Similarities/Differences between full-time tutor vs doctor?

[AspiringDoc342]

Similarities/Differences between a full-time tutor (job description below) vs doctor

Full-time tutor:
- Tutor all of the subjects (K-12) and many tests: Math (Pre-Algebra through Calculus), Science (Chemistry, Physics, Biology/Anatomy), SAT/ACT, MCAT/DAT/OAT

vs. Doctor.

As a doctor, do you have to review the material as much as the full-time tutor above? Which is harder in terms of keeping up with the knowledge? I am guessing the tutor would be more stressed out than the doctor if all of their students had to achieve 90%+ scores, or am I wrong?

Add #1: I am working as a full-time tutor right now. Not a troll post. I am going to pursue medicine, so I am wondering how they compare time wise.

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[DO2015CA]

Why is this a question

 

[878956]

I think being a tutor is harder. As a tutor, you have to convey the content in a way that is digestible to the client. You spend 100% of your time with the client, maintaining a high level of energy for a sustained period of time. All of this can be quite exhausting.

 

[CaliforniaAppli]

Nice troll post.

Tutoring is the easiest job in the world.

 

[libertyyne]

lol. That burnout rate amongst tutors is astronomical.

 

[878956]

Nice troll post.

Tutoring is the easiest job in the world.

If you are doing half-assed tutoring. 1-1 on tutoring in lets sat Physics II

Nice troll post.

Tutoring is the easiest job in the world.

Depends on the quality of tutoring.

 

[AspiringDoc342]

Why is this a question

I am working as a full-time tutor right now. Not a troll post

 

[libertyyne]

I am working as a full-time tutor right now. Not a troll post

Are you going to get sued or will someone die if you tutor someone and they don't do well?

 

[VincentAdultman]

Tutoring is harder.

Do you feel validated now?

 

[AspiringDoc342]

Tutoring is harder.

Do you feel validated now?

I am not trying to feel validated. I just want honest opinions. I am pursuing medicine for god's sake.

 

[Frogger27]

I am not trying to feel validated. I just want honest opinions. I am pursuing medicine for god's sake.

run while you still can

 

[AspiringDoc342]

run while you still can

🙁

 

[Stagg737]

Was a part-time ACT/SAT tutor in college and grad school (usually 10-20 hrs/wk). Stress/difficulty didn't even compare to med school. Knowledge hasn't changed enough in most areas of tutoring that you need to learn that much new stuff to keep up. If you do, you don't have the expertise to be acting as a professional tutor in that subject imo.

If you're tutoring full-time, you should not be doing K-12 and ACT/SAT and college level courses and MCAT/DAT/OAT. Your scope of expertise is likely not good enough to cover all of that. To give a medical analogy, that would be like a PCP seeing people in clinic (like a normal PCP) and working in the ER and doing inpatient work and doing surgery and running all the lab tests (or really any physician doing all that). It's not practical, and frankly you're doing both yourself and your clients a disservice by trying to do all of that. Just my opinion though.

Edit: If you're working for a company that is requiring you to do all of that, the company is being sketchy and likely not paying you what you should be getting anyway.

 

[AspiringDoc342]

Was a part-time ACT/SAT tutor in college and grad school (usually 10-20 hrs/wk). Stress/difficulty didn't even compare to med school. Knowledge hasn't changed enough in most areas of tutoring that you need to learn that much new stuff to keep up. If you do, you don't have the expertise to be acting as a professional tutor in that subject imo.

If you're tutoring full-time, you should not be doing K-12 and ACT/SAT and college level courses and MCAT/DAT/OAT. Your scope of expertise is likely not good enough to cover all of that. To give a medical analogy, that would be like a PCP seeing people in clinic (like a normal PCP) and working in the ER and doing inpatient work and doing surgery and running all the lab tests (or really any physician doing all that). It's not practical, and frankly you're doing both yourself and your clients a disservice by trying to do all of that. Just my opinion though.

Edit: If you're working for a company that is requiring you to do all of that, the company is being sketchy and likely not paying you what you should be getting anyway.

Thank you so much. This was the kind of opinion I was looking for. So you are saying that a tutor that tutors K-12, ACT/SAT, and MCAT/DAT/OAT will have a broader scope of knowledge than a doctor? Is it harder memorizing for all of the tests than being a doctor?

 

[Stagg737]

Thank you so much. This was the kind of opinion I was looking for. So you are saying that a tutor that tutors K-12, ACT/SAT, and MCAT/DAT/OAT will have a broader scope of knowledge than a doctor? Is it harder memorizing for all of the tests than being a doctor?

Broader in the sense that you're covering more areas than a doctor, but not even remotely close in terms of depth of knowledge. If you're covering all that you may have an advantage when it comes to learning in med school, as you've probably learned to implement different techniques for teaching different subjects. However, medical school was far, far more difficult than being a tutor imo, largely because the volume of information in med school combined with the limited time to learn it is something I'd never encountered to that extent.

 

[AspiringDoc342]

Broader in the sense that you're covering more areas than a doctor, but not even remotely close in terms of depth of knowledge. If you're covering all that you may have an advantage when it comes to learning in med school, as you've probably learned to implement different techniques for teaching different subjects. However, medical school was far, far more difficult than being a tutor imo, largely because the volume of information in med school combined with the limited time to learn it is something I'd never encountered to that extent.

So do you think it is good training being a tutor for a company (e.g. Varsity Tutors) that allows you to tutor as many subjects as you are capable of conveying and becoming an expert in? I am guessing that one should be able to learn all of these subjects and tests in a shorter time period since they will be doing it basically at a much higher rate during medical school? How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

 

[libertyyne]

So do you think it is good training being a tutor for a company (e.g. Varsity Tutors) that allows you to tutor as many subjects as you are capable of conveying and becoming an expert in? I am guessing that one should be able to learn all of these subjects and tests in a shorter time period since they will be doing it basically at a much higher rate during medical school? How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

grab a netters, divide it by four and memorize every label and function associated with that label, then you have anatomy. That is roughly 2/3 of the material you need to know in a month, you still have histology. You need to know it backwards and forwards, relationships between structures, high level function and interaction. Tutoring does not hold a candle to the level of expertise required of you and the volume of information you need to know. You can literally tutor most k-12 math by having a good foundation, same goes for biology, physics, chemistry. You cant pass medical school classes by just having a good foundation.

 

[Gurby]

So do you think it is good training being a tutor for a company (e.g. Varsity Tutors) that allows you to tutor as many subjects as you are capable of conveying and becoming an expert in? I am guessing that one should be able to learn all of these subjects and tests in a shorter time period since they will be doing it basically at a much higher rate during medical school? How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

No.

Meh.

Go to medical school.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to preallo

 

[Goro]

So do you think it is good training being a tutor for a company (e.g. Varsity Tutors) that allows you to tutor as many subjects as you are capable of conveying and becoming an expert in? I am guessing that one should be able to learn all of these subjects and tests in a shorter time period since they will be doing it basically at a much higher rate during medical school? How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

Medical school is NOT college. You don't "test out" of the material.

 

[21Rush12]

What are you even talking about?

What’s the difference between rock candy and rock cocaine?

 

[Goro]

What are you even talking about?

What’s the difference between rock candy and rock cocaine?

You made me bellow out loud with laughter on that one!!!👍👍👍👍👍

 

[Stagg737]

So do you think it is good training being a tutor for a company (e.g. Varsity Tutors) that allows you to tutor as many subjects as you are capable of conveying and becoming an expert in? I am guessing that one should be able to learn all of these subjects and tests in a shorter time period since they will be doing it basically at a much higher rate during medical school? How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

I don't think being with a tutoring company has anything to do with it. I think it has to do with whether you take it upon yourself to learn and experience different learning modalities so you know and use them to teach so that when med school comes around you know which methods to use for yourself during various classes.

Not sure if they should be able to learn in a shorter time period. The more important thing Imo is learning how to utilize them properly and mastering the techniques. You have very little time to do that in medical school, so coming in with a bigger arsenal of learning tools that you've already mastered is advantageous when trying to learn everything in a shorter time period. Additionally, some of the most successful medical students I know aren't particularly brilliant, but they work hard and are incredibly efficient with their studying. Yes, you have to have a certain level of intelligence, but imo organization and work ethic count for far more in medical school than intelligence.

I think @libertyyne gives a fair assessment of 'testing out 1 month'. I was going to say get big Robbins (Robbins pathology), read the first 5 chapters, and then get the Robbins Review book and take those chapters as a test. Then realize those test questions are easier than the actual test questions you will get and you will also be taking classes in pharmacology and clinical medicine in those areas at the same time, so you're realistically learning a little less than half of what you'll actually cover in a month of medical school.

 

[AspiringDoc342]

What are you even talking about?

What’s the difference between rock candy and rock cocaine?

You guys are scaring me.

I don't think being with a tutoring company has anything to do with it. I think it has to do with whether you take it upon yourself to learn and experience different learning modalities so you know and use them to teach so that when med school comes around you know which methods to use for yourself during various classes.

Not sure if they should be able to learn in a shorter time period. The more important thing Imo is learning how to utilize them properly and mastering the techniques. You have very little time to do that in medical school, so coming in with a bigger arsenal of learning tools that you've already mastered is advantageous when trying to learn everything in a shorter time period. Additionally, some of the most successful medical students I know aren't particularly brilliant, but they work hard and are incredibly efficient with their studying. Yes, you have to have a certain level of intelligence, but imo organization and work ethic count for far more in medical school than intelligence.

I think @libertyyne gives a fair assessment of 'testing out 1 month'. I was going to say get big Robbins (Robbins pathology), read the first 5 chapters, and then get the Robbins Review book and take those chapters as a test. Then realize those test questions are easier than the actual test questions you will get and you will also be taking classes in pharmacology and clinical medicine in those areas at the same time, so you're realistically learning a little less than half of what you'll actually cover in a month of medical school.

Thank you so much. Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like? Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester? I would say it would also be an advantage when it comes to interview questions on how to handle the course load/stress?

 

[DO2015CA]

You guys are scaring me.


Thank you so much. Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like? Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester? I would say it would also be an advantage when it comes to interview questions on how to handle the course load/stress?

Yes students have no clue. No it would not be helpful to contact a student before school starts. Doesn’t matter how much people say you will be working until you are in the thick of it you’ll never really understand. Plus everyone studies differently so the current student can’t really help all that much. Once you start and realize what’s not working then older students/faculty can help. One of my top classmates learned anatomy by making structures out of play dough and biochem/pharmacology by making covers of famous songs. Worked for them. I bet you he spent way less time studying than I did and did better

 

[Goro]

Thank you so much. Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like? Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester? I would say it would also be an advantage when it comes to interview questions on how to handle the course load/stress?

99% of pre-meds are so ignorant, that I'm surprised that they actually know how to breathe.

Concerning the bold, simply knowing what a med student is studying by talking to one shows nothing about handling interview questions on stress. You show that by taking rigorous coursework, doing well, AND handling all the ECs pre-meds are supposed to do. You need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

Are you scared? That's a good thing. Med school is a furnace. An MD friend of mine told me that "med school took him to his intellectual limits".

BTW, med school is also not merely about knowing, but being able to apply.

 

[libertyyne]

Short of maintaining a 4.0 in ee @ mit nothing can truely prepare you for the experience of medicial school. Once you get into medical school and start you should be able to find what works for you. You should be scared , 5-10% of people regularly fail anatomy or histo at my school each year. These are the people that got into medical school! If you said something like " my experience tutoring prepared me for medical school" It would be hard for me to not laugh, it would also display to me you have zero idea about what you are getting into. Some of the MCAT tutors in my class are barely passing.

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

This is amazing.
General outline to SDN posts
1. Strange idea that you wouldn't feel comfortable asking a live person
2. First 5 posts respond"Wtf?!"
3. Next posts seem to take the question seriously.
4. MD vs DO

And for the sake of humoring, since I bet this is really just your way of asking "what is med school/being a physician like?"--the things you know from undergrad are just general theories without too much detail--with some exceptions from upper div. courses. You'll be expected to recall all of that simple tutoring stuff you do for one course(for college classes that is) within 1 hr lectures. Sounds hard, but its actually good because everything fits better together when the material comes faster.

Also, you have to realize that the undergrad version of virtually every med school class is a super baby version that just conveys the main idea. The level of detail is about idk, 10-20x greater in med school. Your tutoring job will help you a bit in not forgetting the fundamentals, but you will not have much of an inherent advantage. One exception personally--I was a biochem major and biochem in undergrad was way harder--but also way less clinical--so yeah

 

[Deecee2DO]

Short of maintaining a 4.0 in ee @ mit nothing can truely prepare you for the experience of medicial school. Once you get into medical school and start you should be able to find what works for you. You should be scared , 5-10% of people regularly fail anatomy or histo at my school each year. These are the people that got into medical school! If you said something like " my experience tutoring prepared me for medical school" It would be hard for me to not laugh, it would also display to me you have zero idea about what you are getting into. Some of the MCAT tutors in my class are barely passing.

Regarding the anatomy/MCAT tutor comment: Probably because the content on the MCAT has little/nothing to do with the material one learns in medical school, especially anatomy. The MCAT tests more mental stamina, dedication/perseverance, thinking under pressure etc. as opposed to prepare you for medical school coursework.

 

[libertyyne]

Regarding the anatomy/MCAT tutor comment: Probably because the content on the MCAT has little/nothing to do with the material one learns in medical school, especially anatomy.

They are barely passing histo too , if that makes a difference (which has a cell bio component). The point was the skills obtained during tutoring may or may not translate into better performance in medical school. Its a different ball game, and one is either delusional or completely ignorant of what medical school entails to think that it will make a difference.

 

[Deecee2DO]

They are barely passing histo too , if that makes a difference (which has a cell bio component). The point was the skills obtained during tutoring may or may not translate into better performance in medical school. Its a different ball game, and one is either delusional or completely ignorant of what medical school entails to think that it will make a difference.

I believe, that if one has the ability to be accepted to medical school, they are perfectly capable of getting through. It takes determination and figuring out how you learn best. Using your resources can go a long way (getting tutors, talking to professors, figuring out how you learn best). Some people think studying in undergrad will be the same. Are they distracted while they are studying? Do they have too much pride to seek help/tutoring because they were/have been "the tutor" for their entire life? There are ways to get through medical school you just have to figure out how you learn best and how to approach it all? It can be humbling for many

 

[libertyyne]

I believe, that if one has the ability to be accepted to medical school, they are perfectly capable of getting through. It takes determination and figuring out how you learn best. Using your resources can go a long way (getting tutors, talking to professors, figuring out how you learn best). Some people think studying in undergrad will be the same. Are they distracted while they are studying? Do they have too much pride to seek help/tutoring because they were/have been "the tutor" for their entire life? There are ways to get through medical school you just have to figure out how you learn best and how to approach it all? It can be humbling for many

Regarding the anatomy/MCAT tutor comment: Probably because the content on the MCAT has little/nothing to do with the material one learns in medical school, especially anatomy. The MCAT tests more mental stamina, dedication/perseverance, thinking under pressure etc. as opposed to prepare you for medical school coursework.

That is not what is being questioned here. Sure if you get into medical school you probably have the stuff to make it. And you are kinda wrong on the MCAT not being pertinent in completing medical school. The mcat is one of the best predictors for completion of medical school without issue according to the studies available. That is another reason medical school admissions rely upon it.

 

[Deecee2DO]

That is not what is being questioned here. Sure if you get into medical school you probably have the stuff to make it. And you are kinda wrong on the MCAT not being pertinent in completing medical school. The mcat is one of the best predictors for completion of medical school without issue according to the studies available. That is another reason medical school admissions rely upon it.

the MCAT literally tests nothing that you learn in medical school. Nothing. Sure a little cell bio/bchem1 here and there

 

[Deecee2DO]

That is not what is being questioned here. Sure if you get into medical school you probably have the stuff to make it. And you are kinda wrong on the MCAT not being pertinent in completing medical school. The mcat is one of the best predictors for completion of medical school without issue according to the studies available. That is another reason medical school admissions rely upon it.

There are plenty of people that I know that got 500's/25s or even sub-500s/24s that are doing fine/great in medical school. I think that the MCAT is dumb, most if not all physicians I have talked to tell me it means nothing

 

[Goro]

the MCAT literally tests nothing that you learn in medical school. Nothing. Sure a little cell bio/bchem1 here and there

That's not the point. It's not meant to be pre-USMLE.

It's value is that it assesses competency, not knowledge for med school. As such, it is a reasonable predictor of being able to handle med school, and it's OK for predicting Step I/Level I.

 

[libertyyne]

There are plenty of people that I know that got 500's/25s or even sub-500s/24s that did fine/great in medical school

Hmm your anecdotes vs a peer reviewed study looking at 119 medical schools over 4 years. Tough choice. I wonder what adcoms use.
The Predictive Validity of the MCAT Exam in Relation to... : Academic Medicine

 

[Deecee2DO]

View attachment 225694
Hmm your anecdotes vs a peer reviewed study looking at 119 medical schools over 4 years. Tough choice. I wonder what adcoms use.
The Predictive Validity of the MCAT Exam in Relation to... : Academic Medicine

My point was regarding MCAT tutors and that because they rocked the MCAT and can tutor the MCAT doesn't mean they will rock Gross Anatomy in med school. Two completely different subject matter. Gross anatomy is legit straight memorization and structural relationships

 

[Stagg737]

Thank you so much. Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like? Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester? I would say it would also be an advantage when it comes to interview questions on how to handle the course load/stress?

Most have no clue. Could be an advantage if you were able to actually sit down and try and study everything they are studying, just because it would give a clue as to how much material you're actually expected to know. Realistically though, probably won't give any actual advantage in terms of med school performance and would likely be a waste of your time. No, wouldn't create any advantages about how to answer interview questions.

 

[Gurby]

Thank you so much. Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like? Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester? I would say it would also be an advantage when it comes to interview questions on how to handle the course load/stress?

Short of maintaining a 4.0 in ee @ mit nothing can truely prepare you for the experience of medicial school. Once you get into medical school and start you should be able to find what works for you. You should be scared , 5-10% of people regularly fail anatomy or histo at my school each year. These are the people that got into medical school! If you said something like " my experience tutoring prepared me for medical school" It would be hard for me to not laugh, it would also display to me you have zero idea about what you are getting into. Some of the MCAT tutors in my class are barely passing.

I did nothing to study but make flashcards and review them all through undergrad.
To prep for the MCAT, I made more flashcards and then did a ton of practice passages/sections/full lengths.
Now I'm in medical school, still just cranking away making flash cards, generally scoring towards the top of the class on tests.

So far medical school has just been business as usual ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[libertyyne]

I did nothing to study but make flashcards and review them all through undergrad.
To prep for the MCAT, I made more flashcards and then did a ton of practice passages/sections/full lengths.
Now I'm in medical school, still just cranking away making flash cards, generally scoring towards the top of the class on tests.

So far medical school has just been business as usual ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You are a priest of our one true lord, anki peace be upon it. it might be different for you. I do think you are the exception not the rule. Lots of peoples butts got kicked when medical school started in my class at least. You also probably went to a rigorous ug.

 

[Gurby]

You are a priest of our one true lord, anki peace be upon it.

I've been peddling spaced repetition for the better part of a decade at this point - I used Supermemo prior to Anki! People would ask me how I know things, and I'd tell them all about the merits of spaced repetition, help get them set up and learn to use the program, show them how to make cards, give them my cards... and then they quit within a week 😢

 

[DBC03]

I get the impression that trying to figure out what med school is like is akin to trying to figure out what being a parent is like by periodically babysitting. There are shared aspects, but it misses the essence of the experience.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[21Rush12]

I get the impression that trying to figure out what med school is like is akin to trying to figure out what being a parent is like by periodically babysitting. There are shared aspects, but it misses the essence of the experience.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I’m not a parent, but this sounds like a perfect analogy.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Is it harder memorizing for all of the tests than being a doctor?

Hell no.

How can you test out 1 month as a medical student in terms of the material that you have to know?

Agree with the read the first 5 chapters of Robbins and then do the practice questions. For me personally our school cranked through a full year of undergrad Biochem in one month, so if you want to compare that you can.

You guys are scaring me.

I hate to be cliche but if it were easy everyone would be doing it.

Would you guys say that 99% of pre-meds have no idea of what studying in medical school is like

Yep

Wouldn't it be an advantage to consult a current medical student and have them show you what studying the first semester of medical school is actually like so you have an idea before you start your first semester?

No. I don’t have time to meet with you for starters, and until you are in it doing it then it’s hard to really grasp how much it is.

I did nothing to study but make flashcards and review them all through undergrad.
To prep for the MCAT, I made more flashcards and then did a ton of practice passages/sections/full lengths.
Now I'm in medical school, still just cranking away making flash cards, generally scoring towards the top of the class on tests.

So far medical school has just been business as usual ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have no idea how you find the time to make your own cards. I tried for a bit and maybe I was just incredibly inefficient (likely) but I just couldn’t keep up with making my own, going though the new cards, and doing the reviews.

 

[Gurby]

I have no idea how you find the time to make your own cards. I tried for a bit and maybe I was just incredibly inefficient (likely) but I just couldn’t keep up with making my own, going though the new cards, and doing the reviews.

I think maybe I'm just pretty efficient at it, since it's been my primary study method for a long time whereas most people are just now getting on the SRS bandwagon. There is definitely a learning curve for figuring out how to make good cards and how to do it quickly.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Learning the material isn’t the hard part

Learning to practice medicine and cultivating clinical judgment and skills through application of knowledge and interaction with your patients and colleagues is the hard part.

 

[Robin-jay]

Teaching is easier than doing "generally".

I could not even begin to take on the goal, of say, teaching advanced quantum chem. 600 courses. That takes an absolute mastermind to actually teach that.

However, with extensive experience in teaching university chemistry courses and also doing projects as chemistry research for publications, I'd say teaching is easier overall.

Maybe not initially, but teaching the same thing over and over again gets pretty easy. Research never really "got easier".