Dismissed MD Student

[Mass Effect]

What are your plans now?

Graduate residency in June and Ivy fellowship starting in July.

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[Mass Effect]

There's the difference.

Yup. DO schools shoot themselves in the foot with these types of policies.

 

[Goro]

Have there been people at your school who have failed 3X, but successfully appealed to the dean to get a spot back?

Seems like some schools are more lenient than others.

Maybe once. I'm hazy on the details, but I believe that it was in the more distant past. More recently we have changed our student handbook and multiple fails are cause for dismissal. We're more lenient with 1-2 fails which lead to an LOA and repeating the first year.

 

[Goro]

Yup. DO schools shoot themselves in the foot with these types of policies.

Has your school changed its policy since that time?

 

[Mass Effect]

Has your school changed its policy since that time?

As far as I know no, but admittedly, I've never asked. It was still the same when I graduated.

 

[Goro]

As far as I know no, but admittedly, I've never asked. It was still the same when I graduated.

Can you share what you think made the difference in your appeal?

 

[Mass Effect]

Can you share what you think made the difference in your appeal?

Well, for one, I never made enemies, so my appeals committee was full of people who didn't know me as a jerk. My appeal letter, which was 8 pages, laid out a comprehensive strategy to succeed, which included regular meetings with our education guru among other things. I think they just wanted to give me another shot. There was a catch and that was that I couldn't fail anything else for the remainder of the 4 years or it would be automatic dismissal. You can imagine the stress of walking out of every test, knowing it was the difference between becoming a doctor and not. Fortunately, I made it through pre-clinicals, then kicked ass on the wards. I did a lot of aways during 4th year and matched at my top choice for residency.

 

[787593]

Your medical career is over. Time for Plan B.

*tries to think of a "plan B" joke*

*fails*

 

[GypsyHummus]

*Tries to think of plan B*

Caribbean! *Doesnt get residency, 250k in debt*

*tries to think of a "plan B" joke*

*fails*

 

[Goro]

Well, for one, I never made enemies, so my appeals committee was full of people who didn't know me as a jerk. My appeal letter, which was 8 pages, laid out a comprehensive strategy to succeed, which included regular meetings with our education guru among other things. I think they just wanted to give me another shot. There was a catch and that was that I couldn't fail anything else for the remainder of the 4 years or it would be automatic dismissal. You can imagine the stress of walking out of every test, knowing it was the difference between becoming a doctor and not. Fortunately, I made it through pre-clinicals, then kicked ass on the wards. I did a lot of aways during 4th year and matched at my top choice for residency.

I, for one, am grateful to hear of your success!

 

[Confused Post Med]

Was this from a US allopathic school?

Yes

 

[Med Ed]

Yes

My question was to @Mass Effect, you already stated that your first medical school was a US allopathic one.

 

[sab3156]

Yup. DO schools shoot themselves in the foot with these types of policies.

Is this type of policy common among DO schools? I know KCUMB doesn't have this type of policy. We have some people remediating every year.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Well, for one, I never made enemies, so my appeals committee was full of people who didn't know me as a jerk. My appeal letter, which was 8 pages, laid out a comprehensive strategy to succeed, which included regular meetings with our education guru among other things. I think they just wanted to give me another shot. There was a catch and that was that I couldn't fail anything else for the remainder of the 4 years or it would be automatic dismissal. You can imagine the stress of walking out of every test, knowing it was the difference between becoming a doctor and not. Fortunately, I made it through pre-clinicals, then kicked ass on the wards. I did a lot of aways during 4th year and matched at my top choice for residency.

Jesus. Let's make medical school so much more stressful than it needs to be. That's ridiculous. I could see another failure in like pre-clinical or something.

Being able to be completely dismissed by the December of your 1st year for purely academic reasons smacks of taking advantage of its students, or admission standards which are too low and they think that some students are just immediately "unsalvgeable". One or the other.

As to OP - Agree with the others. If your relationship is that important, you could stay with the guy on the island, if/when he gets residency you follow him and begin pursuing something like NP/PA/RN/OD or whatever else you want. Not everybody can do long distance and survive the relationship, so that wouldn't be my default recommendation if that's not your natural inclincation.

 

[Goro]

Is this type of policy common among DO schools? I know KCUMB doesn't have this type of policy. We have some people remediating every year.

Not at my school either. We do try and salvage careers. It's just some people can't be salvaged.

 

[croak2]

Maybe being a doctor—of any sort—isn't right for this person.