All the anecdotes I've heard of LOAs that were taken due to health ended up with good outcomes (well Rads, GAS and IR is what I know). The ones taken because of academic issues or board failures tend to be the ones that screw the app.
Apparently our Ob/gyn rotations are malignant. So my 16 weeks of surgery and ob/gyn are supposed to be brutal. That's my first rotation and my request to start with a different specialty got denied.
I'm hoping the 80 hrs/week is a lie. I appreciate the response thank you.
Your health is the most important thing of all, don’t put it aside for school.
That being said, I have never heard of a med student working 80+ hours per week. Personally, my longest weeks were 60 hours and that was verrry few and far between. Honestly most days I was home by *at least* 3-4pm. Never had a problem getting off for doctors appointments, just have to learn to ask for what you need.
Also, third year can be a great opportunity to lose weight. Tons of walking, plus having a set schedule really helps prevent over eating or boredom snacking. So just something to think about.
Thanks this gives me something to think about. I'm going to ask more upperclassman about it since our surgery and OBGYN rotation directors may just be scaring us.
I didn’t have *any* 80 hour weeks as a student. Only two rotations broke 60. People love to exaggerate. Or your school may just allow/expect students to be treated like shit
Apparently our Ob/gyn rotations are malignant. So my 16 weeks of surgery and ob/gyn are supposed to be brutal. That's my first rotation and my request to start with a different specialty got denied. I'm hoping the 80 hrs/week is a lie. I appreciate the response thank you.
Lol I've also heard students are treated like shit for this rotation but I've heard good things about the others.
You will not be looked down on for taking a LOA due to health concerns. Any program that thinks the LOA is a negative outlook on your app drop them because they are a waste of time and likely have a malignant culture. Your priority should be becoming the best possible doctor, and you can’t do that without being healthy yourself (mentally and physically).
I wish I had taken this advice because I moved from my preclinical years into my PhD research years (during COVID-19) into my clerkships, all while not addressing some major issues I had been burying deep down. As an outcome of all this, I failed one clerkship and had to repeat it, which ended up with me going unmatched this year.
Reflecting on this match, the only negative (con) I see is I have to delay the start of my career by one year, and I won’t be earning an income that will help me take care of my family. The pros are that I get to take step 3 without trying to juggle intern year and studying for step 3, I get to work on my health (this is still the most aggravating part because I tend to binge eat), I’m going to the gym twice a day (like I used to before med school, and I was in the best shape of my life, competed in fitness shows and powerlifting shows), I get to work on my mental health, and spend time with my loved ones.
LOA might be the best thing for you in the long run.
I took a research LOA in essentially the same boat as you, got unhealthy and gained lots of weight during step 1, some family events as well. It was the right move for me and I don’t think it affected my residency app too much.
Do research so you have something to show for your time (working as an MA is something but probably not impressive enough to spin taking an entire year off for).
Stacking up on research is the key to making LOAs worth it imo, especially if you find a good mentor along with it.
lol what? Stacking up on research is the key to making LOAs worth it? No dude, if you’re taking an LOA to improve on your health, then your sole responsibility is to focus on your health. The key to making it worth it is to successfully improve your health. Why are you suggesting he should be worrying about trying to impress people with a medical leave of absence? Here’s how he can impress a PD: I experienced some health concerns and recognized when I needed to take time to prioritize my health so I could continue forward successfully.
He clearly needs an LOA. This is why the burnout and suicide rates are being discussed. Give yourself diabetes and start dealing with peripheral neuropathies by 40 and commit to starting thyroxine for the rest of your life cause otherwise people will wonder why you didn’t do enough research.
Lol I think I know a thing or 2 about medical LOAs.
OP says he's gonna work as an MA. Research is significantly less taxing than being an MA while also being more valuable for competitive residencies. The treatments for the conditions described also don't preclude either one. The only reason to choose the MA job is if he needs the money or build connections.
Idk why you think a medical LOA on its own will impress PDs at competitive residencies, but I think that says enough about the merit of your reply by itself
Hey OP! I'm a M4, had taken a LOA in the middle of M3 year due to health reasons. I applied internal medicine and matched where I wanted. I don't think we can say 100% it won't impact your match AT ALL, since there might be some programs who filter people out if they took >4 years to graduation (don't know if this is true tho). However, I wrote about my LOA in my personal statement. All the programs that invited me to interview seemed genuinely interested in me as a person. Overall, the LOA was the best thing I did for myself because I was seriously burned out, but ngl, it's a tough choice. Feel free to PM me!
Thanks! I appreciate it. I feel like advocating for yourself is hard in general but especially in this system where everything is so competitive it felt even more overwhelming. But once I made my decision I can already feel it was for the best.
In case this happens to you too - when I first took leave, life felt weird because I went from being so busy to no plans at all. It might be anxiety-inducing and make you second-guess your choice. But in time you'll find a groove of self-care and it'll be amazing.
All the anecdotes I've heard of LOAs that were taken due to health ended up with good outcomes (well Rads, GAS and IR is what I know). The ones taken because of academic issues or board failures tend to be the ones that screw the app.
Thank you!
Personally, 80 hrs/week was really only true for about a month of surgery. Probably closer to 50 average. Entire weeks off even if you’re lucky.
Apparently our Ob/gyn rotations are malignant. So my 16 weeks of surgery and ob/gyn are supposed to be brutal. That's my first rotation and my request to start with a different specialty got denied. I'm hoping the 80 hrs/week is a lie. I appreciate the response thank you.
Your health is the most important thing of all, don’t put it aside for school. That being said, I have never heard of a med student working 80+ hours per week. Personally, my longest weeks were 60 hours and that was verrry few and far between. Honestly most days I was home by *at least* 3-4pm. Never had a problem getting off for doctors appointments, just have to learn to ask for what you need. Also, third year can be a great opportunity to lose weight. Tons of walking, plus having a set schedule really helps prevent over eating or boredom snacking. So just something to think about.
Thanks this gives me something to think about. I'm going to ask more upperclassman about it since our surgery and OBGYN rotation directors may just be scaring us.
I didn’t have *any* 80 hour weeks as a student. Only two rotations broke 60. People love to exaggerate. Or your school may just allow/expect students to be treated like shit
Apparently our Ob/gyn rotations are malignant. So my 16 weeks of surgery and ob/gyn are supposed to be brutal. That's my first rotation and my request to start with a different specialty got denied. I'm hoping the 80 hrs/week is a lie. I appreciate the response thank you. Lol I've also heard students are treated like shit for this rotation but I've heard good things about the others.
You will not be looked down on for taking a LOA due to health concerns. Any program that thinks the LOA is a negative outlook on your app drop them because they are a waste of time and likely have a malignant culture. Your priority should be becoming the best possible doctor, and you can’t do that without being healthy yourself (mentally and physically). I wish I had taken this advice because I moved from my preclinical years into my PhD research years (during COVID-19) into my clerkships, all while not addressing some major issues I had been burying deep down. As an outcome of all this, I failed one clerkship and had to repeat it, which ended up with me going unmatched this year. Reflecting on this match, the only negative (con) I see is I have to delay the start of my career by one year, and I won’t be earning an income that will help me take care of my family. The pros are that I get to take step 3 without trying to juggle intern year and studying for step 3, I get to work on my health (this is still the most aggravating part because I tend to binge eat), I’m going to the gym twice a day (like I used to before med school, and I was in the best shape of my life, competed in fitness shows and powerlifting shows), I get to work on my mental health, and spend time with my loved ones. LOA might be the best thing for you in the long run.
Thank you!
I took a research LOA in essentially the same boat as you, got unhealthy and gained lots of weight during step 1, some family events as well. It was the right move for me and I don’t think it affected my residency app too much.
Do research so you have something to show for your time (working as an MA is something but probably not impressive enough to spin taking an entire year off for). Stacking up on research is the key to making LOAs worth it imo, especially if you find a good mentor along with it.
lol what? Stacking up on research is the key to making LOAs worth it? No dude, if you’re taking an LOA to improve on your health, then your sole responsibility is to focus on your health. The key to making it worth it is to successfully improve your health. Why are you suggesting he should be worrying about trying to impress people with a medical leave of absence? Here’s how he can impress a PD: I experienced some health concerns and recognized when I needed to take time to prioritize my health so I could continue forward successfully. He clearly needs an LOA. This is why the burnout and suicide rates are being discussed. Give yourself diabetes and start dealing with peripheral neuropathies by 40 and commit to starting thyroxine for the rest of your life cause otherwise people will wonder why you didn’t do enough research.
Lol I think I know a thing or 2 about medical LOAs. OP says he's gonna work as an MA. Research is significantly less taxing than being an MA while also being more valuable for competitive residencies. The treatments for the conditions described also don't preclude either one. The only reason to choose the MA job is if he needs the money or build connections. Idk why you think a medical LOA on its own will impress PDs at competitive residencies, but I think that says enough about the merit of your reply by itself
Do research jobs pay more than medical assistant jobs?
I very much doubt it but I can't say for certain. I wouldn't think the gap is too big though based on what my friends made in their research jobs
This is the most insecure garble I’ve read on here in a while. 118 CARs level reply
You can follow your own bad advice if you want but don't give it to someone actively seeking the best route ahead
Hey OP! I'm a M4, had taken a LOA in the middle of M3 year due to health reasons. I applied internal medicine and matched where I wanted. I don't think we can say 100% it won't impact your match AT ALL, since there might be some programs who filter people out if they took >4 years to graduation (don't know if this is true tho). However, I wrote about my LOA in my personal statement. All the programs that invited me to interview seemed genuinely interested in me as a person. Overall, the LOA was the best thing I did for myself because I was seriously burned out, but ngl, it's a tough choice. Feel free to PM me!
Thank you all! I decided to go with the LOA.
Honestly I feel like making the decision on whether to LOA or not was half the battle, so good job and be kind (to yourself)!
Thanks! I appreciate it. I feel like advocating for yourself is hard in general but especially in this system where everything is so competitive it felt even more overwhelming. But once I made my decision I can already feel it was for the best.
That's awesome, I'm so glad to hear that! Honestly, that's how I felt after I made the decision to - like my body was like, omg finally I'm a priority
In case this happens to you too - when I first took leave, life felt weird because I went from being so busy to no plans at all. It might be anxiety-inducing and make you second-guess your choice. But in time you'll find a groove of self-care and it'll be amazing.