DO students: are you happy?

[turkdlit]

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Hi everyone,

I know this is a very vague question, but for current DO students (particularly MS1), are you happy with your decision to go to DO school?

Any regrets on not having much time to pursue other interests?

Does the amount of work and time put into school ever make you excessively stressed or depressed?

Any input would be appreciated...I'm applying for 2004 entering class, but after talking to some MD and DO students, many of them seem somewhat unhappy with being so busy all the time, like they're missing out on life or something.

Thanks!

 

[DrMom]

I'm quite happy, even though it is really time consuming and can be stressful at times.

You have to really want to be here. If not, you'll be miserable.

 

[sddoc]

I agree with Dr. Mom. Life in medical school has it's share of stress and fatigue, but I love it. You have to love it, or you would give up on it.

It's true that you won't be hanging out at the bars partying like lots of other people your age. However, if it's what you really want to do, you won't mind it. (Well, most of the time anyway😉 )

Good luck with the application process!

 

[Dr. B]

I originally wanted to go to Pharmacy school but I changed my mind after working as a Pharmacy tech for about a year after getting my BS. Nothing against Pharmacists; it just wasn't for me personally. I then went to Paramedic school and decided I wanted to further my education and go "all the way" to medical school. I was out of school for 3 years before I started medical school so I was kind of rusty on studying but even the most disciplined students sometimes have problems juggling the workload of medical school. There were MANY times that I resented my decision to go to med school and resented the fact that med school was taking away all of my free time. It strained my relationship with my fiance, who is a dental student, and made me feel like a prisoner chained to my desk studying seemingly unrelated tidbits of information while everyone else was enjoying the daylight outside. It wasn't until about the middle of my second year that it all started to come together and make sense clinically. Ideas were coming together and I could finally see how everything was interrelated. Things were getting better between my fiance and I after a short breakup and a long talk. Now in my third, almost fourth, year I can clearly see that I made the right choice of professions.

What I realized was:
1. You HAVE to make time for yourself. Ride a bike, jog, play X-Box, whatever. You will go insane if you do nothing but study textbooks. Don't forget to make time to study the back of your eyelids as well. 😀

2. Never lose sight of the big picture and why you chose medicine to begin with.

3. Remember: Your worst day on rotations is 100x better than your best day in the classroom. Once you get to third year, it's all downhill.

Hang in there. It's a rough road but people do it everyday. There's no reason why you can't be one of them.

 

[DrWBD]

The MS-I and MS-II years are generally the hardest in terms of studying and stress, especially when boards start looming on the horizon. By comparison, most MS-III and MS-IV students are a lot happier. Keep that in mind when asking students their opinions.

wanna_be_DO
happy MS-IV 🙂
NYCOM

 

[DrSmiles]

I love every minute of it, even though there is a lot of stress, and I don't regret for a minute going the DO route. But you have to be committed and like the above poster said, you have to know when to give yourself a break so you don't burn out. Students in my class always have something going on when we don't have exams- parties, get-togethers, intramural sports, whatever your preference.
One of our UHS advisors sat us all down at the beginning of the year and told us to remember to do three things during med school: Find time to exercise to relieve the stress, remember to eat well for good health, and to get enough sleep (which seems odd, but it is true)- I find I do much better on exams when I have enough sleep.

 

[Homunculus]

med school is what you make of it. After rotating at two of the Army's largest hospitals (Walter Reed and BAMC in San Antonio) i'm convinced that not only did i make the right choice, but i probably made the best choice in attending OSU.

My clinical knowledge and skills are easily on par and usually above those of my non-school colleagues-- and after talking with them about their schools, my medschool experience has been better as well. Luckily OSU doesn't have an attendence policy. Second year was hands down the easiest year i've had yet-- including undergrad. once you figure out how you learn, and determine whether or not lectures are worth your time, it's cake. I went to class less and less, enjoyed life more and more while my grades went higher and higher. And i wasn't even the most prolific skipper, lol.


third year has been nice, but more hour intensive than second year, at least for me. i've heard fourth year gets even better.

i will second everything Dr. B said, and add a few things here and there 🙂

1. yes, free time is key. get as much as your grades can tolerate.

2. big picture is good, but don't be so focused on the damned finish line you forget number 1 🙂

3. personally my worst day on rotations *was* worse than my best day of class. but my class experience was more like a vacation, so that's not saying much.

4. let the gunners do your hard work. let them stress out, complain and get questions tossed . . they look like gunners, you get the points along with them.

5. don't sweat the little ****. 1 or 2 points here or there isn't gonna matter in the long run.

6. medschool is not easy-- but it's not any harder than anything else you've already done. anyone who works hard enough will make it through. i happen to believe the "getting in is the hardest part" cliche. once you're in, you're golden. enjoy it.

 

[newfocus]

This thread was just what I needed. After watching the season finale of Scrubs I was wondering if my life was soon to be over. For those of you who didnt watch it it was all about how JD and Turk were feeling burnt out (and envious of their college buddy who was an investent banker with money AND time) and wondering if they really made the right career choice.

Over all I think that if all of us incoming MSI's take the advice given in this thread we should be just fine.

 

[DrQuinn]

I'm a fourth year (about to graduate in... 5 weeks). I am very happy as a DO... no regrets whatsoever (ok, so I wish I went to a place with lower tuition). I matched at my #1 choice in residency, I have three years as a resident ahead of me (in the field I LOVE!), and I'll be out making my own (big) money and doing what I enjoy. I'm very happy...

First and second year are very tough. You're so far from the tunnel, you can't see where the heck you're headed, but you still trudge through it. Third year is tough because you don't know anything and you feel like a *****, but fourth year comes around, you're getting the hang of everything, and its all good...

I'm very happy as a medical student, as a (soon to be) DO, and as an Emergency Medicine resident.
Q

 

[GeauxDO]

I heard the same thing from students and doctors, saying that it was just so tough, and they would never do it again. My experience has been that it isn't bad at all. I'm a MSI and I can't believe that the year is almost over. If you really want to be a doctor, then don't worry about it. I think those that complain about med school are the ones that went for the wrong reasons.

 

[OMMFellow06]

Most of the people that say that there life is miserable and that they wouldnt do it again probably made the wrong career choice. For those of us that think that they made the right choice(ME), it's a tough road but it's worth it. I just finished my MSII year and have just started the process of studying for boards. I know that my first year was tough, but make sure you have a good support system of people in and OUT of the medical field. You will need to sometimes just get away from anything medically related and if you have a group of friends or family that aren't involved then it'll give you some down time away from it all.
Whether it is worth it or not is dependant on you, it requires you to keep an open mind to everything that people tell you about medical school and medicine in general. You must be able to take that and apply it to the kind of person that you are. Think long and hard if being a doctor is what you really want and if it is then the hard work of the first two years of medical school will not be as bad as it will be for the person that made the wrong choice.

 

[Su4n2]

OMMFEllow,
i just reaized that you will be helping teach my OMM course @NYCOM for the next 2 years. your posts have been really insightful, so i am really excited. see you next year!
susan

 

[OMMFellow06]

Thank You Susan and I look forward to working with you.