Not Sure About Med School?

NOT SURE ABOUT MED SCHOOL?

Its been about 2 months since school started, and I still don’t regret going to Med School.

Through the weeks, different horror stories came up about students who got  kicked out, or realized by the end of their 1^st year in med school that it just wasn’t for them.

I was just sitting through it all and thought, can that ever happen to me?

Well it can.

I just said that there IS a possibility that later on in med school that I might realize that I don’t really want it, or that I’m not made for it; but the truth is, I want to be here, and I have to be here.

Horror stories:

Ø  Med school is hard, and it will suck the social life out of you.

Ø  If you are not smart, don’t go into med school.

Ø  The professors/doctors are terrors.

Ø  Average sleeping time for med students is about 2 hours a day.

Ø  Its expensive and time consuming.

Ø  Your classmates might not be there by the next school year.

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvar/6955985416/

The truth is...

Ø  Med school is hard, and it will suck the social life out of you.

Its hard only if you think it is, and if you don’t set your priorities right, it will suck all the life out of you. Honestly, med students still have fun, get drunk, and party. With all the exams, practicals, quizzes, and workload, it just gives us more reasons to unload and celebrate.

Ø  Its expensive and time consuming.

Expensive, yes, you can see my previous blog on med school expenses for that. Time consuming, absolutely. Sometimes 24 hours isn’t enough to tackle everything you wanted to.

Ø  If you are not smart, don’t go into med school.

If you are not COMMITTED or at least DEDICATED (in general), DONT GO INTO MED SCHOOL.

A lot of students here never planned on taking up Medicine. Some were forced by parents, some, just wanted to study a little more, and some just want to be kick ass doctors.

But in Med School, I will reiterate, you need to be committed. Just baseline COMMITTED.

You don’t have to like Med School 100% of the time, you can have your down periods too ( like I do, sometimes I just get frustrated with certain subjects and think, wtf am I doing here anyways?) . But the most important thing you can do is STAY COMMITTED.

First off, you owe it to your parents. Medicine is no joke. Php100k+ is no joke. You can feed a 100 families for a week with that money. The least you can do is study hard.

I’m not saying that if you do fully, and truly realize that Med school is not for you, don’t quit. If you are absolutely, 100% sure that its not for you, go.

But if there is even a .05% that you still want to be a doctor, I say fight for that .05% and let it grow along with your commitment.

In med school, there are lot of smart people. But being smart can only get you so far. COMMITMENT and DEDICATION is the key.

Ø  The professors/doctors are terrors.

Partially true. I think all doctors/lecturers/professors can become terrors if you don’t listen, understand, and participate in class. Whats there to be scared about anyway? That there is a graded recitation? Then why didn’t you study? That they can shame you in front of the class? Then why didn’t you put in the extra effort to study harder, or at extremes, grow a set of balls in that moment?

I honestly think that Med School, to a certain extent, should scare you, terrify you, and turn your life upside down. Why? Because in the real world, when you are actually practicing, there will be moments where it does exactly that—life or death situation, conflicting schedules or parties, horrible patients, you’re getting sued for malpractice, etc.

But here at DLSHSI, the professors are nurturing. Yes, I used the word nurturing. They will guide you every step of the way, they will get mad you but will let you know that its for your own good, they will be there for you when you need help (academic, financial, personal, etc).

Dont mistake nurturing for babying. Babying implies that you can sit on your ass all day and get spoonfed, and when you fail or meet an obstacle, the professor does it for you. No.

Nurturing, they help you grow, they encourage you.

With the professors here at HSI, all I have to say is that they are AWESOME. Want to know why? Well, enrol here.

Ø  Your classmates might not be there for the next school year.

I personally haven’t encountered this yet since we’re just 2 months into the school year, but upper years have told us that there are cases of classmates who just left.

Some didn’t continue medicine because they realized they really didn’t like it.

Some just took a leave of absence—maybe they got burnt out, tired, or just needed to step away and see the big picture.

AND some just failed too many subjects that they had to get kicked out.

Ø  Average sleeping time for med students is about 2 hours a day.

True IF you didn’t study beforehand and is used to cramming. I have classmates who have time to go to the gym, work out, join afterschool activities, party, and whatnot. They learned how to manage their workload.

Read this blog about the effects of sleep deprivation in med students. :)

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet.

As one doctor/professor said, “There is not such thing as time management.” Really? Well he does have a point, you cant really manage the time, you can only manage your tasks.

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet.

Study a week earlier, tackle the hard subjects first when you’re still fresh, learn new techniques for studying at the same time. Try to discover what learning style works for you. DONT CRAM.

I mean, you owe it to your patient to be the best damn doctor that they have ever encountered. Am I right?

The Academic Avalanche

Hey guys, I apologize if I havent posted in awhile. The pace in med school kinda picked up when July settled in.

As i said before, things went into hyperdrive when July settled in. June was the typical settling in phase where doctors/professors slipped in a quiz or two, letting you gain a solid foothold on studying again.

BOOM!
Then July came in.

Every other week we had quizzes and major exams, and it came to a point where you just couldnt study as much as you wanted to because you were dead tired.

Major exams that happened this month: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and this week would be Community Medicine and Bioethics.

Seriously, of all the major exams that came and went, Anatomy was probably the most mind boggling thing I encountered since our freshmen orientation with the mock exams.

I prepared for that exam like everyone has prepared for the oncoming zombie apocalpyse.

I kid you not. I spent a majority of my weekdays + 80% of my weekend reviewing everything and I was kind of pumped for the exam already.

Day of the exam, 7am in the morning, my dorm mates and I came out of our rooms at exactly the same time with blank faces, silently staring at each other, when, very quietly, one whispered... oh my g*d, I dont know anything.

All of us kinda went into a crazed panic since the exam was a bout 3 hours away. 

GROUP STUDY NOW!

Nobody brushed their teeth, fixed their hair, or took out the morning glories scattered all over, we got our stuff out and went to one room and started reviewing each other like there was no tomorrow. 

We spent two hours studying, took a bath, then went for the exam.

Here we go.

About an hour later, I was feeling pretty good about the results. But within a few minutes, panic set in again as we prepared for the practical exams for that afternoon.

For the practical exams, they set up 80 stations in the laboratory where there would be around 65-70 microscopes set up with specimens, around 5 pictures, and 5 resting stations. Every 20 seconds we a buzzer would sound out and everyone had to move to the next station.

This type of exam gives you an adrenalin rush. It was awesome and at the same time, depressing.

Within 20 minutes or so, we finished all 80 questions and headed out the laboratory. And everyone was kind of high with the rush. We headed out, ate, and made merry while doomsday/judgement day waited silently.

About 2-3 days, results came out. And I failed both the theoretical and practical. And so did 80% of the batch.

It was kind of comforting to know that, but deep inside, I was depressed because I studied my ass off and I still failed. 

Good thing that they lowered the passing rate a little, and I passed both, but, it still frustrated me. 

I will not be an average/ mediocre doctor. I will study my ass off, and one day I will top the exams.

Shit just got real.