Transportation during med school & residency

[tallenough]

I can't find a thread that specifically answers my question on this topic. So here it goes.

Did anybody not have a vehicle during med-school and residency?

If so, how did you get to class, clinical rotations, etc.?

my home state has ok public transportation and the school is pretty close to all the other hospitals. But I'm thinking what about those places that don't?

Thank you for your thoughts on this.

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[nlax30]

I can't find a thread that specifically answers my question on this topic. So here it goes.

Did anybody not have a vehicle during med-school and residency?

If so, how did you get to class, clinical rotations, etc.?

Public transportation, bike, walk, etc... Pretty common I'd assume for those in cities like Chicago, New York, D.C., and others with decent public transportation.

my home state has ok public transportation and the school is pretty close to all the other hospitals.

I would think it depends more on your actual city and the surrounding area than the state as a whole.

But I'm thinking what about those places that don't?

Then they just use a car, bike, scooter, moped, etc....

Not really sure what you're looking for.

 

[cpants]

Completely dependent on the school. At NYU, for example, I bet almost none of the students have cars. At somewhere more suburban, like RWJ, I bet almost everyone does. I would ask a few students at the schools you are considering.

 

[45408]

At my school, you can get by without a car in the first two years, as long as you live near campus. You couldn't possibly get by without a car as an M3/M4.

 

[WellWornLad]

Urban medicine, baby. Subway or donorcycle.

 

[durty]

I've been bike commuting to school (undergrad) for a year and I love it. Depending on how far you live from campus (I am 4 miles and it's not bad <15 min) you can even get a good workout in on your way to school.

Get a few blinkies (for safety) a helmet and a cheap bike and have at it. You will become addicted and upgrade your bike, this has been a great way for me to get to school and I recommend it to you.

I now bike all over my town (Columbia, SC) and its great. Not a huge city, but I don't really feel like there's much I can't get to on my bike.
-durty

 

[tallenough]

I don't own a car and had to travel at times to 2 hospitals and my university at the same day. Meico City isn't famous for having empty streets either, the city is infested with traffic.

I recall pleasant memories of getting off clogged buses (I almost fell a few times from a moving bus going at full speed because I was barely hanging on with the door all open!!) onto flood water streets that tainted my uniform a pleasant dark grey.

No wonder I chose my hospital for internship, it's just a 10 minute commute!

Working 36 hours with just 2 hours sleep as an intern >>>>>>>> Commuting on a bunch of buses downtown for a few meager 2 hour classes as a student

Thanks for sharing your experiences...you are hard core. And I thought I had it bad. I guess I'll invest in a bike. They have some sweet folding bikes now.

 

[slight365]

Get a bike. I loved biking before I moved to Europe, but now I see it even more sensible and viable for more things than I did in the US.

I can't imagine going back to the US and going back to going around the block in my car.

 

[Preop]

i love bikes too, but i think it totally depends on where your at for school. i just got my MSIII rotation schedule recently, and some of the hospital sites are just way to far from my med school and apartment. i have a roomate who has a car and will have similar rotation schedule, but i may have to find alternative transportation as well. its hard to afford a car, insurance though.

 

[sprinkibrio]

I would get an email of a third year and ask if they are required to do rotations at multiple hospitals. We are... no way to get around it as far as I can tell. So you could live within biking distance of the main hospital, but for a few months you're going to have to catch a ride at 4 am to some other hospital... busses don't work at that time, it's too far away to bike, etc. I would think there would have to be some sort of compensation if you're going to catch a ride with someone... to have someone that lives close enough to you that picking you up is not out of the way + one of the few at the hospital with you seems risky

 

[BrickHouseMD]

Agree that it's school-dependent. You ride a bike around Detroit, every day could be your last (and not just because you might get mugged, but also because the motor city is in bed with the big 3 and riding a bike = not driving a car, so they don't have bike lanes in the city).

 

[jackbauer]

Do you know all of your rotation locations before third year starts? We will know our order of rotations, but location is determined only a few weeks before each new clerkship (which I think is terrible). Hard to make transportation decisions without this kind of information, sadly...