summer before med school

[happy2Bdoc]

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so what did you med students do the summer before med school? i'm guessing most did the traveling/recharging thing? if you did travel, where did you go and how did you go about planning the trip? i really want to go somewhere, but since i've never really traveled before, do you think its a good idea that i go with a tourist group? or is it much more fun (and less expensive) if i did the planning myself? advice appreciated! 🙂

 

[DocYuki]

I am an accepted college senior, so this coming summer, before I begin medical school, I plan on just hanging around and working with a few vacations in here and there.

I get the feeling that 99% of everyone says it is best to just hang out and chill before you start - there will be plenty of time to hit the grind-stone. Some people brush up on biochemistry or anatomy and while that can't hurt, there's absolutely nothing wrong with chilling! That's what I'm gonna do!

 

[inked_caduceus]

My advice is to travel on your own. You'll want some time to yourself before you throw yourself into med school - there's plenty of introduction time there during orientation.

I traveled to DC, San Fran, New Zealand and Australia between 1st and 2nd years and it was the best thing I could have done for myself. Cheaper, too - the key is to book flights with 23 hour layovers in interesting cities. 🙂

 

[vtucci]

I would suggest traveling as well. Tourist groups are good and bad-- you have to stick to their schedule and see the items on the list (i.e., if you want to spend an extra day in Paris, Milan, Prague, Rio whatever, you can't).

If I had the money prior to med school, I would have gone to Europe, bought a Eurorail pass and traveled everywhere throughout the month. They have books to help you plan trips-- Rick Steves' is one.

Does your medical school have a website for incoming students? Maybe you can organize a trip with a couple of your new classmates.