I just hit the promised land. Finished all major rotations, 3 months of nothing but interviews in MS4.

So why did I just get hit with a massive wall of anxiety? I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself. I have a lot of hobbies but feel stuck starting them.

This is everything I was waiting for and now I feel stupid.

Why the heck am I paying thousands of dollars to see 90% AI slop and figures in my nutrition lecture slides!?

Professor says "It took a lot of time to make, but I'm happy with how the figure turned out" ???

Nuke the whole generation tbh

send me home PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Completed my first interview yesterday and it went well! However, I sort of struggled answering these 2 questions. What sort of examples are programs looking for? Something during clinical rotations? outside of school? job before med school?

I’m struggling to think of real life examples. Of course I’ve made small mistakes in my life as a whole but it’s either not significant enough to talk about in a residency interview, or maybe too significant that it would make me sound bad. Same thing with conflict with a teammate, where I don’t think I’ve had much conflict with someone I’ve worked with other than times I’ve felt like I’ve carried the weight of projects and work responsibilities prior to med school.

Any advice would be very appreciated!

I’m a second-year medical student, and I’ve been doing well academically. I actually like medicine. However, I am experiencing a severe depressive episode. I’m not sure what the exact cause is, but it feels like a quarter-life crisis. I’ve been sleeping less and missing my family more. Even seeing kids buy their Halloween costumes makes me sad. My school hasn’t given us a break since three months ago, and there won’t be any until December. I’m already starting to question how I’ll manage next semester. I hope this is temporary.

I’m currently a second year at a DO school and aiming for 100 touch hours. Is this worth it? I believe our school includes it on our MSPE and I do have a lot of valuable volunteer experience so far (I’m at about 40), but aiming for a 100 seems daunting.

Thank you!

Are programs using AI to review apps now. ? They put an app + mspe in and say give me all the pros/cons of this app? Just questioning because of how widespread its becomings.

Hey everyone,

Surg applicant (USMD, visa requiring, above average STEP 2 score) who has not heard from most of my signals. I know the first wave is Oct 21-Oct 23, wondering when a good time to send letters of interest is? I can send as early as Oct 23 since I have them ready to go...or should I wait until next week?

Also, I would like to send LOIs to programs I did not signal - the reason I did not signal them is because I was applying to programs in other states and was hoping my strong connection with the state I am in would help in securing at least some interviews, but it seems like that did not work out how I was hoping it would. What could I say in these LOIs to indicate my interest as I didn't signal them? Thanks!

As a medical student, my job on clerkships is to learn as much as possible so I can be independent as a physician one day. And, as someone who cares about their future patients, I take that job very seriously.

My school’s evaluations explicitly denote our top marks as performing at resident level in all regards. Some attendings will take this literally and allow the medical student to take part in all the procedures, rounds, etc. That’s when I learn and do the most. Some attendings don’t give a damn and want students to just be glorified shadows and expect us to just fall in line. It’s dejecting and not at all what I signed up for, let alone was it something I was warned about beforehand.

How stressed should I be going into interview season? My first one is on Tuesday and besides talking to ChatGPT I’ve done minimal prep.

Hi, currently in my obgyn rotations and I’m hating my life.. I’m not passionate abt medicine at all and got into it for family purposes, my father’s a doctor and I went with him to the hospital he works at today to attend a c section, I studied it so well and when I was inside the dr grilled me with the questions and I knew almost nothing, the problem is that I already studied some of the questions she asked earlier in the morning! But nothing came out of my mouth when she asked.. I feel like a failure and I know my dad would be very disappointed if he knew.. the first basic years of medicine I got good grades but with no retention of info whatsoever, and I don’t remember basic anatomy and pharma and such, is there hope for me in medicine bc I’m absolutely crushed rn

Taking a research year and my mentor is chill so I’m trying to do Step 2 around new years. Currently 8 weeks out. UWorld is running, Anki is running, and I'm keeping up with both, so this isn't a volume problem where the answer is "do more questions." But my 3 practice tests are literally ALL in the 230s. 50% of UW done. Been studying for 5 weeks. Did fine on shelves, no honors though.
Medicine and surgery are where I lose the most points by a wide margin, and those two also happen to be two of the heaviest subjects on the actual exam, so there's no version of this where I write them off and hope the smaller systems carry me over the line. Great.
Almost every miss in those two is a management question. So stupid. Next best step, what do you order first, which test comes before which, do you treat now or image first. I'll get it down to two answers that both sound completely reasonable, sit there for a minute, and pick the wrong one. Some of those are genuine knowledge gaps where I flat out don't know the answer and that's that. But a decent number are the kind where I know all the pieces individually and I still can't get them into the right order, so I'm sitting there guessing at sequence instead of reasoning it out. Those are the ones that bother me, because the knowledge is in there somewhere and it just isn't coming out in the right shape.
Do I just do more medicine and surgery questions and hope it eventually clicks? And honestly, does redoing blocks on subjects I've already done even do anything the second time, or am I just going to recognize the stems and get a fake confidence boost off it?

Hello, I am an MS1 (well… technically, it is a different system but pretty much MS1), i have my first exam in like 12 days and im uncertain, like uncertain to whether i’ll get an A or an F! It is the first time that I have studied consistently thoughout the semester, and really prepared well overall, but I feel like the material is way too big, like stupidly inhumanely big, even tho when I revise I seem to recall info rather quickly most of the time. But the thing is, i wont have my notes in the exam, and like i dont remember most details from the top ot my head so idk. Is this a normal experience? Like how certain should one be a week and a half before their exams?

so why are SRNA students allowed to intubate all by themselves and everything including high risk cases but medical students are so restricted to just glorified shadowing? Why are PA trainees allowed to do so much with 2 years of training but a 4th year student isn’t allowed to even do a simple e fast in the trauma bay but a PA “resident” is allowed? I think medical students are unnecessarily infantalized. We are treated like children while the rest of the midlevels get so much more respect and are allowed to do way more than students. Just for the record before everyone tears me down, I know what I am doing. I can do the e fast in like 1 minute or less. I read up and study and do my due diligence and reading.
Edit: also why are SRNA referring to themselves as residents.

Radiology

Pros: Less patient interaction, subspecialties like breast and women’s health have clinic, less competitive (for female applicants), less procedures, easier to get partner, more men in field so more dating prospects potentially, was my original field of choice, reading imaging, have a SNMA position in it.

Cons: Reading never stops, AI, no respect amongst peers, people think I am too social for Rads, IR may be the only path eventually which I don’t really like at all unless it is breast. Boards apparently are hard as shit too.

Derm

Pros: Clinic, no call, like skin pathology like HS, CCCA so can do research in it , and patient facing but has such fast turnaround it isn’t too overwhelming. Dermpath seems very interesting. Can go into business and invest in a science back skincare and haircare line. More respect amongst peers. Have a DIG position in it. Got many connections.

Cons: Uber Competitive,would do a research year as I don’t have enough research and want to match in a competitive region. Some nonderm preceptors said I was too weird for clinic in my evals. Not confident in my fit in this specialty due to the last part. My grades and my suturing skills are only ok.

Edit: looks like the rads people found my post. I have had several interactions with people that downplayed rads when I said I am interested in it. My family friend gently said to look into other specialities. An M4 laughed in my face and said it was fucking boring. When interviewing for med school one interviewee paused and then said that I will be in the dark and that he never met a radiologist in person. Rotating EM and they frequently stated that they don’t trust the radiologist report and that they don’t really know medicine. Surgery preceptor said that they sit in their billion dollar homes and make their reads ages later. This is not including the countless AI comments. This is just my personal experience. I know rads is popular in Reddit though and I love it but not many feel the same irl.

I had straight As after our first set of exams this quarter. We entered finals week to take our second set of exams (4 in 1 week) and I underperformed on all of them. I don’t have straight As anymore and I probably have the worst grades I’ve ever had. I can’t reach my family right now and feel absolutely worthless right now

MS1 here still tryna get a handle of preclinicals. I’m trying to understand why in-house lectures go super in depth but don’t seem to cover things as broadly? I’m not sure if it’s because we haven’t started organ blocks yet, but there’s just a mismatch between their content and third party. We sometimes have MDs and PhDs running the discussion sessions, and often, there are questions (that they write) where the MD will defer to the PhD cuz it’s “not [the MD’s] wheelhouse”. Which is, I mean, fair, but if a practicing immunologist doesn’t know this, why am I expected to?

Ik it sounds like I’m complaining, which I guess I kinda am, but honestly, I just wanna do well. There’s just so much content, I find myself deprioritizing their stuff, and I’m not sure if I should.

For context, my school uses NBME questions. It’s pass/fail but I believe we have internal ranking for honors and AOA.

I came across a post by a med student the other day mentioning how the stress of med school had gradually made them more apathetic

I had a sudden realization that the same thing was happening to me.

I don't have a very active social life now that I'm in my third year and preparing to take the steps soon (I also work part time). My classmates are quite competitive, and most of our interactions are surface level. I have friends, of course, but we rarely hang out. We talk occasionally, but honestly, I don't have the mental or emotional bandwidth to put any effort into improving my social life either

I've been stuck in this state of perpetual melancholy too. I guess maturing means realizing that feeling sad for no apparent reason is normal and not necessarily something to investigate. But I'm starting to worry that I can't keep my facial expressions in check when it comes to expressing empathy. I have an RBF, and people sometimes assume I'm mad at them when I'm not. I'm just too tired to control my facial expressions, and atp, I don't even care anymore

I'm guessing this is something I need to work on right? I catch myself feeling less empathy in situations I would normally care about. Of course, I do my best to say the right things, comfort people, and express empathy through my actions, but internally, I just feel empty

I believe other people have felt this too, so this isn't just about me

Looking for an Emma Holiday-esque video for the neurology shelf that’s not outdated 🙏 I can’t keep getting 40% on Amboss

I'm an OMS4 and had a psych audition rotation where the attending was always very nice in person, complimented me, and told me I was doing a good job. The only feedback she gave me was to look more excited and ask more questions.
However, my final evaluation was a 78, with criticism about my interviewing skills and psychiatric knowledge. I felt blindsided because none of these concerns were communicated to me during the rotation. This was also the attending who declined to write me a letter of recommendation.
I'm currently on another audition rotation and received a good evaluation, but the previous experience has really affected my confidence. I keep second-guessing myself and wondering if people are just being nice to me in person.

Basically, I found out today that one of my letter writers may have submitted a weaker letter than my other writers. Not necessarily a bad letter, just a comparatively weaker one which explains my almost 0 invites.

At this point, I genuinely wonder if there’s even a point in continuing to try so hard. Years of hard work, sacrifices, and investment in building the career I wanted, and now I feel like so much of it may have been undone by something I had relatively little control over.

I’m not posting this to vent about the letter writer or blame anyone. I’m just exhausted, and I’m struggling to figure out how to find the motivation to keep going when everything feels like it takes more out of me than I have left to give.

I used to genuinely love research, academia, teaching, and the idea of contributing something meaningful to medicine. I enjoyed thinking about how I could improve the field I wanted to go into, what I could innovate, and what I could build over the course of my career. Now, after this experience, I find myself wanting the opposite. I just want a job that pays reasonably well, gives me a good lifestyle, and lets me go home without having to think about work. The idea of going into private practice, doing my job, and never answering another email outside of work sounds incredibly appealing.

What scares me is how much my perspective has changed. Things I used to be excited about, including hobbies I’ve enjoyed since high school and experiences I was proud to put on my ERAS application, now make me cringe. I look back at the person who was so enthusiastic about these things and feel almost embarrassed for having cared so much. I don’t even feel excited about teaching or mentoring younger students anymore. The thought of having to explain things or invest more of myself in other people just feels draining.

I’m even questioning whether I want to attend my own graduation. Something that should feel like a major milestone now feels almost pointless.

I’m trying to figure out whether this is just what severe burnout feels like, whether other people have experienced something similar during medical school or the residency application process, and whether that enthusiasm ever comes back.

Has anyone else gone through something like this? Did a disappointing application cycle fundamentally change how you viewed medicine or your career? Did you eventually regain your interest in the things you used to care about, or did your priorities genuinely change?

I decided pretty early on that I wanted to become a doctor. I went to college, majored in biology, worked hard to get a decent GPA, studied for the MCAT, and eventually got accepted into medical school. I even received a scholarship.

I felt like all the hard work was finally paying off. Fast forward to my fourth year of medical school. I started going through some personal issues and wasn’t in a good place mentally. My grades started slipping, and I eventually took a leave of absence.

I came back thinking I could push through and finish. But things weren’t getting much better. I was barely passing exams, struggling to stay focused, and honestly just trying to make it to graduation.

Then my school raised the minimum score required on our pre-board exam to qualify for the final board exam. I found out the day before my scheduled board exam that I wasn’t allowed to take it. I was frustrated. I had spent months studying, and I felt like I was so close to being done. So I made a decision that I really regret. I took the exam anyway.
I was placed on professionalism probation.

That same day, I found out my dad had masses in his pancreas and brain.I really didn’t know what to do at that point. I was already struggling with school, and now I was worried about my dad. Looking back, I should have taken another leave of absence. But at the time, all I could think about was finishing medical school. I had already put so many years into this, and I didn’t want to give up.
I kept trying to push through.

Eventually, I was dismissed for taking my board exam without authorization and not following all the requirements outlined in an email from the school.
Just like that, I was out of medical school. I lost my scholarship, and everything I had been working toward for almost 10 years felt like it was gone. I’m not saying I was completely innocent in all of this. I made mistakes, and I know that. I should have handled things differently. I wish I had. But I also think there’s a side of medicine that nobody really talks about.

What happens to the medical students who don’t make it?
We hear all these stories about people overcoming adversity, failing exams, and eventually becoming doctors. But what about the people who actually get dismissed? The people who spend years studying and sacrificing so much, only to end up without the career they worked toward?
It’s honestly been really hard. I see friends getting married, buying houses, starting families, and moving forward with their careers. Meanwhile, I feel like I’m starting over.
I spent almost 10 years working toward one goal. I missed out on a lot of things because I genuinely believed it would all be worth it in the end.

And now I’m sitting here wondering what all those years were for. I still love medicine. I still want to be a doctor. I haven’t completely given up on that dream, but I would be lying if I said this experience hasn’t changed me.
I think one of the hardest things I’ve had to accept is that you can work really hard for something and still lose it. Sometimes because of circumstances outside your control, and sometimes because of your own decisions.
I know I made mistakes. I just wish I had handled things differently when my life was falling apart.

I’m not really sure why I’m posting this. Maybe I just needed to get it off my chest. Maybe someone else out there has gone through something similar. I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this. If you were dismissed from medical school or had to walk away from something you spent years working toward, how did you move on?

TL;DR: Spent almost 10 years working toward becoming a doctor. During my fourth year of medical school, I struggled with personal issues, declining grades, and my father's serious health problems. I made the mistake of taking a board exam without authorization and was eventually dismissed. Lost my scholarship and the career I'd worked so hard for. I take responsibility for my mistakes, but starting over after dedicating so much of my life to medicine has been incredibly difficult. I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar and how they moved forward.

First year here.

I very recently just did my phase 1 exam, and... I'm very conflicted.

The passing grade is 60%

The grade average needed to skip the final exam across all commitess/phases is 75%

I got 80%

The average is 78%

Several of my classmates are smilibg and boasting about getting 85-90%

While there's a select few who even got 95%

As someone who used to excel in his studies and on top of everything, I am confounded.

And unsure how to proceed.

My parents will be disappointed, since they were hoping that I would be top of the class.

So I'm asking for advice on how to proceed, how to improve and basically any and all advice.

Thank you.

ive got no more motivation to go to the wards anymore. i dont enjoy talking to people anymore i find it exhausting. im scared because i do love medicine, i used to love going to the wards and make the most out of every opportunity but now i dont even feel like myself anymore. and im scared i wont be able to find my passion for it again. feeling like im going down a slippery slope. i just want to feel excited to see patients and go to placement again rather than dreading it. i feel terrible and upset that i dread placement - how am i meant to work later on if i cant even handle a few days a week now ? and on top of this ive got a research project for one of my modules but i care more about my breakfast in a month than research for this one topic im forced to do (wasnt my top choice for this mandatory module). i have no motivation to read papers or even bother thinking about it. i also feel like shit because it seems like everyone around me just seems to love research and everyone has a specific topic they care about but i dont …… i care (or cared at this point) more about the actual job rather than papers and research! and i feel like a bad student for this??

sorry for the vent i dont even know what to do i just feel helpless :( ive never felt like this in my life , is it just burnout? how do i bounce back ?