What is 3rd year like?

[Syranope2]

I know that as a second-semester MS2 I should probably know more about this than I do, but what exactly is 3rd year like? Is it just like working a job, where once you leave the hospital for the night or the weekend, you're done? Or are you constantly reading and studying? I know there are books that are recommended for 3rd year. What are they like? Do they just tell you how to treat/manage patients with specific diseases? Are there exams in 3rd year or are you just graded based on your evaluations?

Sorry that some of these questions are so basic. I know I should know the answers, I just don't actually know them. Thanks for any help you can offer. 🙂

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[njbmd]

I know that as a second-semester MS2 I should probably know more about this than I do, but what exactly is 3rd year like? Is it just like working a job, where once you leave the hospital for the night or the weekend, you're done? Or are you constantly reading and studying? I know there are books that are recommended for 3rd year. What are they like? Do they just tell you how to treat/manage patients with specific diseases? Are there exams in 3rd year or are you just graded based on your evaluations?

Sorry that some of these questions are so basic. I know I should know the answers, I just don't actually know them. Thanks for any help you can offer. 🙂

Hi there,
Third-year for me was about learning clinical medicine. I started out on Pediatrics and finished the year on Internal Medicine. I started most days around 5am pre-rounding on patients and writing a morning note. Around 6:30, there were work rounds with the residents and around 8am there was attending rounds. Attending rounds were very short on surgery and very long on medicine.

During the day, I observed tests and procedures on patients. In between times, I read about my patients problems and went to lectures. Most rotations have clinical lectures and conferences for medical students at least once or twice a week.

I usually left the hospital around 5pm unless I was on call. Some rotations like Psychiatry, Family Practice and Pediatrics, I did not have to stay in the hospital overnight. On Internal Medicine, the medical students left at 10pm on call nights. On most services, we were on call about once a week.

During third year, you learn by doing. You examine patients, perform the physical exams and learn how to formulate care plans for each new admission. You should also learn how to write admission orders that make sense for your patients.

If you have a good resident and good attending, you learn the thinking behind clinical decisions and learn the craft of medicine.

While you are not sitting in a classroom, there is plenty of study. Most clinical rotations have an in-house exam and a shelf exam at the end of the rotation. By reading about your patients and going to conferences, you prepare for your exams. Your rotation grade is some combination of your exam scores and your performace on the clinical team.

njbmd 🙂

 

[robotsonic]

I know that as a second-semester MS2 I should probably know more about this than I do, but what exactly is 3rd year like? Is it just like working a job, where once you leave the hospital for the night or the weekend, you're done? Or are you constantly reading and studying? I know there are books that are recommended for 3rd year. What are they like? Do they just tell you how to treat/manage patients with specific diseases? Are there exams in 3rd year or are you just graded based on your evaluations?

It's not like working a job. In a job you get paid. And you are never done when you go home; you have to read and study, ideally every day. You will have to give presentations and will probably have a few lectures throughout the course. Most rotations have an exam at the end, often it's the shelf exam (subject exams put out by the NBME). The books you read are about disease processes and treatments that are relevant to the rotation you are doing (and normal development, in cases like peds or family medicine). There are also practice question books for every subject (some of the brands are PreTest, Appleton and Lange, etc, you should look at these in your bookstore).

 

[medgator]

I really think third year is the biggest transition in your overall educational experience. Up until that year, you've been pretty much doing similar things through college and med school (studying, cramming, pumping and dumping it all on tests).

Third year is the big switch. It goes from being objective (taking MC tests) to subjective (being graded by people on your interactions and fund of knowledge). Your hours will no longer be set (like they were in the classroom). You will have to work with a number of different people (attendings, residents, nurses, other medical students, and of course, patients) and be able to work with them well. Intelligence and information that you know is just one criteria that you'll be evaluated on. You will have to be able to apply what you know and communicate effectively at the same time with the ultimate goal of taking care of your patients.

At the same time, you still remain a student. You will need to read regularly on your patients and will have to take exams at the end of every rotation which, more often than not, will account for enough of your grade to make a difference.

It's definitely a change, but its one for the better (after all these years, you're finally doing what you want to!)

 

[nutmegs]

Third year is beautiful. We eat cake for lunch every day, and there's free foot massages every hour on the hour.

No, seriously. Third year rules compared to the first two- you get to actually apply what you learned, look up what you forgot, and really truly understand the concepts that never made sense when you learned them on paper. You have to show up, smile, and act interested and genuinely be concerned for your patients.

Now go study for boards. No sense worrying over what you don't know about 3rd year because you'll learn everything you need to know as you go.

 

[Syranope2]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I guess I should go study for boards, as nutmeg suggests. Imagining about third year is so much more fun than that, though 😉

 

[Dr Alo]

I know that as a second-semester MS2 I should probably know more about this than I do, but what exactly is 3rd year like? Thanks for any help you can offer. 🙂

Syranope2,
Take a look at my blog. Tons of stories from the beginning of my rotations and teh shock of "Go see your patients" to the end is near at the end of my fourth year.

http://www.thealo.com/maloblog

 

[Beau Geste]

Even after you graduate and are a practicing physician, you are never done with your job at the end of the day. There will always be journals to read, charts to dictate, notes to write, and patients who call. Most physicians I know do some sort of work at home after their "day" at the clinic or hospital. But that's part of the wonder and responsibility of being a physician!

At least when you go on vacation, you can be on vacation!

 

[2009md2b]

While we are on the third year question....

A friend of mine asked me to be in her wedding during my third year. Can I reasonally be assume I can get a Friday/Saturday (maybe even the Sunday) off to do the rehearsal dinner/ceremony/reception?

Thanks so much!

 

[nabeya]

You can usually ask your attending in advance. The attendings I've met really could care less if you come or not even though everybody generally does have good attendance. I don't want to be one of those clueless interns so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

While we are on the third year question....

A friend of mine asked me to be in her wedding during my third year. Can I reasonally be assume I can get a Friday/Saturday (maybe even the Sunday) off to do the rehearsal dinner/ceremony/reception?

Thanks so much!

 

[lumanase]

While we are on the third year question....

A friend of mine asked me to be in her wedding during my third year. Can I reasonally be assume I can get a Friday/Saturday (maybe even the Sunday) off to do the rehearsal dinner/ceremony/reception?

Thanks so much!

No, do not ASSUME you can get it, ask for it very very early. depending on what rotation, for psych you might take the whole week off and no one will notice. But if you're on medicine or surgery and you happen to be scheduled for on call that day it's alot more difficult. Chances are you'll be able to get the whole weekend.