So how was first year?

[Yadster101]

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I second @AlbinoHawk DO , med school became significantly more manageable after we got done with OMM.

With that said, first year wasn't nearly as life consuming as I had anticipated. It's tons of work I'm feeling the burn out now that we are a week from finishing first year. However it is very doable. I'm anticipating that next year, and especially the second semester, to be hell because we will be preparing for boards. I would love to be "disappointed" again.

Eh depends on what you were anticipating. Were you maxing on ECs in undergrad that you no longer continue?

 

[NavyDoc23]

Do you guys think it would be reasonable to carve out 2 hrs, twice a week to play golf during first year? My family keeps telling me that I won't have time to do anything but study but it's not like they went to medical school so how would they know..

This spring I've been able to golf 3-4x/week. Half the time it's 18 holes, so it's more like 3-4 hrs. However, if we would've had a different block (like neuro) during this time, it probably would've been more like 2x/week.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

This spring I've been able to golf 3-4x/week. Half the time it's 18 holes, so it's more like 3-4 hrs. However, if we would've had a different block (like neuro) during this time, it probably would've been more like 2x/week.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Mr. Vandemar]

I ended up doing much better than I expected to, as a non trad with very little science background, but did almost nothing else aside from study. My CV is just going to say "went to school here." I regret skipping cool workshops, presentations, and social stuff. I also stopped exercising and gained weight. I hope to remedy this in second year, but who knows.

 

[Shjanzey]

You havent ever had to take fluid mechanics, advanced thermodynamics, or real analysis have ya? Ms-1 has been much easier than undergrad. It's as time consuming but the concepts are much easier. Extra maturity + easier work = fun.

I can corroborate this. I spend a lot of hours studying, but nothing I have seen is difficult. In differential equations I remember staring at the page asking myself what was going on. I had a lot of fun first year, and I am looking forward to doing it again next year.

 

[masaraksh]

I can corroborate this. I spend a lot of hours studying, but nothing I have seen is difficult. In differential equations I remember staring at the page asking myself what was going on. I had a lot of fun first year, and I am looking forward to doing it again next year.

Exactly that's why it bothers me when doctors and med students talk about how sooooo smart they are.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Exactly that's why it bothers me when doctors and med students talk about how sooooo smart they are.

Most doctors the Med students like their ego stroked so that's why they talk about themselves. Nothing wrong with that it's just some overdo it.

 

[PhillyMed777]

Recall that a lot of ppl commenting here are either 1) people who have never been to medical school or 2) have only completed 1 year of medical school. We shall see how we all feel after a decade of training. I'd love to hear after 10 years of hard work that what you do is "nothing special."

If you are doing one of these "hard" science or math problems and you get it wrong, there are no consequences. Medicine is a epicenter of litigation. You can't make a mistake, look at the answer book, and go back and do it again. As a first year, you haven't had a chance to experience this yet.

 

[Psai]

easily. read above.

seriously, med school is not that hard, except med students always feel the need to have the fact that they're in med school define who they are and constantly talk about how hard it is and how much work it is. Thats why its so much nicer to hang out with people outside of med school who don't give a rats ass about what you're doing or whatever.

son you barely had a taste of med school
step 1 studying takes a bit of your soul

 

[PhillyMed777]

son you barely had a taste of med school
step 1 studying takes a bit of your soul

EXACTLY. i agree as a first year. how can you extrapolate your entire career on the basis of the easiest year of it?

 

[masaraksh]

Recall that a lot of ppl commenting here are either 1) people who have never been to medical school or 2) have only completed 1 year of medical school. We shall see how we all feel after a decade of training. I'd love to hear after 10 years of hard work that what you do is "nothing special."

If you are doing one of these "hard" science or math problems and you get it wrong, there are no consequences. Medicine is a epicenter of litigation. You can't make a mistake, look at the answer book, and go back and do it again. As a first year, you haven't had a chance to experience this yet.

And there's malpractice insurance for a reason

 

[masaraksh]

son you barely had a taste of med school
step 1 studying takes a bit of your soul

But this thread is about first year... look at the title.

 

[Psai]

But this thread is about first year... look at the title.

i did but i'm replying to your post

 

[PhillyMed777]

And there's malpractice insurance for a reason

It's not that simple. It's not "here's malpractice insurance" now it doesn't matter how your outcomes are. You also missed the main point of what I said which is that 1st year is NOT any of the following years. Make judgements only about first year. Not the rest of med school, not residents, and not attendings.

 

[masaraksh]

It's not that simple. It's not "here's malpractice insurance" now it doesn't matter how your outcomes are. You also missed the main point of what I said which is that 1st year is NOT any of the following years. Make judgements only about first year. Not the rest of med school, not residents, and not attendings.

Well even then, as far as first year has gone, I'd stick with what I said at least in terms of first year. It surely wasn't easy, but its also far from the hardest thing in the world and its absolutely hilarious that some students (still first years) see themselves as some kind of gods gift to man and probably rub themselves off looking at themselves in a mirror.

Edit: screw it. i'm off to pick up my god complex. I'll be back with a I am super smart and gods gift to man attitude.

 

[PhillyMed777]

Well even then, as far as first year has gone, I'd stick with what I said at least in terms of first year. It surely wasn't easy, but its also far from the hardest thing in the world and its absolutely hilarious that some students (still first years) see themselves as some kind of gods gift to man and probably rub themselves off looking at themselves in a mirror.

Edit: screw it. i'm off to pick up my god complex. I'll be back with a I am super smart and gods gift to man attitude.

If that is your perception of your school's first year that is fine.

I don't personally meet people who meet your description. The majority of people i meet are always trying to catch up with the relentless pace of curriculum. They are also surprisingly normal - caring about things like health, relationships, free time, movies, food, etc. or managing their family matters

 

[masaraksh]

If that is your perception of your school's first year that is fine.

I don't personally meet people who meet your description. The majority of people i meet are always trying to catch up with the relentless pace of curriculum. They are also surprisingly normal - caring about things like health, relationships, free time, movies, food, etc. or managing their family matters

Well, obviously most people are 'normal' and care about those things. I was exagerrating a little, however, I do find that there is a good number of students who have think really highly of themselves.

 

[Psai]

Well, obviously most people are 'normal' and care about those things. I was exagerrating a little, however, I do find that there is a good number of students who have think really highly of themselves.

If you're noticing a problem with many people that you're meeting, maybe the problem lies elsewhere

 

[masaraksh]

If you're noticing a problem with many people that you're meeting, maybe the problem lies elsewhere

yeah, guess its me

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

Do you guys think it would be reasonable to carve out 2 hrs, twice a week to play golf during first year? My family keeps telling me that I won't have time to do anything but study but it's not like they went to medical school so how would they know..

haha so this! I wish we were going to be classmates so we could play lol. I have to find a playing partner when school starts!

 

[BamaNicole]

I ended up doing much better than I expected to, as a non trad with very little science background, but did almost nothing else aside from study. My CV is just going to say "went to school here." I regret skipping cool workshops, presentations, and social stuff. I also stopped exercising and gained weight. I hope to remedy this in second year, but who knows.

This may or may not be helpful....but I was finding it hard to exercise so I started going first thing in the morning. It helped me get my workout in and helped me feel more focused throughout the day.

 

[ChEMD]

Well, obviously most people are 'normal' and care about those things. I was exagerrating a little, however, I do find that there is a good number of students who have think really highly of themselves.

I could be off base, but what I'm getting from this is that students in your class think that they are smart because they are doing well in first year, but you are essentially saying "guys, you're not that smart, this stuff isn't even hard. I've done things that are way harder than this before!" So who is it really that thinks highly of themselves?

 

[masaraksh]

I could be off base, but what I'm getting from this is that students in your class think that they are smart because they are doing well in first year, but you are essentially saying "guys, you're not that smart, this stuff isn't even hard. I've done things that are way harder than this before!" So who is it really that thinks highly of themselves?

You're right, up until the bolded part. I'm not saying I'm the one who's done things that are way harder than this before. I am saying that people in many other fields/other jobs are working as hard or harder on things that are sometimes significantly more conceptually difficult than being spoonfed the fundamentals of medicine.

 

[Shjanzey]

There are two types of difficulty to be discussed. Engineering is conceptually difficult. The difficulty in medicine is managing the volumes of information thrown at you in a short period of time while also integrating it into a whole. I think either discipline should feel proud if they have managed to master these challenges

 

[touchpause13]

Well **** I guess I'll see myself out then.

This year was the hardest thing I've have to do academically, ever.

 

[Redpancreas]

So how'd first year go compared to your expectations? Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?

I survived but it was not good by any measure. I never honored anything and wasted a lot of time. I didn't really like Anatomy or Neuroanatomy too much either. Physiology and Biochemistry were nice and I came close to honoring so yeah.

 

[TheRobin]

It was a tough year, but also a fun one, too.

 

[UltimateforFun]

My description of first year is that it truly is a roller coaster, in every sense. You have the varying sleep patterns, test scores all over the place, varying study patterns, drastically changing emotional states, and changes in your career aspirations...but it was still the best roller coaster ride yet!

I know that I personally have never been so challenged academically but I also kept up tons of extracurriculars and added in time to see my family so lots of external joys this year. I wish I had figured out a great way to study that worked for every block but such a thing does not exist, at least not for my silly brain.

 

[miamiheatfan]

Do you guys think it would be reasonable to carve out 2 hrs, twice a week to play golf during first year? My family keeps telling me that I won't have time to do anything but study but it's not like they went to medical school so how would they know..

Story of my life, there's always someone trying to tell you how to do something they've never experienced!

 

[notbobtrustme]

There are two types of difficulty to be discussed. Engineering is conceptually difficult. The difficulty in medicine is managing the volumes of information thrown at you in a short period of time while also integrating it into a whole. I think either discipline should feel proud if they have managed to master these challenges

get the **** outta here with your reasonableness.

 

[JustUnder9000]

I feel like I learned nothing... 🙁

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

I feel like I learned nothing... 🙁

that's not good

 

[FiveOClock]

At a school like NYU that still keeps internal grades, it matters.

This. AOA and deans letter matter very much. Especially for specialties where the average applicant is AOA...so to the people interested in derm, plastics, ENT, etc class rank (even if its secret and internal) can mean the difference between matching and not matching.

 

[PhillyMed777]

This. AOA and deans letter matter very much. Especially for specialties where the average applicant is AOA...so to the people interested in derm, plastics, ENT, etc class rank (even if its secret and internal) can mean the difference between matching and not matching.

Thank you! Sick of ppl saying the opposite. At my school it's the excuse people use when they arnt achieving their goals. Then they walk around chanting p=md trying to ensure everyone around then comes down with them. It's all a psychological effect. Then they all sit ina circle and pat themselves on the back dancing to p=md, while their averages fall marginally close to failing.

P= md but
md =/= md

 

[Jabbed]

Thank you! Sick of ppl saying the opposite. At my school it's the excuse people use when they arnt achieving their goals. Then they walk around chanting p=md trying to ensure everyone around then comes down with them. It's all a psychological effect. Then they all sit ina circle and pat themselves on the back dancing to p=md, while their averages fall marginally close to failing.

P= md but
md =/= md

I really don't understand why this bothers people so much. Everyone knows that it's some mix of self-reassurance/self-delusion..

You don't even need to wait for the cosmos to come up with some karmic consequence years from now in order to be proven right, you just have to wait until the Match..

 

[PhillyMed777]

I really don't understand why this bothers people so much. Everyone knows that it's some mix of self-reassurance/self-delusion..

You don't even need to wait for the cosmos to come up with some karmic consequence years from now in order to be proven right, you just have to wait until the Match..

the reason is these people (and sometimes even my own friends) constantly make me feel bad for working hard.

 

[postbacpremed87]

I feel like I learned nothing... 🙁

I learned something but have forgotten 80% of that something.

 

[touchpause13]

I learned something but have forgotten 80% of that something.

I learned enough to make a diagnosis of someone on OITNB, so I feel pretty successful

 

[Frazier]

I learned enough to make a diagnosis of someone on OITNB, so I feel pretty successful

Bacterial endocarditis 2/2 IVDU?

 

[touchpause13]

Bacterial endocarditis 2/2 IVDU?

Broca's aphasia

 

[PhillyMed777]

Broca's aphasia

I found everything to do with "neuro" except for anatomy so unbelievably unsure. It's like "oh yea we think it works like this, but it prob isnt the only thing, and could be wrong"

 

[touchpause13]

I found everything to do with "neuro" except for anatomy so unbelievably unsure. It's like "oh yea we think it works like this, but it prob isnt the only thing, and could be wrong"

During that whole class I couldn't help but feel like by the time I'm actually practicing, everything I learned will have been proven incorrect. Womp womp

 

[JP2740]

This spring I've been able to golf 3-4x/week. Half the time it's 18 holes, so it's more like 3-4 hrs. However, if we would've had a different block (like neuro) during this time, it probably would've been more like 2x/week.

My golf buddies golfed a ****load during medical school. It's about priorities and efficiency. You get a feel for what you can handle and for some hobbies you can keep them up and just be more efficient at studying or learn where you need to let up

 

[RJGOP]

It honestly wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. However I think the workload at times was overwhelming. Fortunately I did well in everything, except for biochem. I never have and never will understand that crap. Didn't get it in highschool, didn't get it in college, didn't really get it this year either. But oh well...

Hopefully not perfectly understanding protein biosynthesis won't kill any future patients. Hopefully...

 

[studentdoct69]

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[studentdoct69]

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[studentdoct69]

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[Psai]

@JP2740 for an incoming medical student (freshman this upcoming year) bro, what advice would you give regarding girls. How often to hit on them? Only weekends? 1st and 2nd year require lots of studying and good board scores so no trying to get distracted etc

L m a o

 

[MedWonk]

You realize this will make zero difference at a P/F school. Do enough to pass your classes and focus on learning for the boards. Your rank will be determined by getting honors in third year. The only real obstacle is crushing step 1.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The beauty of a P/F unranked school. I haven't checked my test grades in months, because I figure if I'm doing poorly they'll tell me. Haven't heard anything, so I assume I'm doing just fine.

 

[jw3600]

I really don't understand why this bothers people so much. Everyone knows that it's some mix of self-reassurance/self-delusion..

You don't even need to wait for the cosmos to come up with some karmic consequence years from now in order to be proven right, you just have to wait until the Match..

Well to be fair. A lot of people are realistic and know their abilities. They know they are not dominating boards or finishing top 10%. They know they will probably end up in FM, psyche, peds or something that just does not really require a great class rank. This is totally fine. They will have more enjoyment in their medical school days. For them P=MD is really a reasonable motto.

Edit: To add, I think you are bothered by the people falling at the median or less who think they will then rock the boards and match very well while claiming rank does not matter. And I know people do achieve this, but it's just making it harder on yourself.