Hi, I am a premed OPM’er with 2 little kids.
For those of you who are already in med school, what does your day look like? What’s your typical schedule? How late are you studying each night? How much time are you still getting with the kids?
Please share.
Thanks a lot!
Volkmar Gaussmann
VolkmarGaussmann@gmail.com
It really varies from school to school. As a Med 1-Med 2, you might be in lecture from 8-4 daily, or you might only be in lecture from 8-12 or so. It’s really nice to only have morning lectures, which leaves you time to study in the afternoon. Many schools have podcasts of their lectures or notetaking services so you don’t even have to go to lectures. As far as how much studying you have to do beyond lecture, it varies from person to person. Some people at my school find they have some free time every evening/weekend except maybe the week before an exam. Other people have to study much harder.
Med 3 is by far the worst, but it varies widely from rotation to rotation. You can count on being in the hospital/clinic at least 8-5, and needing to study or do assignments beyond that. Some rotations your hours will be ~80/week (ob/surgery). Most 3rd year rotations will require some overnight call and typically at least one weekend day. Each rotation typically has an exam at the end.
Med 4 is not as bad, other than your sub-internships. You typically have more vacation time to apply and interview for residency. Generally, you won’t need to study as much as many rotations will not have exams.
If you have a family, you need to make a priority to set certain times aside for them. For example, you make sure you take a break for family dinner every night, as well as another hour or 2 of family time (depending on exams). Many people set aside one weekend day for family/significant others. You also need to make sure you set aside some time just for your significant other.
It’s tough, but it can be done. If you read through the blogs, you’ll can read about how various people have dealt with the time constraints.