Medical Student Burnout

I recently read this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/health/chen10-30.html?_r=1&oref=slogin), and I can definitely understand where the author is coming from. Medical school is not easy and often not fun. Sometimes I wonder why certain faculty are allowed to teach or why students interested in family medicine (or many other things) spend hours on their surgery rotation retracting when they could be learning.

A lot of medical school is simply putting-up with tedious hospital/clinic duties that have no educational relevance. My recommendation: bring a good book with you wherever you go.

Are there good/happy aspects to medical school - of course. When I get to see patients on my own, I learn whether or not I get the diagnosis correct. I wish all faculty would let students first see every patient on their own. It facilitates learning. I also love getting to see patients respond to treatment, and nothing is better than "high fives" from 5 year olds in pediatrics.

There is also ample time for fun if you aren't too Type A to relax every once in awhile. I recently went to Las Vegas over the weekend to watch TCU demolish UNLV. Go Frogs! I also lost about $100 in the process. Gambling is not for me apparently. I plan on watching the Frogs destroy Utah tomorrow on CBSSports. Can TCU go BCS this year? I hope so!