What is the absolute worst part about med school?

[HEADintheCLOUDS]

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actually, the worst part of med school; not getting in.

Actually thats not part of med school.

 

[arsenewenger]

I sincerely think that the hardest part of medschool has nothing to do with med school per se. The never ending cramming and memorization is not as bad as it has been made out to be. However, the non-academic side of medical school makes everything way too much complicated. Recently, a fellow student told me that how one dresses is being analyzed constanttly and does factor into how you are treated in the event that you need an assistance from the powerful people running medschool. It is funny how you are stereotyped on the basis of things that are extraneous to the tenets of medicine itself.For me, It has been a roller coaster experience;sometimes happy, sometimes sad and at other times indifferent. The best part so far has been the people I hang out with. The worst part of it has also been the same people I see everyday. It was shocking for me to see how medical students talk about each other maliciously and it seems that everyone gossips about everyone.As I go back for the second part of the second semester of MI year, I can't help hoping for the best.

 

[kdburton]

3rd year won't be "easy" (it can be described as better, more interesting, but easy is not a word I would ever use) -- you will still have tests after every rotation. The tests (shelf exams) are not easy, and you'll have a lot less time to study for them. And you'll still have to squeeze in Step 2 someplace during the clinical years. And attendings are going to want you to read up on stuff and give presentations, and to look up things you didn't know when they pimped you; you will constantly have something you should be reading during your down time or couple hours of awake time each night. So no, you don't get away from book learning after the basic science years. Many people actually end up covering almost as many pages during clinical years as basic science. It's just that now you will squeeze the reading in on top of a 6-6 work day on some rotations.

To me, at least, "more interesting" and "better" = easy. If I'm interested in something it's easy for me to spend all day doing it. If I'm not interested in something its hard for me to concentrate on something for even a short period of time. For some people "huge time committment" = hard. As far as shelf exams go... for the required 3rd year rotations at my school all of the students I've talked to only study 1 month in advance for them - and most agree that outside of the wards they probably study less than they did during the first two years. Also you're not constantly studying the minutia that you'll never again see (as you are a lot of times in 1st/2nd year), because its geared more towards the clinical setting that you're in for that rotation. The reading that you do to prepare for being pimped during tomorrow's procedure is a lot different than sitting in a library reading and memorizing everything there is to know about single nephron glomerular filtration rates and the like for hours on end.

 

[BigJuicyWart]

Hardest part by far second-guessing whether it's all worth it or not. A friend of mine went to work as a statistician right out of college with a BS in Math (at the AMA, BTW). Three years later, he's already making 75k working 38/hrs per week while I'm slaving away and paying big bucks for the privilege to become a physician. While I can't see myself in any other field but medicine, the enormous amount of time and money required to eventually be able to practice kind of depresses me, once in a while.

 

[mglavin]

the hardest part is having to walk up a slight incline from the parking lot early in the morning and even further up if i forget to bring coffee from home

 

[def jeff]

One word, three letters ----- P B L

 

[0529710]

Wait till clinical years. During some rotations you will average between 5-6 hours a night for extended periods.

Wow, you guys are little babies.
I was worried it would be hard.

 

[PharmDstudent]

What is killing me right now as I near the end of second year is the monotony. I'm so tired of the same routine...it is driving me insane. Every day, the same auditorium, same seats, same building, same lecture format, sit and listen to someone ramble on through a powerpoint for 50 minutes (and they always go over), the same people...don't get me wrong, I actually like and get along with most of my classmates (I would say about 80% of them, the rest are shadows in the background who I nod hello to on occasion), but I'm so tired of the same environment. I miss the variety of undergrad. Every semester you had fresh faces, different classes, different rooms, sometimes hours of break between any two individual classes, often free to do with as you wish...I really miss undergrad. As much work as third year will be, I will prefer the variety that it brings...it will be more like work and less like school, more similar to practicing medicine than sitting and passively absorbing info for two years. I welcome the change.

Studying for the boards sucks hard too.

Exactly. I'm really bored with my environment too. I go to a small, private school, which is completely opposite of where I went for undergrad. So... I'm starting to get really sick from overexposure.

I have one more year of the monotony though. After that, it's rotations and then graduation.

 

[Blesbok]

Wait till clinical years. During some rotations you will average between 5-6 hours a night for extended periods.

I can do that. I hate getting less than 7 if I have to sit at a desk all day and stare at a book, but if I am up and about I am good to go on like 5 (with maybe a 10 minute power nap later in the day)

 

[dizzyorange]

The worst part about med school is waiting for it to start!

 

[alphaholic06]

The worst part about med school is waiting for it to start!

You say that because you're not in medical school.

 

[UVABranch]

Wait till clinical years. During some rotations you will average between 5-6 hours a night for extended periods.

then I should be ok I guess, since I only get about 4-6 these days (over the past 3 years)...

 

[SalseraDoctora]

The worst part of med school isn't the actual school, but where it's at. Right now it's a Saturday night, I've just finished a clusterload of exams from the previous weeks and I don't have an upcoming exam until after spring break. I promised myself I wouldn't study tonight, but after seeing that there was nothing to do in this ****hole town of mine, I actually popped open a beer, then looked at some pages in my neuro book because there was honestly nothing to do. It was either that or risk my life and go to a redneck dive bar. In my college town such a night would've been a godsend. Right now, such a free night is a curse because it makes me realize how much I detest this city I live in right now.

Amen to this! For me the hardest part has been having to move away from my support system--boyfriend, friends, and family--to a town that has very little in common with me. And maybe once a semester I do have a free night, but exactly as this poster said it seriously just depresses me. Big time. So I would rather just stay in and study and count the days till the semester ends and I can go back home for a vacation.

 

[Blesbok]

The worst part about med school is waiting for it to start!

The worst part of med school is the first day. Ahh, your ambitions are high and you are feeling great, but you are a complete 4 years of hell from graduating (or at least 3 if you count 4th year as a cakewalk)

 

[ColKurtz]

The worst part of med school is the first day. Ahh, your ambitions are high and you are feeling great, but you are a complete 4 years of hell from graduating (or at least 3 if you count 4th year as a cakewalk)

Wow, I wish I had never read that.

 

[kdburton]

So far for me the worst part of this year has been that I have a test on Monday and this has been the nicest weekend weather-wise the entire year... Since I slacked off last weekend I have to play catch-up now instead of BBQing, going for a bikeride, etc, etc. Today's lesson: study on the cold/rainy days even if it seems too far in advance of the test, because you never know when the sun will come out haha

 

[45408]

You say that because you're not in medical school.

Same for "the hard part is getting into med school."

 

[Dimness]

Here's my list
1. Knowing the dreadful feeling you have a 99 percent chance of repeating.
- After working for three years it was really hard to get into the swing of school. That and a erratic sleep schedule really screwed with me.

2. Unrewarding hard work
- Endless hours of studying and the only feeling you get after test time is, "geez, it ain't over yet".

3. Anything to do with embryology
- Fascinating stuff (loved the story about sonic hedgehog factors). Unfortunately, I hate being responsible for it. You'd think it make it easier to learn it.

 

[deuist]

I've never worked so hard to be average.

 

[MattD]

Is it the no sleep thing? Is it the hours of studying? The lack of free time? What do people hate the most about med school?

To me, it's constantly feeling like I don't know as much as I should know. Working all the time and NEVER feeling comfortable with your level of mastery is draining, for me at least.

 

[Jwax]

I've never worked so hard to be average.

Agreed. I put in probably 4x as much effort as I did in undergrad... and I'm still floating around or below our average test scores. It is infuriating and depressing. The worst part of medical school (thus far) is studying your arse off all day every day for weeks before exams only to make a low B or a C on the exam. 😕 😡 I like most of my classmates, I think the drama is funny, and although we've started doing weekly TBLs (like PBL's only the whole class does it together sorta) I'm okay with that (not a fan though). I don't like memorizing a bunch of BS that will NOT be used clinically. It is frustrating to have to spend so much time learning unimportant tidbits.

To the folks commenting about the irrelevance of the difficulty of getting in to med school and how that doesn't count... it is amazing how quickly we forget how horrible it was for us when we were in the pre-med shoes. I imagine we will quickly forget how horrible it is to be a med student or a resident, too, once we've reached attending. Just remember that every step along this path is difficult, and since ~95% of us will graduate, really, the hardest part is getting in. You just have to survive after that.

 

[SigPi]

getting in is the most difficult part. If you put in your time (wisely) in med school, like it is a job where you clock in and out its not terrible. Sure its a hell of a lot of information, but none of the material is that darn hard. There is just so damn much of it you have to memorize.

At least when youre acutally IN you know your going to finish --they put too much time into you to kick you out. Hell one kid at my school is on the 6 year plan needless to say matching might be an issue

 

[indo]

getting in isn't the hard part. Holding on to your will to live is the hard part.

 

[dingozlife]

Sigecaps

 

[Twitch]

then I should be ok I guess, since I only get about 4-6 these days (over the past 3 years)...

It'll break you eventually. It's just a matter of time. 😴

 

[vtucci]

That is true. I had operated on far less sleep prior to third year.

To OP, there is something to be said about trying to be on top of your game all the time in both enthusiasm and fund of knowledge. Third year is entirely different from the preclinical years and it will feel much more subjective in the grading process- a definite source of frustration.

It is mentally exhausting and if you doubt this, check back in with us this time next year. You will see it in yourself and in your classmates. You never know who and when you are being judged and that can really wear on you in addition to needing to perform well on shelf exams to attain certain grades (variable percentiles by school requirements). Many people even start to regress and humor becomes more juvenile. It is amazing what happens when people are sleep-deprived.