Question: The reality of medical school

[Risa01]

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For all you medical students out there, please answer both or either of the following questions:

1. What is a typical day of a first/second year student? How much do you study outside of class? On weekends?

(For example, you may attend class 8-4 and then study 5-6 hours in the evening daily)

2. Do you feel as if you are able to have some semblance of a life OUTSIDE of medical school?


**If you are interested, a little background**: Like many pre-meds, I made the mistake of not striking a balance between school and life. I worked hard, but in retrospect, too hard. The result was a great GPA, stellar MCAT, and noteworthy extracurriculars, but I found myself putting a social life and my own needs on the back burner. It hit me when friends no longer invited me to events or outings because they knew that I would often opt for the library on a Friday or Saturday night than to see a movie or go out to dinner and a movie.

After graduating this past May I felt burnt out, but luckily I will have a year off before I am scheduled to begin medical school. I’ve learned my lesson and though I’m not work averse, after reading some of the posts by medical students on SDN about how much they feel as if they just constantly study (some students that I read about in a book claim they feel as if they don't have time for ANYTHING outside of school), are drained and ready to drop out, I’m having second thoughts about a career in medicine.

I don’t expect medical school to be a cake walk, but I just want to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into so I don’t have to look back with regret.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Paws]

Paw's experience is that it is very hard work, lots of heavy studying, stressful class experiences, etc. But, if you can keep a few good buds and some kind of outside life then it will all seem much more manageable. Balance and common sense can make a big difference.

After a nice summer off doing research, I find that my social / outside life is enhanced by my enjoyment of clinical experiences - and vice versa. I am really happy in the hopsital and that makes me more outgoing in my social experiences, which gives me a boost for more clinical work ... 🙂

 

[rushmed08]

as you can tell from my name, when school starts i will be a M2 at Rush Med. college here in chicago:

let me tell you... if u play your cards right, you can have just as active a social life as you did in undergrad (or in your case, a better social life). granted, i dont go to harvard med or mayo med or whatnot... but i've talked to many friends who've gone to other ('better' if u care about schools who depend on rankings) schools... eg. stanford, usc, iowa.... and there's PLENTY of time to have fun in med school. and these friends who are at these "really good schools" and me: who goes to a 'decent' midwest school; we all manage to have a BLAST in med school. my friends and i went to a 'nerdy' undergrad and i know that everyone one of us drinks and parties more in med school than we ever did in undergrad. maybe drinking and partying is not you deal... still, there's a lot of free time and plenty of diverse people in your class (whatever school you go to - ranked 1 to 200) who will be with you when you want to go party, or raft, or ski, or drink, or run, or lift, or smoke, or play video games, or watch tv, or play catch or whatever.

dont worry, it sounds (from your scores and your effort) that you've got a smart head on your shoulders... so you should have plenty of free time to go to class, have fun, honor classes, and love life...in the next few years. just dont over-stress about school and you'll have the time of your life.

 

[dynx]

lets see, years one and two.
schedule:
6am - wake up
6:01 - finish peeing
6:02 - back in bed
Noon - wake up again
Noon to 1 - luch
1-6 or 7pm - study lectures I didnt go to that day and swear under my breath when I realize I missed a "mandatory" small group class that day.
7pm to 2am relax then sleep
Repeat
this schedule gets altered around exam time which can involve some serious time but even that can probably be avoided if you start to study earlier in the month. Overall 1st and 2nd years are easy unless you do stupid things to make them hard.

 

[sacrament]

The first two years of medical school were maybe the best years of my life. I slept in for two years straight. I won't be that rested again until retirement. Just don't go to a school that has mandatory lecture attendance. I pity those poor fools.

 

[missbonnie]

i agree with the above posters. around exam time i had to dampen my social life, but if u can schedule things and actually stick to them, (and not go to class), you have GADS of free time. but do note that there will be classmates who study ALL the time.

It also helps if your school is pass/fail.

I'm not so sure how 2nd yr will look, but first yr wasn't bad at all time wise.

bonnie

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Echoing Sac's remarks, I wish to hell that I could repeat those first two years, particularly after experiencing 3rd year. Never in my life could I do whatever I wanted with my time. It was truly glorious. Cherish it.

 

[noncestvrai]

I had a blast in med I. We had exams every 3-4 weeks, so 2 weeks off, the other 2 weeks I seriously opened my books, more or less, except for the things you need to prepare beforehand, i.e. small groups and labs. Every minute is precious, make the most of it. I had tons of time for the gym, partake in social stuff, finish my, ahumm, MSc thesis 😀 and other things like meeting girls, going drinking...

I went to the lectures though, where I got most of my learning done, but for some people lectures don't do it for them. I tried to skip the last unit, 3 out of the 5 weeks, I did very well. So we'll see for med II, it seems that once you start skipping you become addicted. 😉

noncestvrai

 

[mattorama]

Just don't go to a school that has mandatory lecture attendance. I pity those poor fools.

Couldn't be more true. We have mandatory attendance. I am in lecture on average 9-4 every day. It sucks, but you learn to manage. Something has to give though. For me it was sleep. Ideally I like to get 8-9 hours/night. Instead I averaged 5-6 during MS1. I did manage to go to the gym 3-5 days/week, taught an undergrad lab, and go out ~3 times/week while maintaining myself near the top of the class. This was at the expense of being very drained much of the year. I am NOT a lecture learner. I can't even imagine how well rested/how much free time I could have if I wasn't in class all day.

 

[premd]

How do I find out which medical schools have mandatory classes?

 

[Blade28]

First two years of med school were great - daily (but not intensive) studying meant going to lectures was pretty much optional every day. Third year was rough. Fourth year was vacation all over again - after the initial 5 months of tough rotations, the rest were easy (research, rads, plastics, etc.).

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

MS1 for me was about 4-5 hours of lecture a day, and I think 2-3 hours of study per day is an honest assessment. That leaves boatloads of time to do whatever you want.

 

[Risa01]

Thanks for your responses, everyone. I feel much better!