Online Medical Classes

A question for Medical Students, Doctors, people doing anything with Medicine.?

Did you study really hard to get there? And by 'really hard' I mean like you spend the whole day studying, you stay up til 3 am (or more) everyday studying, you don't hang with friends, no facebook, no youtube, no chatting online. you know nothing but study? I want to do medicine in uni, but im in year 11 and i dont actually study that much, the latest i stay up studying til is 12 am. I read, but not heaps. I am slow at understanding Chemistry and Biology (what i mean is we'll learn something in class, and i'll only just get that part, then we move on to the next topic) Should I be studying, and reading abit more. Less facebooking, youtubing and msning. I dont actually facebook and msn that much, i just sign in to see if i have any notifications then sign out, and most of the time i go for about 3-4 days without signing into msn. And i dont go out with friends. Should i be studying my ass off? Please Help Me!!

Public Comments

1. If your talking about becoming a doctor then yes you will have to study 'really hard.' Medical school will trash your social life and your time on Facebook/MSN, youtube, and TV will drop to nearly nothing. Also once you start doing medical rotations and then a medical residency you may be awake for a day and a half at a time. I will tell you it is impossible to be psychologically prepared for medical school, it will hit you like a wall of bricks. Right now, being in grade 11, if you do well academically studying however it is you study then why would you need to study more? You need to study as much or as little as you need to. I was awake to 3 or later in high school because I was taking all high level courses and taking classes at a local college. The thing you need to ask your self is if you are willing and able to study and focus on school and potentially have a very minimal social life.
2. To be honest, I didn't study much at all until medical school. I took challenging classes and got A's without a whole lot of effort. I spent a lot of time going out and having fun in university, and still maintained the grades required to get into medical school. You ought to be able to pick science stuff up quickly, because in medical school, they move at lightning fast speed and expect you to KNOW the material (whether or not it was covered in lectures). Not everyone is motivated (or capable) to handle the volume and intensity of learning that is required for medicine. The physicians I know (and I know a lot of them) are self-motivated to excel, and have been that way their whole lives.
3. I think Pangolin must have been a very special student, one for whom learning complex subjects was easy. I have watched a LOT of doctors and interns go through their training in my life, and I never saw any that weren't *HIGHLY* motivated and driven to get through the course. Their every minute was spoken for, and they needed to ration their time wisely and do ALL their homework and studies. I did know a Neurologist once who was able to simply glance at pages and absorb it all like a sponge. It became apparent after a minute's professional conversation with him that he was a high-level genius. He was a walking, talking encyclopedia of medicine. But he was socially stuck at about age 14, and behaved more like a happy, grinning teenager than an adult. He was an outstanding Neurologist, but a social retard forever stuck at age 14, who still needed reinforcement of his social skills all the time. He didn't like being called "Doctor," and was on a first-name basis with everyone. He was unmarried, and all the women considered him "weird." Being an older male, I kind of took him under my wing as my adopted son and tried to help him grow up, but he never did. He was fun to work with, though. It was rare you got to witness a true genius at work, and have fun at it. As for your study habits, it's important that you develop good study habits and learn to ration your time appropriately. You don't have to study your *** off, but you also don't want to waste your precious time at endless parties. It's fine to have some friends, and you need them for proper social development, but don't let them suck you in to the typical "sex, drugs, rock and roll" scene. If you're only getting on Facebook, etc., as you describe, you should be fine.