What is med. school like?

[Nitro338]

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After high school my plans are to possibly become a sport medicine doctor and work for any professional team in the nfl,nba,etc. I know that medical school is necessary. I have few questions to anybody who knows or has been through a medical school.

How many years is medical school exactly?
What is medical school like? Do you have time for friends,or any free time?
How many hours per day do you study?
What medical school is the best to attend?

Any infornation is good. Thanks in advance.

 

[broken tibula]

Medical school is four years long. The best medical school for you to attend, as far as I can tell, are the ones that you can get into--they're highly competitive. Also, there are a lot of things for you to consider when you choose a medical school, like location, and the kind of match rates that they have. Others are PBL (Problem Based Learning), and others offer the opportunity to start working in a hospital in your first years, and others are famous for research. It all depends on what you're looking for.

As for your other questions, I'd recommend spending a bit of time browsing through the Medical Student Forums.

 

[UNMorBUST]

😱Please search before this thread blows up..

 

[Law2Doc]

After high school my plans are to possibly become a sport medicine doctor and work for any professional team in the nfl,nba,etc. I know that medical school is necessary. I have few questions to anybody who knows or has been through a medical school.

How many years is medical school exactly?
What is medical school like? Do you have time for friends,or any free time?
How many hours per day do you study?
What medical school is the best to attend?

Any infornation is good. Thanks in advance.

I agree with the others that you can get a lot of your questions answered by just reading through posts in the other forums. But in short, after you complete college, med school is 4 years. Following med school you will need to do 3-5 years of residency.

The folks who do well in med school tend to treat it like a long houred, full time job in terms of hours. Meaning that between classes and studying, you probably will be spending something on the order of 60 hours/week in classes or books, more during exam weeks. But this is not going to have much meaning to you conceptually, because high school seems like a lot of work while you are there, but seems like a joke once you get to college, and then college seems like a joke once you get to med school, and so on. So you lack perspective to conceptualize the kind and level of work you will be doing in med school.

The question as to what med school is "the best to attend" is meaningless when you are still in high school. Most US allo med schools will give you the opportunity to land a residency in a specialty that can lead to sports medicine (FM or ortho), but how you do will be more important than where you attend. You need to get into and do well in college, and then see what your options actually are, before determining which one is best. I would also suggest that most (>80%) of all med students change their opinion as to the specialty they are going into at least once, so thinking you want to be a sports med doc in high school probably doesn't translate into what you will want to do once you actually get some exposure to more medical fields. You go to med school to be a clinician, and pick the specialty after you see more, not the other way round.

 

[dienekes88]

You go to med school to be a clinician, and pick the specialty after you see more, not the other way round.

That's not always the case. However, most of the time you change your mind in medical school after exposure to a variety of fields.

Very few people go to medical school thinking "Anesthesiology is SOOO cool." On top of that, I'm guessing half of my first year class wants to do either neurosurgery or ortho. Maybe 15 out 150 will actually do it.

 

[Law2Doc]

That's not always the case. However, most of the time you change your mind in medical school after exposure to a variety of fields.

Very few people go to medical school thinking "Anesthesiology is SOOO cool." On top of that, I'm guessing half of my first year class wants to do either neurosurgery or ortho. Maybe 15 out 150 will actually do it.

Yeah, for neurosurgery, if your school is like most, I'd say if more than 2-3 people in your class actually go that route, it would be quite unusual. It's crazy long training and not a lot of slots. Ortho continues to be popular to the end, but board scores will probably make a lot of the first year hopefuls in your class rethink that.

 

[dienekes88]

Yeah, for neurosurgery, if your school is like most, I'd say if more than 2-3 people in your class actually go that route, it would be quite unusual. It's crazy long training and not a lot of slots. Ortho continues to be popular to the end, but board scores will probably make a lot of the first year hopefuls in your class rethink that.

It's a pretty unusual school.

 

[QofQuimica]

Very few people go to medical school thinking "Anesthesiology is SOOO cool."

I am one of those very few.

I'll grant you though that most people don't come in wanting to do anesthesiology; I'm still the only one in my whole class as far as I know. But I had already gotten a couple years' worth of anesthesia research experience before I came to med school, and being able to do anesthesia research was the main reason that I decided to apply to med school. 🙂

How many years is medical school exactly?

Usually four years, unless you do MD/PhD or other MD/combined degree

What is medical school like?

First and second years are preclinical, which means that you spend most of your time in a classroom or sitting somewhere studying. Third and fourth years are clinical, which means that you spend most of your time in the hospital going through your rotations.

Do you have time for friends,or any free time?

Yes, but time is precious in med school. Some of your friends (or your significant other) may not be understanding of your schedule, and you will drift apart.

How many hours per day do you study?

Now, maybe an hour per day, two hours tops. (I'm a third year.) It's hard to come home after a day on the wards and sit down and study. First and second years, I'd say maybe 8 hours per day.

What medical school is the best to attend?

As others have already said, the one that accepts you. If you get into more than one school, the one that gives you the most financial aid.

 

[GZA]

Now, maybe an hour per day, two hours tops. (I'm a third year.) It's hard to come home after a day on the wards and sit down and study. First and second years, I'd say maybe 8 hours per day.

.

Oh lord; don't frighten off the prospectives now!

 

[QofQuimica]

Oh lord; don't frighten off the prospectives now!

Ha, and there I was feeling like some kind of light weight half the time compared to several of my classmates.

In all seriousness, that comes out to be about what L2D estimated (~8 hours per day x 7 days per week = ~60 hours per week). I think his estimate is pretty close to accurate for most people if you count time in class. Do you think we're off? If you're a first/second year, how many hours do you study?

 

[dienekes88]

Ha, and there I was feeling like some kind of light weight half the time compared to several of my classmates.

In all seriousness, that comes out to be about what L2D estimated (~8 hours per day x 7 days per week = ~60 hours per week). I think his estimate is pretty close to accurate for most people if you count time in class. Do you think we're off? If you're a first/second year, how many hours do you study?

🙁:cry:

I don't know how to read.

 

[GZA]

Oh, it's not really off. I probably did around 4-6 per day; week before exams slightly more. I also attended zero non required classes, which I assume you did as well (unless you are including time elapsed in class in your study estimations).

edit: I see now you did include such. Ah, that is much less grave than I had previously conjectured.

 

[Terpskins99]

Ha, and there I was feeling like some kind of light weight half the time compared to several of my classmates.

In all seriousness, that comes out to be about what L2D estimated (~8 hours per day x 7 days per week = ~60 hours per week). I think his estimate is pretty close to accurate for most people if you count time in class. Do you think we're off? If you're a first/second year, how many hours do you study?

I was going to say. How in the world does anyone manage 8 hours of studying ON TOP of lecture! Sleep with Goljan barking on the iPod, maybe? 😛

 

[QofQuimica]

I was going to say. How in the world does anyone manage 8 hours of studying ON TOP of lecture! Sleep with Goljan barking on the iPod, maybe? 😛

No, I agree, it would be tough (maybe impossible) to go to class all day and then study another eight hours afteward. But I think an eight hour day *total* of doing medical school-related stuff is completely reasonable. I studied on weekends too, but then I have never been the type who spends a lot of additional time cramming right before exams. I have always preferred studying at a constant pace throughout the semester.

 

[Valvool]

I study anywhere from 2-4 hours on a weekday (after classes), and several hours each weekend day. If it's test time, I study twelve hours a day on weekends, and stay at school in the library until 8 or 9pm on weekdays. As of yet I've not had to pull an allnighter.

 

[Law2Doc]

I study anywhere from 2-4 hours on a weekday (after classes), and several hours each weekend day. If it's test time, I study twelve hours a day on weekends, and stay at school in the library until 8 or 9pm on weekdays. As of yet I've not had to pull an allnighter.

For those folks reading this, bear in mind that no one study schedule fits all situations, and that this study schedule tends to be a bit toward the lower end of the scale, in my experience. The average med student will put in more time, particularly the lower (2) hours on weekdays and "several hours" on the weekends. Weekends are a good time to review and cement the entire week's material down, because it's the only two days a week that you won't be getting new material, so a lot of folks will spend the bulk of those days working most weekends, not several hours. But I certainly do know folks who are doing fine with the schedule described above as well. You have to figure out what will work for you by trial and error in med school. A lot of people start with a more intense schedule than Valvool describes and pare it down over time. Others feel the need to kick it up a notch. You have to figure out what works for you, not anyone else. It's a very individualized process. One thing you can be certain of is that what worked in college tends not to work that well in med school, and so you will be revamping things.

 

[Turtle01]

like lawdoc said, it depends. I don't come anywhere near 8 hours a day, as i would quickly lose my mind. It all really depends on how motivated you are, how well you are doing in the class, and if you have a good memory. All of these things vary, but with an adjusted study schedule most people can do well in medical school.

 

[kdburton]

I go to class from 8-12 every day although its not required. I then take an hour to eat lunch and watch sports center before I go someplace quiet and review that days lectures. Then I go home hit the gym, shower and then its time for dinner. After dinner I do whatever I want.. If its a few weeks out from and exam I'll probably hang out with friends or my girlfriend, watch TV, sleep, etc. If its the week before an exam I usually study after dinner until pretty late (i.e. until right before bed). Its pretty intense I guess. If you include class time - 20 hrs/wk for me - I'd say I average 50-60 hours per week of medical school related committment

 

[NukeEmAllJeff]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

 

[45408]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

Very rarely. I don't know of anyone at all who worked during M3/M4.

 

[URHere]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

I've found it to be fairly easy to work as an MS1. I held down a theatre job this fall (probably 25-30 hrs/week), and I know that several of my classmates have managed similar commitments. Most of the people I am referring to work only part time or take a few hours here and there to staff traveling events, but they do manage to work and handle school simultaneously.

 

[QofQuimica]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

Medical school is itself a full-time job, so at most you would only be able to work part-time. I taught Kaplan once per week my first year and about once per month my second year. I also have been doing some free-lance projects (writing, reviewing) that can be fit around my med school schedule. A free-lance kind of job is probably not going to be applicable for many trads, because you need to have some kind of skill set that companies will be willing to pay for. But you could still set up some sort of business of your own, like baby-sitting for the docs. (One of my trad classmates did that.) Finally, for those of you who are rising first years, don't forget that you can get paid to do research over the summer between first and second years. There are tons of summer research fellowships for med students; just check on the website for the national society of your favorite specialty. Usually, the apps are due around now, so don't procrastinate if you're going to apply for one of these fellowships.

 

[kdburton]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

I had one of those student jobs in the computer lab where you don't have to do any work. I worked like 6 hours/wk for MS1 and the first semester of MS2 with no problems. I was able to study at my job though. If you can find something like that where you're just "monitoring" things and studying is an expected activity in your downtime then go for it. I know some people who work real jobs - not able to study during them - and they do it for quite a few hours per week. These people maybe aren't able to do as well in school as they want to, but they aren't failing by any means. It all depends on your abilities when it comes down to it. For instance some of the MD/PhD students put in quite a few hours in the lab on top of doing very well in school

 

[swim2006]

Did or does anyone work (full time or part time job) while attending med school?

I think I know the answer, just curious.

I am an M1 and I work a part-time job, but I also had this job when I was working on my master's degree. I probably work 6 hours a week (weekends mostly); however, I may put in more hours right after an exam when I don't need to be studying as much and there are some weeks that I don't work at all depending on which exam(s) are coming up. So my job is very flexible and the attendings I work for check in every few weeks now to make sure work isn't impeding my studying time. I plan to work through M2 but if it becomes problematic I can quit. I am not going to work through M3 or M4. My job is a type of clinical research work and my cimputer is in the hospital so when I go to work I am reminded of my long term goals and it serves well as motivation.

 

[Law2Doc]

I am an M1 and I work a part-time job, but I also had this job when I was working on my master's degree. I probably work 6 hours a week (weekends mostly); however, I may put in more hours right after an exam when I don't need to be studying as much and there are some weeks that I don't work at all depending on which exam(s) are coming up. So my job is very flexible and the attendings I work for check in every few weeks now to make sure work isn't impeding my studying time. I plan to work through M2 but if it becomes problematic I can quit. I am not going to work through M3 or M4. My job is a type of clinical research work and my cimputer is in the hospital so when I go to work I am reminded of my long term goals and it serves well as motivation.

While a short houred, flexible job described by swim is possible, bear in mind that about 90% of med students don't work (other than the one summer between first and second year). You will be spending so much time in class and studying that most feel the few hours a week you could be spending at a job would be better spend "decompressing" and blowing off steam. Free time is at a premium, and so most people opt to spend it doing something fun, rather than trying to be productive 24-7.

 

[Daybreak Tan]

hi! guy im from malaysia...nice to chat here...actually im a high school leaver(STPM)....Im prepare to apply for medical school...actually i want to be a surgeon...will a doctor really can save a lot of life...?because in our country the doctor involve the internal politic of hospital more than save a life!!!

 

[tonyroberts09]

That's not always the case. However, most of the time you change your mind in medical school after exposure to a variety of fields.