What did you give up?

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CaliDoc23 said:
Hi guys, incoming M1 here. I have been a little anxious starting school recently. I just wanted to know: what did you have to give up during your medical education and/or residency due to time constraints? What did you think you would have to give up, but surprisingly still got to do? Thank you!
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Hi! Congratulations!!
What did I have to give up ? First of all , junk food . I gained 40 pounds over 3 years leading up to medical school , and I decided that I will have to get healthy if I want to be a doctor (of course it’s not true , I was just trying to motivate myself). My blood pressure was getting out of control and I was getting way too big . It’s not time constraints per se , of course, but when I wrote your post , my mind immediately went you that for some reason . Otherwise I really don’t think I gave up anything ... I worked 50 hours a week before medicsl school plus full time school , so just going to medical school felt easier from time management perspective .

I thought I would have to give up video games, and tv shows , but surprisingly I found time for both ! I also found time to workout more , cook more, and a few other hobbies . The first few months of medical school were rough , but when I got into the rhythm, it was ok . (Btw I am an average student in terms of Mcat , gPA , and class ranking . Nothing high). I am sure if I stopped doing my hobbies and such, I would have more time to study , but the truth is that I don’t want to . I am very happy now , while I have friends who just study and they are very stressed . I decided my wellness is more important for me now. But my grades have been gradually improving , because I learnt to study more efficiently . And of course , I am gonna start hitting it harder in second year prior to step.

but my point is -focus , and prepare to work , but it won’t be as bad as you think . But if you notice you are not performing as well as you hoped for , talk to academic development or upper classmate you trust .
 
M&L said:
Hi! Congratulations!!
What did I have to give up ? First of all , junk food . I gained 40 pounds over 3 years leading up to medical school , and I decided that I will have to get healthy if I want to be a doctor (of course it’s not true , I was just trying to motivate myself). My blood pressure was getting out of control and I was getting way too big . It’s not time constraints per se , of course, but when I wrote your post , my mind immediately went you that for some reason . Otherwise I really don’t think I gave up anything ... I worked 50 hours a week before medicsl school plus full time school , so just going to medical school felt easier from time management perspective .

I thought I would have to give up video games, and tv shows , but surprisingly I found time for both ! I also found time to workout more , cook more, and a few other hobbies . The first few months of medical school were rough , but when I got into the rhythm, it was ok . (Btw I am an average student in terms of Mcat , gPA , and class ranking . Nothing high). I am sure if I stopped doing my hobbies and such, I would have more time to study , but the truth is that I don’t want to . I am very happy now , while I have friends who just study and they are very stressed . I decided my wellness is more important for me now. But my grades have been gradually improving , because I learnt to study more efficiently . And of course , I am gonna start hitting it harder in second year prior to step.

but my point is -focus , and prepare to work , but it won’t be as bad as you think . But if you notice you are not performing as well as you hoped for , talk to academic development or upper classmate you trust .
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Thank you!!
 
Hey! Totally understand the anxiety. I think a lot of people feel this. I actually got to keep doing a surprising number of things during M1. If you have an SO setting aside date nights is important IMO. You do have to be more efficient with your time- meal prepping and other time savers are your friend. I don’t feel like I lost anything (except maybe some hair, but they tell me that’s stress 🙂 )
 
Actually have more time now than in undergrad; I appreciate the fact that medical school is much more organized, start your day the same time everyday, and roughly end the same time everyday. Part of this is because my extracurricular load was so much higher in undergrad than now.

I meal prep on weekends for the whole week, and gym more than I ever did in undergrad. As was said above, just set a routine for yourself and be efficient and you can pretty much make time for most things--especially during M1.
 
CaliDoc23 said:
Hi guys, incoming M1 here. I have been a little anxious starting school recently. I just wanted to know: what did you have to give up during your medical education and/or residency due to time constraints? What did you think you would have to give up, but surprisingly still got to do? Thank you!
Click to expand...

Extremely variable depending on your program and if you are preclinical years, clinical years, or residency. Generally:

Preclinical: Efficiency is king. Lots of people study "12 hours a day" but half that time are burnt-out studying, on social media, commuting, etc. Finding efficiencies at every opportunity can create 1-2 hours of recreational time per day that will allow you to engage in your hobbies.

Clinical years: Efficiency still applies. Although clinic hours are extremely variable, you can often get several hours of studying done while on the job. This greatly improved my quality of life during 3rd year. Not many people do it, but it can be done in most rotations [especially if you use Anki]. You might sometimes be trapped in a terrible rotation with 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM hours, long commute, and no study time. But my institution this was the exception, not the norm.

Residency: Idk, haven't been there. But it sounds like it's the toughest.

I didn't have a lot of interests to begin with, so I only had to give up useless crap like spending an entire hour eating breakfast. I also watch less football, although I still watch some.

If my shoulder and hip were still functional I probably would have had to give up a lot of (but not all) basketball and surfing... which isn't saying much given that I could do that stuff all day when all my body parts still worked. I still have been able to go to the gym 5-7 hours per week. I have also had time to watch a 20 min or 40 min show with my wife every night for about 90% of medical school.
 
Junk food and extravagant meals. Need to prepare stuff that's quick and healthy.

Useless relationships also went for me. I got closer to people who were worth spending time with and cut out a lot of people who weren't good for me.

Still time for TV and videogames but I make sure it's not crap. I don't have time for everything so what I do watch and play better be good.
 
For the most part I didn't have to give up too much. Biggest thing that I miss is probably nice restaurant meals with friends on a regular basis - I worked for a few years before med school and therefore had disposable income, so going out to eat at relatively nice places was a common activity. Cutting back to a student budget, I prioritized having time and money to spend on my other hobbies/athletic activities before going out to eat all the time. I did get lucky though and made friends with people who enjoy having casual dinner parties/potlucks at our apartments, which is a lot easier on the wallet!

Granted, can't do any of this anymore anyway, thanks corona
 
TelemarketingEnigma said:
For the most part I didn't have to give up too much. Biggest thing that I miss is probably nice restaurant meals with friends on a regular basis - I worked for a few years before med school and therefore had disposable income, so going out to eat at relatively nice places was a common activity. Cutting back to a student budget, I prioritized having time and money to spend on my other hobbies/athletic activities before going out to eat all the time. I did get lucky though and made friends with people who enjoy having casual dinner parties/potlucks at our apartments, which is a lot easier on the wallet!

Granted, can't do any of this anymore anyway, thanks corona
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Huge foodie here too. Love going to restaurants while having a drink with friends, it’s like my favorite thing to do haha. It seems that the reason you had to cut back on this is more because of money and not time, correct?
 
CaliDoc23 said:
Hi guys, incoming M1 here. I have been a little anxious starting school recently. I just wanted to know: what did you have to give up during your medical education and/or residency due to time constraints? What did you think you would have to give up, but surprisingly still got to do? Thank you!
Click to expand...

I'd like to say I had to give up dating and girls, but didn't really have too much of that before med school.
 
CaliDoc23 said:
Huge foodie here too. Love going to restaurants while having a drink with friends, it’s like my favorite thing to do haha. It seems that the reason you had to cut back on this is more because of money and not time, correct?
Click to expand...

Yeah it was mostly money, I am of the belief that there is plenty of time in med school to still do things you enjoy, even if you're busy. If it's something you prioritize, you can probably find a way to do it. It all depends on your personal financial situation. I have some fairly expensive hobbies, so I personally focused my limited "fun" money on those rather than fancy restaurant meals. if you budget wisely (and choose your restaurants wisely) you can probably still have enough fun meals out to satisfy your foodie cravings, but it wouldn't be the same as someone with significant disposable income. There will also be tradeoffs to make - I also prioritized being able to pick up cheaper takeout food more often rather than dropping large amounts on gourmet dinner and drinks at fancy places (the drinks are what really get your wallet...). Or you might choose to live in a cheaper apartment in order to allot those monthly savings into your food budget. You just want to be smart with your loans, since if you're like most of us you'll be racking up a lot of debt.
 
Med school: had enough time to keep up with what I wanted hobby wise. Actually picked up a martial art for the first two years. The amount of reading, though, killed my hobby of 'fun' reading.
Residency: Quit playing my instrument at a 'competitive' type level. Now I play just for fun but not nearly as focused. Gave up golf and weight lifting after the kids came along. If I were single, would have had enough time for a serious hobby + regular exercise.
 
OrthoTraumaMD said:
Med school: nothing.
Residency: hobbies (except one, previously had 4), relationships (broke off engagement), mental health (depression, suicidal), about 20 lbs, naïveté/innocence about how medicine works.
All improved after residency, but was hard to survive for a while. And yes, would do it again. “What doesn’t kill you” and all.
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Sounds intense. Are you an ortho surgeon? If so, do you think your specialty choice had something to do with these difficulties?
 
My ex. Not necessarily by choice.

Just to keep things in perspective though, a number of my peers have been getting affianced/jumping into marital bliss while in med school, so anything is possible.
 
kopftonmd said:
My ex. Not necessarily by choice.

Just to keep things in perspective though, a number of my peers have been getting affianced/jumping into marital bliss while in med school, so anything is possible.
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Gave up my ex by choice . We were definitely wrong for each other . We still chat as friends once in a while - great person , just bad match. I think medical school is a great place to get a fresh start if a person is looking for it . New chapter in life .
 
Alcohol (technically a little before med school, but I'm counting it). I've never really been an "alcoholic" by the classic definition, but I just felt like it was taking away from my life rather than adding to it. One of the best decisions I made.
 
My workout routine completely fell by the wayside during preclinical. Got so stressed out during first semester that I skipped most meals and just snacked and chugged coffee bc my studying methods were terrible and I was literally memorizing everything which isn’t sustainable. I came in at ~170lbs and was <130lbs by winter break.

I got more efficient as time went. But honestly I worked like dog those first two years. I went to the gym here and there. But always felt like with all the studying I was doing, spending an hour at the gym instead of with my family was just too selfish. Since third year is over, I’ve been trying to get back in shape. About 3/4 the way to where I was before all this. Never letting that happen again.
 
Ho0v-man said:
My workout routine completely fell by the wayside during preclinical. Got so stressed out during first semester that I skipped most meals and just snacked and chugged coffee bc my studying methods were terrible and I was literally memorizing everything which isn’t sustainable. I came in at ~170lbs and was <130lbs by winter break.

I got more efficient as time went. But honestly I worked like dog those first two years. I went to the gym here and there. But always felt like with all the studying I was doing, spending an hour at the gym instead of with my family was just too selfish. Since third year is over, I’ve been trying to get back in shape. About 3/4 the way to where I was before all this. Never letting that happen again.
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My biggest regret is choosing maintaining my Anki reviews over maintaining my gains for 3 years. But thankfully both come back faster the 2nd/3rd time around. It’ll probably be a year before I get baxk to my undergrad level though
 
EmilKraepelin55 said:
I gave up playing regular gigs as a musician. Really miss throwing down on stage as a frontman/bassist in my old metal band. The good ol’ days!
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Same. I play almost every night but I just don’t have time for gigs. I did just start working on a podcast that is an outlet for writing fiction and playing music, so there are ways to keep performing!
 
I have had to kind of give up reading for fun- Harry Potter, LOTR, American classics, etc. which sucks. with family, exercise, school, and general life something had to go.

overall I have more free time than I thought I would though
 
Blazers_33 said:
I have had to kind of give up reading for fun- Harry Potter, LOTR, American classics, etc. which sucks. with family, exercise, school, and general life something had to go.

overall I have more free time than I thought I would though
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Guess I’m kinda lucky. I don’t have many hobbies outside of exercise and socializing/being with friends. Not much of a TV watcher or anything too, so maybe all my time can go to those two things.
 
While it’s not the best example, I have some friends who went out for margaritas half the days of the week for lunch (and I mean got a pitcher each, not a single drink or two) and who went out every weekend and really lived it up, even the weekends before tests. That entire friend group is still on track to graduate with us on time. Always appreciated them because they occasionally pulled me out of my apartment to have some fun.

Your free time is going to relate to where in the pack you are okay with falling. There is not a homogenous amount of work being put in - the difference in clinging to the top vs. just passing is a huge gulf. The “Cs get degrees” crowd (we have grades) takes a lot of vacations and posts great instagram party pictures, the middle of the pack still has a good quality of life, and really only the very top scorers appear to do nothing but study all of the time.
 
OnePunchBiopsy said:
I gave up class attendance. No way could I sit through 4-8 hours of Med school lecture a day and retain anything.

Stayed home and watched lecture videos at 2x speed.
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I went one deeper. Cut out class attendance AND watching lectures. Just flipped through the powerpoints for the majority of my lectures, of course there were exceptions. I still studied a lot, unlike many of the anecdotes provided here. 830/9am-530-630pm mon-saturday (2-2.5 hours break between 12-2), sunday 9am-1pm gang. Was very efficient when I was "on". 1-2 complete days off per month, first year usually just 1, second year more like 2-3. Didn't change all that much through years 1-2. Years 3-4 way unpredictable and in my opinion, a lot worse.
 
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I had more free time and less work compared to before med school actually. The main thing I gave up was flexibility and the ability to do impromptu go out of town for 3-10 days style trips due to all the random bull**** unnecessary commitments of year 1 and 2 as well as the job like feel of year 3. Honestly year 3 was worse than having a tough job. Even a ****ty job has better perks than third year. This is completely for no reason and almost by design. I still maintained all hobbies, friends, and exercise thankfully. I did well first 3 years academically. It can be done.
 
I gave up traveling because of being flat broke all the time . Also gave up carefree vacations as there is always work to do . Will probably take up all of these things once I get into residency .
 
Some parts of med school are busier than others, but overall I was able to spend time with family and friends, socialize, go on trips, and keep up my usual hobbies. I've fortunately been able to maintain a strict schedule of videogames through med school, residency, fellowship, and now as an attending.
 
Chose to postpone my wedding and having children. This was my personal choice for my situation, I would never “blame” med school. I chose to go to medical school because it is just as important to me.
 
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