Medical school dissapointment

[athena99]

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I am a first year medical student and I feel very dissapointed from the courses...they are all so boring so damn easy to understand its driving me crazy...and dont get me started on the memorisation part which i hate!! I realise i dont really like biology i am more fond to chemistry and physics...do i really want to spend my life (literaly) studying something i dont like

Anyway I have 5 days to decide whether I want to quite otherwise I'll never be able to quit.I have no doctors in my family to talk to so I really need advice from those who are already doctors or have finished medical school...Have you ever felt so bored?Will there always be so much memorisation?Do you think its easy-doable to have a life as a doctor/medical student?

Thanks so much in advance for your responses

 

[nowanmd]

medicine is a very broad field- and your first year gives you very little insight in to this- within areas like heme-onc there is an increasing amount of molecular biology- and new biological meds/ and monoclonal abs will revoloutionize medicien- so you can very likely be involved with biology/chemistry later in your career (as in fellowship and practice if you choose too) oh- and one more thing very few profesions offer the job security and relatively high income that medicine does- you should think about this

 

[fahimaz7]

First year, especially the first module, is full of material that you have seen already and tends to be very boring. Most students don't realize that the first year is basically the same material that you have seen before (assuming you were a biology graduate), which is frustrating and tedious at the same time. With that said though, you have to ask yourself why you wanted to go into medicine. Do you want to take care of patients? Do you want to understand diseases and current treatment modalities? Do you like pathology, anatomy, pharmacology, microbiology, etc?

If you can answer some of those "yes" then you're in the right field!

It gets a lot better as you get into it.

 

[Hanguk]

Troll alert.

 

[athena99]

Troll alert.

What do you mean?

 

[SpecterGT260]

I've never heard anyone describe first year as easy and the OPs written language skills indicate that it is highly unlikely he breezes through so easily.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Also.... which medical schools are currently in session for first years? I do not think the OP is at a US school to say the least.....

 

[JackShephard MD]

I've never heard anyone describe first year as easy and the OPs written language skills indicate that it is highly unlikely he breezes through so easily.

Good point.

Secondly, I don't remember the first few months of school being difficult, for some, it's all review.

As mentioned above, I don't think any allopathic school start in June.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Its still a lot of information. I did fairly well and neither I nor the crazy gunners are about to say "oh it was so easy I'm about to quite" maybe so but this spells of troll bait.
My money otherwise is on a foreign medical program that starts right after high school.

 

[athena99]

Also.... which medical schools are currently in session for first years? I do not think the OP is at a US school to say the least.....

I dont live in the US I study medicine in europe and I am currently having exams
Could you please explaine what OP means?

 

[athena99]

For those who think I am trolling I am not....I sincerely need help...as I told you I have 5 days to decide and also have to study for exams...unfortunately thats how it works in my country...I have an engineering background and its just dissapointing to think that medicine is just rote memorisation..thats what i mean by easy..the difficulty is not conceptual

 

[theseeker4]

For those who think I am trolling I am not....I sincerely need help...as I told you I have 5 days to decide and also have to study for exams...unfortunately thats how it works in my country...I have an engineering background and its just dissapointing to think that medicine is just rote memorisation..thats what i mean by easy..the difficulty is not conceptual

You should be looking at whether you want to be the leader of a health care team for patients in a clinical setting. If you are ready to quit because the current material is boring and you don't like rote memorization, one has to ask, what did you think pre-clinical medical school would be like?

 

[DrMom]

You need to understand that you're posting in a US based forum and that what you are experiencing as the beginning of medical school where you are is the beginning of college, not medical school, for the US posters.

 

[athena99]

I would very much like a profession in health care...but the process of doing that just seems soooooo boring and so not what i want to do with my brain 😛

Anyway you are right I should have thought about what pre-clinical medical school would be like better before i went into it...but even those who are at clinical years complain about being bored and how much they have to memorise

Thank you very much for replying

 

[JackShephard MD]

You should be looking at whether you want to be the leader of a health care team for patients in a clinical setting. If you are ready to quit because the current material is boring and you don't like rote memorization, one has to ask, what did you think pre-clinical medical school would be like?

Good point.

I would question your motivation if you already want to quit after a week because it's boring.

Also, remember in America, we have a much more stringent (? not sure what it's like in Europe) application process. By the time we are in school we've been focused on getting in for a while and likely have clinical exposure + motivation.

I get bored all the time during the preclinicals, but not because I think it's so easy, sometimes it's just boring to study all day. Being a doctor is much different than M1/M2.

You can't avoid memorization though. It's real.

I would very much like a profession in health care...but the process of doing that just seems soooooo boring and so not what i want to do with my brain 😛

Anyway you are right I should have thought about what pre-clinical medical school would be like better before i went into it...but even those who are at clinical years complain about being bored and how much they have to memorise

Thank you very much for replying

I honestly don't think you should do it. Your motivation can't be right if you're so discouraged and wanting to quit after a few days. Go do something you enjoy.

 

[athena99]

You need to understand that you're posting in a US based forum and that what you are experiencing as the beginning of medical school where you are is the beginning of college, not medical school, for the US posters.

Thanks for clearing that up 🙂

I thought it was actually the other way around... i graduated from high school 2 years ago and i am a first year medical student (we dont have an undergrad-graduate separation of studies here)

What does college mean for the us?

 

[athena99]

Good point.

I would question your motivation if you already want to quit after a week because it's boring.

Also, remember in America, we have a much more stringent (? not sure what it's like in Europe) application process. By the time we are in school we've been focused on getting in for a while and likely have clinical exposure + motivation.

I get bored all the time during the preclinicals, but not because I think it's so easy, sometimes it's just boring to study all day. Being a doctor is much different than M1/M2.

You can't avoid memorization though. It's real.




I honestly don't think you should do it. Your motivation can't be right if you're so discouraged and wanting to quit after a few days. Go do something you enjoy.

You are right about the application process..we dont need clinical exposure at all here :/
Thanks for replying I will consider your thoughts 🙂

 

[DrMom]

What does college mean for the us?

The first 4 years of education after high school.

 

[kautionwirez]

I am a first year medical student and I feel very dissapointed from the courses...they are all so boring so damn easy to understand its driving me crazy...and dont get me started on the memorisation part which i hate!! I realise i dont really like biology i am more fond to chemistry and physics...do i really want to spend my life (literaly) studying something i dont like

Anyway I have 5 days to decide whether I want to quite otherwise I'll never be able to quit.I have no doctors in my family to talk to so I really need advice from those who are already doctors or have finished medical school...Have you ever felt so bored?Will there always be so much memorisation?Do you think its easy-doable to have a life as a doctor/medical student?

Thanks so much in advance for your responses

European?

 

[athena99]

European?

English is not my mother tongue

 

[notbobtrustme]

my supermodel girlfriend disappoints me too, she only blows me twice a day.

 

[ArcGurren]

English is not my mother tongue

This part of the forum is largely for United States/Caribbean Allopathic medical students. Most of us have absolutely no clue what your curriculum is like.

 

[athena99]

my supermodel girlfriend disappoints me too, she only blows me twice a day.

Well making fun of people is a great skill especially for a wannabe doctor

 

[athena99]

This part of the forum is largely for United States/Caribbean Allopathic medical students. Most of us have absolutely no clue what your curriculum is like.

I know but how different can they be??I just posted here because its a doctor student forum...and since i have no real life doctors i can talk i decided to post here

 

[Frazier]

my supermodel girlfriend disappoints me too, she only blows me twice a day.

That sucks.
My condolences. 🙁

 

[SpecterGT260]

I know but how different can they be??I just posted here because its a doctor student forum...and since i have no real life doctors i can talk i decided to post here

In the US "medical school" doesn't start until after completing a 4 year degree. If you are fresh out of high school you have no idea what medical school is like. Your current situation is more akin to our pre meds

 

[Hanguk]

Why do you all feed the troll......

I find it funny some of you find this guy serious

 

[DrMom]

Why do you all feed the troll......

I find it funny some of you find this guy serious

Honestly, there's nothing at this time to indicate this is not a legitimate account.

 

[SpecterGT260]

But we are still very likely talking about a naive 19 year old.....

 

[Law2Doc]

I know but how different can they be??I just posted here because its a doctor student forum...and since i have no real life doctors i can talk i decided to post here

Your described curriculum is what in the US is called a premed curriculum. Nothing you are describing has anything to do with what we in the US consider med school. In the US most people who take premed coursework never even end up in med school. So it's like night and day.

 

[athena99]

Your described curriculum is what in the US is called a premed curriculum. Nothing you are describing has anything to do with what we in the US consider med school. In the US most people who take premed coursework never even end up in med school. So it's like night and day.

My courses though meet up with those of medical school...I already had anatomy histology biochem physio and in 2 years I am starting clinical years.

 

[athena99]

Anyway to everyone who took the time to reply, thanks. For those who are here to say I am naive or a troll or whatever please dont waste my time and i dont want to waste yours....If there are any doctors here or residents I would appreciate it If you replied the questions I posted at the start of this thread

Thank you!

 

[mimelim]

I am a first year medical student and I feel very dissapointed from the courses...they are all so boring so damn easy to understand its driving me crazy...and dont get me started on the memorisation part which i hate!! I realise i dont really like biology i am more fond to chemistry and physics...do i really want to spend my life (literaly) studying something i dont like

Anyway I have 5 days to decide whether I want to quite otherwise I'll never be able to quit.I have no doctors in my family to talk to so I really need advice from those who are already doctors or have finished medical school...Have you ever felt so bored?Will there always be so much memorisation?Do you think its easy-doable to have a life as a doctor/medical student?

Thanks so much in advance for your responses

I was a Physics major in undergrad. I despise rote memorization, which is coupled with the fact that I am not good at it. You need to realize that you will be working hard in medicine. If you don't approach it as being a lifelong learner, you will burn out or fail out. That isn't meant to be mean, it is simply a fact. There is less pointless memorization as you go through medical school. To me every year got better and better as I was able to do more and more of what I wanted to do and study.

You will always need to memorize things. You will always need to learn new things that you don't particularly care about. What I can say is, the things that you start to learn are important. My biggest annoyance with my first year of medical school was that I didn't feel like what I was studying had any relevance to the practice of medicine. This has been confirmed over and over. However, getting into a good residency depends on your Step 1 score, which is entirely MS1/2 classwork based. If you don't think you can jump through hoops, you should stop now. If you think you can tolerate it and are excited about learning real medicine, then stick with it.

 

[investing101]

you are a first year student you havent earned the right to start doubting medicine unless you weren't fully committed to it in the first place.

 

[athena99]

I was a Physics major in undergrad. I despise rote memorization, which is coupled with the fact that I am not good at it. You need to realize that you will be working hard in medicine. If you don't approach it as being a lifelong learner, you will burn out or fail out. That isn't meant to be mean, it is simply a fact. There is less pointless memorization as you go through medical school. To me every year got better and better as I was able to do more and more of what I wanted to do and study.

You will always need to memorize things. You will always need to learn new things that you don't particularly care about. What I can say is, the things that you start to learn are important. My biggest annoyance with my first year of medical school was that I didn't feel like what I was studying had any relevance to the practice of medicine. This has been confirmed over and over. However, getting into a good residency depends on your Step 1 score, which is entirely MS1/2 classwork based. If you don't think you can jump through hoops, you should stop now. If you think you can tolerate it and are excited about learning real medicine, then stick with it.

Firstly thank you for replying you really helped me a lot. I know I will have to be working hard and I really dont care....its just that I am afraid that all I have to do will be memorising lists of symptoms and therapies.
Do you think things get more conceptual as you go and does memorisation decreases at residency and so on?
Thank you again 🙂!

 

[aerodoc]

Firstly thank you for replying you really helped me a lot. I know I will have to be working hard and I really dont care....its just that I am afraid that all I have to do will be memorising lists of symptoms and therapies.
Do you think things get more conceptual as you go and does memorisation decreases at residency and so on?
Thank you again 🙂!

Of course things change as you go through your schooling and on to practicing as a doctor. With medicine, you need a large base of knowledge before you can start to make diagnoses. How could you know what treatment to use or what disease someone has if you don't know what different treatments are or what symptoms are associated with different diseases? That is what you are learning now, that is why there is memorization, because right now you don't have the requisite knowledge to actually do any problem solving.

It is the same with any field, engineers can't solve problems or design things without first going through many years to learn how to do math. You need a knowledge base.

I do agree with many others though in that you don't seem right now to have a very strong motive for studying medicine. If you are more interested in chemistry and physics, medicine as a career doesn't seem like it's really going to satisfy your interest apart from some early courses you might take at the university. You might seriously consider why you chose to major in this and not something like engineering...

 

[mimelim]

Firstly thank you for replying you really helped me a lot. I know I will have to be working hard and I really dont care....its just that I am afraid that all I have to do will be memorising lists of symptoms and therapies.
Do you think things get more conceptual as you go and does memorisation decreases at residency and so on?
Thank you again 🙂!

You will not be memorizing lists of symptoms and therapies. You will be learning them. This means conceptually understanding why the body is breaking down and how a particular therapy fixes it. (The simplest possible terms.) If you are going to be system oriented in MS2, things will start to be better as things will be less disjointed and more inter-related. MS3/4 while having some book reading is really about learning to solve hospital problems and dealing with hospital medicine. It is completely different than MS1.

 

[JackShephard MD]

I was a Physics major in undergrad. I despise rote memorization, which is coupled with the fact that I am not good at it. You need to realize that you will be working hard in medicine. If you don't approach it as being a lifelong learner, you will burn out or fail out. That isn't meant to be mean, it is simply a fact. There is less pointless memorization as you go through medical school. To me every year got better and better as I was able to do more and more of what I wanted to do and study.

You will always need to memorize things. You will always need to learn new things that you don't particularly care about. What I can say is, the things that you start to learn are important. My biggest annoyance with my first year of medical school was that I didn't feel like what I was studying had any relevance to the practice of medicine. This has been confirmed over and over. However, getting into a good residency depends on your Step 1 score, which is entirely MS1/2 classwork based. If you don't think you can jump through hoops, you should stop now. If you think you can tolerate it and are excited about learning real medicine, then stick with it.

I always enjoy your posts. Likely because I tend to feel the same way.