If you could "fast forward" through med school, would you?

[Bartelby]

I hear a lot of people complain about the ridiculous workload and talk about getting to the reward of practice (here on SDN especially). If it's that burdensome, if you were able to wish yourself through medical school would you do so? You would finish with the grades and knowledge you would have if you did your *absolute* best through med school. What about residency? What about practice (just go straight to retirement-- the job is getting worse every day, you know!)? Is there anything you would really just "skip" if given the opportunity, or would you still be in for the entire ride?

Keep in mind that you would age; think of it like blanking out in one breath and waking up whatever amount of years later the next.

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[MilkmanAl]

I'd buzz through the end of this year (first) for sure. I dunno about all of med school, though. I think you'd need to change the stipulations to you getting the grades you'd get if you maintained your current goals. If everyone studied at all times during med school, things would be way different than they are.

 

[modelslashactor]

seriously? med school has been the best years of my life so far. go talk to some of the residents/attendings, i have yet to meet one who says that things get better, if anything the workload only gets worse. if anything i wish time would slow down.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Wow, you must have had a really terrible life before med school.

 

[fireflygirl]

I would definately wish to speed through the first year of med school. I am so tired of the same molecular and cellular bull**** that seems to have no relevance to what I am going to do....EVER!!! However, I do hear good things about 2nd year and beyond so I am pretty excited about that. But if I could speed through a 2nd thing, it would be boards....so can I speed through 1st year and then do 2nd year and then speed through just the boards and start up again as a 3rd year????

 

[coldweatherblue]

no, it has nothing to do with what I'm doing (med school) and everything to do with the pricelessness of youth. Mid-20s rock no matter what you're doing. you're young and healthy, but you know what's up and how the world works. I would, however, like to go back in time to when I was 6 and did nothing but run around in the woods with my dog shooting bb-guns all day. straight chillin you know, 86 this school stuff I've been doing for 17 years. I'd like to be 16 again too, lots of good times in those years.

if you constantly look forward and think, "my life will be good as soon as _____ happens." you'll never get there. Instead when you're older you'll think "my life would've be good if ______ had happened." and everything will pass unappreciated. peace.

 

[WellWornLad]

It's a sad, sad human being who would say yes to that question.

 

[Vonsmack]

It's like that move Click "Yeah fast forward me to that promotion- oh crap I missed out on my entire kids' childhood, that sucks"

Most of us are in the prime of our lives being young and healthy. Sure we spend a lot of that time stuck in a library. It makes the free time you do have sweeter. I know I take every advantage to spend time with my wife and son that I can and I don't take that time for granted. Enjoy the ride and make the best out of your situation. Plus hard work is good, don't run from it, it builds character.

 

[Tiger26]

seriously? med school has been the best years of my life so far. go talk to some of the residents/attendings, i have yet to meet one who says that things get better, if anything the workload only gets worse. if anything i wish time would slow down.

Agree--best couple years of my life

Also, the ones who'd fast forward through first year, well . . . I feel kinda bad when I have to tell you that 2nd year is much, much harder

 

[ACSurgeon]

Agree--best couple years of my life

Also, the ones who'd fast forward through first year, well . . . I feel kinda bad when I have to tell you that 2nd year is much, much harder

No doubt. I thought first year was easier than college... 2nd year is when I realized what the big deal about med school was. Although it's much more enjoyable and clinically applicable.

About the original question, I feel I am already fastforwarding through med school... I'm already done with 3 semesters!! It's like yesterday that it all started. The weeks and months fly by. During orientation we were told that "med school would be some of the longest days, but shortest years of our life." It sure has been!

 

[DarknightX]

For me, it's been easier than college...once I figured out that I didn't need to go to class and that all of our readings/resources were online, I stopped going to class and cut all my time in half.

I party every weekend and sleep in till whenever I want...the only thing that is going to suck hard is third year when I actually have to start showing up for stuff.

So, hell no I wouldn't skip it...being a student is awesome...especially in this economy.

 

[Jwax]

No doubt. I thought first year was easier than college... 2nd year is when I realized what the big deal about med school was. Although it's much more enjoyable and clinically applicable.

About the original question, I feel I am already fastforwarding through med school... I'm already done with 3 semesters!! It's like yesterday that it all started. The weeks and months fly by. During orientation we were told that "med school would be some of the longest days, but shortest years of our life." It sure has been!

I like that quote. Too true. The time between test blocks goes by so fast, but the week before and the week of exams crawl.

I felt 1st year was much harder than college, and I'm starting to realize how much more time I'm studying in 2nd year compared to first. I like this question of would you skip it all if you could. I've thought about it before, particularly during 1st semester of 1st year, but if I skipped forward I'd have missed my wedding, my honeymoon, my friends, the parties, the vacations, etc. I HATE studying and I am sick and tired of it, but I wouldn't be willing to miss out on the good things that you get during med school. It also seems like most physicians look back at med school with nostalgia of "those were the good old days", so it seems like med school is a time to be enjoyed as much as possible.

 

[braluk]

Speed through week of/before exams and enjoy the rest of my time.

 

[rachmoninov3]

the only reason I'd say yes is because I despise city life so much, and really want to return home to the northern part of this state!

 

[njbmd]

In all honesty, none of my years in medical school, residency or fellowship were bad or torture. I loved being able to handle new knowledge and new responsibilities. I loved getting all kinds of experiences and incorporating them into my practice style. About midway through every year, I always developed a comfort level that made the rest of the year nice. In short, you just become comfortable with the practice of medicine. The biggest challenges for me were the ones that I set for myself and that was to be the absolute best that I could be.

I can tell you that if you are not well-prepared, you are always going to be hesitant and unsure of yourself when you have to deal with emergencies/problems. Every time you see a patient, you have to solve that patient's problems within the context of your information/knowledge base. If you don't have that base, you will flounder around and not get the job done. Medicine is very difficult to practice at a high level. At some point, you either rise to that level or you don't and mediocrity will follow you in your practice no matter how "prestigious" your medical school/residency program.

If you don't like the increased professional responsibility and experience, you are not going to love medicine.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Is med school that hard for people?

I was always able to find time to chill, go out on weekends, and overall maintain a life. This even during my toughest 3rd year rotations. I just don't get people who whine about 1st and 2nd years. Yeah, it TOTALLY gets better when you're a resident. Trust me

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I submit my answer in the form of the poem "Ithaca" (Google it)

 

[Bartelby]

I submit my answer in the form of the poem "Ithaca" (Google it)

Googled: http://ninaalvarez.net/2007/05/03/poem-of-the-day-49/

Really a beautiful poem. I have enjoyed the responses so far, keep 'em coming! Is nobody out there going to make the case for just "getting it over with?"

 

[45408]

Nah. It's already flown by. I'm starting to get a bit scared now that I've completed by biggest rotations, and I've only got 13 months of rotations left before I'm an MD. DAMN. I feel that I've learned an absolutely enormous amount, but when I see some of the crazy things that happen on cross-cover, I'm intimidated.

 

[mikedc813]

Med school was painful. Residency is much better. You get to finally make decisions and do things. And you're theoretically doing the stuff you want to do for the rest of your career.

 

[montessori2md]

No way. Then I couldn't scare others w/ horror stories of how sadistic it is : )

Kidding, kidding.

Now, if studying for 13 hours straight could result in some sort of black-out that left me refreshed and ready for an exam.....

School can be frustrating sometimes (why does Dr. X make all his slides dark blue? Is he in cahoots w/ HP or what?) my only real problem is that nagging fear that I was accepted by mistake and they're going to kick me out and that I'm not going to know what I need to know to keep people alive.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Med school was painful. Residency is much better. You get to finally make decisions and do things. And you're theoretically doing the stuff you want to do for the rest of your career.

LOL coming from the rad onc resident.

 

[surftheiop]

Googled: http://ninaalvarez.net/2007/05/03/poem-of-the-day-49/

Really a beautiful poem. I have enjoyed the responses so far, keep 'em coming! Is nobody out there going to make the case for just "getting it over with?"

lol i thought this was going to be a poem complaining about cornell, that was quite a pleasant suprise

 

[jumpingjax]

Agree--best couple years of my life

Also, the ones who'd fast forward through first year, well . . . I feel kinda bad when I have to tell you that 2nd year is much, much harder

Best years of your life? Seriously? Thats pretty weird man, maybe you need to spend some time outside of the hospital.

Med school (at least the first 2 years) was the hardest part of my educational life BY FAR. But I wouldn't fast forward through it - you gain alot of experience (not just medical knowledge) by doing something like med school and it makes you look at life a little different when you're through.

Residency is much better.

 

[VincentAdultman]

These people who complain about medical school...I'd like to know what field you are in and what type of med schoo you went to.

9-5 day (at worst) MS1-2 > 6-6 day (at best) resident

Every weekend free > one free weekend per month.

Biggest responibility is doing well on exams >>>> Biggest responsibility is not killing people.

Now I'll clarify and say that I'm a surgical resident and things will improve in the next few years when I'm actually in my chosen field and don't have to field endless calls about BS, but strictly from a LIFESTYLE standpoint, med school > residency and I don't think it can be debated.

 

[smq123]

These people who complain about medical school...I'd like to know what field you are in and what type of med schoo you went to.

Your points are definitely valid. But, it's a question about what matters to you, I think.

9-5 day (at worst) MS1-2 > 6-6 day (at best) resident.

9-5 day (at worst) MS1-2....but your day is spent either sitting in a lecture hall while some research professor rattles on about some obscure protein synthesis pathway, staring at a syllabus, or in a PBL session.

6-6 day (at best) resident...but you get to joke around with residents and nurses, talk to patients (which is sometimes painful, but still less painful than those "touchy-feely" MS1 classes), and get to do procedures if you're in a surgical field. Plus, you can go to the OR!

Every weekend free > one free weekend per month.

I spent large portions of my weekends studying. It isn't all THAT different sometimes.

Biggest responibility is doing well on exams >>>> Biggest responsibility is not killing people.

But feeling like you're actually being useful to society >>>> sitting around reading from a syllabus, and feeling superfluous all the time.

I agree, your time was your own in MS1 and MS2. But I still liked MS3 a lot more, so I'm hoping that I'll like residency too.

 

[themudphud]

Nah, I think even the most painful aspects of med school make for awesome memories and overall just make you a better person. It's all good!

 

[GZA]

smq123's post, I both like and agree.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I think I drifted off course somewhere.

Clearly I love what I do (or am going to do...no one "loves" surgical internship).

But the original question was "would you fast-forward through medical school if you could?" My answer would be a resounding NO, for the reasons I listed above.

One should not be in too much of a hurry to grow up.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

In all honesty, none of my years in medical school, residency or fellowship were bad or torture. I loved being able to handle new knowledge and new responsibilities. I loved getting all kinds of experiences and incorporating them into my practice style. About midway through every year, I always developed a comfort level that made the rest of the year nice. In short, you just become comfortable with the practice of medicine. The biggest challenges for me were the ones that I set for myself and that was to be the absolute best that I could be.

I can tell you that if you are not well-prepared, you are always going to be hesitant and unsure of yourself when you have to deal with emergencies/problems. Every time you see a patient, you have to solve that patient's problems within the context of your information/knowledge base. If you don't have that base, you will flounder around and not get the job done. Medicine is very difficult to practice at a high level. At some point, you either rise to that level or you don't and mediocrity will follow you in your practice no matter how "prestigious" your medical school/residency program.

If you don't like the increased professional responsibility and experience, you are not going to love medicine.

I think this best echos how I feel too.

Sometimes, especially exam weeks, it's not too fun with long study hours and lots of information to be tested on, but it's all part of being a med student. Plus, I figure I'm going to have to get used to long days at some point since it's part of being a physician, and I knew this when I "signed up" so to speak.

Those unflattering aspects of medical school are also part of the education, IMO, so nah, I wouldn't pass it up. Plus, as many others implied, it's tiring, but it does go fast!