How do you repeat a year in med school

[gshocke]

ive been reading about ppl who are concerned about matching into certain residencies, whether it is due to failing a class or having to repeat a year.
given that Im fresh out of undergrad, and not really used to the 'repeating a year', how does that happen? is it very common to fail classes or having to repeat a year? what constitutes a failing a year - failing a certain number of classes? What about schools that have system based curriculums, instead of distinct classes (i think thats what theyre called) - do you have to fail that block to fail the year?

Is class failure or year failure more commonly seen in schools that are not p/f?

thanks

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[Doctor Strange]

It depends on the school, but, in general, you have to "pass" each class (physio, pharm, micro, etc.) or block (cardio, pulm, GI, etc.) with a minimum score. If not, there's usually an option to retake the exam. If you fail it again or fail a certain number of blocks, you may have to repeat the year. It's not incredibly common for people to repeat a year, but it does happen.

 

[masaraksh]

Yeah, basically what @Doctor Strange said.

Med school is different from undergrad in this way. In undergrad you can (but shouldn't) fail a class. Hopefully you're not failing an entire semester at once. But, then you can just make up for the 1 failed class by taking more later or whatever and still graduate on time.

With med school, everyone is basically in the same boat and schools will often split the curriculum into blocks. With each pre-clinical block being something like Pass/Fail or Honors/Pass/Fail, or Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail. You get the picture. If you fail a class most schools will have some form of remediation policy. But if you fail a lot (literally) you may have to repeat the year. Basically, you want to avoid this and I don't know the details but I assume that if you are in such a position you will be talking to your schools deans a fair bit about how to do well, study techniques.

 

[WillburCobb]

As @Doctor Strange said it depends on the school. At my school we have 3 exams at the end of an 8 week block. If you fail one you get a chance to make it up (75% is the cutoff for passing the written exams, 80% is the cutoff for the skills exam). If you fail more than one or if you fail the repeat exam you have 6 weeks to remediate the block over the summer. If you fail remediation or more than one block you have to go before an academic success committee. If it comes to this, best case = you're allowed to repeat the year. FWIW I've known several students in recent years at my school who've had to repeat a year and have done well in the match, though I'm not sure what the rest of their residency app looked like. I've also known several students who've gone on to be dismissed after repeating a year for various reasons (e.g., continued failure, unable to pass Step I, continued difficulty into clinical years, significant professionalism issues, etc.). In general students are an investment for med schools and they will put A LOT of effort into ensuring their students' success.

 

[Goro]

Back when I was in the IU system, if you failed one course, (like, say, Anatomy), you had to remediate that course. if you failed two, depending upon your collective grades were, you either were dismissed, or had to repeat the entire year at the big IU school in Indy, not at any of the centers.

About 2-4 students of mine fail out in their very first semester. Another 2-4 will repeat that first year course. It's rare that someone has to repeat a year when they become a 2nd year student at my school.


About 10 kids/year will have to remediate part of their first year coursework. Our first semester organs systems course is a major weeding course. Most of the people who fail out have poor work ethics, poor study habits, or have life issues that break them, like dad having a stroke or spouse stepping out on them. Failing out is uncommon, because it's actually harder to get OUT of medical school than in; meaning, we do everything in our power ot make sure you graduate, once you matriculate.

given that Im fresh out of undergrad, and not really used to the 'repeating a year', how does that happen? is it very common to fail classes or having to repeat a year?


It depends upon how those courses are arranged, but yes, fail 1 thing, you remediate, fail two, you repeat the year. fail three, and you're dismissed. Those that repeat do not have to retake courses they passed.
what constitutes a failing a year - failing a certain number of classes? What about schools that have system based curriculums, instead of distinct classes (i think thats what theyre called) - do you have to fail that block to fail the year?

I doubt it. failing studnts are a problem from Harvard to Howard, from ACOM to Yale
Is class failure or year failure more commonly seen in schools that are not p/f?