What's Med School Really Like?

[frubeak]

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Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

Yes.
Not compared to college
Not compared to college
Not compared to college.
No.

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

1) Depends on what everyone is saying.
2) Yes.
3) Yes.
4) Yes.
5) Not yet.

Everything is relative. For some students, it's a lot harder than college. For some, it's easier/about the same as college. Therefore, some people have less time to have a life/socialize/party, and some people have an equal/greater amount than they did in college.

I'm sure that was exactly what you were looking for, but anyway that's all I can give you.

 

[8744]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

Just read my blog. Don't forget the archives. When you get done you won't even need to visit SDN except to marvel at your superior knowledge. I'm working on a deal where reading my blog and passing a simple multiple choice test is good for CME credit and can get you out of first year.

 

[67192]

Yes, med school is probably as hard as everyone says it is. You are in class all the time (well, at least i am) and then u have to come home and study some too. But there is definitely free time (obviously, since we are all posting on sdn). But it's a completely different atmosphere. My school is pass or fail for the first year (I'm at the University of Washington), so it takes the pressure off and we all work together... And being around your classmates all the time, you'll make some good friends and (at least here) there are ALWAYS class parties going on... after tests, etc.

Hope that helps!

 

[Jack Daniel]

Yes.
Not compared to college
Not compared to college
Not compared to college.
No.

This response best matches my experience halfway through my first year.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?

Yes, it is. It's an incredible amount of work.

Do you have a life?

A difficult one, yes.

Is there time to socialize?

You become very close to your classmates. Everyone else in your life will think you're exaggerating the workload and that you're getting b*tchy. Your classmates know what you're going through. A dear friend of mine in my mod said, "Every night when you're studying you feel like you're dying alone when the truth is that we're all dying together!"

Is there time to party?

Under ordinary circumstances? Not really. I study on the weekends, too, and couldn't afford to have my entire schedule thrown off by a very late night and/or a hangover. Every five weeks after test block, however, you try to cram as much living as you can get into one weekend. And, if you're on a conventional schedule like my school has, you'll get decent breaks in your basic science years - 3 weeks off at Christmas has re-charged my batteries.

Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

Not at all. I'm an older non-trad - I sometimes miss my old job and my old life (I didn't realize how comfortable it really was!) but suffering through basic science will pass, too. I'm already 1/4 of the way through it. Years 3 and 4 and residency aren't easy, either, but I'm looking forward to getting out of the classroom. You'll work very hard in medical school but you'll be amazed how quickly time passes - especially the last couple of weeks before test block!

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

1. Harder for some, not as hard as I expected
2. No, but I didn't have one before med school either
3. Yes, and the pictures are all over facebook to prove it.
4. See 3.
5. Yes.

 

[psipsina]

Yes.
Not compared to college
Not compared to college
Not compared to college.
No.

I concur. I study in my house, now whenever I'm not in my house or at school in lecture I get really excited like a little kid being taken to a toy store or something, its rather pathetic really. But I love what I'm doing, and I know the basic sciences are only two years and then I'll be locked into a hospital instead of my study but at least there are other people in the hospital so I won't feel quite so much like a hermit. I party only after a test and then take a week off to be a normal person before I dive in again.

 

[mules05]

Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

-Depends how well you study...first year it was even harder than everyone says, this year not so much, since I learned how I study.
-Yes
-Yes, maybe not to the same extent as in college though
-The farther I get from college, the less I want to party. Plus I find that I have a very hard time respecting my classmates when I see them in clinic or class trying to act all professional when I saw them dancing on a bar and making out with strangers the night before.
-Hell no.

 

[medstylee]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

- if you have good time management skills, it really isn't
- yes
- yes
- after exams is always a good time
- nope!

 

[soeagerun2or]

Is there time to party?

Lol why is this always on the kids' lists? Do you see anyone over 30 "partying?" Why would you expect med school to be a continuation of undergrad in that respect?

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Lol why is this always on the kids' lists? Do you see anyone over 30 "partying?" Why would you expect med school to be a continuation of undergrad in that respect?

Many in my class (though mostly twentysomethings) view the partying as a necessary component of med school. We seem to have a faculty member who must be in his 70's who enjoys them too.

 

[dilated]

Lol why is this always on the kids' lists? Do you see anyone over 30 "partying?" Why would you expect med school to be a continuation of undergrad in that respect?

Do you see any med school class with an average age close to or over 30? No? Then the fact that the fogies are out square dancing on Saturday nights is of minimal importance to us. Actually, it's more important because this is our last chance. 😛 😛

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Do you see any med school class with an average age close to or over 30? No? Then the fact that the fogies are out square dancing on Saturday nights is of minimal importance to us. Actually, it's more important because this is our last chance. 😛 😛

Wow, that's tacky. That's OK, though, because I still have sympathy for traditional students who have to give up a nightlife for medical school (as you almost certainly will have to do if you want to be successful). My partying days are long since past so the time I have to take away from shuffleboard in order to study medicine doesn't bother me all that much. Although I enjoyed my twenties to the full, when "to party" was not a verb. You traditional folks missed the 1970s and 1980s completely and, boy, were they fun.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Do you see any med school class with an average age close to or over 30? No? Then the fact that the fogies are out square dancing on Saturday nights is of minimal importance to us. Actually, it's more important because this is our last chance. 😛 😛

I'm just saying that unless you're a NASCAR enthusiast the party lifestyle is noncompliant with just about any career. I used 30 as an example. And I agree, the 20 somethings like to go out and socialize, "party" to let of steam but it's hardly the raging keggers or raves of undergrad.

 

[45408]

I'm just saying that unless you're a NASCAR enthusiast the party lifestyle is noncompliant with just about any career.

Not really. If you work 9-5, M-F, then Friday night drinking leads to Saturday morning college football leads to Saturday night drinking leads to Sunday afternoon NFL leads to a winding down of beers by 8pm. The number of people who do this is amazing.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Many in my class (though mostly twentysomethings) view the partying as a necessary component of med school. We seem to have a faculty member who must be in his 70's who enjoys them too.

And that's just so creepy. Sorry, but it is.

Umm, the first two years of med school are sort of like college with academics amped up a bit. You memorize lots of junk, but you're still in that same school groove. People do seem to party a lot, and drinking is a pretty common social activity. Some people study all the time, and some people only study most of the time. Nobody doesn't study at all without failing out. It's not a bad life really aside from the poverty.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Wow, that's tacky. That's OK, though, because I still have sympathy for traditional students who have to give up a nightlife for medical school (as you almost certainly will have to do if you want to be successful). My partying days are long since past so the time I have to take away from shuffleboard in order to study medicine doesn't bother me all that much. Although I enjoyed my twenties to the full, when "to party" was not a verb. You traditional folks missed the 1970s and 1980s completely and, boy, were they fun.

I don't know -- the person in my mod who makes like a 98% in everything seems to do a lot of socializing. Of course, he's pretty smart, and I think he puts in lots of studying before the partying.

 

[osmodiar]

Hi Everyone,

I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.

Is it as hard as everyone says?

Do you have a life?

Is there time to socialize?

Is there time to party?

Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

1. if you do what you have to do.. no it's not hard, you just got to spend the time to it
2. you have a life if you decide to have a life. There's unfortunately so many insecure students out there who just spend all their free time studying because they think they'll fail otherwise.. they feel bad about having a good time.
3. again, see above
4. you got to be careful about partying, you'll be able to do it, but dont overparty. balance is the key
5. Every day, but that's just me, it most likely won't apply to you

Feel free to take a look at my post on http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=355082
it's the last one..

make a wise choice and be sure you have good reasons to go into medschool.
I.e. because my parents wanted me to be a doctor or i want loads of money aren't good reasons

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Hi Everyone,
I will be applying to med school in summer '07 and just want to get the inside scoop on what med school is really like.
Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

1. Absolutely not. I was a schoolwork slacker in undergrad (worked plenty hard w/ ECs and a job, just rarely studied), and based on what I had heard from others, had thought that I was in for a rude awakening once med school started. I'm only halfway done with first year, but with consistent work, it's pretty much been cake.
2. Yes
3/4. I like that you separated socializing and partying. There is plenty of time for socializing, I do it every day. Partying really only happens once a week for me, but thats because I'm usually absolutely useless the day after partying for any sort of work. Light drinking/happy hours happen more frequently.
5. Not yet 🙂

 

[samenewme]

Do you see any med school class with an average age close to or over 30? No? Then the fact that the fogies are out square dancing on Saturday nights is of minimal importance to us. Actually, it's more important because this is our last chance. 😛 😛

Hey, I'll have you know I go SWING dancing on TUESDAY nights. Get it right! 😉

It is hard; it is intense; if you get your studying done as you go along you can still squeeze in a little bit of a life.

In answer to the final question, the guy who applied for and got my old job called me a couple of nights ago to find out the lay of the land at the old place (it was at an academic institution so, yes, it DOES take six months to fill an empty position). I started listing the "land mines" for him and became more convinced than ever that I like my new life a lot, flash cards and all.

 

[GoSprout24]

duplicate post

 

[GoSprout24]

Is it as hard as everyone says?
Do you have a life?
Is there time to socialize?
Is there time to party?
Any regrets in deciding to pursue medicine?, etc.

Here are my responses based on the CLINICAL years, bc I agree that M1-2 years are just an intense undergrad.

M3 YEAR
1. YES. Mainly secondary to hours spent in the hospital and hours spent feeling like a complete doofus.
2. No.
3. Um. Do you mean outside the hospital? See answer #1.
4. Rarely. You, um, have to be at the hospital early the next morning to take care of patients. Arriving hung over is kind of a no-no. It's shocking. Even the biggest frat boy drunkards from M1 and M2 year grew up fast. It almost brought a tear to my eye... However, on free weekends? When you switch to a new rotation and thus have a free weekend? It's binge-drinking central for many.
5. Sometimes. Particularly during my surgery rotation. 😛

M4 YEAR
1. Um... is M4 year supposed to be hard? Haha. That's funny.
2. So much life, I barely know what to do with it. Seriously.
3. Um... all I DO is socialize. Even when I'm working in the hospital. Who cares about learning anymore, I just chat with the patients, the nurses, the residents, the cleaning staff... whoever will shoot the ****. Oh, and since no M4 is really doing anything, we hang out a ton. Though, at any given time, some of your friends are away on interviews or outside rotations, but whatev.
4. Yes. Though I admit I'm getting a bit old for that... my stomach can't handle the alchy anymore, so I tend to stay away from it. And I get sleepy like an old lady when I stay out too late. 😛
5. Definitely not. Med school can be rough at times... but now that I see the light, it's glorious.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Just read my blog. Don't forget the archives. When you get done you won't even need to visit SDN except to marvel at your superior knowledge. I'm working on a deal where reading my blog and passing a simple multiple choice test is good for CME credit and can get you out of first year.

I would just like to say - that seriously your blog is brilliant. I never got around to reading it before the marsupial porn comment in the pre-med thread - but seriously. If we made it a pre-req for making an account on SDN there would be no more stupid repetitive threads in the premed forum! It would be miraculous.

Can't we ask a mod to sticky it as FAQ or something?

(and yes I realize these comments are probably a stupid repetive one and that if I kept reading your blog I would find something about it - I'm just not that far yet).