Suffering "Newbie". Real World Advice is Valued.

[AJHook]

Greetings all,

For those who read, I'll attempt to make this as concise as possible.

Brief rewind:
I was a terrible student in high school. I had the worst habits imaginable. My inherent laziness and insistence on doing what I wanted when I wanted never served me academically. Despite being intelligent, I never wanted to own my intellect. I was a rebel through and through.
I was raised in a musical family, and had been a musician since the age of three. Playing music was what I knew best. Because I didn't see myself going any further based on my academics, I "decided" to go to music school. After graduating (barely) high school, I was offered a full ride scholarship to music school. I grew to dislike the school, the city, and after a year, decided to drop out. In doing so I forfeited my scholarship, but in short, I wasn't ready to commit to college level education. I worked in music retailed, gigged, and gave instruction to earn my keep. It was not until several years later that I decided once again to return to music school. I took auditions, was accepted to a highly prestigious conservatory, and was awarded a hefty sum of scholarship money. Alas, my choice was not fueled by a desire to be in school, but rather was driven by my ego. I dropped out five months later. I was 24.

Now:
I'm 28 and have had to completely reevaluate my relationship with music. I'll play until the day I die, but needless to say, it's a financial GRIND. I came by my interest in medicine very directly; very honestly. My father is a neurologist, and has been for most of my life. I always have had inherent curiosity about medicine and science in general, but never believed that I could ever do such things...Until I realized, maybe I can. It became clear to me that medicine is the path that I not only want to take, but in a way is my duty/calling/destiny. This to me is slightly TERRIFYING. I've never in my life aimed for such a goal! I applied to community college and in my first year of taking pre-reqs, made a 4.0. I did nothing but schoolwork, lift weights, and sleep (practiced guitar too). But I had no (or at least barely) social/dating life, something I had grown accustomed to over the years of being a musician. In recent months I have reincorporated more social and dating aspects in my life and as a result, this semester will negatively affect my GPA. There is no way around it. Finding a balance with the aforementioned has presented its challenges for me. Additionally, I've begun to feel slightly burned out. Bear in mind, this is the LONGEST I've VOLUNTARILY been in school, which in reality is nothing compared to what I will need to accomplish long term. I do find ways to keep myself motivated, but I frequently wonder whether or not I am doing enough. I know for a fact that this semester has not been the ideal picture for a premed, and I know what I must do in the future to show that I can hack it.

I have a most emphatically LONG road ahead. I could use some advice/guidance.

Questions to you all:
-Is it normal to feel a little burned out at times? (I've never made it this far in school, it feels like a game of hurry up and wait...)
-I do not have a strong academic background, nor did I develop good habits with school. While I am learning constantly and developing these skills now, am I delusional or insane for wanting to undertake such an endeavor?
-How do you all balance your academic-social lives?
-Tips for staying focused long term and not allowing distractions to derail your progress?
-I still work part time in music retail, but I have roughly 25 hours shadowing an orthopedic surgeon/clinic. Is it time to get my ass working in the medical field? Get real hands experience, and get paid (some)?

-Thanks for your time

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[backside_attack]

1. This entire career is a game of hurry up and wait; medicine is not for those who cannot handle the prospect of delayed gratification. Burn out is normal at all stages, but knowing how to overcome it will set you apart from those that have given up already.

2. You are not delusional. Instead of focusing on how you haven't been a good student in the past, think about what you are doing now to be successful and what is not so successful. Do what works, eliminate what doesn't. You'll have to readjust periodically along the way - especially when it comes to subjects you are not excelling in. I still do this all the time.

3. You are the only one who sets your priorities. Know them, and focus on them first. If social life is a huge priority for you, then you will set aside time in your schedule to make it happen. I find I am more productive when I have things scheduled (I want to get my stuff done on time so that I can relax with my friends/spouse and not have studying nagging me in the back of my mind). It takes discipline but if having a social life is important to you and it gives you energy, you will find how to balance it. And don't force it. If dating is getting in the way of things right now it is totally fine to be more casual or to just say "meh, not this semester" and focus on friendships instead. Again, you set your priorities.

4. I can easily get de-railed by bumps in the road. Set short term and long term goals. Short term: I want to get X grade in X class. Long term: I want to be a freaking physician. When you start to feel like you're missing the forest for the trees, go shadow. Get your father to help you find some clinical observation opportunities; they should reenergize you on this path (and if they don't, perhaps this isn't the path for you).

5. Try scribing. The pay is not great but the experience was awesome and it is basically paid shadowing.

It seems to me through your post that you are very honest with yourself, and that is hugely important. I think you have good insight into your own skills/abilities as well as your past short-comings, how to do better, and have already realized what has negatively impacted your more recent foray into academics.

 

[cellsaver]

1. i have never felt burnt out about anything so i can not relate to the concept
2. it is never too late to learn new skills. It's called evolution. you are very young. Get counseling at a university academic center to acquire efficient study skills. Do not do it on your own.
3. there is little social life in medical school. marry your books and post-bacc classes. There's always time later in life to party
4. associate with people who are living the dream. ask them to mentor you, get to know them, ask them for their input.
as for distractions, the answer is "no". Learn to say "no" to others and "no" to most American trends.
5. get your ass in a hospital, push a mop in an OR, ER or hospital floor, get to know physicians/nurses, apply for clinical jobs when they become available where you don't need a fancy degree, and then you're cruising.

You'd be surprised how far you can get by cleaning toilets and meeting the right people that can open your doors

 

[shouldigomd]

1) Yes, it is. I was burned out after finishing basic sciences, burned out after studying for steps, exhausted after residency interviews, wondering if i made the right choices after graduating med school, etc etc. Everyone has some struggles but you need to find a way to grind through it / cope with the stress.

2) I failed out of college and got rejected from every med school. I had to go carib and scored 90th percentile on my boards and matched my #1 residency. I am no genius. Pure hard work so you can do it if you want it bad enough. I started med school with nothing but desire.

3) Everyone is different. Some people are happy with B's and C's while others want to be the absolute best they can. Regardless of what you choose you will have free time to enjoy. Music, working out, partying, etc etc. It is all about finding balance. I exercised nearly every day in med school and I went out many Friday nights and played sports saturdays. Those things that clear your mind / relieve your stress are vital to your success. The idea that you don't have any time to do that is a fallacy. Obviously as someone in the med profession, you won't have as much time as other "normal jobs." In terms of dating / social... it can be tough during med school but you need to do it with the right balance. You can go out on friday night but perhaps not until 5am black out drunk so your saturday is shot.

4) Tips for staying focused depends on you but... Be organized and schedule your goals. Don't procrastinate and "just do it." Incorporate things to relieve your stress and find the methods to maximize your study time. Going to the library for 7 hours to study is dumb imo but so many people do it. Instead I would go study for 2 hours, get lunch, go study somewhere else for 2 hours, hit the gym, study at my place for 2 hours, etc etc. Push comes to shove though its a grind and you have to have the motivation to push when the going gets tough (which it will). Nearly everyone struggles in med school either with grades, socially, adapting, family, etc etc but you have to keep on.

 

[Goro]

You need to shadow some more doctors, preferably one in Primary Care.
Working or volunteering, it doesn't matter. You need to discover if you really want to be around sick and injured people for the next 30-40 years, and also know what you're getting into. You will also need to so some non-clinical volunteering to show off your altruistic side. Medicine is a service profession.

-I still work part time in music retail, but I have roughly 25 hours shadowing an orthopedic surgeon/clinic. Is it time to get my ass working in the medical field? Get real hands experience, and get paid (some)?