MD How can you enjoy medical school?

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canmed96

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Incoming M1, i understand that time is limited and med school is harder than undergrad. However i really dont want it to be the doom and gloom people make it sound like here.
I want to take oppurtunities to make friends, travel a bit and enjoy as much as possible.

What do you guys do for fun? Have you been able to travel at all? What gets you "away" from school?
 
Med school is an exercise in prioritization.

Want to score top 10% in your class and, ultimately, on boards? Mastering the material is going to take up a significant chunk of your time.

Going to a p/f school and not concerned with a competitive residency or a competitive location? Enjoy the holiday that is preclinical.

Fall somewhere in between? Ask yourself what you want out of your career and how much academic accomplishment is required to get you there. You'll have a rough idea of how much you'll have to prioritize studying at the exclusion of some of your other interests. This will all become more clear as your progress through your classes, so don't sweat it so much now.

Having said all that, even the most ambitious in my class have time for sports/clubs/not medicine. If there are things or people in your life that mean lots to you, you'll find a way to work them in.
 
If you decide you want to be the best, studying efficiently is much more important than time put in. Find a few resources that work for you.
A lot of it will come down to natural ability.
Also, dont worry about being the absolute best. People dont care as long as youre near the top. Unless of course you want something like derm or plastics.
 
Take the time to develop friendships. I would not have survived med school without a solid group of friends that I made in my class (and this coming from a serious introvert that didn't make much time for friendships before or after med school). Going through med school together really brings you together in a way few other things can. Having people to study and lunch break with makes the long hours so much easier, especially during board studying (not to mention having someone to explain things you don't get, share studying resources, and practice physical exam skills on). Also, having people you can work out with, celebrate with after tests or for big events, cry to when life gets hard, vacation with, etc. makes med school so worth it. Take advantage of the break after first year to do something like travel abroad if your school has a program. Explore the city you're in. Plan some camping trips or road trips during breaks or for post-test times. Studying is important, but there's so much more to med school and life than you'll find in a book, and surrounding yourself with people who care and know what you're going through makes everything so much easier. Med school is hard, but because of the friends I made there, it was truly the best time of my life.
 
At my school it has been a lot of slowish times followed by times where I had no time to do anything at all. You prioritize fun during the times you know it will be slow and you can enjoy your life, then prioritize studying when you know that's what you need to do. Nothing much more to it. It's harder than undergrad for most people (me included) but you figure out how to manage it after a month or two.
 
Make friends and be social. Join classmates going out to get drinks, join interest groups, study at the school, etc...

Have some friends or SO outside of school, just to have some people to give you a break from it.

Do the things that make you happy. Have actual hobbies that you can do and enjoy.

And do well in school. If you're coming back every test sad and disappointed in your performance, youre going to be a sad and disappointed person. Period. If youre doing well and happy with your performance youre going to be a lot happier
 
Make friends. Do stuff on the weekends whenever possible
 
ndafife said:
Make friends and be social. Join classmates going out to get drinks, join interest groups, study at the school, etc...

Have some friends or SO outside of school, just to have some people to give you a break from it.

Do the things that make you happy. Have actual hobbies that you can do and enjoy.

And do well in school. If you're coming back every test sad and disappointed in your performance, youre going to be a sad and disappointed person. Period. If youre doing well and happy with your performance youre going to be a lot happier
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Another incoming MS1 here with my two cents.

Follow up on #1 - go out for drinks, but don't close down the bar (I'm SOO guilty of this). Give yourself a curfew that allows you to be social, but also responsible.

#2 - So much truth here. I don't care if I have to hang out with my realtor because I moved away from all my non-healthcare friends and family, but I WILL do it if necessary (or if not - she's super cool) to get away the constant med school chatter.

And for my original (although uniformed) thought - get EXCITED about what you are learning as often as possible. Remember your purpose, let it drive you, and your passion will make the work seem less like work.

Cheers.
 
I had a life before med school, and it continues. Some of my friends are med students. Some I met in my part-time job. I met my fiance at the gym when I commented that his nose didn't get set correctly after an MMA fighter. Don't think that life stops in med school. Enjoy life.
 
Tbh it’s pretty easy to have fun until the middle of M2. Just use good time management and don’t waste time playing video games/scrolling Facebook. As you gear up for Step 1 during the 2nd half of M2 the opportunities to do fun stuff start to dissolve.

By 3rd year your social life literally vanishes and there’s not much you can do about it. But all in all the whole step 1 study period + M3 is only 18 months. Then you’re a 4th year and get to chill hard for the better part of a year.

Edit: point of this post was more to say that med school is pretty chill minus the 18 month block in the middle - not sure if that’s how it came off
 
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canmed96 said:
Incoming M1, i understand that time is limited and med school is harder than undergrad. However i really dont want it to be the doom and gloom people make it sound like here.
I want to take oppurtunities to make friends, travel a bit and enjoy as much as possible.

What do you guys do for fun? Have you been able to travel at all? What gets you "away" from school?
Click to expand...
Definitely maintain a study schedule but incorporate time that isn't studying. Even if it's occasional. That could be watching TV, dinner gatherings with friends, etc. Also a big part of avoiding the "doom and gloom" is just maintaining a good friend group and avoiding toxic people. It's easier said than done, but personally, once I met my true friends and stopped hanging out with people I knew would get me down, life just felt so much better. It made a big difference
 
canmed96 said:
Incoming M1, i understand that time is limited and med school is harder than undergrad. However i really dont want it to be the doom and gloom people make it sound like here.
I want to take oppurtunities to make friends, travel a bit and enjoy as much as possible.

What do you guys do for fun? Have you been able to travel at all? What gets you "away" from school?
Click to expand...
Graduate
 
I've pretty much treated med school like undergrad for the most part. Studying definitely has to happen some time throughout the day, but there's a lot of time for fun and hanging out.
 
I stayed sane mainly by having a core group of friends who I got along with and did non medicine things with outside of work. I went to the gym as much as possible (something which I have been bad at recently in residency and fellowship). I tried to enjoy whatever I did clinically. I tried not to stress and went with the flow.

Basically, don’t make medical school the only thing in your life and do whatever you want.
 
cubsrule4e said:
Its kind of like high school. You hate it until its gone, then you wish you could get it back. Enjoy every moment, from the good times, to the 2am cramming the night before the test. The memories will serve you well once the buzz of the accomplishments themselves slowly fade.
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Couldn’t agree more. Every once in a while try to take a step back and appreciate the absurdity of what you’re doing.

For my law/finance friends, the most exciting thing they do all week happens when they get off work. For us, the most exciting thing we do is usually something AT work.

Yesterday we spent like 30 minutes conference calling the CDC because we were afraid our patient had an amoeba in his brain. Who else gets to do things like that?!
 
I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion which gets grimaces and scorn, but I find the competition aspect very motivating. There is a certain satisfaction you get from being top of your class, and ultimately, getting a high Step score. Its simply a nice feeling.

That said, you have to reign that competitiveness in sometimes - theres a fine line between being competitive and being a dick. Things like withholding information about resources from class mates, or worse, intentionally misleading them/setting them up is crossing that line. Just enjoy the sparring aspect whilst being a good sport, and I feel its healthy.
 
hardpecs said:
I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion which gets grimaces and scorn, but I find the competition aspect very motivating. There is a certain satisfaction you get from being top of your class, and ultimately, getting a high Step score. Its simply a nice feeling.

That said, you have to reign that competitiveness in sometimes - theres a fine line between being competitive and being a dick. Things like withholding information about resources from class mates, or worse, intentionally misleading them/setting them up is crossing that line. Just enjoy the sparring aspect whilst being a good sport, and I feel its healthy.
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Yeah, except that one day you’ll be in practice and will reach a point in your life where you realize competing against others for a higher test score doesn’t matter anymore. And then you’re left with “now what do I do with my life?” As the constant refrain. It’s fine to do well and try to score high, but getting a high out of it will disappoint in the long run.
 
IMreshopeful said:
Yeah, except that one day you’ll be in practice and will reach a point in your life where you realize competing against others for a higher test score doesn’t matter anymore. And then you’re left with “now what do I do with my life?” As the constant refrain. It’s fine to do well and try to score high, but getting a high out of it will disappoint in the long run.
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I dont disagree, but then with this mindset you reroute your competitiveness to other things - wanting to have better patient outcomes than those senior, finding ways to teach students in better ways than others, and staying more abreast of the latest developments. Some might argue its foolishness and vanity, but it keeps me going at 110% when id otherwise be going at 50%, and above all its for the benefit of others. The problem, as you very rightly say, is with the neuroticism and stress it causes you, but all things considered, I couldnt bring myself to live any other way.

I will say some of the most sore losers and negative people ive met have this mindset too, so YMMV
 
canmed96 said:
Incoming M1, i understand that time is limited and med school is harder than undergrad. However i really dont want it to be the doom and gloom people make it sound like here.
I want to take oppurtunities to make friends, travel a bit and enjoy as much as possible.

What do you guys do for fun? Have you been able to travel at all? What gets you "away" from school?
Click to expand...
I’m an hour from home so I go home often.

Free food, support, and I get to play with my German Shepherd 🙂
 
cubsrule4e said:
Its kind of like high school. You hate it until its gone, then you wish you could get it back. Enjoy every moment, from the good times, to the 2am cramming the night before the test. The memories will serve you well once the buzz of the accomplishments themselves slowly fade.
Click to expand...

The Knife & Gun Club said:
Couldn’t agree more. Every once in a while try to take a step back and appreciate the absurdity of what you’re doing.
Click to expand...

Last year a lot of people were struggling with Neuro and worried about an upcoming test. An M4 offered to do an informal review session for us, and almost the entire M1 class turned up. We crammed like 60 people into a room meant for small group meetings at 8pm on a Friday - I remember looking around at the people standing on chairs or sitting on the floor and just grinning like some day we are all gonna look back at this and laugh. Wish I had taken a picture.
 
MS3 here

Had a workout w/ a buddy and his GF. Getting time to play video games and my GF and I are going out on a date.

Just gotta have priorities dude. If you don’t force yourself to compartmentalize work and play, you won’t get to do either.

Med school is fun for those who are good at time management.
 
We had a lecture the other day and the professor gave a rather piss poor lecture. I learned very little through his explanations, and it was a total waste of time. But at the end he gave huge hints to what was going to be on the exam, and my classmates were coming out of that lecture feeling great and thanking the man. I was in shock. We didn’t learn jack.

Another professor for example was absolutely fantastic, and I understood exactly what he was saying, and it really enhanced my perspective on that subject material. His exam questions were incredibly tricky and difficult.

In undergrad, it was logical to prefer the first professor, but in medical school, the second professor wins every time. Grades are meaningless, but understanding the material is pivotal to your future. No one is going to spoon feed answers come step 1. It’s better to learn at the moment than down the road.

Take an hour or two every day to review that days material and some material from earlier in the week and the stuff will stick I promise. It isn’t necessary to spend 6+ hours studying a day. Maybe the days right before an exam, sure, but surely not most days.
 
Newyawk said:
This is such a nonsensical post. One guy can get straight 100s with 30 hours and another needs 60 to just pass. Its fact
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I see what you're saying, but exceptions and brilliant people aside, I feel he is touching on something. The fact is you are able to tell the difference between an average student putting in enough to get by, and the average student putting in enough to exceed; and a lot of that does come down to time invested. Study hours is a very rough gauge, but I do think it does tell you /something/
 
Understand all the concepts related to this definitely one day you enjoy the medical school.
 
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