is med school fun?

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So I know med school is rigorous and everything, but do you all have fun being medical students? I mean, with such a small class, it's bound to be pretty close-knit, and obviously you see everyone pretty much everyday. and of course there's the studying.. you can call me a nerd, but I feel like it would be pretty fun to study with my peers, especially since we're all studying to tackle the same beast. anyway, I was just wondering if people had fun by being in med school, despite the rigor of the work.
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I'd answer this, but it's 9:00 on a Friday night and I'm on my way to a party welcoming our new first-years to school.
 
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Life is a muffin of unhappiness with blueberries of happiness. This is the best answer I can offer.
 
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I actually had fun in first year. The material was interesting and knowing everyone in class was a welcome change from undergrad. I have yet to experience the rest of med school, but hopefully it stays fun.
 
it's bittersweet!

u're so concerned with fun. did u not have enough fun in college? JK. yeah, it's important to introduce some fun but like one earlier post, it's not ur #1 priority.
 
It is not fun. It is unpleasant for the most part, but still interesting and rewarding. I think the training process is an awkward one, where people expect you to know things that you don't, to do things a certain way and you aren't experienced enough or just don't do it right. I think this is always stressful. Perhaps it gets better as an attending because then you know what you need to know.
 
Fun is not the right word. Rewarding is the right word.

That rush of good feelings from giving the right answers and conquering mountains of information. Those are the highlights.

That is my answer so far, at least.

It's like you're an Olympic athlete marching toward a goal. Say you're a gymnast practicing and hurting your body 6+ hrs a day.

Ask the gymnast: "Is it fun?" How would s/he answer? That's the wrong Q to ask, almost. "Is it rewarding to learn a new, more complicated move?" "Is it rewarding to feel yourself improving every day and doing things you never thought you could do?" "Is it rewarding to compete, do well, and realize that one day you will get a shot at the ultimate competition?"

Yes, yes, and yes.

In our case, our goal is successfully completing med school and landing good residencies.

There's plenty of reward at the end and dotted all along the way. There's plenty bits of happiness to be found too. Fun? Arguably... yes. Not quite the right word.

I think it depends on what type of person you are. For MOST people, studying that much and working that much of a grind is most definitely NOT fun.

But keep in mind... you are NOT like most people! Most people don't get in med school. You are in med school.

Most people are not Olympic athletes who put themselves (willingly and eagerly) through 6+ hrs of training a day.

The people who do clearly have a love for the endeavor and a strong, driven spirit.

For these people, there's plenty of reward, happiness, and yes, moments of fun, to be had.
 
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unsung said:
Fun is not the right word. Rewarding is the right word.

That rush of good feelings from giving the right answers and conquering mountains of information. Those are the highlights.

That is my answer so far, at least.

It's like you're an Olympic athlete marching toward a goal. Say you're a gymnast practicing and hurting your body 6+ hrs a day.

Ask the gymnast: "Is it fun?" How would s/he answer? That's the wrong Q to ask, almost. "Is it rewarding to learn a new, more complicated move?" "Is it rewarding to feel yourself improving every day and doing things you never thought you could do?" "Is it rewarding to compete, do well, and realize that one day you will get a shot at the ultimate competition?"

Yes, yes, and yes.

In our case, our goal is successfully completing med school and landing good residencies.

There's plenty of reward at the end and dotted all along the way. There's plenty bits of happiness to be found too. Fun? Arguably... yes. Not quite the right word.

I think it depends on what type of person you are. For MOST people, studying that much and working that much of a grind is most definitely NOT fun.

But keep in mind... you are NOT like most people! Most people don't get in med school. You are in med school.

Most people are not Olympic athletes who put themselves (willingly and eagerly) through 6+ hrs of training a day.

The people who do clearly have a love for the endeavor and a strong, driven spirit.

For these people, there's plenty of reward, happiness, and yes, moments of fun, to be had.
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i'm quite sure OP wasn't asking whether anatomy lab and studying for exams are "fun"...i'm quite sure the question was asking whether you had fun during the years you were in med school.

also your outlook on life is depressing
 
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A toll is a toll, and a roll is a roll; and if you don't pay the toll, we don't eat no rolls.
 
Med school can be either

1. Just like undergrad, only with a little more material to learn

OR

2. As miserable an experience as some posters here describe.

It pretty mch depends on what you want it to be.
 
About as fun as boot camp, but some people enjoy boot camp so to each their own.
 
For me, med school was a blast, especially first semester of first year. I had lived at home in undergrad, so I actually went out more in med school. Football games were amazing! GO GATORS! Doubtless, I worked hard at the same time, but the friends and fun totally overshadowed the amount of work. One of the best parts was making awesome friends that I know I will be close with for years to come--something I didn't have on the same level in college. Depending on where you go, med school can really be a lot of fun.

That being said, I was just awake until 2 am Thursday night working on a presentation for my Geriatrics rotation, and had to wake up around 6 am to prepare for rounds. Getting 4 hours of sleep and then going to work isn't my idea of fun, but I knew what I was signing up for when I applied. I'll catch up on my sleep over the weekend, and probably forget about my sleep deprivation when I look back on it all.

It's the people you surround yourself with that will make med school fun or not, even when you are burned out and tired. I tried hanging out with some the gunner types/cool kids in class early on, but I found that I fit in better with the chilled out, relaxed kids. I have had more laughs and hilariousness in med school, because of these awesome people--more than i ever imagined. Just remember, hanging out with the grade-obsessed people will stress you out, and you won't have that much fun. Go to football games/movie nights/game nights (or organize those things if they aren't around yet) because that's the best way to stay sane and have fun too.
 
skinMD said:
i'm quite sure OP wasn't asking whether anatomy lab and studying for exams are "fun"...i'm quite sure the question was asking whether you had fun during the years you were in med school.

also your outlook on life is depressing
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How is my outlook on life depressing? The comparison to Olympic athlete is a slight exaggeration of course. I'm the kind of person who would LOVE to devote myself to one thing... it could be a sport, it could be an art, it could be a science. Whatever.

I took some figure skating lessons when I was younger. The idea of becoming super good at the sport, to me, is AWESOME. I'd be quite willing to sacrifice "party time" or "free time" to devote myself to the sport. Of course, I started that sport to late to become really good... but I still enjoyed it.

(Another point where the comparison fails is that practicing figure skating IS fun. I can say that definitively. Maybe it isn't fun for a lot of people. EXERCISE isn't even fun for a lot of people. But I enjoy it.

Med school, for me, isn't as enjoyable. Meh. I'm not into the geography of the body that much, so I can't say knowing a bunch of names or things is "fun". Probably when we get to physiology where I get the chance to ask more "why" Qs, med school will start becoming fun for me.)

Re: first part of your post. What people do outside of class is entirely up to them. If the Q is, are the yrs in med school spent OUTSIDE of class fun, then that's just kind of an inane Q.

That's entirely up to the individual! If I'm interested in a particular sport or I write for fun, then that's what I'm going to do in my free time. For someone else, they might go to bars or have fun parties for fun.

If THAT is the real Q of the OP, then there's no way to answer it.
 
It's definitely been fun so far, with a few rough patches thrown in there. Like most will attest, it's not a blast to study until 1 or 2 in the morning and get 4 hours of sleep, only to have to go to a lecture on SOAP notes. So in the moment, it's not fun, but from a big picture perspective, it definitely is fun. Call me a dork, but I'm having fun learning about anatomy, despite the torrent of information we must swallow.

Oh, and I try to have non-school fun on the weekends, too:thumbup:
 
it depends on if you enjoy learning about the human body, if you do every day you'll find new and interesting things that help you drudge through the tedium of memorizing more information than you thought possible.

I believe it was Mark Twain who said "a man is only as happy as he lets himself be", you can't start feeling bad for yourself. You just have to have a good mindset and focus on the little things you enjoy.
-durty
 
Medschool is intense. When its fun its intense fun, when its not its intensely not. For the most part if you can remember to laugh at yourself and at how absurd the workload can seem at times it can be relatively painless. But anytime that you are being asked to grow, both intellectually and emotionally, there are going to be some times that hurt.
 
Pompacil said:
Med school can be either

1. Just like undergrad, only with a TON more material to learn
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I agree with this, but I also fixed it up a bit for ya!
 
OP, you're probably going to have negative feelings in the duration of med school. Late nights/no sleep, infinite amount of material, demanding instructors, cadavers that frustrate you, etc.

But when you look back, you will feel pleasure at being able to accomplish it all, and maybe even feel some sense of "fun" or enjoyment in the camaraderie and routine you had.

Pain now, reward later. See my signature :)
 
Some of the best years of my life. I would love to do it again (if I could get paid to do it, of course). 3rd year was rough but worth it.
 
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Yes, med school is loads of fun. I daresay I had more fun in med school than in undergrad. You make great friends, and if you have good study habits, you can certainly go out most every friday and saturday night (unless it's a couple of weeks before exams). If you're a super gunner shooting for neurosurgery or plastics or ENT, maybe you won't have as much fun...but if fun is your priority then those probably aren't what you're shooting for:laugh: I had time to work out on a regular basis, party, and travel in med school and made friends I will keep for a lifetime. :thumbup:
 
You shouldn't have to ask other people if a particulatar subject is interesting for YOU. Whatever subject matter is, there is always SOMEONE that finds it fun and interesting. The problem is, you should know what you like better than any of us.
 
...so you're not going to become a workaholic who doesn't know anything in life except books and being depressed...?
 
lord_jeebus said:
Some of the best years of my life. I would love to do it again (if I could get paid to do it, of course). 3rd year was rough but worth it.
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How much would someone pay you for you to do it again?
 
I'm two weeks into M-1 and I love it so far. I am surrounded by (kinda surprisingly) normal and fun people and we are learning so much but its actually interesting. The difference here is that everyone wants to study 6 hours a day cause they want to know their stuff. I've never been that type of person but I feel like it now and its working for me.. guess I just think its cool.
 
I'm into my 4th week of med school, and while the work can seem a bit overwhelming, I've found it fun. And most of that fun came from what you've described, getting to know a great group of students (which is just about my entire class). I know it's odd, but now that I have something to do which feels like it has a purpose (study to become a freakin doctor, unlike being a bored lazy sloth in undergrad) along with good times of studying and being with my great med school friends, I am actually quite happy in med school, much more than in undergrad. Also, I am surrounded with a great faculty that truly want me to succeed. I guess it depends on the person, but med school is really what you make of it (although I might change my tune in the later months and years).
 
Pompacil said:
Med school can be either

1. Just like undergrad, only with a little more material to learn

OR

2. As miserable an experience as some posters here describe.

It pretty mch depends on what you want it to be.
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Except in undergrad, I never had to be at the hospital at 5am, for two weeks straight with no time off.

You can HAVE fun in med school, but in general, med school itself isn't fun. I've had lots of good times though.
 
lord_jeebus said:
Some of the best years of my life. I would love to do it again (if I could get paid to do it, of course). 3rd year was rough but worth it.
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I think you quickly forgot the joys of being completely useless to the team.
 
1st year of med school was not easy but not super challenging either; lots of free time for the most part....2nd year of med school was pretty dam difficult and tiring; very little free time...did a summer intership in various depts of the hospital; if rotations will be anything like the internship be ready to feel completely stupid and uselss during 3rd year.
 
You do have a lot of free time during M1 after Anatomy. Not so much for the second year though
 
Med school feels a lot like a full time job to me. It's not really fun, but not terrible most of the time. You go out for drinks with your classmates sometimes, but in general med school is just work that takes up most of your day.
 
I enjoy learning new stuff and that never seems to end. I'm also lucky that for the most part my class loves to have a good time. So, YES
 
gujuDoc said:
Agreed. I am still confused though what the OP meant by the original question. Did he mean is there time for free time to party some on the side or do things that interest you outside of on call shifts 3rd year when you have no time, or did he mean is med school itself i.e. the schooling time not the social time outside of school fun.

I had assumed the former, because I didn't think the latter existed.
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I think the OP was getting more at the point of whether or not the whole late-night-studying-and-bonding-with-your-new-friends thing is fun. I think it would be fun. It's obviously not the same kind of fun as undergrad (going to parties, football games, etc.), but I feel like seeing your classmates everyday, both in class and outside class (while studying, obviously) would make you closer to each other. anyway, I'm not in med school, so I have no idea yet, but that's just what I gleaned from the OP's question.
 
LAman10 said:
I think the OP was getting more at the point of whether or not the whole late-night-studying-and-bonding-with-your-new-friends thing is fun. I think it would be fun. It's obviously not the same kind of fun as undergrad (going to parties, football games, etc.), but I feel like seeing your classmates everyday, both in class and outside class (while studying, obviously) would make you closer to each other. anyway, I'm not in med school, so I have no idea yet, but that's just what I gleaned from the OP's question.
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either closer or further apart to some degree due to drama that can also ensue when you have no space between you and people.

Usually what happens is that people form cliques or keep like a small handful of friends maybe 1-2 at the min. from what I've seen with my friends in med school.

I've seen that clinicals also are a different story from 1st 2 years because you don't always get on teams with the people you make friends with in years 1 and 2 on your rotations so you get to have more variety in 3rd year with who you interact with then first 2 years where you either study alone or study with who you become friends with unless at a PBL curricula where things may be different
 
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