"How to avoid becoming a Gunner"

[HalfListic]

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This was a good/funny article by KevinMD:

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/03/avoid-gunner-medical-school.html

It got me thinking...we use the work "gunner" too liberally. I mean, its our best insult as med students, I think we owe it to ourselves, and each other, to ensure we are using it correctly so that its sting is never diluted!

From the intro:

gunner: a pre-med or medical student who is ambitious to a fault. They often throw other students under the bus, put their accomplishments and grades on display, and generally make life miserable for any student who they perceive to be a threat to their own success. In short, they are what Hermione would be if she was a Slytherin.

very nice analogy. You can be ambitious, just don't be evil.

 

[NurWollen]

This was a good/funny article by KevinMD:

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/03/avoid-gunner-medical-school.html

It got me thinking...we use the work "gunner" too liberally. I mean, its our best insult as med students, I think we owe it to ourselves, and each other, to ensure we are using it correctly so that its sting is never diluted!

From the intro:

gunner: a pre-med or medical student who is ambitious to a fault. They often throw other students under the bus, put their accomplishments and grades on display, and generally make life miserable for any student who they perceive to be a threat to their own success. In short, they are what Hermione would be if she was a Slytherin.

very nice analogy. You can be ambitious, just don't be evil.

Lol.

 

[Anicetus]

Back up a sec. Is there really a difference between a typical 'premed' and a 'gunner'? If so, could someone elaborate?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Back up a sec. Is there really a difference between a typical 'premed' and a 'gunner'? If so, could someone elaborate?

Typical premed is at least slightly Type A. Gunners are unequivocally Type A, Class A jerks.

 

[as1212559]

Gunning has taken on multiple meanings. I think the initial meaning of "gunner" was someone who "gunned down" other classmates to get to the top. It is now often interchanged to describe students who as "gunning for" the top.

 

[NontradCA]

Typical premed is at least slightly Type A. Gunners are unequivocally Type A, Class A jerks.

👍

 

[Mr Kenobi]

In short, they are what Hermione would be if she was a Slytherin.

Edit: seriously though, was a good article. Would probably be a good idea to spread it around a little bit more ...if you catch my drift 😉. Also, I couldn't help but wonder what your (HalfListic's) reaction was to:

6. Keep a strict 3 question limit in lectures. Even 3 is pushing it. Save the rest of your questions for your own time. And don't you dare even BEGIN to ask a question in the last 5 minutes of lecture.

Lol!

 

[HalfListic]

Edit: seriously though, was a good article. Would probably be a good idea to spread it around a little bit more ...if you catch my drift 😉. Also, I couldn't help but wonder what your (HalfListic's) reaction was to:

6. Keep a strict 3 question limit in lectures. Even 3 is pushing it. Save the rest of your questions for your own time. And don't you dare even BEGIN to ask a question in the last 5 minutes of lecture.

Lol!

haha...yeah, its a funny article that appealed to the cranky old man in me.


And you wanted my reaction to the question limit? (is this your pet peeve?-I know it irks me sometimes) I think the reason this "rule" makes sense is because lectures are a shared experience, so it can be distracting, or discourteous, to monopolize this common time. If someone has a large number of questions, its usually better to get with a teacher or tutor on their own time.

But, that being said...I hope that people aren't too worried about being labeled a "gunner" that they don't ask a sincere question or two when they have them! In fact, not having a question can also indicate a lack of preparation or understanding. Questions do shape a lecture, and can help more than just the question asker.

In the end, lectures are mostly mean for absorbing and reinforcing ideas prepared by a lecturer. Each professor usually sets a tone that should be respected, to a point, as how much time is allotted for questions during their lectures. There are times where you should ask questions, like an open house or a panel discussion, and not having a question would be more inappropriate than having several. But, lectures are a place for learning, en masse, so I guess the moral is don't take too much of the common time for yourself.

 

[survivordo]

I always thought of a gunner as someone who was annoyingly ambitious. To me, both of these aspects must be present. Being ambitious is fine, after all we are all in the medical field and clearly at least somewhat ambitious. But when you start throwing other people under the bus or making yourself out to be better than others, THAT is when you cross the line into gunnerdom. Basically, go about your own business and be HELPFUL to others when appropriate and you will be fine.

Survivor DO

 

[Beargryllz]

Embrace the gunner

 

[DolFAN]

It seems to me that only gunners complain about other gunners....gunner.

 

[zmansman17]

Typical premed is at least slightly Type A. Gunners are unequivocally Type A, Class A jerks.

If you did this, Thank you. If you found this, Thank you. Great stuff.

 

[Dingo Mango]

Nice article. And nice Cumberbatch pic, HalfListic.

 

[HalfListic]

Nice article. And nice Cumberbatch pic, HalfListic.

I thought it was a pretty well done and entertaining article.



And thanks...Im dying to for season 3 of Sherlock to finally air!! I heard it was pushed back to late fall, and maybe not even tip 2014. 👎

 

[Dingo Mango]

I thought it was a pretty well done and entertaining article.



And thanks...Im dying to for season 3 of Sherlock to finally air!! I heard it was pushed back to late fall, and maybe not even tip 2014. 👎

Nooooooo!!!

 

[DrBumblebee]

It seems to me that only gunners complain about other gunners....gunner.

+1 👍.
Accusing others with being gunners is a legit expectation that fits better to gunners to clear some out of the way even without tackling with them.

IMHO, all med school students are, more or less, gunners. Some only hide it with fancy words. Scratch the surface, you'd see the truth.

 

[HalfListic]

+1 👍.
Accusing others with being gunners is a legit expectation that fits better to gunners to clear some out of the way even without tackling with them.

IMHO, all med school students are, more or less, gunners. Some only hide it with fancy words. Scratch the surface, you'd see the truth.

I think I understand what you are trying to say here...

But, I think that article is just a light hearted poke at the med school society, he doesn't come across as a gunner, to me at least. A gunner, in general, is someone who is malicious and full of themselves.

Med students are, in general, ambitious, hard working, and even competitive. But thats not a bad thing.


From what I hear, there will be gunners at school, but mostly med students nowadays realize they aren't in direct competition and just help one another. This is how I felt at most schools I visited at least.


PS this got pretty meta, now we have students accusing other students of being gunners because they were accusing others of being gunners 😉 haha...

 

[Ravizzle]

I think I understand what you are trying to say here...

But, I think that article is just a light hearted poke at the med school society, he doesn't come across as a gunner, to me at least. A gunner, in general, is someone who is malicious and full of themselves.

Med students are, in general, ambitious, hard working, and even competitive. But thats not a bad thing.


From what I hear, there will be gunners at school, but mostly med students nowadays realize they aren't in direct competition and just help one another. This is how I felt at most schools I visited at least.


PS this got pretty meta, now we have students accusing other students of being gunners because they were accusing others of being gunners 😉 haha...

This post sounds exactly like something a gunner would say..... 😛

Sent from my Galaxy S2

 

[HalfListic]

This post sounds exactly like something a gunner would say..... 😛

Sent from my Galaxy S2

EVEN MORE META!!

only a gunner would call me a gunner for pointing out that gunners dont necessarily call gunners gunners. so....


haha, PS Dudeliness sent me a link to the video you guys did, nice work! I can't say I watch all of it, but I can say I like what I saw 😀

 

[Ravizzle]

Thanks

Sent from my Galaxy S2

 

[BuddyTheElf]

Loved this article! It definitely needs to be spread around. 👍

 

[DrBumblebee]

I think I understand what you are trying to say here...

But, I think that article is just a light hearted poke at the med school society, he doesn't come across as a gunner, to me at least. A gunner, in general, is someone who is malicious and full of themselves.

Med students are, in general, ambitious, hard working, and even competitive. But thats not a bad thing.


From what I hear, there will be gunners at school, but mostly med students nowadays realize they aren't in direct competition and just help one another. This is how I felt at most schools I visited at least.


PS this got pretty meta, now we have students accusing other students of being gunners because they were accusing others of being gunners 😉 haha...

I liked the article much. It was fun to read, honestly. Thanks for posting.

This post sounds exactly like something a gunner would say..... 😛

Sent from my Galaxy S2

😆 🤣

 

[HalfListic]

 

[Ravizzle]

Haha. I have the book "cartoon guide to becoming a doctor" , I think this is from that. Highly recommend.

Sent from my Galaxy S2

 

[LaughingMan]

After a killer Gen Chem 2 test, lots of people on my universities blackboard were complaining and what not. One kid said he was happy that lots of people were doing bad because it was less competition for him. -____-

As Survivor DO said--ambitious is fine, just don't put others down.


Also be aware of chasing your ambitions to the end of the world. Take Ash Ketchum for example, it's been over 10 years and he is still trying to "Catch them All." Despite his mom being a single mother, he chooses to leave his family and travel the world constantly seeking more and more. Avoid that.

 

[HalfListic]

Haha. I have the book "cartoon guide to becoming a doctor" , I think this is from that. Highly recommend.

Sent from my Galaxy S2

Ill def have to check it out...those cartoons crack me up

 

[hallowmann]

...Take Ash Ketchum for example, it's been over 10 years and he is still trying to "Catch them All." Despite his mom being a single mother, he chooses to leave his family and travel the world constantly seeking more and more. Avoid that.

OK, so it took me about 4 minutes of staring at this post to get the reference. I can't tell if that makes me old, young, or just dazed and confused.

 

[HalfListic]

Also be aware of chasing your ambitions to the end of the world. Take Ash Ketchum for example, it's been over 10 years and he is still trying to "Catch them All." Despite his mom being a single mother, he chooses to leave his family and travel the world constantly seeking more and more. Avoid that.

haha...thanks for that Dr., father, GabeN...

 

[wjs010]

Ok I am sort of non traditional.. Graduated in 2011 . I joined this pre med fraternity thing to see wat what up with it. I went to a meeting last week and I noticed many small, slightly red faced and smirky young looking people were awkwardly there. I can't explain it very well but if only you could see it.. They were all wearing matching polos. Lol. I felt so out of place/ knew I was going to DO school.

 

[r90t]

My study group were "gunners" and didn't step on anyone to get to the top, but pulled each other up.

We match allopathic rad onc, radiology, ob/gyn, surgery; osteopathic ENT and other somewhat difficult to obtain (in 2002) residencies for DOs.

What you put into med school drives your future. Just don't be an ass to get to the top of your class.

 

[HalfListic]

My study group were "gunners" and didn't step on anyone to get to the top, but pulled each other up.

We match allopathic rad onc, radiology, ob/gyn, surgery; osteopathic ENT and other somewhat difficult to obtain (in 2002) residencies for DOs.

What you put into med school drives your future. Just don't be an ass to get to the top of your class.

I think the point is that they aren't gunners. Gunners are jerks by definition.


Being motivated, or smart, or ambitious doesn't make you a gunner.

 

[WhyTheFace]

I also see that the more lazy among us will usually call people who are more motivated "gunners". Probably just a mechanism for insecurities.

 

[darklabel]

I also see that the more lazy among us will usually call people who are more motivated "gunners". Probably just a mechanism for insecurities.

I agree with this to a certain extent.

There will always be gunners that rather than be happy of other's accomplishments, will simply belittle them. For instance, you won't believe the number of times I've heard someone try to talk other/me out of being pre-med just to eliminate "competition" (which in retrospect, 1 out of thousands of apps won't make much of a difference).

Sad really..