thebouque Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 i disagree with the above. The sooner the better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feversugar Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 i disagree with the above. The sooner the better Exactly, so you can start the necessary preps for really competitive specialties (research, publications...) I'd hate to realize at the end of my MD that I wanna be a dermatologist and have nothing done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 what exactly would you do to make yourself more competitive for something like derm or any competitive residency that you'll probably change your mind about anyways? just out of curiosity... Exactly, so you can start the necessary preps for really competitive specialties (research, publications...) I'd hate to realize at the end of my MD that I wanna be a dermatologist and have nothing done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feversugar Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 what exactly would you do to make yourself more competitive for something like derm or any competitive residency that you'll probably change your mind about anyways? just out of curiosity... Like I said, joining research groups during the summer, looking into getting things published, shadowing, more extra curriculars, getting connections/recommendations Not necessarily before even getting into med obviously, but during your MD it's something to do leading up to the specialty... I dunno if you can actually cram all that up in your last year if you didn't decide before then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 ok, those are nice hypotheticals, now how do you plan to actually execute these actions...? you don't cram it in your last year, you do it in your first and second year, and the summers in between, you can attend conferences, do research, lots of shadowing to find the specialty you want, all of which immediately become much easier once you join "the community". if you know what specialty you want by the end of first year you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it if you're determined, it's certainly a much more high yield approach than what you're suggesting, since you really have no connections before attending medical school... plus taking a nice summer off before you start prevents burn out Like I said, joining research groups during the summer, looking into getting things published, shadowing, more extra curriculars, getting connections/recommendations Not necessarily before even getting into med obviously, but during your MD it's something to do leading up to the specialty... I dunno if you can actually cram all that up in your last year if you didn't decide before then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 I'm not saying start shadowing and doing research in the summer before medical school.. rather, relax, but do some thinking and looking into what specialties interest you. Reading about this should be fun - after all, you are finally going to become a doctor! If you change your mind 5 times during medical school, then that indicates that either your understanding of self or specialties is yet incomplete, which is fine early on. But there are certainly advantages to filling in those gaps as early as possible. School life is busy, and you will want to spend your time doing extracurriculars/socializing as well as studying for exams. You will likely not have shadowing opportunities set up for you in every field in the beginning, and may not meet certain specialists until they teach their course in 2nd year (or not at all - in the lower profile fields). Research positions, like undergrad, start filling towards Nov-Dec. For me, I never 'changed my mind' - rather, it was a process of narrowing down the shortlist I had when entering medical school, and I worked on that early enough so that by the end of 1st year I had a pretty good idea of which direction I was heading. People who decide they want a competitive specialty at the end of third year can still succeed, but it is an especially stressful, unenviable position to be in. Better to have explored your interest early on by doing research in the summer after 1st or 2nd year, and just deal with the regular CaRMS stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantaloons Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Are you kidding me? Seriously people. Don't study, don't worry about matching to a residency, don't do any of that stuff. Read a book (for fun). Work out. Movies, music, gaming (I mean, have you seen Portal2 or SC2?) Go on adventures. You don't have many free summers left. Use it for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Ok, this is ridiculous (and yes I realize some posters are yanking the OPs chain, but I get the sense that some of them are dead serious). Totally sincere and non-sarcastic reply to your question: Look, you've spent the last several years of your life focusing on a difficult goal: getting into medical school. Congratulations! The thing is...the obsessiveness and intensity needed to reach that goal can make you lose sight of the big picture. That big picture is going to become really, really important for you over the next 10 years give or take, so you should start thinking about it now. The big picture is that medicine is *not* the be-all and end-all of life. Shocking, I know. There is more to life than medicine. Actually, there's a _lot_ more to life than medicine. It's cute that you're so keen and eager to dive right in, but you should really spend the next few months focusing on things that have nothing at all to do with medicine. Read a book. Drink beer. Travel. Hang out with your friends. Enjoy life. From here on in for the rest of your career there will always be a pile of things that you feel like you really ought to do to make yourself a more competitive medicial student, a better resident, a stronger clinician, whatever. That pile is always going to be impossibly large, too large for any one person to work through. What you might not have again in the rest of your career, and certainly not for the next 6-9 years, is four contiguous months off. Use your summer wisely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennethToronto Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 What you might not have again in the rest of your career, and certainly not for the next 6-9 years, is four contiguous months off. Use your summer wisely... hell yes. quoted for truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiopathic Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think Lactic Folly has a good point if you really want to be "productive" on some level this summer. It doesn't hurt to give it some thought. Having said that, ploughboy is right on the money. You will never have so much, essentially, free time for a long time so enjoy it how you deem appropriate. If 'enjoyment' is travelling, go for it. If 'enjoyment' is getting "ahead" and looking into career goals, who are we to say otherwise (there are a ton of personalities in medicine). Either way, there's really nothing you should worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalslacker Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Ok, this is ridiculous (and yes I realize some posters are yanking the OPs chain, but I get the sense that some of them are dead serious). Totally sincere and non-sarcastic reply to your question: Look, you've spent the last several years of your life focusing on a difficult goal: getting into medical school. Congratulations! The thing is...the obsessiveness and intensity needed to reach that goal can make you lose sight of the big picture. That big picture is going to become really, really important for you over the next 10 years give or take, so you should start thinking about it now. The big picture is that medicine is *not* the be-all and end-all of life. Shocking, I know. There is more to life than medicine. Actually, there's a _lot_ more to life than medicine. It's cute that you're so keen and eager to dive right in, but you should really spend the next few months focusing on things that have nothing at all to do with medicine. Read a book. Drink beer. Travel. Hang out with your friends. Enjoy life. From here on in for the rest of your career there will always be a pile of things that you feel like you really ought to do to make yourself a more competitive medicial student, a better resident, a stronger clinician, whatever. That pile is always going to be impossibly large, too large for any one person to work through. What you might not have again in the rest of your career, and certainly not for the next 6-9 years, is four contiguous months off. Use your summer wisely... I'm 7 years in with another 2 of residency and then fellowship(s) to go - the above advice is SPOT ON. Don't be a geek, enjoy yourself, you won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.