A lot of people say enjoy your 4th year, slack off, etc. You also hear a lot of "nothing can prepare you for residency." I'm not entirely convinced that this is true. While I certainly recommend you enjoy your 4th year (definitely take some easy, chill electives), I do believe that you can make your life easier when an intern by working hard on your sub-I, taking an EXTRA medicine month, etc. I took a few harder rotations my fourth year (the key word is a few
), and I can definitely say they have made my life in residency a whole hell of a lot easier. A lot of the things my colleagues are learning now under much more intense scrutiny, I learned while a responsibility-free 4th year medical student. You'd be surprised at how little you really know after 3rd year of medical school. Use your 4th year to selectively refine your ward skills so that your internship can be as painless as possible.