I had the chance to talk to a budding medical student last week, and it's strange to see the medical student perspective again. When I was going to medical school, I had a very self-centered experience. That is to say, I did not notice a lot of what was going on around me because I was so focused on what I needed and wanted.
Now that I'm done with the medical education process, I find I have remarkably little sympathy for the plight of the medical student. Everything seemed so dramatic at the time, but the thing about medical education is that every subsequent year is worse. MS2 is worse than MS1. MS3 is worse than MS2. MS4, while easier from the education side, is far worse with interviews and rank lists and the Match. PGY1 is pure hell. Subsequent PGY's are painful for new and horrible reasons. Being an attending is a whole new basket of terrible issues.
So it's hard to be sympathetic when medical students complain about med school. It's like complaining to a major league baseball player that a 70 MPH fastball is hard to hit. Yes, it is, but if you want to go forward, it doesn't get any easier. In fact, it only gets worse.
What is a PGY?
ReplyDeletePost graduate year
ReplyDeleteAs a 3rd year medical student, this is what I keep telling myself - that it will get easier... but of course - deep down, I know that things get a little busier every year! But isn't that what we signed up for? I must say that the transition from the pre-clinical years to the clinical years has made medical school a lot more exciting! I don't know about easier, but learning from patients is a lot more enjoyable than learning from textbooks!
ReplyDeleteI think that your post can be extrapolated to life in general. We are inherantly self-centered. No one else could possibly have had a break-up/loss/injury as bad as your own. But that is why you have to appreciate where a person is at in their life and cut them some slack.
ReplyDeleteAs a 4th year medical student currently applying for next year's match, I want to echo similar sentiments as tanzaniancane. Sure, things may get more difficult every year, but that doesn't mean necessarily mean "worse." 4th year has definitely been stressful due to apps and interviews, etc., but overall, I find it much more enjoyable. MS4s have more confidence and I think the years become more enjoyable because one is ideally pursuing his/her main interest (e.g. IM, OB/GYN, etc.). Sure, that confidence will probably be beaten to a pulp in intern year, but the biggest thing I've taken away from med school so far is looking forward to the challenges and lessons that medicine has in store for me.
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