Fail my lab animal rotation right before residency application starts.

[Ngoc211]

I did not pass my lab animal rotation, which I believe was due to a miscommunication between the rotation site and me. During my mid-rotation evaluation, I received very positive feedback, but my final evaluation was unexpectedly quite different. I appealed the result, but the process was unsuccessful, leaving me feeling discouraged and disappointed. With residency applications coming up soon, I'm uncertain about the best steps forward. My school has informed me they will find another rotation site for me to repeat the course during my fourth year, but I’m concerned this incident may affect my chances. I am very committed to becoming a lab animal veterinarian. Any recommendations or advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

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[supershorty]

Something doesn't add up here. A miscommunication when having allegedly a very good rotation doesn't lead to failing the rotation. What do you believe happened?

I think this is very likely to negatively impact your applications if you're intending to be a lab animal vet, and I'd strongly recommend you get to the bottom of what caused you to fail to figure out how to address that.

 

[JaynaAli]

… but I’m concerned this incident may affect my chances.

You should be. (Disclaimer: not a lab animal vet but a pathologist) When I used to review residency applications, the first thing I would do was check an applicants grades in coursework relevant to the specialty. I do not believe that a persons overall GPA is that important, but I do expect people to have strong performance (aka high grades) in classes relating to a specialty they want to dedicate their work life to. Failing a rotation in the specialty you’re wanting to pursue is indeed a giant red flag. At best it makes a selection committee wonder “what happened” and then do some more investigating (because specialties are very small fields and almost everyone knows everyone) and at worst they may just pass on your app for someone who performed better. The effect may be minor or it may be great, it’s just impossible to know.

I do think you need to do more investigation and self reflection and be ready to address it in your app packet and/or interview. I’m not asking you to share more details here, but I agree with shorty that there must be more to the story and you will need to own your part in it (to whatever degree that may be) because just blaming the site also won’t be a good “look” either.

 

[KCgophervet]

As a lab animal vet who is also an externship coordinator and class coordinator for a lab animal rotation... I'd highly recommend talking to your rotation coordinator about what happened, why it happened, and how you can improve. A failing grade on a rotation, especially for a specialty that you're interested in pursuing, will absolutely negatively impact any residency applications. Not only that, but the field is very small and people talk. I'd also encourage you to be introspective and honest with yourself - did anything happen during the rotation that you regret?

As an example, though I've never failed a student, I have had to "pass with reservations" students who took advantage of the more laid back nature of the rotation - consistently showing up late, being combative with the techs or the residents, being rude or unprofessional, leaving early without notice, etc. All things that may not seem like a big deal if the people you are working with are friendly and understanding, but will paint you in a negative light and impact your grades accordingly.

Seriously, talk to the person who assigned you the grade and don't be combative about it. Take it as an opportunity for growth and take their feedback seriously. Whatever caused you to fail the rotation will likely also negatively impact your professional career so if you can use the opportunity to learn from this it will only help you in the long run.

 

[Ngoc211]

Thank you so much for your replies and input.
just to clarify for myself. Throughout the rotation, I was under the impression that I was performing well, as I consistently received positive feedback. When I requested my mid-rotation evaluation, I was told I had an adequate knowledge base, communicated effectively with staff, showed interest, and asked appropriate questions at the right times. All feedback was documented and electronically signed. However, when I received the final evaluation, it was entirely different. It portrayed me as a below-average student with a questionable knowledge base, lacking initiative, and giving the impression that I wasn’t interested in learning. I had never received any of this feedback verbally or in writing, so I was both shocked and disappointed. I have brang this concern to the school and people in charge of this discrepancy but this part was brushed off in my opinion because it was poorly addressed it. All the damage had done and I understand this incident will have a negative impact on my future career.
As myself, I’ve been reflecting on this experience and trying to understand how this discrepancy occurred. I always arrived at work on time and and left at the end of my shift/stay late if there were still procedures, and I also double check with the attending vet if it was appropriate for me to leave, I respected all the staffs in the lab that I was working with. I am generally quiet and not quick to speak up in group settings. I believe that this reservedness resulted in the poor rotation score. I realize that me not speaking up can be misinterpreted as a lack of knowledge or motivation. Giving a minimal responses gave the impression that I have not prepared or am not interested. I am currently changing and improving my approach in all of my following rotations and in facts I had received positive results. I will take this incident as a learning experience for my future career and motivation for me to improve myself as a professional. I only wish that the previous rotation site had openly communicated these concerns with me right away so I could have addressed and improved in the areas they felt I was lacking.

 

[pp9]

I am generally quiet and not quick to speak up in group settings. I believe that this reservedness resulted in the poor rotation score.

I am not a lab animal vet, but I do work with externs and review/grade them. Generally you get a feel for the extern's personality fairly quickly and can tell if it is just a quieter personality vs. 'I don't really care about this.' Quiet and shy =/= sitting there mute at the rounds table every day, never answering questions or participating in discussions, seeming unfocused/uninterested, etc.

Was this an externship, or a school-managed rotation? Did you have two different clinicians overseeing you during your rotation? Did you actually speak directly with the clinicians that assigned the grade, or did you just go directly to the school administration? Have you had similar feedback in other rotations? Did you start putting in less effort after you got the mid-point evaluation (this may have been subconscious. 'Oh I'm doing well, I'll relax a bit')?

I can't tell if you actually talked to the clinicians you worked with, or just went above their heads/directly to your school. If it's the latter, you're not going to get anything achieved that way. If it's the former, I think it is worth getting more detailed feedback so you can understand how to improve. I wouldn't expect a change in your grade/review, nor would I approach the conversation with that frame of mind.

Barring the small chance that there was a mistake or unfair treatment, the clinicians gave you that review for a reason. If you think about it, it's a bit like a bell curve. The majority of students are 'fine' - check all the boxes, do exactly what they are supposed to do. Fewer get stellar or bad reviews, and you have to stand out to earn an above/below average review. A clinician handing out an unfounded bad review is an exceptionally rare situation.

 

[battie]

A clinician handing out an unfounded bad review is an exceptionally rare situation.

This. In general, I feel it is difficult to fail rotations if you put in a good faith effort all the way around, particularly in niche rotations like lab animal. Most clinicians understand, regardless of rotation, that not everyone is interested in their field. They ask that you put in the work, show some level of improvement, and are a team player. What you've described from your perspective would not have failed you on any rotation I was on in school.

Discuss directly with your clinicians you had.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I feel like it is exceptionally rare for a student to fail a rotation, especially an elective one. Please reach out to the person responsible for the review/grade and ask to discuss. Something along the lines of:

“Dear Dr. X, Thank you very much for hosting me at Y facility. I appreciated all of the time and effort the doctors put in to helping me learn and grow over the past Z weeks. Blah blah. I wanted to reach out also because I am having a hard time understanding the failing grade I received on the rotation. Attached is the mid-rotation review, which gave me the impression that I was performing at an adequate level. I felt that I was engaged and took steps to show self-initiative, and am discouraged to hear that I was perceived otherwise. I would really appreciate it if I could schedule a time to discuss my performance that led to this failing grade, and what I could have done differently. I highly respect and value your opinion, and it would mean the world to me if you would be so kind as to give me some guidance in navigating my professional growth.”