How demanding is medicine?

i am wondering about medicine as a possible course choice. i have heard is is very challenging but dont know exactky how much. does anyone know how hard it is ?will i ever get days off? will i be studying every free hour i get?

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Reply 1

Democracy

Original post by Zammad__ali

How hard is it? Well it's certainly not easy but it's also doable. There's a >90% completion rate, so clearly most people who get in finish the degree.

Will you get days off? Obviously - weekends, university holidays, etc.

Will you be studying every free hour you get? If you like, sounds a bit excessive to me though!

Reply 2

nexttime

I know people who breezed through no trouble at all. I know people who had to work really hard and we're still struggling to avoid retakes. I knew someone who worked 8am-11pm every day, with their 'breaks' consisting of reading interesting articles on Pubmed, purely because they found learning medicine so fun.

I saw an old survey of students that had average workload at like 35-40 hours per week. Which was more than other subjects.

I personally think that the best predictors of how hard you would have to work are: 1) how hard you had to work for A-levels and 2) how OK you would be being middle to bottom of your class. Some people just hate not being top and will say they are "failing" and absolutely flog themselves to be back at the top. Others are perfectly fine scraping a 2.1 lol.

Reply 3

Democracy

Original post by nexttime

I knew someone who worked 8am-11pm every day, with their 'breaks' consisting of reading interesting articles on Pubmed, purely because they found learning medicine so fun.

Lol, what are they doing now?

My guess is: either left medicine entirely or they're doing cardiology at Barts.

Reply 4

nexttime

Original post by Democracy

Lol, what are they doing now?

My guess is: either left medicine entirely or they're doing cardiology at Barts.

They're an F1 I think, having taken time out to do a PhD during med school and returned.

Reply 5

asif007

Original post by Zammad__ali

How long is a piece of string? Medicine is demanding whichever way you approach it but most of the time you get out of it whatever you put in. Most importantly you need work ethic and resilience. There will be times when you might have to give up your days off or spend extra hours studying, such as close to exams. But if you start early in the year, organise your time well and stick to a schedule then it's perfectly possible to have time off and a social life outside of Medicine.

I don't know what you want to get out of your career but if you're looking for something that is easy work, low stress and not very challenging then I suggest you don't pursue Medicine. Even the most dedicated, professional and hard-working people will find some things stressful.

Reply 6

tetris179

Hi,

current/previous medicine students, what is the work/social life balance like?

It sounds silly but do you still have plenty of time for socialising? Going to the gym? Hobbies (sport etc)? Also perhaps a part time job?

What are some things (apart from the actual studying of course) you found particularly difficult about doing a medicine course?

P.S., I understand doing medicine requires a lot of hard work and sacrifices in terms of time/fun etc. Please don't lecture me on this haha. Just asking for your experiences

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 7

qwert7890

Not silly at all. Although I'm already into this too deep to back out :biggrin:

, I am still curious as to how student life is as a medical student.

Reply 8

tetris179

Original post by qwert7890

Not silly at all. Although I'm already into this too deep to back out :biggrin:

, I am still curious as to how student life is as a medical student.

oh aha do you study medicine at the moment?

Reply 9

qwert7890

Original post by tetris179

oh aha do you study medicine at the moment?

nope, I am an applicant hoping to get in this year for 21 entry.

(edited 3 years ago)

Original post by tetris179

It sounds silly but do you still have plenty of time for socialising? Going to the gym? Hobbies (sport etc)? Also perhaps a part time job?

Yeah all possible. It does depend on med school - at mine preclinical was a lot more intense than clinical for example. Probably spent more time actually working on clinical just like hanging around on placement, but far less intense. Though some other unis have you sign into lectures and into ward placements so you have to be there 9-5, whereas others are far, far more flexible.

I personally won university competitions in three sports (well, 'sports') and trained 5 times per week to represent the college in another, plus did running and spent lots of time in the bar... its definitely possible.

Part time job might be hard to maintain in clinical years due to your commitments and best avoided if possible if you ask me, though of course its not always possible.

Reply 12

tetris179

Original post by nexttime

wow that's insane. thank you !

Reply 13

Stu.Med

I am planning on doing medicine but I was wondering what life is like as a med student.
How stressful is it?
Will I have time to socialise and relax?

Reply 14

Skar02

Same boat as you :smile:

Reply 15

JoshuaSibahi

Do students studying medicine have time for themselves?

Reply 16

John_9_7

I'm a graduate starting a 5-year undergraduate medical degree later this year. I work in the NHS Bank as a Healthcare Support Worker which gives me the ability to work shifts flexibly - day, night, or on weekends - as much or as little as I want. I currently work in the same city where I will be studying Medicine and I plan on saving up as much as I can over the summer. However, I am thinking about working 1 day shift a week (12 hours) to supplement my income. I am not sure how intense the course will be, so I am kinda on the fence about whether I should do this as I don't want to compromise my academic studies. Throughout my previous degree I did this without any issues but I heard med school is quite intense...

Do any med students out there work while studying?

:-)

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 17

John_9_7

Thanks for referring me to this thread. A lot of this clarifies what I was thinking

Reply 18

Medicalperson222

I can answer . I think medicine is not intense as I expected . We have to go to the placements 2-3 times per week. And only from 9 till noon. So we have minimum 4 days free . 8 months I do nothing and just chill . Last month I start revision for exams . We have summer holidays way many more times than other courses since medicine takes 5-6 years and after that u have a guaranteed job , also u can do it part time if u want 😀 apply to medicine it's chill and super flexible

Reply 19

Democracy

Original post by Medicalperson222

Is this a Covid restriction? If not, you can (and should) go to placement for more than 6-9 hours a week...

"Chill and super flexible" are not words I would have used to describe medicine lol. Yeah, it's not as bad as some extreme people make out but it's also not a doss.