bad news… plan and prognosis?

[epsilonprodigy]

In a nutshell: applying to surgery. Step 1: 247. Grades: first 2 rotations were primary care and surgery. Both HP. Medicine and psych: both honors. OB: looking like it will be honors.

Peds went great except for ONE attending that I couldn't seem to bond with. I honored all my other clinical evals and the shelf, but she gave me a pass. This knocked my grade down to HP, by HALF A DAMN POINT.

I'm in the process of fighting this, but I'm obviously extremely worried and starting to wonder what my future holds in terms of residency. If I don't win this fight, I will have half honors and half HP, best case scenario- doesn't seem to bode well for AOA or life in general. Advice appreciated.

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[Winged Scapula]

We don't care about what grade you got on your Peds rotation.

 

[justin1390]

You didn't mention what surgery you are applying to. A 247 step one with all HP and Honor courses should be very competitive for a significant portion of surgical specialties, no?

 

[Psai]

You'll be fine. The difference between a hp and an honors in peds won't keep you out of surgery lol

 

[seminoma]

In a nutshell: applying to surgery. Step 1: 247. Grades: first 2 rotations were primary care and surgery. Both HP. Medicine and psych: both honors. OB: looking like it will be honors.

Peds went great except for ONE attending that I couldn't seem to bond with. I honored all my other clinical evals and the shelf, but she gave me a pass. This knocked my grade down to HP, by HALF A DAMN POINT.

I'm in the process of fighting this, but I'm obviously extremely worried and starting to wonder what my future holds in terms of residency. If I don't win this fight, I will have half honors and half HP, best case scenario- doesn't seem to bode well for AOA or life in general. Advice appreciated.

You're fighting for a HP to Honors? For a half point? Seriously? Is this real? REALLY?

 

[jw3600]

You didn't mention what surgery you are applying to. A 247 step one with all HP and Honor courses should be very competitive for a significant portion of surgical specialties, no?

He said surgery. That means general surgery. He didn't use some vague terminology like "I wanna be a surgeon" possibly indicating ortho, urology, ENT. He said, and I quote, "...applying to surgery."

Stop seeking out ambiguity that does not exist.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Yep, just to clarify: I'm referring to gen surg. And yes, the fact that it is by half a point makes it all the more worth fighting in my opinion. I am very relieved to hear the overall opinion that this won't matter, but still can't shake the feeling that HP's are the kiss of death for academic programs…. not trying to go to MGH or anything, but I am hoping to at least match to a decent mid-tier academic program.

 

[seminoma]

Yep, just to clarify: I'm referring to gen surg. And yes, the fact that it is by half a point makes it all the more worth fighting in my opinion. I am very relieved to hear the overall opinion that this won't matter, but still can't shake the feeling that HP's are the kiss of death for academic programs…. not trying to go to MGH or anything, but I am hoping to at least match to a decent mid-tier academic program.

I'm mostly surprised that whomever you're talking to to get your grade changed (dean, clerkship director, etc) us actually hearing you out. Dean at my school would look at you sideways for a half point and honors argument.

 

[notbobtrustme]

You're fighting for a HP to Honors? For a half point? Seriously? Is this real? REALLY?

i'd ****ing do it. That HP to H might be the difference between AOA and no AOA, depending on the school's selection criteria.

 

[seminoma]

i'd ****ing do it. That HP to H might be the difference between AOA and no AOA, depending on the school's selection criteria.

Yea and word gets around pretty quickly too about people who moan and groan over petty stuff like half a percent.

 

[HatWobble]

247 for Gen Surg and you're worried about a HP in pediatrics? Damn, I thought I was paranoid about grades...

 

[Kaustikos]

I'm mostly surprised that whomever you're talking to to get your grade changed (dean, clerkship director, etc) us actually hearing you out. Dean at my school would look at you sideways for a half point and honors argument.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, might even warrant lowering your grade even more... "You know what... you're annoying. You get a Pass"

 

[justin1390]

He said surgery. That means general surgery. He didn't use some vague terminology like "I wanna be a surgeon" possibly indicating ortho, urology, ENT. He said, and I quote, "...applying to surgery."

Stop seeking out ambiguity that does not exist.

Whoa there, just wanting clarification. Most people with a 247 are not too worried about a gen surg match. I thought I would refrain from merely assuming. I prefer not to blunder in too much positive audacity. If you catch what I'm saying.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Yeowch. I just found out that I may have HP'd OB also (not definite yet.) This is due to the shelf, and I'm fine with my evals, so not arguing that one.

I won't attempt to defend my decision to contest my peds grade any further. I am now worried, however, since my "worst case scenario" might actually happen: honors in medicine and psych only with the rest HP. I'm encouraged to hear that the peds grade probably isn't a huge deal either way, but I am worried about the cumulative mass of HP instead of honors, as well as my OB grade, which seems fairly relevant to surgery. Not much I can do besides hunker down and move on, but would appreciate thoughts on the new situation.

To clarify: yes, I am applying to general surgery.

 

[Psai]

hp is pretty good man
i mean honors should mean something, it shouldn't be handed out like candy
i'm of the opinion that pass should be "usually showed up on time, adequate performance" high pass "this guy worked hard and decent person" honors "this guy was a genius, worked hard and everyone loved him"
as it stands i think hp means you did fine, pass means your shelf was low and honors means you studied for the shelf

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Haha, if HP= "pretty good" by SDN standards, that speaks volumes- some folks make it sound like if you don't get all honors and crack 260, you might as well become a migrant farmer;-)

 

[Kaustikos]

Jesus. Allo is quickly becoming pre-allo.

 

[alpinism]

No kidding.

You do realize that at many med schools the majority of students receive a mix of P/HP for their 3rd year rotations.

Very few end up with Hs let alone Hs in multiple rotations.

Most of those people have no trouble matching in their desired specialty (including general surgery).

Unless your school gives out Hs like candy I would worry at all.

 

[Bacchus]

Yeowch. I just found out that I may have HP'd OB also (not definite yet.) This is due to the shelf, and I'm fine with my evals, so not arguing that one.

I won't attempt to defend my decision to contest my peds grade any further. I am now worried, however, since my "worst case scenario" might actually happen: honors in medicine and psych only with the rest HP. I'm encouraged to hear that the peds grade probably isn't a huge deal either way, but I am worried about the cumulative mass of HP instead of honors, as well as my OB grade, which seems fairly relevant to surgery. Not much I can do besides hunker down and move on, but would appreciate thoughts on the new situation.

To clarify: yes, I am applying to general surgery.

I'd offer you a spot in my FM residency, but there isn't enough room for this neurosis. Senior residents and a surgical attending have all contested your fears. Relax or you're going to burn yourself out. Serious.

 

[JustPlainBill]

He said surgery. That means general surgery. He didn't use some vague terminology like "I wanna be a surgeon" possibly indicating ortho, urology, ENT. He said, and I quote, "...applying to surgery."

Stop seeking out ambiguity that does not exist.

You just made my day --

 

[JustPlainBill]

To the OP -- Had an offer from my surgery attending (we had a choice to do it with either a community surgeon or at the local hospital on the surgery service -- I chose the community surgeon figuring I'd get more one-on-one training) while we were out at a post-rotation dinner at the country club they belonged to -- the offer came after a discussion about how they had gotten a medical student from Guatemala that they met on a medical missions trip a slot into a surgical residency.... the attending looked me square in the pale browns and asked if I had ever considered surgery -- I stated that I had but my board scores and grades were telling me I was a no-go for surgery (479 COMLEX Level 1, low B average) -- that's when they informed me that one of their med school buddies was the PD at Mass General (at the time) and did I want to do surgery?

So, there are many paths to a surgical career -- most of the time, unless it's just a program of real jerks, if you do your rotations at the places you're interested in, don't come off as a neurotic gerbil on Benzedrine, work hard, make yourself useful and demonstrate a small interest in what you're learning, you'll likely get an interview -- grades and scores only show so much -- you have to demonstrate that you can handle the material, of course, but the question most people ask themselves when looking at candidates is: Can I work with this person at 0300 Q3 for the next 3-5 years? -- meaning, personality wise, skill level wise, motivation wise, whiny-butt factor wise? If not, you're out --

Chill -- arguing over half a point is not necessarily a bad thing -- the mentality that brought you there may be --- no offense but function check your brain housing group to see if you need to adjust windage....

 

[Psai]

To the OP -- Had an offer from my surgery attending (we had a choice to do it with either a community surgeon or at the local hospital on the surgery service -- I chose the community surgeon figuring I'd get more one-on-one training) while we were out at a post-rotation dinner at the country club they belonged to -- the offer came after a discussion about how they had gotten a medical student from Guatemala that they met on a medical missions trip a slot into a surgical residency.... the attending looked me square in the pale browns and asked if I had ever considered surgery -- I stated that I had but my board scores and grades were telling me I was a no-go for surgery (479 COMLEX Level 1, low B average) -- that's when they informed me that one of their med school buddies was the PD at Mass General (at the time) and did I want to do surgery?

So, there are many paths to a surgical career -- most of the time, unless it's just a program of real jerks, if you do your rotations at the places you're interested in, don't come off as a neurotic gerbil on Benzedrine, work hard, make yourself useful and demonstrate a small interest in what you're learning, you'll likely get an interview -- grades and scores only show so much -- you have to demonstrate that you can handle the material, of course, but the question most people ask themselves when looking at candidates is: Can I work with this person at 0300 Q3 for the next 3-5 years? -- meaning, personality wise, skill level wise, motivation wise, whiny-butt factor wise? If not, you're out --

Chill -- arguing over half a point is not necessarily a bad thing -- the mentality that brought you there may be --- no offense but function check your brain housing group to see if you need to adjust windage....

so are you a mass gen trained surgeon now

 

[Kaustikos]

so are you a mass gen trained surgeon now

Right? Someone offers me a spot, ill take it.

 

[JustPlainBill]

so are you a mass gen trained surgeon now

No -- didn't want to do surgery -- got bored with it after 1 month.

 

[NOsaintsfan]

but she gave me a pass.............. doesn't seem to bode well for AOA or life in general.

Wow, just wow

 

[medstudent7860]

OP, even if you get a HP in OB, you still have a mix of H/HP, which I think does not look bad. How much research do you have?

 

[mybubbles627]

A HP or H in peds doesn't matter for surgery. If you want to be this neurotic about grades you should care more about having a HP in surgery instead of H since that is the specialty you actually want to go into. With that said, a HP is still great so you should just relax. You will match to a good academic residency assuming there are no red flags on your application.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

OP, even if you get a HP in OB, you still have a mix of H/HP, which I think does not look bad. How much research do you have?

One pub from undergrad (not first author), one in the works, hopefully picking up an additional one soon. No red flags.