<p>Okay, so we hear all the time about what to do during one's undergraduate summers. However, what do medical students usually do during their summers?</p>
<p>You usually only get the first summer, and sometimes not even that.</p>
<p>Okay, but what specifically would you be doing during the summers (i.e. the ones that you "don't have")?</p>
<p>Medical school, same as during the other three seasons.</p>
<p>Okay, got it. Do you get any break at all (like more than a few days)?</p>
<p>At my school, once you hit clinical years, you get Christmas (2 weeks), spring break (3-day weekend), a couple of the extra holidays (i.e. MLK Day, 3-day weekend), and I think there's a week during the summer. Plus you get one weekend off a month.</p>
<p>The "book" years give you two weeks for Christmas, 4 days for Thanksgiving, 3 for MLK, and a week for Spring Break.</p>
<p>At my school, you get the first summer off - except that you have a three week primary care block that forces you to go to a rural community family med or surgery practice. Definitely the best part of the entire first year, but kind of a pain. </p>
<p>Second year, finish with classes the last week of April. Third year starts in July and in the last week before third year, you have a 3 day "June term" in preparation for that - you review how to glove and gown, learn how to do blood draws and IV starts, as well as insert NG tubes and a couple other basic skill sorts of things. In between you have to study for and take Step 1 of the USMLEs. Some people take it early June and had about 3-4 weeks of vacation, others - like me - took it later in June and had a week of nothing to do.</p>
<p>During the third year, we got Labor Day off, along with days for Thanksgiving, and because of the way the schedule worked out we got three weeks of Winter Break (but next year its only 2 weeks). Second semester, we got MLK off, and we do have a week long spring break. There is a one week break between the end of third year and the start of fourth year. Depends on the service, but we're supposed to average one day off a week at a minimum - just like the residents. This is definitely more relevant when you're on an inpatient rotation than an outpatient. </p>
<p>Finally as a fourth year, we're allowed one month that's just vacation. But it's a good idea to use it as a productive time (I'm planning mine for next January so that I can manage interviews, while I have other friends who are doing their Step 2 prep during their vacation month and scheduling it earlier). There are of course some 4th year rotations which are much less demanding of one's time, and so those are in fact de facto vacation months (I'm doing a month with our Student run clinics - two clinic nights a week and some sort of improvement project are all that's required during the month).</p>