Video Games in Med School

[DayG]

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This is not for the people who do not play video games, this is for people who do. So I am a current 1st year, and I got a problem with video games.

So here is the run down:

1. I decided to quit playing video games (I'm a big pc gamer! LoL is life) I even uninstalled league (been 3 weeks now!). But my friends still contact me on skype, or text, to play with them. I usually deny them, but then I do play and it causes me to play more, even if I'm by myself.

2. I came to the conclusions that giving up video games as a whole is not a good idea. I consider it a part of my life now, and a part of who I am. How I connect and interact with other people. And that if quit playing, I have to quit playing as a whole.

3. So what tips do you guys have with video games/study balance.

Also my studies are okay, I can hit average or slightly below average, while having played video games 20-30hours a week. I understand if I reaplace video games with studying, I can probably kill those exams, BUT IT AINT ME. I think I know the answer to this question, but I am also writing this for people who may be having the same problems as me!

EDIT 11/15/2015

Fallout 4 came out so...rip my weekend,( and last weekend) but yeah I kinda quit league, it updated too much. But thanks for the support everyone, 40 comments wow! So for those who were wondering like me, it seems like the best thing to do is try to make gaming come at the end (not as soon as u get home) of your work day, as well as giving it up completely (and I mean completely) before exams.

@esob lol I like your icon. League is really a time waster and I only play it with friends. But now similar to what @Ophthoseidon I got bad at league (lack of playing) and I dont wanna play. I still watch twitch tho. I think I wanna start a blog about life in medical school to get me off of playing video games and helping anyone else.
@FriedKEEN I think I do wanna do surgery!

 

[jqueb29]

I binge on video games for a couple days after tests, then try to keep it below an hour a day the rest of the time. Sometimes I'll do 2-3 hours but I'll study during loading screens (I'm an RPG gamer so I see a lot of loading screens). You would be amazed how much studying you can get done during loading screens.

 

[Ophthoseidon]

I still play a little bit, but I just realized that I can't be the great anymore, and that deters me from playing more. For example, call of duty was one of my biggest downfalls, but when you go from playing at a consistent 3.5 kill/death and then you can barely hit 1.3-1.4 it makes you not want to play as much because it's not as fun. I mostly just play with a group of friends now, so unless everyone is willing to come over, I can't play. I've never been a huge PC gamer, so I imagine if you are addicted to league or something it may be harder, especially because games take 45 minutes.

 

[esob]

Its funny all the league players I see on SDN. My hypothesis is that the game resonates with the hyper-competitive/gunner mentality of prospective doctors. On a side note, I've literally made my fortune exploiting this facet of the game, but that's another story 🙂

From my experience in the gaming industry, the "addiction" component seems to stem not from the game itself, but from the "winning" factor. Young males in particular seem to have an innate need to dominate their opponents (thanks evolution) and each individual needs some varying degree of satisfaction from the process. While some people need to win just one or two games to get their "fix," others need to in order to reach the same level. The harsh reality however is that thanks to MMR systems, even the most elite players will win on average 60% of the games they play. This literally doubles the amount of games any given person ends up playing to feel sated.

So, my suggestion; get a smurf account at a super low ELO where you can win 90+ % of games and you will likely be able to cut down on your total playtime while still achieving the same level of satisfaction (winning feeling).

 

[Say]

I'm a second year and I play league 2 hours a day. It is a good break for me after studying most of the day, and I like to keep up with all my college buddies. I score well above average on all my exams... it is just about balance. Though, I think I will try and cut down my league playing time once dedicated step1 study period rolls around.

 

[Firegrove]

I've played World of Warcraft my entire time as an undergrad. I treat it as a nice retreat from school work and a way to socialize with people outside of my pre-med sphere. It also requires a decent amount of involvement and feels more like a hobby than mindless gaming, however due to the nature of the game you can tailor your in game activities around study schedules and "IRL" social functions. Plus, the confidence boost from getting server first Yogg Saron 10 man kill translated well into my performance on finals.

I would like to continue playing WoW in med school but I may have to give up my raid spot...

 

[Mad Jack]

I actually left all of my systems and my gaming PC at home. Every rare now and again I'll play them on a post-test weekend when I drive home, but that's about it.

 

[CsHead]

You're fine man... I don't regularly play too often anymore, but my roommate still kills it.. academically and with gaming. I have a couple classmates that play LoL multiple hours throughout the week. All of our gaming went down a lot after second year, but still happened at lot third year. Hell... We even got Halo 5 at midnight launch and played that longer than we should have

 

[WingedOx]

The Red Ring of Death was present for most of my M1 and M2 years. In hindsight that was probably a good thing.

 

[Whats up Doc!]

Great post I was wondering the same thing!

 

[LostinLift]

I would go through cycles during first year of non-stop dota 2 action and periods of uninstalling --> studying. This year I uninstalled right away, but I'm doing some console games. I've also been slacking for the last few weeks and playing more, thankfully still passing just fine, but this year is really getting to me. Very ready to be done with classes.

I probably play 10-20 hours per week, I would play more but the gf and I live together so the rest of my free time is spent with her.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I would go through cycles during first year of non-stop dota 2 action and periods of uninstalling --> studying. This year I uninstalled right away, but I'm doing some console games. I've also been slacking for the last few weeks and playing more, thankfully still passing just fine, but this year is really getting to me. Very ready to be done with classes.

I probably play 10-20 hours per week, I would play more but the gf and I live together so the rest of my free time is spent with her.

I am also a previous dota 2 addict. I had to uninstall the game multiple times during second year to force myself to study. Now that I am in 3rd year I really no longer have that problem at all. I simply lack the energy or care anymore... It's almost like 3rd year has turned me into an adult

 

[Polonium-210]

Only game that distracts me is AoE 2: HD. Game released back before GW Bush was elected. I have a much more difficult time though with ultimate frisbee. That'll really get me if I am not careful.

 

[WedgeDawg]

So I played a lot of video games in college. I honestly spent more time playing video games in college than I did studying. It was probably video games > drinking/partying = studying (or other work)

I left all my game systems at home / the ones I played were never mine in the first place, so I haven't been able to binge on them other than the one time I visited a friend (and then we literally played video games for like half the time I was visiting).

If you treat it as something you do when you don't need to work (similar to how some people might view netflix or youtube), you shouldn't have a problem. They only become a problem if they interfere with your work. One thing you could try if you think it's affecting your work is setting a timer, and when the timer goes off, the game you're on is the last game for the day. But if you're happy with where you're at academically/professionally, then there's no real reason to give them up. If you like to spend your free time playing video games, then do that. There's nothing wrong with it.

 

[cbrons]

Hi kappa

I got into the Overwatch beta (on day 3). Fallout 4 releasing tonight.

 

[IsWhat]

I start med school this summer, and I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit lately. I play Halo competetively (traveled to MLG events during H2/H3) and I dabble in competetive Call of Duty and CS:GO. I know I'll have to cut down my gaming hours during medical school, but the thought of getting shat on by some 16 year old with unlimited free-time is basically my worst nightmare.

I think the best thing will be for me to give up gaming all together for the first few years and see how it goes from there. Or I could just give up multiplayer, but that's no fun.

 

[DrEnderW]

I start med school this summer, and I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit lately. I play Halo competetively (traveled to MLG events during H2/H3) and I dabble in competetive Call of Duty and CS:GO. I know I'll have to cut down my gaming hours during medical school, but the thought of getting shat on by some 16 year old with unlimited free-time is basically my worst nightmare.

I think the best thing will be for me to give up gaming all together for the first few years and see how it goes from there. Or I could just give up multiplayer, but that's no fun.

I feel you. I played Halo extremely competitively back in the day, mostly destiny now tho.

You'll have time in Med school still. I got a few hours of gaming in during M1-M2 per week with some exceptions. I even made time during dedicated Step 1 period and did very well. You'll be fine.

 

[deleted407021]

I've played World of Warcraft my entire time as an undergrad. I treat it as a nice retreat from school work and a way to socialize with people outside of my pre-med sphere. It also requires a decent amount of involvement and feels more like a hobby than mindless gaming, however due to the nature of the game you can tailor your in game activities around study schedules and "IRL" social functions. Plus, the confidence boost from getting server first Yogg Saron 10 man kill translated well into my performance on finals.

I would like to continue playing WoW in med school but I may have to give up my raid spot...

Start PvP-ing!

 

[LostinLift]

I am also a previous dota 2 addict. I had to uninstall the game multiple times during second year to force myself to study. Now that I am in 3rd year I really no longer have that problem at all. I simply lack the energy or care anymore... It's almost like 3rd year has turned me into an adult

You poor soul. Hopefully in 5-8 years after residency we can start playing dota 4?

Start PvP-ing!

Legion does look quite good, at least compared to the more recent expansions.

I keep hearing hype about "the next generation of games", but I have yet to see anything promising. Here's to hoping.

 

[cbrons]

I would go through cycles during first year of non-stop dota 2

This was like SMITE for me.

 

[catie_jane]

In high school I would play like 4-6+ hours of COD or Halo and probably would have continued in college as well. I was at the point where I would play hooky to finish a campaign I had started the night before
Luckily for me, I got the red ring of death on my first day of college (still miss it, but my grades certainly didn't haha)

You may have more will power than me, but I needed to get rid of it completely or else my school work would have been severely affected! Hope you can find a balance 🙂

 

[FriedKEEN]

my prediction: you are probably going to be a surgeon lol

 

[Tenk]

You just have to have self control. I gamed all through medical school and residency (the best was bringing my laptop to moonlight in a small ER and get paid to game all night!) and now as an attending. Around test time I gave it up 100%.

If you can't give it up when you need to then you need to quit. It's really that simple.

Picture it like this: 33% is gone from sleep. 10% or so is gone from eating. Another 33% from class (assuming you go, I never did). You are left with like roughly 25% of your time to do whatever the hell you want. This includes studying, working out, going out, netflix, gaming, etc. The more time you spend studying, the better you will do. That's a fact. Just because you give up gaming though doesn't mean you will replace the time with studying. You might find something else to fill that time which is just as equally useless. Which brings me back to point one: you just have to have self control.

Good Luck.

 

[AspiringERMD]

I just reinstalled The Sims 3. Worst idea ever. I do try to stick to time limits...

 

[Prince090]

I was a hardcore gamer when I was in high score. Used to play a minimum of 30 to a max of 50 hours a week. Sometimes, when I look back, I realize that I had spent more time playing video games than doing anything in that period.

When the MCAT was few months out, my parents took away my pc and forced me to study.

Now, I don't have the addiction that I used to have. The only game I play now is clash of clans.

 

[Psai]

I was a hardcore gamer when I was in high score. Used to play a minimum of 30 to a max of 50 hours a week. Sometimes, when I look back, I realize that I had spent more time playing video games than doing anything in that period.

When the MCAT was few months out, my parents took away my pc and forced me to study.

Now, I don't have the addiction that I used to have. The only game I play now is clash of clans.

Boom beach bro. Clash got boring when I hit th8 and things started taking forever although the clan wars were fun

3 star dragons all up in your base

 

[PharMed2016]

I played League all throughout pharmacy school and a half of medical school. My grades were inversely proportional to the amount of hours that I played. I always ended up up binging after an exam but quit uninstall after that. My current addiction is hearthstone which I hope to hit LEGEND prior to residency and set it aside.

PS. I always did good in school but it probably prevented me from hitting AOA in medical school.

 

[TheShaker]

At this point, I only play a few hours on the weekends. I used to be a pretty decent starcraft player and a mediocre LoL player but I just don't have time to keep up with it anymore. It sucks to just go into games and get my ass handed to me because I'm always rusty. I just play single player games now to blow off some steam after the week or post-exam. I would have more time to play but I had to choose between hobbies. I took the time that I used to game and allocated 10-12 hours of it per week to lifting at the gym and so I chose that over gaming. I wish I had time to do both extensively like I used to though.

 

[esob]

At this point, I only play a few hours on the weekends. I used to be a pretty decent starcraft player and a mediocre LoL player but I just don't have time to keep up with it anymore. It sucks to just go into games and get my ass handed to me because I'm always rusty. I just play single player games now to blow off some steam after the week or post-exam. I would have more time to play but I had to choose between hobbies. I took the time that I used to game and allocated 10-12 hours of it per week to lifting at the gym and so I chose that over gaming. I wish I had time to do both extensively like I used to though.

That sentiment is one of the reasons for the multi-million dollar hack industry. As just one example, API's such as BoL/L#/EB for LoL allow gamers to play at the same level or higher than they did when they were playing a gazillion hours per week. In the past 12 months alone, there have been over 212k active members of BoL.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Plenty of people play League at my school. I can't do MMOs and stuff like that anymore because of the time commitment, but I still play FIFA whenever I can.

I was a hardcore gamer when I was in high score. Used to play a minimum of 30 to a max of 50 hours a week. Sometimes, when I look back, I realize that I had spent more time playing video games than doing anything in that period.

When the MCAT was few months out, my parents took away my pc and forced me to study.

Now, I don't have the addiction that I used to have. The only game I play now is clash of clans.

I had a full-time job with Diablo II. By full-time, I mean I had the same time commitment (including night shifts), and by job, I had to grind for levels and gear to sell, and kill noobs in PvP.

 

[Pierre Escargot]

I used to enjoy playing Xbox. But as an MS1 in my first semester and still getting the hang of things, it hasn't happened at all as of late.

I can see myself playing over winter break and possibly a bit next semester when I'm more acclimated.

 

[Doudline]

Hi kappa

I got into the Overwatch beta (on day 3).

How dare you... 🙁

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

I ran into a guy, on the opposing team, on League of Legends who was recently accepted into medical school......

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

It took me a long time to get to this point (thank gods I didn't start med school at 22) but, I've developed the ability to budget my time pretty well.

I don't get to play as much as I'd like but I usually save gaming as a hour or so reward after a good day of studying or play maybe 3-5 hour a day on the weekends when I'm caught up with everything.

There are some days when I'm like "eff this" and want to spend all day playing a new game but gotta get that MD.

 

[stepone2015]

I gave up a major WoW addiction (>12 hours a day for several years) for med school, and while I miss it, I don't regret quitting. Funny enough, I gained actual knowledge and skill in WoW that is highly applicable to medicine and helped me realize what my goals in medicine really are. Video games in general also made me a quick learner at laproscopy too, which is a nice bonus for impressing surgeons.

WoW is the reason I also barely made it into medical school in the first place, however...

 

[TheRobin]

3. So what tips do you guys have with video games/study balance.

Also my studies are okay, I can hit average or slightly below average, while having played video games 20-30hours a week. I understand if I reaplace video games with studying, I can probably kill those exams, BUT IT AINT ME. I think I know the answer to this question, but I am also writing this for people who may be having the same problems as me!

I don't know what to say other than limit gaming until after your work is finished for the day.

Also, I'd recommend tweaking your philosophy on studying. You can still keep up with gaming to an extent, but why not try to go for the top of the real-life "leaderboard?"

 

[Prince090]

Boom beach bro. Clash got boring when I hit th8 and things started taking forever although the clan wars were fun

3 star dragons all up in your base

Boom beach is also cool. My brother plays it. It's similar to Coc.


Well, I am a mid level th9 with all troops maxed at this level. I don't have much time so I only participate in clans. They are too much fun.

 

[Prince090]

Plenty of people play League at my school. I can't do MMOs and stuff like that anymore because of the time commitment, but I still play FIFA whenever I can.



I had a full-time job with Diablo II. By full-time, I mean I had the same time commitment (including night shifts), and by job, I had to grind for levels and gear to sell, and kill noobs in PvP.

Lol .. I can relate to all of it , especially the full time thing ...

 

[PumpkinKing]

How hasn't anyone mentioned Fallout 4 yet?

Every minute of my life right now is a struggle to make it till after my shelf exam before getting it...

 

[Bforn]

MS2 here, just picked up Destiny The Taken King a week ago on PS4, hit me up if anyone wants to run strikes or whatever- ID is Balerdoni_

 

[jqueb29]

How hasn't anyone mentioned Fallout 4 yet?

Every minute of my life right now is a struggle to make it till after my shelf exam before getting it...

Haven't got to play it much yet but it's fantastic. Hoping it will keep me occupied until Deus Ex and Far Cry come out on the same damn day right about the time I start Step 1 studying :/

 

[moisne]

I even uninstalled league (been 3 weeks now!).

league was my life... It's still not uninstalled.

as a whole is not a good idea.

No it's not. If I start... I can't stop. People don't understand it - it's a pure addiction. I will play until 4 am, then ditch class. Yeah that bad.

So... one day I decided enough was enough - I need to prep for step 1. It was before an update. I delayed the update a week. I clicked it one day after an exam thinking maybe I could just play for one afternoon (but this cycle already went on for 1.5 years) and after it updated, I closed the program. NO I AM NOT GONNA START - because if I start, no way in hell could I stop.

To be honest, if you can pass all your classes in MS1, maybe you can play a bit... but you definitely need to quit gaming by MS2.

I still have my phone games, but it's not addicting (20 -30 min a day, in transit, during meals, walking, exercising) - but that's it. No more league. 🙁 bye bye ranking

 

[FistLength]

Guess not many people play RTS in SDN land. I binged the crap out of SC2 legacy of the void the weekend it came out. Was a huge SC1 and broodwar fan, after I saw the SC2 trailer (and saw it again x300 times) I had to get it. Once weekend finished, I reluctantly uninstalled, only to hear whispers of "my life for aiur" echoing in the background.

I can only be all in or all out with video games, no in between. When Christmas break comes I might fire it up to relive the glory of times past, but it will be a fleeting moment, a far cry from the warm summers of gaming with wanton abandon. Gaming is a part of me that cannot co-exist with my current goals, and it has thus found its way in the deep catacombs of my memory, to be reborn sparingly and cautiously.

 

[jqueb29]

league was my life... It's still not uninstalled.


No it's not. If I start... I can't stop. People don't understand it - it's a pure addiction. I will play until 4 am, then ditch class. Yeah that bad.

So... one day I decided enough was enough - I need to prep for step 1. It was before an update. I delayed the update a week. I clicked it one day after an exam thinking maybe I could just play for one afternoon (but this cycle already went on for 1.5 years) and after it updated, I closed the program. NO I AM NOT GONNA START - because if I start, no way in hell could I stop.

To be honest, if you can pass all your classes in MS1, maybe you can play a bit... but you definitely need to quit gaming by MS2.

I still have my phone games, but it's not addicting (20 -30 min a day, in transit, during meals, walking, exercising) - but that's it. No more league. 🙁 bye bye ranking

Vehement disagreement. MS2 in the top quartile of my class and I still game pretty heavily. Happily married and in good physical shape too. Like everything else in med school, it all comes down to time management.

 

[moisne]

What's there to disagree about? I already stated it was an addiction - I'm glad you aren't addicted but each person has their own weaknesses. If I play video games, my time management vaporizes.

I think the important thing is - don't do something if you know you will lose control. Not playing at all is my time management.

Congrats on your top quartile? 😕

Vehement disagreement. MS2 in the top quartile of my class and I still game pretty heavily. Happily married and in good physical shape too. Like everything else in med school, it all comes down to time management.

 

[AM508]

I use video games as a sort of carrot on a stick for me...it is how I reward myself. I say "If I get X amount of lectures done, then I can play X amount of time of currently Fallout 4". It is something that keeps me motivated when I would otherwise be tempted to take a nap . My one rule for myself is, the gaming PC doesn't get turned on until X amount of work is done for the day.

 

[Grrath]

I played League all throughout pharmacy school and a half of medical school. My grades were inversely proportional to the amount of hours that I played. I always ended up up binging after an exam but quit uninstall after that. My current addiction is hearthstone which I hope to hit LEGEND prior to residency and set it aside.

PS. I always did good in school but it probably prevented me from hitting AOA in medical school.

O God I'm not the only one. I've been trying to sneak in ranked games in Hearthstone between patients on my slow rotations. I should be doing U world questions. 🙁🙁🙁

 

[Mace1370]

There is plenty of time to play games in medical school, but you need to figure out a balance and stick to a schedule. Overall, you should have a lot more free time in M1 and M2 than you will have in M3, but even during M3 there will be time to relax.

Importantly, figure out a system that works for you and stick to it. I liked to finish more work first, so I treated med school like a job. Study from 8-5, then after that it's do whatever I want to.

 

[Frazier]

Mainly CoC, given convenience of being right on phone.

I used to enjoy video games a lot.

My goal for MS4 is to see what the dark souls games are all about.

 

[Montisumo]

This is not for the people who do not play video games, this is for people who do. So I am a current 1st year, and I got a problem with video games.

So here is the run down:

1. I decided to quit playing video games (I'm a big pc gamer! LoL is life) I even uninstalled league (been 3 weeks now!). But my friends still contact me on skype, or text, to play with them. I usually deny them, but then I do play and it causes me to play more, even if I'm by myself.

2. I came to the conclusions that giving up video games as a whole is not a good idea. I consider it a part of my life now, and a part of who I am. How I connect and interact with other people. And that if quit playing, I have to quit playing as a whole.

3. So what tips do you guys have with video games/study balance.

Also my studies are okay, I can hit average or slightly below average, while having played video games 20-30hours a week. I understand if I reaplace video games with studying, I can probably kill those exams, BUT IT AINT ME. I think I know the answer to this question, but I am also writing this for people who may be having the same problems as me!

EDIT 11/15/2015

Fallout 4 came out so...rip my weekend,( and last weekend) but yeah I kinda quit league, it updated too much. But thanks for the support everyone, 40 comments wow! So for those who were wondering like me, it seems like the best thing to do is try to make gaming come at the end (not as soon as u get home) of your work day, as well as giving it up completely (and I mean completely) before exams.

@esob lol I like your icon. League is really a time waster and I only play it with friends. But now similar to what @Ophthoseidon I got bad at league (lack of playing) and I dont wanna play. I still watch twitch tho. I think I wanna start a blog about life in medical school to get me off of playing video games and helping anyone else.
@FriedKEEN I think I do wanna do surgery!

first off, u should add me on league (LOL!!!), abovebeing is my name.....

secondly, league is ebola and im not sure its compatible with being successful at anything in the medical field unless you are a patient in the infectious disease clinic... my personal experiences: when i stop gaming, my quality of life significantly improves, my work quality and attention to detail improves and my productivity goes through the roof.

I honestly feel your pain... I really think that saying that its part of your life now is just an excuse for you to get back to gaming... Playing one game of league is like taking one hit of bath salts, it wont end well and it certainly wont end with just one game (dont ask for details).

I've been league sober for several weeks as well, and I feel way better. It's kinda weird looking back on it all, but theres always better ways to spend your time than sitting in front of a game for hours (and getting trash teammates 90% of the time).

Seriously though, add me and we can talk more. Also, send me a PM since I currently have league uninstalled xD.