At a Crossroads: transfer to Masters, just finish the MD, or grind it out?

[Happymeal40]

I recently finished 2nd year but did not pass Step 1 due to lack of motivation and inadequate prep. So currently, I'm considering three possibilities (kind of raked in the order of interest):

1. Transfer my credits to a Masters in Basic Medical Sciences and complete a Capstone project that could help my career, then work. The work is likely to be in some sort of private lab (tired of academic research) or explore forensics as a possibility (quite new to me). I am a non-traditional med student to begin with, so older (turning 30) which is why is also appeals to me more.
2. Finished the MD (of course I would have to retake and pass Step 1 to increase my opportunities to go a non-traditional route. However, I'm not aware how recommend this is in general and would love input on various possibilities.
3. Retake and pass Step 1, grind out the rest of the two years, residency, and fellowship (I would pursue general pediatric or a sub-specialty in peds). Is this worth the grind?

I would love to everyone's input, especially if you pursued options 1 or 2, or can enlighten me about non-traditional post MD options! Thank you in advance!

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[GoSpursGo]

1 is terrible, do not fall into the trap--that masters degree is more or less worthless. 2 is also bad because it is difficult to find a non-clinical role without still gaining some sort of clinical experience as an attending, which generally involves completing a residency and becoming board-certified.

So while it sounds like you are somewhat burnt out... from a financial perspective you really should do option 3 unless you just really don't want anything to do with medicine.

 

[Billiam95]

Don't make any life-altering decisions during the post-Step 1 burnout period; retake & pass Step 1, then decide about clinical medicine after a year on the wards in 3rd year.

 

[EthylMethylMan]

Do you want to be a physician? If so, then stay the course. People bounce back from Step 1 failures. You’re gonna have a substantially harder residency application season, but you can still do okay in peds, IM, FM, or EM (please don’t do EM though). If you have serious doubts about actually wanting to be a physician, now would be a reasonable time to bow out.

 

[Billiam95]

Retake and pass Step 1, grind out the rest of the two years, residency, and fellowship (I would pursue general pediatric or a sub-specialty in peds). Is this worth the grind?

After some additional thought -

1) Step1 dedicated can really suck, and preclinical is a poor representation of clinical medicine. Would recommend pushing through to MS3 where, IMO, life is greatly improved by actually interacting with the care team, patients, and having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

2) Is it worth (at least) 5 years of your life to guarantee 100% job security and top 5% income for life? If you don't have any prior work experience to medical school, please let me convince you just how incredible a deal it is to be guaranteed a high salary and insulation from macroeconomic trends.

 

[Happymeal40]

Thanks everyone for their input. Another consideration is how poorly competitive I might be for residency considering I didn't pass Step 1 the first time. Additionally, I didn't pass my first semester of med school (which I successfully remediated during the summer), which is another blemish I have on my record.

 

[Splenda88]

After some additional thought -

1) Step1 dedicated can really suck, and preclinical is a poor representation of clinical medicine. Would recommend pushing through to MS3 where, IMO, life is greatly improved by actually interacting with the care team, patients, and having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

2) Is it worth (at least) 5 years of your life to guarantee 100% job security and top 5% income for life? If you don't have any prior work experience to medical school, please let me convince you just how incredible a deal it is to be guaranteed a high salary and insulation from macroeconomic trends.

More like top 2% (300k+/yr) assuming OP will work FT.

 

[Splenda88]

Thanks everyone for their input. Another consideration is how poorly competitive I might be for residency considering I didn't pass Step 1 the first time. Additionally, I didn't pass my first semester of med school (which I successfully remediated during the summer), which is another blemish I have on my record.

To honest, you will not be competitive but you will match peds/FM or even IM if you apply broadly. I am assuming you are a US student.

 

[Billiam95]

Thanks everyone for their input. Another consideration is how poorly competitive I might be for residency considering I didn't pass Step 1 the first time. Additionally, I didn't pass my first semester of med school (which I successfully remediated during the summer), which is another blemish I have on my record.

May filter you out for top-tier programs but shouldn't be an issue as long as you apply broadly for peds (AFAIK, only a MS3). May be a good idea to talk to someone in the peds department at your home program for more detailed advice.