Is being a"gunner" a bad thing?

[PsychicPsych]

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Hello,
I'm a medical school reapplicant for MD/PhD. My self-esteem was significantly impacted by the last cycle, and I decided to pile up my schedule with things that I perceive to be lacking in my application. Despite working 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week, I have a social life, and I view this process as a collaborative thing. However, someone mentioned that "oh med schools don't like work work work type of people" or "you should have a hobby if you want a good application". But I do have hobbies, and I do have social life. It's just that I feel strongly about my mission, and I deem it something worth investing this much time into my work. Would this seem like a bad thing though? Like would adcom punish me for spending so much on my time?

 

[Goro]

There's a difference between working hard, and being a gunner.

We like hard workers, but we don't like gunners.

 

[wysdoc]

being focused and ambitious is good.

"gunner" has the connotation that you would succeed at any cost in med school, including sabotaging or impeding your classmates.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Concurring: gunner also suggests that one doesn't care about others' successes. You look at others as malevolent rivals to be "defeated" or "put in their place." Medical school is like Squid Games, Game of Thrones, etc.

Hope this helps. For your situation as a potential MD/PhD applicant, I don't know if you would get "punished," but MD/PhD committees want to see if you would be great to have around for 8-10 years (and a colleague for much more). What type of person are you when balancing work and personal life, and would people want to be around you? Gunners don't really thrive in MD/PhD... because it's 8-10 years of being a student, and academic life doesn't work that way.

 

[pedneuro6894]

The gunner is the kid who tells the teacher they forgot to assign homework at the end of class

 

[chssoccer7]

Hello,
I'm a medical school reapplicant for MD/PhD. My self-esteem was significantly impacted by the last cycle, and I decided to pile up my schedule with things that I perceive to be lacking in my application. Despite working 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week, I have a social life, and I view this process as a collaborative thing. However, someone mentioned that "oh med schools don't like work work work type of people" or "you should have a hobby if you want a good application". But I do have hobbies, and I do have social life. It's just that I feel strongly about my mission, and I deem it something worth investing this much time into my work. Would this seem like a bad thing though? Like would adcom punish me for spending so much on my time?

I know your post is framed as pre-med but from a medical student perspective- none of us care if our classmates work hard. We all worked hard to get here and we all work hard to do well. Working hard because it's important is respectable. That's not what being a gunner is. A gunner is someone who works hard but finds out about something important all of us need to know and intentionally doesn't tell anyone. They know something that could help someone else but purposefully don't tell them because they don't want that person to receive the help. They sometimes purposefully tell people wrong information so that they (the gunner) look better compared to the other person who just made themselves look dumb. They have the mentality of "I will sink the ship as long as I'm the person standing on top of it as it goes down". Behaving like that is what a "gunner" is and is a good way to ensure that basically everybody hates you.

 

[Hollow Knight]

You sound like a perfect future medical student.

When people say “gunner” they tend to mean people who backstab others to make themselves look better. Nothing wrong with working hard. Some of us aren’t geniuses and have to study a lot just to make a B. It is what it is.

I plan on having “homework” as an attending. Just so I don’t turn into one of those people using beta blockers as first line for HTN

 

[AJS59]

I know much of the advice here has been focused on the "person willing to stab others in the back to get what they want" flavor BUT I'd also caution you to remember your own hobbies and have fun throughout this process. Med schools don't want robots and box checkers, they want people with personality and humanity too.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I know much of the advice here has been focused on the "person willing to stab others in the back to get what they want" flavor BUT I'd also caution you to remember your own hobbies and have fun throughout this process. Med schools don't want robots and box checkers, they want people with personality and humanity too.

To add onto this and get a little personal: I know Rock Lee is my avatar, but I agree with this sentiment. In undergrad I probably worked like 100 hours a week. Part of that was me needing to work more than most premeds to pay for stuff (grew up working class)

But, I could have made just a little more time to sleep 7-8 hours a night, see my family, etc. I still would have gotten into the same schools and I still would wind up competitive for Family Medicine. I regret inflicting so much suffering on myself as an M1 and as a premed. That was the only positive of being married for a bit was that it forced me to get a little bit of a life.

 

[Splenda88]

Talking about gunners.

One of my classmates when I was in med school went to administration and complained about our Anatomy professor having a review course prior to exams. I was told he said it's not fair to him because he studies too hard to get his grades.

 

[Goro]

Talking about gunners.

One of my classmates when I was in med school went to administration and complained about our Anatomy professor having a review course prior to exams. I was told he said it's not fair to him because he studies too hard to get his grades.

Jeese, I would have kicked his ass right out of my office.

 

[Isoval]

There’s working hard and “win at all costs” (gunners).

Don’t be the latter. I assure you that it is a terrible look, especially for the people above you on the totem pole (senior med students, interns, residents, faculty) writing your letters and evaluations.