what are you doing your break?

[cooolguy]

Alright guys....i finished first term in May and I came back home...now i am completely bored and cant seem to motivate myself to do anything. I basically play video games most of the day. I cant motivate myself to study ahead either.

Anyway, I am just curious to know what you guys are doing for your summer break. I know I can go out there and volunteer at a hospital but that is so danm useless. Any ideas to do something that may actually be positive towards my residency application?

What are you guys doing over your break? Studying ahead? Research? Sitting at home? Working? Traveling?

What about upper termers, what do you think the best way to spend your break would have been?

[EV]

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[NYladoo]

Alright guys....i finished first term in May and I came back home...now i am completely bored and cant seem to motivate myself to do anything. I basically play video games most of the day. I cant motivate myself to study ahead either.

Anyway, I am just curious to know what you guys are doing for your summer break. I know I can go out there and volunteer at a hospital but that is so danm useless. Any ideas to do something that may actually be positive towards my residency application?

What are you guys doing over your break? Studying ahead? Research? Sitting at home? Working? Traveling?

What about upper termers, what do you think the best way to spend your break would have been?

I never had a summer break (except if you call studying for step 1 break) because I was the Hurricane Ivan class. If I had break, I would recommend relaxing and travel or do something exciting that you've wanted to do in a long time because this maybe your last opportunity to do so for a very long time. Summer before residency may not be much of a break (depends when you finish rotations) and you will be anxiously awaiting your diploma and ECFMG certificate. So enjoy yourself now, take it from an SGU grad who will be a PGY1 next Tuesday (:shock::scared:)!

[jaywalk81]

the video game thing sounds good and perfectly fine to me

[rage medicine]

i watch espn all day; i wish sports were on the boards. i would ace it.

[Ishie1013]

After term 1: long break, so spent the first three weeks lying on the couch going "guhhh". Shadowed an orthopod. Then did a bunch of road trips, but had to study biochem, so ended up doing flashcards at Disneyworld. Still spent a disproportionate amount of time lying around, and actually got to read a few books that would be considered "fiction".

After term 2: Christmas visit... few road trips; otherwise largely spent it watching Futurama marathons and trying out and getting addicted to World of Warcraft, while pretending I was going to "preread" part of the Robbins for path (got to page 3!).

After this term: Prague selective then bouncing through Europe. Will probably skid back into Grenada a week late reeking of booze.

After 5/6: try to hit Angel Falls. Back for Christmas. Spend a month piecing together pieces of my brain. Procrastinate for five months on studying for boards and try to cram it all into a week. Fail boards. Cry. Move to foreign country to avoid creditors. Sell friendship bracelets on beach in Puerto Vallarta to finance heroin habit. Die in gutter...

So I've pretty much got my plans sets.

[smileyj]

I spent my summer after 1st term traveling....seeing friends, family, and the beautiful USA (how i miss even more now). After this crazy 3/4 term, I expect to go home and do absolutely nothing. About the most taxing thing I will do is sit on my deck and throw the ball to my dog.

Like everyone else has pointed out.....enjoy yourself. Studying and trying to prepare for the next semester won't help as much as you think...and you will just be burnt out for the next semester. Relax and have fun!!

[cooolguy]

thanks guys for your replies. i figure that i dont need to look at too much stuff anyway. I figure ross students only really have 2-3 weeks between terms and so they dont really get time to shadow/research/etc during their break and they do fine in terms of obtaining residencies (their match list is awesome this year btw).

So yeah i guess ill just entertain myself and hang around. I am looking at some usmle questions though so i guess thats a start

[cooolguy]

i was curious but does it seem like you forget a lottt of stuff during the break? I have been looking at stuff from first term (which i just finished) and i seem to have forgotten so much of it =(. Is this normal?

[Cassius1999]

i was curious but does it seem like you forget a lottt of stuff during the break? I have been looking at stuff from first term (which i just finished) and i seem to have forgotten so much of it =(. Is this normal?

It's easy to forget if you just tried to memorize your way through the course. If you actually understood it and were able to piece it together and integrate stuff between subjects, then you're more apt to solidfy it in your memory. That's why the best way to study is to study to understand and not to memorize. It might take longer to do, but it'll pay off more long term and in that respect it's actually saved you much more time than just rote. Path is exactly about this. Study to understand and not memorize. If you're not the linear thinker type but the type who can integrate and cross-reference various bits of info then you're most likely gonna do well in that course regardless. Unless it's a question that has no correct answer and Dr. B refuses to accept the challenges to that question just b/c. Then iunno :roll:

[yogibear]

friends, travling, trying to look things over :)

[BSeay-MPH]

Dude, i know how you studied first term....and I feel the same way. Feel like I have forgotten way too much. We just have to get back int the groove of studying way too freakin' much. I also have been on a videogame kick this summer as well. You gotten in enough COD4?