Anxious about poor grade on Sub-I

[Eagles_Girl]

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Hello,

So I am a 26 yo female from the east coast, currently doing medical school in CA. I have done pretty fine in med school - honored all electives, AOA, lots of research etc. I also had great comments on my deans letter. Sadly, my sub-i did not go very well. I am applying radiology and although I honred the general course, I got an "S" with some pretty bad feedback (eg, other interns did better, needs to be faster). I was really devasted because I thought the rotation went fine (as fine as a 4th year reading studies could go), and never had any issues. I took another radiology course after (before the grades were posted) and honored it with excellent comments. So am pretty stunned.

My questions/things I would like help with are:

1. Is it worth trying to have the grade changed? It will NOT be on the dean's letter (our program only updates if you ask).
2. I really lost my confidence going into interviews, and am not sure what to make of the grade. I think the comments were pretty discouraging, and again the rest of my comments from the prior Rads and core rotations have been very positive and so am pretty sad.
3. Should I feel guilty when inteviewing? I feel like I wouldn't have gotten them with an "S" on the sub-i.

Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

@NotAProgDirector

 

[EthylMethylMan]

Full disclosure, I’m not a radiologist, but to answer each:

1. Sure, I don’t think it could hurt to ask. As far as I can see, worst case scenario is they say no. You may have a good case too with the other good rads grade.

2. Without knowing the comments it’s hard to fully answer this. But I wouldn’t expect a med student or even a PGY-1 to give me a reliable radiology read. Radiology residency is notoriously heavy on the reading outside of work. There’s a metric ton of stuff to learn before you can give solid reads on imaging. As a non-radiologist, my expectation would be for a student to be able to see pretty obvious stuff like a large pneumothorax or large intracranial bleed. Even then, you’re still very, very early in learning this skill set. Don’t beat yourself up.

3. No, of course not. Again, not a radiologist, but I think the rads faculty are mostly gonna want to see that you’re a competitive student with a clear interest in the field. You shouldn’t feel guilty about getting interviews. Based on what you’ve shared, your fellow students at these interviews are largely not going to be far beyond your level.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

You’re fine, radiology is declining in competitiveness (-7% drop in applications) and will continue to do so due to AI

 

[GoSpursGo]

1) There’s no point. AOA has already been given out, and it isn’t reflected on any of your apps. The only potential benefit would be at your home program, and I’m not sure trying to appeal a grade will make you look good to your home program.
2) reflect not on how the grade made you feel, but the actual content. Is there anything you can actually learn from the feedback that will make you a better physician in the long run? It’s ok to feel how you feel and work your way through it, but then try to gain what you can.
3) nothing to do here. You worked hard for you achievements in med school

 

[Eagles_Girl]

Full disclosure, I’m not a radiologist, but to answer each:

1. Sure, I don’t think it could hurt to ask. As far as I can see, worst case scenario is they say no. You may have a good case too with the other good rads grade.

2. Without knowing the comments it’s hard to fully answer this. But I wouldn’t expect a med student or even a PGY-1 to give me a reliable radiology read. Radiology residency is notoriously heavy on the reading outside of work. There’s a metric ton of stuff to learn before you can give solid reads on imaging. As a non-radiologist, my expectation would be for a student to be able to see pretty obvious stuff like a large pneumothorax or large intracranial bleed. Even then, you’re still very, very early in learning this skill set. Don’t beat yourself up.

3. No, of course not. Again, not a radiologist, but I think the rads faculty are mostly gonna want to see that you’re a competitive student with a clear interest in the field. You shouldn’t feel guilty about getting interviews. Based on what you’ve shared, your fellow students at these interviews are largely not going to be far beyond your level.

Hi @EthylMethylMan,

Thank you for your reply. I reached out to set up a meeting and will hopefully meet with the course director soon. At this point, I'm focused on rebuilding confidence, and your comments definitely helped. Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions.

 

[Eagles_Girl]

1) There’s no point. AOA has already been given out, and it isn’t reflected on any of your apps. The only potential benefit would be at your home program, and I’m not sure trying to appeal a grade will make you look good to your home program.
2) reflect not on how the grade made you feel, but the actual content. Is there anything you can actually learn from the feedback that will make you a better physician in the long run? It’s ok to feel how you feel and work your way through it, but then try to gain what you can.
3) nothing to do here. You worked hard for you achievements in med school

Hi @GoSpursGo ,

Thank you for your reply. That's another important thing to keep in mind. I'm not sure a HP or honors would be worth rubbing the course director (respected in the dept) the wrong way. Also, I really appreciate your second point. There is something I can gain from this experience, and I will work to make that feedback a positive habit. Thank you again!

 

[Eagles_Girl]

You’re fine, radiology is declining in competitiveness (-7% drop in applications) and will continue to do so due to AI

Thank you for the comment. 7% is big drop!