Med school, what’s it like

When looking at my statistics I noticed that quite a lot of people found my blog through a question which basically looked like “What does a study in medicine look like?”, it was formulated in many forms aiming at various aspects but I think I pretty much got the essence in the question put. Since [...]

When looking at my statistics I noticed that quite a lot of people found my blog through a question which basically looked like “What does a study in medicine look like?”, it was formulated in many forms aiming at various aspects but I think I pretty much got the essence in the question put.

Since the study in medicine varies a lot throughout the world I can’t exactly tell you what it’ll look like for you if you are planning to follow a study in medicine, even within a single country the differences can be great.

How did it start

Beginning a study in medicine isn’t exactly like starting a study in law, whereas with most studies you can simply sign up on the last day before it actually begins things are a bit different with a study in medicine. Since there aren’t enough spots available for the great amount of people wanting to enroll in the education in medicine the process here to select is divided in two ways.

The first way through which I got in is a so called numeris fixus, you basically get a random number assigned and just as with the lottery you have a chance of being selected. The higher your grade was with which you finished high school though the higher your chances became, luckily I was within a group with a relatively high chance of around 70% and made it in at the first go.

Another option is to apply through an academy arranged way, basically like when you are trying to get a job. The difference though is that you make an “exam” along which looks at your present knowledge and in a rather American fashion they ask for what you’re good at, in example whether you were great in sports at your school or can handle a musical instrument like a true master, etcetera.

You have to keep in mind though that this entrance policy doesn’t count for every country, but what is seen a lot still though is that for medicine you usually have to apply well within time in order to get enrolled.

The first weeks

The first weeks are strange, just like as with any new education of course you’re having to settle in and get used to the massive amount of reading you have to start doing, figure out what you have to follow for classes, determine what you’d already know or alternatively can study from the books and get familiar with the various used systems like uptodate.

On top of this there’s one major difference with which you get confronted in medicine but not in other studies, namely death. Just after a couple of days of having started the study in medicine we were placed in front of a corpse on which we had to dissect a defined location. For most people this will not be an issue at all, when starting medicine it’s something you’re aware off after all but it’s something to definitely be aware off.

How is the pressure

Within the first two years there was a requirement to successfully fulfil the first year, if you wouldn’t make this you’d be expelled from the study. This of course gives some pressure, but I must say that when looking at the group of people which didn’t make it most of them simply were too active with either work or other out of school activities.

If you follow the lot of your classes, make your assignments within time and keep studying on a regular basis the pressure is manageable. It might vary of course from a person to person basis on how much stress one can handle, but I should say that if you’re easily stressed perhaps wanting to become a doctor isn’t completely you’re thing. You will always have to work under a certain time pressure since a patient just can’t wait for years till you come with a diagnosis.

As the years pass by the pressure does become less though when it comes to the theoretic part, a lot of the material in the beginning is completely new. Especially having to understand a huge amount of Latin and Greek words all of the sudden out of the blues makes it complicated, with the years though you’ll learn more and more about what it all means, what the diseases being talked about exactly are, etcetera.

Theory coming to an end

Myself I’m currently in my third year, that means I’m still in my theoretic phase. The first 3.5 years of the study consist mainly of theory which you have to study over and over, there have been a couple of short interns in the meanwhile but nothing compared to the extensive amount of studying which has to be done.

In the end of the 4th year though you’ll start doing you’re interns, this might vary for each med school though. Some start in their 3rd year whilst some wait for the 6th year and others require you to have done another study first and directly start with interns.

The total duration of my internship is going to be around 2.5 years, of which half a year will be a scientific phase. The clinical phase though is probably what most students look forward to most, finally being able to enter the hospital for real and being able to bring more and more of your study into practice.

When the interns are done

Congratulations, you’ve made it to becoming a doctor. Unfortunately though just having gotten your way through med school brought you nowhere yet, you’re still going to have to continue studying. For starters you will have to specialize, in major terms you could think of becoming a general practitioner, internist, surgeon or psychiatrist.

There’s a lot more to it than the 4 titles I mentioned, but even the main professions you can specialize in comes down to around 70 different functions and in total I believe there’s currently over 1400 recognized different professions.

You shouldn’t be surprised with your specialization taking another 6 years, it can even be longer for some. Medicine truly is a direction you pick for life, with probably being at around an age of 30~40 before you finally finish completely you won’t see a doctor suddenly deciding to go do something else all of the sudden.

Good luck

If you’re interested in going to med school I hope I have cleared some points up for you, I hope I didn’t scare any of you off though ;-). Just keep in mind that if a career in medicine is truly what you want, don’t let anything stop you.

In case you have any questions, feel free to ask. I tried to some up the main points here but since it’s a study lasting 6 years it’s impossible for me to say it all, so feel free to speak up.