does anyone dislike medical school? how do you stay motivated?

[confusedgirl]

hi everyone, I'm a first year student and i really, really dislike everything about medical school. however, for a number of reasons I think i should stay enrolled. i am failing a class though and have to do wonderfully on the final to pass. so how do you motivate yourself to study? when do you guys study? does it ever get better? thanks so much.
luv,
confused girl

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[aphistis]

I don't think anybody actually likes professional school It's just something you have to do, to pay your dues for later. Good luck getting through!

 

[thackl]

This is life. You do the things you don't want to in order to open doors to things you do want. You need to figure out what you want and decide if this is worth it.

 

[auster]

Originally posted by confusedgirl
hi everyone, I'm a first year student and i really, really dislike everything about medical school. however, for a number of reasons I think i should stay enrolled. i am failing a class though and have to do wonderfully on the final to pass. so how do you motivate yourself to study? when do you guys study? does it ever get better? thanks so much.
luv,
confused girl

Give it a chance - once you figure out what you need to do to do okay in your classes, you might like it more. I was so scared in the beginning of first year that I would fail that I did nothing but study, and couldn't see myself doing that forever - I knew that I couldn't keep it up like that forever... But remind yourself that second year is much better, and third and fourth promise to be even better (though more work) - and remind yourself that you WILL get better at studying. I feel like most things fell into place after I learned to relax a bit, and learned to study better...

Give yourself a chance... and talk to someone at your school about this, if you are thinking about dropping out.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by confusedgirl
hi everyone, I'm a first year student and i really, really dislike everything about medical school. however, for a number of reasons I think i should stay enrolled. i am failing a class though and have to do wonderfully on the final to pass. so how do you motivate yourself to study? when do you guys study? does it ever get better? thanks so much.
luv,
confused girl

when do we study?! what are you doing with all your time? why is it so hard to find time to study?

stop wasting time in lecture. spending your days in the library will be more productive.

best of luck

 

[Weil-Felix]

Originally posted by doc05


stop wasting time in lecture. spending your days in the library will be more productive.

So true, so true.

 

[emedCleo]

Maybe talk about your school problems to the classmates who have some social skills. Maybe seek out a MS2. They might cheer you up, suggest a study group you can join, or even take you out so you can vent. Sounds like you need to kvetch a little, cry a lot, and get some people to tell you that...

You are not crazy. Go with your gut. Go with your heart. Good luck.

cleo

 

[mongoose]

hang in there...it can defintely be horiffic at times but in the end it gets better. i failed histology (well, not really...i got a U) which meant i had to do remedial work in that subject over the summer between first and second year. at the time i found out about my poor performance i was scared to death that i was going to get kicked out or flunk out. in the end, i used it as motivation to be more efficient at studying and to study more often. it worked out. i did the remedial work over the summer and now i am an m2 and let me tell ya, it is about a million times better. year 2 you learn more relevant stuff and it is much much more interesting. just hang in there, perfect those study skills, and crazy glue that ass to the seat and study long and hard.

 

[Zweihander]

Honestly, I think the best thing you can do for yourself right now is think very carefully about why "everything" about med school is so unpleasant for you. It would be hasty to decide you don't want to do this after so short a time, but you are wasting your life if you continue and dig yourself deeper and deeper into a profession that you will never enjoy. Not only are you losing phenomenal amounts of money, but you are also losing a great deal of time that you will never get back.

I feel like you should figure out what motivated you to go in the first place, and compare that with why you don't like it anymore, and why you're still hanging in there.

peace

 

[confusedgirl]

thanks everyone. do you think studying 4-5 hours every night should be enough to do ok? i really think i will like it more if i can start doing better. b/c i can really imagine myself in my goal career (dermatology) but not in much else, so with every low grade i am convinced that i am spending so much time only to prepare myself for a lifelong specialty that i don't like, and that just depresses me. so. . .i need to get it together or get out. . .gonna try getting it together for a while longer. thank you guys so much, you are great.

 

[lastbastion]

Look, everybody learns at a different rate. 5 hours for one person may be too long or too short for another. Don't set up barriers when it comes to excellence. Spend as much time you need to excell and you will, period.

And always remember this quote, it will help you through your darkest hours, "If you can't you must, and if you must you can".

 

[carrigallen]

maybe find some students who passed the last exam, who you are on the same wavelength with...then start group-studying with them. You will slow them down at first, if you don't know the material, but sticking with them will get you up to speed. It may also give you an idea of how other students study, and what works for them.

 

[png-girl]

You need to figure out how you learn the best. some people don't need to go to lecture and can just sit and study the syllabus by themselves and be fine. other people need to go to lecture and read the syllabus. some people need to study alone, and others do better in groups. you just need to figure out what is best for you.

some tips frome me for what they are worth.
1. take time after lectures to just chill and do something you enjoy
2. don't get behind, so even the week after a test and you've started new material, don't just wait to the weekend to get started studying. you need to start the first day of lecture. try to keep on pace and use the weekends to catch up or go over the things you don't understand
3. don't compare yourself with other students and do what you need to do
4. don't be afraid to ask for help, maybe there is a tutoring system at your school

best of luck to you and don't give up yet, you just need to get in the groove.

hope this helped

 

[orion1978]

Do I like it? Yes...I tell myself positive messages rather than negative, and I volunteer at clinic or do something clinical on Friday afternoons.

That and my dreams of a 2008 BMW 530i ...MAYBE M5

 

[johnstoner]

Originally posted by confusedgirl
hi everyone, I'm a first year student and i really, really dislike everything about medical school. however, for a number of reasons I think i should stay enrolled. i am failing a class though and have to do wonderfully on the final to pass. so how do you motivate yourself to study? when do you guys study? does it ever get better? thanks so much.
luv,
confused girl

There will be a lamborghini waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. Rock on!

 

[Rod Farva]

Yeah, med school sucks. But so does working 80 hour weeks in a cubicle, and the way I see it, I'd rather be in med school/residency for a decade, then find something I actually want to do and enjoy the next thirty years of my career then plug away at some corporate job, or go to law school, or anything else like that where the money is comparable.

 

[isis]

Originally posted by johnstoner
There will be a lamborghini waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. Rock on!

haha! that's my dream too.. a Lam. Murcielago (in Lime Green) or a Lotus Elise (in Midnight Blue)

 

[lola]

i haven't been enjoying the first little bit of med school either. the first biochem/cell-bio exam definitely kicked my butt (though i haven't found out how badly yet). for some reason i have had no motivation to study. it is really hard to get into the swing of things, particularly since i'm used to waiting until the last minute to study which just isn't possible when you have so much info to learn. luckily i think i'm finally getting motivated. i actually studied for 6 hours today, and we don't have a test for another week. my biggest problem was that i was going home after class (around 3) and napping/exercising/eating until 8! then around 10 or so i'd be sleepy again. i've decided i have to start studying at the library, particularly when there are no pressing deadlines. otherwise i'm just not motivated to study at home. also, it helps that there are other med students at the library working hard. it kind of forces me/pressures me into staying longer. plus i can ask them questions if i am having trouble with something.

i think png-grl has some good advice, and i'm definitely going to try to follow it. for a while i was thinking about dropping out -- not b/c i don't want to be a doctor but b/c i'm too lazy to do all this work! for now i'm definitely going to stick with it, b/c i feel like the more i learn the more interested i will become in it all.

 

[Blade28]

Hang in there - you just started first year, so things are probably still new and a little shocking. It takes a little time for students to settle in and get used to the new coursework, subjects, sheer volume of material, etc. Once you figure out how to study for the various subjects - and believe me, no one really teaches you how to study during med school - things will seem a lot more manageable.

Try to remember what you love about medicine (or dermatology), and what drove you to apply to med school in the first place! Try to keep a few inspirational and motivational thoughts in your mind for when the going gets though. You're asking if you need to study 5-6 hours a day? How many hours do you spend in lecture every day?

It'll get better. It always does.

 

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

i've discovered that going to specialty interest group meetings helps keeps things in perspective and that if i want to treat patients one day like the doctors at the meetings, i'm going to have to just buckle down and study.

as for how much studying you need to do...2 hours of studying for every 1 hour of lecture is the general advice i've heard.

good luck and hang in there!

-jj

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by Blade28
Try to remember what you love about medicine (or dermatology)

I agree wholeheartedly.

On the way into class from the parking garage each morning, I'm sure to walk past and have a good look at the chief of radiology's BMW M5- if that's not motivation I don't know what is

 

[maugham]

I find it depressing that the best incentive several med students can come up with for sticking with the hard work of studying is the possibility of owning an expensive car after becoming a doctor. I know I must sound like a judgemental scold, but this car-lusting crap was just pissing me off.

 

[fava]

i think they were being facetious

 

[jwin]

Originally posted by maugham
I find it depressing that the best incentive several med students can come up with for sticking with the hard work of studying is the possibility of owning an expensive car after becoming a doctor. I know I must sound like a judgemental scold, but this car-lusting crap was just pissing me off.

i agree. clearly, the proper motivation is sainthood.

 

[Blade28]

Originally posted by maugham
I find it depressing that the best incentive several med students can come up with for sticking with the hard work of studying is the possibility of owning an expensive car after becoming a doctor. I know I must sound like a judgemental scold, but this car-lusting crap was just pissing me off.

Yeah, I think he was saying it with tongue-in-cheek.

It's tough at first, especially when you feel that you're very new and naive and green, but when you finally start to figure things out and get more comfortable with patients and the attendings...then you'll feel more satisfaction. Eventually you'll feel the great sense of accomplishment in being able to truly help your patients, and that makes it all worth it.

 

[GoodMonkey]

Originally posted by Blade28
It's tough at first, especially when you feel that you're very new and naive and green, but when you finally start to figure things out and get more comfortable with patients and the attendings...then you'll feel more satisfaction. Eventually you'll feel the great sense of accomplishment in being able to truly help your patients, and that makes it all worth it.

glad to hear it. cell biology/biochem memorization classes bog me down. i understand the knowledge will be useful and helpful in the future when i'm actually applying it (that's why i bother memorizing it now) but it's nice to know there's an end of that tunnel somewhere, and that it'll all come together at some point. thanks.

 

[isis]

Originally posted by maugham
I find it depressing that the best incentive several med students can come up with for sticking with the hard work of studying is the possibility of owning an expensive car after becoming a doctor. I know I must sound like a judgemental scold, but this car-lusting crap was just pissing me off.

the idea is to get motiv8d. i love cars, so i've no problem in letting my dream (to own a sportscar ) be the fuel behind me working hard. i'm not attacking your right to express urself, maugham - but your comment left no constructive ideas

 

[Stinger86]

I too found it difficult to get motivated while taking classes like Cell, Biochem, Physio, MicroAnatomy, etc. I went to class consistently for one entire month before I got so sick of it I never went again the rest of the year (except to sit for exams, of course). Once you get to diseases, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment during your second year, it all seems worth it, and it'll feel like you're really in medical school, learning to be a doctor.

First year is just a glorified biology grad school program. Survive the "PhD Parade" and you've got it made.

Good luck!

 

[Blade28]

Originally posted by GoodMonkey
glad to hear it. cell biology/biochem memorization classes bog me down. i understand the knowledge will be useful and helpful in the future when i'm actually applying it (that's why i bother memorizing it now) but it's nice to know there's an end of that tunnel somewhere, and that it'll all come together at some point. thanks.

That's the way to approach it. Many things that you learn in med school (and of course, the majority of what you learned in college!) aren't directly relevant to patient care later...but a surprising number of things are. Obviously, subjects like pharm and path are incredibly important, but you'd be surprised how much biochem, phys, embryo, etc. pop up later on during rotations.

In the end, I think it's all worth it - just remember to let off steam from time to time and enjoy friendships with classmates.

 

[....]

"I find it depressing that the best incentive several med students can come up with for sticking with the hard work of studying is the possibility of owning an expensive car after becoming a doctor. I know I must sound like a judgemental scold, but this car-lusting crap was just pissing me off. "

SO SO true....... when we all know its the promise of being able to dump your moderatly attractive Sig Other for a bonifide arm trophy. Cars...sheesh...

I've got my sights set on Paris Hilton....you?

 

[skypilot]

Originally posted by Rod Farva
Yeah, med school sucks. But so does working 80 hour weeks in a cubicle

so true

 

[basha]

This is what pisses me off......my ultimate motivation and reason to become a doctor is the 2007 BMW M5. But now all these other kids are aiming for that too and somehow I am not too motivated, go aim for something else guys and leave my M5 motivation alone, for my grades sake. Thanks.

 

[charlatangirl]

this is a great thread. i have been feeling unmotivated this week, and definitely drinking too much ever since we completed our first set of gross anatomy exams.

so far, what keeps me going is being IN a clinic WITH a patient. that's why i came to med school in the first place, not to learn the pKa's of different amino acids. i love our Essentials of Clinical Medicine course - i had my first patient two weeks into school - and i volunteer at a free clinic. it's what keeps me embedded in the whole process.

i also try to see the clinical relevance in what i'm learning in lecture - which, admittedly, is often difficult, but more often than not there are crucial correlations to treatment. so you kind of have to look through the nonsense to get at the deeper importance of the voluminous scientific information that we're inundated with.

finally, i want a TT. sooo bad. i just bought a MINI Cooper S but DAMN i would love a TT. or a Lexus SC430 but that's more for when i'm in my old-lady-doctor days...

...good luck yall!

 

[Naphtali]

They say the second generation Toyota Prius (hybrid) is better than the first. And pretty soon, they're going to be making hybrid versions of their other models, including the Highlander. A hybrid Highlander... giddyup! (Yeah, I know I have wierd taste in cars, but to each his own, right?)

Naphtali

 

[Sessamoid]

Okay, I hate to be the spoilsport here, but I'm going to interject a dose of reality here. If derm is really the only thing you're interested in doing, I wonder about your dedication to medicine. Very few of us were set on a specialty to the exclusion of all other possibilities even before we started. In all likelihood, you may find that you enjoy fields you didn't think you would. What in particular about derm made you decide you couldn't be happy doing anything else?

Okay, here's the dose of reality. Dermatology is a VERY competitive field to get into. Most of the applicants will be AOA or pretty damned close. Middle of the class applicants have little chance. Bottom half of the class applicants have virtually zero chance of matching into dermatology. Now, this may change in a few years, but it's been pretty consistent with derm for quite some time. If you're close to failing ANY class, it will be very difficult at the least to bring your grades up to the level that will allow you to successfully match into derm.

That said, if you're like most students, you'll find something in your clinical rotations that does fit your interests other than derm. Derm may pay well and offer great lifestyle, but it would have bored the daylights out of me.

edit: To continue the offtopic conversation, I have a Honda S2000.