Goingout?

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It depends on the school, but if there's no reason you shouldnt be able to take at least one day off/week. We had Monday tests so instead of Fri/Sat, we'd go out on Mon and (sometimes) Fri nights. We all managed to do well, so I guess it's just a matter of priorities.
 
Unless the test early in the week, there is no reason you cannot take a day off during the weekend, esp during the first 2 years.

Med school is a lot of work, but if you dont make time to have some fun you will go nuts.
 
After I started bucklin down in undergrad I had to FORCE myself to go out 1X a week for balance. Other than that my academic load was intense. Good prep for the next 2 yrs I guess
 
Medical school is tough and requires a good deal of dedicated effort, but it's not a prison by any means, although I'm sure some would disagree. You can and probably should take time off for self-care type things, including time to hang with friends and to have a good time. However, you are probably going to do these types of things much less than you are accustomed to and there may be times when you just can't do them, depending on your study habits and skills. Don't go crazy, though, partying on weekends, etc. I'd play a pretty conservative game until you have a solid handle on things at school, which can take a bit of time.
 
We would go out, but not always on the weekend, if the test was thurday then thurday night could be bar night.
 
PCOM is on a nice cycle of about one test every three to four weeks. You had plenty of time to have a social life.
 
Doc driven said:
Does anyone honestly have time to go out on friday and saturday night in Medical school? I am guessing no. I appreciate the response.
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med school is like a job you dont really have to go to most days. you can go out almost as much as college. who actually studies that much anyways?
 
I was talking to some students at CCOM and they all said that they make time to go out
 
During the first 2 years of med school, my friends and I would go out at least 2-3 nights a week... still did fine.
 
Just from reading everybody elses posts on this thread alone one can see that it really does depend on the individual, and to a lesser extent, the medical school your attending and the exam schedule
 
I wonder if this happens to others, but when I do "go out" I often feel guilty unless a major exam, finals etc.... is finally over. With this curse, I cant fully enjoy whatever it is I am pretending to indulge in.
 
I just finished my second year, we would often go out on the nights after a test, but it usually depended on the test load in the near future too...friday nights were almost always spent at the bar, with the exception of before finals week. You have to make time for things you enjoy in life and schedule them in along with studying, for me that was going out once a week, watching my favorite tv shows (though not always on the night they first came out), working out most days and cooking healthy meals for myself.

Being balanced is the best way, but it does take time, I remember the first few months of first year being stressful just because you are learning how you have to study and what you have to do to succeed. There is plenty of time to have a great social life if you make the effort of making time for it!

best of luck! :luck:
 
DiverDoc said:
I wonder if this happens to others, but when I do "go out" I often feel guilty unless a major exam, finals etc.... is finally over. With this curse, I cant fully enjoy whatever it is I am pretending to indulge in.
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You need to get used to that feeling.

As for your original question. Yes, you have a LOT more free time than many here make it sound like you do.
 
Doc driven said:
Does anyone honestly have time to go out on friday and saturday night in Medical school? I am guessing no. I appreciate the response.
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In the past year, I've gone out maybe seven times. Otherwise, I've been too busy studying to go out. Someone once said that, if you're getting more than four hours of sleep/night while in medical school, you're doing something wrong. That seems to me to be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

But yeah, it's different for everyone. I just happen to be, like Einstein, a slow learner.
 
Xoynx said:
In the past year, I've gone out maybe seven times. Otherwise, I've been too busy studying to go out. Someone once said that, if you're getting more than four hours of sleep/night while in medical school, you're doing something wrong. That seems to me to be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

But yeah, it's different for everyone. I just happen to be, like Einstein, a slow learner.
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Social life is important. Have one unless you want to go crazy. Keep in mind that social life isn't always getting wasted. Having a few beers with friends can go a long way to relaxing you and also doesn't put you out of commission for the next day. I also think that working out during times of stress can be extremely therapeutic. Try to be involved in extracurriculars as well... it keeps you from freaking out from staring at your Netters or Robbins.
 
MaximusD said:
Social life is important. Have one unless you want to go crazy. Keep in mind that social life isn't always getting wasted. Having a few beers with friends can go a long way to relaxing you and also doesn't put you out of commission for the next day. I also think that working out during times of stress can be extremely therapeutic. Try to be involved in extracurriculars as well... it keeps you from freaking out from staring at your Netters or Robbins.
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Oh, socializing is important. I miss it very much, especially when the Venture Brothers is on. But I have to pull all-nighters before every exam as it is, just to make sure I've covered all the material. Not everyone has this problem, but I'm not exactly unique.
 
Xoynx said:
Oh, socializing is important. I miss it very much, especially when the Venture Brothers is on. But I have to pull all-nighters before every exam as it is, just to make sure I've covered all the material. Not everyone has this problem, but I'm not exactly unique.
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I do that too... I was addressing you at first but then moreso the OP. Sorry that I didn't make that clear.
 
Granted I'm only four weeks in, but as far as I'm concerned you have plenty of free time. If you work hard during normal business hours then there's no reason to have miserable evenings. But remember, you have to be able to get up at 7 the next morning 🙂.

As far as weekends go, I would say that if you do 3-4 hours of productive studying each day, you will be way ahead of where you need to be to pass.
 
One thing that I'm happy about is that I live right next to the school. The past 5 years I've had a 3 hour round trip commute to school and work. Its really hard to study on the bus, so I'll be happy to have that time to study.
 
Our nights to go out are Friday nights. Our class president is the bartender... BOOYAH!
 
NO you should be practicing dissection on small animals on the weekends!!!

Of course you should go out!! Keep your sanity.....In residency is the time to lose it


Doc driven said:
Does anyone honestly have time to go out on friday and saturday night in Medical school? I am guessing no. I appreciate the response.
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I think I'll be able to go out once or twice on the weekend if there's no test, but with my school's schedule I have no free time at all during the week. In order to keep up and not fall behind, I study/prepare for labs 3-4 hours a night. This is after a full day of lecture 8-5 and an hour commute home... Due to this schedule, I severely lack sleep so I'd probably need to sleep before I consider going out though...
 
Eudjinn said:
I think I'll be able to go out once or twice on the weekend if there's no test, but with my school's schedule I have no free time at all during the week. In order to keep up and not fall behind, I study/prepare for labs 3-4 hours a night. This is after a full day of lecture 8-5 and an hour commute home... Due to this schedule, I severely lack sleep so I'd probably need to sleep before I consider going out though...
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Your schedule will get considerably better after Neuro is done 😍. By the end of last year there was something going on every thurs/friday/saturday (when there were no exams).
 
We only had 27 hrs of class/week so many people went out at least once a week. One guy in my class supposedly went out gambling most nights, never attended class and still passed everything, go figure. Doing nothing but studying usually leads to burn out quickly.
 
jp104 said:
Your schedule will get considerably better after Neuro is done 😍. By the end of last year there was something going on every thurs/friday/saturday (when there were no exams).
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i really really hope this is the case for my year also. unfortunately, the end of neuro is still months and months away... for the time being (in fundamentals) i'm pretty miserable. i'm torn because i like the material, but the schedule, lack of sleep and quantity of new information is overwhelming. is this pretty normal at this stage?
 
keep sane, spent at least one night a week out and about (unless you have a test coming up). when I was doing my first two years, we didn't have block testing, instead we had tests almost every week, it seemed. I'd usually study hard up till the test then the evening right after the test i'd usually try to get out. If we didn't have a test immediately coming up, i'd usually spend friday night out and about with my wife and some friends, and usually on saturday, after spending all day studying, i'd be ready to stop studying and relax...
 
Anyone who claims they had little time for fun and/or hanging out in medical school is either lying or chose the gunner lifestyle. (This is a general statement and not meant to indict anyone) Med school was a blast on many many levels - including all the time spent going out, golfing, etc.
 
It's week 2 at PCOM.

Haven't been able to do anything other then class, sleep, and study.

I'm hoping a few things: 1) i'll do fine on the first exam so i dont have to keep overdoing it.

I also expect once i get in the swing of which study habits work for which professors/class i'll be okay...

If I have to keep up this level of studying, med school will be no fun at all.
 
Doc driven said:
Does anyone honestly have time to go out on friday and saturday night in Medical school? I am guessing no. I appreciate the response.
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Students here at LECOM-B have gone out on a number of nights since school started. Many of those who have gone out have been scoring in the high B to low A range on our tests...so it's very doable.

You have to be careful about when you go, and you'll probably have to make up the time by studying really hard on another day, but it is occasionally worth it.

Just manage your time wisely, and you'll stay sane AND learn stuff.
 
I do, but I'm either studying, sleeping, watching scrubs, or am out with friends. Twice a week isn't too bad but I wouldn't do it back to back. I like going out on thursdays and saturdays. Your call.
 
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