Failed out of MD, want to retry for MD or DO, what are my options?

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shiro0915

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Hi everyone,

To give a summary of my situation, I was accepted to my school through a bs/md program, but failed to complete my first year because of depression. It's been two years and I've recovered now and have mostly gotten my life back on track. I can't think of doing anything else other than pursuing a career as a physician, and am desperate to find a way to pursue either MD or DO options. I know that my chances of getting into an MD school are incredibly low because of my history, so I would like an honest evaluation of my chances at an MD or DO school.

Stats:
Undergraduate overall gpa: 3.63,
Bcpm: 3.52
MCAT score (2015): 513.

As of right now, I am planning to strengthen my resume by either attending a post bacc program or by building more clinical experience (scribe, shadowing, etc.) I have a fair amount of research experience but I am lacking in clinical experience. Under my current circumstances, is it worthwhile to pursue a post bacc program? I've already read Goro's advice thread about pre-med reinvention. But I'm not sure that it completely applies to my specific circumstances. What steps can I take to strengthen my chances for either a MD or DO? I would appreciate any and all potential feedback and advice.

Thanks in advance.
@Goro @gonnif @LizzyM @gyngyn
I would really appreciate any opinions and advice you may have.
 
Aw man. Very sorry friend. This is not a good situation to be in. Contact specific schools you’re interested in regarding their policies about admitting someone in your situation. The application asks if you’ve ever matriculated at any med school and I’m under the impression that if that answer is yes, you’re pretty much disqualified. Edit to add: I agree with others first year of BS vs first year of MD (which is what I assumed) makes a huge difference.
 
Last edited:
@shiro0915 Failed to complete first year = failures in the first year? Can you clarify your situation. Does it indicate on your transcript that you were unable to successfully matriculate in this program or will you just graduate with a BS on your transcript? Lots of questions.
 
shiro0915 said:
Hi everyone,

To give a summary of my situation, I was accepted to my school through a bs/md program, but failed to complete my first year because of depression. It's been two years and I've recovered now and have mostly gotten my life back on track. I can't think of doing anything else other than pursuing a career as a physician, and am desperate to find a way to pursue either MD or DO options. I know that my chances of getting into an MD school are incredibly low because of my history, so I would like an honest evaluation of my chances at an MD or DO school.

Stats:
Undergraduate overall gpa: 3.63,
Bcpm: 3.52
MCAT score (2015): 513.

As of right now, I am planning to strengthen my resume by either attending a post bacc program or by building more clinical experience (scribe, shadowing, etc.) I have a fair amount of research experience but I am lacking in clinical experience. Under my current circumstances, is it worthwhile to pursue a post bacc program? I've already read Goro's advice thread about pre-med reinvention. But I'm not sure that it completely applies to my specific circumstances. What steps can I take to strengthen my chances for either a MD or DO? I would appreciate any and all potential feedback and advice.

Thanks in advance.
@Goro @gonnif @LizzyM @gyngyn
I would really appreciate any opinions and advice you may have.
Click to expand...
My advice still applies to you.
Just make sure that your depression is 100% under control
 
Goro said:
My advice still applies to you.
Just make sure that your depression is 100% under control
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your advice. I forgot to mention that I failed MS1 and not the BS portion. If I complete a post bacc program, do you think I have a chance at DO? I would really appreciate your honest opinion. Thank you in advance.
 
shiro0915 said:
Thank you very much for your advice. I forgot to mention that I failed MS1 and not the BS portion. If I complete a post bacc program, do you think I have a chance at DO? I would really appreciate your honest opinion. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
In this case I think that you had your chance and you should try something else
 
Your best chance now might be to go to a Caribbean Med school (preferably SGU) if you truly don't see yourself doing anything else. But I would not advise it because you already fail at medical school because of depression, and going this route is a huge gamble, so chances of failing again is really high.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
DrStephenStrange said:
Your best chance now might be to go to a Caribbean Med school (preferably SGU) if you truly don't see yourself doing anything else. But I would not advise it because you already fail at medical school because of depression, and going this route is a huge gamble, so chances of failing again is really high.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Caribbean? Wow that's bad advice.
 
shiro0915 said:
Hi everyone,

To give a summary of my situation, I was accepted to my school through a bs/md program, but failed to complete my first year because of depression. It's been two years and I've recovered now and have mostly gotten my life back on track. I can't think of doing anything else other than pursuing a career as a physician, and am desperate to find a way to pursue either MD or DO options. I know that my chances of getting into an MD school are incredibly low because of my history, so I would like an honest evaluation of my chances at an MD or DO school.

Stats:
Undergraduate overall gpa: 3.63,
Bcpm: 3.52
MCAT score (2015): 513.

As of right now, I am planning to strengthen my resume by either attending a post bacc program or by building more clinical experience (scribe, shadowing, etc.) I have a fair amount of research experience but I am lacking in clinical experience. Under my current circumstances, is it worthwhile to pursue a post bacc program? I've already read Goro's advice thread about pre-med reinvention. But I'm not sure that it completely applies to my specific circumstances. What steps can I take to strengthen my chances for either a MD or DO? I would appreciate any and all potential feedback and advice.

Thanks in advance.
@Goro @gonnif @LizzyM @gyngyn
I would really appreciate any opinions and advice you may have.
Click to expand...

I had a similar situation but did not actually matriculate to the medical school portion. I did enough damage in the BS portion though. Many people told me what is being said to you. I will say that it took me 6 years to recover academically and emotionally to be stable enough to go through Med school. Please don’t underestimate that these programs really teach you to cram in most cases, and that you may have some maturing to do before considering to try again. You also will need to show that you are ready for medical school in some way. I did an expensive postbach which was a huge risk. Generally many combined accelerated programs are looked down upon by many med schools. I found that most of my interviewers were sympathetic to my situation. If you are not willing to put in the extra time and effort to show growth I would explore other paths. Check out cardiac perfusion, they have one of the best debt to income ratios.
 
longerlongerlongerdrop said:
I had a similar situation but did not actually matriculate to the medical school portion. I did enough damage in the BS portion though. Many people told me what is being said to you. I will say that it took me 6 years to recover academically and emotionally to be stable enough to go through Med school. Please don’t underestimate that these programs really teach you to cram in most cases, and that you may have some maturing to do before considering to try again. You also will need to show that you are ready for medical school in some way. I did an expensive postbach which was a huge risk. Generally many combined accelerated programs are looked down upon by many med schools. I found that most of my interviewers were sympathetic to my situation. If you are not willing to put in the extra time and effort to show growth I would explore other paths. Check out cardiac perfusion, they have one of the best debt to income ratios.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more with this. Ignore any comments that discourage you. Find a pathway in the health field (or other) that you love. Then, a few years from now after you have a career pathway, experienced life a bit more, and are far removed from this combined program, apply again if you still want to. Your career will be your back up plan. Just find a way to tell your story in a clear relatable way that thoroughly removes the doubt an admissions committee may have. Throw in a recommendation from this combined program (bs or md portion) if you can get someone to write one (preferably someone you confided in during the depression).
 
ick19 said:
Couldn't agree more with this. Ignore any comments that discourage you. Find a pathway in the health field (or other) that you love. Then, a few years from now after you have a career pathway, experienced life a bit more, and are far removed from this combined program, apply again if you still want to. Your career will be your back up plan. Just find a way to tell your story in a clear relatable way that thoroughly removes the doubt an admissions committee may have. Throw in a recommendation from this combined program (bs or md portion) if you can get someone to write one (preferably someone you confided in during the depression).
Click to expand...

The big difference is that the poster you quoted did not matriculate and fail out of a med school. OP did. That may be a total dealbreaker. But I actually think your advice is solid anyway.
 
sb247 said:
True story: I spent $4 on a $600mil + lotto this week. Guess who is still going to work Tommorow?
Click to expand...
I thought you didn't have any days off so I paged you 50 times today. You wrote in your note that the patient was taking an "abx" but I couldn't find any medication by that name in micromedex.
 
Goro said:
Yes, outliers that are as rare as Lotto winners are perfect models to use for the OP
Click to expand...

Am I the outlier? Lol no disrespect I love your posts.

I agree being one semester into M1 does change things a little, but I still think that most people could be competitive after taking the steps that I did. I had 2Fs and a D in that program, retook and got another D and two Cs in the classes again (in advance science prereqs, not elective courses). My mcat score at the time was 19. I don’t even want to figure out what that corresponds to in the new version. I actually think my situation may have been worse than OPs.
 
longerlongerlongerdrop said:
Am I the outlier? Lol no disrespect I love your posts.

I agree being one semester into M1 does change things a little, but I still think that most people could be competitive after taking the steps that I did. I had 2Fs and a D in that program, retook and got another D and two Cs in the classes again (in advance science prereqs, not elective courses). My mcat score at the time was 19. I don’t even want to figure out what that corresponds to in the new version. I actually think my situation may have been worse than OPs.
Click to expand...

You're underestimating how bad it looks to have matriculated at a medical school and failed out.
 
MD failures are like a bankruptcy, no one will likely care after 10 years!

In seriousness, could OP shoot for podiatry...?
 
I have seen posts on these forums with individuals failing out and then matriculating again a few years later. If I find the one I have in mind, I’ll post it here.

However, I think it goes without saying that this is probably not the norm.
 
samualjhatfield said:
MD failures are like a bankruptcy, no one will likely care after 10 years!

In seriousness, could OP shoot for podiatry...?
Click to expand...

He could.

Only if:

1) can prove to programs he has his depression under control and it will not affect his schooling
2) likes it enough to do it for the rest of his life

Both are uphill battles. Completely depends on OP.
 
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