How often do you usually have to be on campus during med school?

[golightning]

Hey guys, I know that sounds silly, but I was wondering about this. I'm a junior working on my BS in Psychology and I honestly want to go into psychiatry. I know there is a lot of suck in medical school, but I'm still thinking it may be worth it because of the interest I have in it. Honestly, though, I have a stomach that is always acting up in the morning and due to my college offering most of my classes during the day, I usually do online classes and enjoy them because I control the pace. I know some exam dates will obviously have mornings, but I can take imodium when those days come. Residency does worry me though due to having these problems (it's an IBD.) Thanks guys

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[LizzyM]

This will vary by school but you can be pretty sure of having classes that start at 8 a.m. at least a few days per week for the first 1.5-2 years of school. In the 2 years that you have clinical training the day will begin very early, sometimes as early as 7 a.m. and there will be periods when you are overnight in the hospital.
You can pretty much figure having to be on-campus or in an affiliated clinical setting 5 days per week for 4 years.

Get your health issues under control before you consider medical school. Being absent or late for a required activity is a good way to get written up for "professionalism" and that can be grounds for dismissal from medical school if it gets out of hand.

 

[mimelim]

MS1/2 it depends on the school. Some are very lax about required being physically there. Others are very strict. But, you can depend on being required to be there at least 1-2 days a week in the mornings and if there is anatomy lab, sometimes 4-5 days a week.

MS3/4 virtually every day, you will be in the hospital in the morning. You should be able to show up at 5:30am, 6 days a week. Certainly not every rotation will require this, but if you are not physically up to that, you will have a hard time passing medical school, never mind excelling at it. You should also be able to physically work for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and sometimes 24 hours. Again, not always required, but certainly possible and expected of medical students.

 

[BeMD13]

MS3/4 virtually every day, you will be in the hospital in the morning. You should be able to show up at 5:30am, 6 days a week. Certainly not every rotation will require this, but if you are not physically up to that, you will have a hard time passing medical school, never mind excelling at it. You should also be able to physically work for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and sometimes 24 hours. Again, not always required, but certainly possible and expected of medical students.

Which rotations require 5:30 am 6 days a week? Are there any others besides surgery?

 

[mimelim]

Which rotations require 5:30 am 6 days a week? Are there any others besides surgery?

Surgery, some IM rotations, ICU rotations, etc. Also, I was being nice. Right or wrong, some people can/will expect students to pre-round before the residents, which means 4/430. I certainly did as an MS4 going into surgery, albeit, that is certainly NOT the standard.

 

[golightning]

MS1/2 it depends on the school. Some are very lax about required being physically there. Others are very strict. But, you can depend on being required to be there at least 1-2 days a week in the mornings and if there is anatomy lab, sometimes 4-5 days a week.

MS3/4 virtually every day, you will be in the hospital in the morning. You should be able to show up at 5:30am, 6 days a week. Certainly not every rotation will require this, but if you are not physically up to that, you will have a hard time passing medical school, never mind excelling at it. You should also be able to physically work for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and sometimes 24 hours. Again, not always required, but certainly possible and expected of medical students.

Thanks! I definitely need to get on some better medication because although I can wake up at 5:30am, I see a big problem being able to be useful that early.