4th year! I am in my last year.

I have officially finished my 3rd year of medical school and I am no longer a junior medical student but now I am a senior medical student. As a 4th year student you receive less of a beating from superiors but you are also expected to know more and be able to do things. 

What is the difference between 3rd year and 4th year? During 3rd year you are required to complete all of the required core rotations. These include rotations in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, etc. Generally you are there to learn the basics and you are not required to have a ton of responsibilities. You do get grilled a lot on the basics. During 3rd year ideally you should figure out what you want to specialize in and what residency you want to pursue.

4th year is all about doing electives in the area of medicine that you want to pursue. You can use these rotations as an extended interview to showcase your abilities at programs that you want to apply to for residency. Also during 4th year you apply to residency. You have to submit all of your applications to residency programs. If a program likes you application you are then offered an interview which are done October - February. Then in March you find out where and if you matched at a residency program. During 4th year you also have a little more free time and the attending physicians are easier on you because they know that next year you are going to get slammed during your intern year. 

This week I started my first 4th year rotation. I am doing a month long rotation in emergency medicine at a teaching hospital. I have only had a couple of shifts so far but I love it so far.