Beware pre-meds: Grey's Anatomy, ER and Scrubs do not portray completely accurate experiences of medical students and professionals.
The popular vision of medical students as poor, over-worked and sleep-deprived souls is a romanticized portrayal of their lives, students and administrators at the School of Medicine said. Others, however, noted that doctors and aspiring M.D.s alike do not live up to the opposite stereotype either--that of the angelic role model of perfect health.
Myth No. 1: Fast Food and Lack of Sleep and Stress, Oh my!
Many Duke undergraduates-notably, pre-med students-seem to have adopted the exaggerated notion of medical students living miserable, unhealthy lives.
"I'd say [medical school] is going to be really hard... and it's going to be really sad," said Katya Papatla, a pre-med freshman.
Freshman Joy Xiang noted that the lifestyle of both studying and practicing medicine may be quite difficult.
But several first-years at the School of Medicine said they found the myth of the over-stressed medical student amusing, adding that the suffering medical student is just that-no more than an image.
"In general, I practice what I preach," said Tammy Ho, a first-year medical student and Duke graduate. "I work out. I try to eat healthy.... I would actually say I sleep more than I did in undergrad. I now sleep eight or nine hours a day."
Another first-year medical student, Kevin Jeng, echoed these sentiments.
"I don't think most of the stereotypes are true. A lot of my class visits the gym regularly, gets enough sleep," said Jeng, a Duke graduate. "Besides perhaps a weakness for caffeine, most of the students I know eat healthy diets."
Medical students noted that their classroom learning about health translates into their real-life decisions.
"If anything, we are even more disciplined in terms of our sleep and eating patterns because we constantly learn what would happen to our bodies if we aren't," said first-year student Maanasa Indaram, Trinity '08.
In addition to maintaining their physical health, students also did not cite much difficulty in regulating their mental health. As a result, the infamous medical school stress was noticeably absent or well managed.
Jeng added that he has managed to avoid stress by planning enjoyable activities despite a grueling courseload.
"We have fun, but we know we have a lot of work to do. We keep it balanced," Ho said. "I am very happy with my lifestyle. I'm really glad I chose Duke Med because I feel like the people here are really balanced and have a lot of perspective."
Myth No. 2: The Halo Effect
But though many medical students said they make a conscious effort to lead healthy lifestyles, they noted that they do feel that they are sometimes held to unrealistic standards.
"I would expect [medical students] to lead a relatively healthful lifestyle," said junior Chrissy Ziccarelli, who is not pre-med. "Hopefully they would be making good choices, especially if they're advising people to make those choices."
These expectations, however, are unfair, said Rebecca Sadun, director of student programming for the American Medical Student Association. She added that physicians and medical students should not be held to standards of perfection more than anyone else, and often they experience negative health effects from their jobs.
"Medical students experience prolonged periods of sleep deprivation, poor nutrition and little-to-no exercise," she said. "There are added psychological stresses associated with high-stakes exams and with carrying the burdens of sick patients in a sick health care system. There are lots of demands to meet, and medical students often let their own health take a back seat."
The perception of doctors as flawless practitioners of good health, therefore, falls short of the truth, along with the romanticized view on the other end of the spectrum.
"It's never fun to have to work 100 hours a week," said Weiyi Tan, a second-year student in the School of Medicine and Trinity '07. "It's much easier to go to McDonald's, versus cooking a meal, which takes 30 minutes."
Dr. Edward Buckley, interim vice dean for medical education at the School of Medicine, said he has witnessed Duke medical students who neglect their health as a result of their intense work load-just as all humans are susceptible to unhealthy behaviors.
As many note, it appears that the real life of doctors and medical students is much more complex than just a stereotype.
"I think what people often forget is that doctors are humans, too," Indaram said.
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