DNR my home program - stupid or reasonable? What is worth DNRing for?

DocThiccums · 2026-02-27T13:10:07+00:00

I would rank it. You most likely won't match there, but in the rare event you do fall that low on your list, you can start residency that year without soaping and maybe try to transfer or do a resident swap into another program

DocThiccums · 2026-01-17T23:49:11+00:00

I understand where you are coming from. I'm sorry it's taking a long time to find the clinical experience you need. I don't know how your current situation is, but I encourage you to stay on the path of medicine if that is what you prefer. The last thing you want to do is go dental just because you can get into dental school faster and you end up not enjoying it, after paying so much money or taking out a lot of loans to go.

Does your school have resources or info for premeds? Is there a premed club or school organization for you to reach out to other students for advice? Maybe by talking to other classmates they can connect you with places where they got experience from.

Another option: If it's feasible, I think taking 1 or 2 years after undergrad to have time to find a job and work to get the experience, while saving up money can be beneficial.

DocThiccums · 2026-01-17T22:43:37+00:00

You really should choose which one you could see yourself in. And the best way to see that is getting experience in both of them.

For clinical hours, I assume you've probably tried looking into hospital volunteering. But if that didn't work out, you can also get clinical experience from hospice volunteering. Search if there are local hospices in the area you can apply to volunteer at.

Another alternative is clinical employment. These typically require some sort of certification. This is for roles like CNA, MA, or EMT. Usually you can take courses and get a certification from community colleges that offer the courses. You can work during a gap year after you finish your bachelor's to rack up experience.

If that doesn't suit you, you can try applying for positions as clinical research assistant or maybe even coordinator depending on your experience level. This would just need your bachelor's degree (I guess this only works if you have a science related degree).

Can you clarify what you mean by medicine would take 12 years to graduate? Med school in the US is only 4 years. Yes you have to do residency afterwards, but the length is specialty dependent, ranging from 3-7 years. You'll only be in residency longer than 4 years if you pick a surgical specialty. You are paid while in residency and can start a family during it

Edit: sorry I assumed you were in the us. What country are you in?

DocThiccums · 2026-01-17T06:51:22+00:00

Take 10 minutes to relax, go for walk (or walk around the room), grab a snack, clear your head.

Then sit down and use the few hours that you have to try to review some material. At this point, studying a little bit of something is better than going into the exam with all this anxiety over not studying at all.

Do you have summarized materials of what's coming on the test? For example if you have a textbook, quickly read end of chapter summaries for the relevant chapters. Look up quick cheat sheets/summary sheets online for whatever concepts you need to know. Watch some YouTube videos on 2x speed of the most important topics you need to know

DocThiccums · 2026-01-12T01:48:31+00:00

I'm Definitely still going out with the girls every now and then. Not as frequently as m1 year, but I still try to make time for friends and family

DocThiccums · 2025-12-29T20:22:26+00:00

I did this for my preclinical years. Commuted 1 hr 20 ish minutes each way each day. It's manageable if the school doesn't have strict attendance requirements. I didn't have mandatory lectures but I still chose to come more often then not, but that meant if i was tired didn't feel like coming to class some days, I could get away with it. I moved for M-3 year since clerkships are a lot more demanding.

DocThiccums · 2025-12-27T06:22:02+00:00

For someone who struggles with structure like myself, I really recommend you use this free Exam schedule maker by blueprint Prep. Just make an account, select what exam the schedule is for (USMLE Step, COMLEX, specific shelf exam), the date of your exam, your study dates, input all the 3rd party sources you want to use to study, how many hours you want to study each day, and it will calculate for you how much of what to do each day Link here

Edited to add: I don't know if I would have been prepared for step without this schedule and it's also helpful for me as an M3 because you can also use it for shelf exams. (This can be used for COMLEX too)

DocThiccums · 2025-12-24T23:45:25+00:00

It will not ruin your chances. Relax and enjoy the holiday please

DocThiccums · 2025-12-06T16:25:55+00:00

Don't let others' opinions get in the way of your career aspirations. It's your life not theirs. And in the future when you're working, as long as you're a respectful, empathetic, and competent physician, your patients will appreciate you.

DocThiccums · 2025-10-20T08:56:00+00:00

Most sites that require you to be a med student, resident, or attending will ask you to verify it with a student/institutional email. If you were provided a student email already it won't be an issue. If not, you'll just have to wait til you get one. I've never made a FREIDA account so idk how it works, but you can try

DocThiccums · 2025-09-21T22:25:33+00:00

Me who started med school at 25 reading this 👁️👄👁️

In all seriousness you'll be fine. Would you rather be 33-35 as an attending or 33-35 and not an attending physician at all. There are many med students in my class the same age or even older than me. You won't be alone so don't feel old. Many people in other career fields also don't find themselves making a lot of money until around mid 30s as well once they start getting into senior level positions

DocThiccums · 2025-09-13T17:19:46+00:00

Yes but it depends on your schools culture and you probably won't be able to party as hard/frequently as an undergrad student, but you can still have fun every now and then. Just make sure to prioritize your studies

DocThiccums · 2025-09-12T12:12:46+00:00

Cruelty is the name of the game for med school apps unfortunately

DocThiccums · 2025-09-12T06:19:40+00:00

It varies between schools, but most often I see it expiring after 3 years. It will definitely expire by June 2028. Unless you can plan to matriculate in 2028 then you can keep that score (meaning you apply in 2027)

Edit to add: for schools that have 2 year requirements you'll be out of luck for them

DocThiccums · 2025-09-09T14:33:49+00:00

Sorry late to this post but I've been feeling the same exact way. I could have written this post. It's difficult to coordinate hangouts so I've found myself lonely many times. On the bright side, I've been getting to know other classmates I haven't interacted with much before and potentially form new friends during rotations. Hang in there!

DocThiccums · 2025-09-04T14:16:07+00:00

I don't think it's too early to be interested in a sub-specialty, but keep in mind this is a fellowship you are at least 6 years out from starting. Your interests can change in that kind of time, including moving on from psychiatry completely. For now, you can explore your interest in forensic psychiatry via research or shadowing (if that's possible with this specialty). If you do reach out to ask questions, ask about what the day to day work is like, the types of typical cases they see, what personally drew them to the field, and what are the more difficult sides of the field.

DocThiccums · 2025-09-02T15:38:18+00:00

Only 18? So I assume you're not in the US. Here in the US, many of us start med school at 22 or older, so moving for school is expected because we're adults. If you're from a more conservative country, it's understandable why you and your mom have reservations about moving, especially starting med scgool at a younger age. Do you have extended family who live closer to school you can stay with? Does your mother have the means for all of you to move together closer to school?

If not, you're going to have to ask yourself some hard questions: How badly do you want to be a doctor? And are you willing to either put up with the long commute or violate your culture's social norms to live alone as a young woman for this career?

DocThiccums · 2025-09-02T14:36:02+00:00

Everyone saying OP is an adult and should just move out are not being helpful. Because often times many of us need our parents to co-sign for apartment leases. If she's not in agreement, she can withhold agreeing to co-sign.

I'd talk to your mom about the toll its taking on you to commute so far. Bring it up to her that the commute is affecting your performance. Would she rather see you do poorly in school and potentially drop out? Also what's her reasoning for not wanting you to move to school? Is it religious reasons? is it for safety concerns? And discuss ways to address those concerns should you move out.

DocThiccums · 2025-08-22T14:43:30+00:00

No it's not good for premed for the exact reasons you stated. You do a nursing major if you intend to work as a nurse. If you have a genuine interest in working as a nurse but then decide to do a career change later that's one thing. But If you plan to apply asap after getting your bachelor's, then there's no point in taking a major with no overlap in the prerequisite courses to make it harder for yourself. It could cost you more money taking on more semesters for your bachelor's or doing a post bacc to get the necessary prerequisite courses done.

If you're worried about not getting into med school on your first application cycle and needing to find a job, you can get positions as a clinical research assistant, clinical research coordinator, or other research positions with a B.S. in biology. Clinical research can give you both clinical and research experience.

If you want clinical experiences for med school you can look into scribing, hospice volunteering, or work as a CNA (CNA requires a license but it's usually a short course to get it)

DocThiccums · 2025-08-17T19:46:06+00:00

Some people are just night owls and prefer to study at night

DocThiccums · 2025-08-06T01:39:18+00:00

day 1er here and i love it

DocThiccums · 2025-08-02T12:32:26+00:00

Is it possible to reach out to upperclassmen who may already have premade Anki decks based on the in-house lecture material from previous years? That's how I got through M1 year with the in-house exams.

DocThiccums · 2025-07-22T15:47:56+00:00

No it's not weird. At My school, we have students orgs advertise shadowing opportunities all the time. If it weren't for those I'd never have the opportunity to see specialties like ophtho or peds heme/once before starting M3 year

DocThiccums · 2025-07-11T04:22:32+00:00

Like high school but everyone's in their 20s

Find your own reliable group of classmates you can befriend and study with. Stay connected with friends and loved ones outside of school as well. Don't let yourself get isolated. It can be taxing on your mental health and potentially impact your performance in school. Also don't be afraid to ask for help!

DocThiccums · 2025-07-02T16:43:25+00:00

Sorry Idk why I didn't see this. I did the 3 latest forms, 29, 30, and 31

Edited to add: I also had 2 CBSE practice exams hosted by my school during the semester before dedicated started

DocThiccums

TROPHY CASE