Eligible for Dismissal - Advice Appreciated

[sourpatch100]

Requesting advice and guidance on the next steps regarding being eligible for dismissal from medical school.

Due to a number of circumstances, I failed a number of courses during my first year of medical school. I was reviewed by the medical committee of my school and permitted to repeat the first year. After successfully, implementing a remediation plan I began to be successful and was passing my courses. However, during my second semester, I started to again face setbacks and failed another course due to the onset of anxiety attacks. After being reviewed by my medical committee again I was permitted to continue my courseload with the plan to remediate the course in the summer. However, during my last class of the first year I unfortunately, failed my exam by one question. I am again being asked to come before my medical school committee and am again eligible for dismissal.

To clarify, the primary reason that I believe caused me to perform poorly on these exams has been underlying anxiety and depression, exacerbated by multiple deaths in the family and the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. I am in the process of seeking professional help for my anxiety and depression.

I am currently contemplating my options and am seeking adivice. Some options I am contemplating:
1. Withdraw from medical school
2. Propose remediation and risk being dismissed from medical school
3. Propose remediation and ask for a leave of absence before starting the second year to treat my underlying health conditions.

Thank you in advance.

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[operaman]

Sorry you’re having such a rough go. Too much nuance to give good advice in this setting, but my gut reaction is to strongly consider whether continuing in medicine is what you want. You’re actually still in the very easy - maybe easiest - part of school and training. It only gets harder through ms2 and step 1. Then third year has its own challenges balancing social interactions and study needs with overwhelming exhaustion. Then another board exam, interviews and match. Then it starts to get really hard as you become an intern and can actually hurt people.

If ms1 has tipped you over the edge, it’s worth some serious reflection on how you intend to negotiate the bigger stressors yet to come.

 

[Redpancreas]

I’m really sorry this happened to you. In this case, you need to depersonalize the situation a bit. Take an analogy. Imagine you were a stock/option. Do you think you’d fall below passing again? If so, I think you need to cut your losses. Some people feel cheated by this approach and feel bad thinking they didn’t turn over every stone. Looking at the big picture though, you may not have turned over all the stones, but you turned over most of them. If you’re hellbent on taking every step to give yourself another chance, you can try an appeal and go through the motions knowing things may end up worse. Ask yourself this though. Is the effort you’re putting into the appeal/procedures more than the effort you realistically see yourself putting in to turn this around? If so, that should give you some insight on what you ultimately decide.

Interested in hearing more and advising further.

 

[Goro]

Requesting advice and guidance on the next steps regarding being eligible for dismissal from medical school.

Due to a number of circumstances, I failed a number of courses during my first year of medical school. I was reviewed by the medical committee of my school and permitted to repeat the first year. After successfully, implementing a remediation plan I began to be successful and was passing my courses. However, during my second semester, I started to again face setbacks and failed another course due to the onset of anxiety attacks. After being reviewed by my medical committee again I was permitted to continue my courseload with the plan to remediate the course in the summer. However, during my last class of the first year I unfortunately, failed my exam by one question. I am again being asked to come before my medical school committee and am again eligible for dismissal.

To clarify, the primary reason that I believe caused me to perform poorly on these exams has been underlying anxiety and depression, exacerbated by multiple deaths in the family and the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. I am in the process of seeking professional help for my anxiety and depression.

I am currently contemplating my options and am seeking adivice. Some options I am contemplating:
1. Withdraw from medical school
2. Propose remediation and risk being dismissed from medical school
3. Propose remediation and ask for a leave of absence before starting the second year to treat my underlying health conditions.

Thank you in advance.

This is all very sad to read.

But after what, at least one year where you knew that you mental health issues were preventing you success and you did...exactly what? You had to be aware that you were on very thin ice, but I get a sense that you didn't even try to take a LOA and get your mental health issues in order. Very sorry to hear of the family deaths, but that's exactly the time you should have said "LOA"

Honestly, I think that you've been given enough chances and it's time for Plan B. Your school seems to have bent over backwards to keep you enrolled.

And failing an exam by one question or 100, you failed to display at least minimal competence, much less any mastery of the subject.

 

[Redpancreas]

This is all very sad to read.

But after what, at least one year where you knew that you mental health issues were preventing you success and you did...exactly what? You had to be aware that you were on very thin ice, but I get a sense that you didn't even try to take a LOA and get your mental health issues in order. Very sorry to hear of the family deaths, but that's exactly the time you should have said "LOA"

Honestly, I think that you've been given enough chances and it's time for Plan B. Your school seems to have bent over backwards to keep you enrolled.

And failing an exam by one question or 100, you failed to display at least minimal competence, much less any mastery of the subject.

The timeline’s unclear to know whether OP sought help at the appropriate time but I can see how you’re making that assumption given OP saying “I am in the process of seeking professional help” as opposed to “I have established and maintained continuity with a mental health provider”. Which one was it OP? It may seem judgmental, but it would be good to know so we know what extent this anxiety/depression issue can be remedied.

In regards to the administrative side of things, obviously familiarize yourself with the student handbook and learn what the policies are. I want some clarity on the timeline here because you weren’t super explicit in your explanation of the timeline. This is my understanding.

You started M1 and failed some courses. Remediation plan #1 was made which included repeating M1 (which to my understanding hasn’t started). You continued M1/year 1 and failed some more M1, remediation plan #2 was made, then you failed the last exam of the M1 year providing an indication for a remediation plan #3 which probably triggered something to have the committee re-review your case. That seems to be what you’re saying because you mention failing the last class of M1 in your first year and it’s currently June. What doesn’t make sense to me is why you were taking new classes for a grade after a remediation plan was set up to repeat the entire year was drawn up? It seems insane that if you failed something to expose yourself to more of it expecting a different outcome (insanity by definition) especially if this is due to some mental health issue. Wouldn’t a better remediation plan to be just to sit the remaining M1 year out and start fresh as a second year M1 or perhaps (and more useful) sit in and take the courses/exams seriously for exposure but no grade?

Please clarify. If my understanding of your case is correct, from my experience you’ve haven’t been given all the accommodations possible prior to dismissal and your remediation MAY be being mismanaged. I base this off curriculum committee and promotion committee experience at a US MD I attended. Some DO schools actually seem stricter based on my occasional ventures to the Osteopathic MS forum which may put Goro’s response in context.

I do agree though with what Goro says about missing out on passing by 1 pt. and that’s pretty much universal language across the board in medical education. That 1 question portion should not be part of your appeal if you choose to make one because that is exactly what will be said in response.

Now finally the issue becomes what to do. Obviously, the first decision is you deciding whether or not to continue on strictly from an ability standpoint. I did address my opinion in the first post that maybe it’s best not to continue but looking now carefully I’m still unclear as to the timeline and can’t make any calls about your ability. You seem to feel this was due to mental health issues so those need to be addressed. The same applies to the second question about how to go about this meeting with the promotions committee because the timeline is unclear.

 

[sourpatch100]

The timeline’s unclear to know whether OP sought help at the appropriate time but I can see how you’re making that assumption given OP saying “I am in the process of seeking professional help” as opposed to “I have established and maintained continuity with a mental health provider”. Which one was it OP? It may seem judgmental, but it would be good to know so we know what extent this anxiety/depression issue can be remedied.

In regards to the administrative side of things, obviously familiarize yourself with the student handbook and learn what the policies are. I want some clarity on the timeline here because you weren’t super explicit in your explanation of the timeline. This is my understanding.

You started M1 and failed some courses. Remediation plan #1 was made which included repeating M1 (which to my understanding hasn’t started). You continued M1/year 1 and failed some more M1, remediation plan #2 was made, then you failed the last exam of the M1 year providing an indication for a remediation plan #3 which probably triggered something to have the committee re-review your case. That seems to be what you’re saying because you mention failing the last class of M1 in your first year and it’s currently June. What doesn’t make sense to me is why you were taking new classes for a grade after a remediation plan was set up to repeat the entire year was drawn up? It seems insane that if you failed something to expose yourself to more of it expecting a different outcome (insanity by definition) especially if this is due to some mental health issue. Wouldn’t a better remediation plan to be just to sit the remaining M1 year out and start fresh as a second year M1 or perhaps (and more useful) sit in and take the courses/exams seriously for exposure but no grade?

Please clarify. If my understanding of your case is correct, from my experience you’ve haven’t been given all the accommodations possible prior to dismissal and your remediation MAY be being mismanaged. I base this off curriculum committee and promotion committee experience at a US MD I attended. Some DO schools actually seem stricter based on my occasional ventures to the Osteopathic MS forum which may put Goro’s response in context.

I do agree though with what Goro says about missing out on passing by 1 pt. and that’s pretty much universal language across the board in medical education. That 1 question portion should not be part of your appeal if you choose to make one because that is exactly what will be said in response.

Now finally the issue becomes what to do. Obviously, the first decision is you deciding whether or not to continue on strictly from an ability standpoint. I did address my opinion in the first post that maybe it’s best not to continue but looking now carefully I’m still unclear as to the timeline and can’t make any calls about your ability. You seem to feel this was due to mental health issues so those need to be addressed. The same applies to the second question about how to go about this meeting with the promotions committee because the timeline is unclear.

Thank you for your response, I greatly appreciate your input.

To clarify, I failed a number of courses during M1 (2019-2020 school year) due to some extenuating circumstances which I explained to my medical school committee. There response was to allow me to continue medical school by implementing remediation plan #1 - which was to repeat all the coursework of first year. I began this school year (2020-2021) by implementing this remediation plan and was succeeding in my coursework. However, during my second semester of this year I experienced a panic attack during my exam due to the onset of anxiety that resulted from factors occurring at the time. After this attack is when I started to seek out professional help, which I have now established and I am maintaining continuity of care with a medical provider to manage my anxiety/depression. After this failure, I again presented my case to the medical committee from which remediation plan #2 was created, which included allowing me to continue to finish up the remaining courses of first year and to remediate the course I failed during the summer. My last course of M1 unfortunately resulted in another failure - which is the reason I am eligible for dismissal.

I now have the option to come before the committee and explain my circumstances. It would require me to create a remediation plan that would explain how I ensure success in passing the two courses I had failed in the 2020-2021 cycle. The risk of this is that I am eligible for dismissal and could be dismissed. Alternatively, I could withdraw prior to this. I have a week to make this decision.

I wanted to ask what is the difference of a withdrawal versus a dismissal on a transcript? Is it possible for me to transfer any credits from this medical school to another program if I do choose to withdraw. And would the possibility of transferring credits to another program be different if I am dismissed from medical school.

 

[michaelrack]

I wanted to ask what is the difference of a withdrawal versus a dismissal on a transcript? Is it possible for me to transfer any credits from this medical school to another program if I do choose to withdraw. And would the possibility of transferring credits to another program be different if I am dismissed from medical school.

this is probably your last chance for med school, and I doubt u could transfer credits to another med school. If you were interested in a master's in something like physiology, etc, a few of the credits may transfer. They won't transfer to any type of professional program.

 

[xffan624]

Thank you for your response, I greatly appreciate your input.

To clarify, I failed a number of courses during M1 (2019-2020 school year) due to some extenuating circumstances which I explained to my medical school committee. There response was to allow me to continue medical school by implementing remediation plan #1 - which was to repeat all the coursework of first year. I began this school year (2020-2021) by implementing this remediation plan and was succeeding in my coursework. However, during my second semester of this year I experienced a panic attack during my exam due to the onset of anxiety that resulted from factors occurring at the time. After this attack is when I started to seek out professional help, which I have now established and I am maintaining continuity of care with a medical provider. After this failure, I again presented my case to the medical committee from which remediation plan #2 was created, which included allowing me to continue to finish up the remaining courses of first year and to remediate the course I failed during the summer. My last course of M1 unfortunately resulted in another failure - which is the reason I am eligible for dismissal.

I now have the option to come before the committee and explain my circumstances. It would require me to create a remediation plan that would explain how I ensure success in passing the two courses I had failed in the 2020-2021 cycle. The risk of this is that I am eligible for dismissal and could be dismissed. Alternatively, I could withdraw prior to this. I have a week to make this decision.

I wanted to ask what is the difference of a withdrawal versus a dismissal on a transcript? Is it possible for me to transfer any credits from this medical school to another program if I do choose to withdraw. And would the possibility of transferring credits to another program be different if I am dismissed from medical school.

Either one leaves not great prospects for returning to medical school. Withdrawal might be slightly better but still an extremely low chance of ever returning to medical school.

Whether credits transfer should be the least of your concerns (the answer, of course, is most likely no). You have failed multiple courses of medical school even after treatment for anxiety. What's going to change in the future that a different school is going to take a chance on you?

Your best bet is staying with your current school but you need to offer a compelling case that what happened in the past won't happen again. I'm not hearing that from what you've posted so far.

 

[Lawpy]

I'm sorry OP 🙁

 

[Bobblehead]

Take a year's medical leave if they're willing to grant it. At the end of the year you need to honestly assess if your medical issues have been resolved sufficiently to re-enter school. Your best/only chance will be to resume your education with this current school. You should repeat all of the courses and perhaps the entire year when you return from your leave.

 

[Redpancreas]

Thank you for your response, I greatly appreciate your input.

To clarify, I failed a number of courses during M1 (2019-2020 school year) due to some extenuating circumstances which I explained to my medical school committee. There response was to allow me to continue medical school by implementing remediation plan #1 - which was to repeat all the coursework of first year. I began this school year (2020-2021) by implementing this remediation plan and was succeeding in my coursework. However, during my second semester of this year I experienced a panic attack during my exam due to the onset of anxiety that resulted from factors occurring at the time. After this attack is when I started to seek out professional help, which I have now established and I am maintaining continuity of care with a medical provider to manage my anxiety/depression. After this failure, I again presented my case to the medical committee from which remediation plan #2 was created, which included allowing me to continue to finish up the remaining courses of first year and to remediate the course I failed during the summer. My last course of M1 unfortunately resulted in another failure - which is the reason I am eligible for dismissal.

I now have the option to come before the committee and explain my circumstances. It would require me to create a remediation plan that would explain how I ensure success in passing the two courses I had failed in the 2020-2021 cycle. The risk of this is that I am eligible for dismissal and could be dismissed. Alternatively, I could withdraw prior to this. I have a week to make this decision.

I wanted to ask what is the difference of a withdrawal versus a dismissal on a transcript? Is it possible for me to transfer any credits from this medical school to another program if I do choose to withdraw. And would the possibility of transferring credits to another program be different if I am dismissed from medical school.

Ah OK that makes sense and makes things much simpler. I’ll make or echo a couple of points.

1.)If you want to practice medicine, you’re going to need to appeal/advocate for remediation. It doesn’t matter whether you withdraw or are dismissed. If you leave this program, your career in medicine’s nuked either way because in order to enroll in a new medical school, they will want a letter from the old medical school that will outline objectively what happened even if you leave on good terms. I don’t think any MD or DO school will give you another shot given they have hundreds who don’t have a record of failure. The schools that would give you a shot (Caribbean, maybe one DO school) would probably give you a shot even if you were dismissed and the remediation vs. dismissal won’t be a factor for them…so that’s irrelevant. Briefly if you do choose that route, know you’re likely doing redoing all of medical school to fight for a position in the SOAP.

2.) You seem hellbent on just getting through this no matter what. I’m not going to get into the weeds of whether or not you should or should not be doing this. I said that bit above and I think Operaman already phrased very well that up ahead there will be even greater challenges. The upside in this situation is you somehow make it and become a doctor. I don’t think that’s likely personally but you’re the one who knows yourself the best. The downside is you potentially could waste anywhere from a few months to years in this process before failing. It won’t matter if there’s been a period of success. If you fail an unrelated M3 clerkship, you’re out.

3.) I would handle the request for appeal as follows:

A.) Emphasize your mental health issue as the primary barrier. There are hundreds of holes they can tear into this argument with like why issues weren’t addressed promptly the first or even second time given that you have three major, separate instances of failure and perhaps the more likely answer is this isn’t the right field for you and you’re likely driving yourself too hard as opposed to there being a mental health issue that was the main issue.

B.) In response to their concerns, ask your mental health providers to corroborate your adherence to your treatment plans and speak to any opportunity to enhance them while maintaining HIPAA although the cat is kind of out of the bag.

C.) Request any time off that you can before attempting any other coursework. You’ll need some time to rest and reflect which you haven’t had for the last 2 years. Use it to relax and reflect and not prestudy. Note though that you have already spent two years on M1. Taking an entire year off may not be feasible because it would extend medical school past 6 years which is the standard at some places. You may want to propose a hybrid of spending year 3 taking significant time off first (months) and then repeating the classes that you’ve failed specifically. They may ask all the questions about M2/stressors and things getting harder and you just have to maintain the argument about optimizing your mental health.

In the end either you’re going to be dismissed or you get one last shot.

 

[fluorescent colors]

I am sorry for what you are going through.

Have you tried getting a tutor to help you with the courses? If you continue, I think this should be a part of your remediation plan. Maybe even seeing what a learning specialist suggests. My former medical school has learning specialists that would also help students in the professional schools; they would often spend time at the various programs.

But, I definitely would suggest a tutor.

 

[Dave1980]

I would ask for a LOA and another chance. I don't think it matters whether you have a dismissal or resignation as either way you will never get into another US med school.

 

[Frogger27]

Definitely take a LOA.

 

[sourpatch100]

Based on the number of accumulated failures from my matriculation into medical school I am eligible for dismissal. Therefore, my ability to take a leave of absence is dependent on if the medical committee will first allow me to continue medial school and in that case I would have to follow the terms they set for my remediation plan. Just to reiterate, this means taking a LOA is dependent on the review committees decision. Is it worth taking a chance on applying for an LOA? I have limited time (potentially <48 hours ) to make this decision. What I risk is that the committee votes against LOA and votes for dismissal. The alternative is to voluntarily withdraw, and my question to this panel is which of these options should I take to give me the best future going forward. I'll elaborate more on what a future for me is in the paragraph below.

I understand that regardless of withdrawing or getting dismissed my chances of applying to another medical school are essentially gone. However, I wanted to ask what the difference of a withdrawal versus dismissal would look like to other healthcare programs (Physician's Assistant, Optometry School, Nurse Practitioner etc.). Would those schools also request my current medical school institution to send a letter that outlines objectively what happened even if I have chosen to withdraw. Would a dismissal hurt my chances of getting into another program in the future?

 

[mrbreakfast]

I have limited time (potentially <48 hours ) to make this decision.

You could ask them to consider a LOA (not a dismissal), and tell them if they decide against the LOA, you will voluntarily withdraw. That will give them an easier decision, and I think they'd allow you that courtesy.

I'm not sure how a withdraw vs dismissal will look for other healthcare programs, but if you want to work in healthcare, you could probably do nursing or NP even with a dismissal for academic reasons. For a MD program, I'm sure at least one Caribbean program would take you, but I'd advise against that route for multiple reasons.

Unfortunately, the best advice I can give is harsh: the writing's on the wall for medical school. M2 year is significantly more challenging/stressful than M1, and when you get to clinicals, the margin for second chances is very slim. At this point you'd have to consider carefully whether you truly think a LOA would significantly improve your chances of making it through all four years; if not, there's your answer right there.

 

[Redpancreas]

Based on the number of accumulated failures from my matriculation into medical school I am eligible for dismissal. Therefore, my ability to take a leave of absence is dependent on if the medical committee will first allow me to continue medial school and in that case I would have to follow the terms they set for my remediation plan. Just to reiterate, this means taking a LOA is dependent on the review committees decision. Is it worth taking a chance on applying for an LOA? I have limited time (potentially <48 hours ) to make this decision. What I risk is that the committee votes against LOA and votes for dismissal. The alternative is to voluntarily withdraw, and my question to this panel is which of these options should I take to give me the best future going forward. I'll elaborate more on what a future for me is in the paragraph below.

I understand that regardless of withdrawing or getting dismissed my chances of applying to another medical school are essentially gone. However, I wanted to ask what the difference of a withdrawal versus dismissal would look like to other healthcare programs (Physician's Assistant, Optometry School, Nurse Practitioner etc.). Would those schools also request my current medical school institution to send a letter that outlines objectively what happened even if I have chosen to withdraw. Would a dismissal hurt my chances of getting into another program in the future?

There is no future in medicine if you withdraw. For other programs it won’t matter either because you’re effectively doing another less rigorous training path now with a solid medical background. I am pretty sure like the above poster said these programs will take you with an academic dismissal from medical school.

If I were in your position I would withdraw because I don’t think you have what it takes, but you seem to think this is primarily caused by anxiety. I would not withdraw because you’re worried about some non-existent risk of how dismissal would look. You also kind of changed your tune where you first asked if the withdrawal would make you competitive for other schools and now you’re pivoting pretty fast to other fields. Just focus on what’s directly ahead of you right now.

 

[Osteosaur]

I am sorry. Going through this must be awful Its probably been two years of non-stop stress and anxiety for you. In hindsight maybe taking the rest of M1 off, getting your issues together, and starting fresh might have helped more.

See if your school will let you take a LOA and repeat M1 a third time, however, I would check with residency programs on how they look on taking 7 years to complete medical school. That is a lot. You also don't know how your life will be once the stress of boards and third year heat up. Can you handle those things? Attendings might have a lot more cutting criticism of you than a bad exam score.

I can understand that after putting in 2 years and working so hard you want to make something of the time. I can understand the impulse to stay in school at any cost! At this point it seems you used your second chance and you might need to look at:
1) Your chances of matching. Will you be a resident after 7 years?
2) Can you form a new career in the span of time it will take to finish? There is an opportunity cost here.

 

[kirklandstretchtite]

I am sorry that you're going through so much right now. It must be really hard to cope with multiple deaths in family and other pandemic-related matters. I hope your mental health provider is helping you greatly to overcome and cope with these hardships.

The above posters have provided excellent advice, and I hope you factored their advice into your decision-making process.
I can only reiterate that your only chance to study medicine is for you to stay in your current school as no US medical schools will give you a second chance. The difference between dismissal and withdrawal in your case is nonexistent so if you wish to practice medicine as a medical doctor in the US, you would need to provide compelling case for the committee to allow you to stay enrolled in the school so that you can take a LOA.

After that, you would need to thank your school by doing your best to get your mental health conditions treated and go above and beyond without any excuses to pass all of your classes/rotations with flying colors. As some poster mentioned before, your school has bent over backwards to keep you enrolled despite all of your failures. There are not many medical schools that are merciful and understanding as yours. Some of my former classmates got dismissed because they failed two courses in their first year.

Good luck, and I wish you all the best! Please let us know your decision if you don't mind.

 

[altblue]

Definitely take the LOA and start seeing a psychiatrist/therapist regularly. You got this, I promise.

 

[sunshinefl]

If you have already unsuccessfully attempted M1 twice, I don’t think you’ll be able to take a LOA and continue. I think it’s pretty standard to require program completion within 150% of the normal time, so max 6 years to finish. You’ve already used 2 of them. So you would have to have seamless completion of the rest of medical school, even if your school lets you continue.

There were some people at my school who for various life and/or academic reasons used all 6 years to graduate. But they did, and they matched. So it’s possible, but you won’t have any wiggle room at all.

 

[Rekt]

Operaman gave the best advice.

Walk away.

If it's any solace, I can tell you there's nothing to regret on this side of things. Medicine is extremely glamorized by medical students and earlier. It's really just a dumpster fire.

 

[altblue]

Operaman gave the best advice.

Walk away.

If it's any solace, I can tell you there's nothing to regret on this side of things. Medicine is extremely glamorized by medical students and earlier. It's really just a dumpster fire.

I've seen a number of med students struggle with mental illness and make it through eventually, even if it means taking a year off. Hell I've mentored a rising M2 who struggled with their mental health

You don't know how the OP can adapt overtime - they very well could be another one of those students who learns to cope

Your perception of medicine is valid but it's just your own perception. You don't know how OP will enjoy or adapt to medicine nor contribute to it. Maybe they'll come to agree, but once again, you do not know now. All that is clear now is that they need to take care of their mental health in order to proceed. That doesn't mean medicine isn't worth it for them.

 

[Osteosaur]

I've seen a number of med students struggle with mental illness and make it through eventually, even if it means taking a year off. Hell I've mentored a rising M2 who struggled with their mental health

You don't know how the OP can adapt overtime - they very well could be another one of those students who learns to cope

Your perception of medicine is valid but it's just your own perception. You don't know how OP will enjoy or adapt to medicine nor contribute to it. Maybe they'll come to agree, but once again, you do not know now. All that is clear now is that they need to take care of their mental health in order to proceed. That doesn't mean medicine isn't worth it for them.

I'm sure the OP could eventually overcome this and do great with the right.plan.

However, as @sunshinefl mentioned, they've used up all their second chances and wiggle room. Some residencies might cut them off because they took too long to finish. If they can't turn this into a match then the whole thing is pointless.

 

[Intelligentdr]

Ah OK that makes sense and makes things much simpler. I’ll make or echo a couple of points.

1.)If you want to practice medicine, you’re going to need to appeal/advocate for remediation. It doesn’t matter whether you withdraw or are dismissed. If you leave this program, your career in medicine’s nuked either way because in order to enroll in a new medical school, they will want a letter from the old medical school that will outline objectively what happened even if you leave on good terms. I don’t think any MD or DO school will give you another shot given they have hundreds who don’t have a record of failure. The schools that would give you a shot (Caribbean, maybe one DO school) would probably give you a shot even if you were dismissed and the remediation vs. dismissal won’t be a factor for them…so that’s irrelevant. Briefly if you do choose that route, know you’re likely doing redoing all of medical school to fight for a position in the SOAP.

2.) You seem hellbent on just getting through this no matter what. I’m not going to get into the weeds of whether or not you should or should not be doing this. I said that bit above and I think Operaman already phrased very well that up ahead there will be even greater challenges. The upside in this situation is you somehow make it and become a doctor. I don’t think that’s likely personally but you’re the one who knows yourself the best. The downside is you potentially could waste anywhere from a few months to years in this process before failing. It won’t matter if there’s been a period of success. If you fail an unrelated M3 clerkship, you’re out.

3.) I would handle the request for appeal as follows:

A.) Emphasize your mental health issue as the primary barrier. There are hundreds of holes they can tear into this argument with like why issues weren’t addressed promptly the first or even second time given that you have three major, separate instances of failure and perhaps the more likely answer is this isn’t the right field for you and you’re likely driving yourself too hard as opposed to there being a mental health issue that was the main issue.

B.) In response to their concerns, ask your mental health providers to corroborate your adherence to your treatment plans and speak to any opportunity to enhance them while maintaining HIPAA although the cat is kind of out of the bag.

C.) Request any time off that you can before attempting any other coursework. You’ll need some time to rest and reflect which you haven’t had for the last 2 years. Use it to relax and reflect and not prestudy. Note though that you have already spent two years on M1. Taking an entire year off may not be feasible because it would extend medical school past 6 years which is the standard at some places. You may want to propose a hybrid of spending year 3 taking significant time off first (months) and then repeating the classes that you’ve failed specifically. They may ask all the questions about M2/stressors and things getting harder and you just have to maintain the argument about optimizing your mental health.

In the end either you’re going to be dismissed or you get one last shot.

 

[Intelligentdr]

Requesting advice and guidance on the next steps regarding being eligible for dismissal from medical school.

Due to a number of circumstances, I failed a number of courses during my first year of medical school. I was reviewed by the medical committee of my school and permitted to repeat the first year. After successfully, implementing a remediation plan I began to be successful and was passing my courses. However, during my second semester, I started to again face setbacks and failed another course due to the onset of anxiety attacks. After being reviewed by my medical committee again I was permitted to continue my courseload with the plan to remediate the course in the summer. However, during my last class of the first year I unfortunately, failed my exam by one question. I am again being asked to come before my medical school committee and am again eligible for dismissal.

To clarify, the primary reason that I believe caused me to perform poorly on these exams has been underlying anxiety and depression, exacerbated by multiple deaths in the family and the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. I am in the process of seeking professional help for my anxiety and depression.

I am currently contemplating my options and am seeking adivice. Some options I am contemplating:
1. Withdraw from medical school
2. Propose remediation and risk being dismissed from medical school
3. Propose remediation and ask for a leave of absence before starting the second year to treat my underlying health conditions.

Thank you in advance.

So sad, things happen in this long life. Please let us know whatever you decide, as I have another student doctor in a similar situation.

Hoping for the best!

 

[Redpancreas]

@Intelligentdr you quoted me above but maybe your response was deleted?

 

[Chads2]

@Intelligentdr you quoted me above but maybe your response was deleted?

I somehow got quoted from a different thread!

 

[sourpatch100]

I have elected to take a leave of absence. Thank you to everyone who responded for your honest input and advice.

 

[Redpancreas]

I have elected to take a leave of absence. Thank you to everyone who responded for your honest input and advice.

Out of interest for future cases, how long is the leave of absence for? Were you able to get the entire year which would effectively extend medical school past 6 years for you?

Also, thanks for the update but just realize the odds are overwhelmingly against you to ultimately succeed. I’m not saying you won’t because maybe you’re made of something you haven’t yet shown but chances are if you’ve struggled this much with M1, things won’t get easier and M2/beyond will filter you out.