Things I Hate About Third Year

[Kaputt]

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Heh, it's not all bad (I love the flexibility in our schedule and my ability to do absolutely nothing for a day or two if I don't want to), but yeah - definitely looking forward to not memorizing the phonebook for a few hours of most days.

You still have to memorize the phonebook during 3rd year. Except this time you have to manage doing that in your precious couple of hours you have at home before you fall asleep.

Fair enough, I suppose I have been blinded by pre-clinical naivete. I haven't heard about any of these things from any student that has done rotations at our school though. There have been some complaints about grading but for the most part people seem to think they get what they earn. The only complaint I've heard multiple times is that a lot of time is spent doing nothing, which frankly is what I would expect. Still looking forward to it though if only for the change of pace.

(sent from my phone)

IRL, people tend to be less bitchy in public about their 3rd year experiences. I never let on except to my closest of friends that I am not having a good time.

 

[link2swim06]

Nah, man. Preclinicals give you free time, the ability to roll out of bed like a disheveled mess (if you're so inclined), lectures to skip, weekends completely off, enough of an open schedule that you can go out and have a beer whenever you feel like it, etc.

3rd year basically takes away that last bit of control you have over your schedule. Yeah, I realize that residency is far worse and it had to happen eventually. But I often think back longingly on those days where I could just go to coffeeshops all day and read.

I'd rather be in the clinic than studying anyday.

Third year is a lot better imo. There are ****ty parts illustrated by this thread but it's better than sitting in silence for hours everyday.

 

[Kaputt]

I'd rather be in the clinic than studying anyday.

Third year is a lot better imo. There are ****ty parts illustrated by this thread but it's better than sitting in silence for hours everyday.

Agree to disagree. Probably why I'm going to end up in rads and not a patient-care field, I guess.

 

[MossPoh]

I loved patients but found myself emotionally drained by the end, especially when nobody took their friggin meds or told gut wrenching stories I couldn't do crap about. Usually found myself clock watching during clinic, but that was because I was rarely intellectually engaged as well.

That is why I'm going into radiology...amongst other reasons.

 

[FIREitUP]

Look, a thread called "Things I Hate About Third Year" is probably going to result in some self-selection of posters. I'm getting down to my last rotations of MS3, and I've actually had a pretty good experience. Sure there are crappy things like grading inconsistencies, attendings that don't like teaching, etc. But I feel like I've learned a ton and actually have liked nearly all of the residents I've worked with. It may just be my school, but on all of my rotations my notes were used, I was taught procedures/OR stuff, and in general treated pretty well. You do have to go with the flow, though. A lot of med students are used to being in charge of things and having other people looking to them for guidance, which is obviously not going to happen. Also, pimping is to teach, not to embarrass. You're doing it wrong if you're still dwelling on that one question X resident asked you hours later. The point is to work hard, learn as much as you can, and pick a specialty. If you can do that while letting trivial things (oh no, a nurse yelled at you... who cares?) roll off your back and just be a chill/fun person to work with, in general you'll probably have a lot of fun.

nice to hear a balanced perspective, thanks

 

[45408]

They won't, but I'd imagine that if the students complained about doing useless stuff all the time, the school would look for new residents to teach.

Yeah, not so much.

 

[SKaminski]

Yeah, not so much.

Why not? Schools want to have good reputations, and if word gets around that most of the residents at x are trash, then they'll want to address it. I'd like to think that the medical schools are trying to be the best schools they can be, and make the best physicians that they can.

If that doesn't work, it'll sure as hell help me make a decision between school x and y, should i get accepted to both.

TLDR: only good things can come by repeatedly reporting these things, everywhere you can. Some resident is wasting 8 hours of your day? Go ahead and post it here, and report it anonymously.

 

[JourneyAgent]

Yeah, not so much.

powerful truth with style points for parsimony.

Ummm. Yeah, here's the thing, future 3rd years, he's gonna need us to come in this weekend-thanks. --Lumbergh aka everyone in the hospital.

 

[smq123]

Why not? Schools want to have good reputations, and if word gets around that most of the residents at x are trash, then they'll want to address it. I'd like to think that the medical schools are trying to be the best schools they can be, and make the best physicians that they can.

If that doesn't work, it'll sure as hell help me make a decision between school x and y, should i get accepted to both.

TLDR: only good things can come by repeatedly reporting these things, everywhere you can. Some resident is wasting 8 hours of your day? Go ahead and post it here, and report it anonymously.

The medical school has NO SAY in the residents chosen by their affiliated hospital. Harvard medical school has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with which residents come to Beth Israel Deaconness (one of their affiliated hospitals).

 

[45408]

Why not? Schools want to have good reputations, and if word gets around that most of the residents at x are trash, then they'll want to address it. I'd like to think that the medical schools are trying to be the best schools they can be, and make the best physicians that they can.

If that doesn't work, it'll sure as hell help me make a decision between school x and y, should i get accepted to both.

TLDR: only good things can come by repeatedly reporting these things, everywhere you can. Some resident is wasting 8 hours of your day? Go ahead and post it here, and report it anonymously.

There probably isn't that much variation among residents among programs that a given applicant is likely to be choosing from. There also isn't necessarily a correlation between the best residents and the best teaching residents.

Go ahead and post it here. I see nothing wrong with that. I also see a nearly nil chance of it impacting the school or the residency program.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Why not? Schools want to have good reputations, and if word gets around that most of the residents at x are trash, then they'll want to address it. I'd like to think that the medical schools are trying to be the best schools they can be, and make the best physicians that they can.

If that doesn't work, it'll sure as hell help me make a decision between school x and y, should i get accepted to both.

TLDR: only good things can come by repeatedly reporting these things, everywhere you can. Some resident is wasting 8 hours of your day? Go ahead and post it here, and report it anonymously.

LOL.

You don't want to come to x med school? It's all right, there's another warm body with the tuition money in hand ready to fill your place. Especially if you're applying to any sort of high end school, then the quality of applicants doesn't change much either.

 

[NickNaylor]

LOL.

You don't want to come to x med school? It's all right, there's another warm body with the tuition money in hand ready to fill your place. Especially if you're applying to any sort of high end school, then the quality of applicants doesn't change much either.

Yeah... prospective and current medical students are probably the least leveraged people in when it comes to admissions and medical education.

 

[Ok2Panic]

Why not? Schools want to have good reputations, and if word gets around that most of the residents at x are trash, then they'll want to address it. I'd like to think that the medical schools are trying to be the best schools they can be, and make the best physicians that they can.

If that doesn't work, it'll sure as hell help me make a decision between school x and y, should i get accepted to both.

TLDR: only good things can come by repeatedly reporting these things, everywhere you can. Some resident is wasting 8 hours of your day? Go ahead and post it here, and report it anonymously.

As everyone else has stated, an unfortunate, but very real fact of life:
Residents are not hired on their teaching skills. Most residents don't even get taught how to teach, neither are (most) professors, attendings, nurses, etc etc etc. I hate to sound cynical, but medical school is a little bit easier to swallow when you view the resident/attending/professor that's a fantastic teacher as a blessing and not a right, nor the norm.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

M3 blows for all the reasons mentioned above. That said, I generally didn't have an unpleasant experience overall. If you show up, work hard, don't act like a douche, read, try to know as much as you can (but be gracious when you don't know/are wrong), you'll generally do well. You can usually also just laugh at the occasional dbag residents because (at least on my rotations) one single eval didn't really have the ability to tank you that badly.

M4 is better in that there are no shelfs to study for, you're spending time applying/interviewing and finally thinking about your future, and you really don't have to put up with much bs anymore from residents or anyone else. Wanna go disimpact yet another 90 y/o pt? Nope...and if it results in a lower grade nobody gives a rip because grades don't matter anymore anyway.

M4 also sucks - but for different reasons. Our institution doesn't give M4s the right to do anything M3s can't do - and because our state specifically forbids note writing by med students, you basically still stand around with zero autonomy doing jack **** all day. You still don't have any sort of ownership or stake in the process, and you'll still be treated like another faceless med student who everyone will forget about in a few weeks. It also feels like an enormously pointless waste of time in comparison to third year. I was at the top of my game in terms of knowledge and drive when I did my sub-i right after taking step 2; I knew a ton of things the interns didn't. I really wish I could've just started my internship then. Now after eight months' worth of knowledge decay, I wonder how I'm going to regain that knowledge before internship starts. Yes, M4 feels like a big vacation in some ways, but after a certain point you kinda start feeling like a bored grade school kid at the end of summer...let's just get on with it already. (It doesn't help that my spouse and kid actually live in another state right now, so that's probably responsible for some of this feeling...but still.)

All in all, med school...kinda sucked. I actually enjoyed years 1/2 but the aimless, pointless, disorganized nature of year 3/4 clinical education in the US system really sucks all the joy out of it. Really looking forward to residency, where I'll finally actually have responsibility and an actual stake in the process (and a paycheck!)

 

[235009]

Our institution doesn't give M4s the right to do anything M3s can't do - and because our state specifically forbids note writing by med students, you basically still stand around with zero autonomy doing jack **** all day. You still don't have any sort of ownership or stake in the process, and you'll still be treated like another faceless med student who everyone will forget about in a few weeks.

wow. that really blows and i can see how that would really take away from your experience. glad i don't live in your state!

It also feels like an enormously pointless waste of time in comparison to third year. I was at the top of my game in terms of knowledge and drive when I did my sub-i right after taking step 2; I knew a ton of things the interns didn't. I really wish I could've just started my internship then. Now after eight months' worth of knowledge decay, I wonder how I'm going to regain that knowledge before internship starts. Yes, M4 feels like a big vacation in some ways, but after a certain point you kinda start feeling like a bored grade school kid at the end of summer...let's just get on with it already.

TOTALLY agree! on rounds now it is painfully obvious that i have forgotten a whole bunch of things I definitely knew at one point. this lag between doing clinical work that actually counts and the mach and then the start of residency is a comical waste of time.

 

[TChapmanwvu1]

You know what else sucks? Blue collar jobs, stop whining

 

[RadOnc04]

You know what else sucks? Blue collar jobs, stop whining

Why do we tolerate statements like this? We are clearly not working in a blue collar job environment but it can still "stink."

It's like saying you work in a corporate office but you cannot complain cause you are not working construction.... it's ridiculous. Both can be hard, stressful, full of politics, and BS.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Our institution doesn't give M4s the right to do anything M3s can't do - and because our state specifically forbids note writing by med students, you basically still stand around with zero autonomy doing jack **** all day.

When did this change? Who decided that medical students having notes co-signed by residents/attendings was unacceptable?

My rotations have been pretty uneven -- everything from writing the notes under my intern's login to writing notes and then having them co-signed by residents to writing "fake" notes that no one ever read (thanks, VA) to writing no notes at all. Each service has given me a different policy.

Sick of my education being undermined for obscure reasons. Why don't we just have a law that states that only attendings with at least 20 years experience write notes?

 

[JourneyAgent]

You know what else sucks?

You. You suck. Bags of fat ones.

 

[VisionaryTics]

You know what sucks? Forced labor.

Buncha crybabies around here, I tell you what.

 

[ijn]

When did this change? Who decided that medical students having notes co-signed by residents/attendings was unacceptable?

My rotations have been pretty uneven -- everything from writing the notes under my intern's login to writing notes and then having them co-signed by residents to writing "fake" notes that no one ever read (thanks, VA) to writing no notes at all. Each service has given me a different policy.

Sick of my education being undermined for obscure reasons. Why don't we just have a law that states that only attendings with at least 20 years experience write notes?

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has experienced this. I had one surgery attending who treated me like an intern - read my daily notes on all patients in his care, had us act on my plan, etc. Then I had pediatrics where I didn't write a single note for 8 weeks. My IM attendings seem to want a 2 sentence report and to follow the team around all morning. Yet all seem to give me good evaluations. The variability in expectations is ridiculous.

 

[JourneyAgent]

You know what sucks? Forced labor.

Buncha crybabies around here, I tell you what.

Forced labor? I'll tell you what sucks...the holocaust is what sucks! Bunch a crybabies cryin bout crybabies around here.

 

[evilbooyaa]

M4 also sucks - but for different reasons. Our institution doesn't give M4s the right to do anything M3s can't do - and because our state specifically forbids note writing by med students, you basically still stand around with zero autonomy doing jack **** all day. )

That statement alone is absolutely outrageous. Why the hell aren't you allowed to write progress notes on patients? I was most annoyed when I would go see a patient, report to the residents, but they didn't want me to write a note to put in the chart. I still ended up writing a note so I had all pertinent lab values, but it seemed like such a waste of time to not have to consider semantics, organization, etc. etc. so the note is legible and follows structure.

Seriously, med students pay out the ass, and for you to not be able to put anything in the MR of the patient by not writing notes... it's unfathomable that your state has a law like that.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has experienced this. I had one surgery attending who treated me like an intern - read my daily notes on all patients in his care, had us act on my plan, etc. Then I had pediatrics where I didn't write a single note for 8 weeks. My IM attendings seem to want a 2 sentence report and to follow the team around all morning. Yet all seem to give me good evaluations. The variability in expectations is ridiculous.

This is what my experience was for the past 3 weeks. The intern/junior would sign my note with any small addendums or things in the plan I wasn't sure on. Each day there was my full note, a 2-line resident addendum to it, then the attending's note.

 

[KnuxNole]

As long as med students don't get sued or held accountable, I don't see why that law needs to be in place. I can understand if it's not signed by an actual doctor, but that's usually not the case. Like mentioned, all notes are checked, with addendums for corrections, missed things and the real A+P followed by the important signature.

 

[Stellar Clouds]

As long as med students don't get sued or held accountable, I don't see why that law needs to be in place. I can understand if it's not signed by an actual doctor, but that's usually not the case. Like mentioned, all notes are checked, with addendums for corrections, missed things and the real A+P followed by the important signature.

Probably has some thing to do with money...I have to imagine there was some dispute over billing from a student note.

 

[username456789]

As long as med students don't get sued or held accountable, I don't see why that law needs to be in place. I can understand if it's not signed by an actual doctor, but that's usually not the case. Like mentioned, all notes are checked, with addendums for corrections, missed things and the real A+P followed by the important signature.

When a medical student note is placed into the chart, it becomes a permanent part of that patient's medical record. The hospital can and will be accountable for the contents therein. It's bad enough that as an intern my attendants trust my notes and never really read them, but with an M3 even if they do try to go over your notes beforehand, the chances of you writing something incorrect that eventually becomes a point of legal contention increases. Sure, it's unlikely to end up in trouble, but a lot of states/hospitals would rather not take that chance.

 

[BeastInfection]

Just wanted to say I love this thread. Always avoided reading it during first and second year because it was such a bummer but reading it now and seeing how spot on it is is not only entertaining but a comforting reminder that everyone has gone/is going through the same **** I am and dealing with the same insecurities I thought were just my own. Amazing that so much of this stuff is universal amongst med schools

 

[Dwindlin]

When a medical student note is placed into the chart, it becomes a permanent part of that patient's medical record. The hospital can and will be accountable for the contents therein. It's bad enough that as an intern my attendants trust my notes and never really read them, but with an M3 even if they do try to go over your notes beforehand, the chances of you writing something incorrect that eventually becomes a point of legal contention increases. Sure, it's unlikely to end up in trouble, but a lot of states/hospitals would rather not take that chance.

The hospitals in this area use Epic and the students have their own area called "Epic Playground."

They can write notes that are visible to everyone while the patient is admitted. Soon as an order to discharge is placed anything under the category "*** Student Note" is wiped and not associated with the legal medical record.

 

[Trogghunter]

3rd 4th year is sweet. My hospital gives us a lot of autonomy, full access, and minimal obligations. We do everything short of sign for orders that we recommend/place. Consults are staffed and notes sometimes stand alone on the busier services. Its all included in the official record. Several huge hospitals within our system and every subspecialty that I've heard of and several that I haven't. Ie I just looked up a patient today, and it was scary because the death certificate and course of hospitalization has my name on it.

I don't understand how 'teaching hospitals' are putting up such restrictions and are blocking students out of patient care. How will we learn? Last week my resident ordered an echo for my patient because I noticed a widening pulse pressure from admission. Intubated so could hear a murmur. Justified it because....'this is a teaching hospital, you'll remember wide pp forever if it turns up AR'. THAT is tuition well spent.

For rising 3rd years, if your school has multiple hospitals, go to one that is understaffed/overfilled. You'll have real duties and obligations. Your time won't be a waste, and you will learn ---whether you want to or not.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

 

[Dwindlin]

3rd 4th year is sweet. My hospital gives us a lot of autonomy, full access, and minimal obligations. We do everything short of sign for orders that we recommend/place. Consults are staffed and notes sometimes stand alone on the busier services. Its all included in the official record. Several huge hospitals within our system and every subspecialty that I've heard of and several that I haven't. Ie I just looked up a patient today, and it was scary because the death certificate and course of hospitalization has my name on it.

I don't understand how 'teaching hospitals' are putting up such restrictions and are blocking students out of patient care. How will we learn? Last week my resident ordered an echo for my patient because I noticed a widening pulse pressure from admission. Intubated so could hear a murmur. Justified it because....'this is a teaching hospital, you'll remember wide pp forever if it turns up AR'. THAT is tuition well spent.

For rising 3rd years, if your school has multiple hospitals, go to one that is understaffed/overfilled. You'll have real duties and obligations. Your time won't be a waste, and you will learn ---whether you want to or not.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

As is the answer to 99% of life's questions. Follow the money. It's a billing issue for students to document in the legal record.

 

[D elegans]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

 

[FIREitUP]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

you need to get laid or something bro

 

[deleted307836]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

I think I became clinically depressed just reading this post.

 

[KnuxNole]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

Surgery can be like a real nasty kidney stone. Hurts like hell, but with due time, will pass 😎

 

[Arbor Vitae]

fml, I'm starting at a school with 1.5 years pre-clinical, I hope that means 4th year is super chill

 

[evilbooyaa]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

Well done. 👍

 

[dudeliness]

This thread gives me so much to look forward to. Lol

 

[da8s0859q]

Surgery. I know it's a common theme here (seems like the vast majority of comments), but standing for hours doing next to nothing just waiting for my excellent privilege of cutting sutures at the end of the case while being asked some obscure/obscurely-worded question every 1.5 hours that I get wrong all while under the overly-scrutinizing eyes of the scrub nurse while I am certain that I have watched the residents/attendings contaminate the field several times while listening to awful frat-rock that I loathe in a hot OR with sweat dripping down the inside of the shielded face mask I foolishly wore dreaming about sleeping but knowing that I am going to have to look up a bunch of crap on the patients I'm "following" which means being absolutely prepared to be asked any question on the patients during rounds the next day but instead being asked some completely tangential question that I am going to have to add to the stack of nonsense I'm supposed to look up the next day that the attending will forget to ask me about anyway

Hang in there. I hated it too.

 

[MossPoh]

Rack pulls aren't bad. I tend to recommend them as a replacement to people with mobility issues or newbies....or people with lockout problems, although I prefer lifting off blocks or suspended chains. Seems a little easier to get positioned right and is better for the bar. Not as jolting to the body as well.

If your gym happens to have a safety squat bar, that is a great alternative to dead lifting if off of a low box, especially if starting at the bottom of the lift, but at top works fine too.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Rack pulls aren't bad. I tend to recommend them as a replacement to people with mobility issues or newbies....or people with lockout problems, although I prefer lifting off blocks or suspended chains. Seems a little easier to get positioned right and is better for the bar. Not as jolting to the body as well.

If your gym happens to have a safety squat bar, that is a great alternative to dead lifting if off of a low box, especially if starting at the bottom of the lift, but at top works fine too.

This isn't misc bro.... I'm so confused as to this post.

 

[tco]

Rack pulls aren't bad. I tend to recommend them as a replacement to people with mobility issues or newbies....or people with lockout problems, although I prefer lifting off blocks or suspended chains. Seems a little easier to get positioned right and is better for the bar. Not as jolting to the body as well.

If your gym happens to have a safety squat bar, that is a great alternative to dead lifting if off of a low box, especially if starting at the bottom of the lift, but at top works fine too.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

My attending confused me for one of our patients today. Though I guess knowing my name and thinking it belongs to someone else is better than earlier in the day when she could not remember it. This is our 8th day working together. (I didn't think this deserved a things I hate about 4th year thread since 4th year is generally great.)

 

[D elegans]

My attending confused me for one of our patients today. Though I guess knowing my name and thinking it belongs to someone else is better than earlier in the day when she could not remember it. This is our 8th day working together. (I didn't think this deserved a things I hate about 4th year thread since 4th year is generally great.)

Sometimes I wish attendings would forget who I am

 

[manders31]

Time for a little vent thread, for my sanity. Feel free to add your own....

1) Putting 4 hours of work into a 12 hour day. No, I don't want to watch you write notes. No, I don't want to listen to you talk on the phone to your girlfriend. No, I don't want to type you a 349th practice H&P that doesn't count. If we're done here, let me go home. If this were the corporate world, this stuff would never be acceptable.

Someone might have already said this but I got over this by having things to read with me at all times. I have Step Up to Medicine on my tablet. At places that have WiFi I can access UpToDate and my UWorld questions. Would I rather go home and study in a comfy spot? Of course! But sometimes you have to do what you have to do 🙂

 

[gonesurfing]

Yay a thread about how much third year sucks!!! I'm loving it.

I don't know where to start...I hate how my school counts shelf exams as 50%. And that you can't honor unless you honor the shelf. I've honored clinically for the past two and got 100% but don't honor cuz I'm having trouble honoring the shelf exams 🙁 not sure why but I've never gotten such low test scores in my life.

I'm noticing that third year has a lot of BS. Ppl hate u because you are a med student. Sometimes u get teamed with other students who try to get u in trouble all the time (WTF?). And these students kiss so much ass that the attending starts to play favorites.

Ugh it's too early and I can't quite get all my bitching out. But ya third year sucks. I liked the first 2 years better just because of the objectivity. Now I can work 3x as hard but not get do as well as someone who get lucky and gets a super easy attending and doesn't show up to 1/3 of their rotation and can doesn't that time studying :/

 

[FIREitUP]

Yay a thread about how much third year sucks!!! I'm loving it.

I don't know where to start...I hate how my school counts shelf exams as 50%. And that you can't honor unless you honor the shelf. I've honored clinically for the past two and got 100% but don't honor cuz I'm having trouble honoring the shelf exams 🙁 not sure why but I've never gotten such low test scores in my life.

I'm noticing that third year has a lot of BS. Ppl hate u because you are a med student. Sometimes u get teamed with other students who try to get u in trouble all the time (WTF?). And these students kiss so much ass that the attending starts to play favorites.

Ugh it's too early and I can't quite get all my bitching out. But ya third year sucks. I liked the first 2 years better just because of the objectivity. Now I can work 3x as hard but not get do as well as someone who get lucky and gets a super easy attending and doesn't show up to 1/3 of their rotation and can doesn't that time studying :/

wait, so basically you're complaining that the only objective part which is the shelf exam is counted too much, but you're also complaining that third year is not as objective as preclinical years?

 

[Dr. USMLE]

wait, so basically you're complaining that the only objective part which is the shelf exam is counted too much, but you're also complaining that third year is not as objective as preclinical years?

I think the complaint is actually that there is not an equal amount of time to study for the objective test so it's not fair or representative. That's actually a valid complaint. Time to study for shelves can be dramatically different just within a school, forget about between different schools.

 

[NickNaylor]

I think the complaint is actually that there is not an equal amount of time to study for the objective test so it's not fair or representative. That's actually a valid complaint. Time to study for shelves can be dramatically different just within a school, forget about between different schools.

Yeah. My only issue with the shelves thus far are that they are pretty comprehensive relative to the amount of time I've had to study for them. Sure, when I get a case that is a good "classic" case there's broad overlap between clinical work and what will be tested on the boards, but the reality is that day-to-day work does not help me prepare for the shelf as a general rule. If the shelf is going to count for 25% (or whatever portion) of my final grade, then I should have a commensurate amount of time to study for it. 12+ hours/day, 6 days/week most of the time preoccupied with clinic (which can, at times, also have some study time) limits my ability to sit down and study. At this point I WANT full days of studying a la the MS2 days because I WANT to learn this stuff, but time is pretty limited.

 

[514901]

'1) Putting 4 hours of work into a 12 hour day. No, I don't want to watch you write notes. No, I don't want to listen to you talk on the phone to your girlfriend. No, I don't want to type you a 349th practice H&P that doesn't count. If we're done here, let me go home. If this were the corporate world, this stuff would never be acceptable.'

I have to agree 100% with this--I just want to do the ward rounds, do admissions on my own, write in the progress notes and then go home so I can study. It's annoying as hell having to waste 2-3 hours a day with the consultant making small talk with everyone in existence and going on the phone every 10 minutes