Did I cause irreparable damage?

[hemlocktree]

So the first year is over and I did fine in all my classes...except for OPP of all things. I failed and will have to remediate. No need to rehash reasons why, not trying to garner any sympathy, it is what it is. So my question is, how much long term damage did I do?
To be honest, I feel terrible. Who fails OPP? I mean really?

Is this kind of thing going to scar me for the rest of my career? I'm having a terrible time dealing with this fact and I feel absolutely just miserable at this point. I have no problems in my other courses, i'm right at the average to above average level and I know I will do okay when it comes to boards.

If anyone has any insight, I would be so grateful to hear from you. I know nothing about how this will effect me and i'm facing waves of panic and anxiety every 15 minutes.

If it makes any difference, I was going through some personally trying times that really put a strain on me. But i'm not here to make excuses. I want to deal with what has been done.

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[AlbinoHawk DO]

lol can't imagine anyone giving a **** about failing OPP, not even OMM residencies. You'll remediate and be fine.

 

[WhendoIstartfirstaid?]

If I was a PD I'd probably rank you first. I hate OMM and anything related to it so much.

 

[hemlocktree]

So thanks, AlbinoHawkDO and Whendolstartfirstaid?, I have to say I really appreciate your comments, they are the only thing that have made me smile in the past 48 hours. It's true, i'm good at the medicine/science part, but when it comes to OMM I struggle because I just dislike it so much. Anyhow, I hope I don't come across as too paranoid, but do you really mean it's not the end of the world? I'm just having a really difficult time dealing with a failure. I don't care if it were basket weaving 101. Cause I have heard that failing is like a death sentence. I am honestly so stressed and humiliated about this.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Sooooo, you failed OPP.... What to do, what to do? Just remediate the class, have a good answer as to why without making it seem like you're blaming the department/school/Great Pumpkin for your failure even if your failure was due to a lack of OPP-To-English translation decoder ring that is almost required to understand the questions on the exams.

You'll be fine -- I know of people that had to remediate an entire year and were offered General Surgery positions at Mass General. Granted, it was because the surgery attending really liked them and the PD was his bud from med school, but nonetheless....

One class, especially OPP, is not going to hurt you at all. Get over the "Oh, crap I failed" routine and go about your life.

 

[Ophiuchus]

Definitely irreparable, now your diploma will have to say MD on it.

But I think you'll be fine. Do you have the Savarese book (aka the OPP-to-English decoder ring, mentioned above)?

 

[hallowmann]

A lot of people in my class (if I were to guess ~25%) have failed OPP at one time or another in the last 2 yrs. You remediate and move on. No point worrying about it now. I highly doubt it will affect your apps in any significant way, just be prepared to explain why.

 

[PIacebo]

A lot of people in my class (if I were to guess ~25%) have failed OPP at one time or another in the last 2 yrs. You remediate and move on. No point worrying about it now. I highly doubt it will affect your apps in any significant way, just be prepared to explain why.

How can 1/4th of your class fail OPP?!

 

[hallowmann]

How can 1/4th of your class fail OPP?!

They changed the format of the course and exams 1wk before one of the written finals in first yr (you have to individual pass both the written and practical portions to pass the course). The average was 71% on that final. Clearly a problem with the exam, but the director and admin did nothing. A ton of people failed OPP that semester (more than a dozen). Every semester 1-2 people fail OPP, but that semester it was 10-20.

 

[yanks26dmb]

OP I'm not starting med school until August, but I'm a chronic over thinker and worrier...my gut says you're going to be fine.

On a side note...what are OMM and other practical tests like in med school? Does each student go up in front of the class and do the exam? This is how I envision it but seems like it'd be much easier for someone at the end than at the beginning..

 

[PIacebo]

They changed the format of the course and exams 1wk before one of the written finals in first yr (you have to individual pass both the written and practical portions to pass the course). The average was 71% on that final. Clearly a problem with the exam, but the director and admin did nothing. A ton of people failed OPP that semester (more than a dozen). Every semester 1-2 people fail OPP, but that semester it was 10-20.

Wow that is ridiculous!! And crazy!!

 

[shibby1111]

OP I'm not starting med school until August, but I'm a chronic over thinker and worrier...my gut says you're going to be fine.

On a side note...what are OMM and other practical tests like in med school? Does each student go up in front of the class and do the exam? This is how I envision it but seems like it'd be much easier for someone at the end than at the beginning..

they're really stupid.

 

[hallowmann]

OP I'm not starting med school until August, but I'm a chronic over thinker and worrier...my gut says you're going to be fine.

On a side note...what are OMM and other practical tests like in med school? Does each student go up in front of the class and do the exam? This is how I envision it but seems like it'd be much easier for someone at the end than at the beginning..

OPP practicals really vary by school, but usually you're in a small group and you're asked to Dx & Tx something either in a region or demonstrate how to Tx something in a region with a specific technique. You usually have to describe what you're doing. Docs check your dx and technique. There also may be questions you have to answer. Really varies by school though, so I would ask current students.

 

[SurgeDO]

OPP is a joke and should be treated as such. if i were a PD, i would enjoy talking with you about how much we both hate OPP and osteopathic medicine.

if it were any other class that actually had something to do medicine, i think it would raise a red flag for the competitive fields.

 

[CajunMedic]

Just remediate the class, have a good answer as to why without making it seem like you're blaming the department/school/Great Pumpkin for your failure even if your failure was due to a lack of OPP-To-English translation decoder ring that is almost required to understand the questions on the exams.

That's the best advice right there. If you don't have the Savarese, get it. I reviewed my written exams, figured out which style of questions I was getting wrong and spent extra effort studying for those.

We've had more than a few remediate OP&P and some absolute trainwrecks for exams.

 

[ortnakas]

They changed the format of the course and exams 1wk before one of the written finals in first yr (you have to individual pass both the written and practical portions to pass the course). The average was 71% on that final. Clearly a problem with the exam, but the director and admin did nothing. A ton of people failed OPP that semester (more than a dozen). Every semester 1-2 people fail OPP, but that semester it was 10-20.

They did the same thing this year for my class for the practical final, but it turned out to be a godsend because we had a 9o% average and I got my best score on a practical quiz/exam by far. Conspiracy theories abound, but I'll take it.

 

[Goro]

It actually takes some talent to fail OPP at my school.

 

[TheBDP]

It actually takes some talent to fail OPP at my school.

I agree. My entire friend group skims over lecture material for ~1 hour before exams, and we all do really well. A lot of it is just basic physics principals, and some of it is just plain old weird that you can memorize for a short period of time to be dumped out almost immediately after the exam.

 

[GUH]

OP I'm not starting med school until August, but I'm a chronic over thinker and worrier...my gut says you're going to be fine.

On a side note...what are OMM and other practical tests like in med school? Does each student go up in front of the class and do the exam? This is how I envision it but seems like it'd be much easier for someone at the end than at the beginning..

At my school you are paired with a random classmate. One professor or teaching fellow administers the test to you or your partner with the other person acting as patient. Then you and your partner move to a different faculty or fellow and switch roles. There is no small group, and although there are others in the OMM lab at the same time as you, only you, your partner, and the grader will watch your practical. You are assigned a screening exam (osteopathic structural, Upper Extremity, etc) which you must have memorized in advance without knowing which exam you will be assigned. You make a diagnosis which is checked by the examiner. The examiner then assigns you two treatments to perform. You must verbalize everything. Every practical is cumulative so it does get easier with time for most students as there is an increasing chance with each practical that you will get something that you have already done many times. They are usually pretty generous with the grading as long as you put at least a little bit of effort into it.

Failure of a practical generally requires remediation of the practical with the course director or department chair, which we try to avoid.

 

[hallowmann]

They did the same thing this year for my class for the practical final, but it turned out to be a godsend because we had a 9o% average and I got my best score on a practical quiz/exam by far. Conspiracy theories abound, but I'll take it.

Yeah, that happened to us as well, but most of us didn't care by the end and even with the change, grading on the practical was lenient. The exam change in 1st year was huge. To give you an idea, the normal average exam score was 88%. They essentially changed the entire focus of the course 1 wk before the final.

 

[MetalloBetalactamase]

So the first year is over and I did fine in all my classes...except for OPP of all things. I failed and will have to remediate. No need to rehash reasons why, not trying to garner any sympathy, it is what it is. So my question is, how much long term damage did I do?
To be honest, I feel terrible. Who fails OPP? I mean really?

Is this kind of thing going to scar me for the rest of my career? I'm having a terrible time dealing with this fact and I feel absolutely just miserable at this point. I have no problems in my other courses, i'm right at the average to above average level and I know I will do okay when it comes to boards.

If anyone has any insight, I would be so grateful to hear from you. I know nothing about how this will effect me and i'm facing waves of panic and anxiety every 15 minutes.

If it makes any difference, I was going through some personally trying times that really put a strain on me. But i'm not here to make excuses. I want to deal with what has been done.

In 10 years time, you will actually be able to brag about this. I hate OMM. I hate it because it such BS. I feel like I'd be better of at Hogwartz. In 10 years time I'll claim your initial post as my own buddy. Bragging rights.

 

[yanks26dmb]

Can anyone at touro CA chime in with what practicals are like there?