Failed a shelf exam

[NotAProgDirector]

Hey,
I'm kind of stressed/freaked out at the moment because the worst thing could've happened to me this past May. I failed the final/shelf exam for a class... so I have to remediate the shelf exam. I don't blame others for their mistakes, it was just due to the fact that I didn't know what to study/how to study for this class. I had to have my schedule completely changed -

I planned on taking Step 1 June 5th... and now I can't because I have to redo this final before I can take Step 1.

I was planning on doing a rotation during my summer vacation but now that summer vacation is switched to now to allow proper time to study for this final.

Everything got changed and now I also realized that my transcript will show a F/P on it... which really annoys/worries me. I'm not used to being in this position. I feel even more humiliated because my practice exam scores have been in the 225-230s... So my question at this point -

How badly is this F/P going to tarnish my record?

Will the fact that my summer is going to be wasted studying for all this going to impact me that badly?

I guess I'm frustrated at the fact that I can do so well on Step 1 and still do so bad on this exam... and have it completely screw me over.

Appreciate the help

I'd be lying if I told you this would have no impact on your residency applications, but it's not likely the end of the world either.

First, it sounds like your school will list this as an F/P on your transcript. Some schools allow you to take it a second time and if you pass, simply list your grade as P. But it is what it is, there is nothing you can do about that.

Here's your plan:

1. Retake the shelf. It would be great if you blew it out of the water. It's nice if your dean's letter says, "student XXX failed the shelf, but then retook it and got the 97th percentile, so clearly this was not evidence of lack of medical knowledge". You don't need to get the 97th percentile, but passing it by a wide margin would be a good plan.

2. You're going to want to take Step 2 early. It would be nice to have a good Step 2 score, so that your dean can say: "Clearly XXX failing the shelf was an anomaly, since look how well they did on Step 2". That said, doing well on Step 2 >>> taking it early, so plan your life / study well.

3. Because of this free time in the summer, you'll probably have rotations later after match day than your colleagues. This is a non-issue from residency programs, but something you should keep in mind.

How will this impact your applications? If you were planning on applying to the most competitive fields or programs, this will not be good. Those programs and fields are looking for reasons to reject people, and this will be a reason. Does this mean you can't possibly be a neurosurgeon? No, if the rest of your application is stellar, you still might get some nibbles. But it's an uphill climb. Moreso if this shelf failure was in the field you are actually interested in.

So, you'll apply more broadly than you were initially planning to. Applications are cheap (in the grand scheme of things). Mid tier university programs will still look at you with a single failed and remediated shelf exam.

Avoid failing another. Seems to go without saying.

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