I think I have a pulmonary embolism...

Funny characteristics about the odd, pale, sleep mazed creatures that are your average medical student: (if you see one on the street, offer the poor thing the coffee sludge at the bottom of your cup... s/he needs it)

1) They immediately think the worst.
Doc: "56 y.o. male came in with history gradually increasing left hip pain starting 6 months ago and trouble sleeping at night because of the pain. Give me a differential."
Student: "Must be cancer metastasizing to the bone."
Doc: "You don't think it might be osteoarthritis?
Student: "Nope, it's gotta be cancer."

2) They go straight to the most aggressive (usually completely unnecessary and expensive) investigations.
Doc: "So what would you do to confirm the diagnosis of osteoarthritis?"
Student: "Full body MRI, stat. We don't want to miss any potential TUMOURS."

3) They're convinced that they have whatever disease/condition they're currently studying.
The entire lecture about soft tissue tumours, I was convinced I could feel a lump growing in my abdomen. During our week on back pain, I had shooting sciatica pain down my leg every morning. When we were studying the brachial plexus, I felt some mild tingling in my 4th and 5th fingers and was sure that my ulnar nerve was somehow pinched. No one ever told me that medical school was a risk factor for hypochondriasis. I'm sure Stuff can go into this in much more detail.