7 Things You Just Don’t Say To Medical Students

Getting into medical school is celebrated across the globe. Overnight your life changes. People start taking you seriously and you tend to get more respect than the average college student. But these shenanigans are short lived. Soon after, we find out what people think of our chosen career path. Whether it’s your relatives or your friends, their comments can end up breaking our hearts into a million pieces, all in one shot.

Talking from experience, here are a few things one should never say to a medical student:

1. You look tired

Seriously? Do you not think I have a mirror to appreciate my dark circles?

But since you asked, I’ve been preparing for my anatomy tutorial for a week. And I have to ace it because an overconfident “Mr Know It All” competes with me and I can’t stand losing. Side note: I study better at night.

2. How much longer will you study (Kab tak parho gi)

I wish we had the answer to this question but sadly we don’t. Every med student is different but for the most part, we know what we signed up for, and the sooner we get to it the better we feel. The day we stop studying, we literally go blank. Books are to medical students what laptops are for tech students or paintbrushes to artists.

3. Tum budhi hojao gi

Are we running a wedding quest? In all honesty, ‘doctor bahus’ aren’t too worried about getting rishtas. They know they’ll be in demand even when they’re 35. Desi aunties would do anything to get their lawaris sons married to a doctor. Also, in general, stop caring about when other people will get married. It really is none of your business.

4. What will you do after MBBS

If you really want to throw a med student off, go ahead and ask them this one. We barely have the capacity to figure out where our next meal will come from. Do I really need to worry about ‘after’ when I’m already having an existential crisis? (Wait, what will I do after MBBS…)

5. You have no social life

Trust me, med students have quite the roaring social life. If anything, we use the ‘I have to study’ card just to avoid gatherings that end up being worse than actual studying. We, bunk classes, go to all the festivals and despite our daily tests, we also pursue our hobbies. We just don’t talk about it.

6. Other majors are equally hard as medicine

Let me assure you, nothing is as complex as the human body. But to each their own. And comparing different fields in a bid to figure out which one is harder is an exercise in futility. Best to discourage it as you’ll only make yourself look silly.

7. Doctors don’t get paid well

This has to be one of the worst things you can say to a med student – that all their hard work holds no value. Two things for those who often dish this piece of wisdom: 1) best not say anything when you have nothing nice to say 2) medicine takes its sweet time before it rewards you well.