Do people over exaggerate the difficulty of medical school? Overthinking vs. action

[Giantfan]

Do people over exaggerate the difficulty of medical school?

There seems to be a tendency for people to exaggerate when they speak of difficult things. It's sort of an ego or pride thing, trying to boost the significance of it all, or it can come from just letting lose, and writing it all out in a cleansing effort. There's nothing wrong with any of this, but it can and does happen.

It's not always the writer's fault either. The reader can interpret it in too much of a serious or literal way. And with no perspective on the topic itself, except for imagination, it can really be interpreted in an inaccurate way.

I've done this before myself, when either writing about something, or interpreting something written by someone else, so that's why I am looking into this question.

I want to go to medical school, and as I do my research, it gets exhausting. There are days when I feel really confident about my plan to embark on this journey, and then there are days when "reality" hits, or I read too much negative stuff, and I start to question myself.

And then I think maybe I am just thinking too much and taking everything too seriously.

Sometimes it's good to be prepared, and sometimes it's good just to jump into something and react as you go along.

Too much reading, too much thinking, too much preparing can cause anxiety, self doubt, and even avoidance of doing the thing that you wanted to do, which can result in doing nothing at all in the end.

So sometimes it may be best to maintain your original "dreams" and inspiration from them, and just go for it. Let the chips fall where they may.

Maybe some of you can give me your thoughts on this, in a general sense, and also as it related to medical school etc.

[devildoc8404]

Medical school is hard. While most of the subjects are not overwhelmingly difficult, the true challenge lies in the VOLUME of the material, not the material itself.

It also depends largely on your own intellect, maturity, dedication, emotional health, study skills, and academic preparation. Deficits in any of these areas can (um, WILL) make medical school infinitely more difficult, and even impossible in some cases.

Not everyone can be a doctor. It is a lot of work, and to think otherwise before you start medical school is simply foolish. Negative people and comments should be avoided, but so should people who are simply there to blow sunshine up your bottom. The best advice that I have received (from my Mom, actually) regarding medical school? "Yes, it is hard. But you can do hard things."

If you can do hard things, and you have the raw materials to make it through medical school, then go for it. If you don't, or you are not willing to work for something, then don't waste your time.

[JonathanMD]

1) No, they're not exaggerating. It's as hard as people make it out to be, but it's also humanly possible to pass.

2) Go Giants.

[DocSAMMD]

Its hard

volume!!!!!

[DocSAMMD]

Medical school is ROUGH. The sheer volume of info that u must retain is insane. I tell people i could have done my entire undergraduate career in my first semester in MD school. However they break u in. Slowly increasing the amount of info that u will be able to handle its a stepwise techniques. take for instance if i went back to study anatomy or any subject i will find it a lot easier because i am now constructed to handle more.

enter med if u really really want it. me and many went to the carib after all of our options of obtaining a MD in the states where done.

[payme2]

I'm in my first year of medical school. I've never taken any of these classes so far. And I haven't had any trouble so far.

So far medical school has not been difficult. I put in the same amount of time that I did in undergrad and I'm getting better grades in medical school.

Engineering is harder, but most medical students didn't take engineering, so to them, medical school was/is harder than anything they've taken so far. Leading to these complaints of difficulty.

As I progress further into my studies, my views may change, but so far medical school has been a walk in the park.

[devildoc8404]

I should add a caveat... medical school with a spouse and kids is also a good piece harder than doing it alone.

Also, remember that your individual mileage may vary. payme2 is coming from an engineering background, it appears, which is a very challenging undergrad degree. Others who majored in, say, sociology and just took the premed sciences will probably find medical school to be a lot harder. We all have our own filing cabinets of experiences, and they all influence how we view our circumstances.

[DocSAMMD]

Medical with a spouse is easier. What are u talking about a good home cooked meal, laundry and some lovin at night most of my married friends survived med school just because they where married

Plus engineering tough ??? MATH is a joke never harder then medicine. just my 2 cents.

[JetBlack]

Yes it is.
Medicine is just memorization and understanding. Clearly doctors do not remember everything they learn in school... just a very small subset of the knowledge. Computers can compensate for a lot of fields doctors are involved in....

However, NO ONE. and I mean NO ONE. Can compensate for the creativity and thought that goes into engineering. Engineering takes thought, application of very complex concepts, memorization, AND understanding. Medicine is just applying memorized algorithms to solve cases.

What makes medicine difficult is the social aspect of it. If you say anything against the doctor clique, they will turn on you in groups. It is a select field because of its social aspect. Only a doctor that has never done engineering will say that medicine is harder than engineering. It is pure ignorance...

[MaxPower311]

I was in vet school (similar material/classes/class load and difficulty) for a while, I didn't find it much harder than undergrad. I studied but not to the degree people speak of on here. The people that studied 24/7 and were always freaking out didn't do nearly as well as I did. People psyche themselves out.