Gunners

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

Thisjatti

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
37
Reaction score
0
Members do not see this ad.
Why is there such a negative connotation associated with seemingly motivated students? Maybe someone can help me figure it out, because I sort of admire them😀
 
so you're admitting you're going to be a gunner, and you're proud of it. good luck making friends in college!
 
No one hates "motivated" students. We're all motivated students. What people hate is the attitude that you can screw anyone over just to achieve your goals. True gunners are generally very annoying people who will try to learn everything about you so they could either beat you or screw you over. People who work hard and do well are awesome. People who work hard to mess everyone else up are not.
 
msb1190 said:
so you're admitting you're going to be a gunner, and you're proud of it. good luck making friends in college!
Click to expand...

QFT

motivated is one way to look at it. Super competitive is another way.

Have you ever played a friendly game (lets say video game - Super Smash Bros) with a SUPER competitive friend?

It's no longer fun, somehow they suck the happiness out of friendly competition and turn it into something worse. Don't be that guy who will do anything to win.
 
There's a huge difference between being highly motivated and sabotaging-everyone's-grade-and-being-a-complete-dickhead.
 
Well, I don't even understand the characteristics they possess.

I mean I'm going to study like a freak and try to make the best grades, but it's college, so I'm definitely trying to be more independent than in HS. And haha I've never really had a problem making friends.

Do gunners screw other people over?
 
I think you may be confused as to what. qualifies someone as a gunner. A gunner does not mean a highly motivated student, that studies a lot. What a gunner is, is someone who intentionally sabotages other people, or acts in a way without regard for the effects on his/her fellow classmates in order to get ahead.
 
Wait, how could you possible sabotage someone elses grade, in college? It seems impossible, because cheating's hard in HS, I'd think it wouldn't even be existant in college.

Btw, I'm a HS junior, so at this point I'm pretty ignorant of such topics🙂
 
Thisjatti said:
Wait, how could you possible sabotage someone elses grade, in college? It seems impossible, because cheating's hard in HS, I'd think it wouldn't even be existant in college.

Btw, I'm a HS junior, so at this point I'm pretty ignorant of such topics🙂
Click to expand...
you're killing me, smalls.
 
An example that comes to mind when I think of a gunner is when you ask someone what the teacher just said (because you accidentally missed it) and they say "oh I missed it too" even though you know they were writing frantically.

Or if you ask someone to explain something to you and they say that they don't understand it at all either.

Or the people that have no shame asking to take a look at your notes but conveniently never have the notes you want to look at with them.
 
🙂

I don't think I'm a gunner, for a second there, I was under a misconception, but yeah I'm glad I'm not haha
 
Thisjatti said:
Why is there such a negative connotation associated with seemingly motivated students? Maybe someone can help me figure it out, because I sort of admire them😀
Click to expand...

A good overachieving student is one who studies like mad and tries their hardest to do their best. I bad overachieving student, typically called a gunner, either sabotages other students or tries to obtain favoritism from the instructor.

At small schools the latter issue isn't much of a probably because the professor knows all of his/her students anyhow. It is an issue at large schools with 300+ student lectures. Example: Students asking questions when they already know they answer, students talking to the professor after class just to get their name out there, or students going to office hours without questions (just so the professor 'knows they care.') Most professors will not allow such behavior to bias their opinions, but there are always one or two who will let the "overly enthusiastic" student get into their heads.

P.S. I'll be a bit honest; there was one time when I needed 1 point in a class to get a higher letter grade. I asked the professor if I could meet with him to discuss it and I walked out with the higher grade. In retrospect I lament having done that, because I didn't earn the grade; I merely sucked up for it. If you've never done this before, I commend you! Just know that many premeds would do it.
 
Speaking of gunners...When I was in undergrad, I had a friend who was a law student. One of their assignments required the use of a single book that could only be found in the law library. It was also a book that could not be checked out. So, she got the information she needed from it and then ripped out all the relevant pages so no one else would have access to them until the next student found the ripped book, reported it to a librarian, the librarian reordered the book, and the book came in. Of course, the book would not arrive until after the assignment was due. Now, THAT is cut-throat right there...
 
rxlea said:
Speaking of gunners...When I was in undergrad, I had a friend who was a law student. One of their assignments required the use of a single book that could only be found in the law library. It was also a book that could not be checked out. So, she got the information she needed from it and then ripped out all the relevant pages so no one else would have access to them until the next student found the ripped book, reported it to a librarian, the librarian reordered the book, and the book came in. Of course, the book would not arrive until after the assignment was due. Now, THAT is cut-throat right there...
Click to expand...

deck_gunner.jpg


GUNNERS, they'll do anything for an A.
 
Thisjatti said:
Wait, how could you possible sabotage someone elses grade, in college? It seems impossible, because cheating's hard in HS, I'd think it wouldn't even be existant in college.

Btw, I'm a HS junior, so at this point I'm pretty ignorant of such topics🙂
Click to expand...
Are you kidding me? Cheating in high school is easier than beating a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. I was supposedly the best physics student in my class and this kid would literally stand up during an exam and stare at my paper for like 30 seconds. Never got caught once.
 
We're all very motivated.

A true gunner is one who either screws people over (e.g. steal notes) or is extremely annoying (e.g. asking prof a question for the obvious sole purpose of sounding impressive).
 
Thisjatti said:
Well, I don't even understand the characteristics they possess.

I mean I'm going to study like a freak and try to make the best grades, but it's college, so I'm definitely trying to be more independent than in HS. And haha I've never really had a problem making friends.

Do gunners screw other people over?
Click to expand...

That is exactly what they do and were the term comes from. "Gunning down" your colleagues. One upping your peers in class or in front of your superiors at work whenever the opportunity arises. Also being fake - faux intellectualism just to garner professors' attention.
 
Thisjatti said:
Wait, how could you possible sabotage someone elses grade, in college? It seems impossible, because cheating's hard in HS, I'd think it wouldn't even be existant in college.
Btw, I'm a HS junior, so at this point I'm pretty ignorant of such topics🙂
Click to expand...

you, my son, have much to learn.
 
msb1190 said:
so you're admitting you're going to be a gunner, and you're proud of it. good luck making friends in college!
Click to expand...

HAHA agreed. I remember walking into O-chem 5 minutes late, taking the first seat I saw, and then the guy next to me looking at me like I was going to try and copy his notes--he then went on to get out of his seat and then move down the row like 5 seats.

I haven't seen him since--i'm guessing he really did need to try and screw everyone over in order to pass o-chem--which it doesn't like he did HAHA
...and it didn't help that he looked like a hobo who didn't have a shower in weeks.
 
My favorite gunner is the premed in my physics class who on the first day, in front of all of us, walked straight up to the professor and said, "I'm pre-med, so you're going to need to give me an A."

In spite of her many subsequent helpful suggestions about alterations to the grading system, she appears to have pulled a D. :meanie:
 
Tiktaalik said:
My favorite gunner is the premed in my physics class who on the first day, in front of all of us, walked straight up to the professor and said, "I'm pre-med, so you're going to need to give me an A."

In spite of her many subsequent helpful suggestions about alterations to the grading system, she appears to have pulled a D. :meanie:
Click to expand...

man the nerve of some people!
 
Naijaba said:
A good overachieving student is one who studies like mad and tries their hardest to do their best. I bad overachieving student, typically called a gunner, either sabotages other students or tries to obtain favoritism from the instructor.

At small schools the latter issue isn't much of a probably because the professor knows all of his/her students anyhow. It is an issue at large schools with 300+ student lectures. Example: Students asking questions when they already know they answer, students talking to the professor after class just to get their name out there, or students going to office hours without questions (just so the professor 'knows they care.') Most professors will not allow such behavior to bias their opinions, but there are always one or two who will let the "overly enthusiastic" student get into their heads.

P.S. I'll be a bit honest; there was one time when I needed 1 point in a class to get a higher letter grade. I asked the professor if I could meet with him to discuss it and I walked out with the higher grade. In retrospect I lament having done that, because I didn't earn the grade; I merely sucked up for it. If you've never done this before, I commend you! Just know that many premeds would do it.
Click to expand...

This.
 
Naijaba said:
At small schools the latter issue isn't much of a probably because the professor knows all of his/her students anyhow.
Click to expand...
Oh, trust me, it happens at small schools, too. Everyone's after the research spot or the perfect LoR - when everyone knows the prof, you've gotta try even harder to make the prof LOVE you.

P.S. I'll be a bit honest; there was one time when I needed 1 point in a class to get a higher letter grade. I asked the professor if I could meet with him to discuss it and I walked out with the higher grade. In retrospect I lament having done that, because I didn't earn the grade; I merely sucked up for it. If you've never done this before, I commend you! Just know that many premeds would do it.
Click to expand...

I dunno, this sort of thing happens in the working world all the time - sometimes it pays to go to people with influence and try to tip the scales in your favor a bit. The social aspect of advancement is as much part of a career as the performance aspect. Since the option is open to all students to try, I'd hardly call it unethical - you just played the game harder than others did and got an extra point because of it.
 
Naijaba said:
P.S. I'll be a bit honest; there was one time when I needed 1 point in a class to get a higher letter grade. I asked the professor if I could meet with him to discuss it and I walked out with the higher grade. In retrospect I lament having done that, because I didn't earn the grade; I merely sucked up for it. If you've never done this before, I commend you! Just know that many premeds would do it.
Click to expand...

I call BS, to get a better grade you will do what you have to do. It's not like you granted him/her any "favors". You simply talked to him about your grade and he gave you 1 point, just one point.

Look, people will do what they have to in order to get ahead, most of the people who sabotage do it because they don't know the material, and thats the only way they can get a better grade.

I also doubt you "felt bad" about getting an A- over a B+, if you really felt bad you would request him to change your grade back to the B+ out of honesty, but you didn't. Your life must be so hard!

Long story short, do what ever you have to in order to get the better grade as long as it's not cheating or illegal... or both... Med Schools are competitive and if you don't pull out all the stops, someone else will.
 
NPHisyourLord said:
I call BS, to get a better grade you will do what you have to do. It's not like you granted him/her any "favors". You simply talked to him about your grade and he gave you 1 point, just one point.

Look, people will do what they have to in order to get ahead, most of the people who sabotage do it because they don't know the material, and thats the only way they can get a better grade.

I also doubt you "felt bad" about getting an A- over a B+, if you really felt bad you would request him to change your grade back to the B+ out of honesty, but you didn't. Your life must be so hard!

Long story short, do what ever you have to in order to get the better grade as long as it's not cheating or illegal... or both... Med Schools are competitive and if you don't pull out all the stops, someone else will.
Click to expand...

I would tend to agree with this. Being in school for the past 13-14 years of your life you forget the social aspects of things. A lot of premeds think that social skills/connections don't count for **** as long as they "have the grades" and hence the bitching over so and so got in with lower scores ... maybe that dude was more personable than your arrogant self ... (talking about in general not anyone specific in this thread). You will also see that once you do get into med school, that social aspect/connections play a larger and larger role in getting into your residency of choice and fellowships, etc.
 
Tiktaalik said:
Oh, trust me, it happens at small schools, too. Everyone's after the research spot or the perfect LoR - when everyone knows the prof, you've gotta try even harder to make the prof LOVE you.



I dunno, this sort of thing happens in the working world all the time - sometimes it pays to go to people with influence and try to tip the scales in your favor a bit. The social aspect of advancement is as much part of a career as the performance aspect. Since the option is open to all students to try, I'd hardly call it unethical - you just played the game harder than others did and got an extra point because of it.
Click to expand...

Really? I would consider convincing a professor to give you a grade you didn't earn as dubious at best. There is a certain amount of gaming that goes on, but grades are intended to be subjective evaluations of your academic performance. The time for gaming comes when asking for LORs, seeking out unique opportunities, etc.. There's no room on your academic transcript for influencing professors to give you a grade that's more than what you candidly deserve.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Really? I would consider convincing a professor to give you a grade you didn't earn as dubious at best. There is a certain amount of gaming that goes on, but grades are intended to be subjective evaluations of your academic performance. The time for gaming comes when asking for LORs, seeking out unique opportunities, etc.. There's no room on your academic transcript for influencing professors to give you a grade that's more than what you candidly deserve.
Click to expand...

I think you mean objective, since all that other stuff is subjective info.

Even then, grades are far from objectively assigned. Unless the class grade is 100% based on standardized mc tests with no curving, the grades always reflect subjective judgements as well as objective ones.
 
Aside from the ethics of cutting down your future colleagues to get ahead, there's a fine line between ambitious and annoying.
 
There is no "I" in Team, and the Team approach is what ultimately benefits patients at the end of the day. Nevertheless, there is still a way to show your academic prowess without doing it at the expense of others.
 
Speculatrix said:
There is no "I" in Team, and the Team approach is what ultimately benefits patients at the end of the day. Nevertheless, there is still a way to show your academic prowess without doing it at the expense of others.
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, hearts and hugs all around.

Teamwork won't get you into Medical School, cut their throats before they can cut yours. The truth is everyone will cut your throat just to get a little ahead and you should be prepared for that.
 
Speculatrix said:
There is no "I" in Team, and the Team approach is what ultimately benefits patients at the end of the day. Nevertheless, there is still a way to show your academic prowess without doing it at the expense of others.
Click to expand...


👍
 
rxlea said:
Speaking of gunners...When I was in undergrad, I had a friend who was a law student. One of their assignments required the use of a single book that could only be found in the law library. It was also a book that could not be checked out. So, she got the information she needed from it and then ripped out all the relevant pages so no one else would have access to them until the next student found the ripped book, reported it to a librarian, the librarian reordered the book, and the book came in. Of course, the book would not arrive until after the assignment was due. Now, THAT is cut-throat right there...
Click to expand...


wouldn't the class know it was her because she was the only one to turn in the assignment on time? I would've invited her to "work out" w/ me
 
Thisjatti said:
Wait, how could you possible sabotage someone elses grade, in college? It seems impossible, because cheating's hard in HS, I'd think it wouldn't even be existant in college.
Btw, I'm a HS junior, so at this point I'm pretty ignorant of such topics🙂
Click to expand...

Ooooh...you'd be surprised how easy it is (especially in huge lecture classes) and how oblivious some professors are. I'd say the gunners are the ones who will cheat to get the best test score. They're the ones who are unscrupulous. It'll be tempting to cheat in college, but be better than that.
 
rxlea said:
Yeah. And guess what? She didn't care. That is a real gunner right there.
Click to expand...

This is the key point. The true gunner is a sociopath. They have no conscience nor qualms about achieving their goals. It's kinda remarkable in a way, assuming you aren't on the receiving end of the gunning. 🙂
 
NPHisyourLord said:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, hearts and hugs all around.

Teamwork won't get you into Medical School, cut their throats before they can cut yours. The truth is everyone will cut your throat just to get a little ahead and you should be prepared for that.
Click to expand...

Dang that is a very "gunner-ish" post. You're justifying screwing people over on the off chance that they might screw you over? Let me tell you that I got into med school without screwing people over. Whats more, I know SEVERAL people who got into med school without screwing people over. If people think that the only way they can come out ahead is to screw others over, it shows a remarkable lack of confidence in their own skills to do well academically. If you're a horrible doctor in the end (not saying that you necessarily would be if you were a gunner), no matter how much sucking up you do/screwing others over, you can only go so far before someone wonders how you got into medical school.
 
rxlea said:
Speaking of gunners...When I was in undergrad, I had a friend who was a law student. One of their assignments required the use of a single book that could only be found in the law library. It was also a book that could not be checked out. So, she got the information she needed from it and then ripped out all the relevant pages so no one else would have access to them until the next student found the ripped book, reported it to a librarian, the librarian reordered the book, and the book came in. Of course, the book would not arrive until after the assignment was due. Now, THAT is cut-throat right there...
Click to expand...

My friends at jhu tell me how apparently the most common place for accidental acid spills in ochem lab appeared to be right on top of other people's lab notebooks...
 
In med school there are gunners and then there are "gunners". People will joke around with you about being a gunner if you study all the time and never seem to go home but are also willing to hang out and help people with stuff...and are a truly nice and genuine person. We will only call you a gunner behind your back or in a slightly nastier tone when you will do whatever it takes to get that higher grade. You study all the time, but make it seem like you don't. Openly rub in better grades. Refuse to help others. Volunteer for nearly every activity simply because you want to put it on your CV rather than being interested in it. The list goes on. These are the people that have the negative connotation version of a gunner. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want, even if it means selling out the others and drowning their grandmother to get it.

Snipers are a step up from gunners. You never see them. They are nice to your face, but as soon as you turn around they will shoot you down from the shadows. It becomes much more of a problem during rotations where they can purposefully "forget" to contact or tell you something, sell you out behind your back, etc. Some schools breed these people more than others. It doesn't even have much to do with prestige (although there is probably a positive correlation), but rather the atmosphere the school provides. P/F schools tend to be much kinder than A-F grading where they openly make class rank a competition.
 
Hifey said:
Dang that is a very "gunner-ish" post. You're justifying screwing people over on the off chance that they might screw you over? Let me tell you that I got into med school without screwing people over. Whats more, I know SEVERAL people who got into med school without screwing people over. If people think that the only way they can come out ahead is to screw others over, it shows a remarkable lack of confidence in their own skills to do well academically. If you're a horrible doctor in the end (not saying that you necessarily would be if you were a gunner), no matter how much sucking up you do/screwing others over, you can only go so far before someone wonders how you got into medical school.
Click to expand...

Please, just being smart doesn't get you into med school. You have to compete against other "smart" applicants. If you don't do something to push yourself ahead the other person will. Even if that means brown nosing the professor or giving you the wrong answers to questions, so be it, you learn who they are how to avoid them. Regardless, in the real word people aren't so happy and friendly and nice. People will, can, and do cut your throat just to get ahead and will have no remorse. It's fun and easy, you should try it.

Also, plenty of time those people who backstab also happen to be people with the highest grades, that is, they get 100% because they know their stuff. I happen to know quite a few people who have 4.0 who will screw you over just for the fun of it.

You learn who they are and you avoid them, but they exist. That's a fact. Get used to it.

NPH
 
Naijaba said:
A good overachieving student is one who studies like mad and tries their hardest to do their best. I bad overachieving student, typically called a gunner, either sabotages other students or tries to obtain favoritism from the instructor.

At small schools the latter issue isn't much of a probably because the professor knows all of his/her students anyhow. It is an issue at large schools with 300+ student lectures. Example: Students asking questions when they already know they answer, students talking to the professor after class just to get their name out there, or students going to office hours without questions (just so the professor 'knows they care.') Most professors will not allow such behavior to bias their opinions, but there are always one or two who will let the "overly enthusiastic" student get into their heads.
Click to expand...

I've gone to a professor's office hours without any specific questions about the class itself. I've done it when I'm no longer in a class with a professor too. Why? Because I got to the point that they actually cared about my success in one way or another. These were the professors who wrote me LORs, and I know they were genuine because I went to office hours and got to know them in a different setting than the classroom. That's not a bad aspect.

Now, going to office hours and specifically taking up the professor's time when there are 20 people waiting to ask a question is a gunnerish ability. I always excused myself if someone came in with a question, or waited patiently while the professor spoke with another student.

Wasting the class' time with questions that don't matter to waste time is a gunner trait. Loudly complaining about the professor miscalculating a grade is a gunner trait (or at least the trait of an extremely arrogant person, especially if said grade is an A on a test where most people got Cs or worse).
 
NPHisyourLord said:
Please, just being smart doesn't get you into med school. You have to compete against other "smart" applicants. If you don't do something to push yourself ahead the other person will. Even if that means brown nosing the professor or giving you the wrong answers to questions, so be it, you learn who they are how to avoid them. Regardless, in the real word people aren't so happy and friendly and nice. People will, can, and do cut your throat just to get ahead and will have no remorse. It's fun and easy, you should try it.

Also, plenty of time those people who backstab also happen to be people with the highest grades, that is, they get 100% because they know their stuff. I happen to know quite a few people who have 4.0 who will screw you over just for the fun of it.

You learn who they are and you avoid them, but they exist. That's a fact. Get used to it.

NPH
Click to expand...

You've got a really cynical and pessimistic view on the matter. Frankly, I think your totally wrong. There are always people who will be jerks and try to step over other people to get the grade. But the majority of people who get into med school aren't screwing people over to do it. No being smart doesnt get you into medical school, but being smart and motivated does, and that doesn't require you to screw other people over whatsoever. Like another poster said, gunners are usually insecure because their so afraid someone might actually be better than them. So they do whatever it takes to get any advantage.

You dont have to be a gunner to do well. If your smart and put in the time (enough time that is), youll always do well regardless if your classmates are doing well also. Gunners dont realize that.
 
GodisGood12 said:
You've got a really cynical and pessimistic view on the matter. Frankly, I think your totally wrong. There are always people who will be jerks and try to step over other people to get the grade. But the majority of people who get into med school aren't screwing people over to do it. No being smart doesnt get you into medical school, but being smart and motivated does, and that doesn't require you to screw other people over whatsoever. Like another poster said, gunners are usually insecure because their so afraid someone might actually be better than them. So they do whatever it takes to get any advantage.

You dont have to be a gunner to do well. If your smart and put in the time (enough time that is), youll always do well regardless if your classmates are doing well also. Gunners dont realize that.
Click to expand...

No, gunners realize Med School is competitive and not some tea party where friendship wins, or some sappy crap like that you learn in preschool. The truth is you have to have the grades to get in, I don't remember ever seeing "How many friends/boyfriends/girlfriends do you have?" on AACOMAS.

If you get ahead of others, it's worth it as long as there's no cheating or legal issues.

Morality is for the weak.


NPH
 
NPHisyourLord said:
No, gunners realize Med School is competitive and not some tea party where friendship wins, or some sappy crap like that you learn in preschool. The truth is you have to have the grades to get in, I don't remember ever seeing "How many friends/boyfriends/girlfriends do you have?" on AACOMAS.

If you get ahead of others, it's worth it as long as there's no cheating or legal issues.

Morality is for the weak.


NPH
Click to expand...

Who said anything about not having the grades? Everyone agrees you need to work your butt off and try really really hard. And YES med school is competitive, but most of the time within yourself, you push yourself to do better and better. And theres nothing wrong with getting ahead of others, but I, and most of the people on this thread, have done so without bringing other people down but rather working harder or being more motivated.

Btw, everyone in Med school knows how competitive it is, not just gunners. What everyone else realizes, except gunners, is that it is extremely possible to succeed without taking others down. Theres a middle ground, its not extremes (kill everyone whos against you, or be uber chill and sing songs with friends).
 
GodisGood12 said:
Who said anything about not having the grades? Everyone agrees you need to work your butt off and try really really hard. And YES med school is competitive, but most of the time within yourself, you push yourself to do better and better. And theres nothing wrong with getting ahead of others, but I, and most of the people on this thread, have done so without bringing other people down but rather working harder or being more motivated.

Btw, everyone in Med school knows how competitive it is, not just gunners. What everyone else realizes, except gunners, is that it is extremely possible to succeed without taking others down. Theres a middle ground, its not extremes (kill everyone whos against you, or be uber chill and sing songs with friends).
Click to expand...

But it is so much fun to watch the losers cry as they fail. Sure, you're nice to them, but you can't tell me when you walk out of a easy Orgo exam and see people cry you feel awesome.

We're humans it's our very nature to be cut throat. Some of us are just better than others. Also, I believe that being a cutthroat and being "smart" are not mutally exclusive, trust me. It's just more fun if you get to watch other people fail.

NPH
 
Last edited:
mvenus929 said:
I've gone to a professor's office hours without any specific questions about the class itself. I've done it when I'm no longer in a class with a professor too. Why? Because I got to the point that they actually cared about my success in one way or another. These were the professors who wrote me LORs, and I know they were genuine because I went to office hours and got to know them in a different setting than the classroom. That's not a bad aspect...
Click to expand...

Yeah, this actually doesn't count as being gunnerish. In a system where you are supposed to provide LORs from people who know you, and this is really the only access to the profs you have you are SUPPOSED to do this. This isn't gunning, it isn't brown-nosing, it's simply being a premed under a system where this is how you get the LOR. Sorry, but this doesn't count as a gunner, and the poster who listed this is simply not playing the game.

A gunner is someone who sees everyone else as the enemy and it's his job to defeat them. Meaning he withholds useful information, supplies misinformation, and never misses an opportunity to make others look bad. For instance if you have a presentation, a gunner will be sure to research the topic so he can come up with a few questions you can't answer. He is the one who circulates a 100 page useless article to the class that he says he thinks will be helpful for the test, when in fact he knows it won't be. In med school he will be the one who jumps in on the pimp questions before you get a turn, or will "help you" by catching your errors, publicly. He will sometimes round on others patients so that when the other med students don't know something he will just happen to know the lab result or exam finding that was omitted. In short, his goal is to show you up, make you seem the buffoon. A gunner is not someone who simply studies hard and does well, it is someone who has plans to do well regardless of the consequences. The term is a pejorative. It is often misused by premeds who use the phrase endearingly, as an antonym for slacker.
 
It bothers me that people on this forum spend so much time putting down gunners. Do you no understand that 9/10 times they are just really insecure individuals desperate for affirmation. This type of attitude will likely not carry them far in life, and this is a lesson that they will have to learn. However, there is no need to put them down, for it is not your job to teach them this. It is not their fault they are this way, most likely their parents. Please, I implore everyone to focus on their own studies and just let it go. I find what many of you are doing to be more pretentious as the gunners themselves. Thanks for the consideration.....🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Is being a"gunner" a bad thing?
Replies
11
Views
2K
Isoval
Isoval
D
How many surgical gunners do you see during MS1, and how many of them follow through?
Replies
41
Views
5K
Bonne Nuit
Bonne Nuit
deweystrontium
  • Locked
How do I stop being a gunner?
2
Replies
60
Views
5K
Lee
Lee
bearintraining
WashU & "gunners"
Replies
35
Views
8K
laterbay
L
W
Need Honest, non-gunner, advice on Low MCAT Score
Replies
21
Views
2K
wildcat96
W
Top