Dismissed from medical school due to poor academic performance? Chance/how to appeal

[PirellitTyres]

So I just got dismissed from my school for failing both 1st and 2nd semesters of M1 (though I did pass some classes within the block, my overall block for both semesters was fail). I also failed the remediation exam because I only had 7 weeks to remediate 2 semesters worth of material. I am going to appeal and even consider lawyering up if it may help my case. I know it is normal to have to repeat an entire academic year, and I asked my promotions committee for that option, but I still got dismissed, so I was shocked that they wouldn't allow me to repeat. My school also allow 7 years to finish medical school, so I can still finish within the range. Some things I hope to say in my appeal letter are:

I plan on getting a tutor to meet bi-weekly (our school provides them for free, I just never asked for one)

I have a circadian rhythm disorder that I'm working really hard to treat (can back this up with Dr's note). I stopped taking them because of hypomania.
I will try to find a study group and social support group
I will attend weekly meetings with my schools academic improvement team
I'm also willing to accept automatic dismissal if I fail any other semester during pre-clinical

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[Goro]

The answer to your question is that you simply do not appeal. You have a history of doing poorly in medical school and multiple failures.

I seriously doubt that school has violated any of the procedures in your student handbook rules where it came to your dismissal.

It would be actually a disservice to you to let you back into medical school because I fear that you would simply fail out again.

You had your chance, and I assume that you tried your best, and that's all you could do, or all that anyone could ask of you. Thus, it is time to move on.

 

[candbgirl]

So I just got dismissed from my school for failing both 1st and 2nd semesters of M1 (though I did pass some classes within the block, my overall block for both semesters was fail). I also failed the remediation exam because I only had 7 weeks to remediate 2 semesters worth of material. I am going to appeal and even consider lawyering up if it may help my case. I know it is normal to have to repeat an entire academic year, and I asked my promotions committee for that option, but I still got dismissed, so I was shocked that they wouldn't allow me to repeat. My school also allow 7 years to finish medical school, so I can still finish within the range. Some things I hope to say in my appeal letter are:

I plan on getting a tutor to meet bi-weekly (our school provides them for free, I just never asked for one)

I have a circadian rhythm disorder that I'm working really hard to treat (can back this up with Dr's note). I stopped taking them because of hypomania.
I will try to find a study group and social support group
I will attend weekly meetings with my schools academic improvement team
I'm also willing to accept automatic dismissal if I fail any other semester during pre-clinical

You’ve been talking about this situation for a few months. You have been wisely advised on SDN and nothing is different except you have now been dismissed. It’s time to get some help of some sort and move on in life. There are lots of health care careers. Just for my information- is your school going to provide the free tutors even though you’ve been dismissed? And if so why?

Take some time for yourself. Talk to a career counselor and slowly figure things out. You had to know this was most likely going to happen .

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Sometimes the best advice is the advice you don't want to hear. Listen to all the other posters OP

 

[Smurfette]

To recap:
You failed 1st semester in fall 2020, took an LOA, then repeated the year.
You said in a different thread that you passed (barely) 1st semester this year, but now are saying you actually did fail it, as well as 2nd semester.
You failed a last-ditch remediation exam.

OP, please do not spend money on a lawyer.
You have been given multiple chances and have not been able to get through the 1st year of medical school successfully. You've had opportunities to change how you study and utilize various resources. Even if on ANOTHER attempt, you somehow get through first year due to seeing the material before, you are extremely unlikely to pass 2nd year, and unlikely to pass the USMLEs beyond that. It is not going to magically get easier for you. Do some soul searching and find an alternative career you want to pursue. As much as you want to be a physician, another path is likely going to be much smoother and less stressful for you and your mental health, and thus lead to greater successes.

 

[operaman]

Echoing my esteemed colleagues above: this is the end of the line for your medical career.

No judge is going to be willing to substitute their own judgement for that of your entire medical school faculty and demand they let you back in. Any legal action would be asking them to do just that, and judges tend to be very wary of inserting themselves into those kind of decisions. Your medical school has been successfully training physicians for some time.

I had a classmate who struggled mightily in preclinical. Wonderful person, child of two physicians who were both faculty at the school, and someone who would have made an excellent physician. Through failures and remediation and surely some strings being pulled, they were given multiple chances and spent 4 years on m1-m2, and still were unable to pass step 1. Your school is sparing you this same fate.

Now is the time to figure out the next chapter. You were able to get into medical school so you’ve got the intellectual chops to do plenty of other things. Time to let the med school chapter come to an end.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

I also failed the remediation exam because I only had 7 weeks to remediate 2 semesters worth of material.

Unfortunately, if this is the mindset you'll have going forward, you're doomed to repeat your past mistakes. You need to have the onus be on you.


Also, 7 weeks is a lot given that it's 7 more weeks than your classmates got. I'm sorry you're having to go through this, I can only imagine how all of this is playing out in your head but whatever passion drove you to medicine you can surely put into practice in another career.

Best of luck.

 

[PirellitTyres]

To recap:
You failed 1st semester in fall 2020, took an LOA, then repeated the year.
You said in a different thread that you passed (barely) 1st semester this year, but now are saying you actually did fail it, as well as 2nd semester.
You failed a last-ditch remediation exam.

OP, please do not spend money on a lawyer.
You have been given multiple chances and have not been able to get through the 1st year of medical school successfully. You've had opportunities to change how you study and utilize various resources. Even if on ANOTHER attempt, you somehow get through first year due to seeing the material before, you are extremely unlikely to pass 2nd year, and unlikely to pass the USMLEs beyond that. It is not going to magically get easier for you. Do some soul searching and find an alternative career you want to pursue. As much as you want to be a physician, another path is likely going to be much smoother and less stressful for you and your mental health, and thus lead to greater successes.

No. I only failed first semester once but passed it the second time. I failed the second semester once too, as well as the remediation for it. Basically, I have failed first year once (once for 1st semester, once for second semester) which plenty of people have had to repeat

 

[Real McCoy]

You failed, repeated, failed a separate semester, were given the chance to pass a remediation exam in order to keep going. You failed that as well. It is unfortunate and maybe harsh, but you took your shot, and you were unsuccessful. An appeal will most likely be a mental drain on you, a drain on your pocketbook, and it (the appeal) will also likely be unsuccessful. Please move on with your life.

 

[M&L]

No. I only failed first semester once but passed it the second time. I failed the second semester once too, as well as the remediation for it. Basically, I have failed first year once (once for 1st semester, once for second semester) which plenty of people have had to repeat

I am not going to repeat what my wonderful colleagues said earlier. But judging by your last response i do not think you are getting it. I am studying for step 2 now, so i can speak for the difficulty of M1, M2, M3, step 1 and step2. And i am telling you - M1 year is a joke compared to what comes after. Year 2, for example (in my school) has Heart, lung, kidneys - insanely hard. Then neuro. Then step 1. Then during your clinical year you will have to work 30-70 hours a week in the hospital or clinic PLUS find time to study for shelf exams. There wont be any material from professors, no lectures. you literally have to figure it all out on your own. Step 2 - I am not even gonna start telling you how hard it is. Where even factual knowledge is not enough, - you have to make clinical judgement ("what is the next BEST step"). Plus evaluations from other residents and doctors are included in your grade (in my school they are 50% of the grade...... My point (and I am really sorry if this is too harsh) but there it is: i think what people are saying is that if you couldnt even make it through first year without failing a lot of things, maybe you should stop now. because M1 year is the easiest part of your medical career.

I am not anything special, or anyone smart, - i am literally about average in my class. I have a lot of classmates who did a lot of extra things during medical school AND volunteered AND did research AND got high grades on the exams. Personally, being a very very very average person in my class, I worked 25-30 hours a week during the whole medical school, including all clinical rotations (i just recently quit for step 2 studying) . And i published a few articles. And I play DnD. And have a few other hobbies. And I am not a superperson, - ppl really do find time for all that and do well enough to not fail anything..... I hope you hear what I am trying to tell you.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

No. I only failed first semester once but passed it the second time. I failed the second semester once too, as well as the remediation for it. Basically, I have failed first year once (once for 1st semester, once for second semester) which plenty of people have had to repeat

I would not say "plenty" of people had to repeat first year. Those who had to repeat the first year are outliers and are at high risk of failing things later down the road in their medical journey like Step I or Step II. By this point you are already heavily into debt and no one wants to see this happen to you.

 

[Goro]

No. I only failed first semester once but passed it the second time. I failed the second semester once too, as well as the remediation for it. Basically, I have failed first year once (once for 1st semester, once for second semester) which plenty of people have had to repeat

"Plenty of people"? No. Just no

And you didn't merely fail once. You failed multiple times, and failed remediation.

This is a very harsh truth, and the sooner you accept it, the healthier your life will be: your medical career is over.

 

[Dr Meow]

I think it depends on the curriculum.
For my school, OMS1 is supposedly much easier than OMS2. That's cus we cram Pharm and Path into OMS2 which is 70% if the boards and M1, the main high yield thing we got is Micro which is just a minor part. We emphasized Anatomy maybe way too much.
Other schools try to introduce everything early on and at least cover most of Pharm

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Unless the student handbook process was not followed, you really don't have an argument. They gave you an LOA so that you can reset, and you still failed. I know it is hard to walk away, but you need to walk away and pivot.

 

[mrbreakfast]

No. I only failed first semester once but passed it the second time. I failed the second semester once too, as well as the remediation for it. Basically, I have failed first year once (once for 1st semester, once for second semester) which plenty of people have had to repeat

That's not at all how this works. You were not eligible for advancement in the curriculum to M2 year twice. That's two failures. And while failing M1 year once is not unheard of, failing it twice certainly is.

I plan on getting a tutor to meet bi-weekly (our school provides them for free, I just never asked for one)

I have a circadian rhythm disorder that I'm working really hard to treat (can back this up with Dr's note). I stopped taking them because of hypomania.
I will try to find a study group and social support group
I will attend weekly meetings with my schools academic improvement team

The fact that you didn't do these things the instant you failed for the first time is why you're being expelled. You already got your second chance.

 

[IlDestriero]

You failed, repeated, failed a separate semester, were given the chance to pass a remediation exam in order to keep going. You failed that as well. It is unfortunate and maybe harsh, but you took your shot, and you were unsuccessful. An appeal will most likely be a mental drain on you, a drain on your pocketbook, and it (the appeal) will also likely be unsuccessful. Please move on with your life.

Agree.
I’m not sure what you want to appeal and how a lawyer will help you. They gave you a second chance and then they gave you a 3rd chance and you were still unsuccessful. The USMLE has changed their rules on retakes as well, so even if you did continue you might find yourself in trouble again trying to pass those exams in the new timeline.
The best thing that you can do is acknowledge that medical school is not in your future and go on to plan B. You must have considered other career options along the way.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Read your student handbook. If they followed the required steps to dismiss you, then you don't have an argument. Yes it would have been nice to you personally if they had given your one more shot, but it's pretty black and white on whether you have a legal argument.

As many others have said... you had your second chance. I'm not sure why you didn't make the interventions you now propose when you initially came back from your LOA, but most people don't need a 3rd chance to pass med school. And those that do need it often don't receive it.

 

[NonNocere]

Talk to a lawyer. If there is no way back into medical school as an MD, figure out what you want to do next.

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

Not infrequently, I am concerned that a med school has allowed somebody who is not qualified and also has no insight into their deficiencies through. While it sucks not everybody can do every job they want, and while I feel on a personal level for OP, I’m honestly glad to see that some standards are being applied to ensure patients get quality physicians. At the end of the day that’s the reason for the standards - to ensure patient safety.

Most people don’t fail anything in medical school, fewer fail entire semesters, a tiny minority fail entire years. Those who do hopefully don’t think “it’s no big deal it happens all the time it isn’t fair I only had 7 weeks to study for my third chance.” That lack of knowledge and lack of insight is exactly what medical schools should screen for as they work to keep patients safe. Get a lawyer, do what you want to try to stay in med school if it’s your desire, but on the off chance it works it is going to be really important to not brush off failings as “it’s no big deal” - one day a patient’s life could depend on it.

Admittedly this point about med schools actually doing their job to screen potential physicians goes beyond OP, so apologies if there is some displacement beyond this specific situation.

Being a physician takes a very specific kind of skill set. Just because one can’t be a physician doesn’t mean one can’t have tremendous impact and make great money doing something else. To OP, good luck and, if you don’t find a way to be reinstated, may you do something that you’ll excel in and likely even enjoy more than medicine.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Talk to a lawyer. If there is no way back into medical school as an MD, figure out what you want to do next.

I’m usually pretty pro lawyer in these circumstances but in this case no lawyer would be able to do anything after the OP failed twice. Seems to be done right by the book

 

[NonNocere]

I’m usually pretty pro lawyer in these circumstances but in this case no lawyer would be able to do anything after the OP failed twice. Seems to be done right by the book

Have you reviewed all of the documents from this case? Also, I said talk to a lawyer, not necessarily hire a lawyer.

 

[anesussy]

Honestly triggered by this thread lol

So glad med school is behind me

 

[PirellitTyres]

Just talked to my dean and he said there may be a possibility of getting reinstated if I have a strong appeal. He referenced a few students in the past in my shoes who got reinstated.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Just talked to my dean and he said there may be a possibility of getting reinstated if I have a strong appeal. He referenced a few students in the past in my shoes who got reinstated.

Even if you do, there are unfortunately too many red flags on the application. This will make matching unlikely. You will be left in the cold. Medical students without any red flags are already having enough trouble matching.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Even if you do, there are unfortunately too many red flags on the application. This will make matching unlikely. You will be left in the cold. Medical students without any red flags are already having enough trouble matching.

Not necessarily. As a US MD grad, if he can keep his nose clean going forward and applies to noncompetitive programs in a noncompetitive field, he can probably match.

That said, OP you've got to come with an airtight proposal of how you're going to succeed this time around. The ideas you list in your first post are a good place to start. You should also have an answer ready for when they ask you why you didn't already do these things before.

 

[operaman]

Not necessarily. As a US MD grad, if he can keep his nose clean going forward and applies to noncompetitive programs in a noncompetitive field, he can probably match.

That said, OP you've got to come with an airtight proposal of how you're going to succeed this time around. The ideas you list in your first post are a good place to start. You should also have an answer ready for when they ask you why you didn't already do these things before.

Agree 110%

You’re going to have to answer the question why this time will be different and why you didn’t just do what you’re proposing the last time. It’s going to be a really tough sell and if it were me, I’d need to see some pretty compelling things to make me take the risk.

The second appeal really is your only shot.

You may also want to weigh the costs and risks of going back. I’ve helped a few posters over the years in similarly tough situations and many have gotten reinstated. Sadly, many have DM’d me later that they got in hot water again with something else. I’ve yet to see someone come back from something like this and have smooth sailing. Usually they rack up a lot more debt and then wash out with multiple step failures or failing clinical rotations.

If you do appeal, do a lot of soul searching and decide if an even deeper hole of debt is worth the small chance of success. Also consider your total debt load even if you pass and note you will not be able to match a high paying specialty field. You’ll be paying off 6 years of tuition with a relatively low salary. Just another thing to consider.

 

[jdmans]

The answer to your question is that you simply do not appeal. You have a history of doing poorly in medical school and multiple failures.

I seriously doubt that school has violated any of the procedures in your student handbook rules where it came to your dismissal.

It would be actually a disservice to you to let you back into medical school because I fear that you would simply fail out again.

You had your chance, and I assume that you tried your best, and that's all you could do, or all that anyone could ask of you. Thus, it is time to move on.

this is the worst advice ever given to anyone-I went to the Dean and challenged everything, and then found a staff mentor-and won and was allowed to graduate with everyone else. so where do you get your ideas from

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

this is the worst advice ever given to anyone-I went to the Dean and challenged everything, and then found a staff mentor-and won and was allowed to graduate with everyone else. so where do you get your ideas from

No its not. Are there people that fail twice and still graduate? Of course. But they are in the significant minority.

At my school back in the dark ages you could only repeat once. You failed a semester/year and had to repeat? That's OK, but you won't be allowed to repeat another year after that.

 

[Goro]

this is the worst advice ever given to anyone-I went to the Dean and challenged everything, and then found a staff mentor-and won and was allowed to graduate with everyone else. so where do you get your ideas from

I can't sugarcoat this, it must be lovely to be an outlier

 

[Browns99]

this is the worst advice ever given to anyone-I went to the Dean and challenged everything, and then found a staff mentor-and won and was allowed to graduate with everyone else. so where do you get your ideas from

You must have been real lucky to graduate after failing two or more semesters like the OP, which I assume since you commented on a post where someone failed out. Nothing wrong with Goro's advice at all, the OP may not be suited for medicine with multiple failures, tbh, not sure I would want to be treated by someone who failed out of school (and failed remediation) and then was somehow re-admitted.

 

[Osteosaur]

I am sorry man, but just move on.

Now, every time I hear about a remediation exam that sets you up to fail by making you re-learn all you failed in 2 weeks I do cringe...

But you failed once, took an LOA, and failed again. During that LOA you should have been setting yourself up to succeed. If you did not do that, or if you tried and could not do that, maybe this is not the right path. Its hard to hear but if you floundered your way through medical school for 6 years only to not match... you'd be even worse off. Not being a doctor is not the end of the world.

 

[emergentmd]

this is the worst advice ever given to anyone-I went to the Dean and challenged everything, and then found a staff mentor-and won and was allowed to graduate with everyone else. so where do you get your ideas from

Muggsy Bogues was 5'3' and made it to the NBA but anyone who would recommend a 5'3" person to pursue and NBA career is giving bad advice. Maybe your mom and dad but thats about it.