Sports and Med School

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np126

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Current med students, do you think it is possible to play a club sport while you are in med school? I was an athlete as an undergrad and would love to continue playing in med school. Club sports are much less time demanding (1-2 practices a week and games on weekends for on season) but don't know if it is feasible
 
It definitely is possible. This guy from my med school was on the football team for undergrad, mainly because he went there as well.
 
First 2 years, it depends on how strict your school is on attendance, but most schools are flexible enough for you to do it. Starting in clinical years (mid way through MS2 or more commonly MS3), it will be next to impossible to commit to regularly scheduled practices or games. If it is what you value and are willing to sacrifice on other fronts, there is absolutely time to play sports or pretty much do anything. But, you will have to be relatively flexible or do things that can be scheduled to match your clinical schedule rather than the other way around. For example, I rock climbed 3 days a week through medical school and played basketball 2-3 other days a week. It was a priority for me. But, I sometimes had to do those at odd hours, sometimes early morning, sometimes late at night, etc.
 
We have a very active rugby team that plays against graduate schools across the northeast as well as an IM basketball league that has 2 games/week for every team, a club soccer team that has games every weekend, and I think we have an active squash ladder too. Nearly everyone stays active somehow, whether that's playing a sport, running, weightlifting, or something else. It's very possible to do if you're willing to put in the time. If you're good at managing your own time, you should be able to do so.
 
mimelim said:
First 2 years, it depends on how strict your school is on attendance, but most schools are flexible enough for you to do it. Starting in clinical years (mid way through MS2 or more commonly MS3), it will be next to impossible to commit to regularly scheduled practices or games. If it is what you value and are willing to sacrifice on other fronts, there is absolutely time to play sports or pretty much do anything. But, you will have to be relatively flexible or do things that can be scheduled to match your clinical schedule rather than the other way around. For example, I rock climbed 3 days a week through medical school and played basketball 2-3 other days a week. It was a priority for me. But, I sometimes had to do those at odd hours, sometimes early morning, sometimes late at night, etc.
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This may be a stupid question, but has rock climbing ever affected your surgical performance? I've been a pretty avid climber but after intense training sesh's I struggle w/ opening doors and have dropped things while waiting and in the kitchen (undergrad jobs)
 
lalarubies said:
This may be a stupid question, but has rock climbing ever affected your surgical performance? I've been a pretty avid climber but after intense training sesh's I struggle w/ opening doors and have dropped things while waiting and in the kitchen (undergrad jobs)
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I stopped bouldering entirely and limit myself to nothing harder than 5.12 and now do almost exclusively endurance climbing. I also do not climb trad or anything that requires finger jams. There is still injury risk, but at least it is limited. With regards to fatigue, I have had days where I have been sore in the OR, but never so much that it has affected what I am doing.
 
mimelim said:
I stopped bouldering entirely and limit myself to nothing harder than 5.12 and now do almost exclusively endurance climbing. I also do not climb trad or anything that requires finger jams. There is still injury risk, but at least it is limited. With regards to fatigue, I have had days where I have been sore in the OR, but never so much that it has affected what I am doing.
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That's awesome. I always thought I'd have to give it up when it came down to practicing. Good to know the dirtbag life can continue, for the most part.
 
drwoofs said:
That's awesome. I always thought I'd have to give it up when it came down to practicing. Good to know the dirtbag life can continue, for the most part.
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All depends on what you go into and your risk tolerance. Surgery, most people would say its pretty iffy. Most other things, totally fine. One of our attending cardiologists is a pretty avid ice climber. One of my friends who is an intern this year picked his residency program based on proximity to good climbing (matched less than 2 hours from Red River Gorge). Definitely doable. Gotta always think about consequences and may have to modify what you do, but plenty of people out there that do it.
 
mimelim said:
All depends on what you go into and your risk tolerance. Surgery, most people would say its pretty iffy. Most other things, totally fine. One of our attending cardiologists is a pretty avid ice climber. One of my friends who is an intern this year picked his residency program based on proximity to good climbing (matched less than 2 hours from Red River Gorge). Definitely doable. Gotta always think about consequences and may have to modify what you do, but plenty of people out there that do it.
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Cool, thanks for your response. I guess it's time to give up bouldering & focus on that power endurance for sport. Matching close to RRG or Red rocks would be the dream. Do you have much time to get outside?
 
mimelim said:
All depends on what you go into and your risk tolerance. Surgery, most people would say its pretty iffy. Most other things, totally fine. One of our attending cardiologists is a pretty avid ice climber. One of my friends who is an intern this year picked his residency program based on proximity to good climbing (matched less than 2 hours from Red River Gorge). Definitely doable. Gotta always think about consequences and may have to modify what you do, but plenty of people out there that do it.
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Bolded is brilliant hah.

I will probably not graduate to multipitch climbing ever or aid climbing. I was pondering what specialty would be most ideal for climbing. I feel like ER would be pretty awesome 3 days on 4 days off. Can intubate with finger injuries... It's not a bad idea to pick up the more relaxed mountaineering sports I guess as well. I feel like the risk for ice climbing is worse. Something about ice and climbing freaks me out.
 
lalarubies said:
Cool, thanks for your response. I guess it's time to give up bouldering & focus on that power endurance for sport. Matching close to RRG or Red rocks would be the dream. Do you have much time to get outside?
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I'mean in a terrible location for out doors 🙁. Do get out a couple of times a year, but am actually going on a climbing trip to China in a few months. 🙂 Getu Valley (look up Petzl rock trip 2011 on youtube)
 
Has been a couple weeks since I have logged on, but thanks for all your responses! Good to know that people are able to manage both
 
np126 said:
Current med students, do you think it is possible to play a club sport while you are in med school? I was an athlete as an undergrad and would love to continue playing in med school. Club sports are much less time demanding (1-2 practices a week and games on weekends for on season) but don't know if it is feasible
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Definitely possible . The trickiest part is making away games/tournaments.
 
Glad I did this search. I'm considering rugby but I'm nervous I wouldn't have time.
 
Definitely possible though the particular school will play a role. I think it's well worth while to get out of the library and sweat a little.
 
Willy38 said:
Definitely possible though the particular school will play a role. I think it's well worth while to get out of the library and sweat a little.
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You on the Yale med school baseball team? 😉
 
The club sports at my school have 3 practices a week... a bit too much for my tastes.

Too bad there's no intramurals.
 
mimelim said:
I stopped bouldering entirely and limit myself to nothing harder than 5.12 and now do almost exclusively endurance climbing. I also do not climb trad or anything that requires finger jams. There is still injury risk, but at least it is limited. With regards to fatigue, I have had days where I have been sore in the OR, but never so much that it has affected what I am doing.
Click to expand...
Sorry for bumping this, but do you think it would be wise to stop bouldering entirely even during med school? After sending my first highball this past weekend (and a pretty chossy highball at that), I'm definitely questioning my interest in bouldering even though residency is 4+ years away. I definitely don't plan on continuing to climb highballs, but would you say it's even too risky to just boulder in gyms?
 
walloobi said:
Sorry for bumping this, but do you think it would be wise to stop bouldering entirely even during med school? After sending my first highball this past weekend (and a pretty chossy highball at that), I'm definitely questioning my interest in bouldering even though residency is 4+ years away. I definitely don't plan on continuing to climb highballs, but would you say it's even too risky to just boulder in gyms?
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Depends entirely on your risk tolerance. I had classmates their picked their residency based on proximity to good climbing. They also continued boldering and trad climbing through med school/residency. But, for me personally, no, not worth it and without significant limitations I couldn't have found reasonable disability insurance either. I have been injured twice while rock climbing. Both times bouldering and both times indoors. For me personally it was a no brainer.
 
mimelim said:
All depends on what you go into and your risk tolerance. Surgery, most people would say its pretty iffy. Most other things, totally fine. One of our attending cardiologists is a pretty avid ice climber. One of my friends who is an intern this year picked his residency program based on proximity to good climbing (matched less than 2 hours from Red River Gorge). Definitely doable. Gotta always think about consequences and may have to modify what you do, but plenty of people out there that do it.
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What happens to a surgeon during residency if he breaks his arm? Do you observe for a couple months, do scut work, both?
 
mimelim said:
Depends entirely on your risk tolerance. I had classmates their picked their residency based on proximity to good climbing. They also continued boldering and trad climbing through med school/residency. But, for me personally, no, not worth it and without significant limitations I couldn't have found reasonable disability insurance either. I have been injured twice while rock climbing. Both times bouldering and both times indoors. For me personally it was a no brainer.
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Got it, that's a bit disappointing to hear but I'm glad I'm hearing it before it's too late. Thanks for your input!
 
Endoxifen said:
What happens to a surgeon during residency if he breaks his arm? Do you observe for a couple months, do scut work, both?
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Depends on your level. Could probably get swapped onto a critical care month or in integrated, maybe cardiology/neurology/vascular medicine or some similar rotation. But, those are all generally early in your training. If it happens later, you will be in somewhat of a bind. You can only miss 4 weeks before you are not allowed to progress to the next level. I'd like to think that most residencies would figure out some way to fudge things, but I can see some not, especially the bigger ones.
 
mimelim said:
Depends on your level. Could probably get swapped onto a critical care month or in integrated, maybe cardiology/neurology/vascular medicine or some similar rotation. But, those are all generally early in your training. If it happens later, you will be in somewhat of a bind. You can only miss 4 weeks before you are not allowed to progress to the next level. I'd like to think that most residencies would figure out some way to fudge things, but I can see some not, especially the bigger ones.
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So the moral of the story is, if you're a surgeon, your hands are your life. Good to know!
 
Endoxifen said:
So the moral of the story is, if you're a surgeon, your hands are your life. Good to know!
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Your life is your life. Your hands are a part of your job. Life doesn't end if you can't do your job. But, man will it suck to have done as much training as you have invested and not be able to do it, especially if you love it. It is all about calculated risks.
 
mimelim said:
Depends entirely on your risk tolerance. I had classmates their picked their residency based on proximity to good climbing. They also continued boldering and trad climbing through med school/residency. But, for me personally, no, not worth it and without significant limitations I couldn't have found reasonable disability insurance either. I have been injured twice while rock climbing. Both times bouldering and both times indoors. For me personally it was a no brainer.
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This is an interesting conversation. What are you doing now? Just leading in the gym?
 
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Anyone old enough to remember the episode of ER where surgeon Dr Romano had an arm cut off by a helicopter blade? It didn't end well for him, either.


mimelim said:
Your life is your life. Your hands are a part of your job. Life doesn't end if you can't do your job. But, man will it suck to have done as much training as you have invested and not be able to do it, especially if you love it. It is all about calculated risks.
Click to expand...
 
walloobi said:
Sorry for bumping this, but do you think it would be wise to stop bouldering entirely even during med school? After sending my first highball this past weekend (and a pretty chossy highball at that), I'm definitely questioning my interest in bouldering even though residency is 4+ years away. I definitely don't plan on continuing to climb highballs, but would you say it's even too risky to just boulder in gyms?
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I did my first highball over winter break at Joshua Tree. Sketchy asf. If I can find the picture I'll send it to you! I am unsure about stopping bouldering entirely during medical school, but I am curious to hear what other think.
 
Nave said:
I did my first highball over winter break at Joshua Tree. Sketchy asf. If I can find the picture I'll send it to you! I am unsure about stopping bouldering entirely during medical school, but I am curious to hear what other think.
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Found it haha! This picture doesn't do it any justice...
 
Nave said:
This is an interesting conversation. What are you doing now? Just leading in the gym?
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I do endurance climbing. Most of what I do is indoors because of where I live, but I make several trips a year to get in some outdoor sport as well. I did Timewave Zero maybe a month or so ago: Time Wave Zero

Then I also do endurance competitions as well. 250+ pitches in 36 hours kind of thing.
 
mimelim said:
I do endurance climbing. Most of what I do is indoors because of where I live, but I make several trips a year to get in some outdoor sport as well. I did Timewave Zero maybe a month or so ago: Time Wave Zero

Then I also do endurance competitions as well. 250+ pitches in 36 hours kind of thing.
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That's really interesting. How did you get into that?
 
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