hey guys, I was reading quite a few posts in the general allopathic forum and most of the students have summarized how the course work in med schools throughout the US is....Here is an example:

"1st year sucks
2nd year sucks way more than first...you may not think its possible, but it is. i dont even remember too much of where i ilved because i spent so much time in a damn cubicle
3rd year - the hours suck. you cant say **** it today, ill catch up tomorrow. each day is hell.
4th year - supposedly awesome.
residency - depending what you do, the vast majority suck, because on top of making dogsh_t for money, u work insane hrs and get yelled at.

so the secret? accept it, and work past it. is there a light at the end of the tunnel? it's a long long tunnel. but the light's there. until then, just keep plugging away."

However, this doesn't really apply to those students studying in Europe obviously (although there might be a vague correlation) as the medical programs here are mostly 6 years in length. So it would be kind of cool to share your personal experiences with your med school education so far......this way it might help current as well as prospective students wishing to study in Europe.

How have you found the first year at Charles so far Shrey?

I have been reading "The pragueress and miseducation of Dan Kameny" which seems a little depressing at times.

Of course that's just one persons opinion.

__________________
Going back to school Sep08 after many years away to do A-levels.

Quite fancy going to the Charles University as I have lived in Prague for 3 years and love the place. Just need to find £60,000 from
somewhere

Hey there,
Well first semester was quite good (mainly because I was new to the whole thing). Second semester is better in terms of the course work because it's more interesting (as we're doing systemic/gross anatomy and particular histology as opposed to the general histology and topographic anatomy we did the 1st sem.) but it's definitely much harder....and i'm really feeling burned out already. I really want a vaccation....a looong vaccation.....it's quite surprising that you mentioned Dan Kameny's blog. I read it too and indeed it's quite depressing. A lot of it is quite true to be honest but eventually you get through the 6 yr. program and trust me, if you can get through the 6 yr. program here, you can get through anything (coz the standards of passing and doing well are quite high). So don't get discouraged in anyway because once you get into med school, the course work load may itself seem too overwhelming (and it's completely normal to feel frustrated, depressed, burned out etc.), but at the end, you should just learn to conquer that problem and get back on track (which i need to do).

The thought that I have 5 more years is a bit frustrating and scary but I guess it'll pass. Once summer vaccation approaches (in 3 months!!! hopefully), I should be fine...and I guess I'll be repeating another episode of the first year in the 2nd year too (ie. if I can keep up with the work load). But in general, most of the people I've spoken to say that the first 3 yrs. are quite hard, the 4th yr. is quite easy and then the 5th and the 6th years are again quite hard (mainly due to the state examinations at the end of the courses which one MUST pass to get the MD/MUDr. degree)

Thanks for the update Shrey.

Hopefully you'll feel better after a month or two away over the summer. The work load sounds intense, and to be honest, I think I'm going to find it a real struggle, but like you say, it should set you up for life as long as you can get through it.

__________________
Going back to school Sep08 after many years away to do A-levels.

Quite fancy going to the Charles University as I have lived in Prague for 3 years and love the place. Just need to find £60,000 from
somewhere

true that. and thanks; i hope i can get through this indeed.