Failed a system......what to do now?

[HEADintheCLOUDS]

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Ok, So I found out failed a recent system exam (by 1%) and am now not sure what to do. I must retake that exam in the summer. I mean will this effect me in getting a good residency spot in something such as ortho? Or is my only possibility now to go into family practice because if it is I am thining of just quitting medical school now instead of being forced to be something I dont want to be...

Any knowledge of this situation?

 

[Law2Doc]

you aren't relegated to FP just yet, but if you are ortho or bust, you may want to rethink med school. your board scores will largely determine if you have a shot at a very competitive path, but most people wont. so do you want to be a doctor or only an orthopod. if the latter, you are playing a low percentage game with a failure under your belt. but it would be inaccurate to say you cant right this ship. just that you might not, and really have to reconcile yourself with that very real possibility. I continue to advise people that if they only kind of doctor they can picture themselves as is one of the most competitive specialties, it's probably not worth going -- the odds aren't on your side. Most of the residency slots are in the less competitive fields. It's not because more people choose those. It's because most people end up in them, like it or not.

 

[njbmd]

Your first goal is to get your remediation out of the way. The full impact of this on your residency is largely determined by your transcript and what it will look like. Some schools will note a "conditional pass" on your transcript for the semester and once you have successfully completed your remediation, that "conditional pass" goes to just a pass. Other schools will note a failing grade for the block and a grade of pass for the summer remediation. In this case, both grades show up on your transcript.

The impact of failing one block/class is fairly minimal except in the case of the most competitive specialties or the most competitive locations for residency. For most specialties, your failure of one block with subsequent successful remediation isn't going to be much of an issue (likely a non-issue) especially if you have a solid third year and good scores on USMLE Step I.

Your best source of information as to what your transcript will look like is your Dean of Education/Curriculum. Once you have this information, you need only be prepared to explain that grade (if it even shows up) if asked in an residency interview (highly unlikely).

Put your block failure behind you and make sure that you don't fail anything else. My guess is that this isn't going to affect your chances of a good residency very much unless you have your heart set on Derm, ortho or optho. Even if this is the case, a very strong third year coupled with an excellent USMLE Step I score can still get you into a competitive residency.

 

[Law2Doc]

He said he wanted ortho...

 

[BrainBuff]

Forget about ortho, derm or opthalmology. You need to be realistic. You will be competing with AOA and top students. Only a major "connection" or "donation" could overcome a failed course.

Also, not all schools give "conditional pass" as a grade so i really see no reason for that speculation.

 

[HEADintheCLOUDS]

Forget about ortho, derm or opthalmology. You need to be realistic. You will be competing with AOA and top students. Only a major "connection" or "donation" could overcome a failed course.

Also, not all schools give "conditional pass" as a grade so i really see no reason for that speculation.

My school has only P/ Np grading for 1st 2 years, so no rankings. On the trnscipt I think it will say f/P or Np/P.

Any residency directors on here want to comment.😕

 

[SocialistMD]

Deja vu.

 

[Blade28]

Any residency directors on here want to comment.😕

All you need to know is:

*Remediate the class as best you can
*Do well on Step 1
*Do great on your MS-III rotations
*Consider research/away rotations, if you're interested in tough fields like Ortho

This is a very common question - a quick forum search will reveal many similar threads dealing with this (like the link posted above).

Best of luck.

 

[HEADintheCLOUDS]

All you need to know is:

*Remediate the class as best you can
*Do well on Step 1
*Do great on your MS-III rotations
*Consider research/away rotations, if you're interested in tough fields like Ortho

This is a very common question - a quick forum search will reveal many similar threads dealing with this (like the link posted above).

Best of luck.

Thanks Mate!👍