how's med school

[Guest tutifruiti]

Hello,

 

please forgive any English mistake I would make... indeed some French speaker also visit this board! Though my brother is in residency now and I have a pretty good idea of what academically means med school, I would like to hear your views, your experiences as a med students.

 

How is it, compared to undergrad? Does your course load allow you to continue the activities you were doing before "getting in". Did your life style change due to your course load. My brother tells me that I should just take advantage of my free time now because in med school I won't find any. Is he exagerating?! Don't answer all these questions, just tell us the story of your transition for undergrad to med, if you wish to. Don't be affraid to scare us...! tell us what we need to know in order to get ourselves ready to the transition. If you were able to go back in your undergrad years, what thing would you had done that would have an benefical effect on you now as a med student (ouf... that sentence is heavy!!!) (o.

 

Myself I am conscious that I often forget to consider this aspect of med school. I'm another natural victim of my desires, of my dreams, of, in occurence, the thing I believe is the meaning of my life. I hate the fact that I can't fully determine my life!

 

Moreover, people use the word "stellar" to describe all faces of successful premed student, that's scary! I don't have trouble in school, am the chair of a committee, did a oversea poverty reduction research in a 3rd world country with a group of students across canada, did Shad, volunteer work, IB, scholarships, many sport titles, Nserc, live in the right region... but no space trip. Tell me how much I should worry if I only am a 3rd year student?

 

The end! Again, Ian, this site rocks!

 

Do I personally know anybody on this board!! (o.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Med school is a lot of work. If you want, you can have free time, but there are many different aspects that determine how hard and how long each individual student studies.

 

Many students may be married, or be in dedicated relationships, and it's often tough to balance both schoolwork with your partner. The really amazing students in our class, in my opinion, are the ones with children, yet who somehow manage to raise their kids, and still do well in school. Other students are involved with research, and that's an ongoing committment throughout the school year, and often into the summer.

 

With that said, most students still budget time to go skiing, or to see a hockey game, or go to the gym and play sports, or follow other hobbies. It's just that you can't do everything that you always wanted, because there are certain levels that you need to study at in order to pass your courses. In third and fourth year, you may also be on call. In November and December, I was on my Surgery rotation, and would stay at the hospital for 30+hours per shift once or twice a week!

 

So, if I had to conclude, I'd stay that med school is a lot of work, but as long as you are organized, you can still maintain a balanced life. You just need to schedule them in to all of your other committments.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

 

PS: Your English is excellent!

[Guest RAK2005]

I have to say that Med school has not been that much of a difference from undergrad, as far as time commitment goes...however, one caveat: people have different styles of dealing with school. Some study alot all the way through, and sacrifice extra-time to concentrate on school work, while others (like myself ) take a shot gun approach and cram when necessary. Bottom-line is that if you know what works for you stick with it. I still make lots of time to spend at the gym, go to the pub and hangout with my fiance. I know things will change with clerkship, and I'll probably have to adjust, but knowing me, I'll still try and balance things out b/w extra-currics, fun and school. Chances are that if you were a high stress, intensive studier BEFORE med school, things are probably not going to change that much (except the worry of getting in will be gone!!). Most of my class has lots of extra time to do the fun things in school, so don't worry... life does not end with med school !!!

[Guest Mike2004]

Hi Raak

 

Just wondering how old you are, me and my fiance broke up but I think it may have been because of our age when I started Med school, I was 19.

 

 

Take care Raak

 

BTW I like the churn and burn last minute cram as well

Cheers

Mike

[Guest RAK2005]

Mike,

 

I started meds @ 25, and I just got engaged a month ago (however I have lived with my fiance for 2 years prior). Being 19, and engaged is a huge amount of stress to handle, and I know that PERSONALLY I was just not that mature at that age. I took my sweet time before deciding to apply for meds (I was a Physio before all this meds stuff) and I sure took my time before popping the question.

Everyone has different stories of how to survive meds and relationships, but most of the married/engaged folk in my class make a HUGE effort to spend lots of time with their families. I'm pretty sure they tend to cram alot too

 

Later

[Guest Ian Wong]

Hi Mike,

 

Which med school did you/do you attend? If you don't feel comfortable stating here on the forums, would you mind emailing me? mdpremie@yahoo.com

 

Thanks!

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3