MS-4: Concerned about future

[Doodledog]

A question

Hi, I'm feeling isolated, depressed, anxious as I am returning to medical school after a 2.5 year leave of absence which I took for personal medical issues. I have already passed Step II and I will be returning as a fourth year medical student. I'm certainly not functioning at a fourth year medical student level and must admit that my knowledge base now is probably very minimal having been away for so long. At this point, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me as this is all very overwhelming as (1) I'm needing to jump right back in as a fourth year and knowing i will be performing at a level below most third years since my knowledge base has significantly dwindled and (2) having to deal with residency applications and not knowing where to start. I'm just hoping that I can get an internship/residency slot somewhere due to my long leave of absence. Or perhaps, I should be considering other options aside from internship? Does anyone have any information on people who have gone through a situation that's somewhat similiar? Any help would be much appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[chrisisinnocent]

Take a deep breath, you are not as dumb as you think. I was also away for much longer doing a PhD and I had to jump into 3rd year having to worry about my grades counting etc. I felt like I could not even listen to heart sounds properly. It will come back to you faster than you think.
Since you are starting as a 4th year and you have some control over your schedule do some easy electives first. Maybe some outpatient IM rotation at a small clinic where your preceptor will know your situation and will take it easy on you. Just read, read, read. As you see patients go home and read up on their condition. Uptodate is a good quick review on most topics. I also used Harrison's extensively. It's a huge book but there are some key chapters that will help you. Don't bother to read it cover to cover but read the chapters relevant to major conditions (HTN, heart disease, COPD, Diabetes, renal disease etc.)
Do not hesitate to ask for help. Our school had a Physical Diagnosis department who administered most of our OSCEs and taught the physical diagnosis class. I spent a couple afternoons with them just going over basic physical exam manouvers and reviewed stuff I had completely forgotten like a complete neuro exam. Get a copy of DeGowin's book on physical exam and read it, it's a solid book that really helped me.
Good luck!