The med school experience?

[VincentAdultman]

FWIW I go out/see friends/date more in Med school than I did in undergrad, but that is likely a function of working full time in undergrad. Either way, there is time if you’re efficient enough.

I suspect some of it has to do with which school you attend.


And.... residents et al. do make out in supply closets and on call rooms.

You worked in UG. That’s different from living with your parents, voluntarily not dating, and just saying you’ll do that stuff in med school.

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[RNthenDoc]

I feel like putting off having a fun life is a personality trait more than a function of career/education.

I have a lot of friends like that. Seems to be prevalent in certain cultures.

 

[TypeADissection]

I thought the med school experience was quite enjoyable. I've definitely written about it in previous posts. In short, there's a lot of time to just learn new material. Still went to the gym regularly. Never missed a big game on the weekends that I wanted to see. Went to trivia at least one night a week and binged on wings, beers and wrong answers. Still did well despite my lack of undergrad science background. Why? See the first part about having nothing but time to study. Wait until residency when you have to study or write a paper and you're beyond exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. But I made awesome lasting friendships, have shared in their weddings and they in mine, celebrated the births of our children, and we still try to meet up once a year for brewskis and games. This is coming from someone who at baseline is very much an introvert, albeit a socially adaptable one. So make the best of it. You'll write your own story. Cheers.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I thought the med school experience was quite enjoyable. I've definitely written about it in previous posts. In short, there's a lot of time to just learn new material. Still went to the gym regularly. Never missed a big game on the weekends that I wanted to see. Went to trivia at least one night a week and binged on wings, beers and wrong answers. Still did well despite my lack of undergrad science background. Why? See the first part about having nothing but time to study. Wait until residency when you have to study or write a paper and you're beyond exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. But I made awesome lasting friendships, have shared in their weddings and they in mine, celebrated the births of our children, and we still try to meet up once a year for brewskis and games. This is coming from someone who at baseline is very much an introvert, albeit a socially adaptable one. So make the best of it. You'll write your own story. Cheers.

Sounds a lot like mine, except I got mostly right answers on quiz night.

 

[mistafab]

You’ll have lots of free time in med school to have whatever experience you like. Med school can be fun if you let it.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Medical school was a very different experience from college, not in a good way either. I was a non-traditional student, so I actually enjoyed my time during undergrad by hanging out with friends and doing things I was passionate about. Medical school, on the other hand, was an incredibly cliquish environment that rivals high school. I lived at home, and since we did not have mandatory lectures, I stayed home and studied. Medical school was an incredible amount of work, so I spent the majority of time studying. MS-1 was the worst, and it got progressively better since then. My intern year was a cakewalk compared to MS-1. I have 2 close friends that I made in medical school that I keep in touch with, and I instead hung out with my regular circle of friends. Otherwise, everyone had their own groups of friends (I am actually a very social person), so that was that. Of course people will have differing experiences compared to mine, but overall, medical school is a pretty rough experience before getting to your ultimate goal of becoming a physician.

 

[TypeADissection]

Sounds a lot like mine, except I got mostly right answers on quiz night.

Why you gotta flex like that on us trivia-impaired people?

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Honestly, I didnt do much of it in undergrad bc I figured I'd do it in med school lol.

Ouch. Well, I suppose after residency is a good time to live it up.

 

[chemdoctor]

Ouch. Well, I suppose after residency is a good time to live it up.

HAHHHHAHHHHAHAHA

 

[JSReed]

Honestly, I didnt do much of it in undergrad bc I figured I'd do it in med school lol.

May be speaking a bit out of turn....but I don't think you're going to get the "college experience" while you're in med school. Or if you do...it'll be the super watered down, lite beer version of it. People are starting to move out of the party-phase and into the focus-phase of life, so it'll be very relaxed when it is social. You'll have close friends, but not in the way you're imagining.

My suggestion: finish college and take a gap year while you apply. Move to the closest city (hopefully you have some friends there already?), get a starbucks or similar job, live in a group house, join like 4 kickball leagues, and black out at happy hour 4 times a week. Seriously. Will give you whatever aspect of the college experience you missed out on and then some. Get on tinder for good measure. Because by the time you start "drinking from the firehose" or "eating your pancakes" or whatever other analogy, the riveting social life definitely takes a back seat. I'd honestly suggest that even if you weren't planning on med school, its just a good life experience for millennials.

 

[rball]

At almost every med student panel I have been to the general consensus has been "You will have way more free time than you had in undergrad during the preclinical years. There is always more material to learn, but when your only goal is to learn that material - no job, no volunteering, a little bit of research if you want to, no essays or 4 different finals to worry about - then you may actually feel uneasy when you realize all you have to do is learn something new or go to the gym."

This is largely a myth. You’ll def have free time in preclinicals, but undergrad is cake compared to med school. Depends on what you want to do though; if you just want to do the bare minimum to pass then sure you wont be working as hard. But if you want to do well, you will be most likely busting your tail; med school is significantly more amount of work (unless you were a college athlete, worked part time, etc).

Stakes are also significantly higher-you have all the time in world before med school to prepare for mcat, build a resume, do gpa repair, do gap years, just focus on getting into a medical school, etc. Once you hit preclinicals, the most important and likely most difficult exam of your life that will determine your career options sits in front of you, and you must take it by a certain date (w/rare exceptions).

Agree with post above and would highly recommend taking a gap year - its nice to take a year off and relax/party/etc before buckling down for the 3.5 year grind.

 

[907914]

the most important and likely most difficult exam of your life that will determine your career options sits in front of you, and you must take it by a certain date (w/rare exceptions).

With exception of highly competitive residencies where ECs and research during med school will still matter/apply, wouldn't it be accurate to say that the entirety of the preclinical years is dedicated towards that exam, without the distractions of needing to worry about GPA, ECs, going to work, etc.? In essence isn't preclinical just 2 years of Step1 prep? Or do I have a misconception in there somewhere?

Note* I am not trying to insinuate that med school is easy and fully understand that the content and volume is massive and far surpasses that of undergrad, I am merely echoing the opinions presented to me by MS 1-3s at my 2 state schools.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

With exception of highly competitive residencies where ECs and research during med school will still matter/apply, wouldn't it be accurate to say that the entirety of the preclinical years is dedicated towards that exam, without the distractions of needing to worry about GPA, ECs, going to work, etc.? In essence isn't preclinical just 2 years of Step1 prep? Or do I have a misconception in there somewhere?

Note* I am not trying to insinuate that med school is easy and fully understand that the content and volume is massive and far surpasses that of undergrad, I am merely echoing the opinions presented to me by MS 1-3s at my 2 state schools.

You are still expected to be building a CV and improving your application for residency during this time. ECs and research still very much exist. And some schools have graded preclinicals. You learn a lot but much of it is not as helpful as it should be for Step. So you have to sort out what is and isn't relevant.

 

[JSReed]

With exception of highly competitive residencies where ECs and research during med school will still matter/apply, wouldn't it be accurate to say that the entirety of the preclinical years is dedicated towards that exam, without the distractions of needing to worry about GPA, ECs, going to work, etc.? In essence isn't preclinical just 2 years of Step1 prep? Or do I have a misconception in there somewhere?

Note* I am not trying to insinuate that med school is easy and fully understand that the content and volume is massive and far surpasses that of undergrad, I am merely echoing the opinions presented to me by MS 1-3s at my 2 state schools.

Wrong. You're trying to do well in the classes (which cover significantly more volume than step), keep up with step stuff, finish all the random mandatory stuff your school makes you do, take care of all the administrative stuff that comes with being an adult, whatever personal outlets you have (friends, family, fitness, etc). That seems like it's not much until you realize how much volume you're being thrown at school.

Doing well in classes is less important if you're P/F. But also the best way to study for step is to learn it well the first time so...

 

[907914]

which cover significantly more volume than step

So you are still using your preclinicals to study for step, but there is additional material. How much does that additional material matter at true P/F schools? I guess my only in-person med student conversations have been with true P/F school students.

finish all the random mandatory stuff your school makes you do

What random mandatory stuff do they have you do?

take care of all the administrative stuff that comes with being an adult, whatever personal outlets you have (friends, family, fitness, etc).

I guess I really didn't consider any of this because 'being an adult with stress outlets' isn't really unique to medical school lol Maybe I just underestimate this one specific facet because I am a non-trad/father so I have had to deal with adulting the whole time.

You are still expected to be building a CV and improving your application for residency during this time. ECs and research still very much exist.

How much of your non-school related time is dedicated towards CV building?

 

[rball]

With exception of highly competitive residencies where ECs and research during med school will still matter/apply, wouldn't it be accurate to say that the entirety of the preclinical years is dedicated towards that exam, without the distractions of needing to worry about GPA, ECs, going to work, etc.? In essence isn't preclinical just 2 years of Step1 prep? Or do I have a misconception in there somewhere?

Note* I am not trying to insinuate that med school is easy and fully understand that the content and volume is massive and far surpasses that of undergrad, I am merely echoing the opinions presented to me by MS 1-3s at my 2 state schools.

The problem is that the amount of info and depth you need to retain is just unbelievable. So even if you learn it well the first time and hammer it into your brain over and over, that knowledge will quickly fade by the end of your next block. Which is bad because you need to retain essentially all that knowledge for step1. This is why some ppl like anki.

Another problem is curriculums vary widely. Some do a great job teaching to step. Some do such a horrendous job such that you have to study for two curriculums at once-for step, and then for classes. There is overlap, but you have to take time to figure out what is the best way (eg what resources, textbooks, etc) to learn all the step relevant material you need to know, and then you have to keep up with all the “low yield” info your profs want you to know that will present on the class exam. If your curriculum doesn’t teach to step, one of your extracurriculars may need to be doing a step qbank alongside classes.

I dont mean to scare you, I just think this misconception persists that preclinicals were easier than premed, but at least amongst most of my colleagues it was not true. Med school can be a great, fun experience with a healthy amount of free time, but you will need to enter with the correct mindset and unparalleled work ethic to make that happen. Or just be insanely smart.

 

[JSReed]

So you are still using your preclinicals to study for step, but there is additional material. How much does that additional material matter at true P/F schools? I guess my only in-person med student conversations have been with true P/F school students.

What random mandatory stuff do they have you do?
I guess I really didn't consider any of this because 'being an adult with stress outlets' isn't really unique to medical school lol Maybe I just underestimate this one specific facet because I am a non-trad/father so I have had to deal with adulting the whole time.



How much of your non-school related time is dedicated towards CV building?

All of this is highly variable based on where you go to school, your test-taking ability, and desired residency (specialty, research focus, and institutional competitiveness).

Just referencing that when your car breaks down, your apartment has pest problems, or your computer breaks, you need to take time out for those things as well. There are children who haven't had to deal with those things.

 

[ciestar]

So you are still using your preclinicals to study for step, but there is additional material. How much does that additional material matter at true P/F schools? I guess my only in-person med student conversations have been with true P/F school students.

What random mandatory stuff do they have you do?
I guess I really didn't consider any of this because 'being an adult with stress outlets' isn't really unique to medical school lol Maybe I just underestimate this one specific facet because I am a non-trad/father so I have had to deal with adulting the whole time.



How much of your non-school related time is dedicated towards CV building?

Mandatory stuff depends on your school. TBL, PBL, and CBL for example. Every school has it built in somewhere. Dont forget labs. My school also includes ethics, business of healthcare, and community service stuff. Also the doctoring stuff that isn’t the “academic” lecture stuff.

 

[chemdoctor]

It's not even close to over -- it's too early for these regrets!

I studied my ass off the first 2 years, was a hermit during orgo (sometimes didn't leave my dorm for days just to study), then my 3rd and final year of college consisted of getting blackout drunk with friends every weekend, casual sex on school nights, and ubering to class at 8 am after. And now back to just MCAT study-all-the-time mode

You have a whole year and it's your last one, have your fun now, you can't rely on it being available in med school. And only do it if you actually enjoy going out, not just because you feel like you need to, many people prefer chill nights with close friends and that's perfectly great too. But when you're not going out, spend all of that time on weekdays studying efficiently. All I can suggest is avoid other premeds and just befriend business majors lol

Thanks!!! I appreciate your advice so much. Casual SEX on school nights? I've never even had sex... anyway tmi

 

[907914]

Thanks!!! I appreciate your advice so much. Casual SEX on school nights? I've never even had sex... anyway tmi

I don’t know if it was this thread or another thread but I repeat:

Life hack: get married after only 3 months of dating. Then you don’t need to worry if sex is casual or preplanned. Just do what you both mutually wanna do whenever and call it a day/night/whenever?

 

[chemdoctor]

I don’t know if it was this thread or another thread but I repeat:

Life hack: get married after only 3 months of dating. Then you don’t need to worry if sex is casual or preplanned. Just do what you both mutually wanna do whenever and call it a day/night/whenever?

I had plans to marry my ex ,.. she broke up with me tho

 

[cwmed]

Let's up the ante and change months to minutes.

Exactly. There's no time for wining and dining in between exams.

 

[_Cloud9]

A lot of insight! Thanks for posting this

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

What random mandatory stuff do they have you do?

Oh just you wait... Medical schools are the kings of having random mandatory stuff that wastes everyone's time on a frequent basis.

 

[907914]

Oh just you wait... Medical schools are the kings of having random mandatory stuff that wastes everyone's time on a frequent basis.

As long as I am not mopping the rain or refilling sandbags so they have ‘fresh sand’ then I think I can manage

 

[AllBleedingStops]

So you are still using your preclinicals to study for step, but there is additional material. How much does that additional material matter at true P/F schools? I guess my only in-person med student conversations have been with true P/F school students.


How much of your non-school related time is dedicated towards CV building?

It isn't additional material per se. Sometimes the preclinical stuff just doesn't cover the important stuff or goes to in depth on unimportant stuff. Therefore, preclinical is a game of sorting out the important from the unimportant and learning what they didn't teach you properly.

As far as non-school related time for CV building - it just depends on what specialties you are interested in, if you want to practice in an academic setting, and what the activities are.