Do you sometimes feel like time and life is passing you by?

[drc243]

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As I reach the end of MS1 I find myself putting in 9am-12 pm days of studying/classwork. On weekend I try to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family but I am often saddened that school dominates my thought process and obviously my time. Two of my good friends are now getting married and I just feel like life is just passing me by as I spend countless hours studying neuroscience pathways. I hope I am not alone and that my feeling are ones of burnout after a long and stressful year.

 

[OncoCaP]

As I reach the end of MS1 I find myself putting in 9am-12 pm days of studying/classwork. On weekend I try to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family but I am often saddened that school dominates my thought process and obviously my time. Two of my good friends are now getting married and I just feel like life is just passing me by as I spend countless hours studying neuroscience pathways. I hope I am not alone and that my feeling are ones of burnout after a long and stressful year.

Sounds like you have the weekends, and so you have some semblance of balance there you can build on. You might try exercising or try finding some activity that gets your mind off things. If you're depressed, etc., you might check in with the school counselor. Small changes here and there can make a difference. You might ask your classmates and profs for suggestions as well ....

Oh, and you can study a little less if you feel so inclined. Keep working on the formula for life success. I suspect all us MS1s are constantly working to improve how we get our work done ... before the change the rules of the game next year (harder, faster). It's not easy, hang in there.

 

[devilpup]

I hope I am not alone and that my feeling are ones of burnout after a long and stressful year.

You are almost done with MS1, congrats. Summer is around the corner, take a breather.

 

[ZagDoc]

Been feeling that way all week. It comes and goes. I also miss my hobbies.

 

[Rhuby]

I certainly have those feelings sometimes as well. However, I think most of it has to do with the fact that we all must now redefine our lives in a new way. Many of these same thoughts would undoubtedly go through your head if you had started a full-time job instead of coming to medical school. Still essentially just having the weekends free, depending on your work of course.

Medical school changes your life, and it will have to be redefined with each year. MS2 being harder and more fast-paced, MS3 on the wards, graduating, working longer hours but being directly responsible for people's lives. You get the picture. Just make sure you have a good support system and don't take the time outside of school for granted. And try to realize that this is your life now, and for better or for worse, it is the path you have chosen.

Best of luck! Congrats on being done with your first year. It is a great accomplishment.

 

[drc243]

Thank you guys for the words of encouragement and support. I am also sorry for using these forums as venue to vent. It just sometimes hard to find people who truly understand the experience that we all go through as medical students. I know next year is supposed to be much harder but anatomy is what gave me the greatest deal of difficulty during first year so i feel like i am going to be ok now that anatomy is over. I also plan on trying to maintain a better plan of balance next year between school and life.

Wishing you well,
Dave

 

[la petite mort]

12 PM - 9 AM is really not that bad of a deal. I also organized my studying schedule to have weekends off.

Life isn't passing you by. As one poster wisely said to a girl who wanted to switch to a shorter degree, these five years are a drop in the bucket of your life. You'll be a doctor until they day you die.

 

[DrZeke]

Since I graduated undergrad in 2005, it doesn't matter whether I was in my masters, having a year off or in med school, time moves a lot faster. Decide on the things you don't want to pass you by and make them priorities for your free time 😉

 

[Occams Razor]

Decide on the things you don't want to pass you by and make them priorities for your free time 😉

Exactly. Though i've made this analogy myself, med school isn't prison. We're [generally] not forced to slave endlessly over books and notes in dimly lit dungeon cells. There are weekends after exams that are available to take road trips, go to fairs/fests in your city, visit with friends, or continue with hobbies. Just takes some scheduling and planning ahead.

People find time for what's important. Spice up your life!

 

[Abilene85]

Been feeling that way all week. It comes and goes. I also miss my hobbies.

Ditto. I've been talking to some classmates recently and everyone has revealed they feel the same way. I don't like the idea that my life is entirely consumed by one thing. Yes, I love medicine and I am happy to be here, but I still need some variety. I got a lot happier once I decided not to shoot for top of the class. I can sit back and relax at a high pass instead of making myself physically ill with the stress of trying to get the highest honors possible. This means I can take more time for myself to go home and see my family, drive a few hours to a friend's wedding, keep my hobbies active, etc. You just have to make the decision to live life now and not put everything on hold until you finally start practicing medicine. Med school takes some sacrifice, but we shouldn't have to give up our entire lives to the profession (though I know some people on this board beleive we should be completely self-sacrificing).

 

[kdburton]

Wow, just 9AM-12PM? Thats three hours 😉

 

[Corker]

Wow, just 9AM-12PM? Thats three hours 😉

You had to say it!!! (I was thinking it, but too kind to point it out.) Let the poor kid alone!😉

 

[shreypete]

I feel ya. I'm having such as horrible time right now. We have almost 5-6 tests per week!!! and my final exam dates are really not that attractive either (I have my histology and embryology final exam two days after my anatomy final exam and I have my medical latin terminology final exam two days after my medical biology and genetics final credit test which is next week)! It's horrible and I'm getting so freaked out that I can hardly sleep properly and when I do sleep properly, I wake up really late...only to realize that I made a big SIN!!!

 

[doc20]

by the time most people finish medical school and residency and actually start practicing are around 30 years, that is about 1/3 rd of your life gone, and only 2/3 rd left if you decide not to retire ever. other wise really its a mere 1/3rd life to practice medicine for something you spend equivalent time to learn.
SO NO its not a mere drop in the bucket, becoming a doctor is the whole bucket itself

 

[SnowTown]

Wow, just 9AM-12PM? Thats three hours 😉

wait, that's not enough? 😕 that's more than I put in per day unless it's test week...

i guess that's why my grades are just so so 😳

 

[Law2Doc]

As I reach the end of MS1 I find myself putting in 9am-12 pm days of studying/classwork. On weekend I try to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family but I am often saddened that school dominates my thought process and obviously my time. Two of my good friends are now getting married and I just feel like life is just passing me by as I spend countless hours studying neuroscience pathways. I hope I am not alone and that my feeling are ones of burnout after a long and stressful year.

You are not alone. But take solace in the fact that MS1 is actually a much easier year than what your schedule is going to look like come third year. Sleeping until a 9am start is something you'd better not get too used to. In third year when your schedule is 5am to 12am of wards followed by studying, you are going to look back fondly on first year, when you still had time for "a life". And residency again will dwarf this.

But life isn't passing you by. This is life. You are going to be doing stuff nobody else gets to do. You are just giving up some of the stuff that everybody else gets to do. Hard to say who wins.

 

[BSN2DOC]

This is the exact reason why I am unsure if I *really* want to continue on and pursue medicine. I could stick with nursing, and my partner and I could continue making $100K+ yearly and LIVE life.... or I could give up many things in life for 7 or 8 years and pursue medicine. It is a toss up and still not entirely sure what I want to do.

 

[kdburton]

This is the exact reason why I am unsure if I *really* want to continue on and pursue medicine. I could stick with nursing, and my partner and I could continue making $100K+ yearly and LIVE life.... or I could give up many things in life for 7 or 8 years and pursue medicine. It is a toss up and still not entirely sure what I want to do.

Or you could put in 4 years of med school with mediocre performance, 3 years emergency medicine residency at ~50-55 hrs/wk in some tame programs (making as much a a nurse makes), then graduate and pull $200k in addition to what your spouse makes working 36 hrs/wk. My mom has been a nurse all of her life, worked her way up to an administrative position at her facility, is severely undercompensated for the work she does, and doesn't really like her job anymore (probably due to the former) The way I see it is that the only real time commitment you have left is the 4 years of medical school and if you're not gunning for neurosurgery you don't really need to put in Hell hours (save 3rd year) to do it. It may be true that you don't get done with residency until age 30 (and a 3rd of your life is over), but its not like I've been working this entire time to become a doctor - it wasn't until late undergrad that I decided I was going to apply to med school

 

[joe6102]

by the time most people finish medical school and residency and actually start practicing are around 30 years, that is about 1/3 rd of your life gone, and only 2/3 rd left if you decide not to retire ever. other wise really its a mere 1/3rd life to practice medicine for something you spend equivalent time to learn.
SO NO its not a mere drop in the bucket, becoming a doctor is the whole bucket itself

So you've been gunning for medicine since you left the womb? I mean, the first 18 years are probably going to be the same regardless of what career you choose. It's only really 12 years of your life (if you include undergrad, which was a vacation for me compared to medicine). And it's not 12 years wasted - if you want a decent lifestyle, you probably have to go to college, get a job, then work at least 40 hours/week for the next 8 years. It seems to me that the real world pretty much sucks no matter what you do, short of pro athletics, movie stars or rock stars.

 

[45408]

In third year when your schedule is 5am to 12am of wards followed by studying, you are going to look back fondly on first year, when you still had time for "a life". And residency again will dwarf this.

Unless you're somewhere that thinks 130 hours is still legal, that's a pretty big exaggeration. 6a-6p, seven days a week, and you're already at the limit. Lots of residencies are significantly less than that anyways.


And sleep in as much as you can. Why not? Don't torture yourself with early risings when you'll never get a chance again.

 

[Law2Doc]

Unless you're somewhere that thinks 130 hours is still legal, that's a pretty big exaggeration. 6a-6p, seven days a week, and you're already at the limit. Lots of residencies are significantly less than that anyways.


And sleep in as much as you can. Why not? Don't torture yourself with early risings when you'll never get a chance again.

The 80 hour work week doesn't apply to med students, so there is nothing illegal about it. It only applies to residents. Plus even for residents you can go higher than 80 hours per week since the 80 hours is an average over multiple weeks. And I'm so not impressed with the enforcement of this rule even for residents in a couple of specialties. However I didn't mean you'd have that schedule 7 days a week, or every rotation (Outpatient stuff is quite cushy).. But I have gone well over 80 hours quite a few times in 3rd year if you count pre-rounding on patients, and finishing up stuff after sign out. And then gone home and still had the study for the shelf.

 

[Doctor J]

But life isn't passing you by. This is life.

I don't always agree with you, Law2Doc, because of the unintended harshness of your replies to posts like these, but this statement I agree with 100%.

As a returning student I was often asked if I was really sure I wanted to devote almost 10 years of my life to training in a new career. My reply then, as it is now about 6 years later, is that I'll still be in my late 30's whether I chose to become a doctor or not. You can't stop time and we're all getting older.

In addition, most people working semi-professional jobs are quite used to a 50-60 hour work week. Though the 'official' norm is 40, the average hours worked by an American continue to fall nearer the 48-50 hour/week range (I don't have the reference, but it was some study comparing how hard different nationalities worked... Not surprisingly the French were at the lowest end of the spectrum). It's just an aspect of our culture. So when you compare these 'normal' hours to what we can expect to pull as an attending (or really, even as a resident) they don't look so bad. I say this as someone who has worked two jobs (one full-time) plus full-time school and has at times juggled a 100 hour/week schedule. -That- was hard, but Q3 call? Hard, yes, tiring, hell yes, but not impossible. Your own attitude makes it bearable.

Last point, I am under the impression (from my deans) that students are also subject to the 80 hour/week work hour restrictions. However, most students would not complain if they were forced to work more because they're kind of cowards when it comes to smacking down someone who has power over their evals.

 

[Long Dong]

Dude you still have weekends just wait till internship. Then life well really pass you by. I worked halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, new years. My GF left me because I wasn't giving her enough attention, and wasn't taking her out on weekends. When I got home I just slept and ignored her pretty much. And this is supposed to be a cushy transitional year.

The 80 hour work week doesn't apply to students, my students go over 80 all the time. Hell most of the residents I know go over 80 all the time.

 

[kdburton]

Dude you still have weekends just wait till internship. Then life well really pass you by. I worked halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, new years. My GF left me because I wasn't giving her enough attention, and wasn't taking her out on weekends. When I got home I just slept and ignored her pretty much. And this is supposed to be a cushy transitional year.

The 80 hour work week doesn't apply to students, my students go over 80 all the time. Hell most of the residents I know go over 80 all the time.

Maybe I don't know anything about this since I have no interest in derm, but do they have a transitional year that I don't know about? You're a derm resident at Mayo, correct? If thats the case then how could you possibly be working that much? The call schedule is Q3 for less than 1/3 of the intern year and the average 1st year hours as stated by the department are 45hrs/wk. What students and/or residents are you working with that work anywhere near 80+hrs?

 

[Iquitos]

You are not alone. But take solace in the fact that MS1 is actually a much easier year than what your schedule is going to look like come third year. Sleeping until a 9am start is something you'd better not get too used to. In third year when your schedule is 5am to 12am of wards followed by studying, you are going to look back fondly on first year, when you still had time for "a life". And residency again will dwarf this.

But life isn't passing you by. This is life. You are going to be doing stuff nobody else gets to do. You are just giving up some of the stuff that everybody else gets to do. Hard to say who wins.

While first year can have it's stressful moments, I know for a fact that med school won't be this cushy from here on out. I wouldn't consider life passing me by while in med school. However I would consider working inside a building with no windows, little human interaction, and an overbearing supervisor/FDA auditors breathing down my neck, swing/grave shift-50-60hs/wk for $42K as life passing me by. Man am I glad those days in quality control of pharmaceutical manufacturing are over.😀

 

[bellos]

yeah man, i know exactly what you are saying, I always feel that way when i don't have a girlfriend, otherwise I feel fine and then I get the feeling I am not working enough on refining the aspects that make up my character and personality, so its always one thing or the other, its important to remember though that you seem very focused and are working towards your goal and possibly dream, which is alot more than most people can say, and even though you shouldn't base your self worth off of comparison to others, but sometimes it still helps, haha.🙂

 

[Long Dong]

Maybe I don't know anything about this since I have no interest in derm, but do they have a transitional year that I don't know about? You're a derm resident at Mayo, correct? If thats the case then how could you possibly be working that much? The call schedule is Q3 for less than 1/3 of the intern year and the average 1st year hours as stated by the department are 45hrs/wk. What students and/or residents are you working with that work anywhere near 80+hrs?

I'm currently an intern doing my transitional year in Calif. and start derm in a few months. There are many weeks that I've done more then 80 (mainly on surgery and medicine) but for the most part i'm around 60 hours. The residents at my hospital routinely do over 80 esp the surgery ones and some of the medicine ones.

 

[kdburton]

I'm currently an intern doing my transitional year in Calif. and start derm in a few months. There are many weeks that I've done more then 80 (mainly on surgery and medicine) but for the most part i'm around 60 hours. The residents at my hospital routinely do over 80 esp the surgery ones and some of the medicine ones.

I see, now I understand the situation a little better. Depending on the team/hospital I know students work 80+hrs/wk on medicine and surgery on a regular basis and residents who may top those hours sometimes (but still average 80 or less). My point in an earlier post was that if you decide not to go into one of the uber-time-demanding fields then not only will you NOT be working ridiculous hours for your whole career, but your hours during residency will reflect it as well [to an extent, at least]. So the only time you're really forced into putting in wicked long hours during some of the required rotations during medical school.. For instance I know of a very reputable emergecny medicine program by where I used to live whose residents work an average of maybe 55 hours during their first year and most of them eventually elect to moonlight on a regular basis for extra $$ because they actually have quite a bit of free time. 55 hours is less than what a lot of my friends from undergrad work now who have "9-5 jobs." So life is only passing by because time is passing by... If you weren't a pre-med, in med school, a doctor, etc you'd have to be doing something else, and who knows if you would like whatever that somethign else is

 

[Law2Doc]

Last point, I am under the impression (from my deans) that students are also subject to the 80 hour/week work hour restrictions. However, most students would not complain if they were forced to work more because they're kind of cowards when it comes to smacking down someone who has power over their evals.

Your impression is wrong. Your school may have its own, more generous, rules, that they choose to grant to students, but the national 80 hour restrictions only apply to residents. So if your school wanted to have its students stay for 100 hours a week, they certainly could. It would certainly make residency seem cushy when you graduate.