Is anyone miserable?

[CaptainJackSparrow83]

MSI here in my first semester. I made a post in the medical students section complaining about the volume of work, not that I didn't expect it, but Im tired of it.

I just wanted to ask students in their rotations is anyone miserable? Its the closest to a forum I can ask about being a real doctor but do you feel justified finally after 2 years of vigorous studying?
Im at a turning point where I just want to go into the office and sign my drop out form and pursue engineering but Im still not sure

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[Mad Jack]

Third year sucks in a totally different way. Fourth year is pretty good though.

 

[eteshoe]

Third year sucks in a totally different way. Fourth year is pretty good though.

Can't wait to get to that point lol

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

Third year sucks in a totally different way. Fourth year is pretty good though.

Third year is absolutely miserable. The hours. The "learning how to take 'feedback'" part. Trying to act interested in fields that don't interest you. Then going home and studying for the shelfs. But hang in there, 4th year "finna be a breeze." And as an M4, I'm here to tell you guys that it'll be well worth the hard work during third year.

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

Can't wait to get to that point lol

On my diagnostic radiology elective (already applied to DR). Went in today at 9 am, was dismissed at 9:10 am.

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

MSI here in my first semester. I made a post in the medical students section complaining about the volume of work, not that I didn't expect it, but Im tired of it.

I just wanted to ask students in their rotations is anyone miserable? Its the closest to a forum I can ask about being a real doctor but do you feel justified finally after 2 years of vigorous studying?
Im at a turning point where I just want to go into the office and sign my drop out form and pursue engineering but Im still not sure

What makes you want to do that? anything in particular? I was very miserable, probably the most miserable I've ever been on my OBGYN rotation, which was my first rotation and contemplated dropping out so I've been there.

 

[Ismet]

I was miserable in med school. Loving life in residency. Combination of the awesome people I work with and choosing a field that makes me want to go to work in the morning (most days).

What fields are you considering? Have you had any exposure in them? What made you want to be a doctor in the first place? Find something to do that reminds you of why you chose to do this in the first place, perhaps that will inspire you to get through the hard stuff.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Burnout is a thing, you need something to do outside of med school, like a hobby or something, so you can take a few hours each week and do nothing that is related to med school.

 

[Roxas]

MSI here in my first semester. I made a post in the medical students section complaining about the volume of work, not that I didn't expect it, but Im tired of it.

I just wanted to ask students in their rotations is anyone miserable? Its the closest to a forum I can ask about being a real doctor but do you feel justified finally after 2 years of vigorous studying?
Im at a turning point where I just want to go into the office and sign my drop out form and pursue engineering but Im still not sure

The first 2 years blows. 3rd year is hard but in a different way. Someone once told me that the worst day of 3rd year is still better than the best day of 2nd year. So far it holds up. Overall I'm significantly happier.

Don't drop out. I had a few friends from hs that went into engineering and honestly it sounds harder and less fun than medicine.

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

The first 2 years blows. 3rd year is hard but in a different way. Someone once told me that the worst day of 3rd year is still better than the best day of 2nd year. So far it holds up. Overall I'm significantly happier.

Don't drop out. I had a few friends from hs that went into engineering and honestly it sounds harder and less fun than medicine.

I'd do 2nd year any day over 3rd year...spoken like a true DR applicant.

 

[Roxas]

I'd do 2nd year any day over 3rd year...spoken like a true DR applicant.

DR = diag rads?

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

DR = diag rads?

Yep haha put me in front of a computer any day compared to the stuff we had to do during MS3.

 

[Roxas]

Yep haha put me in front of a computer any day compared to the stuff we had to do during MS3.

I haven't hit the worst of 3rd year yet (OB and surg) but the biggest thing for me is I no longer feel under constant threat of expulsion like I did the first 2 years. I feel like I can actually breathe and learn without always being a bad test away from being kicked out

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

I haven't hit the worst of 3rd year yet (OB and surg) but the biggest thing for me is I no longer feel under constant threat of expulsion like I did the first 2 years. I feel like I can actually breathe and learn without always being a bad test away from being kicked out

oh yeah for sure, I remember that feeling well during the first two years. I guess in retrospect, third year could have been a lot worse. You'll do fine though, surgery is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Don't take anything an attending says to you as "personal." You'll see some interesting cases. There actually isn't a lot of studying for the surg shelf. Just read through pestanas a couple times (super quick and easy read) and do the 130 or so UW questions and you're golden. I just personally hated anything ogbyn related, it just bored me to tears and the residents treated us students like garbage haha

 

[Saxappeal1]

Yeah third year sucks a lot. I mean on the one hand I'm starting to feel like I'm learning real medicine and starting to belong in medicine. On the other hand, it is grueling demanding and difficult work. And you feel like an idiot a lot. Welcome to medicine, friend.

 

[t5Nitro]

I've barely seen patients on my own (when I do I have no idea what I'm doing) or presented a single one yet in 3rd year. Not sure I'm gaining much from it. Have rarely used my diagnostic tools. I was significantly happier during 2nd year than I am now. It just sounds like a lot of complaining so I just try to hide that feeling when I hear others doing great things already. I put on a mask so others don't see it. 3rd year sucks.

 

[BigRedBeta]

When I had my loans on deferral during residency and fellowship, I used to think that you couldn't pay me enough to repeat M1/M2...now that I'm in full repayment, I don't feel quite that strongly anymore, but those years definitely sucked.

M3...there are a lot of people who hate it, but I think most of it is because you are no longer in control of your own time. M1/M2, if you wanted to blow off a lecture and go do something else, there was no one really stopping you but yourself. As an M3, other people are telling you where to be and when. That's a huge change for most of us who have never had a real job with a real boss. I think the constant feeling of being the lowest person on the totem pole also weighs on people.

M4 is glorious.

Residency though, is a lot more like being an M3, as your time is once again not your own. Others expect you to be places at certain times...depending on what field you end up in, that never really goes away even as an attending.

 

[WhiteCoatWonder]

i felt similarly in M1/M2 and started glossing over things, only studying enough to pass, as i was burnt out.

this definitely came back to bite me as i had to actually APPLY all the M1/M2 stuff during M3. lol i was often like, wtf is heart failure again? had to go back to M2 lectures/med school google aka, UTD.

im not sure if higher quality studying during that time would have actually helped me remember at this point, because most of my actual solidifying and remembering has come from applying M1/M2 things to real life people...but now i definitely see the value of understanding the facts cold + early more than i did then.

 

[Coupd'Cat]

Third year was like the ups and downs of MS1/MS2, only with the amplitude cranked up.

The people make a difference--try to find your people. Classmates who support each other and with whom you can all laugh at how neurotic-making the who process is, then swear to never become that neurotic.

 

[valid username]

M4 here. I have truly appreciated every rotation. Every day I feel honored to be doing this. Rotations are not at all miserable--I have loved all my rotations for different reasons.

The only truly miserable part is Match process. However, I am an IMG so I am not likely to match. If I were an AMG Match would be exciting. But the anxiety of knowing this could all soon be over is overwheliming. I feel like I will be like one of those guys that forever muses about his golden days as high school quarterback.

Hang in there. The first 2 years are rough, but after that you get to start helping patients. That changes everything.

 

[valid username]

Now I feel a little bad about my reply. For those of you that it sucks for, I hope it gets better. Try focusing on your patients. If you do that in every sense things really will get better. Study for your patients, do good histories--you are the only person in the hospital with excess time, do good presentations so your attending can be more efficient. No one expects you to be good yet. You just have to be on time, be nice, work, listen, and learn. Soon you won't have the luxury of someone checking your work. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I'd do 2nd year any day over 3rd year...spoken like a true DR applicant.

As a DR resident, I'd do 3rd year any day over 2nd year of med school. But I'd take any day of DR (except for maybe call days) over med school.

 

[Menander's Bust]

So far 3rd year is the worst in terms of the toughest. It hasn't at all made me question whether I want to do medicine or anything. 2nd year is all about STEP1. I was never really worried whether I would pass, so it was just about the score and I actually enjoyed studying for it. I felt like I was able to solidify a lot of knowledge that in 3rd year helps me a lot now. I like interacting with patients, but interacting with patients and trying to be a doctor when you don't really know enough is not good.

Best way to describe 3rd year is this: 2nd year you study 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week for about 6 weeks to prep for STEP1. At the end you are mentally exhausted, but it's over and hopefully you got a good result. 3rd year you work/study 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week, but instead of it being over in 6 weeks it lasts 12 months. It's pretty grueling. Doing 2 24hrs a week throughout OBGYN, getting up at 4am every morning during surgery, it gets old for everyone, even if you enjoy what you are doing.

 

[GrandBuckeyeOH91]

So far 3rd year is the worst in terms of the toughest. It hasn't at all made me question whether I want to do medicine or anything. 2nd year is all about STEP1. I was never really worried whether I would pass, so it was just about the score and I actually enjoyed studying for it. I felt like I was able to solidify a lot of knowledge that in 3rd year helps me a lot now. I like interacting with patients, but interacting with patients and trying to be a doctor when you don't really know enough is not good.

Best way to describe 3rd year is this: 2nd year you study 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week for about 6 weeks to prep for STEP1. At the end you are mentally exhausted, but it's over and hopefully you got a good result. 3rd year you work/study 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week, but instead of it being over in 6 weeks it lasts 12 months. It's pretty grueling. Doing 2 24hrs a week throughout OBGYN, getting up at 4am every morning during surgery, it gets old for everyone, even if you enjoy what you are doing.

It's all a rite of passage.

 

[terrence_110]

So far 3rd year is the worst in terms of the toughest. It hasn't at all made me question whether I want to do medicine or anything. 2nd year is all about STEP1. I was never really worried whether I would pass, so it was just about the score and I actually enjoyed studying for it. I felt like I was able to solidify a lot of knowledge that in 3rd year helps me a lot now. I like interacting with patients, but interacting with patients and trying to be a doctor when you don't really know enough is not good.

Best way to describe 3rd year is this: 2nd year you study 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week for about 6 weeks to prep for STEP1. At the end you are mentally exhausted, but it's over and hopefully you got a good result. 3rd year you work/study 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week, but instead of it being over in 6 weeks it lasts 12 months. It's pretty grueling. Doing 2 24hrs a week throughout OBGYN, getting up at 4am every morning during surgery, it gets old for everyone, even if you enjoy what you are doing.

It's a rite of passage. In the big picture, it'll help you with residency and figuring out ways to manage given the long shifts.

What I always told myself when I was on a rotation that was not appealing to me was to tell myself that "in 4 weeks (or whatever), I'll be doing something new and different." It helped me get through them. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[DiagnasaurusRex]

MSI here in my first semester. I made a post in the medical students section complaining about the volume of work, not that I didn't expect it, but Im tired of it.

I just wanted to ask students in their rotations is anyone miserable? Its the closest to a forum I can ask about being a real doctor but do you feel justified finally after 2 years of vigorous studying?
Im at a turning point where I just want to go into the office and sign my drop out form and pursue engineering but Im still not sure

Don't quit. Even if you don't purse residency having an MD behind your name is valuable. If you so something intersectional with medicine (biomed, medical informatics or medical physics) being a "doctor" will help. Google actually has a few doctors on staff helping formulate eigenmatrices for Watson to help diagnose patients (long way away). Plus if you ever decide to go back to residency you'll have that option as well.

 

[Moose A Moose]

If medicine is right for you, years 3 & 4 are spectacular.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It depends where you go and what rotations you have.

First year was by far the worst. I hated every day of my life. Second year sucked because it was so boring, but I already knew how to study and was overall easier even if the step looms. Third year was very easy because I made sure to find good rotations where for the most part I didn't have miserable attendings/residents. Fourth year is easier 3rd year because you already have competent clinical skills and generally don't embarrass yourself by not knowing anything of how clinical world works. You get to do more rotations in your specialty of choice. Also a lot of preceptors assume you're just running out the clock and go easy on you, and if they don't, who cares? Low Pass all the way. Residencies won't see those grades.

 

[CaptainJackSparrow83]

It depends where you go and what rotations you have.

First year was by far the worst. I hated every day of my life. Second year sucked because it was so boring, but I already knew how to study and was overall easier even if the step looms. Third year was very easy because I made sure to find good rotations where for the most part I didn't have miserable attendings/residents. Fourth year is easier 3rd year because you already have competent clinical skills and generally don't embarrass yourself by not knowing anything of how clinical world works. You get to do more rotations in your specialty of choice. Also a lot of preceptors assume you're just running out the clock and go easy on you, and if they don't, who cares? Low Pass all the way. Residencies won't see those grades.

How did you manage the hate? That hate is what I am at now. I dont want to commit suicide or anything because I know how amazing life is seeing my friends with jobs at home go out for lunch, and go to beaches etc, but for me getting by thru school every day is like going thru hell. I usually watch movies with my girlfriend to survive the day during breaks.

 

[deleted480308]

1 and 2 suck hard, 3 is exhausting but so much more interesting, 4 is soooooo much better

I've barely seen patients on my own (when I do I have no idea what I'm doing) or presented a single one yet in 3rd year. Not sure I'm gaining much from it. Have rarely used my diagnostic tools. I was significantly happier during 2nd year than I am now. It just sounds like a lot of complaining so I just try to hide that feeling when I hear others doing great things already. I put on a mask so others don't see it. 3rd year sucks.

It’s october, you should be presenting by now.

You should also be getting very comfy with gathering all the info and examining the patient, even if you don’t know what to do with the info

 

[Roxas]

1 and 2 suck hard, 3 is exhausting but so much more interesting, 4 is soooooo much better

It’s october, you should be presenting by now.

You should also be getting very comfy with gathering all the info and examining the patient, even if you don’t know what to do with the info

 

[Redpancreas]

If medicine is right for you, years 3 & 4 are spectacular.

Not necessarily...

 

[t5Nitro]

1 and 2 suck hard, 3 is exhausting but so much more interesting, 4 is soooooo much better

It’s october, you should be presenting by now.

You should also be getting very comfy with gathering all the info and examining the patient, even if you don’t know what to do with the info

This month has been a bit better: I gather information from EMR and attempt a ~1 minute presentation of the most relevant information before we go into the room. After that I just observe.

 

[deleted480308]

This month has been a bit better: I gather information from EMR and attempt a ~1 minute presentation of the most relevant information before we go into the room. After that I just observe.

Observe?

Are you chasing labs to check for effects of treatment, reading imaging yourself before reading the report to see how close you are, checking back in with the patient, talking to both shifts of your nurses to make sure all the information is being shared, and reading/studying your patient’s illness to find treatment suggestions?

Like it’s fine to not know what to do with the new hyponatrema patient today....not tomorrow

This is a grind but the work pays off

 

[t5Nitro]

Observe?

Are you chasing labs to check for effects of treatment, reading imaging yourself before reading the report to see how close you are, checking back in with the patient, talking to both shifts of your nurses to make sure all the information is being shared, and reading/studying your patient’s illness to find treatment suggestions?

Like it’s fine to not know what to do with the new hyponatrema patient today....not tomorrow

This is a grind but the work pays off

Right, observe. It's a lot of job shadowing. I make textbook knowledge throughout the day with anki. I just want to pass PE at this point.

 

[Uafl112]

So far I've hated Peds and OB. 3 months of IM was grueling but also satisfying when I put an Assessment/Plan together. ER was a blast because my attending forced me to get in there and do everything.

Quick question: whats your guys' IM rotation like? Mine was something like, pre round at 7AM on 2 or so patients I was assigned, come up with a SOAP for them, round with the attending and present, fix the note. Sound about right? I ask cause some people I know sounded like their days were way more intense. I feel like I didn't see a whole lot of stuff besides COPD, CHF, pneumonia, MI, Pyelo. Saw the occasional case that made you go "woah"