Failed COVID term by <1% after debatable changes to syllabus were made

[KyrinK]

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I am in term 2 of medical school and the module director changed the syllabus and curriculum when COVID began and we went online. Some changes were obviously necessary but they took away many opportunities to earn points, rewrote the final (instead of NMBE) and kept the same high standards causing our exams to weigh more and making it much harder to pass in addition to all of the transition struggles we faced. (Personally moving 3 times, having a 3rd child born among other things) I failed by less than one percent. All of my emails discussing a curve, points reinstated or a passing percentage lowered for this last term due to the unprecedented events have been ignored. Is there anything I can or should do? I have accountability and own he grade I earned. I do not think medical school or even this term should be a participation trophy event but very little easy changes could have been made to support students but the changes made were so the school could stay in business. Also, yes, I brought up these concerns during the term, not last minute.

Thank you for any assistance or guidance

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Taking responsibility for the grade you earned would be accepting it and remediating as your school sees fit.

Failing by 1% is unfortunate, but the cut off must be set somewhere.

IMO if the passing margin is 70% and one student gets a 69% and another a 70%, there is likely little difference in their mastery of the material.

Just try and improve. Aim higher so the CI of performance no longer includes a failing grade. Good insurance against under-performances on test days.

 

[Mass Effect]

I'm waiting for the day someone doesn't fail by 1%.

OP just remediate.

 

[Goro]

OP, you failed to demonstrate even minimum competence, much less any mastery of the material.

Fix your deficits and remediate

 

[beaglesbagles]

COVID happened and some leniency should be afforded. I would ask if you remediate, will you be able to do so in a timely manner? Will you be allowed to keep whatever grade you earn (ie: not a maximum of 70% if you get an 80%)? Will the remediation be reported as such on your transcript?
It is very unfair if you cannot get even the slightest accomodation for a once in a century event.

 

[deleted480308]

COVID happened and some leniency should be afforded. I would ask if you remediate, will you be able to do so in a timely manner? Will you be allowed to keep whatever grade you earn (ie: not a maximum of 70% if you get an 80%)? Will the remediation be reported as such on your transcript?
It is very unfair if you cannot get even the slightest accomodation for a once in a century event.

The patient doesn’t care if you lacked knowledge because of covid or because of partying. You either know the stuff to move on or you don’t.

you get to remediate after failing OP. Thank them profusely for the opportunity and keep grinding

 

[libertyyne]

Did all of your class fail? Did a higher percent of people fail the class compared to pre-covid times.
I dont really think you have a leg to stand on. Shooting for 70's is a recipe for failing.

Take your lumps and learn from this experience and come out stronger and a better student on the other side.

 

[akwho]

In contrast to the other answers here.

I would respectfully email the course director and your primary attending and state your disappointment in the grade, and the extenuating circumstances. See if there is any chance for any extra credit or opportunity to demonstrate a deeper knowledge of the material than you have thus far demonstrated. In these extraordinary times it worth a shot to see if you can avoid having a remediation on your transcript for when you apply to residency.

If they won't go for the above. Then remediate the course ASAP with as little complaining as possible. I think most people's experience is that students generally have to fail pretty spectacularly to be given a fail during medical school. Neither the attendings, the school or the medical student want a fail on the transcript. So even if you failed by 1% numerically it is likely that you did not even come close to mastering the material.

 

[peachrings]

Agree with others here. It doesn't hurt to respectfully email the course director to ask for leniency. That being said, if these changes were applied prospectively for all students, there isn't much to fight them on.

 

[beaglesbagles]

The patient doesn’t care if you lacked knowledge because of covid or because of partying. You either know the stuff to move on or you don’t.

you get to remediate after failing OP. Thank them profusely for the opportunity and keep grinding

I am confused by this response because I never said that the OP should not remediate. I was saying the school should support the student to remediate in light of the extraordinary circumstances.

The patient doesn't care if you failed 10 times and learned it the 11th time as long as you treat them after you learned the material.

 

[deleted480308]

I am confused by this response because I never said that the OP should not remediate. I was saying the school should support the student to remediate in light of the extraordinary circumstances.

The patient doesn't care if you failed 10 times and learned it the 11th time as long as you treat them after you learned the material.

Poor use of “reply” on my part, I was more so speaking to the room than trying to refute your post

apologies