What Are Some Myths About Medical School?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Eden Mecham, Currrently a 3rd year med student

I think there is a large public misunderstanding regarding medical school and I thank you for bringing this issue up with your question. I won’t waste any more of your time and will get straight into it.

1. Medical School is only for the brightest students in the country: Let me explain: Perhaps the biggest misconception about medical school is that only the best students are accepted and can thrive throughout their stay. This is probably the biggest reason why most people avoid applying to do medicine. It’s a shame because what most people don’t understand is that learning medicine is more about constant repetition than it is about being naturally clever. Sure, you will be with students who are naturally clever but take my word for it, I was never the brightest student yet I managed to survive the past 2 years of med school by employing various study techniques such as spaced repetition and active learning. Trust me, you will be surprised how much knowledge you can retain using these techniques.
   
   
2. You need to be in a certain top decile to proceed to the next year: If you’re going to take one thing away from this answer, take this: medical school base your progression on PASS/FAIL boundary. All you need to do is pass, you will not be compared to other students to see whether you will be competent as a doctor. However, don’t let this be an excuse to do the bare minimum because aiming low will increase the chances of you getting below the pass mark. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST!
   
   
3. Once you graduate you will know everything there is to Medicine: FACT: There will NEVER be a time where you as a doctor will know everything. Even if you sub-specialize, with the large quantities of research papers being published every day, it is impossible to know everything. The same applies to medical school. You will not be expected to know everything that is taught to you in lectures and tutorials. You do need to make sure that you understand the concepts of what you’re being taught. Over time, as you begin to understand the concepts of what is being taught, you will naturally increase your general knowledge of medicine. You are then expected to continue your learning after you graduate with placements and real-life experiences.
   
   
4. You no longer have a social life: Get this, medicine is hard and requires you to be more devoted to your studies than ever - this will come as no surprise to you. HOWEVER, you WILL get time to go out a couple of time a month and party with your friends or chill at the cinema or do practically ANYTHING YOU WANT. You just need to make the time in your daily schedule to do this - and it is a lot easier than it sounds. There are times (especially throughout the dreaded second year of your med school) when you will be so bogged down in your studies that you feel completed disconnected from the outside world. This is the time where you need to be able to know when to have a small break and just relax. As you progress through medical school, you will soon realize that medical school probably gave you a better social life than High School/Secondary School ever gave you. And that, my friends, is something that you can ALL look forward on your journey to becoming a doctor.
   

I hope this helped. These are my top 4 myths of medical school from my own experiences and from the experiences of others.

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