careers after failing out of med school

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

Hi. What are some career options if someone fails out of med school? Undergrad was in Biology. From what I have gathered, these are some options but I would appreciate your opinions.

1. re-take the MCAT and reapply or reapply to another school without retaking

2. Dental school

3. PHd

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

000

What are the chances of getting admitted after some one fails out? I've heard that they are not good, but I think that improving your mcat score should help. What about dental school?

p.s. I am not a med student so I don't know much about how med school apps work but I know someone who is in this situation so I appreciate the advice.

Originally Posted by drwario

Hi. What are some career options if someone fails out of med school? Undergrad was in Biology. From what I have gathered, these are some options but I would appreciate your opinions.

1. re-take the MCAT and reapply or reapply to another school without retaking

2. Dental school

3. PHd

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

I failed out of a D.O. school and am trying to get back in. In my case anatomy was my clear-cut weakness so I've done all I can to improve in this area. I've taken extra coursework, become a TA for AnP and assist in autopsies. Since I needed to make a living I've gotten a research assistant job in public health. Did you have a specific area that was kicking your *****? If so I suggest a similar approach. I know for a fact that 9 US DO schools will look at a previously dismissed medical students who want a second chance. PM me for the list.

Originally Posted by drwario

What are the chances of getting admitted after some one fails out? I've heard that they are not good, but I think that improving your mcat score should help. What about dental school?

p.s. I am not a med student so I don't know much about how med school apps work but I know someone who is in this situation so I appreciate the advice.

Don't know about allo but chances for D.O. are okish if you improve EVERYTHING (MCAT, previous weaknesses, science gpa etc). D.O. schools tend to be more forgiving because their admissions offices really do look at the whole applicant. Getting into a carib school is a little easier, if your stats are decent 25+ MCAT 3.4+ gpa you can be accepted down their no questions asked after failing out of DO or MD US schools.

I had a hs teacher who dropped out of UNC Chapel Hill med after three years. Why, I don't know, and seems to me like a ridiculous move financially. How would anyone have been able to pay for three years of medical school debt with a meager teacher's salary?

If you get into medical school, you're not *supposed* to fail out, and they have lots of support systems so that the world does not have one less doctor to treat the always growing patient population.

I say, if you're really passionate about medical school, don't give up. It won't be as easy to get in after failing out, of course, but there is still hope. I wouldn't recommend giving up your dream if you're really certain if it's what you want to do. On the other hand, it COULD be a good time to reevaluate and make sure that medicine is what you want to do, as well as looking into other options that would be possibilities for your future. Do you see yourself working in a lab? Would you enjoy going into research and being more "behind the scenes" in helping people? If so, maybe looking into getting your PhD would be best. But if you really want the patient care aspect of medicine, I say give it another shot. You could always apply to both graduate school and medical school, and if you don't get into medical school, go with the graduate school route.

1

I won't discuss getting back in or staying in medical school because I have no knowledge base there. What to do instead though depends on what you're interested in. Assuming you went to med school and are still interested in the medical field there are a lot of careers available besides the one's people usually think of like nursing or PhD, some fly pretty low under the radar so I'll just list a few, some obvious, some not so much. (forgive the over simplified descriptions on some)

Respiratory Therapist
Rad Tech
Bench Researcher Basic Science
Biology Instructor

*Clinical Laboratory Science/ Medical Technology http://www.ascp.org/pdf/TheMedicalTe...echnician.aspx(if you like hands on lab stuff, but not bench research this is a great field, tends to be friendly to students with B.S. already. i.e. I had a B.S. in Biology, took a year of courses specific to the program like hematology, medical microbiology, parasitology, clinical chemistry, immunology, etc. that I was missing then did a year of internship/courses, and got a great job. Should be quite doable if you were capable of getting into med school. It's more directly related to patients than just working a research bench, also pays a bit better, and has just as much of a shortage as nursing does. Job opps all over. PM me if you want more info on this one)

*Cytotechnology- sorta like above but more tissue/histo based

* *Cardiac Perfusionist-this is the person that runs the ECMO or cardiac bypass machine. If you're the adrenaline junky type this might be for you. Usually requires two additional years of training, very, very high starting salary due to the stress, hours, and knowledge base required.

* Pathologist assistant- sorta like a PA to the pathologist, most are heading towards M.S. level training also

*Dosimetrist - does some behind the scenes stuff with the Radiation Onc. folks


Yeah, that's my two cents on other options on the med. related side anyway.

Originally Posted by wholeheartedly

*Dosimetrist - does some behind the scenes stuff with the Radiation Onc. folks

Hmm, I have never heard of this before and it looks interesting. The training descriptions I looked up were vague in what level of education was needed, though.

Also no one mentioned pharmacy/podiatry yet.

Originally Posted by schrizto

I had a hs teacher who dropped out of UNC Chapel Hill med after three years. Why, I don't know, and seems to me like a ridiculous move financially. How would anyone have been able to pay for three years of medical school debt with a meager teacher's salary?

If you get into medical school, you're not *supposed* to fail out, and they have lots of support systems so that the world does not have one less doctor to treat the always growing patient population.

There is not always an appropriate support system. And they will kick you out for a bs reason if they feel like it with little concern for the lack of one doctor in the world. Med school admin are not all caring and empathetic like they say in the interview process.

Originally Posted by schrizto

I had a hs teacher who dropped out of UNC Chapel Hill med after three years. Why, I don't know, and seems to me like a ridiculous move financially. How would anyone have been able to pay for three years of medical school debt with a meager teacher's salary?

When he/she went to medical school, most in-state schools were probably in the $2500 to $5000 range, unless they're still in their early 30s. It wasn't like today, a world of ridiculous, where in-state tuitions are $25000 to $35000.

Originally Posted by Doctor

When he/she went to medical school, most in-state schools were probably in the $2500 to $5000 range, unless they're still in their early 30s. It wasn't like today, a world of ridiculous, where in-state tuitions are $25000 to $35000.

the teacher is pretty young, dropped out of med school in around 2000. And they weren't in-state for NC.

If the person got in-state tuition for any of the year(s) at UNC, that would have been about $2000/year at that time. It used to be really cheap in the 1990's...it was the cheapest med school in the country. I'm not sure what their out-of-state tuition was. Perhaps this person's family has money as well.

Originally Posted by Bones DO

I failed out of a D.O. school and am trying to get back in. In my case anatomy was my clear-cut weakness so I've done all I can to improve in this area. I've taken extra coursework, become a TA for AnP and assist in autopsies. Since I needed to make a living I've gotten a research assistant job in public health. Did you have a specific area that was kicking your *****? If so I suggest a similar approach. I know for a fact that 9 US DO schools will look at a previously dismissed medical students who want a second chance. PM me for the list.

What is the name of the 9 DO schools that you can go to??? Can you email me... Thank you

Hi Bones DO,

A close friend of mine was recently dismissed from my med school and I am trying everything I can to help him figure out his options. Do you still have your list of 9 DO schools that will look at previously dismissed students? If you do, I'd really appreciate your sharing it w/ me. Also, I'm new to the forum -- how do I "PM" you? You can email me at yph3@cornell.edu.

Thanks so much.

Originally Posted by saffron430

Hi Bones DO,

A close friend of mine was recently dismissed from my med school and I am trying everything I can to help him figure out his options. Do you still have your list of 9 DO schools that will look at previously dismissed students? If you do, I'd really appreciate your sharing it w/ me. Also, I'm new to the forum -- how do I "PM" you? You can email me at yph3@cornell.edu.

Thanks so much.

This thread is about 2 years old, so I doubt Bones will be back to look at it. You can click on his username to PM him, or go here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/priv...newpm&u=220222

A very low percentage of students fail out of med school. If you are one of those students, you don't belong. Sorry, but you had your chance.

To offer some words of encouragement:

I know this is an old post, but students who are dismissed can get back into medicine. It's hard to give a one-size-fits-all formula. Some students readmit back to their old schools. Some students switch to the DO option, esp. b/c they do look at the whole student. There are schools that do in fact accept dismissed students, or at least will look at you. And the important thing is they will look at your personal statement and you're story. Why did it happen? Did you fix it? Did you make sure it'll never happen again? If so, you have a reasonable shot. In a few cases, a legal route is necessary.

Don't listen to the posts that say that you don't belong. If you got into medical school you belong. You worked hard to get that 38MCAT. You got that 4.0 GPA with a passion.

Again, if you fail out, you don't belong. You are putting people's lives at risk. Do something else.

Originally Posted by NH14

Status: Pre-Medical

.

Originally Posted by NH14

Again, if you fail out, you don't belong. You are putting people's lives at risk. Do something else.

AAAAAAAAAND Burnett's Law. Your argument is invalid.

Public health is an option

Originally Posted by drwario

Hi. What are some career options if someone fails out of med school? Undergrad was in Biology. From what I have gathered, these are some options but I would appreciate your opinions.

1. re-take the MCAT and reapply or reapply to another school without retaking

2. Dental school

3. PHd

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

If you think going to dental school after failing out of medical school is an option, you are in for a rude awakening.

Had I failed out of medical school, and had to choose another PRACTICAL professional school, I'd enter pharmacy. But that choice is out of personal preference.

Failing out is sometimes a blessing in disguise for those who either couldn't hack it or whose heart wasn't into it. Spend that time reflecting on what you REALLY want to do, and then do it.

Originally Posted by schrizto

I had a hs teacher who dropped out of UNC Chapel Hill med after three years. Why, I don't know, and seems to me like a ridiculous move financially. How would anyone have been able to pay for three years of medical school debt with a meager teacher's salary?

If you get into medical school, you're not *supposed* to fail out, and they have lots of support systems so that the world does not have one less doctor to treat the always growing patient population.

They forgive your debt after 10 years of public service (while making payments).

Originally Posted by thepoopologist

Had I failed out of medical school, and had to choose another PRACTICAL professional school, I'd enter pharmacy. But that choice is out of personal preference.

If I had to do something else besides med school, I think I'd try my luck as a professional poker player.

I'm going to try not to generalize but it seems to me that people who fail out of medical school should not be given a second chance. These people were lucky enough to get one chance, and if they didn't take it seriously enough the first time and do everything in their power to pass, they should not take the seat away from someone who will make the best use of it.

That being said, life can be a ***** and sometimes, things happen that spiral
out of control. I think any adcom considering letting in a person who failed out should closely examine the file.

I am assuming people fail out either because of personal circumstances or because of poor study habits?

From our class, the people that failed out or failed a class had some combination of the following factors:

1. Laziness and never studied. Studying the night or two nights before isn't going to cut it anymore. Some people are Good Will Hunting geniuses. This is the exception, not the norm.
2. English was not their first language. So for time consuming exams (i.e. Path), they got killed cause they couldn't understand what was going on in the first place, much less the disease process.
3. Learning disability. I know one kid that had ADD and had to withdraw first semester. He's redoing the year. He was also inviting me to house parties pretty much every other day.
4. Lots of people end up getting test anxiety and just bomb exams. They know the information incredibly well, but they freeze up. Believe me, the day before and day of an exam are not pretty. Am I the only person that gets a case of the runs right before a test?


Also, in general, re-reading your notes a few times is just not the same as doing old TQs. Just because you think you sat in the library and absorbed information for a few hours doesn't mean you actually learned anything. Quality >>>>> Quantity.

Originally Posted by scummie

From our class, the people that failed out or failed a class had some combination of the following factors:

1. Laziness and never studied. Studying the night or two nights before isn't going to cut it anymore. Some people are Good Will Hunting geniuses. This is the exception, not the norm.
2. English was not their first language. So for time consuming exams (i.e. Path), they got killed cause they couldn't understand what was going on in the first place, much less the disease process.
3. Learning disability. I know one kid that had ADD and had to withdraw first semester. He's redoing the year. He was also inviting me to house parties pretty much every other day.
4. Lots of people end up getting test anxiety and just bomb exams. They know the information incredibly well, but they freeze up. Believe me, the day before and day of an exam are not pretty. Am I the only person that gets a case of the runs right before a test?


Also, in general, re-reading your notes a few times is just not the same as doing old TQs. Just because you think you sat in the library and absorbed information for a few hours doesn't mean you actually learned anything. Quality >>>>> Quantity.

I am kind of puzzled with that one...Someone who survived rigorous undergrad classes, mcat, application process, interviews ect... failed med school because english is not their first language...They probably failed because they did not study hard enough. Again what do I know since I am still taking my prereqs.

Path was one of the first classes we had were we had tons of patient clinical questions. There was a lot more reading on that exam than persay something like biochem--i.e. Rate limiting steps, etc. So a lot of students ran out of time and bombed the test. It's hard to come back from a failing grade on an exam if it's below a 60.

I spent 3 years of being in and out of school and retaking classes. My grades were up and down, and I finally decided that medical school wasn't for me. After much deliberation I withdrew from school. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I soon started work as a chemist and I opened my own personal training company. Things are going so well that I will be opening a bar in the next 2 months.

The point is...that you had to be an overachiever and a hardworker to get into medical school. If medical school doesn't work out then you are still an overachiever and a hardworker. Take your efforts to another equally rewarding field(or several different fields as is what happened in my case). You will probably find that while you are not great at medical school, you are still a lot smarter and more motivated than a large majority of the population. You should make the most of it.

Originally Posted by Basjustin

I spent 3 years of being in and out of school and retaking classes. My grades were up and down, and I finally decided that medical school wasn't for me. After much deliberation I withdrew from school. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I soon started work as a chemist and I opened my own personal training company. Things are going so well that I will be opening a bar in the next 2 months.

The point is...that you had to be an overachiever and a hardworker to get into medical school. If medical school doesn't work out then you are still an overachiever and a hardworker. Take your efforts to another equally rewarding field(or several different fields as is what happened in my case). You will probably find that while you are not great at medical school, you are still a lot smarter and more motivated than a large majority of the population. You should make the most of it.

lol

not sure why you found that funny- medical school is not your only shot to be successful at life. herps gonna derp...

Originally Posted by schrizto

Hmm, I have never heard of this before and it looks interesting. The training descriptions I looked up were vague in what level of education was needed, though.

Also no one mentioned pharmacy/podiatry yet.

medical dosimetrists basically help figure out how much radiation cancer patients need. It's an apparently lucrative field tho the dean of the allied health programs at my school told us that medical dosimetrists make like 80 to 90k to start, apparently with a BS . I wouldn't do it myself bc I'm not really a fan of physics lol
Here is a link to a .pdf from my school's UG bulletin, just Ctrl+F Medical Dosimetrist
http://www.stonybrook.edu/hscstudent...lletin2009.pdf

Originally Posted by nycsoul87

not sure why you found that funny- medical school is not your only shot to be successful at life. herps gonna derp...

I wasn't knocking him for decided to change his path from medschool, I was 'lol'ing about how he went from med school to chemist to personal trainer to bar owner. At this rate, I could see him on Jersey Shore by next season

Originally Posted by CaptainCool

I wasn't knocking him for decided to change his path from medschool, I was 'lol'ing about how he went from med school to chemist to personal trainer to bar owner. At this rate, I could see him on Jersey Shore by next season

Why? Is being a chemist, personal trainer, or small business owner "beneath" being a doctor? Grow up.

Originally Posted by carnage

Why? Is being a chemist, personal trainer, or small business owner "beneath" being a doctor? Grow up.

Ditto to that. And I want to say something about the arrogance in that remark. Call it whatever you want, medicine is a service industry - and being a doctor is just an occupation. It's counterproductive for doctors to assume they're inherently superior human beings just because they got in med school. In fact, at the rate the healthcare industry is being corporatized for efficiency and cost savings, most doctors will be corporate workers in the very near future. Being a team player is a huge virtue in the corporate environment. Med schools should teach med students to be a little humble - after all, isn't medicine a HELPING profession and aren't doctors supposed to SERVE? Incidentally many med school professors are PhDs not MDs, so are they inferior? If you define the purpose of your life by a degree or a job, your life is going to be eventually miserable. If you fail out of med school or whatever, move on to something else. People fail all the time in business.

Originally Posted by Pet of the Week

There is not always an appropriate support system. And they will kick you out for a bs reason if they feel like it with little concern for the lack of one doctor in the world. Med school admin are not all caring and empathetic like they say in the interview process.

Ditto

Some schools have better support systems than others.

Originally Posted by Morsetlis

They forgive your debt after 10 years of public service (while making payments).

This is not entirely true, and I don't want people running around thinking it is. The program you are referencing is only for folks who complete med school, then work (residency and fellowhsip included) in a non-profit hospital (most Universty-based hospitals) as an MD (not just "public service"), and without a single late or missing loan payment.

Originally Posted by WisdomDoc

If you think going to dental school after failing out of medical school is an option, you are in for a rude awakening.

+1!! what do people think dental school is?? geez.

Originally Posted by NH14

Again, if you fail out, you don't belong. You are putting people's lives at risk. Do something else.

Seriously, to all the pre-meds out there who want to climb up on their perch and flex their muscles, get some humility before you get to med school or else you'll be eaten alive. No one gives a damn if you get an A in anatomy if arrogance is seeping out of your pores.

Oh, and stay the hell off these threads if that's what you have to contribute.

Originally Posted by Temperature101

I am kind of puzzled with that one...Someone who survived rigorous undergrad classes, mcat, application process, interviews ect... failed med school because english is not their first language...They probably failed because they did not study hard enough. Again what do I know since I am still taking my prereqs.

Trust me, hardly anyone fails out of med school because they didn't study hard enough. Those people are in the minority. Most people who fail out do so because of distractions (usually a divorce and/or a dying parent), because of a learning disability (med students are known for this because they're bright people -- they've been able to compensate most of their lives and by the time they hit med school, they can no longer compensate. It's just too rigorous), or because of a illness (ask someone with MS what it's like to get through a med school day during a relapse).

That's why it's hilarious to see people who've never been inside a med school lecture hall assume they know what they're talking about. Med students are some of the most motivated people you'll ever meet. Sure, there's a lazy one in every bunch, but 99% of them study hard and still, some fail out.

failed pharmacy school 4 months before graduation...witnessed patient ingest 90mg of methadone; prescribed dose was 40mg.

fortunately, the patient didn't come to any serious harm

pretty devastated...don't know where to go from here...

Originally Posted by Pet of the Week

There is not always an appropriate support system. And they will kick you out for a bs reason if they feel like it with little concern for the lack of one doctor in the world. Med school admin are not all caring and empathetic like they say in the interview process.

Agreed. 1st hand experience.

@OP: Undergrad biology is fascinating, and great if you get into medical school. For the average student who doesn't, it's a license to scrape rat **** off cages for 30k/yr. Don't do dental unless you really want to.
Have you thought about a masters in either bioeng. or biomedeng.?

Originally Posted by supersnakess

@OP: Undergrad biology is fascinating, and great if you get into medical school. For the average student who doesn't, it's a license to scrape rat **** off cages for 30k/yr. Don't do dental unless you really want to.
Have you thought about a masters in either bioeng. or biomedeng.?

I wonder what the OP thinks about a high school student giving him career advice. lol

Agreed... another 1st hand experience... I only failed a 3.0 credit hour course in Nov and a 3.0 credit hour course in May... I asked for help on several occassions, I was told by the time you are a second year you should already know how to succeed in medical school... what a load of crap. 88 credit hours of medical school under my belt and this is the way I am treated? Good Luck to anyone struggling in medical school... it is conform or die!