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Physician-Age: Calling all students and doctors

A

Adam Blade

WWKC
2d8jg2w.jpg





There are some of us on GAF, so I thought I'd make a thread where medical students, physicians, and other medical professionals can gather and talk about our experiences. Perhaps some of our more experienced members could share tips and stories for the neophytes as well.

I guess I'll start off to get the ball rolling.

Year: MS3
(Future or current) Specialty: Undecided
Random comment about medicine: Medical school is long.

I know you're out there, so come on in, and introduce yourselves to your fellow comrades-in-arms.
 
B

Buttchin

Member
Year: MS3
Future: Psychiatrist, possible internal medicine/family medicine
Comment: Being verbally threatened by a sociopath that he was going to slit my throat because i had a smile on my face when i entered the room is my favorite Medical school experience so far.

OH yeah and medical school is long
 
B

b33f

Member
Year: 3rd
Future: Clinical Pharmacist (probably specializing in infectious disease or cardiology)
Comment: to practice medicine, you have to truly enjoy helping others
 
N

NZer

Member
Years: 4 down, 2 to go
Comment: To be truly honest, med school is shit. This is rarely admitted, for fear of seeming like a "bad" person or someone just not suited to such a "selfless" line of work (surely you enjoy helping people? etc.) , but I don't see how that really applies to (or negates) most of the things I hate: how pointless we are as students in the hospital, how poorly we are treated in certain specialties, the intense competition between fellow students, the endless pop quizzes and OSCEs, the steady eradication of anything else that you might have considered "your life", and so on.
 
A

Anticitizen One

Banned
I recently graduated college with a mediocre GPA. I made some poor choices in the past but my life goal is to become a doctor. What would be my best course of action to increase the likeliehood of getting accepted into an american medical school?
 
D

Dogenzaka

Banned
Anticitizen One said:
I recently graduated college with a mediocre GPA. I made some poor choices in the past but my life goal is to become a doctor. What would be my best course of action to increase the likeliehood of getting accepted into an american medical school?
Click to expand...

From what I know, start from the ground-up again.

Go back to college, make an effort on your grades, then transfer. That's all I know.

Then again I'm no med student :p
 
C

Cruceh

Banned
I'm still thinking about doing medicine. I'm only 23 and about to graduate into a health care field in May. Still hoping for a medical degree, but I have to change my lazy ass ways.
 
P

PandaPandaPanda

Member
Anticitizen One said:
I recently graduated college with a mediocre GPA. I made some poor choices in the past but my life goal is to become a doctor. What would be my best course of action to increase the likeliehood of getting accepted into an american medical school?
Click to expand...

i'm not in med school and I can't offer any advice other than from the courses you have taken, see if you've taken any of the pre requisites for med school to start

i.e. a year a general chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology etc

If you haven't taken any of those classes, start there as you'll need to take them regardless as they're pre requisites and you'll need to know the material for the MCAT
 
I

Incognito

Troll
i love the smell of medical students on the first day of my admissions (can't wait to see what kind of bozos i'm graced with on thursday..)

-signed, a chronically ill patient

:D
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Incognito said:
i love the smell of medical students on the first day of my admissions (can't wait to see what kind of bozos i'm graced with on thursday..)

-signed, a chronically ill patient

:D
Click to expand...
Is it better than the first day they have to work with cadavers for the first time?
 
D

Dogenzaka

Banned
Oh. Good to know.

If I don't study engineering, there's a possibility I may be interested in medicine, or may use it as a cross-over into medicine.

I've applied to Rice, which has an incredible program with Baylor where you get your MD in 4 years at Rice, and 4 years at Baylor College of Medicine. I might consider that.

Are most MD programs usually 8 years from graduation of high school?
 
W

woodchuck

Member
Anticitizen One said:
I recently graduated college with a mediocre GPA. I made some poor choices in the past but my life goal is to become a doctor. What would be my best course of action to increase the likeliehood of getting accepted into an american medical school?
Click to expand...

1) Look at what required classes you still need to take. Search for Post-Bacc programs where you can take those classes and improve your GPA.

2) Study your ass off for the MCAT

3) Volunteer or work somewhere in the health care field. Med schools like people with experience in the health care field.

Dogenzaka said:
Oh. Good to know.

If I don't study engineering, there's a possibility I may be interested in medicine, or may use it as a cross-over into medicine.

I've applied to Rice, which has an incredible program with Baylor where you get your MD in 4 years at Rice, and 4 years at Baylor College of Medicine. I might consider that.

Are most MD programs usually 8 years from graduation of high school?
Click to expand...

good luck getting into that program. IIRC, it's automatic admission into Baylor right? they accept like 15 students.
 
N

NG28

Member
Year: NA
Future: None
Comment: But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Lame, I know.
 
D

Dogenzaka

Banned
woodchuck said:
1) Look at what required classes you still need to take. Search for Post-Bacc programs where you can take those classes and improve your GPA.

2) Study your ass off for the MCAT

3) Volunteer or work somewhere in the health care field. Med schools like people with experience in the health care field.



good luck getting into that program. IIRC, it's automatic admission into Baylor right? they accept like 15 students.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Well actually I didn't apply for the program since I"m not sure if I'm going to commit to medical school yet...however, I did apply to Rice, and I suppose that if I get accepted, go there, and decide to do the medical program, I could apply next year for it :)

Thanks though.

And yeah I believe it's automatic acceptance into Baylor.
 
U

unreon

Member
Attending a Med School in Sydney here!

Year: 1st Year, fresh from undergrad
(Future or current) Specialty: I have so much time to decide, why the rush?
Random comment about medicine: Everyone's a fricking genius...

On an added note, I should be studying so off I go :/
 
M

Mr Cola

Brothas With Attitude / The Wrong Brotha to Fuck Wit / Die Brotha Die / Brothas in Paris
Slightly different boat to you guys, i am from the EU, did law at University and considering going into medicine, however I have been brought up in an environment to believe that I would be unable to cope with the standards. At the moment med school seems like this huge mountain that i couldn't possibly climb, because simply i'm not smart enough. I have worked in a hospital, volunteering, for a few years but i have no subjects tied to medicine in my portfolio. There are options but ive kind of built it up in my mind to be somewhat unattainable.
 
J

jason10mm

Gold Member
Damn, you kids make me feel OLD. I'm 5 years out of residency :p

Still remember match day and the day I passed my boards like it was yesterday! Sounds like most of ya'll still have those precious moments ahead of you :) And you guys have that wonderful bedside manner test. What a load of crap.
 
B

Buttchin

Member
jason10mm said:
Damn, you kids make me feel OLD. I'm 5 years out of residency :p

Still remember match day and the day I passed my boards like it was yesterday! Sounds like most of ya'll still have those precious moments ahead of you :) And you guys have that wonderful bedside manner test. What a load of crap.
Click to expand...

just took our schools version of that which we have to pass before we take the real one... they expect "more of us" to pass this one so we will "breeze through the other one"... either way its still a BS way to take more student money... cause as students we are fucking loaded down with cash,
 
D

Draff

Member
3rd year here (Canada).
Still undecided about my future.
I've decided that GIM is for masochists though.
 
B

BelligerentOC

Member
I'm in my 2nd year and, regardless of how many times you've been told, theres no way you can mentally prepare for how much studying you actually have to do. I took a day off from class after midterms, and I still feel behind weeks later, even though I've been studying non-stop... You really have to give up anything you consider a 'life' to get through...
 
B

Ben Pierce

Member
I'm currently Pre Med and still have a few more semesters to go before I hit the MCAT or Med School, so I'm extremely fresh, lol. I want to be a Doctor, I really do, and I'm willing to work hard for it. Gaf, just how hard will I have to work to finish Med School? Is having a job even possible during that time?

Edit, and I'm interested in Surgery.
 
A

Aruarian Reflection

Chauffeur de la gdlk
Year: MS3
(Future or current) Specialty: Probably internal medicine
Random comment about medicine: Have an open mind. I went into med school thinking I would be a surgeon. Finally had my surgery rotation in January and February, hated almost every minute of it.
 
J

j_k_redtail

Member
Engineer here. I took the January test and got a 38. (Yeah, you could've knocked me over with a feather.)

Are there any Gaffers in MD/PhD programs? I'm curious about them, but kind of balking at the program length (6-8 years). I'd be in my thirties by the time I finished residency.
 
S

SabinFigaro

Member
Year: MS1
(Future) Specialty: neuro-related (neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry)
Random comment about medicine: Medical school has actually been pretty easy thus far, and has not approached the time commitment that grad school was. There's a large volume of material, but none of it is particularly difficult other than integrating it all, which in itself is not difficult if you have a good memory.
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
SnowWolf said:
Random comment about medicine: Have an open mind. I went into med school thinking I would be a surgeon. Finally had my surgery rotation in January and February, hated almost every minute of it.
Click to expand...
lol i was the same way: i went in thinking surgery, did surgery in august/september and after like 1 week i was like fuck that. on the plus side, i had really awesome surgery residents, and i think they are responsible for any competence as a med student that i have now.
 
B

Ben Pierce

Member
bggrthnjsus said:
lol i was the same way: i went in thinking surgery, did surgery in august/september and after like 1 week i was like fuck that. on the plus side, i had really awesome surgery residents, and i think they are responsible for any competence as a med student that i have now.
Click to expand...

Why the ill will towards surgery?
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
Ben Pierce said:
Why the ill will towards surgery?
Click to expand...
well for one, the hours...i kind of like having a life. and the attendings were all pretty much assholes. i got called a dumb motherfucker (completely seriously) within 2 hours on my FIRST DAY. the only attending who liked to teach thought that teaching was drilling you with questions about random statistics and if you got them wrong telling you she was very disappointed in you and that a high schooler could answer these questions. (then she'd sexually harass you in the OR)

i mean whether or not you enjoy your surgery rotation is probably pretty dependent on your personality and who you end up working with. i really liked my residents, so i'm still a little conflicted on whether or not i had a good or bad experience (though i definitely lean towards bad)
 
A

Aruarian Reflection

Chauffeur de la gdlk
Ben Pierce said:
Why the ill will towards surgery?
Click to expand...

All the stereotypes you hear about surgeons? All true.

well for one, the hours...i kind of like having a life. and the attendings were all pretty much assholes. i got called a dumb motherfucker (completely seriously) within 2 hours on my FIRST DAY. the only attending who liked to teach thought that teaching was drilling you with questions about random statistics and if you got them wrong telling you she was very disappointed in you and that a high schooler could answer these questions. (then she'd sexually harass you in the OR)
Click to expand...

THIS. Well, I would have liked a little sexual harassment from some of the hot female surgeons I worked with :D
 
B

Ben Pierce

Member
bggrthnjsus said:
well for one, the hours...i kind of like having a life. and the attendings were all pretty much assholes. i got called a dumb motherfucker (completely seriously) within 2 hours on my FIRST DAY. the only attending who liked to teach thought that teaching was drilling you with questions about random statistics and if you got them wrong telling you she was very disappointed in you and that a high schooler could answer these questions. (then she'd sexually harass you in the OR)

i mean whether or not you enjoy your surgery rotation is probably pretty dependent on your personality and who you end up working with. i really liked my residents, so i'm still a little conflicted on whether or not i had a good or bad experience (though i definitely lean towards bad)
Click to expand...

I always heard surgery was competitive, but I didn't think it was full of straight up assholes. And about the hours, I've heard a bunch of things: 24 hours on, 48 off--stuff like that. Is that not the case?
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
Ben Pierce said:
I always heard surgery was competitive, but I didn't think it was full of straight up assholes. And about the hours, I've heard a bunch of things: 24 hours on, 48 off--stuff like that. Is that not the case?
Click to expand...
well when i was on surgery my hours were like 4:30am to 8-10pm 5 days a week, plus one day every weekend (but weekends were pretty short). on the plus side they never made us work overnight calls, though this is because they wanted us to work the entire day and not lose a day post-call. 24 on 48 off is more like a hospitalist kind of workload, and even then unlikely i think (?)
 
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