Least Favorite Year of Medical School?

[Perforin]

First of all, I've enjoyed Medical School, except for the stress of Step 1, which has kind of ruined the last half of 2nd year for me.

So, I pose the question, which was your least favorite year of Medical School? Or if you don't know how to answer that because you haven't been through all 4 years, which year do you think will be your least favorite?

I was going to do the poll and ask what year was your favorite, but I thought 4th year would just get all the votes.

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[C5toC9]

First year has been pretty brutal...

 

[njbmd]

If you haven't gotten to 4th year, you can't make any comparisions. Years 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much all out and pretty much the same. Orientation and Year 4 are the best.

 

[MilkmanAl]

First year sucked terribly thanks to anatomy, so that gets my "vote." I'll actually vote in the poll in two years.

 

[smq123]

If you haven't gotten to 4th year, you can't make any comparisions. Years 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much all out and pretty much the same. Orientation and Year 4 are the best.

I would disagree with that sentence. MS3 was nothing like MS1 or MS2. Being cooped up in a lecture hall, learning things that were only peripherally related to patient care (at least that's how I felt back then) was torture. MS3 was awesome - getting to take care of patients, feeling like what I was doing actually kinda sorta mattered, etc. I think that, aside from the weird grading schema, MS3 was my favorite year. I didn't even particularly like 4th year, if for no other reason than how expensive it was to go on all those interviews.

MS1, on the other hand, was hands down my least favorite year.

 

[Dral]

Three months of self imposed scheduled studying for step 1 plus final exams.

I will go as far to say 2nd year of med school was the worst year of my life.

Horrible? yes.

Worth it in the long run? yes.

 

[Perrotfish]

I have a strong feeling I'm going to hate 3rd year most. I hate conflicting objectives, ass-kissery, and most of all call.

 

[Mr hawkings]

I have a strong feeling I'm going to hate 3rd year most. I hate conflicting objectives, ass-kissery, and most of all call.

But at least you get to do crap in the hospital instead of endless hours in a windowless classroom pretending you are interested in your teacher's signal transduction research.

 

[MiniMoo]

I'm really surprised by the results of the poll. I wonder if a lot of people voted who haven't yet experienced all 4 years? From feedback I've gotten, I always assumed 3rd year would be THE worst by far followed by 1st year at a distant second.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I can almost guarantee you that I'll like 3rd year more than the first two. I'm very hands-on and learn through experience, so lectures are not my style. I'm also very accustomed to working under superiors and busting my butt for long hours. The sleep schedule insult will be tough to take, but at the moment, that sounds way better than what I've been doing.

 

[MossPoh]

I really can't contribute since I've only completed one year, but man I hate being in a classroom.

We actually have a LOT of clinical exposure compared to most places and that time tends to fly by for me AND I feel like I'm learning practical stuff. We have a 3 week full time practicum after first year where I'm essentially treated like I know what the hell I'm doing....

Stick me back in the classroom? I'm miserable, mostly because I can't sit still and am super fidgety anyway.

 

[Dral]

I'm really surprised by the results of the poll. I wonder if a lot of people voted who haven't yet experienced all 4 years? From feedback I've gotten, I always assumed 3rd year would be THE worst by far followed by 1st year at a distant second.

Third year is kick ass (but not even close to the awesomeness of 4th year). Third year is when one ACTUALLY gets to 'do stuff'. Yeah shelf exams suck, but you don't have to kill yourself studying tedious information (well, not as much as 1st year or 2nd year at least).

It's kinda' cool how ppl from different schools perceive certain years as being better or worse. Weird.

 

[thepoopologist]

First year is so bad

 

[Deferoxamine]

This isn't even a competition. First-year blew monkey ass turd chunks. From the esoteric material of ALL first-year courses except for the Physiological Systems class, to me having no clue what/who/where the hell anything was (while a good 2/3 + of my class had lived within 25-30 miles of the school before medical school), to the B.S. of classmates actually saying out loud: "Well I really want to be friends with so-and-so these next 4 years, but not THAT person, let's not invite him/her" , to a host of other personal problems... basically the realization that no one was really looking out for me... GODDAMMIT. Medical school turned into complete social failure for me, when you realize you are programmed completely differently from everyone else around you, and no one around you knows or wants to know anything else about you, other than whatever they judge from the outside. This was the first time in my life I truly felt 100% alone in the world. I felt completely and utterly worthless.

But for those who wait, with each curse comes a blessing. I worked hard to get back some of the confidence I once had, and channeled my frustration and nervous energy into something positive. I stopped caring about what everyone around me thought. And I prayed... a lot. And in the process, I've come across too many blessings to count. It's pretty cool to look back at how far I've come since then.

First-year was when I got sucked into this messed-up vortex without a seatbelt or a helmet. Second-year was when my middle finger went up in the air. And third-year was when I started to write my story.

 

[smq123]

Third year is kick ass (but not even close to the awesomeness of 4th year).

I'm such a downer. I found 4th year to be waaaay overrated. Maybe it was fun for those people who applied back when residency wasn't insanely competitive, and when it was "ok" to apply to only 7-8 programs and the pre-interview dinners truly were optional. I hated the pre-interview dinners, but I'm not very good at small talk or schmoozing. Interview season was a confusing, expensive blur. And, by the time it's all over, it's almost time to be an intern.

I would've loved 4th year more if the Match system wasn't so effed up.

I'm really surprised by the results of the poll. I wonder if a lot of people voted who haven't yet experienced all 4 years? From feedback I've gotten, I always assumed 3rd year would be THE worst by far followed by 1st year at a distant second.

It depends on who you talk to. My school let me be very hands-on when it came to clinics, and I had awesome residents. And everyone's personality is a little different - I'd rather wake up at 4 AM and see something cool (open heart surgery, patient with a truly abnormal physical exam) then wake up at 9 AM to go sit in a classroom all day long.

 

[psipsina]

I think 2nd year was the worst. First year I was still excited to be there for the first half and had a nice summer off to look forward to the second half and the volume was huge but doable. Second year I was burnt out, only had step 1 to look forward to and the volume was way worse. There were classes in both years that I hated like biochem in 1st year and pharm in 2nd year. I have really enjoyed third year. I like learning by doing and having my own patients. I like the fast pace. Sometimes I'm exhausted but I'm rarely bored and I'm never lonely. Studying in the library constantly was the loneliest thing I've ever done.

 

[chiz2kul]

I would disagree with that sentence. MS3 was nothing like MS1 or MS2. Being cooped up in a lecture hall, learning things that were only peripherally related to patient care (at least that's how I felt back then) was torture. MS3 was awesome - getting to take care of patients, feeling like what I was doing actually kinda sorta mattered, etc. I think that, aside from the weird grading schema, MS3 was my favorite year. I didn't even particularly like 4th year, if for no other reason than how expensive it was to go on all those interviews.

MS1, on the other hand, was hands down my least favorite year.

First-year was when I got sucked into this messed-up vortex without a seatbelt or a helmet. Second-year was when my middle finger went up in the air. And third-year was when I started to write my story.

haha nice

 

[ButImLETired]

I can't tell you how glad I am that most people think 1st year is the worst. Honestly, if it got any worse than the worst part of 1st year, I'd probably lock myself in a closet and never come out again.

Although I'm already dreading studying for step 1. I have a feeling the misery of that will rival the misery of anatomy for me.

 

[rachmoninov3]

It's difficult to judge the crappiness of a particular year as a whole.
What was bad about first year was having to realize I wasn't an adult anymore.
What sucked about second year was that it just seemed to go on forever and you're so burned out by the time you have to study for step 1.
Third year...it's the year with very little objectivity and worse for me because I learn where the boundaries are by pushing them...so I look back and feel really embarrassed about most of it.
4th year...this is outstanding! I'm starting to feel like a doctor! I got to be first assist on a C/S and then see the mom and baby in clinic the next week! I had a patient ask if they could switch from an attending's care to mine own. I've already been told by one residency director that short of being able to tell the future he see's me as a future resident in his program. Add to the mix that I'm only 13 months away from being employed full time again, and dare I say life is pretty good.

 

[SirGecko]

I kind of liked first year but then again I'm only at the end of it now so maybe that is just Stockholm syndrome.

 

[Perrotfish]

But at least you get to do crap in the hospital instead of endless hours in a windowless classroom pretending you are interested in your teacher's signal transduction research.

See, that was the thing, I didn't need to pretend to be interested in my teacher's signal transuction research. I didn't event need to go to the lecture on the signal transduction research, provided a memorized a few key factoids before the exam. However, I DO need to pretend to be excited about staying late, scut, my attending's new haircut, etc.

So far I'm on psych, which is just fun, so I can't really say for sure, but I just have a feeling that I'm going to hate it when I start internal medicine in 3 weeks.

 

[Jwax]

I think 2nd year was the worst. First year I was still excited to be there for the first half and had a nice summer off to look forward to the second half and the volume was huge but doable. Second year I was burnt out, only had step 1 to look forward to and the volume was way worse. There were classes in both years that I hated like biochem in 1st year and pharm in 2nd year. I have really enjoyed third year. I like learning by doing and having my own patients. I like the fast pace. Sometimes I'm exhausted but I'm rarely bored and I'm never lonely. Studying in the library constantly was the loneliest thing I've ever done.

+1

First year was a super hard adjustment period, but it had the perks of being brand new and getting to spend time with your new classmates. Second year the enthusiasm was gone, there was at least 5x more material per class, and no one had time to play anymore. Plus the nightmare of Step 1 looming at the end. I really only seriously considered quitting somewhere between January and March of second year. I don't really remember that second semester at all. It was just kind of blank.

Third year has been mostly awesome except for a slightly rough transition period.

 

[BozoSparky]

2nd year was the hardest, academically...

3rd year was the hardest, socially, but probably the most important and exciting...

4th year wasn't good until after the holidays...i agree with one of the posts above, the whole interview process and match can be stressful. But having a few easy months was nice.

 

[Way2Swanky]

Third year is the worst. Yes, you finally get to see patients, which can be awesome. But it's also when....

Your fellow students start saying crazy **** like "well my resident told me to go home 3 hours ago, but I'm not going to leave and look like a slacker."
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It's when you start to see the ugly gunner side come out, e.g.:

Scenario 1: middle of surgery rotation
Fellow med student: "Ok I'll page you for rounds"
Me: "Cool thanks I'm gonna go finish my notes"
1 hour later, walking into resident lounge, halfway through rounds, everyone looks up, resident looks pissed.

Scenario 2: second-to-last day of ob gyn rotation
Me: so do you wanna get a thank you card for the last day tomorrow?
Fellow med student "Diane": Yeah, sure- I can pick it up since you're on call tonight.
Me: Ok cool.
The next morning, walking into the staff lounge I see a gigantic platter of muffins, with a card: "Thank you so much for everything. -Diane"
Turns out, she also got individual thank you cards for everyone on the ward, including one for the girl who works at the coffee cart in the lobby.
----

 

[Ashers]

M3 year was miserable, I hated all but 2 months of it. The rest of the time, i was pretending to be enthusiastic about stuff I really didn't want to be.

It's kinda like intern year, except now, I don't really give a crap, since I won't be doing this for the rest of my life... sure, I do a good job at work, but it doesn't mean I have to pretend to like it.

M1 year was fine, it was kind of rough getting used to studying again.

M2 year was great because I liked the material, and I had a life. Even studying for Step 1 with all my friends was semi-enjoyable -- we made it fun.

M4 had some good times, but it was so busy with interviews that I barely had time to relax until April when I had vacation that didn't require interviewing.

 

[LossForWords]

First year was not bad at all in my opinion. I mean, all the little junk we had to learn sucked, but that's what I've been doing since high school. I have a feeling I'll find third year the worst since the hours will be much, much worse.

 

[MiniMoo]

Scenario 1: middle of surgery rotation
Fellow med student: "Ok I'll page you for rounds"
Me: "Cool thanks I'm gonna go finish my notes"
1 hour later, walking into resident lounge, halfway through rounds, everyone looks up, resident looks pissed.

Scenario 2: second-to-last day of ob gyn rotation
Me: so do you wanna get a thank you card for the last day tomorrow?
Fellow med student "Diane": Yeah, sure- I can pick it up since you're on call tonight.
Me: Ok cool.
The next morning, walking into the staff lounge I see a gigantic platter of muffins, with a card: "Thank you so much for everything. -Diane"
Turns out, she also got individual thank you cards for everyone on the ward, including one for the girl who works at the coffee cart in the lobby.
----

That's awful.

 

[aqualung]

I have only been through the first two years, so I can only speak on those. I actually didn't mind first year so much, mostly because it was material I had pretty much all studied in undergrad, so while it was somewhat boring, it made sense.
Second year was rough. I'm not sure if my school is just terrible at teaching, or I am just dumb as a rock, but I really struggled, which I think is why I didn't like it very much. Plus our class seems to be hated by the administration, which became obvious when they told the first years how much better they were than us. On the flip side, the struggle did make me a much happier person in the end. I learned not to obsess and enjoy life.
I have been really looking forward to third year, just to do something hands on, yes, even if its mostly scut work. I am a little nervous about my tract. Since it is my dream track, it also attracted all the gunners as well. After reading that story above about third year sabotage, I can only hope it isn't that bad.

 

[RySerr21]

Ive had a blast first year - hopefully this is a good sign.

 

[abmd]

Ive had a blast first year - hopefully this is a good sign.

me too although i am struggling to get through the last two weeks since the weather is so nice!

 

[riceman04]

First-year was when I got sucked into this messed-up vortex without a seatbelt or a helmet. Second-year was when my middle finger went up in the air. And third-year was when I started to write my story.

like button!

 

[medking]

I have only been through the first two years, so I can only speak on those. I actually didn't mind first year so much, mostly because it was material I had pretty much all studied in undergrad, so while it was somewhat boring, it made sense.
Second year was rough. I'm not sure if my school is just terrible at teaching, or I am just dumb as a rock, but I really struggled, which I think is why I didn't like it very much. Plus our class seems to be hated by the administration, which became obvious when they told the first years how much better they were than us. On the flip side, the struggle did make me a much happier person in the end. I learned not to obsess and enjoy life.
I have been really looking forward to third year, just to do something hands on, yes, even if its mostly scut work. I am a little nervous about my tract. Since it is my dream track, it also attracted all the gunners as well. After reading that story above about third year sabotage, I can only hope it isn't that bad.

What school do you go to?

 

[ncguy2005]

I can't tell you how glad I am that most people think 1st year is the worst. Honestly, if it got any worse than the worst part of 1st year, I'd probably lock myself in a closet and never come out again.

Although I'm already dreading studying for step 1. I have a feeling the misery of that will rival the misery of anatomy for me.

You mean you'd never come out of the closet?

haha... I'm just kidding...

 

[unhappytnt]

So having looked at the results, it seems everyone's having a blast for their 4th year. Senioritis much?

 

[searun]

I can't tell you how glad I am that most people think 1st year is the worst. Honestly, if it got any worse than the worst part of 1st year, I'd probably lock myself in a closet and never come out again.

Although I'm already dreading studying for step 1. I have a feeling the misery of that will rival the misery of anatomy for me.

I regret to inform you that if you are interested in a competitive residency then the misery of Step 1 will vastly exceed any misery that you have experienced thus far.

 

[lipomas]

I hated fourth year. It was a waste of time. I hear that a lot of people like it because they "can do what they want" and they can take time off, etc. Well shoot, if you're on a full scholarship or have no financial concerns then sure. But to me it was a year where I had to pay full tuition, could not really earn any money, and delayed my progression to the rest of my life. I have the rest of my life to take time off and waste time and all that, and I won't be accumulating more debt while I'm doing it. I did some months of interesting rotations, but were they necessary? No. And I had to travel around the country interviewing and spending even more money doing that. And step II. More money. I think 4th year of med school was the point at which my personal net worth bottomed out. To some people this doesn't matter for some reason. Some of you will criticize this and say I don't live in the moment or something. Bull****! My living happily doesn't involved wandering around hospital clinics!

Why is med school so much about how much time you can take off and party to people? I just wanted to get done with it. Am I the only one?

Year 2 was the best. We were learning all kinds of useful information and we had most afternoons off to study. Made your day very flexible. It also was much less stressful to me because everything was under my control. Third year was the longest year of my life. It was interesting, sure, but everything else in my life felt totally secondary. I was thrilled when it was done. Some rotations were more humane but still much more of a time commitment than most other jobs in the world (often plus travel time!).

Oh man though, I have to laugh at the concept of the "misery of step 1." Everyone always thinks the worst is over. When I think back to step I it seems quaint. I would have given a lot up during third year when I was on hour 38 of wakefulness to go back and be "forced" to study for step 1. Give me a break.

 

[searun]

I will be done with third year in about two weeks so I know what third year is all about. Actually, I have really liked third year and much prefer this experience to preparing for Step One. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

[lipomas]

I will be done with third year in about two weeks so I know what third year is all about. Actually, I have really liked third year and much prefer this experience to preparing for Step One. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

You are insane, that is the only answer.

I can also pretty much guarantee you don't have kids or a non-medical spouse. As much as third year sucks, try it with those complicating factors. This is why so many marriages and relationships fail during med school and residency.

 

[searun]

You are insane, that is the only answer.

I can also pretty much guarantee you don't have kids or a non-medical spouse. As much as third year sucks, try it with those complicating factors. This is why so many marriages and relationships fail during med school and residency.

I am not insane. But you are right I am not married and I do not have children. If I was an absent parent due to the time committments of 3rd year, I am sure that I would feel differently and probably share your opinion.

So our life situations are different, and therefore our perceptions of given experiences are different, nothing suprising about that. I chose to go through medical school without the personal responsibilities that you have. That does not render my opinion less valid that yours - it simply demonstrates that one's viewpoint is filtered through the lens of one's own personal circumstances.

Since most med students are single and do not have children, I suspect that more med students share my opinion than your own. You presume to speak for eveyone, and you don't.

 

[weightyheart]

.

 

[searun]

You are insane, that is the only answer.

I can also pretty much guarantee you don't have kids or a non-medical spouse. As much as third year sucks, try it with those complicating factors. This is why so many marriages and relationships fail during med school and residency.

To clarify, the point that I was trying to make to the poster from Vanderbilt, a single female with no children, is that Step One will be tougher and more challenging than anatomy.

I was not trying to make the point that being a third year med student with a wife and children is a piece of cake. Obviously not, and, yes, it is easier being a single male med student in third year than you, but you chose your life, so live it, and quit complaining, nobody forced you to go to med school. It was your own decision. So quit bitching. When you make decisions about your life, it is hard to feel sympathy, when you start complaining about the decisions that you, and presumably, your wife, made together.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I regret to inform you that if you are interested in a competitive residency then the misery of Step 1 will vastly exceed any misery that you have experienced thus far.

I'm not interested in anything terribly competitive, but I am shooting for a high score to keep my options open. I much prefer this to the parts of first year that involved gross anatomy. At least I feel like I'm using my time productively. What's more is I took the C=MD approach to learning stuff the first 2 years, so Step 1 studying is probably worse for me than it could've been if I'd busted my butt the whole time.

Also, why so serious?

 

[searun]

I'm not interested in anything terribly competitive, but I am shooting for a high score to keep my options open. I much prefer this to the parts of first year that involved gross anatomy. At least I feel like I'm using my time productively. What's more is I took the C=MD approach to learning stuff the first 2 years, so Step 1 studying is probably worse for me than it could've been if I'd busted my butt the whole time.

Also, why so serious?

Why so serious? I get annoyed when people complain about a life that they chose, a life that is priviledged by any reasonable standard.

 

[sideways]

Why so serious? I get annoyed when people complain about a life that they chose, a life that is priviledged by any reasonable standard.

That's pretty ******ed, especially when the complaining is done on a thread dedicated to people's opinions on the worst year of medical school.

 

[chiz2kul]

To clarify, the point that I was trying to make to the poster from Vanderbilt, a single female with no children, is that Step One will be tougher and more challenging than anatomy.

I was not trying to make the point that being a third year med student with a wife and children is a piece of cake. Obviously not, and, yes, it is easier being a single male med student in third year than you, but you chose your life, so live it, and quit complaining, nobody forced you to go to med school. It was your own decision. So quit bitching. When you make decisions about your life, it is hard to feel sympathy, when you start complaining about the decisions that you, and presumably, your wife, made together.

lol most of your posts are pretty chill/laid back - why so seriousssssssss

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

To clarify, the point that I was trying to make to the poster from Vanderbilt, a single female with no children, is that Step One will be tougher and more challenging than anatomy.

I can see how this would be the case. Anatomy is challenging, but spread out and reinforced over 2 years. Step 1 study is not quite, but almost massive cramming and review.

I want to add that your annoyance about medical students discussing complications of medical school on a website dedicated to fostering such discussions could be alleviated by you not viewing this website. There is nothing new to this type of posting, and it will continue as long as the site is around.

I find this site a wonderful place to learn, toss around ideas, and hash out frustrations with the process with others in my position or who have already been there. It's especially nice on my SO and family/friends, so they don't have to hear it.

 

[NTF]

I'm always surprised to hear people on SDN act as if it's common knowledge that 3rd year sucks the worst. Every M3 I ever talk to at my school says that while they're more tired they are having way more fun than pre-clinical years.

 

[searun]

I can see how this would be the case. Anatomy is challenging, but spread out and reinforced over 2 years. Step 1 study is not quite, but almost massive cramming and review.

I want to add that your annoyance about medical students discussing complications of medical school on a website dedicated to fostering such discussions could be alleviated by you not viewing this website. There is nothing new to this type of posting, and it will continue as long as the site is around.

I find this site a wonderful place to learn, toss around ideas, and hash out frustrations with the process with others in my position or who have already been there. It's especially nice on my SO and family/friends, so they don't have to hear it.

I suspect that your SO and friends have ample opportunity to listen to you bitch about how hard your life is.

 

[klmnop]

wow, talk about a linear relationship

bad news is i start soon
good news is in terms of enjoyment, it'll only go up

 

[klmnop]

damnit chiz, i wiped my computer screen cause i thought your avatar was a real bug...