I'm an MS1 being placed on academic probation after failing a course due to some personal challenges I've had this year. Does anyone have experience or information regarding residency matching with academic probation? This apparently goes on my permanent record despite probation being lifted following a year of improved academics. I plan on making significant improvements for MS2 and step 1, for what its worth. However, I'm honestly devastated I've probably closed off opportunities for myself so early on.
Academic Probation and Residency
- Thread starter ktrn305
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You can still match. Its m1 troubles. Better than m3 troubles (e.g. failing a clerkship) or Step 1.
What were your personal troubles?
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What were your personal troubles?
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D
deleted480308
Everyone "plans" on doing better. What are your plans
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I agree with the above poster in regards to M3 clinical >>>> basic sciences troubles. Assuming you perform at or near the mean on your board exams (higher if you want a competitive speciality) then it could probably be explained to a PD. Clinical grades tend to be in most cases gimme points bc it's at the discretion of your preceptor physician and if they failed you they likely didn't care too much for you, or you effed up royally. Both scenarios are way larger red-flags imo.
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It's not uncommon to fail a class. You'll still match. Establish an upward trend, kill your boards, and do well on clerkships. This will just be a little blemish on your transcript that many PD's may never even bring up if you do the above.
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This happened to me when I was in an abusive relationship and then going through a divorce during the preclinical years. I still matched at my top choice gen surg program. As others have said. Do well on Step 1, perform well in clinicals and have a clear succinct reason for it and what you did to correct the academic issues for the ERAS section that covers it. When your school does the MSPE they'll include info about it and I found it helpful that they were aware of my relationship issues and put some brief information about that and how my performance changed afterwards in the MSPE. I didn't suger coat it on interviews and had some phrasing worked out ahead of time to the effect of "I made a bad choice that had a ripple effect on my life but was fortunate to have the support of those in the academic world and professional support that allowed me to overcome it and rebound and I learned a lot about myself and grew as a person... yada yada." Most of the comments I received at interviews (if any because it was so well delineated on my application) were along the lines of encouraging about how I showed perseverance through adversity.
It's all about the upward trend. Granted I didn't try to match derm or anything, but it worked out fine for me.
It's all about the upward trend. Granted I didn't try to match derm or anything, but it worked out fine for me.
Thank you for your insights. I really needed something positive like this
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The school put you on a full year probation for a single failure? That sounds pretty harsh. If that's all it was though, it's not the end of the world. Yea, it'll hurt your app a bit, but there are plenty of people who have far worse red flags on their apps than that and still match into solid programs. Just do what you need to correct your mistakes and build the best app you can. You may have closed a few doors, but there are still plenty of options available and if you build a strong app, you may still have more choices available than you'd think. Keep your head up. You got it.
