How often can I visit family during med school?

[Tibial.Tuberosity]

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I am currently starting my M1 year this July. I want to know how often i’d be able to visit my family who lives 4.5 hours away by car. I am considering Vanderbilt Med and my family lives in Cincinnati. I want to know if it’s doable to visit family every other week or so. Vandy is true P/F and I’ve heard it’s good for student lifestyle. What do you guys think? How often do yall visit home?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I am currently starting my M1 year this July. I want to know how often i’d be able to visit my family who lives 4.5 hours away by car. I am considering Vanderbilt Med and my family lives in Cincinnati. I want to know if it’s doable to visit family every other week or so. Vandy is true P/F and I’ve heard it’s good for student lifestyle. What do you guys think? How often do yall visit home?

You're in medical school, not in prison. 🙂 Just don't fail your exams.

 

[operaman]

It’s quite doable but it will cost you other things. You’re going to be burning a full day of study just in travel alone, not to mention whatever family demands you’ll have while you’re there. You’ll have to find those additional hours elsewhere. While the number of hours required varies by person, there is a number for everyone. Devoting hours to anything else is fine, but you’ll just have to find additional time elsewhere.

Would also add the during some rotations it probably won’t be possible as you may only be given one full day a week off.

But overall it should be doable. Even more doable if your family will make the drive some of the time.

 

[Sidus1011]

I am currently starting my M1 year this July. I want to know how often i’d be able to visit my family who lives 4.5 hours away by car. I am considering Vanderbilt Med and my family lives in Cincinnati. I want to know if it’s doable to visit family every other week or so. Vandy is true P/F and I’ve heard it’s good for student lifestyle. What do you guys think? How often do yall visit home?

I live about 4.5 hours from family; I find that I usually see them every 1.5 months or so. If you have a heavier semester or are in dedicated, every other week may be harder. However, with technology nowadays, I honestly haven't felt very disconnected, and I have been able to find time to see them when I really want to.

 

[Tibial.Tuberosity]

I live about 4.5 hours from family; I find that I usually see them every 1.5 months or so. If you have a heavier semester or are in dedicated, every other week may be harder. However, with technology nowadays, I honestly haven't felt very disconnected, and I have been able to find time to see them when I really want to.

I see. Do you feel like your schedule stops you from visiting more than every 1.5 months if you wanted to? Also do you find yourself studying a lot on weekends?

 

[Sidus1011]

I see. Do you feel like your schedule stops you from visiting more than every 1.5 months if you wanted to? Also do you find yourself studying a lot on weekends?

I do think it is a bit more tricky to go more frequently, usually I used weekends to catch up on questions or lectures that I hadn't covered. I also live with my significant other who is also a medical student, so whenever we do have a weekend more free, we like to spend it moreso doing things together. If you really need to see them every two weeks, I do think you'll find it rather tricky, but if you are ok with once a month or so - I think you would be able to do that fairly easily.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I also agree... you don't live that far away that family members and friends could visit you and give you a break from studying. It's a relationship; work on compromising like adults. 🙂

 

[Dral]

This depends. During pre-clinical, you could probably do once or twice per month. Things get rougher during clinical rotations during third year. Like during surgery? If your experience is anything like mine, you won't be doing anything every other week other than trying to get a good night's sleep.

 

[vivaciousmelon]

As someone who is about 6.5 hours from my family and currently wrapping up my first year, I’d say if this is enough of a priority for you to be asking this question you’re better off going to Cincinnati and eliminating the commute as a barrier to seeing your family. Weekend trips end up being exhausting and you don’t want what should be your time to recharge to end up contributing to you burning out.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Living closer will save you travel time, but may increase the tendency to visit frequently. You should absolutely plan to study at least one day every weekend, and sometimes you will need both. I hate to say this, but medical school needs to be your top priority. Plan to visit family less than every-other-weekend. Then, if you're doing fine and think you can back down on studying, you can make that decision.

Everything in medical school builds on what came before. Once you start falling behind, it becomes very difficult to catch up. And if you're interested in anything competitive and need to layer research, leadership, or other activities on top -- you'll need all the time available.

 

[LucidSplash]

This is doable during pre-clinical years if you are very efficient and disciplined with studying, are an auditory learner who can maximize your efficiency in the car listening to recorded lectures or study aids like Golijean, are able to take time while visiting family to study, and are not interested in doing anything else with free time on weekends. It also depends on how your tests are scheduled. My school did tests about every 3 weeks, on Mondays. So the weekend before was spent studying.

This will be a lot harder during clinicals, when you will be expected to work many weekends on certain rotations, plus study for your shelf exams.

Honestly I agree every couple months is probably more realistic, if you are the one doing all the traveling.

 

[Tibial.Tuberosity]

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I’m mainly considering Vandy because of the boost the name and resources would give me for competitive specialties

 

[LunaOri]

I’m mainly considering Vandy because of the boost the name and resources would give me for competitive specialties

You are more likely to match a competitive specialty if you don’t spend every other weekend traveling. Grades and research will be important. So a school closer to home may be a better choice for you (or go home much less often).

 

[Tibial.Tuberosity]

You are more likely to match a competitive specialty if you don’t spend every other weekend traveling. Grades and research will be important. So a school closer to home may be a better choice for you (or go home much less often).

Yea. I may be over doing it with every other week, I was considering around 1-2 times a month.

 

[Tibial.Tuberosity]

As someone who is about 6.5 hours from my family and currently wrapping up my first year, I’d say if this is enough of a priority for you to be asking this question you’re better off going to Cincinnati and eliminating the commute as a barrier to seeing your family. Weekend trips end up being exhausting and you don’t want what should be your time to recharge to end up contributing to you burning out.

I understand. I am quite family-oriented, however I am not sure if staying around family is worth not going to Vanderbilt because of the rank, prestige, and curriculum difference between the two. Would you say staying at Cincinnati for better cost and support is worth going to a lower ranked school?

 

[wysdoc]

Yea. I may be over doing it with every other week, I was considering around 1-2 times a month.

Phone, Zoom, etc. Why do you have to "see" them physically?
You will not regret settling in to a good study routine at school and making friends there who will be your new study buddies and support system.

 

[Dral]

You have to decide how important these are for you. Depending on the cost, I do not think the difference between the two is quite worth it - meaning I do not think the rank is that much difference to make up for a fairly large cost difference. Now Harvard vs a rank 80 or so school? Sure. I would go Harvard.

There is something to be said for you being FURTHER away though. If you are too close to family, you could fall into the trap of spending time with them instead of studying. As alluded to earlier in this thread, even starting first year, your full time + job is to study. I remember taking Friday night and a bit on Saturday to do other things; but other times during the week, it was sleep, classes, study, a little time for the gym, rinse, repeat (and I was only a bit over middle of the pack in my class doing that routine).

 

[Goro]

Only you can answer this question

 

[Lost in Translation]

I’m mainly considering Vandy because of the boost the name and resources would give me for competitive specialties

Cincinnati is no slouch of a school. Yes, technically a “state school” but they send graduates all over the country to very competitive specialities.

Their faculty are well-known leaders in their respective fields, especially in Ortho, Gyn Onc, Peds-anything, Trauma Surg/Surg Crit, and EM.

 

[AJS59]

Pre-clinical, I think a lot will depend on how the curriculum is scheduled. Where I go to school the curriculum is set up for every other week exams Monday mornings but with optional lectures (mandatory small group learning Tuesday-Thursday) and almost all Fridays off. Many of my classmates will take off for 3-4 day weekends on "off weekends" and sometimes fly across the country to see family.

Clinically travel time gets cut down a lot — our blocks allow 2 excused absences per 12 weeks (visiting family is not one of them) so most people don't travel as aggressively in those periods. But I think that somewhat gets balanced out as we have a relatively longer exploratory period between rotations/STEP and the time to apply for ERAS in September (like about 9 months) so people take advantage of vacation time for that.

My 2 cents is that 9 hours of driving every other weekend will wear on you physically and mentally especially in the context of med school. If you're going to do it, I'd at least look into local flights or train/bus options.