Med School and Sports?

[ElCorey]

Hey Guys,
I guess this question is directed more at current med students and recent medical school graduates. I play a division I sport and recently got accepted into the same medical school that I play a sport for. I was injured last season and subsequently took my red shirt year and now I have an extra year of eligibility. I have already decided to not defer my acceptance and instead go right to medical school. However, I have been pondering over the idea of finishing out my eligibility in my sport while in my first year of med school. I am confused because I have spoken with both current medical students who played division 1 sports who said that med school and athletics just cannot mesh, as well as recently graduated doctors that played undergraduate sports and said first year is usually put on a pedestal and it is definitely possible to balance both the athletics and academics. I'm turning to this community because you guys often give great advice (when the bull****ters are filtered out). Thanks for any and all advice!

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[ppfizenm]

If you are entertaining the idea of playing a division one sport in med school you may be crazy. You won't be able to miss attend practice over academics like people do in college for D1 sports. You won't be able to take entire days and weekends off to go to competitions. You may have time for intramural sports and can look forward to being the best one there though.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hey Guys,
I guess this question is directed more at current med students and recent medical school graduates. I play a division I sport and recently got accepted into the same medical school that I play a sport for. I was injured last season and subsequently took my red shirt year and now I have an extra year of eligibility. I have already decided to not defer my acceptance and instead go right to medical school. However, I have been pondering over the idea of finishing out my eligibility in my sport while in my first year of med school. I am confused because I have spoken with both current medical students who played division 1 sports who said that med school and athletics just cannot mesh, as well as recently graduated doctors that played undergraduate sports and said first year is usually put on a pedestal and it is definitely possible to balance both the athletics and academics. I'm turning to this community because you guys often give great advice (when the bull****ters are filtered out). Thanks for any and all advice!

Um no. You will have time to play sporadically in an intramural league - like every other weekend and no practices. But you wont have time for a standing division 1 sport commitment, complete with away games, regular practices etc. Not even a close call. Sorry.

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

why don't you have the med school professors follow you on your D1 travels? they can tutor you in hotels and teach you on the road!

 

[Lil Mick]

It probably isn't possible if you're playing basketball or football. I had eligibility left and was recruited for track/swimming when I was applying. This may have been possible, but it would have been hard to manage with studying and exam schedules. Admins don't like people deviating from what's expected or what they have experienced before with students. Talk to the administrators and professors before attempting this to avoid problems/discipline issues if this interferes with your studies and exams.

 

[Jarudy]

In season during football I have about 30 hours a week tied up solely with my sport with a game close to home (not D1 either). 8 hours of sleep per night minimum (closer to 9 or 10 some nights just to function) is 56+. Figure that you can't do much of any studying Saturdays and do the math. If you can fit school, studying, eating and socializing in the rest of the week, go for it.

It kind of comes down to whether it's worth it or not. I love the game and I start, but applying for med school really shows that you were ready to move on. From what I've read, med school is the time to kill it and you're probably paying a lot of coin for this education. Personally, if football isn't paying for med school, you have a new full time job in med school.

 

[QuiteAConundrum]

It really depends on the sport. I play soccer & track. Track only has meets on the weekends, and most of the people on my team practice whenever they have free time. Soccer, on the other hand, has games during the week and set practices.

I can only imagine it working out if you have a VERY good relationship with your coaches/team and they would permit you to place med school first. Your scholarship obviously wouldn't carry over, so if you're not an expendature, I can see your coaches would be more inclined to try it out.

Good luck, but it would be a very tough road.

 

[DCBFan]

Don't half ass two things, whole ass one thing

-Ron Swanson

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Don't half ass two things, whole ass one thing

-Ron Swanson

Hahaha. Freakin' Swanson. This.

 

[mvenus929]

We had one guy at my school do marching band as a first year. We all thought he was crazy, but he managed it. We also have someone who served as a conductor in one of the best ensembles at the university. We've had people who work part-time in addition to school.

The key thing is going to be flexibility. Are you going to be able to not go to a game if you have an exam that week? Are you willing to not have a life outside of studying and sports? Are you going to the sort of school where you can not attend class at all, or do you have required classes?

It's not going to hurt you to explore your options (talk to the coaches and the med school faculty/administration), but you have to be willing to put med school first, because that's what's going to matter more in the long run.

 

[searun]

I was involved in two varsity sports in college, but at the D3 level not the D1 level. The level of commitment at the D1 level is a whole other beast. I do not think that it would be possible and you would be putting your success in med school at serious risk.

What are you going to do about anatomy lab while you are on the road? As they say, you can't take it with you.

I ran the New York Marathon and did a triathlon when I was a medical student - you can find some time to train here and there - but adhering to the practice schedule and competition and travel schedule of a D1 athlete and succeeding as a first year med student, it is not going to happen.

 

[Essene]

I was wondering about this earlier. Good thing I looked it up before I made a thread. the topic is interesting... I know multiple students who still take part in EC activities.