The Difficulty of Medical School

By: Dalin C.

Medical school is very tough and time consuming, for many different reasons. First, students are normally taking four classes, which does not seem like a lot, but those four classes add up to 24 credits. Since they are taking 24 credits, that means there will be a lot more material being presented in the classes.  Second, the courses that medical students take are extremely challenging. Third, medical school is very time consuming and requires large amounts of studying to succeed.

Most students find that the first two years of medical school are the toughest. They are excited for medical school and then get slammed with 24 credit hours and a lot of studying. The students have to take many challenging courses like Biochemistry and Pathology. Most students say that these are two of the hardest courses they took in medical school. Studying for medical school is a lot different than studying when a student is an undergraduate. It is a lot different because of how many credit hours and the increased amount of material. Monday through Friday, most students go from 8:00am to 5:00pm listening to lectures, going to classes/labs, and studying. From 5:00pm to 8:00pm they eat dinner and spend some free time. Then from 8:00pm to 11:00pm they study their material again. All of this may vary depending on who the student is and their courses, but on average this is how their weekdays go. On the weekends, it depends on the student if they want to study the whole weekend, half of it, or none of it. Studying is crucial for succeeding and will consume a large amount of time during medical school.

During the student's third and fourth year, it start to get a little easier. It gets easier because they start to do clinical rotations and learn basic clinical skills and general clinical information. These rotations are still very challenging and can take up many long hours of the day. Some students find themselves running on a few hours of sleep and working long shifts. During their fourth year, less time is spent doing rotations in the hospital and makes the students like a little easier. They have to take their board exam at the end of the year, but during their fourth year they can relax a little bit.

Medical school is very challenging and will take up the majority of your time. It requires an enormous amount of studying and time spent learning the material, but in the end when you save someone's life, it will be worth it.

Works Cited

"The Medical School Experience." StartMedicine.com. CRG Student Doctor Network. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.