Need to get my sanity back

[MystikBliss]

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Yea so I'm ridiculously depressed and super tired of school. I work incredibly hard just to get an average grade. I never thought I was that intelligent in the first place, but med school has definitely solidified that. I'm tired of struggling and feel completely trapped. Kinda wondering why I'm here anyway, because I've totally forgotten. I've worked so hard and I feel that at 22 yrs old I should have more to show for it than just some average grades. So I just wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way or if I just need to go take some anti-depressants.

On a different note...HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[MWillie]

p=MD?

 

[Sophie]

I definitely felt that way during our first block. It was a complete shocker to have to work SO hard, memorize/learn SO much, and then just do so-so. (My use of so's is amusing me - good lord I need a break from studying)

Our second block, which ends this Friday, went much better thanks to two things: 1) I worked on my study skills/efficiency, and 2) I worked my ass off. Have you tried changing up the way you study? It made a really big difference for me to go from focusing on concepts in first block, to focusing on details and memorization in second block.

I'm really burnt out, too, though, and much humbler about my intelligence than when I came in. 😛

 

[Random]

I could also point out that for most med students, this is the first time when their entire class is made up of people just like them. You may be getting average grades but consider who's in the class. If less than 1% of the population could get this far, average grades aren't bad. And as our former dean of student affairs used to say, "no one says that they want to be a medical student when they grow up." At least for me, remembering that it's the degree that I'm after helps a little but being burned out still sucks.

 

[Mistress S]

Yeah, I've come to peace with my average med school performance. I work hard, and I don't want to kill myself working even harder to try to get honors in every class. It's different for different people of course--there are people in my class who are probably able to get honors with relatively little effort, and people who have to study from sunup to sundown just to pass. But for most of us, doing above average in a class where you surrounded by over-acheivers would mean devoting almost all your free time to studying. There are certainly people in my class who do just that, and I respect them, but it's not for me.

Do the best you can without driving yourself crazy, and if you're doing "average" than you're just fine. Study hard for the boards and worry about rocking third year--that's what is going to count the most anyway for residencies.

 

[OncoCaP]

Yea so I'm ridiculously depressed and super tired of school. I work incredibly hard just to get an average grade. I never thought I was that intelligent in the first place, but med school has definitely solidified that. I'm tired of struggling and feel completely trapped. Kinda wondering why I'm here anyway, because I've totally forgotten. I've worked so hard and I feel that at 22 yrs old I should have more to show for it than just some average grades. So I just wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way or if I just need to go take some anti-depressants.

On a different note...HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Maybe you went to medical school to beat out everyone else, but probably not. In a class of extremely bright medical students 50% will be _below_ average ... probably the first time they have experienced that in their lives. If you're slightly above average, you're doing better than most of the people in your class. I bet you will still achieve everything you went to med school for; sounds like you're going through the normal adjustment stress.

Happy Holidays to you as well!! 😀

 

[MystikBliss]

Thanks to all who replied! I feel a lot better. You're right, I never said I wanted to be a medical student...and if I knew then what I know now...🙄 I guess my problem was I wanted to be the very best and I really needed to step back and say "God, get over yourself!!!!" I'm a super competitive person and I think this is a good experience for me. I'm not going to be the best at everything, and what the hell does it matter anyway.

Again Thanx 😍

 

[Law2Doc]

I've worked so hard and I feel that at 22 yrs old I should have more to show for it than just some average grades.

I think you need some perspective. Most people at 22 aren't playing in your arena. You are well on your way to being a professional, even if you just squeak by. If you are getting average grades, then much of your class is doing worse than you. And consider this: you likely have no clue what grades the various physicians you've dealt with throughout your life have had, and still probably regarded them all as knowing what they were doing and relatively worthy of professional respect. That will be you in a few years, even if you barely get through this.
Maybe your dreams of derm, optho, etc aren't going to happen as an average student. But the majority of people who entered med school didn't have those fields in mind when they started anyway. When one door closes, others open, so no point looking for a window. So chill.

 

[Tired]

Thanks to all who replied! I feel a lot better. You're right, I never said I wanted to be a medical student...and if I knew then what I know now...🙄 I guess my problem was I wanted to be the very best and I really needed to step back and say "God, get over yourself!!!!" I'm a super competitive person and I think this is a good experience for me. I'm not going to be the best at everything, and what the hell does it matter anyway.

Again Thanx 😍

If you need a quick ego boost, go hang out at Barnes & Noble or where ever the undergrads at your school study, and sit near a group of pre-meds studying for the MCAT. It'll remind you how smart you are, and how much you've already accomplished.

 

[MystikBliss]

ughhhhh...the MCAT...that alone should have given me some type of clue