Can I get IM residency if there are red flags in my CV

[RTSY]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi

I'm not in the USA but where I'm from, getting into residency is even harder (lower acceptance rates). I have always wanted to be a medical oncologist, and getting the IM residency is only the first step.

Red flags are:
1. I was recovering from a mental illness in Year 1 (started during A Levels), and my med school knows about it although I have been discharged from their "follow-list" after being in remission for 2 years
2. Failed Year 1 Finals after being prescribed medications that made me drowsy and apathetic. Took supplementary exams and passed but the F grade is still in my transcript.
3. I still have really bad anxiety (and low self esteem and self-hatred bla bla) after everything that happened. Sometimes I fail to mask it and get picked on by fellow students or consultants.

"Redeeming" features that are probably not enough:
1. I have slightly above-average grades now in year 3. My overall grade is an A- (we have grades up till A+ in my school) which is nonetheless nowhere near Honors territory
2. I have some cancer research, which I presented at national and regional conferences. Published 3 papers as first author too.
3. Have a nice research supervisor who is a high-ranking consultant. He only sees me as a good researcher though. I need 4 recommendation letters also and I dont know where to get the other 3.

TLDR; am med student with average grades and above-average research, with a Fail grade on my Year 1 transcript and pmhx of psychiatric illness and tendency to look stressed during ward rounds.

Do u think I can still make it if I attempt to change the way I carry myself (easier said than done though)? I still have 2 years till graduation. Any advice on how I can still make it despite all of these? Thanks!

 

[trs88]

Little confused, are you trying to get a residency in the USA or another country?

If it's the USA, we'll need to know your board scores.

Then, just a side note but please talk to a professional about your anxiety. The life of a med student only gets harder as they go along and it's only going to make your anxiety worse.

 

[bashwell]

Hi

I'm not in the USA but where I'm from, getting into residency is even harder (lower acceptance rates). I have always wanted to be a medical oncologist, and getting the IM residency is only the first step.

Red flags are:
1. I was recovering from a mental illness in Year 1 (started during A Levels), and my med school knows about it although I have been discharged from their "follow-list" after being in remission for 2 years
2. Failed Year 1 Finals after being prescribed medications that made me drowsy and apathetic. Took supplementary exams and passed but the F grade is still in my transcript.
3. I still have really bad anxiety (and low self esteem and self-hatred bla bla) after everything that happened. Sometimes I fail to mask it and get picked on by fellow students or consultants.

"Redeeming" features that are probably not enough:
1. I have slightly above-average grades now in year 3. My overall grade is an A- (we have grades up till A+ in my school) which is nonetheless nowhere near Honors territory
2. I have some cancer research, which I presented at national and regional conferences. Published 3 papers as first author too.
3. Have a nice research supervisor who is a high-ranking consultant. He only sees me as a good researcher though. I need 4 recommendation letters also and I dont know where to get the other 3.

TLDR; am med student with average grades and above-average research, with a Fail grade on my Year 1 transcript and pmhx of psychiatric illness and tendency to look stressed during ward rounds.

Do u think I can still make it if I attempt to change the way I carry myself (easier said than done though)? I still have 2 years till graduation. Any advice on how I can still make it despite all of these? Thanks!

I agree with @trs88, we need more info to be able to help you. Which country is your med school in (sounds like a British system but that could be the UK or India for example)? Do you need a visa or do you have US citizenship? What are your Step 1 and 2CK/CS scores? Do you have US clinical experience? A fail in your 1st year might not necessarily get you screened out at certain programs, but that really depends on the rest of your application.

 

[cbrons]

For a non-US IMG you need very high board scores. And the red flags programs will tolerate from your application will differ significanly from what they will tolerate from a US MD student. An M1 class failure wouldnt keep a USMD student out of internal medicine, provided that was the only red flag. A failure for a non-US IMG might tank your application, but Im not entirely clear on when you failed the class. Was it during undergrad or during your actual medical school years? If you dont have any failures during your medical school years you might be ok.

Sent from my SM-N910P using SDN mobile

 

[bannie22]

I dont think your red flags would be as significant as how you do on your boards. img means probably a 250 for IM plus quite some research and strong letters

 

[JJRousseau]

OP, I'm assuming from your statement that you are UK-based, and I think there is an explicit UK forum on here. You won't get very helpful advice from US students. My understanding is the NHS will take you, just work on your mental illness and make sure that you show up and are a competent physician-in-training when you do. The stories from my junior doctor enterologist friend suggest that you have to be completely incompetent for them to forsake you without an opportunity for any help at all now that you are graduating as a medical student. But again, I suggest you find advice from a community more suited to your geographic situation.