Am I in trouble?

[Jon Davis]

I started school this year in August. I spent the first 4 months just learning how to study and I "kind of" partied/hung out/slacked off a little more than I should of. Long story short, going into the second half of the yr, I am at the lowest quartile of the class (although I still passed the first block of histo and anatomy). Have I screwed myself over for residencies? I suppose I should ask, what kind of damage have I done to myself and is it fixable?

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[vtucci]

Calm down. I understand what you are going through. I was in the lower quartile of my class first year. Second year is quite a different experience for me so you may enjoy it much more and your performance may show it. Likewise, third and fourth year are very different. Each year calls on different skill sets. First year is memorize and regurgitate. The sad simple fact is that this is not everyone's forte.

Residency selection is about more than just grades. Moreoever, most programs look at your clinical (re: 3rd and 4th year) grades, USMLE step 1 and LORs. Preclinical grades tend to be an afterthought for most specialties. This, of course, is not true if you want something really competitive (re: radiology, urology, ENT, anesthesia). if you are interested in a particular specialty and know what that is, go to that specialty's annual conference and listen to the presentations on how to get a residency.

If you are truly concerned, I would advise you to go see your Dean and speak with him/her about it.

 

[rpkall]

Nah, you can make a turn-around. Just get a little more motivated and start doing your best. Beyond that, what can you do? If you still wind up in the lower half, what are you gonna do, beat yourself up?

Medicine really is about learning the material for you, and your future patients. I think most people match into the field they want to--and if they don't they do a transitional year, bone up on their skills, and by the time they do that they're ready to move forward into whatever field.

I really think there are very few fields that will STILL be closed to a US grad after good grades 3rd, 4th year, a transitional year, and continued interest in a particular program or field.

But who knows. I could be wrong... lol

 

[Jon Davis]

Thanks for the quick responses. I welcome any more advice if it is available.

 

[sanche60]

Thanks for the quick responses. I welcome any more advice if it is available.

From what alot of advisors have told me, the first two years are the least important in securing a residency. It kind of made me slack off a little. Obviously, doing better will help your chances, but dont get caught up in ranking just yet. The first semester is probably a little skewed since alot of people have had many of the classes already in undergrad. The rankings will probably start to reflect your work ethic and ability in the years to come, so dont give those early rankings too much thought.

 

[colbgw02]

i remember as a freshman all of my classmates freaking out over our ethics class, which was worth 0.5 credits. a "real" class was worth 3 credits.

compared that to a 3rd-year clerkship (worth 9 credits) and it's easy to see how relatively unimportant a single basic course can be.

that's not an excuse to slack, but it helps to put things in perspective.

 

[colbgw02]

i remember as a freshman all of my classmates freaking out over our ethics class, which was worth 0.5 credits. a "real" class was worth 3 credits.

compared that to a 3rd-year clerkship (worth 9 credits) and it's easy to see how relatively unimportant a single basic course can be.

that's not an excuse to slack, but it helps to put things in perspective.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

My understanding is that the first two years are the least important part of your application, but that certain doors close if you don't do well early. Those doors are the super-competitive things like derm, plastic surgery, opthal, etc., where AOA is almost expected of residents.

So, yeah, you're good, but you might have a harder road to dermatology. If anybody else has any insight on these super-competitive fields, feel free to jump in.

Anyway, don't mean to be a downer, and the news is good unless you have your heart set on doing breast jobs or treating acne.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

You'll probably be fine.

a caveat: don't get too caught up in the mindset of "P=MD."

While that statement might be true, "P" probably does not equal Plastics, ENT, Derm, etc and might not even equal Gen Surg, EM, Anesthesia.

It's pretty easy to hope and expect that some tangible advantage will be conferred upon you for being "likeable" and "great with patients," the problem is that there are plenty of applicants with these qualities who also have good numbers.

 

[Jon Davis]

You'll probably be fine.

a caveat: don't get too caught up in the mindset of "P=MD."

While that statement might be true, "P" probably does not equal Plastics, ENT, Derm, etc and might not even equal Gen Surg, EM, Anesthesia.

It's pretty easy to hope and expect that some tangible advantage will be conferred upon you for being "likeable" and "great with patients," the problem is that there are plenty of applicants with these qualities who also have good numbers.

Wow. What incredible advice from everyone. I wrote some of it down in my Moleskine notebook!

AmoryBlaine hit the nail on the head with the "P=MD" mentality. I was so going down that road. Again, thanks for the solid advice for an old school SDN member.

 

[psipsina]

You'll probably be fine.

a caveat: don't get too caught up in the mindset of "P=MD."

While that statement might be true, "P" probably does not equal Plastics, ENT, Derm, etc and might not even equal Gen Surg, EM, Anesthesia.

It's pretty easy to hope and expect that some tangible advantage will be conferred upon you for being "likeable" and "great with patients," the problem is that there are plenty of applicants with these qualities who also have good numbers.

Yeah I get the from classmates sometimes because I push myself so hard in preclinical classes, and they give me the whole P=MD spiel, but I feel like it would be horrible to figure out what I really want to do in my clinical years and have it be something I'm not competitive for because I didn't give medschool my all. If I work as hard as I can (with out risking physical/mental health of course) and I'm still not competitive, then at least I know I did my best, but I wouldn't want to live my life wondering. Thats just me thou, to each their own.

To the OP, I'm sure if you kick sum butt from hear on you haven't cut yourself off from residencies with your first semester performance. Just give it your best and thats all you can do.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Yeah I get the from classmates sometimes because I push myself so hard in preclinical classes, and they give me the whole P=MD spiel, but I feel like it would be horrible to figure out what I really want to do in my clinical years and have it be something I'm not competitive for because I didn't give medschool my all. If I work as hard as I can (with out risking physical/mental health of course) and I'm still not competitive, then at least I know I did my best, but I wouldn't want to live my life wondering. Thats just me thou, to each their own.

To the OP, I'm sure if you kick sum butt from hear on you haven't cut yourself off from residencies with your first semester performance. Just give it your best and thats all you can do.

Good to hear you're working hard, but don't committ sepuku if you get a C on a physio exam. As long as you can do decently on boards you should be able to be competitive for what you want to do. It's really good that you are cognizant of the fact that you might really like something that is hard to get into. I know more than a few people who said "I just need to get by, I want to do primary care" and now are the ones complaining that "it's a numbers game" and protesting that residencies should "look at the whole person."

 

[Law2Doc]

Step 1 is probably the most important factor relating to the first two years, and the second year grades are the strongest indicator as to how you will fare on that test, since that year's courses make up the majority of that test. So even with mediocre grades the first year of med school, you certainly can right this ship. Partying/Slacking/Hanging out are not good enough reasons to damage your future career chances and so you really need to grow out of this, cut them down to a "normal" med school level of post-exam week revelry, and manage your time better.

In terms of the whether OP is "screwed over for residencies", bear in mind that the goal in residency match is not to go into the most competitive field, it is to go into a field you think you will enjoy. Too many people on SDN seem to lose focus on this, and all those years of mad drive trying to get into the most competitive college and then the most competitive med school sometimes seem to make them forget about what they want to do and focus on the most competitive field they can get. But this is going to be your career for quite a few decades, so pick one you like.
So your goal in early med school is at least in part just to keep doors open. But even if you don't manage that, it doesn't mean anything is "screwed over", it just changes the starting point on your decision tree.

 

[psipsina]

Good to hear you're working hard, but don't committ sepuku if you get a C on a physio exam.

As long as I did my best I'm happy with my grade, I only get dissapointed in myself when I know I didn't give it my all. First block I tried so hard and ended up with a C in anatomy, but I knew how hard I had worked for that C so I was proud of myself.