Just Want to Pass: How Much Work Will I Have to Put In?

[Neurotic98]

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I'm an undergraduate student who will begin medical school in a year. But I am having second thoughts about going to medical school because I'm scared that I cannot handle the work.

In college right now, I take about 18 credits a semester, and have maintained a high GPA (little over 3.9). I don't really have any responsibilities outside of class. When including labs, I spend 25 hours in class and study and do homework for another 20 hours every week. That's a total of 45 hours a week that I work in college. I know that I can handle a little more work than that, but not a whole lot.

My main goal is just to be happy. I don't want medical school to jeopardize my happiness. I hear horror stories on the internet of the high rates of depression among medical students, and I don't want this to be me.

What if I just want to pass in medical school? Obviously, I would not want to be borderline because the threat of constantly failing would be a lot of stress. But I just want to comfortably pass. I would be quite happy in family practice. How many hours would I have to put into med school to achieve this goal? Please include both lecture/lab time as well as studying time.

Any responses would be very, very appreciated. I'm very scared.

 

[907914]

who will begin medical school in a year.

Unless you are BS/MD, linked program, EDP, or deferred acceptance, make sure to speak in potential to matriculate as opposed to definitives. Regardless of stats or ECS or the like, failure is always a possibility.

because I'm scared that I cannot handle the work.

Was just talking to a few on here a couple days ago - P = MD or 2.0 = DO

@Matthew9Thirtyfive @ciestar and @AnatomyGrey12 will be able to give you the ins and outs, but from what I hear if your goal is to pass, then 20-40 hours a week in non-clinicals will get you there depending on the subject. Average med school passing/graduation rate is somewhere in the mid-90s for percentage. If 90 some % got this, I am sure you do too.

family practice.

As someone who is more and more contemplating FM, I agree with you that family practice is fine by me.

Here is a whole recent thread on it:

Why isn't FM more competitive than it is now?

I have talked to a couple PGY3 FM residents at my place and they are already getting great offers... 225k+/ year, 20k+ sign-on bonus, M-Thur (8-5pm or 9-5pm) and half day on Friday. And these offers are NOT in the middle of nowhere... Are these kind of offers a recent trend? if not, why isn't FM...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Based on many of the attendings there, it seems like FM has the potential to be Cush.

Explore your options! But know that once you get an acceptance, med schools throw resources at you to ensure you don’t fail.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I'm an undergraduate student who will begin medical school in a year. But I am having second thoughts about going to medical school because I'm scared that I cannot handle the work.

In college right now, I take about 18 credits a semester, and have maintained a high GPA (little over 3.9). I don't really have any responsibilities outside of class. When including labs, I spend 25 hours in class and study and do homework for another 20 hours every week. That's a total of 45 hours a week that I work in college. I know that I can handle a little more work than that, but not a whole lot.

My main goal is just to be happy. I don't want medical school to jeopardize my happiness. I hear horror stories on the internet of the high rates of depression among medical students, and I don't want this to be me.

What if I just want to pass in medical school? Obviously, I would not want to be borderline because the threat of constantly failing would be a lot of stress. But I just want to comfortably pass. I would be quite happy in family practice. How many hours would I have to put into med school to achieve this goal? Please include both lecture/lab time as well as studying time.

Any responses would be very, very appreciated. I'm very scared.

40-50 hours a week. Treat it like a full time job and you'll be fine. You hear horror stories because bitching is the number one way medical students vent lol. Most people put in the time and do just fine.

 

[chemdoctor]

40-50 hours a week. Treat it like a full time job and you'll be fine. You hear horror stories because bitching is the number one way medical students vent lol. Most people put in the time and do just fine.

Even if they’re not “gifted”? It’s a LOT of material! (As you know of course)

I mean I’ve heard med schools are very supportive IN CASE you fail. Also, is it a given that you will most likely pass Step1?

 

[crunchywhit]

I think the hardest part is getting started. Before your first round of tests, how will you know how much to study to "pass" and not fail? You don't really, so you study as hard as you can and hope for the best. In my first semester, I spent a lot of time and the grades weren't perfect by any stretch, but as I got more efficient, I was still spending slightly less time, but it was resulting in As. So I think I could have scaled back to a cushier schedule it my goal had of been passing. Point is, you grow into it over time and do become more efficient of a learner. I do think med school is long and hard, and although passing could be in line with your goals of FM and what not, there's always the potential for any given field to become more competitive by the time you apply to residency. So, I take some pause with the overall attitude. FM residents in our home program still have inpatient months where they have overnight in-house calls and what not, so although the end game might sound cush, it's still a long road to get there.

 

[crunchywhit]

Even if they’re not “gifted”? It’s a LOT of material! (As you know of course)

I mean I’ve heard med schools are very supportive IN CASE you fail. Also, is it a given that you will most likely pass Step1?

A medical school with a solid reputation/solid curriculum, and a student with the ability to pass the pre-clinical coursework + solid dedicated study plan should generally result in a pass on step 1 (whatever the score) in the vast majority of cases.

 

[Tabiyou]

Take it as some on that has been in your shoes. A medical school wants you and WILL help you succeed. It will be brutal at times. As long as you put the hours in, remain open minded to different studying habits, and constantly reevaluate your successes/failures, you will turn out just fine. I am an example of that. Of course it is easier said than done, but here I am four years later. A below average applicant - yet I have to Fail any courses, delay for step, or have any board failures. Just got my scores back from Step 2 CK and CS, and while not ideal, I am where I need to be 🙂

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

You have to treat it like a job. There is a LOT of material, and it is very easy to get behind. We did a month of biochem in 4 days on top of cell bio, micro, stats, psych, and our medical interviewing and physical exam labs. If you put in 40-50 hours a week and treat it like a job, you should be able to stay on track.