This kind of post is almost more irritating than the fire-and-brimstone ones. You go out every weekend and "rock" your exams (thanks for sharing your scores btw, I hadn't heard someone do that since undergrad)? Well yay! But please, please be aware that not everyone can be in your position. I imagine there are plenty of people in your class who are struggling and your post is kind of a slap in the face. "You're not doing it right"? Really? Some people go through med school without ever feeling overwhelmed. Others breeze through clinicals and then struggle as soon as the schedule of third year and mean attendings become an issue. But there are many who think it's drudgery all the way through, and they're barely keeping afloat. The idea that "they're not doing it right" because they're not partying and rocking exams like you is insulting. Suggestion: if the idea really is to take care of yourself so you'll be a "better doctor and a better person" you might want to look into caring about how your generalizations might affect others for the same purpose.
I really think this is so, so variable. For me it's really a matter of priorities- sometimes going out on the weekends and having a great time is a major priority. Sometimes, sleeping 14 hours and spending the day watching dumb tv is a greater priority. And sometimes, getting stuff done so I'm not as stressed the next week is even more important. How much you go out depends on a lot of things, including how well you hold your liquor. Case in point: I'm a total lightweight, especially now that I go out pretty rarely. If I go out and go big, I know I'll get home at 3ish, fall asleep at 4ish, wake up at 9 with the headache from hell, and generally be out of commission until 7 pm the next day. So I have to be really careful about when I do that, since taking a full 2 days off is rarely a good idea. Also, I'm the first to admit that a lot of people I know are more efficient studiers than I am. I know that when I have to study something boring (i.e. most of what I did first year, many things I did this year) I have at least a 20-30 minute buffer window when I'll be walking around saying hi to people, looking at facebook, answering emails, etc. For that reason, I rarely take advantage of breaks in my schedule shorter than 2-3 hours. I'd rather spend that break hanging out and study harder over the weekend than waste my time trying to memorize the 5 pages I actually get to. Again, a matter of priorities, personal strategy, and your own study skills.
As a rule, I'd say expect to study 3-4 hours (some do less, some do much more) on a normal class day, and the sky's the limit for exam weeks. I always take a few days off after an exam to regain my sanity, even if it means being behind later. People have different goals, too. For those who want to go into like, plastics, managing 2 or 3 extracurriculars, research, and being the best in the class matters. Some are just trying to pass everything and move on with their lives. I'm just happy to be around the class average.
And all of this isn't even counting the variation among schools, expectations for students, "competition" and motivation by classmates, personal learning styles, time spent in extracurriculars or research, and what "Pass" means at each school. Case in point for the latter issue: what does P mean to you? I always figured it would be around a 65 or 70. Well where I go, it's at the discretion of my professors. So for one class, it was a 65. For some classes it's a 75. For the last class I took, it was an 80. And when you only have 2 exams and the first one is a black box because you don't know how the professor is going to test and grade you, getting above an 80 JUST to pass can be a little overwhelming. Especially when you're studying, applying for leadership positions in clubs, working on your research, seeing patients, and handling whatever corollary "let's talk about our feelings" classes. And thank God I go to a school in which almost nothing has required attendance, or I'd really be in trouble. Incidentally, I have heard of schools where a P is a 50 or 60. I imagine "just getting by" there may be easier than it is where I go. But I'm way, way luckier than the people who go to a relatively unknown tiny place where you have to be one of the best to stand out, and you have a gpa that'll follow you into the application process.
So to whomever reads this: no matter how much or how little you work, don't feel bad. Everyone will handle it differently.
