Reality of Medical School?

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TexasMDstudent

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I was wondering if any medical student or medical school graduate can give me the real picture of what medical school is really like? I have heard from professors but would like to know from someones experience please. Thank you 😀
 
2 years of studying your ass off, a year of pathetic ass kissing, and a year of traveling around and not giving a crap.
 
You can never really understand until you experience it for yourself.

It sucks.
 
WingedOx said:
2 years of studying your ass off, a year of pathetic ass kissing, and a year of traveling around and not giving a crap.
Click to expand...

+1 million and 1.
 
"It's like undergrad except with a final exam every four weeks."

That was told to me on these boards a couple years ago, and that's the most accurate description I've heard on here.
 
Wilf said:
"It's like undergrad except with a final exam every four weeks."

That was told to me on these boards a couple years ago, and that's the most accurate description I've heard on here.
Click to expand...


Oh god :/
 
Wilf said:
"It's like undergrad except with a final exam every four weeks."

That was told to me on these boards a couple years ago, and that's the most accurate description I've heard on here.
Click to expand...

True for the first 2 years. I'd go with the ass-kissing description for 3rd year and flying around not giving a crap for 4th year.
 
I'm not a med student so I can't comment from personal experience, but from what I understand, the pancake analogy is pretty apt.

It's something along the lines of this:

mmmcdowe said:
Medical School is like eating 5 pancakes every day. Not a big deal so long as you eat them every day. But, what if you don't want to eat pancakes one day? Well then you have to eat 10 pancakes the next day or 6 pancakes for five days. Pretty soon you end up with 40 pancakes to eat and only a day to do it in.

I stole this metaphor.
Click to expand...
 
I don't get it I'm having a roaring good time here. First two years = tons of free time and every guy in school gets buffed. Third year = tough for 4 months (surg/med) and pretty breezy after that.

Yeah there is a lot of ass kissing but if you're good at your job you'll get honors.

Not at the fourth year yet but so far so good. Be prepared to work hard but you really don't have to work as hard as people make it out to believe.
 
I think I have posted this before, but I have found that medical school is simply the same as undergrad for two years, then you kiss ass for 1, then you're done (it's really only 3 years).

By "the same as undergrad" I mean that:
1) If you studied your ass of in undergrad and got good grades, you'll do the same in med school.
2) If you crammed in undergrad and still got good grades, you'll do the same in med school
3) If you struggled to make the grades in undergrad, but did a lot of extracurricular stuff and that's how you made it into medical school - you're screwed...because now you have to pass.

Medical school is much easier from a comprehension standpoint than my undergraduate studies, but there is more of it at any given time. These factors tend to balance themselves out, and I have enjoyed school for the most part.
 
Questions:

1) Do you learn stuff while you are kissing ass?
2) Do you learn/grow while traveling and being apathetic?
3) littlealex- where do you go to med school? If you don't mind.
 
putyou2sleep said:
I think I have posted this before, but I have found that medical school is simply the same as undergrad for two years, then you kiss ass for 1, then you're done (it's really only 3 years).

By "the same as undergrad" I mean that:
1) If you studied your ass of in undergrad and got good grades, you'll do the same in med school.
2) If you crammed in undergrad and still got good grades, you'll do the same in med school
3) If you struggled to make the grades in undergrad, but did a lot of extracurricular stuff and that's how you made it into medical school - you're screwed...because now you have to pass.

Medical school is much easier from a comprehension standpoint than my undergraduate studies, but there is more of it at any given time. These factors tend to balance themselves out, and I have enjoyed school for the most part.
Click to expand...

Define "good grades".
 
rhesuspieces said:
I'm not a med student so I can't comment from personal experience, but from what I understand, the pancake analogy is pretty apt.
Click to expand...

armybound said:
I quote the pancake analogy often. I think it's accurate
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I love that the pancake analogy has made it into the mainstream of med school conversations.

It's hard to track down, but I remember reading the original post, so I thought I'd throw the link in here and the man who wrote it could get some due credit. He had one of the funniest, most helpful med school blogs I think I've ever read.

http://rumorsweretrue.wordpress.com/2006/11/01/pancakes-every-morning/
 
latrala2300 said:
I hear it's like drinking water from a firehose.
Click to expand...

I'm not a big fan of this analogy. I remember hearing it from my Gchem teacher when I took gchem over the summer. That "information would come at me so fast and bountiful that I would not be able to keep up."

It makes the task seem impossible (I mean can you physically imagine this?)

Pancake analogy on the other hand. Gold.
 
latrala2300 said:
I hear it's like drinking water from a firehose.
Click to expand...
it's just not a very good analogy, at least not for first year. the analogy implies that there's so much material that it's impossible to catch but a small portion of it. there's a lot of material, sure, but if you study a lot you should be able to catch most of the learning points.

that's where the pancake analogy comes in. the material is manageable if you just keep studying and studying. you get tired of studying.
 
I could eat five pancakes a day no problem. Could even make sandwiches out of them for lunch...or chalupas.
 
DrBowtie said:
The reality is that everyone is hoping to hit the Mega Millions tonight and quit from students up through attendings.
Click to expand...

armybound said:
this is true, though I forgot to buy my tickets so hopefully it gets up to ~$500 million and then I'll win it.
Click to expand...

Don't bother, here are some statistics:

The chance of winning the lottery is 1 in 175,000,000

You have a greater chance of being eaten by a shark and a tiger in the same day than you do of winning the lottery

You have a greater chance of being struck by an asteroid in the year 2029 than you do of winning the lottery

You have a greater chance of being attacked by a polar bear and a grizzly bear than you do of winning the lottery

If you are male, the odds of you being tom cruise is greater than that of winning the lottery (1 in 150,000,000)

If all of the Russians in the world gathered in a crowd, you have a greater chance of picking Prime Minister Putin than you do of winning the lottery



So yeah...be a doc instead
 
putyou2sleep said:
I think I have posted this before, but I have found that medical school is simply the same as undergrad for two years, then you kiss ass for 1, then you're done (it's really only 3 years).

By "the same as undergrad" I mean that:
1) If you studied your ass of in undergrad and got good grades, you'll do the same in med school.
2) If you crammed in undergrad and still got good grades, you'll do the same in med school
3) If you struggled to make the grades in undergrad, but did a lot of extracurricular stuff and that's how you made it into medical school - you're screwed...because now you have to pass.

Medical school is much easier from a comprehension standpoint than my undergraduate studies, but there is more of it at any given time. These factors tend to balance themselves out, and I have enjoyed school for the most part.
Click to expand...
Not true. Virtually everyone who got into med school got good grades. Now half of them will have below-average grades. Get used to being much, much more average than you were in college. Out of ~100 people in my physics 2 class, I was #3. In my gen chem 2 class, I was the first person done with the first exam out of 200 people, and I had a 99% (class average was 50%). Organic 2, I had the 6th highest score out of almost 100 people on the final. I studied quite hard, and I did very well.

Med school? First two years were extremely average. I completely flunked my first neuroscience exam (I was one point above the lowest score out of 200 people). I moved up a few notches as an M3 because I did well on all of the shelf exams, but I doubt I made it about the 70th percentile.
 
I like the pancake analogy. It's the only thing keeping me working right now, because I know if I don't get this done tonight, I'll have to do it tomorrow, and I won't have any more motivation tomorrow than I had tonight.

This is why I should not be given two consecutive weeks off... one week, I can jump right back in, but two and I get way too lazy.
 
Its not too bad, people like to exaggerate things. As long as you manage your time and get used to not being number 1 in your class you'll be fine.
 
TheProwler said:
Not true. Virtually everyone who got into med school got good grades. Now half of them will have below-average grades. Get used to being much, much more average than you were in college. Out of ~100 people in my physics 2 class, I was #3. In my gen chem 2 class, I was the first person done with the first exam out of 200 people, and I had a 99% (class average was 50%). Organic 2, I had the 6th highest score out of almost 100 people on the final. I studied quite hard, and I did very well.

Med school? First two years were extremely average. I completely flunked my first neuroscience exam (I was one point above the lowest score out of 200 people). I moved up a few notches as an M3 because I did well on all of the shelf exams, but I doubt I made it about the 70th percentile.
Click to expand...

But you are on your way to becoming a surgeon.....not a bad gig.
 
Wilf said:
"It's like undergrad except with a final exam every four weeks."

That was told to me on these boards a couple years ago, and that's the most accurate description I've heard on here.
Click to expand...

My undergrad finals consisted of movie-and-snacking marathons in the library... intermingled with studying, doodling on the board, and napping...
 
From what I have heard the first 2 years consist of living life high off of caffeine and studying your ass off like you have an mcat every month
 
Reaction said:
From what I have heard the first 2 years consist of living life high off of caffeine and studying your ass off like you have an mcat every month
Click to expand...

I haven't heard it's quite that extreme.
 
I haven't found med school to be that bad so far. It eats up a lot of your day during the week and there's always something else to study...but to be honest, my life hasn't really *drastically* changed as compared to my 9-5 job I had in the 2 years before. In fact, I get Wednesdays off (which usually means Tuesday night bar-hopping, Wednesday laundry/exercise/catch-up). You don't get days off like that in the real world. You also don't get even one summer off in the real world. So you can't complain too much.

Also, once you get over the "difficulty" you realize things like anatomy or learning physical exam skills are super fun, and not really a "chore" to go to. I even eat my weekends away doing free clinic volunteering...but to be honest, it does become more "fun" than a "required activity". You also get to experience a bunch of crazy unique stuff with a group of like-minded students who probably have a whole boat-load of interesting experiences in medicine. It's not a cake-walk (and I'm sort of inundated with work right now), but certainly your first two years there is room for fun.

My current weekend plans include a dinner date in the city, hitting up a speak easy bar with college friends, potluck lunch with fellow med students, sunset bonfire on the Beach, mixer party with another local medical school, mashup club dancing outing following, and 3 hours seeing uninsured patients in the clinic.

I go over this topic a lot with friends, but life is really what you make it. You should make every effort to enjoy your life NOW...don't want for things to get better. If you go in with that mentality (and the dedication to still keep up with things), I think you can find a good balance between studying and getting that "P" grade while also finding time for yourself and everything else in your life.
 
Undergrad = 3 hours of class/day, 1-2 hours of pset/studying per day

Med school year 1 = 7 hours of class/day, 3-5 hours of studying/day
 
I heard a guy say that relationships make medical school seem easy??? who knows...
 
mdeast said:
I haven't found med school to be that bad so far. It eats up a lot of your day during the week and there's always something else to study...but to be honest, my life hasn't really *drastically* changed as compared to my 9-5 job I had in the 2 years before. In fact, I get Wednesdays off (which usually means Tuesday night bar-hopping, Wednesday laundry/exercise/catch-up). You don't get days off like that in the real world. You also don't get even one summer off in the real world. So you can't complain too much.

Also, once you get over the "difficulty" you realize things like anatomy or learning physical exam skills are super fun, and not really a "chore" to go to. I even eat my weekends away doing free clinic volunteering...but to be honest, it does become more "fun" than a "required activity". You also get to experience a bunch of crazy unique stuff with a group of like-minded students who probably have a whole boat-load of interesting experiences in medicine. It's not a cake-walk (and I'm sort of inundated with work right now), but certainly your first two years there is room for fun.

My current weekend plans include a dinner date in the city, hitting up a speak easy bar with college friends, potluck lunch with fellow med students, sunset bonfire on the Beach, mixer party with another local medical school, mashup club dancing outing following, and 3 hours seeing uninsured patients in the clinic.

I go over this topic a lot with friends, but life is really what you make it. You should make every effort to enjoy your life NOW...don't want for things to get better. If you go in with that mentality (and the dedication to still keep up with things), I think you can find a good balance between studying and getting that "P" grade while also finding time for yourself and everything else in your life.
Click to expand...

You go to Stanford -- you are in heaven by default.
 
DoctwoB said:
Undergrad = 3 hours of class/day, 1-2 hours of pset/studying per day

Med school year 1 = 7 hours of class/day, 3-5 hours of studying/day
Click to expand...

Undergrad = 0 hours of class/day (attended), 6 hrs of lab/ week, 0 hrs studying/week, 10 hours of studying/test, straight As, no problem.

Med school (year 1) = 0 hours of class/day (attended), 0 hours of studying/week, 10 hrs of lab/week, 10 hours of misc. mandatory bull****/week, 84 hrs of studying/test (mostly low Bs, some low As).

Med school (year 2) = 0 hours of class/day (attended), 30 hours of studying/week, 20 hours of misc. mandatory bull****/week, extra 84 hrs of studying/test/week (low Bs).

I obviously have trouble convincing myself that I need to keep up and not cram.

Denial... not just a river in africa...
 
A year in:
Class from 9-12, sometimes class in afternoon 1-2/3 or lab from 1-4 (or until you are done)

During regular courses you go to class, do some type of study material writing, then study, usually every day of the week (5-7 hours a day, more as quizzes/tests approach)

During anatomy you not only need to study the coursework, but also need to go to lab post-dissection and study for practicals (yes even on weekends 🙂 )

You have a quiz ~once weekly (sometimes every 1 1/2 weeks) or a test that covered the previous weeks (this isn't so bad as quizzes help you keep up)

Weekends after a test are the best, you have nothing to do except tend to yourself. And despite all this I do still have time to play COD/BCBF2, go out dinner/parties with friends, & enjoy spending time with my girlfriend.

It takes a little discipline at first, but after about a month it gets easier. Just eat healthy, exercise, & relax when you have the time

I can't stress the last point enough, a lot of med students get stressed out because they can't turn it off. Learn what helps you quiet the noise, drift to sleep, & how to establish a little "bubble" of solitude. If you're worried about the work all the time, you're on the verge of being "stressed out" all the time.
 
The pancake analogy reminds me of the one-liner by Mitch Hedberg about pancakes and comedians. Anybody else??
 
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