When did you feel like you were cut out for med school?

[premedhelp1256]

Starting school in a couple of weeks and I'm feeling a huge sense of inferiority compared to other med students. From what I've heard though, this is pretty common. So when did that feeling go away for you, and when did you feel like you "made it"?

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[DrDarce]

Starting school in a couple of weeks and I'm feeling a huge sense of inferiority compared to other med students. From what I've heard though, this is pretty common. So when did that feeling go away for you, and when did you feel like you "made it"?

I would say after I passed my first semester of MS1

 

[DBV]

After MS3

 

[YayPudding]

Personally, when I saw my MCAT score and knew how they correlated with boards.

 

[Dandine]

Never!

Serious though, OP, it's context-dependent. I feel pretty pumped headed for MS2 but that's mainly because I made it through MS1. But I still have areas that I'm skittish about.

Everyone goes through with inferiority at one time or another, or multiple times. Even if they don't show it. But you become gradually more confident about the things you take in and refine skills over time. It's not called "practicing medicine" for nothing.

 

[deleted407021]

Getting through first year really makes me feel like I'm here to stay and I won't be attrited -- also hype for 2nd year.

You can do this! Learn how to get all the work done in a healthy and efficient way and you'll be fine. Good luck!

 

[gapyearguppy]

I remember specifically it was after I got a B on the Head and Neck anatomy practical lol

 

[Redpancreas]

Starting school in a couple of weeks and I'm feeling a huge sense of inferiority compared to other med students. From what I've heard though, this is pretty common. So when did that feeling go away for you, and when did you feel like you "made it"?

Yeah, it's called Imposter Syndrome and it can be a problem if it's not taken seriously.

As for when I felt it going for me and when I felt I was cut out for it was frankly me just making the decision that I should go into it as narcissistic as that sounds.

My dad really took a lot of time teaching me programming, math, etc. but when I got to high school, there was a cute girl in my IB Bio class who I would impress by knowing random Bio stuff and I think I was just good at it because I was the only one who read the textbook instead of the IB study guide. Chemistry was also pretty interesting and Physics was the most interesting.

Growing up, I obviously saw my immigrant dad as a role model and he got where he wanted by picking something he wanted, committing to it and putting all his heart into it. Therefore, I'm not the traditional person who saw what a doctor did and was enamored by it. I looked at law, finance, engineering, and medicine and looked again seriously at Medicine and Engineering and decided on Medicine because I really liked teaching and giving advice and thought the subject matter was interesting and the pay was great.

In college, I went in knowing what I wanted,
and focused and shadowed not because I wanted to see if I liked Medicine, but to figure out what being a doctor required and so I could say I did it on AMCAS. Then I jumped through all the other hoops and worked my hardest on the MCAT/GPA. Everything hasn't been easy and I was miserable during periods of second year before Step 1 but I am in love with what I've seen so far going into 4th year and I am glad I had a decisive mindset early on.

There are occasional checks when I make stupid mistakes or but I think I'm pretty happy overall and I seem to fit well with the teams so I'm confident I belong.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

After I passed my second set of boards, end of M3. Up until that point I honestly still felt like they made a huge mistake letting me in.


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[jm192]

When they handed me the diploma.

 

[gyngyn]

The first year after residency.

 

[pericardium]

After scoring top 1/4 on a major exam during 1st semester of first year; took about 3 months to get there.

 

[premedhelp1256]

Never!

Serious though, OP, it's context-dependent. I feel pretty pumped headed for MS2 but that's mainly because I made it through MS1. But I still have areas that I'm skittish about.

Everyone goes through with inferiority at one time or another, or multiple times. Even if they don't show it. But you become gradually more confident about the things you take in and refine skills over time. It's not called "practicing medicine" for nothing.

Yeah, it's called Imposter Syndrome and it can be a problem if it's not taken seriously.

As for when I felt it going for me and when I felt I was cut out for it was frankly me just making the decision that I should go into it as narcissistic as that sounds.

My dad really took a lot of time teaching me programming, math, etc. but when I got to high school, there was a cute girl in my IB Bio class who I would impress by knowing random Bio stuff and I think I was just good at it because I was the only one who read the textbook instead of the IB study guide. Chemistry was also pretty interesting and Physics was the most interesting.

Growing up, I obviously saw my immigrant dad as a role model and he got where he wanted by picking something he wanted, committing to it and putting all his heart into it. Therefore, I'm not the traditional person who saw what a doctor did and was enamored by it. I looked at law, finance, engineering, and medicine and looked again seriously at Medicine and Engineering and decided on Medicine because I really liked teaching and giving advice and thought the subject matter was interesting and the pay was great.

In college, I went in knowing what I wanted,
and focused and shadowed not because I wanted to see if I liked Medicine, but to figure out what being a doctor required and so I could say I did it on AMCAS. Then I jumped through all the other hoops and worked my hardest on the MCAT/GPA. Everything hasn't been easy and I was miserable during periods of second year before Step 1 but I am in love with what I've seen so far going into 4th year and I am glad I had a decisive mindset early on.

There are occasional checks when I make stupid mistakes or but I think I'm pretty happy overall and I seem to fit well with the teams so I'm confident I belong.

Getting through first year really makes me feel like I'm here to stay and I won't be attrited -- also hype for 2nd year.

You can do this! Learn how to get all the work done in a healthy and efficient way and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Thanks for these. I think I needed to hear that

 

[premedhelp1256]

It interesting to see where all the different benchmarks fall for everyone. But I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with that doubt

 

[DocWinter]

End of MS3 (where I am now) is a good feeling. You get a sense of the jargon, the methods and finances (which equal the ways and why physicians practice X vs Y) and you feel the end within a year.

I'll probably not feel like I've "made it" for a while.

 

[Oh_Gee]

I remember specifically it was after I got a B on the Head and Neck anatomy practical lol

i think i almost failed mine

 

[operaman]

First time I walked into a patient room as an intern and everyone stood up and ended their cellphone conversations saying, "gotta go, the doctor is here."

I think you could hear my anal sphincter tighten from a hundred yards away.

 

[neoevolution]

i think i almost failed mine

mine was a soft fail but averaged out with the other anatomy courses to be a pass.

 

[ortnakas]

Toward the end of first year. Definitely NOT anytime first semester of first year.

Now I graduate in 10 months and 23 days and vacillate between being ready to be done with this and being totally terrified the world is going to let me be a real doctor. I'm pretty sure this is normal.

 

[Stagg737]

It's come and gone in waves for me. Felt pretty good most of first year. Second year felt awful, honestly didn't know if I wanted to keep going for a while, especially first semester and right before boards. Third year was good and a few rotations I really felt like I was at home, especially the couple times when I was able to teach/remind physicians about some of the treatments/new treatments in the field I'm planning to enter. Probably won't feel like that permanently until either match day or at some point during residency. I think during the learning process there'll always be moments when you'll question if you're "cut out for it", you just have to keep going and remember everyone is still learning.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

Personally, when I saw my MCAT score and knew how they correlated with boards.

It's great you feel confident but don't think it will be a walk in the park. The correlation between Mcat and boards is weak at best. Dont take it for granted, make sure to work hard. Good luck.

 

[YayPudding]

It's great you feel confident but don't think it will be a walk in the park. The correlation between Mcat and boards is weak at best. Dont take it for granted, make sure to work hard. Good luck.

Absolutely. It just felt like at least I deserved my interviews

 

[787593]

Personally, when I saw my MCAT score and knew how they correlated with boards.

Same!

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Still waiting...

 

[Foot Fetish]

When I got my first 100.

 

[raiderette]

When I realized that my retention and grades were improving, yet the amount of time required to prepare stayed the same.

 

[Lexicon0]

When I let med students go home early to study for their shelves as an intern

 

[DrDarce]

I remember specifically it was after I got a B on the Head and Neck anatomy practical lol

damn gunner alert... I definitely screwed that up lol

 

[Saxappeal1]

When it happens, I'll let you know.

 

[JPSmyth]

When I got the letter in the mail "congratulations, you have been accepted to..."

Then after a few more of those I felt like I belong here

 

[Donald Juan]

During PGY1 year I felt like I would make a strong med student. I was better than most of the M3s.

 

[TypeADissection]

As a non-science major, I was wicked nervous my entire first trimester. Surrounded by a classmates who had majored in science and were familiar with biochemistry and the like motivated me to study harder. Prepared as well as I could have and surprisingly did well. Success leads to more success as I established good study habits that carried me through. All of that turned upside down when residency started because it's really hard to study when you're exhausted and have a limited number of hours to get things done after work until you should be in bed to prepare for the next day.