A question to the Health Care Professionals of the ML Club.

[tsmooth]

I am signed, sealed, and ready to attend Medical School this coming August. I reason I started this post was because so many our members seem to be in one phase or another in the medical profession (medical school, residency, practicing). I just wanted to get your thoughts on how the experience was for you. How was the workload and balancing it everything else going on in your life? What experiences did you have to make you want to specialize? Any other advice about money, etc. would be great as well.

 

[Yang1815]

M1/M2, expect nothing but study and occasional get-together/hanging-out after major tests/breaks. Time management is the key! You know your studying habits so do what works best for ya. Workload's definitely heavier than undergrad for me but at least it was more interesting than undergrad material. Start studying for step 1 EARLY!

I cannot comment on M3/M4/residency from personal experience since I'm in my PhD right now.

Good luck! Which school are you attending anyway?

 

[tsmooth]

The Medical College of Wisconsin (M-COW as we locals call it). It is actually connected to Froedtert hospital and Milwaukee's Children's hospital, which was a big selling point for me. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[sleepysurf]

IMHO... Medicine (or any other "profession" for that matter), is just that- A PROFESSION. You get out of it what you put into it. Invest as much time as possible studying, and building a stronger foundation for the future. You'll never again have as much time and opportunity to learn. Audio, cars, photography, etc. are all great hobbies, and will do wonders to relieve the STRESS inherent in your chosen career. Just make sure you keep your studies as the primary focus, and turn to audio (or other hobbies) to relax and rejuvenate.

 

[Pcar928fan]

Make good grades so you can move on to a residency in a big money specialty so you can pay for the Med school and then start buying THE BEST ML has to offer! Lots of work ahead of you, so hang in there!

Please treat your Pharma reps nicely too, they will take you out to dinner and stuff, and believe it or not we are people too!

 

[twich54]

Please treat your Pharma reps nicely too, they will take you out to dinner and stuff, and believe it or not we are people too!

James, that sounds like a "Training Excersize" for becoming a Gov't Lobbyist !

I guess it's the ....."and stuff" that caught my eye !

 

[Joey_V]

M1 - Study hard... but the tougest part is getting used to the new routine. The course load isn't tough.

M2 - Study efficiently... the course load is tougher, but by now you should be used to the study patterns/habits you learned from first year.

Step 1 - Study throughout the year, do questions and use Kaplan Qbank. Do the 2200 twice over. Goal = 220+ to be competitive for Family Practice, Anesthesia, EM, Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Neurology. 230+ for Ortho, ENT, Opthalmology, Radiology. 240+ for Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Dermatology.

M3 - Do well on rotations, do well on shelf exams to Honor/High Pass.

Step 2 - DESTROY this test, especially if you did below what you expected on Step 1! If you're able to get the scores from Step 2 back before interview during your 4th year, you can use them to your advantage. Step 2 is NOT required to get interviews, but Step 2 is favored over Step 1 when programs rank you!! ***IMPORTANT FACT***

M4 - Find the specialty that interests you, go on interviews, do electives... relax... and wait for Match Day and Graduation Day.

----
Study hard, but play hard. Get into some sort of hobby - whether it be Martin Logan speakers and audio or working out, running, swimming. Find a passion outside medical school and pursue it. You WILL become VERY isolated at times (several times and maybe even a good part of the year) and there will be many times where you feel completely DISSOCIATED from the world.

I recall looking out the window of the 10th floor of our school at 1am during a study break and seeing the entire Chicago skyline.... I recall looking at the people walking the streets below and the cars whiz by... it's lonely and isolating. Be sure to make many friends and stick with each other. It's a tough road, but it's something all of us overcome.

If you need help, PM me... I'm an M4... I know what you'll be going through.

BTW, I am ranking MCOW EM program high on my list (Top 2 or 3).... so don't be surprised if I see you there this July.

Joey

 

[Joey_V]

Make good grades so you can move on to a residency in a big money specialty so you can pay for the Med school and then start buying THE BEST ML has to offer! Lots of work ahead of you, so hang in there!

Or do what I did and get the Summits during school!!

 

[tsmooth]

I believe Vistas will be the best I can do before this coming August (without my wife thinking I am completely nuts). That will probably have to hold me over until I am completely done. Joey, thanks for the rundown above, that was exactly what I was looking for. If you haven't been up to MCOW it is a pretty nice location and Milwaukee is like 10 minutes away. You should take a look around if you have a chance and haven't done so already.

 

[Joey_V]

I believe Vistas will be the best I can do before this coming August (without my wife thinking I am completely nuts). That will probably have to hold me over until I am completely done. Joey, thanks for the rundown above, that was exactly what I was looking for. If you haven't been up to MCOW it is a pretty nice location and Milwaukee is like 10 minutes away. You should take a look around if you have a chance and haven't done so already.

I already interviewed at MCOW.. nice place and facilities. The ER was fantastic. I haven't been to Milwaukee much... how is it and how does it compare to a place like Chicago? Is it a "mini-Chicago"?

 

[Pcar928fan]

James, that sounds like a "Training Excersize" for becoming a Gov't Lobbyist !

I guess it's the ....."and stuff" that caught my eye !

LOL! Yea, the "and stuff" part is pretty much gone these days! Back when I started in this business Big Pharma would takes docs on trips all over the place and quite frequently. Ah, the good ol days!

 

[Pcar928fan]

Or do what I did and get the Summits during school!!

Not everyone is made out of money like you there Big Joey! I understand most doctors these days get out of med school owing something in the neighborhood of $250k!! YEOW! Known as the mortgage payment w/o the house! YMMV!

 

[Craig]

Keep your long term prioritys in order and stay focused. Work your butt off but come up for air once in a while to recharge for the next round. Don't forget to come up for air cuz the next butt is waiting in the lobby and you might need to hold you breath.

Docs are cool and have my respect! You'll do fine.

 

[tsmooth]

Thanks for the perpective.

Joey, the thing about Milwaukee is that the city was built around beer and cheese (which is not a bad thing) and the people like to have a good time. It is a few orders smaller then Chicago but I believe that is a good thing. Many times we are able to park the car, have a nice meal, go to an event or bar etc., and not even worry about the distance. Most of what you would go into the city for is in a small radius and very accessable. The traffic is about 10X less stressful as well. On a side note, the ML, Revel, Runco, etc. dealer I worked for in college put together a nice demo condo downtown and is about 15 minutes from school (when the upgrade-itis kicks in). Overall, the location of MCOW in relation to everything is the surrounding area is pretty awesome.

 

[Joey_V]

Thanks for the perpective.

Joey, the thing about Milwaukee is that the city was built around beer and cheese (which is not a bad thing) and the people like to have a good time. It is a few orders smaller then Chicago but I believe that is a good thing. Many times we are able to park the car, have a nice meal, go to an event or bar etc., and not even worry about the distance. Most of what you would go into the city for is in a small radius and very accessable. The traffic is about 10X less stressful as well. On a side note, the ML, Revel, Runco, etc. dealer I worked for in college put together a nice demo condo downtown and is about 15 minutes from school (when the upgrade-itis kicks in). Overall, the location of MCOW in relation to everything is the surrounding area is pretty awesome.

So there's enough to do in Milwaukee to keep me busy? I should've taken a peek at the city when I was there... but I was exhausted from the interviews that I'd done so I just went home. How's the night life, the restaurants, the shopping at Milwaukee?

Audio shops (aside from the one you worked at)?

Thanks!

 

[tsmooth]

So there's enough to do in Milwaukee to keep me busy? I should've taken a peek at the city when I was there... but I was exhausted from the interviews that I'd done so I just went home. How's the night life, the restaurants, the shopping at Milwaukee?

Audio shops (aside from the one you worked at)?

Thanks!

Yup, plenty to do. I believe the resturants are top notch and the shopping is pretty on par (not quite Michigan Ave, but respectable and better prices). There is a place called Flanners for A/V but they just dropped ML because of Magnolia moving into town. I believe the next best place is an hour away in Madison. Also, the housing is pretty reasonable if you are looking to go that route (especially with how the market will be in the next few months).