Things to do between 1st and 2nd year

[energy_girl]

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Summer is still a bit far off , particularly with holidays looming ahead of us. I've been wondering, though, what I should so do the summer between 1st and 2nd year. My school has 2 1/2 months off, which I think is typical. MS1s: do you know yet what you're going to be doing? Other med students: do you have any interesting experiences to share? I know people do things like research or primary care preceptorships, but I would particularly like to hear about public health or health policy internships or time spent abroad.

 

[Starflyr]

My plans for the summer pretty much all revolve around one thing: my wedding. Preparation for it, the event itself, and our honeymoon (any suggestions, anybody? we were going to go to the mediterranean - but we decided that we would like to at least survive the honeymoon). We get 2 months off, and Im getting married right smack dab in the middle, so no preceptorships for me.

If I werent getting married, Id do preceptorship - but only one. Ive seen some of the MS2s that tried to do 2 of them and it was ..well..perhaps not the best idea. Research? well, depends. Here you have to do it for the full 8 weeks (ick). There is always the option of just hanging out and enjoying your last summer ever, too.

Star

 

[Mig2x]

Im a MS2 and used my summer to rest ( you'll need it) and to review things that i thougth i had problems with in first year. I review some topics in anatomy and physiology . And again, rest, very important.

 

[SocialistMD]

Clinical research at Ben Taub. Oh, the fun I will be having...

 

[guardian]

Basic science research at my med school. Me at the lab bench, creating a big ole mess 😎

 

[rubyness]

A doctor who runs a local women's health clinic offers students a work study position for the summer. She teaches her students to do well woman care and lets you take care of patients who are there for their annual visits. Very cool. I am going to apply for this during the 1/2 year summer break. Pretty scary--it's the last summer break we'll get!

 

[ghostcow]

What I did was fly to Phoenix catch a Braves game and then drove to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, L.A., Yosemite, San Fancisco then up through Oregon and finally Seattle. There were 4 of us who made the whole trip, and we had another 6 people make little parts of the trip. Ah, 18 day trip what a blast. I am so glad I did that, I've got the rest of my life to work.
PEACE

 

[Sonya]

If you're interested in places where you can do something medically abroad, or in goverment, e-mail me [email protected]. I haven't done any, but i considered several programs. oh, I'm not a medstudent, yet.

 

[Ai]

Starflyr,

I highly recommend Thailand. I have traveled to many countries around the world and I think Thailand would be my first choice. (The Greek islands are a close second.) Thailand is beautiful, the food is incredible and the prices are low. If you're interested let me know, and I'll give you some suggestions. 🙂

 

[Starflyr]

Ai - I would DEFINITELY like some suggestions! Thank you! My brother went to Thailand last winter for his 3 week vacation, and he loved it. I know almost nothing about travelling in the East though - Ive been to europe and the middle east, but not that far over. And yes, the Greek Isles sound great - but the Med is just a *little* too close for my taste right now...

Star

 

[Ai]

Starflyr - I lived in Japan for a year and traveled to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia during my time in Asia. All are wonderful but Thailand was my favorite. Send me a private message (unless anyone else is interested in being in on the discussion 🙂 ) and let me know what type of traveling you'd like to do, staying in big resorts or going to smaller, more local places. I did a little bit of both. In Thailand we mostly backpacked and in Indonesia we stayed at resorts. Thinking about it makes me all nostalgic! I could use a vacation right now 🙂

 

[Ai]

Travel. Buy yourself a backpack and a plane ticket, and go to some area of the world that you've always wanted to go. Get yourself a job to get by. When you want to move on, get another job where you end up. If the uncertainty of that is a little too much, go to another country and work as an English teacher for a year or two. Most people don't realize what a valuable skill we have being native English speakers. You could walk into a job in many different countries. Traveling and spending some time abroad meeting people from different countries, with different backgrounds, will give you some wonderful perspective on life. Good luck 🙂

 

[Ai]

Oops!! That post was suppose to be a response to another thread! Sorry 🙂

 

[lumanyika]

Hey people,
you could also try Africa.I worked at a Non-govrnmental Organization over my summer break.The organization's name is Africa Medical Research Foundation(AMREF) .This is especially good for those who are interested in tropical Medicine.They have Stations in Uganda, Suth Africa, Tanzania and Kenya(wherethe Head Quarters are located).You can find more information at this <a href="http://www.amref.org/" target="_blank">link</a>.
It's a cool place.One of my mentors (an Octogenerian American surgeon)lives on a beautifil Island called Malindi--off the Kenyan Coast.


"The heart has reasons that Reason doesn't know"--Pascal.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Go to the ant....
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer.

--Proverbs 6:6-8

Beyond rejuvinating some, you might consider going through some of the "Rediculously Simple" series that correlate to your MS2 classes. Storing "provisions in summer" like this can pay off really well come next fall.