How much freetime do med students have?

[arc5005]

How many hours do you have to yourself on weekdays? on weekends? what do you do with your freetime?

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[jqueb29]

It varies from course to course and week to week within that course. There are some weeks in courses I've had where I had 1 hour or less daily of free time (excluding basic life functions). And then there's been weeks where I've only had to put in about 15-20 hours the whole week.

 

[sliceofbread136]

varies by school. My experience:
1st year- tons
2nd year- not much
3rd year- almost 0
4th year- Havent done this yet but from what I've seen it looks like it will be pretty sweet

 

[WedgeDawg]

I have a lot of free time currently (M1). I expect that to change pretty soon though once I start getting more involved in extracurriculars like research.

 

[Ismet]

Generally, from most free time to least, it's M4 > M1 > M2 > M3. With the caveat that the first half of M4, from ending M3 to submitting ERAS and getting interviews, is still pretty time consuming (sub-internships, Step 2, preparing application). You have time to do things you're interested in, though likely to a lesser extent that you did in undergrad.

M3 has the least amount of free time because you're working full days and sometimes 6 days/week (depends on the rotation obviously). And then after a full day at the hospital/clinic, you have to read and study because there's still an exam at the end of the month.

 

[ridethecliche]

Depends entirely on how organized you are, how efficient you are at studying, and how smart you are/fast you learn. I have way less than I thought I would in some ways and more in others. Getting into a habit of studying before you actually need to helps a lot. I write this as I'm cramming-ish.

On the other side, I have classmates that watch lectures and review the notes once and remember just about everything. To say that I'm envious would be an understatement, but it is what it is!

 

[tortelliniboy]

I had plenty of time to go out and do what I wanted except during the few weeks before step, 3rd year surgery, and one of my internal medicine months was really bad.

 

[MrLogan13]

As a first year, I have quite a bit of time. I'm still able to go out every now and then, as well as catch all my favorite TV shows. Play the occasional video game.

 

[ridethecliche]

As a first year, I have quite a bit of time. I'm still able to go out every now and then, as well as catch all my favorite TV shows. Play the occasional video game.

Yeah, I'm not terribly efficient with my studying a lot of the time (like right now), but I go out atleast once a weekend and watch tv shows/play video games with my housemates from time to time.

The one thing I'm trying to learn to do again is to work when I work and play when I play. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but you end up being able to work harder and play harder without guilt. Some of my friends are way more disciplined about it and it shows.

Remember that medical school is a transition and it was way harder for me to swap over to studying again after working for a few years. I honestly thought it would be easier than it has been, but it's been getting better with every block and someday I'll get the hang of it.

That last part is probably not going to happen, but it definitely gets better. That said, I have classmates with spouses and children and they're still passing. You just really have to be efficient about how you do things. If you get in the habit of doing that earlier, it'll serve you well.