I have a question...

[prettypea]

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Don't the gunners know they're gunners?? 😕

 

[Brainsucker]

They take it as a compliment. For a gunner, "gunner"="hardworking, dedicated, intelligent, and whatever other adjectives they feel like adding on there" Personally, I gotta say that I'm impressed with rote memorization ability. Part of that is the same feeling one gets when watching a torture scene in a movie: "How could anyone possibly do that that! Ugh."

 

[Law2Doc]

Don't the gunners know they're gunners?? 😕

No, because paranoia is a big part of being a gunner. They assume med school is made up of two groups of people -- those who do well and thus must be studying just as hard, and playing the same game - just hiding it better by waking up earlier, lying about going out partying and whatnot. And everybody else is just a lazy slacker who doesn't really belong in med school and is basically in their way.

 

[lumanase]

Don't the gunners know they're gunners?? 😕

they know they're gunners. they put in a lot of time whether they really need it or not. They wouldn't put in so much effort if they dont think they'll have an edge on the rest of the students. Are you afraid you're a gunner and dont know about it? 😉

 

[DoctorFunk]

they know they're gunners. they put in a lot of time whether they really need it or not. They wouldn't put in so much effort if they dont think they'll have an edge on the rest of the students.

I think there's a difference between those who put a lot of time into studying thinking they'll have an edge on their fellow students if they work hard consistently and true gunners that would stick a spork into your grandmother's carotid if they thought it would throw you off your game on a Tuesday morning round.

If this isn't the case, and I'm already a gunner in my M1 year by your standards, then I better stock up on sporks.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think there's a difference between those who put a lot of time into studying thinking they'll have an edge on their fellow students if they work hard consistently and true gunners that would stick a spork into your grandmother's carotid if they thought it would throw you off your game on a Tuesday morning round.

If this isn't the case, and I'm already a gunner in my M1 year by your standards, then I better stock up on sporks.

Agree. Gunners aren't just folks who study hard and do well. All med students try to do that. It is an excess beyond that. They are the folks who would need to be on the top of the curve on a relatively unimportant exam even if it means they have to sabotage 150 folks alarm clocks and cause a major traffic jam just to do so.

 

[Ypo.]

We don't have any gunners at my school. That I have seen. I guess thats the advantage of going to a state school.

 

[Law2Doc]

We don't have any gunners at my school. That I have seen. I guess thats the advantage of going to a state school.

If you haven't seen one, it might be you. 🙂 I assure you that state schools have gunners too.

 

[ddmo]

Seems to me that a lot of gunners aren't even the ones who get the best grades. The top dogs are usually the quiet ones whom you would never even expect.

 

[chintu]

I agree, its usually the quiet ones or the ones who seem to not study because they give that impression are doing well. I've noticed that students who seem to study all the time are doing so because they have to work really hard to earn the grades, maybe they aren't as efficient.

Seems to me that a lot of gunners aren't even the ones who get the best grades. The top dogs are usually the quiet ones whom you would never even expect.

 

[prettypea]

Gunners. I think I was one in third grade... But then you quickly learn how unpopular it is to go around blowing your own trumpet. So you simmer down and don't talk about how brilliant you and your mother think you are. I think the most important thing is to just be nice. Why is that so hard for these people???

To me, gunners are the eejits (idiots) who say things like "Oh, the muscles in the forearm, oh my GOODNESS, that's like the EASIEST thing!" Or who LAUGH when you get something wrong. Or - see my other post - push you out of the way when they can't see what's going on.

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
Medical school is very stressful for most people due to the large volume of information that must be mastered in a short period of time. Sometimes people have reactions to that stress that produce personality symptoms that are less than desirable. They find that they are compelled to do many things (from aggressive behavior to outright depression) that they did not do in undergraduate school.

The truth of the matter is that you are only in competition with yourself in medical school. If you find that your study strategy is not working for you, it is up to you to change it and make it work. Your career is totally in your hands. If another student attempts to do something that appears to sabotage your work, you can always find alternative ways to learn what you need. The behavior of other students has little effect on your learning unless you allow their behavior to affect you.

As a first-year medical student, I went to every class and spent a great deal of time at school studying. I did well first-year but quickly learned that the stress level and anxiety level of those around me was counterproductive to my learning style. During second-year, I was hardly around and did much better. I found that I studied better in Starbucks when distractions at home were too much or in the public library where I was unknown. Note-taking service and on-line lecture videos were of great help for me during this time.

I learned to shut out all of the noise, anxiety and drama during exam weeks and concentrate on my own stuff. This worked well during USMLE, third and fourth years too. Sometimes I studied with a group of like-minded individuals but most of the time, I studied with my best friend at Starbucks (we often studied different things and quizzed each other).

The most difficult thing to do for some folks, is to stop comparing themselves to other students. This seems to be a huge pre-med characteristic and often follows folks into medical school. Comparing yourself to another student is a complete waste of time and very counterproductive. You have to figure out what works for you and get the job done in your own style. There is always someone out there who claims never to study and claims to be the top person in the class etc. Does this really make any difference to you and your career? Not really, so ignore them and get your studying (and sleeping) done. 😴

njbmd 🙂

 

[silas2642]

They take it as a compliment. For a gunner, "gunner"="hardworking, dedicated, intelligent, and whatever other adjectives they feel like adding on there" Personally, I gotta say that I'm impressed with rote memorization ability. Part of that is the same feeling one gets when watching a torture scene in a movie: "How could anyone possibly do that that! Ugh."

If you've made it as far as medical school, chances are that you're already hardworking, dedicated, blah, blah, blah. My definition of a gunner is someone who "shoots down" his classmates in order to buff up his relative position.

One thing I've learned in the past year or so is to ignore gunners and laugh them off because in the end these people are focusing on the wrong issues and tend to totally forget about their patients. They're also dinguses who everyone hates-- I'd rather not be a gunner and in the middle of my class than a gunner at the top of my class.

 

[silas2642]

Hi there,
Medical school is very stressful for most people due to the large volume of information that must be mastered in a short period of time. Sometimes people have reactions to that stress that produce personality symptoms that are less than desirable. They find that they are compelled to do many things (from aggressive behavior to outright depression) that they did not do in undergraduate school.

The truth of the matter is that you are only in competition with yourself in medical school. If you find that your study strategy is not working for you, it is up to you to change it and make it work. Your career is totally in your hands. If another student attempts to do something that appears to sabotage your work, you can always find alternative ways to learn what you need. The behavior of other students has little effect on your learning unless you allow their behavior to affect you.

As a first-year medical student, I went to every class and spent a great deal of time at school studying. I did well first-year but quickly learned that the stress level and anxiety level of those around me was counterproductive to my learning style. During second-year, I was hardly around and did much better. I found that I studied better in Starbucks when distractions at home were too much or in the public library where I was unknown. Note-taking service and on-line lecture videos were of great help for me during this time.

I learned to shut out all of the noise, anxiety and drama during exam weeks and concentrate on my own stuff. This worked well during USMLE, third and fourth years too. Sometimes I studied with a group of like-minded individuals but most of the time, I studied with my best friend at Starbucks (we often studied different things and quizzed each other).

The most difficult thing to do for some folks, is to stop comparing themselves to other students. This seems to be a huge pre-med characteristic and often follows folks into medical school. Comparing yourself to another student is a complete waste of time and very counterproductive. You have to figure out what works for you and get the job done in your own style. There is always someone out there who claims never to study and claims to be the top person in the class etc. Does this really make any difference to you and your career? Not really, so ignore them and get your studying (and sleeping) done. 😴

njbmd 🙂

First, are you married? Second, if you're not married, are you going to be in the Boston area anytime in the next few years? If so, please pm me!