MS 1 I'm starting to hate medical school

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DrMaccoman

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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.


1st thing: Feel lucky that you didnt have to spend 1-3 years extra and a hefty chunk of change doing post-bacc work just to get into school

2nd thing: Many schools have a ranking system in place even if they are pass/fail so you are likely still going to be recognized for doing so well

3rd thing: If you are getting A's in med school classes then you will probably rock the boards anyway

you're in a good place. feel confident in your abilities as a med student and start studying for boards when you feel you have the time. Most people start 2nd year because their school will give them time off to do it
 
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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

Stop caring about what others are doing.

In life you will always have people that say things you don't want to hear. The longer you dwell on it the more annoyed you will get.
 
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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

Just laugh, glance away, and focus on yourself.
 
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These seem like petty things to be annoyed about or hate people for.
 
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I totally understand what you mean about the post bac kids. I have NOTHING against them in general, but those that constantly talk about how easy it is for them since they learned a lot of it in post bac already gets annoying.
 
Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.


Dude you are a classic SDNer,
 
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I know what you mean about the post-bac/SMP people who show off. Constantly touting their masters degrees and posting on the Facebook group about how they are hosting "review sessions" for other students (just to show off how smart they are). Insufferable, but at least they're helpful to some classmates who are struggling. Congrats, you've taken literally all of these classes before - you're so smart!

Oh well, if you're getting A's you'll probably do well on the steps anyway so don't worry too much about it.


Disclaimer: I am not implying everyone who has done a post-bac/SMP is like this. Just a few who think they are gods gift to medicine because they did a post-bac or a masters and they have to constantly remind everyone about it.
 
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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

The solution to your problem:

Step 1: Find a few classmates who you enjoy hanging out/studying with
Step 2: Hang out/study with them
Step 3: Ignore the rest

It's not complicated.
 
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I thought pass fail was supposed to make things less competitive. At least that's what the premeds tell me
 
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If this is the stuff that is getting at you now... Man are you in for an awakening when you hit the real world.
 
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im willing to bet that those pass/fail kids scraping by with a 70% will be pissed as hell when you're the only one being chased after by residencies because of your AOA. Just keep going. I would love to be in your shoes with these "problems" of yours. Just keep killing your classes, study moderately hard for your USMLE, and then wave your dick around when the post-bac kids don't match as well as you.
 
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Stop caring so much about everyone else. The only person that matters is you. You're not in medical school to be #1 or to be in competition with others, and if you are, you shouldn't be a physician. You are there solely to learn as much as you can so you can improve your chances at being the best physician you can, for yourself and for your patients. Your patients won't care if you were 3/200 or 200/200 in your class so long as you have the knowledge to help them.

You are surrounded by some of the best and brightest and just like the general public, some of them will be arrogant, some will lie to make themselves feel better or to try to unnerve you, and some things won't seem or be fair. And, you will have classmates who silently struggle and work themselves to the edge of breakdown and cry every night just to stay afloat.

What YOU have to remember is to work hard for yourself and be proud of YOUR accomplishments. If you got an A, who cares if it took you 200+ hours or 2 hours. You got the A at the end of the day and proved your worth plain and simple. No one can take that away from you. If you measure your life and accomplishments by others', you will be a miserable person because someone somewhere will always be smarter, someone somewhere will always have worked less and gotten more, and someone somewhere will always be better off than you even if there is no logical reason why they should be.
 
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Sorry, what's the problem here? If you think you're over-studying, or studying the wrong material, change your study patterns. Don't be jealous of the kids in your class who are doing more than just studying.
 
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Sounds like you are thinking too much about your competition. If you compete with yourself and push your limits the results will be better. Also, don't know how you're getting in all these conversations about grades with other people. Nobody at my school runs around broadcasting their grades so seems to me like you are the problem.
 
Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

It sounds like 100% of your problems are based around other people. Just stop caring about your classmates.
 
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M1 year usually starts off like this. Everyone is coming in with different backgrounds - e.g. some may have a strong undergrad history in anatomy, others have done post-baccs, others have real world medical experience. So you see this false stratification M1 year that can often be frustrating to the students that simply did 4 years of a biology/chemistry undergrad and went straight into medical school.

You'll see it even out M2 year, when just about all the material is new for everyone. At my school, I was shocked at how the M1 superstars came down to earth the following year (and ended up being quite mediocre) and quieter students who were overlooked M1 year ended up being the AOA superstars. I've heard about this phenomenon happening at many medical schools.

At the end of the day, stop worrying about others. Playing fields tend to level out. I don't really believe in "over-studying" as long as it's not affecting your mental health / work-life balance. People who are just skating by are unlikely to outscore you on Step 1 if you're working hard and truly learning the material. Make time for yourself and your hobbies, find a strong balance, continue to work hard, and develop selective hearing when it comes to your classmates' boasts.
 
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Some people have head starts, some are smarter and others work harder. Welcome to life dude.
 
Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.

MS1 here. A lot of med students SUCK, especially in 1st year. Lots of kids at my school went to postbac programs and think they're better than everyone else. I think its important to tell yourself that in 2nd year, everyones on a level playing field, and from what I hear, only about 15% step 1 will be on material you learn 1st year.

P.S. Remember, there's a reason they had to do postbac programs to get into medical school, and you didn't.

EDIT: I meant SMP, not postbac. The programs where the students basically take M1 before starting medical school.
 
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Why do you tell people how you're doing on exams? Take care of your own sheet and keep at it.

What do you do in your free time? Sounds like you need to start doing research or shadowing shietttt.
 
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My school was pass fail too. I scored 70%s on exam. I rocked step 1 and 2 and got AOA. Moral of the story: There's more than one way to skin a cat. If you want to get A's on every test, fine. However, that is not the only way to ace medical school and win the game. Just because you get A's doesn't mean you're smarter than anyone else.

TLDR: Get a life.
 
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Not sure if I'm simply feeling burnt out or what, but I'm really starting to hate med school. So far I've been getting A's in my classes but I'm working my butt off and it's annoying because my school is Pass/Fail and literally my peers keep (particularly those who are just passing at 70 percent) keep telling me that on paper, if they do better than me on step 1, they will automatically have a better chance at getting into a good residency. IN fact, some of them are just studying for step 1 material only. What's annoying is I don't know why my school's material covers stuff not tested on step 1....

Then we have the post bac kids who are now attending my med school who are annoying as hell. Literally one dude told our small group session that first year is too easy for him and he is already self studying pathology and studying for step 1. Sure they studied the material before, but it's annoying that they get to take the same classes and easily get AOA

TLDR: I'm a hard worker, but I'm wondering why I am studying so hard when my classes are pass fail and I should join my first year peers in studying for step 1 material rather than class material. Also, I 'm hating the kids who are studying for pathology/pharmacology in MS1.
Congratulations OP, you are your own worst enemy. Stop overthinking things, just keep moving forward and being successful. As someone who took a more lax approach to first year and focused on the boards like your classmates, I can assure you, many of the principles they are missing out on are going to bite them in the ass and they'll have to learn them in a much more compressed fashion. Basically, they're postponing and compounding their misery, while you're stretching it out. There are no shortcuts to med school, nor are there easy ways out. Bust your ass doing everything you can to look good, because you only get to play this game once.
 
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Sounds like you are thinking too much about your competition. If you compete with yourself and push your limits the results will be better. Also, don't know how you're getting in all these conversations about grades with other people. Nobody at my school runs around broadcasting their grades so seems to me like you are the problem.
People in my class don't talk about grades either... even the ones that are getting As. I think OP just wants to humble brag about himself getting A.
 
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I hate school. if they made school real life, and made what we studied real life even if hard, I would like it. hate med school admission payment pay pay work work
 
I know what you mean about the post-bac/SMP people who show off. Constantly touting their masters degrees and posting on the Facebook group about how they are hosting "review sessions" for other students (just to show off how smart they are). Insufferable, but at least they're helpful to some classmates who are struggling. Congrats, you've taken literally all of these classes before - you're so smart!

Oh well, if you're getting A's you'll probably do well on the steps anyway so don't worry too much about it.


Disclaimer: I am not implying everyone who has done a post-bac/SMP is like this. Just a few who think they are gods gift to medicine because they did a post-bac or a masters and they have to constantly remind everyone about it.
There's a girl in my class who was a TA for an anatomy lab for a year with cadavers.
Her anatomy lab review sessions were the bomb. (Though she never bragged. Or posted anything about it. People would ask her to.)
 
If it is sooo easy, he should have gotten in. You just have to realize that most people are full of you know what.
 
Chances are if they're barely passing their courses, they're going to barely pass their step 1. Chances are if you're killing your classes, you're going to kill your step 1.

Don't worry about it, keep playing the game OP.
 
I know what you mean about the post-bac/SMP people who show off. Constantly touting their masters degrees and posting on the Facebook group about how they are hosting "review sessions" for other students (just to show off how smart they are). Insufferable, but at least they're helpful to some classmates who are struggling. Congrats, you've taken literally all of these classes before - you're so smart!

Oh well, if you're getting A's you'll probably do well on the steps anyway so don't worry too much about it.


Disclaimer: I am not implying everyone who has done a post-bac/SMP is like this. Just a few who think they are gods gift to medicine because they did a post-bac or a masters and they have to constantly remind everyone about it.


I always thought the post- bac people were funny.

To me it was like , hey you wasted your time with a degree you won't use, because we will all be physicians.
 
People in my class don't talk about grades either... even the ones that are getting As. I think OP just wants to humble brag about himself getting A.

Same in my class. I only know a little about the grades of my closest friends, and even then I would never start a conversation with it or pry for details.
 
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My school was pass fail too. I scored 70%s on exam. I rocked step 1 and 2 and got AOA. Moral of the story: There's more than one way to skin a cat. If you want to get A's on every test, fine. However, that is not the only way to ace medical school and win the game. Just because you get A's doesn't mean you're smarter than anyone else.

TLDR: Get a life.
This is reassuring.
 
Same in my class. I only know a little about the grades of my closest friends, and even then I would never start a conversation with it or pry for details.
See I've got my one friend I worry about that I've known since freshman year of undergrad.

Ill ask her how she did because she's on academic probation, but not a score. More of a "everything going ok?" Kind of question.

Overall if you ass people's grades I think you're an dingus. We have a couple in our class like that.
 
Asking your forgiveness in advance for a dumb pre-med question. Why does a Post Bac give these students an advantage? Don't they simply study the pre-reqs that we have all taken at that point? I mean... obviously not, but what are they studying that we (regular old bio major) aren't?
 
Asking your forgiveness in advance for a dumb pre-med question. Why does a Post Bac give these students an advantage? Don't they simply study the pre-reqs that we have all taken at that point? I mean... obviously not, but what are they studying that we (regular old bio major) aren't?

Many post-bacs/SMPs are either linkage programs or take classes with med students. So they may have had the professor or even taken the exact same class once before. Other post-bacs just teach at the 'graduate level', ie med school level, so the pace and volume may be significantly faster/harder than undergrad. It completely depends on the program though.
 
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