Busted: Missed cbl & labs; need advice!

[MD Truent]

I am in need of quick and straight-up advice before midnight. I am a first year MD student at a school with mandatory attendance at CBL, clinical skills labs, and some other labs.

Anyway, I was out sick (no physician's note and certainly not life-threatening, though bad enough I didn't go) on five different days, missing all mandatory classes on those days. In one lab, I have exceeded the maximum "allowed" absences and am now in the category of "refer to student disciplinary committee/board for possible removal from med school."

But the sum total of all missed mandatory classes is in the neighborhood of 10. Other than these, I've had a good record of attendance, and had perfect attendance for the first five weeks of school.

Anyway, I am scheduled to meet tomorrow afternoon with the school's student disciplinary board (or whatever it's called) to assess my progress and "decide whether or not referral to the Dean is in order."

First, should I expect expulsion for my absences? Second, how should I approach the meeting? Should I just take complete personal responsibility and say that my actions were exceedingly out of line and that there is nothing I can even say to my defense? Or, should I be honest and say I didn't feel well enough to be in class, and that I've looked over missed material and did not really lose much by being out?

Any help would be appreciated. FYI: I may not be able to respond to anything before my meeting tomorrow, but at some point I'm definitely going to give everything a diligent read-over before then.

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[bigdan]

Hmmm. Your description makes it sound like 100% your fault. Our school has this neat little thing - email - that you might wanna ask your school to look into. It's great for things like communicating with faculty.

A bit more seriously, I'd say to do both of what you proposed: you realize the policy, you are contrite and apologetic, and that you have read over the missed material and feel you have at least a baseline understanding of what you've missed. Nuclear option, should things get hairy, would to offer to do some sort of retribution work - presentation, paper, etc - but only if they get threatening.

The worst mistake was going to a school with mandatory CBL in the first place, but check yourself on missing this mandatory **** - some of my profs in clinical years would fail your a** right quick if you tried to miss 5 days of mandatory **** without letting anyone know.

Either way, I don't mean to be preachy - you know what you did wrong. Man up, take it on the chin, and get back in there. Good luck, and let us know what happens.

dc

 

[Tired]

First, should I expect expulsion for my absences?

No. This will be a "scared-straight" exercise with lots of threats but probably zero action. Expect a lot of nonsense about professionalism and inappropriate analogies to failing to show up to clinic or the operating room and its effect on patients.

Second, how should I approach the meeting?

Short and sweet.

"I was ill but it was my responsibility to contact the school and I didn't. I take full responsibility and it won't happen again." That's it.

No long explanations, no pointing out the obvious that it wasn't really a big deal. Take responsibility, eat their stupid comments, and move on with your life. It won't affect you in the long run.

 

[jonb12997]

"I was ill but it was my responsibility to contact the school and I didn't. I take full responsibility and it won't happen again." That's it.

I agree with this... don't try to talk your way out of it, don't try to make excuses, because that's when they'll go crazy on you... Just say that you messed up, that you learned your lesson, and it won't happen again. My feeling is that they want you to succeed, but they have to run a somewhat tight ship or everyone would walk all over them. Best of luck! If you feel comfortable with it, let us know how things work out.

 

[146233]

"I was ill but it was my responsibility to contact the school and I didn't. I take full responsibility and it won't happen again." That's it.

👍

 

[Dirt]

I am in need of quick and straight-up advice before midnight. I am a first year MD student at a school with mandatory attendance at CBL, clinical skills labs, and some other labs.

Anyway, I was out sick (no physician's note and certainly not life-threatening, though bad enough I didn't go) on five different days, missing all mandatory classes on those days. In one lab, I have exceeded the maximum "allowed" absences and am now in the category of "refer to student disciplinary committee/board for possible removal from med school."

But the sum total of all missed mandatory classes is in the neighborhood of 10. Other than these, I've had a good record of attendance, and had perfect attendance for the first five weeks of school.

Anyway, I am scheduled to meet tomorrow afternoon with the school's student disciplinary board (or whatever it's called) to assess my progress and "decide whether or not referral to the Dean is in order."

First, should I expect expulsion for my absences? Second, how should I approach the meeting? Should I just take complete personal responsibility and say that my actions were exceedingly out of line and that there is nothing I can even say to my defense? Or, should I be honest and say I didn't feel well enough to be in class, and that I've looked over missed material and did not really lose much by being out?

Any help would be appreciated. FYI: I may not be able to respond to anything before my meeting tomorrow, but at some point I'm definitely going to give everything a diligent read-over before then.

Here is some advice. Tell them you are going to be out sick. This isn't college you can't just not show and not call or e-mail and expect everything to be ok. That being said, at least at my school, they are very forgiving of absence if you just let them know. Only thing they really care about are standardized patient sessions, and even with those you just have to pay $50 if you miss it.

Hope you don't get expelled and send a freaking e-mail next time.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Only thing they really care about are standardized patient sessions, and even with those you just have to pay $50 if you miss it.

They take tens of thousands in tuition from you every year then have the nuts to fine you? Agree with all of the above. Just make sure you don't *kof* come down with the sniffles tomorrow prior to the meeting.

 

[silas2642]

I am in need of quick and straight-up advice before midnight. I am a first year MD student at a school with mandatory attendance at CBL, clinical skills labs, and some other labs.

Anyway, I was out sick (no physician's note and certainly not life-threatening, though bad enough I didn't go) on five different days, missing all mandatory classes on those days. In one lab, I have exceeded the maximum "allowed" absences and am now in the category of "refer to student disciplinary committee/board for possible removal from med school."

But the sum total of all missed mandatory classes is in the neighborhood of 10. Other than these, I've had a good record of attendance, and had perfect attendance for the first five weeks of school.

Anyway, I am scheduled to meet tomorrow afternoon with the school's student disciplinary board (or whatever it's called) to assess my progress and "decide whether or not referral to the Dean is in order."

First, should I expect expulsion for my absences? Second, how should I approach the meeting? Should I just take complete personal responsibility and say that my actions were exceedingly out of line and that there is nothing I can even say to my defense? Or, should I be honest and say I didn't feel well enough to be in class, and that I've looked over missed material and did not really lose much by being out?

Any help would be appreciated. FYI: I may not be able to respond to anything before my meeting tomorrow, but at some point I'm definitely going to give everything a diligent read-over before then.

They're not going to expel you. They have invested far too much time and money so far just admitting you into med school. They are going to scare the crap out of you, however. So owe up to what you did, apologize like crazy for your unprofessional behavior (which it was, you can't just not show up for stuff that is mandatory without at least telling them why you didn't show up) and tell them that it will never, ever happen again. Then never, ever do it again. End of story. Worst case scenario is that this ends up on your record. But you won't get booted out of med school for this.

 

[MD Truent]

So turns out I was expelled, after an appeal. Another appeal is in the works (sorry I really don't want to be any more specific).

But my question is: should I have the opportunity to downgrade the expulsion to a "withdraw," will I have the opportunity to take some time off, pursue other studies, and reapply through AMCAS in 1-3 years?

(i.e. if I was able to secure a withdraw instead of expulsion, could I tell other med schools at interviews in the future that I just wasn't ready at the time, and wanted to take time off to mature?)

(yeah hell of topic/post for turkey day, but this bull**** aside and the five minutes to draft this, I had a lovely day with plenty to be thankful for)

 

[146233]

(i.e. if I was able to secure a withdraw instead of expulsion, could I tell other med schools at interviews in the future that I just wasn't ready at the time, and wanted to take time off to mature?

You need to get your story straight, IMO. Were you legitimately sick and just didn't go to the doctor or were you not ready for med school? I find it hard to believe that your school would expel you after a week's worth of absences from class, mandatory or not, if this were indeed the first blemish on your record.

Not to call you a liar, but either your school way overreacted, or you're not telling us the whole story. Either way, reapplying in "1-3 years" and claiming you "just [weren't] ready at the time" doesn't jive with your current story.

Good luck, though!

 

[DonStracci]

So turns out I was expelled, after an appeal. Another appeal is in the works (sorry I really don't want to be any more specific).

But my question is: should I have the opportunity to downgrade the expulsion to a "withdraw," will I have the opportunity to take some time off, pursue other studies, and reapply through AMCAS in 1-3 years?

(i.e. if I was able to secure a withdraw instead of expulsion, could I tell other med schools at interviews in the future that I just wasn't ready at the time, and wanted to take time off to mature?)

(yeah hell of topic/post for turkey day, but this bull**** aside and the five minutes to draft this, I had a lovely day with plenty to be thankful for)

I know someone who was successful in doing something similar to this- they successfully reapplied 2 years after doing jacka** stuff. And, though you may not want to go this route, Caribbean schools may take you- one of my former classmates was expelled through a disciplinary committee and easily transferred to one of those...

sounds like you kind of need the time off to figure out where you want to be in life... good luck with this.

 

[jake2]

So turns out I was expelled, after an appeal. Another appeal is in the works (sorry I really don't want to be any more specific).

But my question is: should I have the opportunity to downgrade the expulsion to a "withdraw," will I have the opportunity to take some time off, pursue other studies, and reapply through AMCAS in 1-3 years?

(i.e. if I was able to secure a withdraw instead of expulsion, could I tell other med schools at interviews in the future that I just wasn't ready at the time, and wanted to take time off to mature?)

(yeah hell of topic/post for turkey day, but this bull**** aside and the five minutes to draft this, I had a lovely day with plenty to be thankful for)

Wah?! I'm loathe to call troll but either there is a lot your not telling us or this situation is rather unbelievable. I can't believe any school would kick you out for forgetting to e-mail your faculty to say you're sick. Did you make fun of the committee chair's mom or something during your disciplinary hearing?

If the situation is real, talk to a lawyer or somebody with experience in these matters rather than getting advice from an online message board. Missing a week of class while sick certainly shouldn't get anybody kicked out of anything.

 

[WellWornLad]

It's not clear from the first post whether the "five different days" the OP was sick were consecutive or not. If they weren't part of one episode of illness, that's a ton of missed time for just the first month or so of med school.

Sounds like the school wanted to cut their losses early. That sucks if you really were sick, but I can't imagine not getting in touch with someone before missing a mandatory class, let alone 10 of them in the first few weeks of med school. They probably figured that if you couldn't pull it together in a time when most med students are eager, motivated, and overcompensating, they probably wouldn't see you at all by the time 3rd year rolled around.

Without a better story for why you were expelled, you're going to find reapplying in the U.S. to be a very steep climb, withdrawal or no withdrawal. I believe that many places require former med student to obtain a Dean's letter from their previous medical school, so you can't spin this too far.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

No proofey no believey.

 

[phospho]

So turns out I was expelled, after an appeal. Another appeal is in the works (sorry I really don't want to be any more specific).

But my question is: should I have the opportunity to downgrade the expulsion to a "withdraw," will I have the opportunity to take some time off, pursue other studies, and reapply through AMCAS in 1-3 years?

(i.e. if I was able to secure a withdraw instead of expulsion, could I tell other med schools at interviews in the future that I just wasn't ready at the time, and wanted to take time off to mature?)

(yeah hell of topic/post for turkey day, but this bull**** aside and the five minutes to draft this, I had a lovely day with plenty to be thankful for)

dude, are you fu*cking kidding me? are you talking about a U.S. allo school? There absolutely has to be something you're leaving out of your story - that's if it's even true. I'm no med student, but I can't think of how a med school would kick someone out for 10 (TEN???????!!!!!!!) days of missed classes.

 

[Tired]

Either this is not in the U.S. or it is not true.

 

[DonStracci]

The way people WANT to believe their stories played out is often much different than what actually happened. Who cares what happened- he's explelled regardless.

 

[umean2tellme]

Story sounds very bogus. This person is obviously withholding some information about what REALLY happened. I like how his story starts off about missing days because he was sick and then we wants advice on how to lie to future schools about not being ready for school so he can get back in. This person, in his two posts, has already shown that he is a liar and enjoys fabricating stories so they make him look better than he really is.

 

[ar2388]

sigh.. i really wish the OP would comment...

 

[turkeyjerky]

I think the OP goes, or rather went, to Stewart University. I heard that they're hardcore about attendance.

 

[MD Truent]

Wah?! I'm loathe to call troll but either there is a lot your not telling us or this situation is rather unbelievable. I can't believe any school would kick you out for forgetting to e-mail your faculty to say you're sick. Did you make fun of the committee chair's mom or something during your disciplinary hearing?

If the situation is real, talk to a lawyer or somebody with experience in these matters rather than getting advice from an online message board. Missing a week of class while sick certainly shouldn't get anybody kicked out of anything.

First of all... "hypothetically," I could have been attending an osteo school. Regardless, there were two different occasions of 3-4 consecutive days missed. The number of required classes/labs missed totalled about 10. I made an appeal, and after that only missed one class, and was late to two classes.

Admittedly, there was a decline in my academic performance during the first appeal (due to stress probably). But up till I was first told I was being dismissed, I passed everything. The school claimed, however, I had "failing" status because of absences.

To clarify what I meant by "sick"... I had pretty wicked sinus symptoms, whatever the cause. On top of it I had what was most likely psychogenic illness symptoms. In the month before, I had been to the ER and student health center a number of times. However those specific times of absences I did not see any doctor.

If I had to do it again, I probably would have just showed up.

From what some of you have said, I guess it will be impossible to get accepted at any other med school, even if it is an allo school. Therefore, is my last chance for trying to get a medical degree to petition for repeating the year at the school I was at????

 

[MossPoh]

I think the OP goes, or rather went, to Stewart University. I heard that they're hardcore about attendance.

Burnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!


This is odd though. Especially since the first one laid out some weird story and then the second was pretty much of a "I'm expelled and am looking for good lies". Unless your school is run by the Gestapo, there has to be other angles to this.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Unless you're on your deathbed, you (OP) should have gone to your mandatory labs/classes/meetings/whatever.

I can see a day or two to get to the doctor, get some meds and have them work, but your "illness" you described is no excuse for missing class.

I just can't feel sorry for this person, no matter how hard I try.

 

[GreenShirt]

First of all... "hypothetically," I could have been attending an osteo school. Regardless, there were two different occasions of 3-4 consecutive days missed. The number of required classes/labs missed totalled about 10. I made an appeal, and after that only missed one class, and was late to two classes.

Admittedly, there was a decline in my academic performance during the first appeal (due to stress probably). But up till I was first told I was being dismissed, I passed everything. The school claimed, however, I had "failing" status because of absences.

To clarify what I meant by "sick"... I had pretty wicked sinus symptoms, whatever the cause. On top of it I had what was most likely psychogenic illness symptoms. In the month before, I had been to the ER and student health center a number of times. However those specific times of absences I did not see any doctor.

If I had to do it again, I probably would have just showed up.

From what some of you have said, I guess it will be impossible to get accepted at any other med school, even if it is an allo school. Therefore, is my last chance for trying to get a medical degree to petition for repeating the year at the school I was at????

The fact that you continued to have absences after you were called before a committee regarding your absences indicates to the committee that you're not taking med school seriously. Either you don't care b/c you're not ready/don't want to be there or you have some psych/medical problem that's interfering with your ability to comply. If you think there might be psych/medical problem I suggest you try to get a medical leave of absence from your school to seek treatment for these issues and then re-enroll in the first year. You may have to request a psych/medical evaluation to substantiate your claim. Other than that, I don't think it would be wise to re-apply to other schools until you are able to get yourself to class on time.

 

[upairman]

I'm sorry for what happened to you, but it would be great if you told us what school you go to, so we can try to prevent people from applying there!!! That is absolutely ridiculous that class is always mandatory. I am learning tons, in the top of my class, and only attend my mandatory afternoon things that are like twice a week. I havn't been to class more than 3 times since second year started... and feel like this has really helped me do much better. I regularly meet with my study group, and all of us absolutely avoid going to class like the plague. I'm really sorry to hear about you getting royally messed up like that, and hope everything works out for you.

 

[ACSurgeon]

First of all... "hypothetically," I could have been attending an osteo school. Regardless, there were two different occasions of 3-4 consecutive days missed. The number of required classes/labs missed totalled about 10. I made an appeal, and after that only missed one class, and was late to two classes.

Admittedly, there was a decline in my academic performance during the first appeal (due to stress probably). But up till I was first told I was being dismissed, I passed everything. The school claimed, however, I had "failing" status because of absences.

To clarify what I meant by "sick"... I had pretty wicked sinus symptoms, whatever the cause. On top of it I had what was most likely psychogenic illness symptoms. In the month before, I had been to the ER and student health center a number of times. However those specific times of absences I did not see any doctor.

If I had to do it again, I probably would have just showed up.

From what some of you have said, I guess it will be impossible to get accepted at any other med school, even if it is an allo school. Therefore, is my last chance for trying to get a medical degree to petition for repeating the year at the school I was at????

Probably would have showed up? Oh, how kind of you. What kind of arrogant careless person are you? It is no surprise things came to this... your attitude doesn't really help you much.

 

[WellWornLad]

From what some of you have said, I guess it will be impossible to get accepted at any other med school, even if it is an allo school. Therefore, is my last chance for trying to get a medical degree to petition for repeating the year at the school I was at????

If by "any other med school" you mean U.S. med school, then basically yes. You could still probably go Caribbean or international, I dunno. But then you've got to worry about landing U.S. residency.

Are you sure pursuing an MD is a good idea, however? I mean, attendance requirements during first year pale in comparison to 3rd year (or working as a physician, for that matter), and you seem to have a casual attitude to attendance that is not consistent with the medical profession (missed class while under appeal? seriously?). Maybe it's not the best fit.

 

[umean2tellme]

The OP obviously shouldn't be in medical school. Please don't reapply unless you're 100% sure you want to be a doctor. It upsets me a little that he takes his position for granted. Not everyone can get into medical school, and there are a lot of good candidates that don't make it in each year that would love to be in your shoes.

I also like your lack of remorse, saying how you MIGHT do things differently if given another opportunity. 👎

 

[meister]

I'm lollin' here

 

[cpants]

I don't think it is that surprising that the OP was expelled. He missed double-digit required classes/labs including several after being warned and disciplined. I mean he basically spat in their faces after getting his second chances. I think the lesson here is that you can and will receive severe consequences if you disrespect people. Sure they want everyone to pass, but only to a point.

 

[DonStracci]

If given the chance, redo M1 at the same school... if you really want to be a doctor.

 

[Trail Boss]

I think this is a little hard to believe. There were periods of first and second year where I only went to class 3-4 time in a month, no one seemed to even notice. PBL type classes, maybe those are different (my school didn't do that), but really, so long as you learn the material who gives a hoot how, when or where you learn it?

 

[maliath]

Then they should have scored better on the MCAT. Don't shed tears for the folks who couldn't hack it.

I still doubt this story is true. Either that or it's not in the U.S. Our schools are normally far too protective of their graduation stats to expel someone over something so minor.

Unfortunately, people with pathetic MCATs and GPAs get into medical school in the US. This is certainly not uncommon.

To be fair, I certainly doubt the details of the story provided by OP are true. IF it is the case that there is a medical school who is this disciplined about first and second year medical school, so as to expel someone over missed lecture time, I would like to know the name of this school. This is both abhorrent and irresponsible. The first two years of medical school are theory - otherwise called "book larnin". For many students at many schools, lecture is a waste a of time (myself included, though I understand why students would want to attend lecture at my school).

Other people who posted brought up that 3rd and 4th year have strict attendance. To this I can only respond: DUH! Of course your clinical rotation years require attendance, that's the point. The first two years of medical school are science and theory, the second two are clinical practice. Is this difficult to understand?

The best of luck to OP in whatever you pursue. Though, I would still like to know:

1) What school you attended
2) What is the detailed story

Good luck,
Grant W. Berry

 

[WellWornLad]

Unfortunately, people with pathetic MCATs and GPAs get into medical school in the US. This is certainly not uncommon.

Let's just turn the pretentiousness down a level...

The first two years of medical school are theory - otherwise called "book larnin".

At my school, 1st and 2nd year include courses on interviewing, physical exam, and clinical diagnosis. These are clinical courses, and are the only courses that are not optional. The OP didn't say that all his/her courses were mandatory, just that he/she missed a bunch that happened to be mandatory.

Other people who posted brought up that 3rd and 4th year have strict attendance. To this I can only respond: DUH! Of course your clinical rotation years require attendance, that's the point.

Actually no, the point is that if the OP can't show up in first year, he's going to have a very hard time hacking it come third year. In any event, I'm pretty sure the point of rotations is more than just required attendance.

Also: DUH? Seriously? Are you posting from the early nineties?

The first two years of medical school are science and theory, the second two are clinical practice. Is this difficult to understand?

It is difficult for me to understand, as I'd guess that the majority of med schools actually incorporate clinical skills into 1st and 2nd years.

Again, your pretentiousness level is dangerously high.

Grant W. Berry

TMI, Grant W. Berry. TMI.

 

[Blesbok]

The fact that you continued to have absences after you were called before a committee regarding your absences indicates to the committee that you're not taking med school seriously. Either you don't care b/c you're not ready/don't want to be there or you have some psych/medical problem that's interfering with your ability to comply. If you think there might be psych/medical problem I suggest you try to get a medical leave of absence from your school to seek treatment for these issues and then re-enroll in the first year. You may have to request a psych/medical evaluation to substantiate your claim. Other than that, I don't think it would be wise to re-apply to other schools until you are able to get yourself to class on time.

:werd: The op isn't just someone who missed a few days of class. He is a lazy ass that doesn't take med school seriously but doesn't want to admit that. However, the committee obviously saw that and figured they would cut their losses.

 

[NRAI2001]

If the story really is true (sounds like a fake to me)

I would definitely first try to have a heartfelt talk with the person who made the decision (tell them it wont happen again, you ll go to whatever study skills/rehab sort of thing they recommend for you...).

If that doesnt work I would definitely get a lawyer and come up with a better excuse than I just didnt want to go. I would probably play off of those ER visits you made.

Its easy to miss lab or blow one or two off occasionally (I think we ve all done that from time to time) but next time you are considering just being lazy and not showing up remind yourself how lucky you are to be in med school and that could be taken away from you at the whim of a Dean or Prof that was pissed off that day for whatever particular reason....I know thats what I do.

 

[DrZeke]

The OP obviously shouldn't be in medical school. Please don't reapply unless you're 100% sure you want to be a doctor. It upsets me a little that he takes his position for granted. Not everyone can get into medical school, and there are a lot of good candidates that don't make it in each year that would love to be in your shoes.

I also like your lack of remorse, saying how you MIGHT do things differently if given another opportunity. 👎

Wait till you start medical school before talking about who does and doesn't deserve to be there...

 

[muireinin]

Wait till you start medical school before talking about who does and doesn't deserve to be there...

oh please. premeds may not have the most accurate idea of what goes on at medschool, but it's got to be frustrating as hell to be applying and read about some schmuck who didn't want to get his lazy ass out of bed.

 

[Perrotfish]

oh please. premeds may not have the most accurate idea of what goes on at medschool, but it's got to be frustrating as hell to be applying and read about some schmuck who didn't want to get his lazy ass out of bed.

I don't think this story is true, but if it is I wish he would post the name of the school so that we could advise all the premeds not to go there unless they have no other choice (and why wouldn't he post the name, what's the worst they can do at this point?). Most people make their first two years of medical school mostly self study: not showing up doesn't necessarily equate to 'lazy', it means you're studying in the most efficient way possible (not via lecture). Yeah, if PBL or lab or whatever was mandatory he should have played the game, but it doesn't make the institution any less crappy for creating this new hoop for their students to jump through.

 

[muireinin]

it sounds like he missed clinical skills labs, not lectures, which are more practice and not really geared towards selfstudy. he's lazy not b/c he was diligently studying at home; rather he didn't take 10 seconds to email professors and STILL didnt bother showing up when he was on probation. we've all been sick and still made it to class. the premed has a point.

 

[koopa_troopa]

This is my favorite part of his story:

"But the sum total of all missed mandatory classes is in the neighborhood of 10. Other than these, I've had a good record of attendance, and had perfect attendance for the first five weeks of school."

I hope he didn't tell the review committee "I had perfect attendance the first five weeks and only missed 10 mandatory classes after that". Especially since every member of the class is expected to have perfect attendance. My school has quite a lot of mandatory classes, but everyone sucks it up and goes.

While some may doubt his story, I think it is true with a few details missing. To me it seems he was warned, didn't listen, and continued to miss classes/appear late. Med schools don't want to lose students, so I doubt they made a snappy decision. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

 

[NRAI2001]

You must have done somethign to really piss of the administration.. I had a friend who failed almost all of his classes in the first year of med school. The school made him take the rest of the year off and restart 1st year the next year...but they didnt kick him out.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I don't think this story is true, but if it is I wish he would post the name of the school so that we could advise all the premeds not to go there unless they have no other choice (and why wouldn't he post the name, what's the worst they can do at this point?). Most people make their first two years of medical school mostly self study: not showing up doesn't necessarily equate to 'lazy', it means you're studying in the most efficient way possible (not via lecture). Yeah, if PBL or lab or whatever was mandatory he should have played the game, but it doesn't make the institution any less crappy for creating this new hoop for their students to jump through.

What, in case we were planning on skipping out on a bunch of mandatory stuff once we get to med school?

Honestly, I can understand skipping out on lectures, since if you can stream them at 2x speed, why not, but ducking out on the stuff that has to be hands on... I mean, I think we all know there are certain things we're gonna have to show up for in med school if we want to be successful; I don't know that going to a school that's more lenient on its lazy asses/protective of its graduation rate is going to really factor into my med school decision.

 

[meister]

This really isn't difficult. If you're missing more than one or two mandatory things then you need to mature a bit and figure out what you want in life. No sane person pays thousands of dollars to dick around for a few months.

And by missing one or two mandatory things I meant for legitimate reasons, i.e. actually sick or hospitalized or something serious, not "oh lol grey's was on late so i didnt go to bed til 3am and slept in."

 

[CultureDoc]

oh please. premeds may not have the most accurate idea of what goes on at medschool, but it's got to be frustrating as hell to be applying and read about some schmuck who didn't want to get his lazy ass out of bed.

Exactly - SUPER frustrating . . . especially given the seeming lack of remorse from this person, even going so far as to name himself "MD Truent" on these boards (and to top it all off, to freaking spell TRUANT wrong!!!!) ARGH!!! I think I want the name of the school just to find out who got conned into letting him in! 🙄

 

[umean2tellme]

Wait till you start medical school before talking about who does and doesn't deserve to be there...

You don't have to be a medical student or a doctor to see that this guy didn't want to go to medical school. Even as a premed, I know the definition of mandatory. Whether you're premed, prepharm, predent, prelaw, prejanitor, or whatever, not attending mandatory classes b/c you don't feel like it shows a lack of maturity and is pretty ridiculous. But, I guess I'll wait till next August before I'm qualified to diagnose someone with laziness.

 

[146233]

oh please. premeds may not have the most accurate idea of what goes on at medschool, but it's got to be frustrating as hell to be applying and read about some schmuck who didn't want to get his lazy ass out of bed.

It shouldn't be. The OP got in; what s/he chose to do with their spot in medical school is on them. What purpose does a pre-med letting it bother them serve?

 

[MD Truent]

The school was not an allopathic school. I decided not to try to go back via a second appeal because I hated being there. I hated the town, I hated the location, I didn't feel comfortable with the larger University and the culture there, and I--more than anything--did not like following in the footsteps of Dr. AT Still in some witchdoctor manipulative techniques.

I had numerous MD waitlists, but none came through in time. I seriuosly considered not going, but it was this very forum's advice (and some other factors) that made me believe it would not be a good idea to forego a trip to med school just because I didn't like where I was going or the degree they were offering.

Well, I was subconciously doomed from the start. Every reminder of where I was and the inevitable career a degree from that institution would give for me "suffocated" me. This exacerbated my already bad anxiety and adjustment capabilities.

More than anything, I felt deep inside that I had worked too hard where I was to be stuck with what medical school I was at. I just couldn't justify being there, subconciously of course.

The manifestations of this were panic attacks, feeling like I was dying literally when I would be in buildings or during the lectures and labs. My brain had shut off. My absences were a survival mechanism to some degree.



In retrospect, it was not the right time for me to go to a med school I didn't want to be at. Quite frankly, negotiating 12 interviews during my senior year of college and everything was a little much. Maybe I should have waited a year or so.



I don't know whether or not I should try to go back to medical school. The issue of a Dean's letter is, well, not an issue; the person agreed to report that I withdrew in good standing.


Money, interest in disease, and status would be the only reasons to go back. What, isn't about "helping people."? If I wanted to help people I could choose one of about 250 professions, Join the PeaceCorps, or just be a loving person to those I come in contact with.

There is an unlimited supply of medical school applicants, so given the current capacity, me not going into medicine doesn't mean jack **** for patient outcomes. All it would mean is that I would be in the place of some other potential physician. The long and short of it is: do I want the lifestyle of a phsycian? Do I want to be the person following protocol to help patients.


Does anyone live forever? Are medical mistakes the 7th leading cause of death (and the technical stat grossly underestimated)? Do physicians actually uspet the lives of individuals on a large scale? Are we all human and many of us messed up beyond what medicine can correct? If we really just want to "help people," is it better to help people find the living in life, than simply to preserve life?

Well, think about these things. I know I will before I decide to reapply.

 

[VMSmith]

Sounds like you've gained some perspective on what you did and why you did it. Also sounds like you have a pretty honest assessment of your reasons for wanting to do medicine in the first place, as well as some idea of what you might want to do in the future. Medicine doesn't sound like what you want to do at this point, but if you ever change your mind I think you'll be better prepared and more knowledgeable about what you want and what to expect. Overall, your expulsion may have been a blessing in disguise in that regard.

Good luck to you!

 

[ChichiMD]

The school was not an allopathic school. I decided not to try to go back via a second appeal because I hated being there. I hated the town, I hated the location, I didn't feel comfortable with the larger University and the culture there, and I--more than anything--did not like following in the footsteps of Dr. AT Still in some witchdoctor manipulative techniques.

I had numerous MD waitlists, but none came through in time. I seriuosly considered not going, but it was this very forum's advice (and some other factors) that made me believe it would not be a good idea to forego a trip to med school just because I didn't like where I was going or the degree they were offering.

Well, I was subconciously doomed from the start. Every reminder of where I was and the inevitable career a degree from that institution would give for me "suffocated" me. This exacerbated my already bad anxiety and adjustment capabilities.

More than anything, I felt deep inside that I had worked too hard where I was to be stuck with what medical school I was at. I just couldn't justify being there, subconciously of course.

The manifestations of this were panic attacks, feeling like I was dying literally when I would be in buildings or during the lectures and labs. My brain had shut off. My absences were a survival mechanism to some degree.



In retrospect, it was not the right time for me to go to a med school I didn't want to be at. Quite frankly, negotiating 12 interviews during my senior year of college and everything was a little much. Maybe I should have waited a year or so.



I don't know whether or not I should try to go back to medical school. The issue of a Dean's letter is, well, not an issue; the person agreed to report that I withdrew in good standing.


Money, interest in disease, and status would be the only reasons to go back. What, isn't about "helping people."? If I wanted to help people I could choose one of about 250 professions, Join the PeaceCorps, or just be a loving person to those I come in contact with.

There is an unlimited supply of medical school applicants, so given the current capacity, me not going into medicine doesn't mean jack **** for patient outcomes. All it would mean is that I would be in the place of some other potential physician. The long and short of it is: do I want the lifestyle of a phsycian? Do I want to be the person following protocol to help patients.


Does anyone live forever? Are medical mistakes the 7th leading cause of death (and the technical stat grossly underestimated)? Do physicians actually uspet the lives of individuals on a large scale? Are we all human and many of us messed up beyond what medicine can correct? If we really just want to "help people," is it better to help people find the living in life, than simply to preserve life?

Well, think about these things. I know I will before I decide to reapply.

You sound like a completely different person. Good for you. I wish u all the best.