Weekly schedule during years 3 and 4

[Turkelton]

Can someone please summarize what ones schedule is like during years 3 and 4?

I.E. years 1 and 2 - class monday through friday 8 to 5. Study 4 to 6 hours in the evening/night. Saturday and Sunday study anywhere from 4 to 12 hours a day (depending on when exams are).

Beyond core and elective rotations I have no idea what the schedule is like for year 3 and 4.

Is one at the hospital night and day, working 80 to 100 hrs a week, or is it more one does their rotation during normal working hours and then goes home to study?

During years 1 and 2, one can average 60 to 70 hours a week between school and studying. During years 3 and 4 how many hours a week does one spend studying and rotating? I imagine it varies quite a bit between rotations, just curious for an average. Thanks.

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[ncguy2005]

I found a blog with someone's schedule:

http://drkatiegoestomedschool.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-in-life-thus-far.html

 

[ShyRem]

Yup. That looks about right. And, BTW, that's 6-7 days a week. Weekends are pretty much nonexistent. Work hour restrictions do not apply to medical students.

 

[Colbert]

That's OB/GYN, which is one of the hardest rotations. Surgery is the same.

My family med rotation was 8:00-3:30 Monday-Thursday, 8:00-1:00 Fridays.

My emergency medicine elective was 8 hour days, Monday-Friday. The shifts changed every week, but were 7:00a-3:00p, 3:00p-11:00p, or 11:00p-7:00a. This didn't include 7:00-12:00 conference on Wednesdays, which you had to attend regardless of which shift you were working that week.

My other rotations varied as well, but they're not all as horrible as that schedule posted (and I have no idea what that person is doing setting an alarm for 3:45 to get there at 5:30, I managed to do it with a 4:45 alarm).

 

[ShyRem]

Your FM rotation was cake. My FM rotation certainly didn't have hours that easy, but it was pretty cush. 8-5 or 6 M-F. Best rotation ever in terms of hours, but gosh I got sick of folks coming in demanding antibiotics for a runny nose they've had for 2 days and the ones that are 300-400 pounds complaining of knee pain which interestingly enough got worse over the past 4 months when they gained 50 more pounds - no correlation of course.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I found a blog with someone's schedule:

http://drkatiegoestomedschool.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-in-life-thus-far.html

so, what does a typical day look like?

3:45 am - alarm starts going off
4:15 am - actually manage to get out of bed and start getting ready
5:00 am - check the traffic/news and eat breakfast
5:20 am - head to work

Wake up at 3:45 to leave home at 5:20?

I mean I get that it takes girls a little longer on average than guys to get ready, but that is absurd. My mornings on surgery and OB consisted of a 5 minute wake-up shower, throwing on scrubs, and chugging some coffee before getting out the door. You are already working hard enough...why cost yourself ANOTHER hour by being up so prematurely early?

 

[Gabby]

Wake up at 3:45 to leave home at 5:20?

I mean I get that it takes girls a little longer on average than guys to get ready, but that is absurd. My mornings on surgery and OB consisted of a 5 minute wake-up shower, throwing on scrubs, and chugging some coffee before getting out the door. You are already working hard enough...why cost yourself ANOTHER hour by being up so prematurely early?

Her alarm goes off at 3:45. She doesn't get out of bed until 4:15. I give myself 20 minutes of snooze time. She gives herself 30 minutes. I don't think that's absurd. I'm not the kind of person who can get up out of a deep sleep and jump to her feet and start getting ready. Once she gets up at 4:15, she has an hour to get out the door, which is reasonable if she wants to shower, eat breakfast, etc.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

she has an hour to get out the door, which is reasonable if she wants to shower, eat breakfast, etc.

That's where I disagree

On an exhausting rotation, every hour matters...

 

[Gabby]

That's where I disagree

On an exhausting rotation, every hour matters...

I haven't hit third-year yet, so I very well could change my mind. I have long thick hair though and I don't like leaving the house when it's wet, so if I shower in the morning, I blow dry before leaving and that takes a good 15 minutes. Figure 15-20 for a shower and another 15-20 for breakfast. It all adds up. Again, I could change my mind in third year and decide to just pin my hair in a bun on my crown and walk out the door.

 

[ShyRem]

I vote you'll change your mind and pin up your hair or leave the house with it wet. Or you'll shower the night before.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I haven't hit third-year yet

At the risk of coming across as condescending, this is the key statement, and I have to agree with shyrem.

When you are exhausted, working 80+ hrs a week on busy rotations like surgery or OB, you will (if you are like most I know - male or female) want every second of sleep you can get.

 

[desijigga]

How were your guys IM rotation schedule? is it as bad as OB or surgery?

 

[ShyRem]

IM was killer too. Was actually one of the worst in terms of schedule. It varies a lot from place to place. Some of my classmates did IM in hospitals where "call" was defined as "stay until 8pm and then go home to sleep until 7am". my call was 30 hours in the hospital, Q4, and most other days other than post-call days I was there until 8 or 9 pm anyway.

 

[Turkelton]

Thanks for the info on the rotation schedules!

The only part I'm still unclear about is to how many hours each week one spends studying for the rotation, (when one is away from the hospital)?

Or is it more of the situation in which you learn while on rotation, and when you get home from the hospital there are no books or material to study?

 

[Vee]

You learn depending on the rotation. There has to be someone (attending, resident) interested in teaching you and this isn't always the case, unfortunately. Books are still a must during rotations - you read when you can and then study like mad when the shelf gets closer. It sucks, but that's what third year is all about.

 

[ShyRem]

third year was more work in terms of hours, but more fun. More exhausting, but more interesting.

 

[scpod]

Thanks for the info on the rotation schedules!

The only part I'm still unclear about is to how many hours each week one spends studying for the rotation, (when one is away from the hospital)?

Or is it more of the situation in which you learn while on rotation, and when you get home from the hospital there are no books or material to study?

During third year I think I spent 4 or 5 hours a day on some rotations studying after a 12-hour+ day. On others it wasn't so bad. You will not learn enough during your rotations to pass your shelf exams or boards without outside book study time.