What to expect when entering med school...

I have no family or friends that have been through med school. I would like to know any piece of advise for surviving the first year. What you wish you had known when going into it. I am sure that once he completes the first year everything will sort of move into a groove and just happen but for now I have no idea what to expect. Will he ever be home? Should I find a part time sitter to try and keep my sanity? Does financial aid go as far as ot would seem. I know you don't know all of my family circumstances but any general info would be greatly appreciated. Can you tell I am getting nervous. I sure don't want to tell him to much about it either because I don't want to stress him out
more than he already is.... :disappointed:

[SuzySunshine]

I can't speak to the financial aid part as I didn't have kids in medical school but my advice is to let him study when he needs to, really. It really depends what kind of student your DH is. The classes you take the first year, even the first semester set the base for the rest of his schooling and his career. If he learns it well and sets a good foundation it can make a huge amount of difference in the coming years.

Good luck!

Thanks... I am setting up an area of the apartment where noone is allowed to tread. Office and comfy sitting/reading space. So that he can study here if he so chooses. I know he will be studying a lot. Where any of you able to help your SO's study. i.e. making flash cards of bolded words and definitions, quizing them, taking notes from lecture recordings, or anything like that? :chat:

Thanks... I am setting up an area of the apartment where noone is allowed to tread. Office and comfy sitting/reading space. So that he can study here if he so chooses. I know he will be studying a lot. Where any of you able to help your SO's study. i.e. making flash cards of bolded words and definitions, quizing them, taking notes from lecture recordings, or anything like that? :chat:

WTF?

Med school isn't nearly as hard as you're making it out to be. Besides, medical students are primadonnas already. I can't imagine how full of myself I would be today if my wife had made flash cards for me and transcribed notes.


Oh yeah, and if you guys ever break up, call me.

[SueC]

Yeah, I agree with those guys!
I have offered to quiz dh several times when he was studying for various boards but he always has turned me down...not sure why.

I have helped with quizzing (which always gets dicey w/all of the medical pronounciations, etc.). But really - med school is graduate school. The first 2 years should be okay. If he was smart enough to get in, he should be okay. You won't be there to pimp him during rounds or on call, so he needs to learn it himself. Try to actually ENJOY the time during MS1-2, 'cause it's the most free time he'll have ... for a long, long, long, time.

hahaha... okay okay I will try and remember that. I only thought if I could help him study I could feel as if I am helping AND getting to spend some time with him. And he could think I am the greatest wife ever His classes start on Aug 09 with the orientation and white coat things and then actually lectures and such start the 21st. My classes start the 21st but I am doing mine online and only taking classes (12 CH) this semester to see how things fare. Then if I get into a groove I can go back up to 15 or 16 credit hours. I am going to ax the home schooling thing and put Devon in private school to try and give mself a bit of a breather. I really love having things organized and having a set schedule but not knowing is a little unnerving for me. I am a lil OCD work with me here. I am not happy unless I have 5000 projects going at once and am tourturing myself for not finishing them all sooner. :thud:

Med school isn't nearly as hard as you're making it out to be. Besides, medical students are primadonnas already. I can't imagine how full of myself I would be today if my wife had made flash cards for me and transcribed notes.


Oh yeah, and if you guys ever break up, call me.

So funny and so true!!!

Please for the love of all of us medical spouses don't treat him like he's going off to war, it really is not as big a deal as you think, its just medical school. Keep reminding yourself of that.

Tara

I agree! For us at least, med school was a breeze compared to residency. And for dh, the first two years of med school required less effort than his college years. The second two years were a little more difficult because his schedule was so unpredictable and he did a lot of driving in between different hospitals, but they were still manageable....especially 4th year because he had the last three months off.

I also agree with Cheri. A lot will depend on what kind of a student your DH is. Mine wasn't really a studier, so he would usually just cram a night or two before any big exam. On the other hand, one of our friends studied for a few hours every single night and signed up for every weekend study course he could find. Give him a few months to figure out what his style is and things should flow from there.

Yeah my hubby is a crammer to but I am hoping he gets away from this as he becomes the evil monster beating himself up for not studing sooner and then aceing the test In undergrade he has been crazy but he says that is because he hated that part and just wanted to get to the med school part. I dont know he was always doing 16 CH but he rarely did study groups though.

I saw Dh more hours each day during this past year than I did in most of the 15 years we have been together. Our studying solution was for him to leave the house after we put the toddler to bed and study then. That was about 3 hours 5 days a week. There were simply too many distractions at home. Then he would disappear for hours on end on the weekends.

Yea we have already decided that sunday is family day (his suggestion) and that we would have to see how it goes before we decide anything else. I don't know I got the impression from the post on SDN spouses portion (those are some seriouly depressing posts) that I would pretty much be a single parent. :! Johnny asked me the other day what I thought of this site and I told him it was awesome because it wasnt just about the medical profession but about general life and friendships too. SDN really scared me blah.

[Meenah]

Stay away from SDN!!!!! Stick to MSN, you are a medical spouse!!!!!

[Meenah]

Oh yeah, we are never depressing :>

[Ames]

I also hated SDN, it was too depressing! Stay here, we are much happier DF just finished first year and I did help some with tests. He made himself flash cards on the computer and I cut them out. I also did some quizzing which couldn't have been very helpful since I couldn't say half the words This year was MUCH easier then I thought it would be. Once you get in a studying groove it goes much smoother. The first month or so was dicey but once they get their first set of exams done and know what to expect it gets easier. We set up a study area in the bedroom and my computer is out in the living room so DF could study at home. He would study a few hours each night and then during exams pretty much move into the library. We don't have kids yet so I work two jobs to keep me busy (half the time he complained I was never home!) but we really did see each other a lot this year. Relax :@ it won't be that bad!

[Gwendolyn]

What everyone else said! This is just grad school...especially the first two years. DH was very committed to studying, so he would disappear into the library before exams. I would bring dinner (usually pick up burritos or sandwitches) We would eat together and he would go back to studying. We didn't have any children at the time and I was in grad school too, so it was perfect. We did see, however, two families every night in the cafeteria that got together for dinner, little ones and all. Fourth year was toughest for us, because of inerviewing, my grad program and our new baby, but it was still easier than residency. Take this time to enjoy getting your feet wet.

Also, make some friends. They will get both of you through the tough times later in residency. I know some of DHs conversations with his med school friends cover more than what we even talk about. He feels comfortable talking to them about some stuff that mabe I don't cue into his experience the way others in the same boat can relate to...hello iMSN