Lazy people in med school.

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MEG@COOL

MEG@COOL

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I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
 
oh yeah, I'm right there with ya. 🙂
 
sounds like me
😀
though now it's 6 weeks till end year exams, the finger's out.
 
Hey, as long as we're passing our classes we aren't lazy, we just have lives outside of medicine! 🙂
 
Yep, I'm on the lazier side of things. I don't value hard work for its own sake, and I really, really appreciate my time off. Unfortunately, I can't be as lazy as I'd like to without failing.
 
MEG@COOL said:
I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
Click to expand...

i'm same way... i didn't have to change much for med school. During first year, our exams were only once a month, so I could basically be on the same schedule as you until a 4-5 days before the exam. Then, I would step it up a little and repeat the cycle for the next exam. We have exams more often during 2nd year, so I have a little less lazy time, but studying still doesn't consume my days by any means.
 
Man I wish I am like you guys. I am not sure if I am doing overkill, but when I get home everyday I review each lecture thoroughly and then review for the next day. That usual takes me about 5-6 hours. Then, at the end of the week, I do all of our lectures. 😕
 
I am waiting for the people to start overrunning this thread saying that we are slackers, and aren't going to make good doctors, or something.
Heaven forbid we mention that med school isn't hard for some people or something.
 
IbnSina said:
I am waiting for the people to start overrunning this thread saying that we are slackers, and aren't going to make good doctors, or something.
Heaven forbid we mention that med school isn't hard for some people or something.
Click to expand...

That wasn't my intention so hopefully that was not directed at me. I want to know where I am going wrong!
 
definitely lazy...i can't imagine what i would be capable of if I wasn't lazy...

i'm just too lazy to bother finding out.
 
just for the record, I am in undergrad not med and do this. I do work hard sometimes, but I like being able to chill sometimes also. I asked as im applying this year and was just wondering.
 
Total slacker here, and proud!

Only time I actually bust my ass preparing the way I should is for preceptor shifts, but those barely count for anything gradewise since we're preclinical. Go figure.
 
I definitely consider myself a slacker. Or would, if I had time to. Long commute and family obligations (including a baby) make that hard. I SO miss the first 2 years, when I spent way more time in yoga class and the club than studying...
 
I think the best thing to do is keep a schedule of all the classes and then all the time I need for studying. It works out well doing it on a PDA. Anyway after the first week or so of a new block I know exactly how much time to schedule for studying and the rest is for my slacker-like-indulgences. Works out pretty well. 😀
 
Yo... right here.

I was the laziest SOB in college. Well, I take that back, I worked like a dog on some very selective things (mainly my undergrad THESIS), but in terms of actual *studying* (like reviewing for an exam) I mostly d*cked off, played games, watched TV, and barely read anything. In my Orgo class, I got the textbook / practice manual / solutions book, and *never* used any of them (~160$ down the toilet!)

Med school is different. I am saying this having gone only about 5-6 weeks into class, but already there's a distinct difference. And I finally found a way to describe it.

Remember in college how a quiz or exam during the regular term was basically a joke? And then, the final you took at the end of the semester was a pain in your ass and you had to actually bust open your notes and study frantically for those? Well in med school, each exam that you get after, oh say 3 weeks or so, is the equivalent of a final exam taken at the end of your semester for a class in college. It's equivalent in terms of the sh*tload of material you have to plow through, the stress you get anticipating it, and the actual amount of studying you need to do for it.

I'm slowly adjusting to it, but it's a pain in the neck. Don't worry about it too much though, youtube.com and WoW are always waiting for you when you need a break or just finished up an exam...
 
Oh yeah I forgot to mention, you also have to actually learn your **** in med school too, because when Step I steers its ugly head, it'll be like taking 100 final exams rolled into one.

:meanie:
 
MEG@COOL said:
I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
Click to expand...

i'm lazy. i'm in medschool. but i'm mostly lazy on friday and saturday nights. the rest of the time i'm studying.
 
I only get really, really lazy on Sundays and Mondays because I'm so big on football and do hardly any work. The rest of the week, I spend around 5-6 hours studying or reviewing.
 
Dr. McDreamy said:
i'm lazy. i'm in medschool. but i'm mostly lazy on friday and saturday nights. the rest of the time i'm studying.
Click to expand...

I am like that. I even sometimes slack off on Thursdays, but Monday- Thurs. are usually study my ass off days. 😳
 
USArmyDoc said:
That wasn't my intention so hopefully that was not directed at me. I want to know where I am going wrong!
Click to expand...

No, not directed at you. Mainly this was due to the people who were telling us that we were wrong by saying medical school isn't that easy because we weren't top of our class. You know, because only the guy in first gets to say it is easy or something.

Trust me, I'm a world class slacker.
 
MEG@COOL said:
just for the record, I am in undergrad not med and do this. I do work hard sometimes, but I like being able to chill sometimes also. I asked as im applying this year and was just wondering.
Click to expand...

Hm. Well in that case, things will be different.

I was a seriously lazy person in undergrad. My M.O. was this: I always went to class, and when I went, I took utterly anal-retentive, meticulous notes. But when I wasn't in class, well. . .the rest of that time was MY time. I liked to nap midday and stay up till 3. I liked to party. . .a lot. I liked to fart around on the internet, much like I do now.

I didn't really study, until exams were a couple days away. At that point, I would bust out my notes, read through them, and concentrate on the things I didn't know. I remember whining and moaning about how I'd studied a whole SIX HOURS one day for an exam. My God, six hours! I was a machine! It was painful! And that whole six hours wasn't even studying, really. I took a lot of breaks.

Well, that's changed.

I'm still kind of lazy. I go to class, but I don't tend to study much until exams are a couple of weeks away (note the time difference!). I then proceed to completely bust my ass for two to three weeks solid. I'm hardly ever home, I don't do much besides study and sleep. My social life, hobbies, and, well, everything kinda takes a hit. Things just ain't the same as they used to be. But I'm a lot more disciplined, and I think sometimes I forget to be proud of that.
 
MEG@COOL said:
I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
Click to expand...
I guess you're not so scary after all; I wish you were in my class. We could have some good gaming and slacking fun. I've been looking for ppl like this. I should be doing stuff right now and here I am putting it off.

Bah meg@cool you didn't mention you were undergrad, why posting in allo then! Slacking was a hell of a lot easier back then. Studying has to go up substantially come med school. Gaming for hrs on end and starting work at 9 cannot work. Esp 3rd and 4th yr, that would be unheard of I believe.
 
i dunno guys, it's cool you can still be lazy in med school and pass--it's a luxury that most of us don't have. From what I can see, everyone in my class is bustin' their ass to do well on exams. Some still find the time to go out on thurs/fri/weekends but aside from that, they are in the library till it closes.

i don't think people would be accusing you of not being "good enough" or working hard enough for medicine. Rather, we'd just appreciate that you not brag too much about it b/c most of us are terribly sleep-deprived at this point.
 
Most ppl in my class religiously watch Greys and House at the very least, not to mention sporting events, so a warrant for empathy is dubious. When it comes to sleep deprivation and lack of time I notice ppl overlook these things, as if they're given
 
Finally, I am seeing my kind of people. 😎
I go to medical school when I feel like it and study when I feel like it. I work hard but not too hard and watch every episode of Prison Break and House.

However, when I started a thread about this in the summer, a wave of gunners and jealous people were scolding me for not working hard enough so I wonder what happened to those people on this thread?
 
Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door - that way Lumbergh can't see me, heh - after that I sorta space out for an hour. Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work. 😀
 
I'm not one of those that can get away with a slacker schedule and pass my classes. 😛

Who knows? We haven't had our first exam yet so maybe I won't need to study as much. That said, I don't think I am working as hard as I could be, at least not compared to undergrad, then again, had a crazy schedule in undergrad, so I'm trying to pace myself and not burn out (again).

I think people also have different definitions of 'slacking off'. For some people, my schedule is slackoff schedule I'm sure, others may think it's overkill, but I consider it 'average' for med school, and definitely below average for undergrad (hung around nerds, was a big nerd back then). Well, we shall see what happens....
 
yea i'm lazy. i play a lot of flight simulator and spend a lot of time surfing the net and watching the history channel. but on the average day i probably study for 2 or 3 hours mixed in with all that. however, as most ya'll know, that doesn't work when tests are coming up. the 4 or 5 days before a test i'm pretty much balls to the wall studying maybe 5 or 6 hours a day.

i should mention that i don't really go to class and that helps with my lazy lifestyle. if i went to class i definately couldn't spend so much time doing nothing productive. i just don't learn in lecture. i can goof of in lecture or i can goof off at home. i still have to study the same amount either way.

it worked first year and it's working so far second year. that said, i'm not at the top of my class. i'm pretty much a "B" average student and that's okay by me. i'm good at shelfs/standardized exams and that is one reason i can slack a little bit.

but different strokes for different folks. you gotta do what gets you through med school. i personally couldn't do it studying all day, everyday. i'd go bonkers.
 
stoic said:
yea i'm lazy. i play a lot of flight simulator and spend a lot of time surfing the net and watching the history channel. but on the average day i probably study for 2 or 3 hours mixed in with all that. however, as most ya'll know, that doesn't work when tests are coming up. the 4 or 5 days before a test i'm pretty much balls to the wall studying maybe 5 or 6 hours a day.

i should mention that i don't really go to class and that helps with my lazy lifestyle. if i went to class i definately couldn't spend so much time doing nothing productive. i just don't learn in lecture. i can goof of in lecture or i can goof off at home. i still have to study the same amount either way.

it worked first year and it's working so far second year. that said, i'm not at the top of my class. i'm pretty much a "B" average student and that's okay by me. i'm good at shelfs/standardized exams and that is one reason i can slack a little bit.

but different strokes for different folks. you gotta do what gets you through med school. i personally couldn't do it studying all day, everyday. i'd go bonkers.
Click to expand...



Me: I don't like my lectures, and, uh... I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.

classmate: You're just not gonna go?

Me: Yeah.

classmate: Won't you get kicked out?

Me: I don't know, but I really don't like it, and, uh, I'm
not gonna go.

classmate: So you're gonna quit?

Me: Nah-uh. Not really. Uh... I'm just gonna stop going.

classmate: When did you decide all that?

Me: About an hour ago.

classmate: An hour ago... so you're gonna get a real job?

Me: I don't think I'd like a job.

classmate: Well, what are you going to do about money, bills, loans and...

Me: You know... I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.
--------------

this is pretty much the epiphany i had around novemeber of first year...
 
To quote Eric Cartman,

"I don't go to school and I kill people! Whatever! I do what I want!"

and that pretty much sums up my attitude toward school, except in a few classes that I either really like or am really horrible at.
 
I love all these Office Space quotes!!!! Awesome.

Ya'll don't know what lazy really is. In undergrad, it's going to class, but zoning out, then not studying at all outside of class.

In med school, it's that I just had a micro exam today. Studied a total of 20 hours for it. That's if studying includes reading the notes for the first time. Oh, and I don't go to class. If it doesn't include reading the notes, then I might've studied for 10 hours. High passed.

I surf the internet a lot. Watch TV. Play with my dog. Exercise. etc.


Now, granted, this is not possible for every exam or every class, but really, you've gotta pick your battles.
 
akpete said:
I love all these Office Space quotes!!!! Awesome.

Ya'll don't know what lazy really is. In undergrad, it's going to class, but zoning out, then not studying at all outside of class.

In med school, it's that I just had a micro exam today. Studied a total of 20 hours for it. That's if studying includes reading the notes for the first time. Oh, and I don't go to class. If it doesn't include reading the notes, then I might've studied for 10 hours. High passed.

I surf the internet a lot. Watch TV. Play with my dog. Exercise. etc.


Now, granted, this is not possible for every exam or every class, but really, you've gotta pick your battles.
Click to expand...

God, I could only imagine how little effort I would put into this crap if I only had pass/high pass/honors stuff. We still use the A/B/C scale, so I have to make a modicum of effort to be in the top half of the class.
 
Shredder said:
I guess you're not so scary after all; I wish you were in my class. We could have some good gaming and slacking fun. I've been looking for ppl like this. I should be doing stuff right now and here I am putting it off.

Bah meg@cool you didn't mention you were undergrad, why posting in allo then! Slacking was a hell of a lot easier back then. Studying has to go up substantially come med school. Gaming for hrs on end and starting work at 9 cannot work. Esp 3rd and 4th yr, that would be unheard of I believe.
Click to expand...

Maybe you can transfer over to my school, I could use a roommate (who fits the appropriate bill, of course)
 
IbnSina said:
God, I could only imagine how little effort I would put into this crap if I only had pass/high pass/honors stuff. We still use the A/B/C scale, so I have to make a modicum of effort to be in the top half of the class.
Click to expand...

Well, actually it is basically just an A/B/C scale, using words that make you feel better when you get a C.

Honors = A
High Pass = B
Pass = C
Low Pass = D
Fail = F

I should say though too, that I really should work on my study habits big time if I wanna do as well on the boards as I'd like. And I work my butt off for a few days before exams.

Also, that micro exam, it was on material I'd already learned once upon a time (few years ago). But still, mediocre effort.
 
MEG@COOL said:
I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
Click to expand...

Not working really hard in your first two years really shouldn't tag you as "lazy." Lazy is when you're an M3 who shows up late and pushes work off onto your peers. If it's working for you, keep on truckin' man.

Alot of people who study 12 hours a day are not using their time wisely. Case in point, there was a guy in my class who studied for our physio tests by literally memorizing each page of notes. Not "memorized" as in "knew all the material" but "memorized" as in he wanted to have an exact picture of each page of notes in his mind. I'm sorry, but that is not a good use of time.
 
I'm surprised at the number of people who admit to being slackers. I'm a pretty hard working guy.
 
Callogician said:
I'm surprised at the number of people who admit to being slackers. I'm a pretty hard working guy.
Click to expand...

do you want a cookie? we all have to work hard in med school. but i don't know very many people who devote all of their time to it. i've figured out a system that works for me and i'm sticking to it.
 
stoic said:
do you want a cookie?
Click to expand...

No thanks; I'm watching my figure.

stoic said:
]we all have to work hard in med school. but i don't know very many people who devote all of their time to it. i've figured out a system that works for me and i'm sticking to it.
Click to expand...

Don't get all defensive on me, pumpkin pie. I'm contemplating a plan to study less and to spend more time pursuing hobbies and women. Besides, you're not living up to your handle.
 
Callogician said:
Don't get all defensive on me, pumpkin pie. I'm contemplating a plan to study less and to spend more time pursuing hobbies and women. Besides, you're not living up to your handle.
Click to expand...

sorry, i'm not perfect. it's a handle, not a full fledged proclaimation of devotion.

if you're a first year, then yea it takes time to figure out that lecture is basically useless. but after that, man, wtf are you doing there? you can read the slides in half the time it takes have them read to you. at my school that's pretty much the gist of lecture. literally by the book, in order with scanned figures.... blah blah blah blah. we're not 2, we don't need to be read to. it's a redundant waste of time. some people learn that way, and that's wonderful. but if you learn that way, you should have free time after lecture! exam time gets rough but the rest the majority of the time it's not quite so killer.

so start pursuing hobbies and women. but not in that order. go for the women first.
 
stoic said:
sorry, i'm not perfect. it's a handle, not a full fledged proclaimation of devotion.

if you're a first year, then yea it takes time to figure out that lecture is basically useless. but after that, man, wtf are you doing there? you can read the slides in half the time it takes have them read to you. at my school that's pretty much the gist of lecture. literally by the book, in order with scanned figures.... blah blah blah blah. we're not 2, we don't need to be read to. it's a redundant waste of time. some people learn that way, and that's wonderful. but if you learn that way, you should have free time after lecture! exam time gets rough but the rest the majority of the time it's not quite so killer.

so start pursuing hobbies and women. but not in that order. go for the women first.
Click to expand...

I'm a second year, and I'm a fan of lectures. To each his own.
 
akpete said:
Well, actually it is basically just an A/B/C scale, using words that make you feel better when you get a C.

Honors = A
High Pass = B
Pass = C
Low Pass = D
Fail = F
Click to expand...
Heh, at my school we have a purely Pass/Fail system (75% = pass) with no pre-clinical ranking (we are, however, ranked according to our performance in 3rd and 4th year). It's hilarious to see that people still study enough, however, to make the class averages hover around the low 90's.

Getting back to the topic of discussion, I study about 3 hours/day outside of class (so more like 5 or 6 if I don't go to lecture and watch the videos online later at 2X...which is quite frequent). This is an estimate for my study during weeks in which I simply have to prepare for our weekly quizzes. Exam weeks (held every three weeks or so) force me to study a little bit more (maybe an extra hour or two a day), but because we have weekly quizzes that are pretty intense, it keeps me on top of the material and makes me pace myself, hence studying for exams really isn't that rough.

I don't know. I think med school gives you a decent amount of time to be a slacker if you want. Maybe I'm just being a d*ck, but I think people just like to say med school is ridiculously difficult to gain the respect of others and bitch and moan to everyone else. If you're putting in a solid three or four hours a day studying (with minor adjustments according to the difficulty and density of the material being covered), I don't see how you could fail. You may not land yourself in the top 10% of your class or anything, but you'll be more than fine.
 
IbnSina said:
God, I could only imagine how little effort I would put into this crap if I only had pass/high pass/honors stuff. We still use the A/B/C scale, so I have to make a modicum of effort to be in the top half of the class.
Click to expand...

Honors/high pass/pass is essentially the same as A/B/C. Now, pass/fail - that would be nice!
 
I don't go to lectures and our instructors are great. As someone pointed out, though, we can read the material in half the time it takes to listen to it. I am less tired than my classmates, which is a good thing because I am older than they are. I am concentrating on living a healthy lifestyle and doing a marathon, not a sprint, in my medical education.
 
MEG@COOL said:
I was just wondering if there was anyone else here that is lazy like I am. I like to play video games for several hours each day and go to the gym and then also sit around and meditate and think about various things for a couple hours. For example, today I woke up at one and gamed, went to the gym, ate, and did other stuff until about 9 pm. Then I did some work for school.

Basically Im wondering if there is anyone else like me that likes to take it easy that was able to acclimate to a more rigorous schedule in med school, or maybe you didnt have to.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. I'm right there with you. I'm not lazy per se but I always had a hard time studying the material in medical school, especially first semester, most of which is mind-numbingly boring.

It bit me on the ass later but, as you might learn if you read my blog, it all worked out in the end.

I think SDN was worth at least 10 points on my Step 1 and Step 2 scores.
 
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