyday and partied very hard on my vacations.

Good luck and enjoy!
njbmd 👍

 

[bigfrank]

That is exactly my point! Add 20 hours of dental lab a week to the med student schedule and that equals the first two years of dental school.

Is this why dentists have such high suicide rates?

 

[Blake]

I might be the dumb one here, but I'm not exactly finding med school easy. It ain't rocket sciences, but it's not all that simple either. I'm finishing 2nd year tomorrow, and I can definitely say without a doubt that I've worked harder in med school than in college, and this goes for most of my colleagues.

It's no joke when you're spending the last 5-6 days studying 12+ hours a day in order to ''be just fine'' at the exam, and I don't think I'm that stupid or that unorganized. Let's not even talk about getting honors (top 10-15 % of class). (We have like 1 exam session every 3 months. Needless to say, the volume of material is huge, and we get like 2 days off to study for the exam). It's do-able though, as long as you put some work into it. Hopefully the clinical years will be even more interesting.

Back to more studying. 😀

 

[austinap]

I know that the format is definately different, but what would you guys estimate the workload to be in terms of credits? Would the typical M1 semester be similar to a 30 credit undergrad semester?

 

[JohnnyOU]

I know that the format is definately different, but what would you guys estimate the workload to be in terms of credits? Would the typical M1 semester be similar to a 30 credit undergrad semester?

I hear its about like 26+ hours of upper division science classes each semester.