Making friends in Med school? DO schools with a campus-like feel?

[arc5005]

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I'm curious what it is like making friends in med school, specifically at DO schools. Obviously making friends as an adult/out of undergrad is much different than when in undergrad, living in dorms/on-campus. I imagine it is harder to make friends in med school than during undergrad, especially since everyone is studying so often, might have a family/s.o., etc...

1. How are people making friends in Med School? Has it been difficult?
2. Are most of your friends from your medical school or from other communities you are involved in?
3. What DO schools have a campus-like feel to them?
4. Did you live alone or have roommates during medical school?
5. Did you make your medical school friends through study groups? on campus clubs?

 

[deleted610572]

You'll make life long friends easily in medical school. You guys are all trying to drink from the same fire hose...

Also, it's extremely hard to not make friends when you're elbows deep in a cadaver for 4 hours/week with 5 or so people. Small talk comes rather easy.

 

[Seth Joo]

Med school makes you bond well with those around since you're all being worked super hard together.

Community involvement varies, the education is the top priority. Some people are excellent at balancing but make your education your number one priority and be pleasantly surprised if or when you get time to do other stuff. Set aside time to do some hobbies but expect to be limited.

That is not what medical school is like at all, undergrad is like that, people play nice in undergrad, medical school is more like a work environment, everyone sees each other as competition. Most people already have a social circle in place by the time they are in medical school, most of the friends you make in med school, the relationships tend to be very superficial, fair weather friend material. There are a lot of aggressive type A personalities.

The reality of medical school, the heavy workload makes it hard to really do much outside of studying, your time becomes a valuable commodity that is in very limited supply.

This is why I believe its good to go to a school located in a city or town that you will like or near your family, so you have a good support system during your journey through school.

The schools with the most traditional campus like environments are the two Midwesterns, Ohio Heritage, Nova, UNECOM, and MSUCOM.

 

[Seth Joo]

Not every school is as uptight gunner as yours. Experiences may vary. A lot of your interactions with others has to do with how you typecast them and your general outlook. If you see them as competition you're more liable to see it this way.

Well a lot of medical schools are actually like that, and its mostly because of the workload, people just do not have much time outside of school, you have to study a lot just to survive, and many people are older and more established with their personal lives already.

I see it like a work environment where people will be friendly and nice to you in person but you really have to be cautious like you do in a real job environment.

I made quite a few friends during my first two years but now I never see them because they are now in different locales, so we only now communicate on the web.

 

[Seth Joo]

What you say is true. Personally, I got a really big gunner vibe when I interviewed at your school, and some schools are far more relaxed and genuinely collaborative. I don't buy the whole "none of us are competitive against others, we just compete against ourselves" students often say at med schools. It is important to be careful like you said, but a good study group of friends bounded over med school friends can go a long way.

Friendships come and go just like in college and anywhere else in life, but nothing wrong with bonding over the difficulties. At some med schools I've observed small classes or tightly knit communities where everyone seems to know each other and show interest in working together. to me that's a major place.

The thing about medical school is that the friends you make in the beginning, you usually see them only for the first two years, I was also good friends with several of my professors but I never see them now anymore, its not like college where you see them all four years.

At some schools students get married, and you do see really tight knit communities. I am not sure if I would want to be married to another doctor.

 

[arc5005]

What you say is true. Personally, I got a really big gunner vibe when I interviewed at your school, and some schools are far more relaxed and genuinely collaborative. I don't buy the whole "none of us are competitive against others, we just compete against ourselves" students often say at med schools. It is important to be careful like you said, but a good study group of friends bounded over med school friends can go a long way.

Friendships come and go just like in college and anywhere else in life, but nothing wrong with bonding over the difficulties. At some med schools I've observed small classes or tightly knit communities where everyone seems to know each other and show interest in working together. to me that's a major place.

which Uni are you talking about?

 

[jaguar33]

That is not what medical school is like at all, undergrad is like that, people play nice in undergrad, medical school is more like a work environment, everyone sees each other as competition. Most people already have a social circle in place by the time they are in medical school, most of the friends you make in med school, the relationships tend to be very superficial, fair weather friend material. There are a lot of aggressive type A personalities.

The reality of medical school, the heavy workload makes it hard to really do much outside of studying, your time becomes a valuable commodity that is in very limited supply.

This is why I believe its good to go to a school located in a city or town that you will like or near your family, so you have a good support system during your journey through school.

The schools with the most traditional campus like environments are the two Midwesterns, Ohio Heritage, Nova, UNECOM, and MSUCOM.

Wow, I would hate to go to your school/have your outlook on things. Being so negative in life will not serve you well

 

[deleted610572]

That is not what medical school is like at all, undergrad is like that, people play nice in undergrad, medical school is more like a work environment, everyone sees each other as competition. Most people already have a social circle in place by the time they are in medical school, most of the friends you make in med school, the relationships tend to be very superficial, fair weather friend material. There are a lot of aggressive type A personalities.

The reality of medical school, the heavy workload makes it hard to really do much outside of studying, your time becomes a valuable commodity that is in very limited supply.

This is why I believe its good to go to a school located in a city or town that you will like or near your family, so you have a good support system during your journey through school.

The schools with the most traditional campus like environments are the two Midwesterns, Ohio Heritage, Nova, UNECOM, and MSUCOM.

The more you post about AZCOM the more it makes me scared of it. I haven't noticed this at my school... Maybe there are undercover gunners but mainly everyone is super nice and helpful. Maybe its the southern hospitality... or maybe its because I'm wanting to go into primary care so no one sees me as a threat haha

 

[almostnever]

The more you post about AZCOM the more it makes me scared of it. I haven't noticed this at my school... Maybe there are undercover gunners but mainly everyone is super nice and helpful. Maybe its the southern hospitality... or maybe its because I'm wanting to go into primary care so no one sees me as a threat haha

I was interviewed and accepted at AZCOM and did not get a gunner vibe at all. My student interviewer seemed a bit odd, but all the other students I met during interview day were incredibly friendly. One alumnus I know said her fellow students were really supportive and helpful.

 

[tennerd]

the issue i have with taking one person's perspective is that not only is it just one person, but also each year can have different personalities as well.

regardless, i'm pretty certain every school and every year has gunners and type A. medical school naturally selects for these types of people, so i don't understand how anyone can truly believe otherwise. you've committed a bare minimum of 4 more years of ridiculous studying and a lot of money and you expect that people around you are not going to try to gun at least a little bit? it's cutthroat getting in, it's cutthroat while in med school, it's cutthroat to and in residency, it's cutthroat to fellowship if applicable, and it's somewhat cutthroat as a junior attending. that's a lot of blood. that's life - life of a US doctor at least.

 

[Seth Joo]

I was interviewed and accepted at AZCOM and did not get a gunner vibe at all. My student interviewer seemed a bit odd, but all the other students I met during interview day were incredibly friendly. One alumnus I know said her fellow students were really supportive and helpful.

There is a difference between a cursory observation and spending several years at school which I have, the people at my school are nice but there are certain boundaries you need to be aware of when you go to medical school and its more strict than it was in undergrad, people tend to be a lot more serious in graduate school than in undergrad.

The experience you have as medical student versus and undergraduate is very different, when you were in undergrad you had a lot more time on your hands for other activities outside of studying, you won't have much time during your first two years because you will be busy learning the medical sciences and passing your first board exam, and that is a lot of work even for the best students.

And once you go to clinical rotations you do not see a good amount of your classmates again, you mostly communicate with them online or by phone on occasion.

 

[ortnakas]

I'm at a different school (LECOM-SH), but I've had the opposite experience of making friends in medical school than @Seth Joo . At my school, just about everybody is friendly, and we have each others' backs. There's a couple of gunners, like there are everywhere, but for the most part the people at the top of our class got there on their own merit, not by taking the rest of us down.

Like every other medical school (allopathic or osteopathic), we're all studying most of the time, but social things do happen pretty regularly, and a lot of people study together and work well together.

It is true that we'll all be moving to clinical sites for third and fourth year; however, the class above mine has stayed pretty close through Facebook if through nothing else, and from the sounds of it, you end up in a very tight-knit group with the students who do end up in the same place.

 

[Seth Joo]

I'm at a different school (LECOM-SH), but I've had the opposite experience of making friends in medical school than @Seth Joo . At my school, just about everybody is friendly, and we have each others' backs. There's a couple of gunners, like there are everywhere, but for the most part the people at the top of our class got there on their own merit, not by taking the rest of us down.

Like every other medical school (allopathic or osteopathic), we're all studying most of the time, but social things do happen pretty regularly, and a lot of people study together and work well together.

It is true that we'll all be moving to clinical sites for third and fourth year; however, the class above mine has stayed pretty close through Facebook if through nothing else, and from the sounds of it, you end up in a very tight-knit group with the students who do end up in the same place.

Well I found people in medical school to be friendly but I only got to know them for two years and we all went our separate ways after year 2, I only contact most people online. That being said I found people in med school to be a lot more serious than in undergrad, people in undergrad, its their first time away from home, so they tend to be in a more open minded phase of life. Graduate school is very different as people are more focused on school work.

There are people in my class who got married but to me I felt better searching for a an SO outside of school and I found that despite my limited amount of free time.

 

[tennerd]

Well I found people in medical school to be friendly but I only got to know them for two years and we all went our separate ways after year 2, I only contact most people online. That being said I found people in med school to be a lot more serious than in undergrad, people in undergrad, its their first time away from home, so they tend to be in a more open minded phase of life. Graduate school is very different as people are more focused on school work.

There are people in my class who got married but to me I felt better searching for a an SO outside of school and I found that despite my limited amount of free time.

which is why schools like to accept students with family and friends near the school. i'd imagine, it can get terribly lonely once you begin rotations despite talking to people constantly at the rotation sites.

 

[Seth Joo]

which is why schools like to accept students with family and friends near the school. i'd imagine, it can get terribly lonely once you begin rotations despite talking to people constantly at the rotation sites.

Actually they don't factor this into the equation at all, the school I am at is across the country from my family. That being said most people are too engrossed in their studies to pay attention to other things. You do see small social circles or cliques form in school, but its mostly out of convenience. You also have to factor in that many students live off campus whereas undergrad students often live in campus housing.

You will make friends but its not like you will become so close that you will go climb Mt. Everest together, I had friends in undergrad that were that close.

 

[TheShowGoesOn]

WAIT, so med school isn't like Grey's Anatomy?

 

[Seth Joo]

WAIT, so med school isn't like Grey's Anatomy?

No not all, most of your day during the first two years is spending memorizing a large volume of facts.

 

[j4pac]

That is not what medical school is like at all, undergrad is like that, people play nice in undergrad, medical school is more like a work environment, everyone sees each other as competition. Most people already have a social circle in place by the time they are in medical school, most of the friends you make in med school, the relationships tend to be very superficial, fair weather friend material. There are a lot of aggressive type A personalities.

The reality of medical school, the heavy workload makes it hard to really do much outside of studying, your time becomes a valuable commodity that is in very limited supply.

This is why I believe its good to go to a school located in a city or town that you will like or near your family, so you have a good support system during your journey through school.

The schools with the most traditional campus like environments are the two Midwesterns, Ohio Heritage, Nova, UNECOM, and MSUCOM.

Your school sucks...or you have a negative outlook on things.

 

[Seth Joo]

Your school sucks...or you have a negative outlook on things.

No, I am just realistic, most people I knew were spending their weekends studying, in undergrad, I used to hang out with friends on on Fridays and Saturdays. And my med school gave us exams every Monday which pretty much meant that many students would be spending their weekends cramming for exams.

People have the idea that medical school is going to be like four more years of undergrad, sorry to say its not like that at all. The main obstacle for having a good social life is the workload, you have a lot of it, particularly in the first two years, the clinical years are not that bad, but then you don't see the people you met the first two years during those years. Also most students tend to live off campus as well at many schools.

I actually did go to the base camp of Mt. Everest with my friends from undergrad, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

 

[allin1211]

I actually did go to the base camp of Mt. Everest with my friends from undergrad

 

[deleted407021]

Y'all, think about who SJ is. He's the Superman/Trump for prez poster who's been making off the wall, semi-legit posts for years. I'd take anything he has to say -- especially re: dealing with other humans -- with a grain of salt.

 

[tennerd]

Y'all, think about who SJ is. He's the Superman/Trump for prez poster who's been making off the wall, semi-legit posts for years. I'd take anything he has to say -- especially re: dealing with other humans -- with a grain of salt.

i agree, but it's understandable to have a cynical perspective when going along the path of medicine. there are too many smart but overly optimistic premeds who cling onto sunshine and happiness, but then likely burnout when they realize it isn't. for some it is though, the whole way through, just not for some people here, cough.

 

[osteohack10]

I assure you there is no more significant bonding experience than with your partner for your first OMM Sacral/IT lab.

At least at my school there is little to 0 gunner-ism, most people are genuinely good people and we all hang out together outside of school regularly. Just varies by school I guess.

 

[Seth Joo]

I assure you there is no more significant bonding experience than with your partner for your first OMM Sacral/IT lab.

At least at my school there is little to 0 gunner-ism, most people are genuinely good people and we all hang out together outside of school regularly. Just varies by school I guess.

Where do you go to school if you don't mind me asking? My school has a lot of gunners.

 

[evooo8]

The more you post about AZCOM the more it makes me scared of it. I haven't noticed this at my school... Maybe there are undercover gunners but mainly everyone is super nice and helpful. Maybe its the southern hospitality... or maybe its because I'm wanting to go into primary care so no one sees me as a threat haha

I don't like your avatar. We are definitely going to beat you guys tonight!

 

[asdf123g]

Do med students throw each other under the bus and gossip a lot and get people in trouble?

 

[OverlyRomantic]

Do med students throw each other under the bus and gossip a lot and get people in trouble?

Everyone gossips. It's not just a medical school thing, in my opinion.

 

[OzelloPiRat]

Med school is what you make of it. If you want to be open and friendly you will find others that are also that way. I know some schools are more competitive and gunner, but others are laid back. Our school has those classmates that are there to excel and reach their dream goals, that doesnt make them gunners, just dedicated. No one here throws anyone under the bus. There is a ton of gossip at times but thats bc the people round you are all you see for days. As a class we are super friendly, post study guides on FB, practice often with each other for practicals and patient care exams, throw parties for each other, watch kids, take cats to the vet, move people in and move people out. Just like any family we get mad and then get over it. Just always remember professionalism while dealing with others as these classmates are your cohorts in medicine for a lifetime.

 

[asdf123g]

@OverlyRomantic : how about the former part of my question?

 

[deleted610572]

I don't like your avatar. We are definitely going to beat you guys tonight!

I thought we could be friends... until you said that. hehe

😉

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

I assure you there is no more significant bonding experience than with your partner for your first OMM Sacral/IT lab.

At least at my school there is little to 0 gunner-ism, most people are genuinely good people and we all hang out together outside of school regularly. Just varies by school I guess.

Same. I genuinely like most of my classmates. You can pretty much walk up to any of them and get a conversation going, or join them for group study.