Is it just me?

[ROFLcopter1111]

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Or am I the only one that thinks med school isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be? Or am I just doing it wrong?

 

[OncoCaP]

Or am I the only one that thinks med school isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be? Or am I just doing it wrong?

It depends on many factors, like your study habits, school program, interests luck, etc. No, it doesn't necessarily need to be hard. There are people who find the experience fun and fairly straightforward, but there are hard parts for everyone (usually 3rd year at least). I like it, but it's a lot of work. Everyone is challenged at some point; it may or may not be a challenge you like.

 

[ROFLcopter1111]

I guess I was just expecting to have to study for like 5 hours everyday after class, but I usually only study for 1 or less (during non-test weeks). At times, it feels like organic chemistry was harder than the first semester classes.

 

[GreenShirt]

In a way I agree with you. I think my pre-med classes were a lot more difficult. In med school there's less competition and our tests are multiple choice (never had MC exams in any of my pre-med classes) and don't require much problem solving, just a recall of facts. The hard part for me is just the burnout of having been in school for so long (when will it end?!). Although, I have to say, studying for only an hour a day is pretty impressive. I have to average at least 4hrs/day to do well.

 

[rachmoninov3]

The material in medical school is not difficult, but the amount of it is. You will not be asked to do anything remotely close to some of your more advanced undergrad courses (Pchem was a total waste).
The most difficult parts of med school is the volume and the ability to stay focused and off sdn for long periods of time.😛

 

[45408]

It might not just be you, but it's certainly not me.

 

[shreypete]

Medical school is not easy!!!!!! period.

 

[kdburton]

I guess I was just expecting to have to study for like 5 hours everyday after class, but I usually only study for 1 or less (during non-test weeks). At times, it feels like organic chemistry was harder than the first semester classes.

I agree with the organic chemistry thing... If I compared my hours of studying per hour of organic lecture to my hours of studying in medical school per hour of lecture I think its more for o-chem. That could be mostly because I hated everything about o-chem and had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever, whereas I tend to enjoy or be indifferent towards the majority of the material in medical school

 

[Monica Lewinsky]

Med school is definitely much easier than undergrad. There is less independent thought required and skills such as the ability to write well are inferior to work ethic and basic scientific aptitude.

 

[167649]

It all depends, nobody has the same study habits/ability or interests. No question though; sheer volume of material in MS is intense. Some people can manage that more easily than others.

Personally, i've always found the "next level" to be easier than it is always made out to be, at least once I settle into a routine.

 

[Law2Doc]

Or am I the only one that thinks med school isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be? Or am I just doing it wrong?

If you have just started, you are being lulled into a false sense of security. Med school definitely carries you a round or two before hitting you with the left hook. Moreso if you had a strong science background before you started. Give it time. You will succumb to the onslaught of material and look back at this thread and realize you had no idea what you were talking about.

 

[45408]

Med school is definitely much easier than undergrad. There is less independent thought required and skills such as the ability to write well are inferior to work ethic and basic scientific aptitude.

Yeah, but for some of us, writing an A+ college paper is harder than getting an A+ in pharmacology, that's for sure. I never got less than an A in an honors class - which were all reading and writing classes - but I sure have dropped below that in med school. I would never claim to be an excellent writer, but putting together an A paper in college is pretty straightforward.

Electrical physics or organic chemistry were never any more difficult than renal physiology for me. P-chem, I've heard terrible things about, but I'd say most of med school is right up there and beyond with my advanced undergrad classes.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I think for the majority of people, you seek your own level where you're still competitive. I.E. if you're the type of guy who gets honors, you're interested in trying to get a LOT of honors so you work hard. Maybe putting in the same hours as the guy who's fighting to just pass.

I've personally never come close to failing a class, but I'm always working hard to do my best because you never know when you're going to be applying for a competitive residency spot.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Or am I the only one that thinks med school isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be? Or am I just doing it wrong?

I definitely didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as people were trying to make it seem. The whole "undergrad is an eye drop of information, med school is a fire hose" is a huge overstatement!! With that said, med school is no joke🙄

 

[LadyWolverine]

I definitely didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as people were trying to make it seem. The whole "undergrad is an eye drop of information, med school is a fire hose" is a huge overstatement!!

That's because most of you haven't gotten to second year yet. You'll understand the firehose analogy then. First year was a breeze compared to what lies ahead.

 

[Slide]

That's because most of you haven't gotten to second year yet. You'll understand the firehose analogy then. First year was a breeze compared to what lies ahead.

Well what classes did you have second year? I've noticed that 2nd year classes aren't universally the same for everyone. For next year we basically just have pharm, microbio, and path yearlong. Biostatistics is done by beginning of October, and Genetics and Psych are less than 2 months each.

 

[LadyWolverine]

Well what classes did you have second year? I've noticed that 2nd year classes aren't universally the same for everyone. For next year we basically just have pharm, microbio, and path yearlong. Biostatistics is done by beginning of October, and Genetics and Psych are less than 2 months each.

This is the firehose.

lol @ "just have."

 

[Slide]

This is the firehose.

Ahhh, well then.

Damn.

 

[Blade28]

Ahhh, well then.

Damn.

Agreed that the MS-II year covers much more material compared to the MS-I year.

Path, in particular, can be brutal.

 

[mjl1717]

If you have just started, you are being lulled into a false sense of security. Med school definitely carries you a round or two before hitting you with the left hook. Moreso if you had a strong science background before you started. Give it time. You will succumb to the onslaught of material and look back at this thread and realize you had no idea what you were talking about.

Money post!!

There is ALWAYS someone hinting that its a piece of cake::

Thats part of the ritual-- as L2D said (and this is one of my favorite academic statements)> ["lulled into a false sense of security"]-he even mentions the left hook..

I dont care what anyone says-being a profound, healthy, conscientious physician , and being respected by peers, patients, and medical societies is HARD!!🙄

 

[Noeljan]

I guess it is different at each school, as well as for each person. At my school a bunch of the second years told me 2nd yr was easier than 1st for them to do well. I bet it is different for different people though.
We have an integrated curriculum though, it is not as some of yours is described (like we don't have separate courses for pharm/path/histo, etc). Most of ours is mixed in with everything.

 

[OncoCaP]

I guess it is different at each school, as well as for each person. At my school a bunch of the second years told me 2nd yr was easier than 1st for them to do well. I bet it is different for different people though.
We have an integrated curriculum though, it is not as some of yours is described (like we don't have separate courses for pharm/path/histo, etc). Most of ours is mixed in with everything.

While it might help having the material organized in a way that helps memorizing, if you're going to do well on the boards, you'll have a lot to memorize. We also have an integrated curriculum and there is clearly more material and less time to study for it as you get further along. It's for a good cause, but the people who moan about how easy it is usually go quiet rather abruptly at some point, whether it's at MS1, MS2, MS3, or perhaps residency. I haven't heard of anyone skating through saying their entire medical training was a breeze (and even if there was a person like that here and there, I'll show you many more who did not continue and dropped out -- both kinds rare but the second kind are more common than the first kind). Usually the better performers just compete at a different tier (competing to graduate #1 in the class while many others are content just to pass). There's something for everyone, no matter how talented you are.

 

[entericoated]

Undergrad was harder for me, but this is more time consuming

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

MSI was a cake walk compared to my undergrad engineering.

Had more free time and was much more relaxed this year than I ever was in undergrad. Yay for block scheduling and few mandatory classes!

Hope MSII gets me to break a sweat. This is seriously caketown.

 

[ACSurgeon]

This is the firehose.

lol @ "just have."

 

[njac]

Or am I the only one that thinks med school isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be? Or am I just doing it wrong?

I feel the same way about pharmacy school. I look at other people struggling and it's just not that hard.

Are you pressing yourself for the As?

 

[entericoated]

Maybe its not so difficult because we are now learning what we love and although there are tough times and our adrenals are probably shot to hell, we genuinely enjoy what we are learning.

 

[OncoCaP]

MSI was a cake walk compared to my undergrad engineering.

Had more free time and was much more relaxed this year than I ever was in undergrad. Yay for block scheduling and few mandatory classes!

Hope MSII gets me to break a sweat. This is seriously caketown.

Maybe not MSII in your case, but MS3 should challenge you. You might ask your upperclass folks and see what they say. MSI really isn't an indicator of the difficulty of the program. Then residency should give you a pretty good carpet burn, depending on what you do; go for something like vascular surgery or maybe neurosurgery. Find me a few of those surgeons that say that medical training is "seriously caketown."

 

[coldweatherblue]

Med school is definitely much easier than undergrad. There is less independent thought required and skills such as the ability to write well are inferior to work ethic and basic scientific aptitude.

wow, sounds weird but I hope this isn't the case for me. Undergrad was easy even though I was working 30 hours a week all four years. I never had trouble cramming the night before ochem/physics tests and doing alright, but I know that if I study like that during the first two years of med school there is no way I can learn as much as I need to. I'm pretty sure MS1 is gonna kick my ass though so I have nothing to worry about.