MCW 2011 part 2

Started by Ashers
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
You'd think there'd be some sort of list somewhere in the vastness of the intenet with specialties and their stereotypes, but I can't find one.

Have you guys heard of a band called The Feeling? They're pretty cool. My brother sent me some of their stuff.
 
DoctorFunk said:
So Don and Xandie--how do you know whether you are really, really into a rotation vs. just like clinical medicine in general over the first two years?
Click to expand...

I think i know exactly how you feel. I am loving OB and it had never really crossed my mind before. I never really thought i would be soo chipper and happy to get up at 4:15
 
DoctorFunk said:
Nopers. One did guess that I would be a decent nephrologist though. I thought that was pretty flattering.

So Don and Xandie--how do you know whether you are really, really into a rotation vs. just like clinical medicine in general over the first two years? So far I'm having a blast during my rotation (aside from feeling like the medicine is way over my head and hurting feet during rounds) and I'm trying to decide if I really am that interested in inpatient peds (which was on my radar before this year began). I feel like a dork but when my intern tells me to leave for the day I feel a little disappointed that I don't get to stick around and see more.
Click to expand...

pratik7 said:
I think i know exactly how you feel. I am loving OB and it had never really crossed my mind before. I never really thought i would be soo chipper and happy to get up at 4:15
Click to expand...

I started out on inpatient peds, and I loved it too. Part of it for me was that I was finally on the wards, and was excited, etc. Then I went to Medicine, and loved that just as much. I started out thinking I may want to do Peds, and then Med-Peds. Then I did Surgery, and the same thing happened. This is one thing that led me on the road to Urology, which has a nice blend of many things.

So as far as being into your rotation, that's great. Put it on the list. I had the "problem" of really enjoying most everything. I think the best advice I got last year was to remember what it was you liked about a rotation, what it was you disliked, and then try to find something that fits for you. You don't have to make a decision until about this time next year, so explore all of your options. There is a book published by Lange titled "Choosing a Medical Specialty" that I found really helpful. It's worth looking at.
 
Ashers said:
You'd think there'd be some sort of list somewhere in the vastness of the intenet with specialties and their stereotypes, but I can't find one.

Have you guys heard of a band called The Feeling? They're pretty cool. My brother sent me some of their stuff.
Click to expand...
Panda Bear's three "Two Minute Drills" go through quite a few of the specialties - here's the index for that month: http://pandabearmd.com/blog/2006/10/
 
Agent Splat said:
I got to hold the cutest little baby in the ED yesterday!!! I didn't want to let go 🙁
Click to expand...
this was from last week. I love babies.

6fr63vt.jpg
 
that's actually a really cute photo. kiddo must be pretty new.


but all seriousnes aside. I'm bored and the night isn't providing me with entertainment.


prowler.jpg
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
TheProwler said:
I'm just hoping nobody mistakes me for a high school student next year.
Click to expand...

I got mistaken for a 16 year old patient back in January.

There's at least one student in the M3 class who looks really, really young.
 
TheProwler said:
I'm just hoping nobody mistakes me for a high school student next year.
Click to expand...

That happens to me all the time. Just not at the hospital so far.


So I'm having a fine time with internal medicine, but yeah, it's still at the bottom of the list. I've noticed that I get quite a bit more interested when we have patients that are pre- or post-op.


And I could care less about babies. Whatever.
 
I just want to mention that there's an EM intern that just started yesterday in Children's ER, and he looks JUST LIKE Doogie Howser.

He's actually a really nice guy, too, just like Doogie.
 
Agent Splat said:
I just want to mention that there's an EM intern that just started yesterday in Children's ER, and he looks JUST LIKE Doogie Howser.

He's actually a really nice guy, too, just like Doogie.
Click to expand...
that happens to be my nickname at Curtis
 
Agent Splat said:
i figured you probably missed it after your last haircut. no problem, bud!

still waiting to see you wheel a kid into the ER one of these days.
Click to expand...
my next scheduled shift is a ways away, but I'll call on Monday to see what they've got open. Or I might stop by this afternoon and look at the bulletin board for trades. I did bring in a patient on Wednesday, around 11pm.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Could current med. students fill me in on how parking works at MCW. Do most people drive to class?
 
skoutt said:
Could current med. students fill me in on how parking works at MCW. Do most people drive to class?
Click to expand...

M1s and M2s park in "the clot" aka "C-lot" which is a really long walk when it's -15°F outside, but not too bad otherwise (well, icy and snowy, it's not great). Your badge gets you in. That's on week days. On weekends and after 4pm on week days, you can park in X70, which is directly across from the school. (You can also park there if you get there before, 4:30am, right Splat?)

The clot is across Watertown Plank behind the WAC and Sports Med/Plastics stuff.

Most people drive. People who live really close walk, some bike, etc. Unfortunately, I've seen no unicycles yet.
 
Thanks for the reply! (Though I'm rather upset that no one rides a unicycle.)
 
Ashers said:
No worries. I am too. There used to be a unicycler at my college. You can be the MCW unicylcer. If you use it during November, maybe I'll see you when I'm on my ortho rotation.
Click to expand...

I didn't have a lot of unicyclers at my undergrad but there was a really entertaining "tall bicycle" gang complete with punk rock outfits and crazy hair-dos that would cruise around on these 8 foot high bikes. I could never figure out how they got on and off those monsters.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Hi Everyone. Yesterday, I got pulled off the waitlist at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Subsequently, AAMC e-mailed me and demanded that I make up my mind ASAP. At first, this seemed like a no-brainer: I loved everything at MCW. But, I realized that students can declare in-state residency in New York state after living there for a year. Then, they would be eligible for the $19,000 in-state tuition. Now, this is tempting me.😱

Do you guys think it's wiser to go for a cheaper school, which I don't really like, or to a much more expensive one ($38,000), which I've grown fond of. In the long run (and considering the $85,000 difference in debt) which one is the more reasonable choice? I appreciate it.
 
Ibn Sina said:
Hi Everyone. Yesterday, I got pulled off the waitlist at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Subsequently, AAMC e-mailed me and demanded that I make up my mind ASAP. At first, this seemed like a no-brainer: I loved everything at MCW. But, I realized that students can declare in-state residency in New York state after living there for a year. Then, they would be eligible for the $19,000 in-state tuition. Now, this is tempting me.😱

Do you guys think it's wiser to go for a cheaper school, which I don't really like, or to a much more expensive one ($38,000), which I've grown fond of. In the long run (and considering the $85,000 difference in debt) which one is the more reasonable choice? I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I was faced with a similar situation. I loved MCW but was later accepted off of the IU waitlist. You just have to determine your priorities. Are you content going to Upstate or are you downright dreading it? Is the $85,000 (don't forget to add interest to this...so you're looking at over $100,000 roughly) worth your happiness? Which school is going to best prepare you for residency? Distance from home and/or a significant other? Take into account all of the little things -- write down a list of pros and cons for each school and then go from there.

Personally, my thought process was this:

I LOVED mcw, no questions asked. I suggest MCW to all of my friends who are applying/reapplying and can't say that much negative about the school, minus the cost and weather. I really liked IU. IU was going to save me about $120,000 over four years (if not more, with interest). After two years, I will be back in the city where I was born and raised -- Indianapolis. I know the hospitals in Indy are excellent, and I have a fairly good number of ties to docs/nurses within the hospitals. As for Milwaukee, I really didn't like the thought of 6 months of winter, plus I would have had to probably upgrade to a bigger vehicle to account for the extra snow -- yet another expense. Both had similar scores on Step 1, however IU's satellite campuses (to which I was assigned) had significantly higher scores than the Indy campus and MCW for some reason (probably MUCH smaller class size, more individual attention, location -- being in small Indiana towns is not the same as a major city, trust me). This is important to me because I plan on applying for some fairly competitive residencies. In the end, I felt that IU was going to fit my needs better as a person, student, and professional. But that's just me.

MCW is a great school but I'm sure Upstate has a lot to offer as well. Most importantly, remember how blessed you are to have such a tough decision. There are thousands of applicants who would kill to be in your position. Just remember that whatever your decision may be, you will give someone else the excitement of receiving that big envelope in the mail... Good luck.
 
I actually made the decision between MCW and Upstate, as those were my top two choices after interviewing.

I'm saying this as a fourth year with a whole lot of debt... go somewhere where you'll be happy.
 
I picked MCW over UWisc at a cost of probably $40,000. Like Xandie said, you've got to pick a place where you'll be happy. There's no way you're going to excel if you're miserable.
 
I also picked MCW over one of my state schools--a decision which cost me somewhere around 60k before interest. I think that if you are pretty ambivalent about your potential happiness when deciding between two schools that the money should be a major factor, but when you say that you LOVE MCW and "don't really like" your state school, I think you need to go with your gut.

You never know, happiness could always equal more success in school, and that could always translate into a high-paying job in the end that could more than make up for your extra tuition. 😉
 
Ditto. I picked MCW over my state school. It's gonna cost me at least $80K in debt, and LOTS of beyond cold weather I wouldn't've had otherwise at home. I didn't want to spend 4 years at a school that I hated only has good rankings for the location, which isn't even in an area that I like. (I spent lots of time being miserable in college. Didn't like it. I wanted a good med school experience.)
 
I picked MCW over UW Madison AND a career in EMS. The only thing it cost me was my soul and my one true love. (EMS) /whine
 
Quick q.
How is Financial aid disbursed? Is the money given at the beginning of the semester? cheque or cash? when and how do they solve the discrepancy between Budget they prepared and the amount of money currently available(according to the document they sent us)?





Thanks
AW
 
arsenewenger said:
Quick q.
How is Financial aid disbursed? Is the money given at the beginning of the semester? cheque or cash? when and how do they solve the discrepancy between Budget they prepared and the amount of money currently available(according to the document they sent us)?





Thanks
AW
Click to expand...

After having your fin aid interview, there's designated times right at the beginning of the semester. You have to go stand in a queue to get your cheque from the forever smiling Jean Sunby (she actually was joking with me last time I went in -- it was weird).
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
arsenewenger said:
Quick q.
How is Financial aid disbursed? Is the money given at the beginning of the semester? cheque or cash? when and how do they solve the discrepancy between Budget they prepared and the amount of money currently available(according to the document they sent us)
Click to expand...

You'll have the option at your FA meeting during orientation to ask for more loan money to cover cost of living, etc. No problem, and anyone who needs a little money during orientation has the ability to get a bit of an advance on the larger loan disbursement that comes a week or so into school.
 
Thank you all for your thorough comments. I'll let you know soon once I make up my mind. :idea:
 
just my opinion, but all the schools i interviewed at were about the same. They all educate you well, mostly nice people ect. So if there isnt something specific you dislike about Upstate or something you really like here...i would personally go with the cheaper school.
 
Ashers said:
You know you like med school... studying for boards was fun (in a odd sense)! So's making fun of Horatio. 😀 Those memories make it all worth it (until I get onto ob/gyn and/or peds and want to shoot myself)
Click to expand...
Horatio = CPM?
 
sorry i haven't been around guyz!!! I can't believe all the people that are getting off of waitlists!!!!

it looks like i have to decide between MCW and northwestern now!!! we're all finding out about this stuff at such the last minute! 😱 i guess i have to decide if i'm a chicago kind of girl or a millwaukee kind of girl, lol!!
 
Ashers said:
There's a lot more to do in Chicago than Milwaukee, for sure. M1 year I drove down to Chicago a lot for entertainment.

Good luck with choosing.
Click to expand...

on the other hand, i have never driven down to chicago in the last 2 years. too expensive.
 
akpete said:
on the other hand, i have never driven down to chicago in the last 2 years. too expensive.
Click to expand...

I like to go to Costco. Except, I just found the wonders of the Costco website and ordered golf clubs from there.

I'll need to make a trip down to buy Ghirardelli Chocolate brownie mix soon. There's also many Nordstroms. I 😍 Nordstroms and Costco.
 
the thing with chicago vs. milwaukee is probably that, at least on weekends, half the people in chicago are FROM milwaukee, while all the chicago people head up to their super nice cabins up in northern wisconsin where they commit suicide (per a lecture you'll get as an M2 here)

but at least during the week the bars are probably filled with mostly chicago people. if you're a party animal (not that you'll have much time) head to chicago! but if you like a nice school with nice people (like me and pratik), MCW rocks too. but chicago is probably a lot more exciting.

edit: personally i never got the whole "chicago" thing, but apparently the "cool" kids go there a lot. so if you're cool, and you do sound cool, it might work for you!
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
Drop in Step 2
Replies
3
Views
7K
cableguy555
cableguy555
T
STEP 2 CK Help!
Replies
2
Views
3K
Temple2020
T
micgirllax57
University of Louisville Class of 2024
Replies
26
Views
11K
Smurfette
Smurfette
Deku
Kansas University Medical School Class of 2023 Accepted Student Thread
Replies
3
Views
4K
Deku
Deku
Clint Westwood
  • Poll Poll
University of Minnesota Medical School Class of 2023 Accepted Student Thread
Replies
2
Views
5K
Hopeful_vet
Hopeful_vet