you wanna talk about consistency?

there seems to be one great consistent factor to all med students:

the inate ability to whine about anything and everything and not just auc students but i hear how hard it is to be a med student and how unfair admin is or how clinicals don't work around their vacation from wayne aand kmc students too...boo hoo hoo

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OBGYN PGY II
I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!...wait a minute its just another freakin tunnel!

and ob/gyn residents whining about internal medicine rotation months j/k.... i couldnt resist

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Dr. Scott
Internal Medicine
PGY-1

AUC Forum Moderator

There's an innate difference in whining about ppl not working around your vacation time and the administration constantly switching class structure, testing dates (speaking of which they have tentatively scheduled exams April 17th but said not to fly out that day just in case), and, at times, poor teaching/planning. Of course you can say that we whine a lot, cuz you're removed from the basic science situation. This has nothing to do with clinicals. People are always going to whine when they are paying a large sum of money for something. If you buy a house and then someone comes in every couple of months and changes the rooms around and condenses your rooms and restructures, then you'd be pissed as well. Same thing here. People are just irritated that we're shelling out money at a for-profit medical school and not getting treated how we deserve to be treated when the administration has the money to do something about it, but most of it doesn't even have to do with the amount of money they have of ours, which is a lot. Instead, most problems could be solved by actually listening to students and planning well. Such is life as a pion in a corporation.

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http://www.lifeloveandmedicine.com

"The art of medicine is in amusing a patient while nature affects the cure." - Voltaire

Every med student may complain, but I doubt there'd be much argument that we have it worse than just about any US student. And probably significantly so.

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AUC 4th Semester

Almost every medical student thinks their unique set of circumstances is the worst. While AUC has had its positive and negatives, imagine living in a cold frozen part of the U.S where you get woken up in the middle of the night because of fire, police, and ambulence sirens, and you have professors at school who are primarily focused on their research and never want to speak with students.

You have 2nd year students in the US complaining about their ICM instuctors who were educated in different systems and who are also residents that are overworked and not focused on teaching.

All I have to do is wake up on a Sunday morning, walk five minutes from my apartment and jump into mullet bay for a swim for me to realize that I have had a pretty good deal here.

If you seriously believe that the schools in the caribbean are just as good as those in the US, then I wouldn't want to interrupt your delusion...have fun. I'm glad that going to the beach makes it all worth it for you, but that would be on the very bottom of the list of things I care about in a medical school.

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AUC 4th Semester

I'm not comparing schools. I'm comparing perceptions. From my experience, it seems like everyone in medical school complains, and perceives that their unique circumstances are the worst, and that's not just at AUC, but at lots of other places.

If your not happy with your education or your surroundings, you are nothing but a typical medical student...and that's it. If you think somehow you have it harder or worse than anyone else, well, I have news for you, your not the only one who hates medical school. Lots of other medical students do as well. You can either ruminate or try and find something to enjoy. That's true here, that will be true when you do your rotations, and that will be true throughout your life.

Enjoying what's around you might be at the bottom of your list, but its at the top of mine. In the process I've had some solid prep in the basic sciences, and I am more than ready to take step 1.

The fact that lots of people don't like medical school does not change the fact that it is worse here than probably any US school. I'm sorry that you need this spelled out for you, but I'll give it a quick try. AUC gets whatever professor will agree to come here, there is very little research opportunity, we have zero patient contact until 5th semester (and even then, very limited), we have very few resources outside of a small library and office hours, we have the added hassle of living out of country, we rotate through less prestigious (and some outright bad) hospitals, we are at a disadvantage for match, etc. etc. etc.

So no, I really could not care less if I have a beach 5 minutes away. I'd take the freezing cold at a medical school that cares more about the students than the money any day! Sure, it's nice to be in nice surroundings, but I do not consider St. Maarten to be nice surroundings, no matter how pretty the beaches may be, and it should be at the bottom of anyone's list in medical school priorities. We're not here to get a tan.

Moreover, I have never had a major complaint about the actual education - just the steps that we have to go through to get it here. In fact, I've said many times that the education is fine and I'm sure I'll be prepared to take the step, as many before me have been. But, if you do well at AUC, it's likely because of the hard work you put in, not because of anything the school did.

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AUC 4th Semester

I think you should learn to read b-4 trying to spell something out to someone, especially someone who has gotten past many of the steps that you have yet to complete. I go to the same school as you, and I have experience almost the same set of circumstances as you have.

Since I have been here, quite a few prof. have been interviewed, and many have not been offered positions, so what you are saying is completly wrong. We can disagree about whether you liked who taught your classes or not, but I happen to believe that the faculty does a solid job!!!

This is true of any medical school you would go to. Its no different at AUC, SGU, if you went to Ireland, or if you went to UMAB. It would be hard work everywhere. Your hard work is no different than what any other medical student has to do. (unless they are a genius and all they have to do is sit in class and listen without ever studying)

If you want an easy go of it, find another profession. Complaining that medical school is hard (oh I know, you have it extra hard than anyone else in U.S because of the inconviences you have down here) is nothing unusual for a medical student, and is very typical of you, and many other students. If you read my original post, you have understood this without me having to spell this out again like I am right now.

All medical students are going to complain. It is in our nature. As the late Dr. G in physio used to say, "If a medical student is too happy, there is obviously something wrong with them, or they are doing something wrong." I know I felt better when I knew it was OK to be miserable; I was like everyone else. From talking to others, US schools have a mix of good, bad, and ugly professors; just like AUC.

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