Wait a minute, they don't expect you to write in med school ...

[mychelle774]

do they?

I would very much like to know that I never have to write another stupid paper as I sit here finishing (procrastinating) my last undergrad paper. Please advise.

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[lilnoelle]

do they?

I would very much like to know that I never have to write another stupid paper as I sit here finishing (procrastinating) my last undergrad paper. Please advise.

The amount of writing will differ based on the school. I had to write two short papers my first semester of med school.

Any research a med student does will probably involve writing an article and (hopefully) getting published.

 

[mychelle774]

The amount of writing will differ based on the school. I had to write two short papers my first semester of med school.

Any research a med student does will probably involve writing an article and (hopefully) getting published.

Well of course in research. Are you saying, even in basic sciences, papers are often required?

 

[lilnoelle]

Well of course in research. Are you saying, even in basic sciences, papers are often required?

Well, I'm sure this differs in every school. Both of the papers we were expected to write had more to do with theories in healthcare and the underserved populations.

One was a two page "research" paper that I wrote about different theories about why African Americans had a much higher fetal mortality rate in the US.

The other paper was a one page paper concerning a specific clinical vignette about why one pediatric patient fared better than another patient with the same medical condition.

Both papers were relatively insignificant in difficulty, however they were a responsibility that took away from test study time right before the test. (Of course I could've avoided that last minute crunch by completing my papers earlier, but that didn't happen.)

 

[DrLizzie]

Well, we had to write a book review!

 

[deleted50541]

So far this year I've written two research papers on clinical questions such strep screening and antibiotic use in adult and pediatric populations, which were relatively painless. We've also been required to write up mock case reports of patients we see while precepting. No biggie.

It's such a load off the volumes of papers I cranked out as a grad student. I think I churned out at least 100 pages in the final three months of my master's program. I now hate Word with a passion.

 

[spicedmanna]

do they?

I would very much like to know that I never have to write another stupid paper as I sit here finishing (procrastinating) my last undergrad paper. Please advise.

Well, if you do it enough it can actually become quite fomulaic. It was like pulling teeth when I started writing scientific articles, but you begin to see what people are looking for after you read enough papers, etc. Don't sweat it: abstract, introduction, methods, results, conclusion. You actually end up citing a lot of prevalent literature, so very little of any paper is completely unique. Stick with the facts, state your results, analyze it a little, and draw some conclusion.

Good luck.

 

[mychelle774]

Oh well those don't sound too bad - interesting even. Just no more 20+ page papers please!

Spiced, I actually don't think scientific papers are too bad with figures and such. What I'm supposed to be working on now is a lit review for psych and it's just a pain b/c the research has been so inconclusive.

 

[deleted50541]

Oh well those don't sound too bad - interesting even. Just no more 20+ page papers please!

Spiced, I actually don't think scientific papers are too bad with figures and such. What I'm supposed to be working on now is a lit review for psych and it's just a pain b/c the research has been so inconclusive.

Just throw in "there has been a paucity of conclusive results on this matter" somewhere in there to sum things up nicely and cover your a$$.

 

[naegleria brain]

first year has BS writing assignments. remember, psychiatrists want to feel needed too.

its not as much as undergrad

 

[NEXUS 5]

There are schools with thesis requirements (Yale for one, and Emory is considering it for their new curriculum)... obviously writing is expected there.

Also, during my MS-I year, we were asked to write a poem about something (I don't remember anymore... such painful memories). It was in our Patient-Doctor Relationship course.

 

[MrBurns10]

I'm a first year. I've had to write two papers in our practice course (i.e. how to be a doctor), we have take-home research essays for every test in this block (they come out to about 4.5 pages each and we have 10 tests), will soon have to write an autopsy report (10-20 pages) and will have a pharmacology research paper due next month (I believe 4-7 pages).

I don't know what's more annoying to me...having do write all these essays, or learning so much from them that it's hard to complain that they make us do them.

 

[medicomel]

We had to turn in complete pt histories, a couple of papers, a powerpoint, and do write-ups on blackboard about fluffy stuff. It's not hard, but it gets in the way of you doing your other work. That's why I always did my stuff super late at night, once I was too fried to study science. It's just a matter of hammering it out and turning it in. Nobody's going to give you bad marks, unless it's obvious that you didn't give a flip about it.

 

[Arsenic]

moving to pre-allo

 

[45408]

first year down, barely anything to mention. I had to do little one page summaries on articles I found for my PBL group, but it was seriously a piece of cake. A few other little things here and there, but nothing that was difficult at all.

 

[RockShox]

do they?

I would very much like to know that I never have to write another stupid paper as I sit here finishing (procrastinating) my last undergrad paper. Please advise.

I never have to write. Our school provides each student there own personal transcriptionist who follows us around and records anything I want. I need my hands callous free because they are money hands! Also they hold our white coats and give us coffee when we need it.

Ok the above is just a joke...I am on peds call and I need something funny to remind me I am alive

Seriously. You are going into a profession and as with all professions there are elements of writing. So far in med school I have had to write 5 actual papers. I have also had to prepare numerous presentations for wards and such. These are usually 5-10 minutes but it still requires research and bibliographies.

Just another warning in residency you will be asked many times to present grand rounds, M&M, or teach med students (crazy I know ) Where you will have to use writing skills.

So don't stress but I am afraid that writing and you will have to keep the love-hate relationship for a bit longer. I personally can't wait for them to deliver my personal transcriptionist

 

[jochi1543]

I got a friend in MS-1 and she's had a few ethics-related assignments (3-5 page papers).