Failed a pre clinical class in M1. General surgery chances?

[deleted842777]

(Deleted)

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[DrStephenStrange]

It may hurt at some places, but in the grand scheme of things pre-clinical grades are usually low in importance for residency programs unless it becomes a habit. My advice, it already happened, so there is no point in dwelling on it now. Knowing whether it will hurt or not in the future is not going to help. Focus on passing future classes and boards. Your residency application will include many things that are even more important than your pre-clinical grades (research, board scores, clinical grades, Letters of recommendations, etc.).

 

[DOVinciRobot]

If it doesn't say "fail" then I'm not sure it will impact you.

 

[operaman]

Yeah it may impact but probably not in the way you think. Nobody is going to look over an otherwise stellar application and see those M1 marks and toss your app aside.

What may happen though is that you continue on with borderline performance throughout the rest of Med school. If that happens, then yes you may struggle to match well. If you borderline fail step 1 then that could be the nail in the coffin for Gen surg.

So take it as feedback that whatever you’re doing now is not going to be workable moving forward. M1 is the easiest part, so be prepared for the difficulty to keep going up as you go along.

 

[mrbreakfast]

As others said: it will probably impact things, yes, but it won't doom you. Use it as a wake-up call - M1 is the easiest year and while a few bad grades in M1 can be overlooked, this is not the case in later years - and be prepared that some competitive programs might ask you to explain bad grades on the interview trail (which might make you not want to go there, but still).

 

[Goro]

Title. Long time lurker, don't post very often, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I am a rising M2 at a mid to low tier MD school in the northeast. I failed two modules in M1, both by a tiny margin but successfully remediated both. It'll show on my transcript as a "Below Pass" and "Pass" on remediation. How bad will this look on my application? I'm interested in general surgery.

Meemaw, I wanted to follow up the wise O-man's comment by noting that you didn't merely fail by a tiny bit.

This is mindset that you have to lose. You failed to display even minimum competency, much less any mastery of the material.

In the meantime, read this:

• Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2019 edition)

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Lots of M1s have a rocky start in pre clinical as they adjust to the rigors of med school. Keep your head down and show improvement. Try to graduate in the upper half of your class. This will show PDs that you are educable. Obviously, you will need a competitive app for whatever specialty you choose. This may also require good board scores, research, publications, and solid audition rotations. A couple of preclinical stumbles can be accepted for the right candidate. Best advice is from the astute @Goro .